Jacob Bridgeman’s breakout win, Tiger Woods’ eventful week and the most painful fantasy football punishment ever
· Yahoo Sports
Welcome to another edition of The Grind, where we think snow blowing and shoveling should be official sports at the next Winter Olympics. What happened in my driveway on Monday afternoon was an absolute battle. And me and my trusty Toro left it all out there.
Visit truewildgame.online for more information.
I thought we were stuck multiple times in the 20-plus inches of snow and ice, but we kept grinding until the job was finished. Probably the best workout of my life, and Icooled downwarmed up with a big mug of hot chocolate after. Anyway, to everyone else in the Northeast who got through this (latest) blizzard, well done. And hang in there until golf season. Until then, let’s talk some golf.
WE’RE BUYING
Jacob Bridgeman:This guy was so good all week that there was almost zero drama on Sunday afternoon at the Genesis Invitational. Which was OK for sports fans after taking about as much drama as we could handle Sunday morning watching that gold medal hockey game. In the end, Bridgeman’s seven-shot lead got whittled down to one at Riviera, but it was enough to earn PGA Tour title No. 1 and get a silver trophy from Tiger Woods that had to feel as good as getting any gold medal.
And make no mistake about it, this was no miracle on ice. Or, well, grass. The 26-year-old Clemson product had already started 2026 with four consecutive top-20 finishes including two top 10s. And this is after making last year’s Tour Championship, so the dude is legit. And he overcame not being able to feel his hands down the stretch with so much, including a $4 million first-place check, on the line. But he felt them enough to do this:
Funny, I couldn’t feel my hands either the following afternoon for much different reasons. Anyway, well done, to my fellow ACC guy.
Jeeno Thitikul:The women’s World No. 1 picked up the most meaningful victory of her career so far by winning the LPGA Honda Thailand in her home country.
The best part? Her mom was there to see it. “It meant a lot. My mom came up to me when I finished on 18 and she cried a lot,” Thitikul said after. “I told her, ‘I finally won a tournament in front of you.’ She was really emotional. It made me emotional too.” Let the tears flow, Jeeno. And we're pretty sure the wins will be flowing this season as well.
Anthony Kim’s comeback:I’m a bit late to the party on this after being on a family vacation last week, but wow. AK overcame a bunch of injuries, drug and alcohol abuse and mental health issues to get back in the winner’s circle for the first time in 16 years. By beating Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm, no less! Incredible stuff. And what a moment with his daughter running out on the 18th green to greet him:
Even crazier is that there was really no signs this was possible through his first two seasons on LIV in which he didn’t register one top-25 finish (Remember, against small fields) and was relegated last fall. But after earning his spot back and making some cuts on the Asian Tour, the dude has clearly tapped back into the vast talent that first made him a star a couple decades ago. Congrats, AK. What a story.
WE’RE SELLING
Scottie Scheffler’s streak ending:I don’t think this has been getting enough attention, but it was actually the most interesting part of Sunday. And it looked like it would never happen when Scheffler was four over through 26 holes and in danger of missing the cut on Friday. But Scottie flipped back into World No. 1 mode, particularly during a back-nine 31 on Sunday, which put him in position to keep this historic streak going.
But Cam Young’s closing three birdies and Tommy Fleetwood’s late hole-out eagle bumped Scheffler down to T-12. Still, what a remarkable run. The guy hadn’t finished outside the top 10 since the Players Championship 11 months ago. And anytime you do something that Tiger Woods hasn’t done, you deserve a medal.
Scottie Scheffler on Thursday:But, seriously, what the heck is going on with Scottie on Thursdays?! In his last three opening rounds, Scheffler has shot 73, 72 and 74 and he currently ranks 116th on the PGA Tour in first-round scoring. Is Bennett waking him up at all hours of the night on Wednesday or something?
Alex Goodlett
Anyway, Scheffler’s fans shouldn’t be too concerned considering he led the tour in first-round scoring last season. Then again, he led the tour in scoring for each of the four rounds, matching only Tiger in 2000 to pull off that feat. So, yeah, he’ll be OK.
This fantasy football punishment:We’re not sure how this guy was OK after taking a golf ball to the mid-section, however. Good lord, does this look—and sound—painful:
Talk about playing for high stakes! (Nice swing by the way. That thing was smoked.) It’s been a few years since I’ve done fantasy football and I’m good with staying in retirement after seeing that.
ON TAP
The PGA Tour season continues with the Cognizant Classic, AKA that one that was called the Honda Classic forever, AKA that one they play at PGA National. The LPGA remains in Asia for the HSBC Women’s World Championship and the DP World Tour hosts the Investec South African Open.
Random tournament fact: More of a random Florida Swing fact. Our pal Pat Mayo pointed out, the last two years (Joe Highsmith at the Cog and Peter Malnati at the 2024 Valspar) have produced winners wearing bucket hats:
Interesting . . . Also insteresting—and random—Jacob Bridgeman and J.J. Spaun finished T-2 (behind Highsmith) at PGA National last year. They’ve done pretty good since! In fact, so good, that they, along with most of the PGA Tour's big names, are not playing this week.
RANDOM PROP BETS OF THE WEEK
—Any PGA Tour stars will be clearing their driveway this week: 1 MILLION-to-1 odds
—Joel Dahmen will win this week: 80-to-1 odds
—Joel Dahmen will be wearing a bucket hat this week: LOCK
TWEET OF THE WEEK
Loved seeing Anthony Kim win, didn’t love seeing him fire off this tweet a few days after:
Just enjoy the win, AK.
PHOTO OF THE WEEK
This was a wild scene at Riviera:
And Griffin ended up being able to identify that it was his golf ball because it was a Maxfli and he’s the only guy in the field playing that ball. Golf! What a sport!
VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK
The King of the Comeback weighed in on Anthony Kim’s comeback:
Pretty good stuff, indeed. And based on his comments, Tiger’s (latest) comeback could involve him playing in the Masters this year. We’d love to see you there, Cat.
THIS WEEK IN PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION
Speaking of Tiger, it was an eventful week for the tournament host as he posed with girlfriend Vanessa Trump at one of the most romantic locations around: The Ben Hogan statue at Riviera.
Aww.
THIS WEEK IN CELEBRITY GOLFERS/GOLF FANS
More Tiger! Apparently, he gave LeBron, Luka and the rest of the Los Angeles Lakers a pep talk on Saturday:
The Lakers got killed by the Celtics on Sunday, but we won’t blame Woods for that.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
He makes a fair point. And it actually made him an extra $600,000, but who’s counting? Well, other than Rory and his team.
THIS AND THAT
Justin Thomas made his return from back surgery in a TGL win for the Atlanta Drive on Monday and will make his PGA Tour return at Bay Hill next week. Great to see JT back, but it also gives me a chance to promote my story on Atlanta Drive manager, stats guy and hammer guru Ben Helmrath. . . . Congrats to Shane Ryan’s golf buddy Galen on shooting a career round by breaking par for the first time, because we should all celebrate these more “regular” golf moments. And great job by Shane to hustle out to the golf course to see this happen and write about it. Loved this. . . . Congrats to my golf buddy Josh Supsak, AKA J-Sup, who bet on Jacob Bridgeman to win the Genesis. After successfully betting on Collin Morikawa last week and Chris Gotterup the week before. Must be nice. J-Sup is suddenly one of the hottest gamblers in the land—and he’s pretty decent with a 60-degree wedge as well. . . . And, finally, Costco finally has Dr. Pepper Zero! Woo!
Yes, I’m still a huge Coke Zero guy, but gun to my head, I think Dr. Pepper Zero might be the best of the diet sodas. Anyway, I bought three cases of the stuff in case it’s not there next time.
RANDOM QUESTIONS TO PONDER
How much could Tiger get for a speaking fee?
Who is J-Sup betting on this week?
When is this winter from hell going to end?