Barstool Sports’ inaugural Writer Cup sees its journalists compete in a Ryder Cup-style match. However, this year’s edition had barely got started before controversy saw tempers flare.
The match is played in the scramble format, which sees all players in a team tee off before deciding which is the most favourable, with all members then playing a second shot from that spot and so on until the ball is holed.
In the first match, Kirk Minihane and Hank Lockwood were taking on Francis Ellis and Arian Foster. Everything had appeared to be going well after Ellis holed his putt for five, but then Foster played his putt attempt for four.
That didn’t go down well, to say the least. Minihane wasn’t having any of it, arguing the shot Ellis had played was the designated shot for the scramble format.
Then Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy got involved, suggesting Minihane wasn’t playing in the spirit of the game. He began by saying, “That’s crazy” before lamenting “I thought you guys were better than that.”
Minihane shot back with “how f****** stupid are you?” and on the disagreement went, with Portnoy at one point inviting Minihane to go home, which drew a request for him to “shut the f*** up” from Minihane!
Later, Portnoy posted a video of the spat on X (formerly Twitter) with the message “Golf is a gentleman’s game and I had to stand up for what is right.” But was it? Well, it’s complicated.
Golf is a gentleman’s game and I had to stand up for what is right #WriterCup https://t.co/txy8D9hYRv pic.twitter.com/ANFmkCqTZuSeptember 19, 2023
Among those who responded to the video was Padraig Harrington, who wrote: “The ‘rules of golf’ do not cover scrambles so there’s no answer. Common practice would suggest the hole is finished when the first ball is holed, thus a 5.”
The “rules of golf” do not cover scrambles so there’s no answer. Common practice would suggest the hole is finished when the first ball is holed, thus a 5.September 19, 2023
If a player with the vast experience of the three-time Major-winning Irishman thinks it was a five, that’s the end of the matter, isn’t it? Maybe not. After all, like the…
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