Subscribe now!
.svg){kind=spacer}
Your cart
Product Title
$0
$0
-
+
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Coupon1
Coupon2
Cart note
Subtotal
$0
COUPON2
-$0
Order Discount
-$0
Cart Total
$0
Issue No. 231 | July 18, 2025 | Read Online
It obviously did not come even close to happening, but I was rooting for Shane Lowry’s moving ball to lead to a penalty stroke that somehow moved the cut line.
Can you imagine?
Well, I was planning on trying to make a move on the weekend at The Open, but this Irishman’s golf ball moved 1/32 inch while I was sitting at home so now I’m headed back to Florida instead of attempting to shoot 65-65 at Royal Portrush.
Incredible (and incredibly dumb) sport.
Today’s newsletter is presented by Holderness and Bourne, whose fits are cut so specifically and so nicely that it makes 1/32 inch look like a wide margin.
Their AIRATION collection of men's polo shirts and layering styles features their most technical fabric yet. It’s designed with micro perforations engineered for optimal airflow, comfort, and athletic performance. The last of which I can assure you I need a lot of help with.
We have loaded up our pro shop with Holderness and Bourne gear, and we’re going back for more this fall. I cannot recommend it highly enough. It’s the best in the game, and any innovations with the gear they’re making (like the AIRATION technology above) will be done first and foremost with nothing else but the audience (you) in mind.
OK, now onto the news.
1. It’s early afternoon, I’m making a smoothie for what feels like dinner, and thinking to myself, “Hmm … nothing truly crazy has happened so far today.” Not 15 minutes later I’m back at my desk, and Kevin Kisner is diving under his desk in the broadcast booth.
Why?
There was apparently a bat in the booth, which led to Dan Hicks flailing like — as one reader said — a drowning dog, and Kisner hiding under his sports coat.
What a scene!
If this isn’t in The Open Shop by Sunday, what are we even doing?
2. It’s not over, but boy it felt over at times on Friday during Scottie’s 64. Two reasons I don’t think it’s quite Vince Carter time yet.
Scottie made a LOT of putts on Friday.
The quality of players underneath the top of the board is insane.
Also I might be trying to talk myself into something here because tight majors are the best majors, and two of the four Opens since Covid have been blowouts.
Here’s the problem if your name is not Scottie Scheffler.
He can’t miss an iron. He’s working them into every hole location from every distance and every angle. If he can keep driver in play, I just think this is going to win the day over the weekend.
Look at this!
A short one on 5.
A medium one on 14 (to a difficult back pin, and he’s on the correct side … of course).
And then a long one on 16.
It’s just 15 feet, 15 feet, 15 feet, 15 feet until everyone else gives up.
You could make a lengthy list of reasons he’s the best player since Tiger (for an extended period of time), but distance control is in the top five, and that is on display this week as much as it has ever been.
Like I said on Thursday, the surprise is not that he’s leading, it’s that he hasn’t been more successful at this tournament before.
3. Matty Fitzpatty will play with Scheffler on Saturday and try to snap a 33-year streak in which no Englishman has won The Open.
The only question is: Is Fitzy dawg enough?
I’m not positive he has the firepower to roll with Scottie given how unsteady his play has been this year, but I do think one underrated aspect when it comes to him is his competitiveness. He’s a dog, which you love to see, and I enjoyed this quote from him after firing a 66 that really should have been a 64.
There's nothing better than being in contention.
It feels a bit uncomfortable at the time, but that's what you're searching for. You want to feel that. It means you're doing something right for the most part.
Yeah, it's great to have an opportunity over the next two days, and it was last week, as well, and the week before. It must be fantastic for Scottie.
Matt Fitzpatrick
And as a fan, there’s nothing better than watching guys deal with being in contention.
This post will continue below for Normal Club members and includes …
A deep dive on the Rules of Golf (fun!).
Some Ryder Cup (!!) takeaways.
Why Rory may still have a bit of magic in the bag.
If you aren’t yet a Normal Club member, you can sign up right here.
If you are, keep reading!
Normal Sport is supported by exactly 960 crazed individuals. By becoming a member, you will receive the following …
• Our very best stuff during majors (like this post).
• The delight of helping us establish this business.
• First look at our new gear.
Kyle is the best columnist in sports. That he has channeled those talents through strokes gained and Spieth memes is a blessing to golf.
Few make the sport feel as fun and as thought provoking.
Kyle sees golf in a way that no one else does—and we're all fortunate to get to share in that view through Normal Sport!
I’ve always enjoyed your love for golf. So often I see favoritism showed to golfers in the social media world, but I enjoy reading you telling a situation how it is regardless of the person.
It's a treasure trove of the important, the seemingly important, and — importantly! — the unimportant stuff. It's an asset in my inbox.
Kyle approaches coverage of the game with both conviction and curiosity
The way Kyle has been able to mold a silly Twitter joke (normal sport) into a must-read newsletter on the weekly happenings in our silly game gives a great look into why he's one of the smartest people in golf.
Kyle is one of the best in the golf world at finding and synthesizing the absurd, the thoughtful and the fun things that make being a golf fan worthwhile.
There’s been no one else in golf that has tickled my funny bone as often as Kyle Porter does. He’s been instrumental in ushering in a new era of golf coverage and it’s been a pleasure to be along for the ride in that.
Normal Sport is exploratory, ometimes emotional, always entertaining. It also has one of my favorite writers in the biz at its foundation.
Kyle's content is a product of a sick sense of humour, a clear passion for golf and unquestionable dedication to hard work. That's not normal!
Kyle is a perfect curator of the necessary moments of levity that accent a sport that will drive most of us insane.
