Golf fans are starting to get a little too comfortable.

That’s the nicest way to put it.

The R&A is rolling out a new fan code of conduct at Royal Birkdale called The Open Commitment, and the message is pretty simple: act like an idiot, and you might get thrown out. Serious or repeated breaches can lead to removal from the grounds without a refund.

Good.

This probably should not need to be a news story. Golf fans should not need a formal reminder to avoid yelling at players, acting like their $12 three-leg parlay makes them part of the broadcast, or trying to turn every tee shot into their personal TikTok audition.

But here we are.

The R&A says fans should remain quiet during shots, avoid inappropriate comments, celebrate in a fair way, keep phones silent, avoid video recording during play, and enjoy alcohol responsibly. Alcohol is also not allowed in grandstands.

Again, none of this is exactly revolutionary.

This is basically: watch golf like a normal person.

But the fact that The Open feels the need to make this formal says a lot about where golf crowds are headed. The sport has spent the last few years trying to get younger, louder, more social, more viral, and more accessible. A lot of that is good. Golf needed some life.

The problem is that “more energy” and “more idiots” often arrive in the same Uber.

The Guardian reported that R&A staff, marshals, and officials will be monitoring the expected 300,000 fans at Royal Birkdale, and Mark Darbon said the R&A will ask people to leave rather than adopt Nick Faldo’s idea of massive fines for abusive spectators.

That feels like the right line.

You don’t need to turn The Open into a courtroom. You just need to make it clear that buying a ticket does not give you the right to be a clown six beers deep because someone missed a putt that ruined your bet.

And that’s really the bigger issue here.

Golf is now fully tied to gambling, social media, and main-character fan behavior. That combination is not going away. If anything, it’s going to get worse unless tournaments are willing to enforce standards.

The Open is doing that.

It does not mean fans can’t have fun. It does not mean everyone needs to sit there in total silence like they’re watching a piano recital. It just means there’s a difference between energy and abuse.

Golf should be loud in the right moments. It should be fun. It should have personality.

But if the choice is between protecting the atmosphere of one of the best championships in sports or letting some guy named Kyle scream at Tommy Fleetwood because his top-20 bet is dying, I think we can all live without Kyle.

The final men’s major of the year starts this week.

It is July.

That feels insane, because it is insane.

Rory McIlroy said this week that he’d like to see golf’s major championship season stretched out beyond its current four-month sprint. The calendar got squeezed when the PGA Championship moved from August to May, and now the sport basically crams its four biggest events into one giant blur from April through July.

From a player perspective, you can see the benefit. If you find something, you can ride it. Get hot at the Masters, carry it into the PGA, survive the U.S. Open, and show up at The Open still feeling like you’re in rhythm.

For the rest of us, it’s a little different.

Golf spends all winter trying to convince casual fans that the season has started. Then the Masters shows up, everyone remembers golf exists, and we get the best stretch of the entire year. Augusta. PGA. U.S. Open. The Open.

Four months of actual juice.

And then the Claret Jug gets handed out before August, and the sport basically asks everyone to stay emotionally invested through FedExCup math, Ryder Cup speculation, and whatever LIV headline is making everyone tired that week.

This is where Rory is right.

Golf’s biggest problem is not that it lacks good events. It’s that the events people care about most are packed too tightly together. The majors should feel like tentpoles. Right now, they feel like a bender.

The Guardian reported that Rory is not alone here, either. Scottie Scheffler has also acknowledged the season feels condensed, and Jon Rahm has pushed the idea even further, suggesting golf should think bigger globally with a major in places like Australia, Asia, or another part of Europe.

That is probably a much harder conversation, because the majors are run by different organizations, with different histories, different priorities, and different television deals. Nobody is just moving the Masters because we all think September needs a little more golf.

But the broader point is still obvious.

The current setup does not serve the fan as well as it could.

Give us the Masters in April. Give us the U.S. Open in June. Give us The Open later in July, and move the PGA back to August. Let the season breathe a little bit. Let every major have its own runway.

Because right now, the best part of the golf calendar is over before most of America has even gone on summer vacation.

That’s bad business. It’s bad momentum. And most importantly, it gives all of us way too much time to start pretending we understand the FedExCup standings or even care about them.

I’ll admit, I was starting to question whether or not Tom Kim was worthy of the hype he’s received.

Afterall, sports fans and sports media tend to get enraptured with people like Tom Kim – he’s immensely talented, has a wonderful and outgoing personality, and he’s incredibly young – just 24 years old.

He turned pro at 15, racked up 3 professional wins before most of the kids his age had a college diploma, and then he went the last three straight years without a win.

It was fair to wonder if the lavish praise and hearty approbation was unearned.

Then, this weekend, he put all those talents on display, and reminded everyone that his ceiling is just as high as any other young player on TOUR.

The final round started with a bit of a logjam – Matt Fitzpatrick and Michael Thorbjornsen briefly held a share of the lead, but five birdies in the first 12 holes gave Kim some cushion.

Min Woo Lee briefly got the lead to within one stroke, until TK hit that 4i in the video above and made birdie on the 16th. Lee ultimately finished in solo 2nd place.

Kim made only a single bogey in his final 51 holes of the tournament, that’s almost three straight rounds without a bogey, for the mathematicians out there.

He now has 4 wins before the age of 25, the only non-Americans on that list are Rory McIlroy, Sergio Garcia, and Hideki Matsuyama. Good company.

This Guy Won More Than Tom Kim

What kind of psychopath bets $48,000 on at 84/1 bet? People are insane.

What’s Next?

The 154th Open Championship.

154th Open Championship Odds:

  • Scottie Scheffler (+620)

  • Rory McIlroy (+770)

  • Jon Rahm (+1700)

  • Matt Fitzpatrick (+1950)

  • Tommy Fleetwood (+2050)

  • Xander Schauffele (+2400)

  • Chris Gotterup (+2800)

  • Cameron Young (+2900)

  • Ludvig Åberg (+3100)

  • Collin Morikawa (+3100)

We’ve got a fog delay in Scotland on Saturday morning.

The first few players off got a few holes in, and then they called it. Here’s how the PGA Tour describes the weather on their site:

A cold front moving down from northwest Scotland overnight brought rain and fog as play began Saturday morning at The Renaissance Club. Rain was expected to become heavy briefly at 11 a.m. and taper around 1 p.m. The fog was expected to remain, but weaken throughout the day. When play was suspended, only 17 players were on the golf course.

The conditions are known as haar, a cold, wet sea fog or mist that frequently rolls in from the North Sea onto the eastern coast of Scotland and northern England.

Now we all know the word “haar”.

When the fog lifts, those who made the cut will be chasing a three-way tie at the top of the leaderboard, held by Rory McIlroy, Tom Kim, and Jordan Smith at nine-under.

In all, there are 12 players within two shots of the lead – and 37 within five.

Several big names missed the cut this week; Scottie Scheffler, Ludvig Aberg, Brooks Koepka, Patrick Cantlay, and Xander Schauffele among them.

Who’s Chasing?

-8 M Fitzpatrick, MW Lee; –7 C Gotterup, R MacIntyre; –6 N Hojgaard, W Clark; -5 P Reed; -4 J. Thomas

Full Leaderboard & Tee Times Here

How To Watch The Action This Weekend

  • Saturday-Sunday: 10 a.m.-noon (Golf Channel); noon-3 p.m. (CBS)

Good news for anyone who likes golf, random stats, and proving they know more ball than their friends.

We’re happy to announce that we have built four free Golf Trivia games on Caddyshanks. They are live now, they are free to play, and we want you to try them out.

Eventually, we think it would be pretty cool to have a monthly leaderboard with golf prizes. Maybe a winner every month. Maybe some gear. Maybe eternal bragging rights. We’ll see where it goes.

For now, we just want you all to test them, play around, and give us feedback.

For example, if today’s games are way too easy, you can tell us. If they are broken, definitely tell us. If you get hooked and waste 20 minutes trying to remember who gained more strokes putting in 2023, that is technically the point.

Here Are The Four Games

Big Board

Rank ten golfers by a specific stat.

Sounds simple. Then you realize you have to decide whether Brian Harman or Tommy Fleetwood had the better number in a category you only pretend to understand.

Scouting Report

Guess the golfer based on the clues.

You get three tries. Use them wisely.

Going Streaking

Pick who had more and keep the streak going.

It is very easy to feel smart after two correct answers. It is even easier to get humbled on the third.

Mileage Marker

Guess the distance between two golf courses.

This is for anyone who has ever looked at a map and said, “Yeah, that’s probably only like two hours away,” before ruining an entire golf trip itinerary.

Go Play

The games are free, they are live, and we’d love your feedback as we keep building them out.

Play Games Here

Let’s be honest, we are all going to be too distracted while celebrating our nation’s 250th birthday this weekend to be watching the John Deere Classic.

4th of July weekend has got to be the worst spot in the entire golf schedule, there’s just too much going on to want to sit inside and watch low stakes golf.

I guess, what I am really trying to say, is that there’s never been a more obvious candidate for a Track 2 event, as the PGA TOUR makes sweeping changes to their schedule for 2028.

TPC Deere Run is usually a birdie-fest, with the average winning score around -20 for the last five years.

Who’s in the Field?

Of the top ten? Zero players.

But there are some notable names; Chris Gotterup, Max Homa, Rickie Fowler, and Tom Kim.

Here are the key stats for The John Deere Classic:

  • Start with approach play. SG: Approach has the strongest correlation with SG: Total here at 0.646, so this is not the week to get cute with guys who are shaky with irons but “can get hot.” Prioritize players gaining with wedges and short irons.

  • Putting matters more than usual because this turns into a birdie contest. The scoring average is 1.56 under par, GIR is high at 70.9%, and SG: Putting correlates strongly at 0.585. You need guys who can actually convert chances, not just hit 14 greens and make pars.

  • Don’t overrate distance. SG: Off the Tee matters, but distance specifically only correlates at 0.114, while driving accuracy is much more relevant at 0.314. TPC Deere Run is more about keeping it in play, stuffing wedges, and making putts than overpowering the place.

The Details

Previous Winners

How To Watch

Featured Groups:

All Tee Times & Featured Groups Here

Weekly Bets: John Deere Classic

We’ve partnered with Keith Stewart at Read The Line to share his weekly golf betting picks with the Caddyshanks crew. If you’re the type who enjoys breaking down matchups, spotting trends, and hunting for value, you’ll feel right at home in the RTL community.

Use code CADDYSHANKS2026 for 20% OFF.

Keith Stewart’s Picks

Tom Kim (+3500 DraftKings)

When Tom Kim won at Sedgefield (2022) for his first PGA TOUR win, he entered the week at 35-1. The T2G play was excellent at that time, and his putter was doing electric Tom Kim things. Fast forward to the 2026 US Open, where Kim finished 3rd two weeks ago. A T15 in Canada and one of the PGA TOUR’s best accuracy merchants is ready for TPC Deere Run. A perfect fit, Kim can score and hit targets off the tee and on approach. Take the momentum from Shinnecock Hills and back Kim to continue putting himself in position to win.

Emiliano Grillo (+8400 DraftKings)

Argentina is definitely trending, and Lionel Messi is not their only national star competing this weekend. Emiliano Grillo finished T23 at the US Open and T20 the week before at the Canadian Open. The ball striking is positive, and now Grillo goes to a golf course where he has two runner-up finishes in his career (out of three starts). If creating birdie opportunities is the priority, then grab Grillo and get to the window, as this longshot has proven he can play TPC Deer Run effectively.

Caddyshanks Picks

Eric Cole (+2700 Draftkings)

As mentioned above, you’ve gotta be good with the flatstick to win a birdie-fest. Eric Cole ranks 8th in SG: Putt and he’s got four Top 10’s since April.

Sungjae Im (+4100 Draftkings)

Sungjae isn’t quite as good of a putter as Eric Cole (he’s 32nd on TOUR) but he’s good enough to make some birdies here, and the real stat to know for Sungjae is that he ranks 1st on TOUR on SG: APP inside 100 yards.

Chris Gotterup (+1400 Draftkings)

Sometimes, in a weak field, you just bet the player with the highest possible ceiling.

The Travelers is underrated.

It finds a way to deliver every single year and the fans always show out – even after a rain delay.

In 2024, Scottie Scheffler defeated Tom Kim in a playoff.

In 2025, Keegan Bradley won in electrifying fashion on the final hole over Tommy Fleetwood.

This morning, we were treated to yet another playoff. This time, with Scottie Scheffler going toe to toe with Viktor Hovland. Here’s how we got there yesterday evening:

The Playoff

Scheffler and Hovland were set to play the 18th hole, until one of them won.

It ended on their first attempt.

Hovland made a huge birdie putt, Scheffler would go on to miss his own from about five feet.

That’s the 8th TOUR win for Viktor Hovland in his career, and 12th win overall.

Funny enough, he missed the cut the week before both of his last two wins.

Missed the cut last week at the U.S. Open.

Missed the cut at The Players before winning the 2025 Valspar.

What’s Next?

The John Deere Classic

Odds: John Deere Classic

  • Ben Griffin +1300

  • Chris Gotterup +1375

  • Keith Mitchell +1750

  • Keegan Bradley +2600

  • J.T. Poston +2700

  • Eric Cole +2700

  • Jordan Spieth +2800

  • Jackson Koivun +2800

  • Pierceson Coody +2800

  • Jacob Bridgeman +3000

Tiger Woods made his first public appearance Tuesday since his March car crash and arrest. He introduced Brian Rolapp ahead of the TOUR’s big announcement today.

And the PGA TOUR is finally doing the thing it has been hinting at for months: blowing up the schedule and starting over.

Beginning in 2028, the TOUR will move to a two-series model. At the top will be the PGA TOUR Championship Series, where the best players will play the biggest events. Under that will be the PGA TOUR Challenger Series, which will basically become the path for players trying to earn their way back into the big boy room.

The Championship Series will run roughly February through August and include 23-24 events, with the majors, The Players, team events, and a reworked postseason all folded in. These events will have 120-player fields, 36-hole cuts, and minimum $20 million purses.

So yes, cuts are back. Praise be.

The Challenger Series will have at least 20 events, 144-player fields, 36-hole cuts, and minimum $4 million purses. The top 20 players from that series will earn promotion each season, while the top 90 in the Championship Series will keep their spots. Win twice on the Challenger Series, and you can earn your way up immediately.

There will also be a “last chance” fall series for players trying to hang onto, or regain, Championship Series status. Think of it as golf’s version of a playoff for your job.

The TOUR Championship is changing too. East Lake will still host this year and again in 2027, but after that, the event is expected to rotate to “prestigious courses.”

And not just regular prestigious. We’re talking Pine Valley, Cypress Point, and Seminole.

For decades, golf fans have heard about these mythical places, but unless you knew a guy who knew a guy whose grandfather invented municipal bonds, you probably weren’t getting anywhere near them. Now, we may actually get to watch the best players in the world compete there with a trophy on the line.

Also, Match Play is expected to become part of the TOUR Championship picture, which is another welcome change. It will add some drama to what has become a lifeless end of season experience for fans.

Sign us all the way up. These changes are overall pretty small, and all of them are pretty fan forward, at least on the surface.

Rory McIlroy also released a statement supporting the new structure, saying:

“Today’s announcement is a positive step for professional golf. As more details emerge, it is encouraging to see the PGA Tour reaffirming the importance of meritocracy and creating a structure that will serve both players and fans well into the future

“I’ve always been proud to compete around the world, and the collaboration between the PGA Tour and DP World Tour is one founded in the betterment of the game globally. The commitment to elevate some of these historic international tournaments and national opens is incredibly important for the game and something I’m very supportive of.

“Over the last few years, golf has faced a period of uncertainty and division, which has not been in the best interests of the players, or the fans of the game. Today, we are putting the fans first, and I am excited about the future of our sport.”

Now, this is the same Rory who made headlines at the U.S. Open for calling the new Track 2 system “glorified Korn Ferry events,” so there is at least a little bit of message-board whiplash here.

But his larger point is probably the right one. Golf has been stuck in a weird, exhausting, political mud fight for the last few years, and fans have been the ones left trying to make sense of it.

In plain English: the PGA TOUR wants fewer meaningless weeks, more best-on-best golf, clearer stakes, and a real promotion/relegation system.

In even plainer English: the rich get richer, the middle class gets nervous, and golf fans may finally get a schedule that is easier to follow.

There are still plenty of details to figure out, but the direction is clear. The PGA TOUR is trying to become more like a real sports league.

Whether that fixes everything?

We’ll see.

But at least “Signature Event with no cut and half the field missing” appears to be headed for the big leaderboard in the sky.

That was a gutsy win for Wyndham Clark.

To overcome the course, make championship-level putts while watching your lead slip away, do it while paired with the World No. 1, fight a two-way miss off the driver, and have the entire crowd against you – that is nothing short of impressive.

People will try to hand-wave away his victory. There are already people saying things like, “He won this tournament in a 45-minute window on Thursday,” as if that matters at all.

He won the U.S. Open because he maintained his composure and flat-out putted better than everyone else in the field.

Look at that stat below. Do you know how insane that is?

When someone putts like that, it’s hard to beat them. Doesn’t matter if it’s in your club match, your buddies match, or the U.S. Open.

The Fans In NY Stink

Wyndham Clark deserved better treatment from the fans in New York, and they were an odd group of “fans” all week.

Saturday, people were streaming out of the place early, and then on Sunday they all showed back up to cheer against their countrymen?

Now, I understand that people have a low tolerance for multi-millionaire golfers being whiny, and destroying locker rooms. Wyndham Clark has had some bad moments. It’s weak behavior, and should be called out.

But the man apologized, he paid restitution, and the members at Oakmont have repeatedly said that they are good with Wyndham, and that they have moved on.

So, why can’t everyone else move on? It’s fine to dislike a player for poor behavior, it’s also fine to cheer for Scottie Scheffler, but this trend of actively cheering against players, like what happened to Matt Fitzpatrick earlier this season, is lame.

Wyndham handled every bit of the heckling with class, and held on despite it.

By the way, he now has as many majors as Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Bernard Langer, Greg Norman, and Johnny Miller. Source

What else?

Sam Burns played incredibly well on Sunday, he had a birdie putt on the 72nd hole to tie Clark, which missed by about 1/16th of an inch. This is the 2nd year in a row he’s had a heartbreaking 2nd place finish at the U.S. Open.

What’s Next?

The Travelers Championship.

Odds: Travelers Championship

  • Scheffler +400

  • Fleetwood +1600

  • Schauffele +1600

  • Young +2000

  • Aberg +2000

  • M.Fitzpatrick +2000

  • Burns +2000

  • Clark +2200

  • Morikawa +2500

  • Cantlay +2500

  • Thomas +2800

In terms of “best golf weekends of the year,” the U.S. Open has got to take the cake.

To have a perfect golf day, you need three ingredients:

  1. To be able to wake up in the morning & play golf

  2. To then go home and stuff your face

  3. To be able to watch a major championship

That leaves us with only four weekends a year as candidates.

The Masters is in April, so the weather for golf can be really hit or miss for most of the country.

The Open starts at like 4 a.m. for Americans, so no early tee times to be had there.

The PGA Championship is the red-headed stepchild of majors. Never in contention for most loved.

So, that leaves us with the U.S. Open as our only true candidate for Best Golf Weekend of the Year.

Coupled with it being Father’s Day? You simply can’t beat it.

This year, we get to watch the best in the world play at Shinnecock Hills, which has consistently ranked inside the top 5 courses in the country for like 100 years or something – a perfect venue for the summer of America’s 250th.

Who’s in the Field?

Because the U.S. Open is a real golf tournament, and not one of those “Signature Events,” that means we’ve got a full field – 156 golfers – and a cut line.

There’s also a record number of amateurs in the field this year: 20.

Full Field & Power Rankings Here

Weather Report:

Yes, that says that wind gusts could reach upwards of 50mph on Thursday.

Here are the key stats for The U.S. Open (Shinnecock 2018)

  • Prioritize elite approach play, especially mid/long irons. SG: Approach had the strongest correlation with SG: Total at 0.695, and the approach mix was heavy from 150–200 yards: 22.8% from 150–175 and 18.4% from 175–200. Bettors should upgrade players who consistently gain on approach and hit quality long-iron shots.

  • Do not blindly chase bombers. Shinnecock played long at 7,380 yards, but driving distance correlated only 0.170 with total performance, while driving accuracy was 0.386. Fairways were wider than average, but the missed-fairway penalty was elevated at 0.50 strokes, so controlled drivers and accurate ball-strikers deserve more weight than pure distance.

  • Short game and putting were major survival factors. The field averaged +4.65 to par, and GIR was only 54.6%, meaning players were missing a lot of greens. SG: Putting correlated 0.591 and SG: Around-the-Green 0.458, so in outright, placement, and matchup bets, lean toward players who can scramble, save pars, and avoid compounding mistakes rather than volatile birdie-or-bust profiles.

The Details

 

Previous Winners

 

How To Watch

 

Featured Groups:

 

All Tee Times & Featured Groups Here

Weekly Bets: U.S Open

 

We’ve partnered with Keith Stewart at Read The Line to share his weekly golf betting picks with the Caddyshanks crew. If you’re the type who enjoys breaking down matchups, spotting trends, and hunting for value, you’ll feel right at home in the RTL community.

Use code CADDYSHANKS2026 for 20% OFF.

Keith Stewart’s Picks

 

Xander Schauffele (+1900 DraftKings)

In nine US Open starts, Xander Schauffele has seven top 10s and has not had a finish worse than T14. A two-time major champion, Schauffele’s best career record comes at our national championship. It started in 2017 with a T5 finish in his first US Open start. Xander had to qualify to get in that year. Third place at THE PLAYERS, ninth at The Masters, and seventh at the PGA Championship, Schauffele has the best record of any favorite in the field at the season’s biggest events.

Patrick Reed (+4700 DraftKings)

Patrick Reed has come out and stated that Shinnecock Hills Golf Club is his favorite course on the continent. Fourth place in the 2018 US Open, Reed has two wins and five top 10s in eight starts this year (!). Patrick has proven he will be prepared when he plays. A much improved ball striker, Reed is a better player than he was in 2018. Take that new full swing precision and complement it with a top 5 short game in the field, and Reed will really catch your attention.

Caddyshanks Picks

Scottie Scheffler (+550 Fanduel)

Scottie ‘only’ has one win this year, which means we are running out of time on the “bet Scottie every week no matter what” strategy, since he needs to win like 5+ times per year to be profitable on it. Maybe he gets #2 this weekend, and completes the grand slam in the process.

Matt Fitzpatrick (+2500 Draftkings)

He finished 12th at Shinnecock in 2018, and he’s a much better player, in much better form now. He drives it accurately, he can scramble, and he’s proven he can win in U.S. Open conditions.

Russel Henley (+4000 Draftkings)

Henley checks every box for Shinnecock; he’s an accurate driver of the golf ball and he’s the best scrambler on TOUR this season. Plus, he’s not overpriced like Tommy Fleetwood and some other good course-fits.