Welcome to the Free Drop newsletter – a round up of all the talking points from the past week in golf and a look ahead to Free Drop podcast content coming up.
Fun Fact
Matthew Wolff and Ryan Armour played in the final group on Sunday at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. Wolff was born in 1999- the same year Armour turned pro. Hectic!
Weekend Takeaways
Three takeaways from the week in golf, according to Craig Stirton.
Dechambeau’s multifaceted dominance
Much has ben made of how far Bryson DeChambeau is driving the golf ball. For good reason too: he led the field in driving distance with an eye-popping average of 350.6. He closed out the week with a drive that sailed 367 yards – leaving just a wedge for his second into the toughest hole all week at Detroit Golf Club.
Though his distance certainly lays the groundwork for a number of scoring opportunities, a hot putter allowed DeChambeau to cash in on his new-found length. On Sunday, DeChambeau gained 2.67 strokes putting and 1.958 on average each day. His superior putting display, combined with his ferocious driving allowed “The Scientist” to ease to a three-shot victory and his sixth career title.
Olesen Suspension lifted
Thorbjørn Olesen’s career has ben in limbo since since 2019 after charges relating to sexual assault, common assault and being drunk on an aircraft were levelled against him. He was rightly suspended by the European Tour pending the outcome of the investigation. The Covid-19 pandemic, however, has resulted in a backlog of cases the upshot of which is that the Dane’s case will only be heard in December 2021.
The European Tour, therefore took the decision to lift Olesen’s suspension. While I certainly do not condone Thorbjorn’s behaviour, I do believe in allowing him to earn a living in light of the protracted court case. Two years is a long time to not be able to do one’s job. That said, I sincerely hope that if Olesen is found guilty of sexual assault he is punished accordingly.
Black Lives Matter meets Rocket Mortgage
The Black Lives matter movement has swept across the United States in recent weeks following the brutal murder of George Floyd. On Sunday at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, a group of around 50 people entered the Detroit Golf Club and engaged in peaceful protest. Though these people were never shown as being on the golf course itself, megaphones could be heard in the distance during the broadcast.
I could be wrong but it looked like Matthew Wolff and other players were visibly distracted by the protests on a couple of occasions. One particular tee-shot stands out where Wolff hit one off-line and looked around to locate the source of what I perceived to be some disturbance. But as we’ve become so acutely aware of in recent months – there are many more important things in life than a golf tournament.
Next On The Tee
Women Wednesdays: Free Drop Live with Sunshine Ladies Tour player Casandra Hall on Wednesday @ 20:00.
Friday: Free Drop Live with Sunshine Tour player Kyle Barker on Friday @ 14:00.
Scary Stat
Bryson DeChambeau hit 22 drives of 344 yards (313m) or longer this week at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.
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If you’re after some more quality, homegrown golf content then look no further than Tee & Sandwedges. The popular print newspaper has done a great job of adapting to life under Cover-19 and have recently started an awesome vlog called Tee It Up. Go check out episode one here:
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