DJ reminds us (again) why he’s No. 1

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The most famous meeting between Jordan Spieth, who reignited his career with a win at the Valero Texas Open last month, and Phil Mickelson, who just shocked the world by winning the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island, happened in 2013. That’s when Spieth, still a relatively little-known talent on the world stage, shot a final-round 62 whilst paired with Mickelson in the final round of the Deutsche Bank Championship. Duly impressed, Mickelson called U.S. Presidents Cup Captain Fred Couples, who had yet to make his captain’s picks, and said, “Dude, you’ve got to pick this guy.” Couples did. “My first kind of playing-with-him encounter couldn’t have gone any better,” Spieth said. Both players will be in the field for this week’s Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial. As it turns out, Spieth and Mickelson go back further than 2013, all the way to one of Spieth’s prized autographs from his youth. “I actually – I still have it,” he said from Colonial. “I actually know where it is now that I mention it. I have the Sports Illustrated when he – the jump when he won the (2004) Masters, when he was in mid-air six feet off the ground, with his signature on it. “I won it in an auction at like my sister’s school when I was really young,” Spieth continued. “I must have been like 12 or 13 or 14 or something.” Even then, Spieth was a seasoned Lefty fan. It’s likely he would have known that while he, Spieth, is naturally lefthanded in everything but golf, Mickelson is naturally righthanded in everything but golf. Also, Mickelson was a towering figure in Texas golf, even if he never lived there, and Spieth, like all fans, was drawn to the best players. “I remember going out and following him because he would come to the Byron Nelson and play,” he said. “I came to the Colonial a couple times in grade school as well, and he’s always been good at this tournament.” (Mickelson won in 2000 and ’08; Spieth in 2016.) The superstar’s unpredictability was appealing, too. “Obviously, the thrill of watching his rounds of golf,” Spieth said, “where he could go shoot – he could have six birdies in a row. He could also hit a drive onto a different hole and still make birdie, and he could look like he’s – I mean, it’s Phil the Thrill, right?” As for what Mickelson just accomplished at the Ocean Course, Spieth was as amazed as anyone. “I thought it would very, very difficult,” he said. The reason, he added, was because while Mickelson had won twice on PGA TOUR Champions, he hadn’t contended on the regular TOUR for ages. “It’s just so difficult to be in contention for the first time in a while and be able to tap into that confidence that you’re supposed to be there, and you’re supposed to win,” Spieth said. The great ones, though – Jack Nicklaus at the ’86 Masters, Tiger Woods at the 2019 Masters, Mickelson at the 2021 PGA Championship – “seem to have that one left at the end,” he added. This didn’t sound quite right, though, and he caught himself. “And I know he’ll probably tell you – maybe he thinks he’s got more than one left,” Spieth said. “I don’t think anybody will doubt him after this one, but I think it’s just wild. I think it’s incredible.”

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PEBBLE BEACH, Calif – Stampings on wedges can often reveal a lot about a golfer; their relationship with family, college pride, or a nickname. For Aaron Rodgers, quarterback of the Green Bay Packers, his wedge stampings reveal his quirky sense of humor, and one wedge that shows his competitive nature. While on the range at the 2019 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on Tuesday, we took a look inside the golf bag of Aaron Rodgers, who is a Super Bowl champion, Super Bowl MVP, and two-time NFL Most Valuable Player for the Green Bay Packers. Check out the clubs — the very dirty clubs — in his bag below, and the story behind his hilarious wedges. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou Rodgers called The Life Aquatic his favorite movie of all-time. This stamping of Bill Murray’s Steve Zissou should make fans of the cult-classic very happy, even though critics didn’t take kindly to the 2004 Wes Anderson-Noah Baumbach collaborative movie. It’s not the first time Rodgers has expressed his love for the movie, however, since he dressed as the character for Halloween in 2017: Chubbs, for the win Rodgers said he has Chubbs, a character from the golf movie Happy Gilmore, stamped onto his wedge because of his long-standing Twitter war with @ShooterMcGavin_. He said he wants to get under the skin of the fake Shooter McGavin. Here’s a taste of the beef: While Rodgers seemingly had the Twitter war handled as it was, this wedge stamping might put it over the top. The Office wedge For those who are not privy to the ridiculousness of The Office’s Michael Scott character, the show’s protagonist would say “That’s what she saidâ€� to innocent phrases that sounded not suitable for immature audiences. Rodgers called The Office his favorite television show ever, and him stamping that specific running quote from the show onto his wedge reveals Rodgers’ sense of humor. Each of Rodgers’ TaylorMade Milled Grind wedges (52, 56 and 60 degrees) is equipped with KBS Tour C-Taper 125S+ shafts. The rest of Rodgers’ bag At the top-end of Rodgers’ all-TaylorMade setup is an M3 460 (9.5 degrees) with a Fujikura Pro XLR8 71X shaft, an M3 T3-wood (13 degrees) with a Mitsubishi Tensei Blue 70TX shaft, and an M1 Rescue (19 degrees) with a Matrix Ozik Black Tie HM4 X-Flex shaft. Rodgers has all TaylorMade P-790 irons (4-9), and they’re equipped with KBS Tour C-Taper Lite 115X shafts. As for his flatstick, Rodgers has arguably the least clean TaylorMade Spider Itsy Bitsy Limited-Edition Black putter in existence.

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