In Kipling’s words,”…that night we stormed Valhalla, a million years ago.” Bryson DeChambeau certainly fit the part of a rampaging Norse God as he laid siege to the Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville at the 2024 PGA Championship. With his trademark booming drives, penchant for playing for the crowd, and gutsy play, the LIV Golf Tour player fought tooth and nail on the final day. They weren’t in the same group – DeChambeau playing two holes ahead of Xander Schauffele – but each player knew they were up against each other in the final moments of the tournament: the roars echoed around the golf course as DeChambeau dropped another brilliant birdie on the 72nd hole to shoot 64 and tie Schauffeule at 20-under. Under the gun – Schauffele, who’s been in the mix so many times in Major Tournaments – delivered an incredible birdie of his own on the last to edge past DeChambeau by a stroke and win his first Major. While these two players provided the fireworks, the final day was replete with excitement with the likes of Viktor Hovland, Shane Lowry, and Collin Morikawa making runs at Schauffele’s lead. It was precisely the kind of nail-biting finish we haven’t seen in professional golf for a while now.

“It’s hard to believe we miss Patrick Reed, but, you know, that’s the way it is…” quipped Padraig Harrington last week. It was a backhanded compliment: Reed was possibly the most unpopular player on the PGA Tour before he left to join the LIV Golf Tour. But Harrington was referring to the stacked field at the PGA Championship – considered to be the most competitive all year on the PGA Tour – that included a number of players from LIV. The Irishman didn’t make the cut at the PGA Championship but stuck around to watch the action on the weekend. Speaking to the Golf Channel on the sidelines of the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship Harrington was articulating a widespread sentiment – at least amongst fans – that the internecine rivalry in pro golf has made pro golf less fun to watch. “Like, Bryson was box office last week. He really, really helped that tournament, helped push Xander’s win on. It was fantastic, interesting, exciting watching,” Harrington added. Going by the rousing support for DeChambeau at the event, it was clear that the Louisville fans were firmly behind the LIV player: an indication that fans care very little about the LIV Golf vs PGA Tour issue. The LIV Golf players, at least the likes of DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, Louis Oosthuizen, Sergio Garcia, Phil Mickelson, Joaquin Niemann, and Dustin Johnson, are extremely popular, and to not have them in the field at PGA Tour events is a no-brainer for everyone (PGA Tour included). DeChambeau won over even more fans at the PGA Championship: after watching Schauffele drain the birdie on the final hole, DeChambeau, who was back on the range, headed straight back to the 18th green and was one of the first to congratulate the champion. Classy stuff.

It’s no small testament to the quality of his game this season that when Scottie Scheffler finishes out of the top five then it almost feels like a failure. Scheffler finished tied-eighth, which, given the astonishing nature of his off-course problems, was very creditable. What happened to the top-ranked player in the world as he was driving to the Valhalla GC to tee it up on the second day of the PGA Championship was somewhat surreal. And it all began with the tragic death of a tournament worker in a pedestrian accident early that morning. Scheffler reached the golf club early with the intention of getting a workout before his tee time. There was a road closure due to the accident that led to Mills’ death. What happened next is somewhat varied, depending on who you ask, but here are the verifiable facts. Scheffler’s car was flagged down by an officer: something that he says he missed. Whether that was on account of the darkness or some other misunderstanding, it led to the officer arresting Scheffler and bundling him into a police car after which he was taken to a police station where his mug shot was taken and he was put in a cell. Images of Scheffler warming up in that cell have since gone viral – he was able to get released and make it back to the course before his tee time. The world number one later described it to the press as “a big misunderstanding.” Whatever the details may be, at the time of writing, Scheffler is still charged with the second-degree assault of a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving, and disregarding signals from officers directing traffic. Cut to the chase, the fact that Scheffler managed to get his game together and finish in the Top 10 speaks volumes about the man’s mental strength.

The police mugshot picture reminded me of the only other time I’ve seen another golfer in one was when Tiger Woods was arrested in 2017 for Driving Under Influence (that was later reduced to a reckless driving charge). Seven years back Woods’ life unravelled in dramatic fashion. A series of misfortunes – personal, professional, and physical – laid the big cat low for years. Somehow, and in a way only he can, Woods has managed to put it all back together: back to cordial terms with his ex-wife, being a model dad, winning a Major, and getting back to playing competitive golf, albeit sporadically, again. Woods leads the player representation on the ‘influential policy board,’ of the PGA Tour that’s negotiating an agreement with the LIV Golf Tour. He needs to bring his tremendous heft, and will, to bear upon both sides to come up with a win-win situation for everyone. Especially the fans.