🏌🏻Most Controversial Moments @ Olympics

Good morning! Round 2 of the Rocket Mortgage Classic is in progress at the Detroit Golf Club - you can watch the live action on Golf Channel and Peacock.

Check out our Youtube channel for all the latest news and updates.

Fun Fact: The Rocket Mortgage Classic is the first PGA Tour event to be held completely within the Detroit city limits.

⛳ This day in history: On this date in 1956, Arnold Palmer shot a 66 at Wethersfield Country Club for an overall score of 274. That score tied Ted Kroll, the inaugural champion, after 72 holes, and Arnie ended up winning a two-hole, sudden-death playoff and top prize of $4,000.

19th Hole
Clubhouse Conversations

ALBATROSS
Bhatia Shoots 64 To Take Rocket Mortgage Lead

Akshay Bhatia shot an 8-under-64 to take a one stroke lead over Taylor Montgomery and Michael Kim. Bhatia, 22, is seeking his third PGA Tour title in a roughly 11-month span after winning the Barracuda Championship last July and the Valero Texas Open in April.

Defending champion Rickie Fowler opened with a 6-under 66 and is tied for fourth with Will Zalatoris, Eric Cole, Germany's Matti Schmid and England's Aaron Rai. Cameron Young, who shot 59 during the third round of last week's Travelers Championship, is part of a group tied at 5-under 67.

🚀 Montgomery 2nd Despite Injury: Taylor Montgomery, playing for the first time since withdrawing from the CJ Cup in early May after an opening-round 80, has struggled since his T-11 finish at the Players in March, missing three cuts and withdrawing twice. An MRI revealed tears in both shoulders, for which he's been doing daily rehab exercises for 30-45 minutes.

Despite this, he shot a commendable 65 and tied for second place after Round 1.

🎯 Defending Champion In Contention: Rickie Fowler got off to a great title defense with a bogey-free 66. He gained nearly 3 strokes to the field on the greens in the first round.

Fowler had gone back to a conventional grip earlier this season but switched back to using a cross-handed grip the last three weeks and that seems to be working!

📌 Zalatoris Back In Form: Will Zalatoris finished with a flurry – five birdies in his final six holes to shoot 66. It has been a bit of a struggle coming back from back surgery this season and it has tested his patience, most notably when he missed the cut at the US Open at Pinehurst No 2.

But he looks well settled now and notably poured in a 47-foot birdie at 14 and a 29-footer at 18 during Round 1 at the Detroit Golf Club.

Click here to watch Round 1 Highlights.

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TWEET
Worth Mentioning

EAGLE
Scheffler Cuts Down Events From Schedule

Scottie Scheffler picked up his sixth PGA Tour win of the 2024 season as he won the Travelers Championship after an intense playoff against Tom Kim. Since then, Scheffler has been on a break and will be returning to play directly at the 152nd Open (July 18-21).

He is not in the field for the Rocket Mortgage Classic and will also skip the John Deere Classic, the Scottish Open and the ISCO Championship. It will be 22 days until Scottie Scheffler plays again, which is the longest break he has taken in the ongoing season.

After the Open, Scheffler's next big assignment is the Olympics. He will be joining Xander Schauffele, Wyndham Clark and Collin Morikawa as a part of the US team for the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

⛳️ DeChambeau To Host Biden-Trump Duel? LIV Golf star Bryson DeChambeau offered to host a golf match between the nation’s 2024 presidential candidates, Joe Biden and Donald Trump. Trump and Biden just had one of their first debates on national television on Thursday night, and they eventually began arguing about who was better in golf.

DeChambeau, the 2024 US Open winner, jumped at the opportunity to try to host a golf match between the two political rivals on his YouTube channel.

LOCKER ROOM
What else is making news

US Senior Open: Richard Green and Hiroyuki Fujita each shot 7-under 63 in the US Senior Open on Thursday, to pull a stroke ahead of local favorite Billy Andrade.

Dow Championship: Ruoning Yin of China and Atthaya Thitikul of Thailand shot 6-under 64, giving them a share of the lead with two other teams after the opening round of the Dow Championship.

TGL: The tech-driven team golf league backed by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s TMRW Sports, has brought in existing PGA Tour and DP World Tour tournament sponsor Genesis as its founding partner.

Caddie Corner: Rickie Fowler finds new caddie, makes a young fan's dream come true at the 2024 Rocket Mortgage Classic.

DP World Tour: Pavan, Friedrichsen and Wiebe share the lead after the opening round of the Italian Open.

Putter Available: Scottie Scheffler's Spider Tour X L-neck putter is now available to the public - click here to check it out.

BIRDIE
These Are The Most Controversial Golf Incidents @ Olympics

The 2024 Paris Olympics are less than a month away, and today we delve into the incidents that have added drama to the sport of golf at the world's biggest sporting event.

🚨Omission from Olympics (1996): Augusta National, home of the Masters, was set to host the 1996 Olympic golf tournament with support from the R&A and USGA, and enthusiasm from Augusta National Chairman Jack Stephens. However, the Atlanta City Council opposed the plan due to the club’s lack of diversity, with only one black member and no female members, which conflicted with the Olympic mission's emphasis on equality.

This last-minute decision caused a stir in the golf world and raised questions about Augusta National's suitability as an Olympic venue, ultimately leading to golf being excluded from that edition.

🚨Golfers Forced To Withdraw (2020): The COVID-19 pandemic greatly impacted the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the golf competition. Notable professionals like Sergio Garcia, Lexi Thompson, Tyrrell Hatton, and Martin Kaymer withdrew due to positive tests or contact tracing.

Dustin Johnson, who had committed to playing, also withdrew. Jon Rahm, the world's No 1 player, agreed to represent Spain, but COVID-19 tests thwarted his plans.

🚨London Boycott (1908): The golf competition was marred by a boycott due to a disagreement over the definition of an "amateur" golfer. The British Olympic Committee claimed to have sent a request to the R&A to manage the event, but the letter was never received.

As a result, defending champion George Lyon was the only properly registered golfer. He was offered the gold medal by default but declined it due to the lack of competition. This 1908 London Olympics boycott led to a 108-year gap in Olympic golf, with the next gold medal awarded to Justin Rose in 2016.

🚨DeChambeau's Absence (2024): Bryson DeChambeau, once eligible as World No 6, was excluded from the Paris Olympics despite his strong form in majors and LIV golf tournaments this year.

Even if he wanted to participate in the Olympic squad, he couldn’t, given his affiliation with the Saudi-backed league not being recognized by the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR).

🚨Dutch Golfers Denied (2024): In a surprising decision, Dutch Olympic officials excluded golfers Joost Luiten, Darius Van Driel, and Dewi Weber from the Paris Olympics due to their low world rankings.

Officials stated that golfers must be in the top 100 globally or the top 36 in the Olympic ranking to compete. This decision has faced widespread criticism, with many arguing it is unfair to deny these athletes the chance to represent their country on the world stage.

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DRIVING RANGE
Drills for Powerful Rotation

In today's video, we share drills using a 3D-strap designed to enhance your golf swing.

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