If you can remember a crazier year in golf, you’re probably a hell of a lot older than I am. Patrick Reed captured both the green jacket and the purple asshat. Bryson became our country’s last believer in science. Tiger finally won again . . . only to lose a $9 million dollar PPV face-off with Phil Mickelson in Las Vegas a month later. If you read 1984 and found yourself wondering what golf would look like in its bleak, post-everything dystopia, well, now you know.
So in that spirit, we are reviving last year's non-award winning Sports Festivus like Frank Costanza in the steamy storefront of H&H Bagel—only this time with 500% more large men hitting tiny balls with sticks. From cheaters and tweeters to big hitters and minuscule misses, this is your home for the weirdest (and worst) moments in golf, because when it comes to Festivus, there is but one tradition:
Gathering your friends and family around to tell them ALL THE WAYS THEY HAVE DISAPPOINTED YOU IN THE LAST YEAR.
Master of C..
Darts player makes late submission for cockiest celebration of the year
Last month, we brought attention to one of the most electric play-by-play calls in sports you'll hear all year, and it came from the Grand Slam of Darts, of all places. The call was so great that it made my coworker Alex Myers see the light, that light being the fact that darts is the best sport on TV that you're not watching.
That fact was proved to be true once again on Tuesday during the 2019 World Darts Championship, which began December 13 and will run through January 1 at the Alexandra Palace, better known as the Ally Pally. This time it wasn't a play-by-play call that was the highlight, though the call is great too, but what might be the cockiest celebration of 2018 in sports. Here it is from Ricky Evans in all its glory:
https://twitter.com/officialpdc/status/1075034662626504704
SENSATIONAL darts from Evans indeed. For those wondering, Evans had 304 points remaining in leg three of the fourth set, and quickly knocked that down to 124 with three triple 20s, which ..
Richard Jefferson told the quintessential Kobe Bryant story during the Lakers-Nets game
Andrew D. BernsteinKobe Bryant is without a doubt one of the top 15 NBA players of all time, and I personally believe he's in the top 10, but apparently that ruffles some feathers these days. The over-the-top social media slander has clouded people's judgement of his career, and the Kobe “stans” do the discussion no favors when they make outlandish claims about their guy.
RELATED: If this crazy story is true, Kobe Bryant showed absolutely no mercy — even to sharks
That being said, there is no denying that he was the greatest ball hog in league history. Some years he had to be, and earned the right to be, other years, like his last few, he was just chucking for the sake of chucking. The ball hoggery was so natural to Kobe that, according to Richard Jefferson, Bryant once convinced officials to give him a shooting foul because of said hoggery. Jefferson, who is now an analyst on the YES Network, was reminded of the Kobe story when there was a questionable shooting foul during t..
Zion Williamson is now taking on backboards with his head
Grant HalversonDURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA – DECEMBER 18: Zion Williamson #1 of the Duke Blue Devils drives against Myles Stephens #12 of the Princeton Tigers during the second half of their game at Cameron Indoor Stadium on December 18, 2018 in Durham, North Carolina. Duke won 101-50. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)Zion Williamson has already shown zero regard for human life, at least if said humans stand in the way of a highlight. That mentality apparently applies to himself.
Williamson, known for dunking with the authority that most high schoolers have on a Little Tykes' hoop, went up, up and away in a game against Princeton on Tuesday night. So high, in fact, that Williamson almost knocked himself out by hitting his head on the backboard.
https://twitter.com/AthleteSwag/status/1075239358821748736
The laws of gravity have no jurisdiction in Durham.
Listen, we know LeBron James has been rumored to revive Space Jam for quite some time, but if a reboot happens, make sure Zion i..
Fifth-oldest golf course in the world buried in sand after Scottish storm
Montrose Golf Links has been around for 450 years. A storm over the weekend made the course look like a thing of the past.
Kyle Thompson among 5 golfers to visit troops in Africa
Golf notes: Kyle Thompson among 5 to visit troops in Africa; Ian Poulter among 13 added to Masters through ranking
Tiger’s tank-top, Phil’s “worm,” and an actual wild goose: The top 10 buzzworthy golf moments of 2018
So far, we at Golf Digest have given you the newsmakers of the year and the feel-good stories of the year, but I promise you, the buzzworthy golf moments of the year will be totally different! Well, other than Ho-sung Choi, who deserves to be on every single non-WAGs-related year-end list. Our favorite follow-though in golf makes this exclusive cut as do several other familiar faces, but for single moments that caused a stir rather than their overall body of work. So follow along as we count down this top 10 of our favorite viral moments of 2018. That is, our top nine plus Ho-sung Choi. Obviously.
10. Dustin’s drive
The first tournament of 2018 produced the most jaw-dropping shot of the year when Dustin Johnson nearly made a hole-in-one on a 433-yard par 4 during the final round of the Sentry Tournament of Champions. Yep, a 433(!)-yard par 4. Here’s proof, not that you need it since this was replayed more times on Golf Channel in January than The Legend of Bagger Vance:
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The (small) role golf played in Mike Piazza killing a 100-year-old soccer club
Paul Bereswill(Photo by Paul Bereswill/Getty Images)Retiring in your 30s, with over $120 million in career earnings, to a lifetime of golf is the American dream. But it's a dream Mike Piazza grew bored with. And deviating from that paradise accidentally killed a 100-year-old soccer club.
In a piece for the Athletic, Robert Andrew Powell details Piazza's tumultuous two-year ownership of A.C. Reggiana, a team in the Italian third division. If you're wondering why a Hall of Fame catcher took the reins of mediocre soccer squad, it's because…well:
After retiring, Mike slipped into the languid life of ex-athletes in Florida. I’d seen pictures of Mike and Alicia appraising paintings at Art Basel. They hosted a benefit for the National Italian American Foundation at their waterfront house. He smoked cigars and golfed with Mario Lemieux and Michael Jordan and James Pallotta, the American owner of Italian soccer club Roma. He golfed a bit more than he cared to, actually.
“I..