The Shag Bag
25 SEP 2019
(Photo courtesy of Eurosport, you can check out their article here)
The Shag Bag is a weekly compilation of amusing stories and anecdotes from the wacky world of golf.
“The Challenge”
The Discovery Channel has quickly become a ground shaker in the golf world. The network, which launched an international streaming service called GOLFTV in January with the aim of airing more live tournaments across the globe, has since gained momentum by signing partnership deals with the PGA Tour and Tiger Woods. That momentum continued to build last week when GOLFTV announced it will be staging an annual four-man skin’s game each fall, starting next month in Japan with a four-way battle between Woods, Rory McIlroy, Jason Day and Hideki Matsuyama! The event, dubbed “The Challenge: Japan Skins”, will be broadcasted three days before the PGA Tour’s inaugural Zozo Championship at Accordia Golf Narashino C.C. in Chiba, Japan. The foursome of A-listers will square off for a combined purse of $350,000, with the skins increasing in value as the round goes on. Canadian golf fans can watch the action by tuning it to the Golf Channel at midnight on the 21st, which isn’t ideal timing for like 90% of us, or by signing up for GOLFTV. “To be able to bring many of golf’s biggest names to GOLFTV screens for our customers is hugely exciting for everyone involved,” said Alex Kaplan, president and general manager of Discovery Golf. “Fans will be able to see a totally new competition join the calendar, supporting some fantastic charities and showcasing the very best golf has to offer in the most fun, exhilarating and unpredictable way.”
From Greenbacks to Green Grass
Tiger Woods’ victory at the Masters was, without a doubt, the most unexpected victory in professional golf this season. But on the amateur side, those honours belong to Ina Kim-Schaad, 35, who won the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship last week by defeating Talia Campbell 3&2 in the final round. What makes Kim-Schaad’s story so unlikely and intriguing is that she took 11 years off from competitive golf, having called it quits after her graduation from Northwestern to focus on her career in finance. She returned to the game in 2016, encouraged by her husband, Andrew, a 2-handicap in his own right. Kim-Schaad picked up right where she left off in college, qualifying for the U.S. Women’s Amateur and the U.S. Women’s Mid-Am the following year, the U.S. Women’s Amateur in 2018 and the U.S. Women’s Mid-Am this year. More impressively, her route to victory at last week’s Mid-Am wasn’t easy. Along the way, she battled and bested 2016 champion Shannon Johnson in the Round of 16, 3rd-ranked Michelle Butler in the quarterfinals and four-time winner Meghan Stasi in the semis. The victory earned her a spot at next year’s U.S. Women’s Open, a decade-long residency at the U.S. Women’s Mid-Am and a two-year exemption into the U.S. Women’s Amateur. Suffice to say, this probably won’t be the last time we’re listing Kim-Schaad’s exploits in the Shag Bag.
Clutch Putt of the Week
Sebastian Munoz claimed his first career PGA Tour victory at the Sanderson Farms Championship on Sunday, after forcing a playoff on the final hole with this epic 15-foot birdie putt:
Trick Shot of the Week
It’s one thing to make these shots, but how do they even come up with them in the first place?
Swing of the Week
Overlapping? Interlocking?! Ten-finger!?! HA! This man laughs at your silly, primitive ways of holding a golf club. Watch and learn:
Shank of the Week
There’s at least one of these guys out there every weekend, waiting for the green to clear ahead of him for his second shot on a par 5 . . . only to do this . . . EVERY. SINGLE. TIME:
