‘Don’t sir me!’ Ranking the 24 most amusing moments from covering golf in 2024

You know the drill: Another year in golf, another year of amusing moments.

Sure, I’ll remember Scottie Scheffler’s dominant year (and arrest), Xander Schauffele’s two major triumphs, another U.S. Presidents Cup victory, and a few of the birdies and bogeys made in between it all. But nothing beats a good laugh, which is why I’ll cherish the amusements as well – lots of weird lies, pants and Kevins; one Reed Hughes; Zach Johnson’s tone deafness; Matt Kuchar’s Monday finish.

Here are my 24 most amusing moments from 2024, ranked:

24. Hey, bro, can I borrow your … pants?

You heard that right. After taking down friend and fellow Spaniard Luis Masaveu in the semifinals of the U.S. Amateur, Josele Ballester needed some yellow shorts to pair with his bright-red golf polo. One problem: Ballester didn’t have any, so he asked the guy he just beat for his size. Luckily for Ballester, Masaveu had a pair that would fit, and those trousers would power the Arizona State senior to the Havemeyer Trophy over Iowa’s Noah Kent at Hazeltine.

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23. Kevin!

I’ll admit that I watched “Home Alone” and its sequel – which is better than the first, by the way – a collective nine or 10 times this Christmas season. That’s just a few more than the number of Kevins who teed it up at this year’s Valspar Championship (seven). That tied the PGA Tour record, according to Justin Ray, matching the seven Kevins who played in the 2012 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and 2023 Fortinet Championship. Despite the odds, no Kevin won in Tampa; a Peter did, though – Malnati, not McCallister.

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22. Antiques roadshow

Russ Cochran played the Zurich Classic at 65 years old. That’s the same age of Jay Don Blake, who logged his 500^th career PGA Tour start at this fall’s event in Blake’s native Utah. But both were spring chickens compared to Reed Hughes, who turned his Gulf States PGA win into a start at the Sanderson Farms Championship at the ripe age of 71. Hughes was born in 1953, which, as I note in this tweet, was a long, long time ago:

To the shock of no one, Hughes didn’t sniff the weekend, shooting 76-78 to finish DFL by four shots.

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21. Mosquitoes in the Aires

The Korn Ferry Tour stopped in Argentina in late February, just in time for a mosquito invasion – and Big Tom Walsh came prepared:

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20. The artful dodger

Let me start by saying that there is absolutely no way that Ludvig Åberg was not at least somewhat aware of the recent PGA Tour eligibility and field-size changes when he was asked about them at the RSM Classic in November. Let me also say that Åberg is one skilled player, on the course and in front of the mic:

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19. Anatomy of a shank

The only thing missing from this exchange between Scottie Scheffler and ESPN reporter Mark Schlabach was Scheffler explaining how he out-rebounded Xander Schauffele and Sahith Theegala:

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18. What a hole!

OK, one more “Home Alone” reference. Detroit might be the Motor City, but whoever engineered these drain-hole covers, one of which confiscated Akshay Bhatia’s golf ball during the second round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic (with Bhatia leading!), probably needs some re-training.

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17. Vegas’ drive lands on cop

If you set aside the 2,000 Officer Gillis jokes, this sequence where Jhonattan Vegas’ drive ends up wedged between a cop’s arm and chest during the final round of the 3M Open was amazing.

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16. Mr. Spieth’s (latest) wild ride

The random-places theme continues with who else but Jordan Spieth, who went on a wild ride – even for him – at this year’s Valero Texas Open. Spieth’s drive at TPC Craig Ranch’s par-5 18th hole landed in the native area and underneath a tree. His second shot then came to rest just a few feet from a large, concrete drain (drains getting a lot of play here). This is where things got downright preposterous, as Spieth, after consulting with an official, played his third shot way left and onto the metal roof of a nearby building. Not only was the gutter the ball ended up in not out of bounds, but Spieth also received free relief from a scoreboard before punching his fourth (!) shot onto the green.

Ball don’t lie, though, as Spieth three-putted from there for a double bogey.

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15. The almost rose parade

For a crazy as Spieth’s TIO relief was, Lydia Ko’s drop at the LPGA Drive On Championship in January was equally ironic. In a playoff with Nelly Korda – and with a spot in the LPGA Hall of Fame on the line (a win would give Ko the final point she needed for induction) – Ko missed the green with her approach, and her ball rolled next to the bouquet of 27 roses and bottle of champagne on ice brought out to celebrate her potential achievement. Only Ko, who got relief from the nearby grandstand, didn’t end up winning. Awkward.

All is good, though, as Ko would later enter the Hall following her gold-medal victory in Paris.

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14. One happy coach

Alabama head coach Jay Seawell usually celebrates victories with milkshakes. But when Nick Dunlap won The American Express in January as an amateur, Seawell coupled his milkshake with a side of throwing his shoulder out.

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13. As worn by Jason Day

From his pants in Kapalua to his sweater at Augusta National, Jason Day’s Malbon fits were a topic of conversation for much of the year.

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12. Well, that was … efficient

It’s safe to say that Brian Harman did not want to be interviewed following a sloppy double bogey to cap his first round of the RBC Heritage. A fuming Harman stepped into the flash area at Harbour Town and answered four questions in a combined 43 words, taking just 45 seconds before it was all over.

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11. Total eclipse of the heart

A solar eclipse overlapping with Masters week? What a treat – and it still is undetermined which player had the most fun, Bryson DeChambeau or Peter Malnati, the latter of whom bought his own eclipse glasses for the occasion.

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10. This question is for Orbit

Easily the screenshot of the year: Jay Monahan conducting a presser at the Houston Open while the Astros mascot, decked out in argyle, stands in the background.

If Gold Boy isn’t lurking at next year’s Players address…

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9. Blockie gets ‘canceled’

Because of inclement weather, the PGA of America announced late morning that the remainder of its Tuesday press conferences for the PGA Championship had been canceled. Not long after, it announced conditions had improved and the pressers were back on – well, all expect for the one time slot that had since passed, that of Michael Block. Last year’s PGA-hero-turned-oversaturated-content-king was then relegated to a smaller interview with a couple pool reporters, which, as much as I still like Blockie, was probably for the best.

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8. P Boy’s plight

Speaking of cancel culture, leave it to the boys from The Shotgun Start podcast to lead the most unlikely of revolts during this year’s U.S. Open: Who exactly is Putter Boy, and what’s with everyone’s obsession over him? It was, of course, all in good fun, and the little fella putts on – though we could’ve done without the “P BOY” hats. Don’t eat the yellow sand.

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7. Prez Cup Picassos

The U.S. Presidents Cup WAGs can’t all be Teil Henley.

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6. Side-eyed Shipley

As Neal Shipley, this year’s Masters low amateur, explains it, he was super nervous as he sat in Butler Cabin. Not wanting to screw anything up, he kept glancing at the teleprompter, so that he wouldn’t miss any of his cues. And yet, those actions produced one of the better memes of the year.

Of course, that wasn’t Shipley’s only awkward moment, as Shipley is asked by a reporter in the interview room about a note that Tiger Woods supposedly slipped him during their final round together. Shipley looks at the Augusta National member moderating the presser, and then turns back to the reporter and says, “No, no, that didn’t happen.”

Shipley has since reiterated that assertion in countless other interviews, though I’m still only 99.5% sure he’s telling the truth.

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5. Golf Channel’s funny man

And there is no WAG like our WAGs. From fastballs at TPC Sawgrass to chip yips at Valhalla to sweet redemption with Bryson at Pinehurst, Johnson Wagner was a human highlight reel.

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4. Pants-gate

Lots of pants talk in this article, huh? Somehow, Jason Day’s pants were trumped – by the trousers worn by Bryan Gillis, the Louisville police officer involved in that traffic incident with Scottie Scheffler outside the gates of Valhalla. While the events that occurred were no laughing matter, the fact that Gillis’ $80 pants became such a huge topic of conversation was amusing. I mean, they even prompted this postscript from Gillis, who wrote in a statement: “Yes, the department has us buying freaking $80 pants. To those concerned, they were indeed ruined. But Scottie, it’s all good. I never would’ve guessed I’d have the most famous pair of pants in the country for a few weeks because of this. Take care and be safe.”

Also, for the record, paying $80 for pants isn’t highway robbery like many were shouting. Free ad: My favorite pants, lululemon’s ABC line, now retail for $128, which considering I have pairs that have now lasted me six years (and probably at least six more), is a steal.

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3. Bryson’s Book of John moment

My vote for photo of the year: Bryson DeChambeau lifting a large, directional sign off its base and carrying it like a cross while playing Augusta National’s 13th hole.

What would Jesus do? He certainly wouldn’t take TIO relief.

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2. ‘That’s laughable’

We still don’t know why Zach Johnson popped off at a spectator at the WM Phoenix Open, telling the person, “Don’t sir me!” and “Shut up!” We do know, thanks to some intrepid local reporting, that Johnson might not be back at TPC Scottsdale next year after a rowdy Saturday.

After some borderline condescension toward the young reporter – “I’m asking you a question” – Johnson ended the interview with an “I’m done … I’m done with everything.”

But the PR nightmare got worse for Johnson. A couple months later, the live stream of Augusta National’s 12th hole picked up Johnson, after a triple bogey and some distant clapping, appearing to turn to the patrons back at the tee box and bark, “F— off!” What happened next was, well, laughable. Johnson seemed perplexed when asked about the moment after his round. Then came this gem: “If I’ve said anything, which I’m not going to deny, especially if it’s on camera, one, I apologize, and two, it was fully directed towards myself entirely because I can’t hear anything behind me. Does that make sense?” Kind of.

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1. Matt’s Monday finish

Most years, Zach would’ve produced the most amusing moment – and for nearly seven months, he was on his way. But then Matt Kuchar said, hold my beer.

Kuchar, playing in the final group at the Wyndham Championship with rookie Max Greyserman and Chad Ramey, was out of contention, yet he was the only one who decided not to finish his round. After hitting his drive – and only avoiding hitting into Aaron Rai up ahead thanks to a yanked tee ball – Kuchar opted to mark his ball in the left rough and return on Monday morning to complete his 72nd hole.

Kuchar’s explanation of his decision was even more head-scratching, as he said he was trying to “set an example for” Greyserman, who would’ve needed to hole out for eagle from the fairway to force a playoff with Rai. (Greyserman, who ended up T-2, would later say that Kuchar never said anything to him in the moment and that the whole ordeal was “pretty strange.”)

While Rai went home Sunday night with trophy in hand, Kuchar was back on the driving range at 7:40 a.m. the next morning for his 8 a.m. restart. He then took TIO relief and grinded for a par save; had he bogeyed, he would’ve earned nearly $80,000 less in prize money.

“Nobody wants to be that guy that’s showing up today, one person, one hole – not even one hole, half a hole,” Kuchar said after finishing, while adding that had he found the fairway with the tee shot, he would’ve probably finished on Sunday. “So, apologies to the tournament, to everybody that had to come out. I know it stinks. I know the ramifications. … Certainly, I apologize to force everybody to come out here.”

The best part? PGATour.com’s Kevin Prise documented it all. I encourage you to click and enjoy this entire thread: