The Claret Jug has a new name on it, the PGA Tour’s playoff run is about to begin, and this week we get into all of it — plus a trip up north you’ll want to book. PGA Tour caddie Mike Hicks — Payne Stewart’s former caddie — breaks down Ryan Fox’s Open win and looks ahead to the 3M Open and the FedEx Cup, and Golfers Unite’s own Emily Nowak makes the case that Michigan is the most underrated golf state in the country.
Here’s what went down on Episode 22.
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Caddie Corner: The 154th Open Recap
Last week on this show, Mike’s pick to win The Open was Tommy Fleetwood. Fleetwood finished fourth in his home Open — and it was Ryan Fox who walked off as Champion Golfer of the Year, closing with four birdies in his last six holes to win at 10-under, one clear of Cam Young.
Mike’s read on the finish: Fox had control of his golf swing and the self-belief to close it out, and that’s the whole game at that level. Cam Young pushed him all the way but found trouble in a bunker on the 72nd hole. And Mike gave real credit to the R&A for the setup — keeping water on the greens so a firm, fescue-lined course stayed receptive and fair, right down to the final shot.
We also got into the Bryson DeChambeau two-stroke penalty for improving his lie on a backswing — Mike’s take is that this happens more than people think, intentional or not, and he drew the comparison to Wyndham Clark’s foot moving behind the ball at the U.S. Open. Plus a bit of history: the title “Champion Golfer of the Year” and the Claret Jug trace back to the very first Open at Prestwick in 1860, and winning it — especially at St Andrews — is still the pinnacle of the sport.
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Caddie Corner: The 3M Open & the FedEx Cup Playoffs
With The Open in the books, the race to the FedEx Cup playoffs is on. Mike previewed the 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities — an $8.8M, 500-point stop where the greens stay soft, the wind stays low, and scoring goes low. His verdict: this is a putting contest, and whoever’s hot with the flat stick wins. Kurt Kitayama is chasing the event’s first back-to-back title.
The big name in the field is Scottie Scheffler. Mike broke down why Scheffler chose to tee it up rather than take a three-week break, and noted the work he’s been doing with putting coach Phil Kenyon on keeping his head still through the stroke — a reminder that even the best are always tinkering. Mike also talked up the ArcMaster, a putting-stroke training aid he distributes here in the US.
Then the bigger picture on the playoffs: players in the top 30 are carefully managing their schedules in the summer heat, and Rory McIlroy is reportedly skipping the first two playoff events. The reason cuts to a real debate — the current Tour Championship format hands a lot back to anyone who simply reaches Atlanta, which arguably undercuts the advantage of a strong regular season.
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Guest Segment: A Michigan Golf Trip, with Emily Nowak
If Michigan isn’t on your golf-trip list, our own Emily Nowak is here to fix that. Her pitch: a short, intense growing season keeps the courses immaculate, and “pure” golf is available at every price point.
Emily and Jeff mapped out a trip:
- Traverse City area — Bahle Farms out in the Leelanau cherry country, plus the hidden-gem LochenHeath, a links-style course affiliated with an award-winning director of golf.
- Bay Harbor — perched above Lake Charlevoix near Petoskey, and one of the most scenic rounds in the state.
- Forest Dunes — home of The Loop, a reversible course played as two completely different 18-hole layouts depending on the day.
- Arcadia Bluffs — the bucket-list round, around $255 in season and worth it.
- Family-friendly stops — Boyne Highlands (resort amenities, skiing, water parks) and Katke Golf Course in Big Rapids, with a multi-tiered range and short-hole practice areas.
Emily also introduced the Fairway Fem Club, her initiative to make golf more welcoming to women and beginners — the demographic behind roughly 40% of the game’s growth since 2020.
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