Dufner gets done dirty by the PGA

GM. This is Easy Pars. The golf newsletter that would never botch a plaque in your honor.

Here’s what we’ve got for you today:

• A 17 hole qualifier?

• Can Rory shake off the LIV stuff and win again?

• Jason Dufner immortalized in the ugliest plaque ever?

• And more!

Sometimes a hole won’t cooperate

Even though the players just teed off to start of the PGA Championship, there are a lot of pro golfers with their sights set on qualifying for the US Open.

(All the heavy hitters are teeing up within the next hour!)

But sometimes really unusual stuff happens that makes it extra difficult to qualify. This time it was a hole that couldn’t be played at the Rolling Green Club in Springfield.

Meaning the qualifier had to be reduced to 17 holes instead of the usual 18.

The rules dictated that for qualifying purposes, each player would be awarded with a par.

Talk about Easy Pars, amiright?

The problem? It’s a par 5 hole.

Par 5 holes are where players have better chances of getting some of that birdie sauce Rick Shiels is always talking about. (Aka, it’s easier to get a birdie, or even eagle on par 5s.)

This is kind of a bummer, because for some of the players who were in the race, they could have possibly caught up or gotten a W if they were to get a birdie at the canceled par 5.

What happened to the hole? A water main broke.

This caused some flooding on the green that rendered the hole unplayable. Very unusual, but sometimes it just happens.

Rory blames it on LIV

Just like Phil Mickelson has become the non-official spokesperson for LIV, Rory McIlroy has been his PGA Tour counterpart.

Ever since the competing league has come into the public eye, Rory has had an opinion about one thing or another.

But now, he claims that expressing his opinion on the LIV-PGA Tour narrative is taking a toll on his golf.

As per his declarations, he said that he has had enough of it and was just going to focus on doing the one thing that he does best.

Playing golf and winning tournaments.

It’s not like being one of the most famous players isn’t enough stress in itself. Maybe having to keep track of the whole LIV debacle was what put him over the edge and contributed to his recent slump.

Or maybe he’s just bored of the drama and wants to focus on golf.

Either way, we hope that his newfound focus helps him get a solid performance at the PGA Championship where a lot of eyes will definitely be on him.

Phil and Dustin are making bank

Everyone knows that LIV came along with a big big big checkbook.

But how big was it?

Big enough to put two of its players in the Forbes top-10 highest earners list.

Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson are rubbing elbows in the Forbes list with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Lebron James, Lionel Messi, and boxing’s Canelo Alvarez.

Interestingly, most of these big names make at least 50% of their earnings out of the field. Mostly sponsorships.

Phil and Dustin have made their fortunes mostly from on-field earnings.

That puts some perspective on just how big their signup checks were.

Everyone loves a good meme

Speaking of Phil, sometimes a picture is worth more than a thousand words.

And as you probably know by now, here at Team Easy Pars, we love a good meme.

Just check out this pic of Rory, Jay, Collin, and Phil.

In this case, it’s worth at least a dozen memes, or as Claire Rogers says, her picture is worth a “zillion words”.

What are they talking about? Who knows. BUT, many of those who commented on the tweet had some ideas — most of them hilarious.

Here’s our favorite, but it’s worth a scroll later:

This plaque was just screaming for someone to make fun of it

This is Jason Dufner’s plaque at Oak Hill Country Club commemorating his 2013 win:

Just look at it.

Looks more like Bilbo Baggins about to slip on that ring and duck out of his 111th birthday party.

But it’s not.

Definitely not the most flattering portrait. The good news is that his good friend Justin Thomas saw it and decided to crack a couple of jokes.

Exactly what a friend is supposed to do.

In JT’s words, “They did him dirty.” We have to agree. They did him dirty. I mean, just look at it.

Meme of the Day

😂😂

That’s it for today!

We’ll be back first thing Monday with a recap of the PGA Championship (hopefully with some fantastic golf being played)!

Later gator,

E.