Issue No. 253 | September 23, 2025 | Read Online
Our Ryder Cup trip this week is courtesy of Meridian Putters. Thank you to them for sending us for boots on the ground coverage!
Greetings!
I’m on a plane to New York right now, and the two gentlemen behind me are currently getting lost in Golf Swing Talk. One of them has his arms bent over his head and is talking about sticking a stick (not sure if from a tree or an alignment device) through what appears to be the back of his shirt to keep his swing on plane.
Other guy is referencing that this is how Freddie Couples does it.
The entire thing is a delight. Sickos forever. Let’s have a week.
This airport conversation is also presented by Meridian.
We will be utilizing The Infirmary early and often this week. The Infirmary, in case you were wondering, is our new blog where I write a bit longer and link to in this newsletter to keep it from being an infinite scroll.
First up, I wrote about how desperate I am for a close Ryder Cup.
We haven’t gotten a “this putt could win or lose the Ryder Cup” since Martin Kaymer put one middle-middle at Medinah, and I want one so badly this time around. What it would do to the players, what it would feel like, what it would mean. I want it all.
Our plan for The Infirmary, by the way, is to introduce comments later this fall so you can all tell me how dumb my takes and thoughts are.
For now, though, it’s just there to read.
Thank you to OGIO for presenting today’s newsletter. I am currently traveling with a pair of OGIO bags that I could not recommend more highly.
My daily going-to-the-course backpack is the Alpha Venture pack. Honestly, probably big enough to do a one- or two-day trip by itself but small enough to just carry my laptop, headphones and red, white and blue pompoms.
The other piece is OGIO’s newly-launched Renegade Vault carry-on bag. I hadn’t upgraded my suitcase in over a decade so this thing feels like I’m traveling in the future. It’s the perfect size, perfect fit and perfectly designed.
OGIO built it because “hardside luggage has gone soft,” and I cannot get enough.
Check it out right here.
OK, now onto (more of) the news.
We put out a call to reach 1,000 Normal Club members earlier this week. We are currently just 12 short, which means if everyone from the U.S. team signs up, we will officially hit 1,000. What you’ll get …
• All of our Ryder Cup content (partially paywalled Wed-Sun).
• An auto 15 percent off to the Normal Store.
• A chance at winning a free lifetime membership.
• -OR- winning a box of Ryder Cup merch
• -OR- winning a free Normal Sport bag tag.
Since the last Ryder Cup — basically since losing 9 and 7 (!!) alongside Brooks Koepka — Scottie Scheffler has been dominant. You already know that.
But to illustrate just how dominant he’s been, here’s a look at everyone who’s been at 1.5 strokes gained per round over the last 24 months.
3.3 — Scheffler
3.2 — Nobody
3.1 — Nobody
3.0 — Zero people
2.9 — No humans
2.8 — Nope
2.7 — Negative
2.6 — No
2.5 — Not yet
2.4 — Getting closer
2.3 — Almost there
2.2 — Still no
2.1 -- Rory, Rahm
2.0 -- Xander
1.9 -- Bryson
1.8
1.7 -- Fleetwood, Morikawa, Henley
1.6 -- Ludvig, Niemann, JT
1.5 -- Cantlay
He has been over a stroke per round better than Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm, who are two of the best players of the last 15 years.
Scottie has the same distance between himself and Rory/Rahm as Rory/Rahm do between themselves and … Aaron Rai. Think about how much better at golf Rory is than Aaron Rai. That’s how much better Scottie is than Rory.
I wrote about the petty warz exchange between Rory and Bryson and why we deserve a singles battle between those two (you can read that here on The Infirmary).
I barely got done hitting publish, when Bryson responded to Rory by saying some stuff about trying to inspire kids with his YouTube channel.
The whole response was bizarre — which is not unusual for Bryson — but I do think he was trying to take the high road a bit. And then Brandel rolled in like the Kool-Aid Man and just eviscerated him.
Called him “an odd duck,” said he cared more about YouTube views more than winning the Ryder Cup and then claimed that his YouTube numbers were inflated by bots. I like Brandel, but it was way over the top and not at all commensurate with what Bryson actually said. Strange, strange stuff.
This is Bryson’s arena, though. He is the High King of Content and the Great Exhibitionist. It would be difficult to overstate just how electric he was at Whistling Straits and how well received he was by the crowds there. And his public perception traj has only gone up and to the right since then.
There is a world in which Bryson drives the first, dunks on Brandel and goes 3-0-1 all while carrying this U.S. team alongside Scottie. Honestly, I think that may be the most likely outcome at this point.
“Playdoh Pairings” by Brandel Chamblee
After Napa’s practice rounds and two days of practice at Bethpage, the pairings are shaping up for the U.S. squad.
Here’s a look at who was together on Monday and Tuesday at Bethpage. Benny Booms, by the way, is apparently the U.S. social media team’s nickname for Ben Griffin (?). Surely that must be an inside joke that I don’t get. Surely. Regardless, I will not be taking questions at this time.
Some takeaways …
• Scheffler and Henley playing together multiple times is the stone cold lead pipe lock of the week. Only question is whether Henley goes all five or Scheffler reconvenes with Bryson like he did at Whistling Straits (or someone else).
• It appears that Bryson and Benny Booms will be together, which is some real chaotic energy (that I kind of love).
• JT and Cam Young is the “this is odd but definitely seems like it’s happening and maybe several times” pairing.
• Cantlay goes nicely with anyone, but he and Burns were talked about in Napa and have been together two days in a row now.
• The four that seem to be moving around are Morikawa, Spaun, Xander and Harris English. Morikawa and English played together in Napa, and I could see any combination of those four playing together on Friday and Saturday.
• I went on New Club’s podcast — the Bag Drop — to talk humility vs. ego as it relates to the Ryder Cup. Here it is. Always love talking to Matt. You can listen here.
• I also went on the Downline Podcast to talk about the Ryder Cup, my faith and the story of Normal Sport. You can listen to that here.
• And if you missed it, Soly and I did a pod of our five favorite Ryder Cup moments since we’ve been covering the sport. You can listen to that here or watch it below.
We will be back tomorrow (and every day this week) with live coverage from Bethpage. Make sure you join the Normal Club to receive all of it!
Thank you for reading our handcrafted, algorithm-free newsletter about golf. We put everything we have into every newsletter we write, which is why they are frequently 1,367 words long like this one.
While we do use digital tools that help us find information, everything you read and consumed was created from scratch by two humans who are absolutely obsessed with the game.
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