This week the PGA Tour heads to Detroit Golf Club for the Rocket Mortgage Classic, the first event in a month that is neither a Major nor a Signature Event. Defending Champion Rickie Fowler leads a field that features Tom Kim, runner up in a playoff at the Travelers, playing for the ninth consecutive week. Other top players teeing it up include Akshay Bhatia, Cam Young and Australian Olympian Min Woo Lee.

Two competitors to watch this week are two who are making their first swings in a PGA Tour event. One is making his first appearance above the state championship level. 15 year old Miles Russell became the youngest competitor to make the cut on the Korn Ferry Tour earlier this season. Golf Galaxy employee Nick Bienz made it through Monday qualifying to earn his way into the 156 player field.

Miles Russell – Sponsor’s Exemption

Most golf fans had never heard of Miles Russell until April when he became the youngest player to make the cut in a Korn Ferry Tour event, finishing T-20 at the LECOM Suncoast Classic. The AJGA Player of the Year and winner of the Junior PGA Championship and Junior PLAYERS will make his PGA Tour debut this week on a sponsor’s exemption. People are already comparing the 135 pound Russell to Tiger Woods. In today’s day and age it is not surprising that he already has NIL deals with both Taylor Made and Nike.

Nick Bienz – Monday Qualifier with a Buzz

Nick Bienz arrived at Monday qualifying for the Rocket Mortgage with nothing more than his clubs and the clothes he was wearing. Bienz had never played in an event above the state open level and his job at Golf Galaxy allows him to maintain his professional status. Thanks to a story broken by Ryan Francis, (Monday Q Info on X @acaseofthegolf1), Nick will be the golfer to root for this week.

Bienz teed off early on Monday and surprised himself by shooting a 65. Nervous to see if he actually was going to live his dream and play in a PGA Tour event, he had a beer as he watched the scores come in. Then a second. And a third. His 65 didn’t quite get him into the field. The 65 got him into a 5 for 4 playoff. According to Monday Q Info, the fans were drunk and boisterous as they watched the 8 holes needed to finalize the field. Nick had a few in him as the playoff commenced. When it ended he had played his way into his first PGA Tour start.

Let’s get these changed ASAP huh Fellas?

Remember Dustin Johnson pleading to a rules official during the final round of the 2016 U.S. Open. I had his back and most of the world did too.

They say you can’t fix stupid, but you are able to complain about it and hopefully get it changed. Golf, this game we love, there is plenty of senselessness to go around. Witness the Rules of Golf, an encyclopedic catalog of do’s and don’ts that often fall beyond the bounds of reality

For argument’s sake, here’s our take on six of the dumbest rules in the most beloved sport on the planet. OK, maybe I am biased, but the game is pretty old and may need a little botox here and there. Just Sayin’

1. The Dreaded “DJ Rule

In the official ledger, it’s Rule 18-2. But ever since the 2016 U.S. Open, it’s more widely recognized as that *&%$!!!-ing Dustin Johnson Rule. You know, that nonsensical one under which the eventual tournament winner was slapped with a one-shot penalty for supposedly causing his ball to move a nano-millimeter on the 5th green. Never mind that he clearly didn’t intend to set the ball in motion, or that the micro-movement gave him no discernible advantage. The punishment stood. But we shouldn’t have to stand for it in the future. How about this? Next time around, no harm, no foul. Move the ball back, end of story!

2. No Relief from Sand-Filled Divots – In the fairway?

Let’s see if we understand correctly: if we spray a tee shot off-line and our ball winds up in the ground under repair zone, we’re entitled to relief. But if we smoke one down the middle and it settles in a sand-filled crater left behind by another golfer, we’re doomed to play it as it lies. That ground we landed in happened to be damaged. Someone tried to repair it. Sounds to us like… the ground is under repair. Now Im no genius, but are you following me here?

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2. The “DROP”

You’d think that hitting a shot into a hazard would be punishment enough. But you’d be wrong. Under the Rules of Golf, the dogged victim then has to go through the tedious ritual known as the drop, which brings other potential rules infractions into play. If the dropped ball moves closer to the hole (as it so often does) twice, the player gets to place it. So why not just allow placement from the start? It would spare the player undue pain, and save the rest of us a lot of time.

3. Stroke & Distance

In American jurisprudence, it’s known as double jeopardy, a procedural defense that protects us from being prosecuted twice for the same crime. Sounds reasonable, right? No such safeguard exists for a golfer who bangs a ball into oblivion, only to be slapped with a stroke penalty on top of loss of distance. That’s two punishments for one misdeed, and it’s unjust by any measure. We, the people, call for a one-stroke penalty and lateral relief. Motion Carries!

4. Sprinkler Head in Your Putting Line

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Your approach shot lands pin high, just on the collar, and a straightforward putt awaits, with just one problem: a sprinkler head lies in your putting line. Common sense suggests that you should get relief, no closer to the hole; a sprinkler head, after all, is a man-made impediment. But common sense apparently has no place here. Your only hope is that the course you’re playing has a local rule that allows line-of-play relief from immovable obstructions within two club lengths of the green, which, let’s be reasonable here, should really be the rule that governs all play.

5. Five Minutes for a Lost Ball – Really?

That lax allowance dates back to a bygone era, when life moved at a pastoral pace and golfers had the luxury of lollygagging. This is the modern age. Chop, chop, time’s a-wasting. We’ve got cat videos to watch and vapid tweets to send. The game needs to adapt. And besides, if you can’t find that errant ball in two minutes, you probably don’t want to in the first place. It will be under a rock or in a bush but with just enough clearance that those 9 deadly words are uttered “I think I can get a club on it”

6. Cant move a ball from a footprint in a bunker – This one Grinds my Gears

It might make sense on Tour, where players all have caddies and the grounds are as well-groomed as the gardens of Versailles. But many of the courses we mortals play are under-tended and trod upon by etiquette-flouting chops who don’t even attempt to rake up their mess, creating hazards within hazards. The more sensible alternative: if your ball lands in a footprint in a bunker, move it and place it elsewhere in the sand. Done, End of rant. You may go about your business.

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Sectional qualifying day for the US Open, often referred to as “Golf’s Longest Day,” never disappoints for providing drama and great highs and lows. The 2024 iteration lived up to the hype. We saw the longest majors played streak potentially come to an end. Amateurs beating PGA Tournament winners and LIV stars. Pros who have toiled on mini-tours for years finally earning a ticket to shine on golf’s biggest stage.

Yesterday’s Sectional Qualifiers took place at 10 sites throughout the US and Canada. There were a total of 672 competing for 44 spots in the field at Pinehurst. The number of qualifiers per site varied by the strength of the field as determined by the USGA.

Adam Scott’s 91 Consecutive Major Streak in Jeopardy

Ranked 60th in the world and not in the field this week for the Memorial (any golfer ranked in the top 60 at the completion of this week’s tournaments not otherwise in the field is given an invitation), Adam Scott teed it up at Springfield Country Club in Ohio as one of 64 players competing for four spots. Scott finished at 7 under in a tie with fellow Aussie Cam Davis (ranked 66th) for the fourth and final qualifying spot. Scott chipped in for birdie on the first playoff hole only to watch Davis roll in a putt for birdie to keep the playoff going. Davis defeated his childhood hero to take the final spot. Scott’s streak that began in 2001 may end unless he somehow remains in the top 60 of the world ranking or makes it into the field as an alternate.

LIV Golf League Disappoints

19 LIV Golf League members attempted to qualify for Pinehurst. Only 3 succeeded. Dean Burmester qualified in Florida and David Puig earned medalist honors at Lake Merced in California. Recently touted as “the best golfer in the world” Joaquin Niemann finished one stroke off the pace and was defeated by 3 amateurs at the Bear Club in Florida.

Higgs Continues His Hot Play

Harry Higgs won the final the final spot at the Duke University Course. In a playoff. This continues his run that began with Monday qualifying into a Korn Ferry Tour event that he went on to win in a playoff. He followed that win with a second consecutive playoff win on the KFT before earning his place in the field at Pinehurst.

Dreams Realized

A number of NCAA students were among those who achieved their dream of entry into the US Open. Among those was FSU standout Luke Clanton who earned one of the 7 spots available in Florida. “Making the first US Open is pretty sweet. I’m pretty excited.”

“Its about damn time.” The emotional words of John Chin who will be playing in his first major next week. “The last couple of years have been a grind. I’m super excited and happy.”

One of the more interesting amateurs who earned their way into the championship is Colin Prater, a high school teacher and golf coach from Colorado Springs, Colorado. Prater was an All-American in college who chose not to pursue a professional golf career and instead was drawn to teaching and coaching high school students.

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