The Things I'm Thankful For
J.J. Grey is playing for his dream and the dream of his old friend Sam Asbury.
I started a tweet about things I was thankful for, which turned into a long list. It's hard to fit all you are grateful for into a tweet when you turned something you never thought would be anything into something.
So here is my list, some serious, some not, and the top three are in the order of priority. The rest are in the order I wrote down on the scrap sheet of paper this morning.
The Cuda Did my wife support me and encourage me to keep this thing going for three years despite making virtually no money? Yes. During a large portion of that time, did she get up at 3:30 a.m. and take care of patients in the middle of a global pandemic? Yes. But we are talking about the Barracuda. I mean, she was a very close second.
Mrs. Monday Q Info She's an amazing woman who changed my life. I am so lucky to call her my wife.
Jackson and Annie are great kids. Between the moments of maddening frustration are moments like the one that just happened. As I was writing, Annie was leaving for a friend's house and came up to me and said, "I love you, Daddy." Moments like that make it all worth it.
Mark Baldwin A great friend who has given me experiences in this game that I will forever remember.
The Colorado Open Not only is it a great event that has a first-place prize of $100,000, but this year in a qualifier, they played a 10 for one playoff…as a tensome. Why? More like, why not!
Sean Martin I was going to give up the account, and he got me hired at the Tour writing the Monday Q article. It kept me going. I will forever be indebted to him.
The Honda Monday With the new schedule in 2022, it will take back to its rightful place as the "Super Bowl of Mondays."
Playoffs in the dark No one wants to come back Tuesday morning. Not the rules officials, not the section, and not the players. Consequently, there are always a couple of playoffs played basically in the dark throughout the year. Last year one finished with headlights facing the green. Things like this are what make Mondays great to me.
Multi-win Tour players at Mondays Jonathan Byrd, Ben Crane, Aaron Baddeley—all these guys have over $20 million in Tour earnings. They don't need to play another Tour round in their life, yet there they are most Mondays trying to revive their career. I love it.
Spencer Levin The man is a legend. No explanation is needed.
Good Walk Coffee I'm amazed some companies want to support me. I really can't thank them enough.
Brad Adamonis No one, I mean no one, has played more Monday Q's than Brad. Let me recap one of Brad's weeks earlier this year. He played a pre-Q for the PGA Tour in North Carolina on Thursday, which he missed. He played in a Latino American Tour Q in Florida on Friday, which he missed. On Monday, he played in a Korn Ferry Monday in Nebraska. Now that is grinding.
TJ Vogel Thanksgiving seems like a good time to remind people that TJ Vogel once Monday Q'd for eight Tour events in one season. Eight.
Alan Shipnuck text size The first time I met Alan Shipnuck was at the Fire Pit office. He asked me how much my haircut cost, I told him five dollars, and he said, "You should get your money back." I waited to get him back, and while sitting in a meeting the next day, I looked over and he had his phone out. I had to tweet what I saw. His text size is on Grandpa size. Like the biggest possible there is.
Fire Pit What can I say? I get paid to write about golf. And it wouldn't be possible without Fire Pit. I read Alan Shipnuck and watched Matt Ginella on TV for a large portion of my adult life. Now I talk to them multiple times a week. And they have never said no to an idea for a story that I brought to them. Pretty crazy.
Blood Types on the Japan Tour I don't know why I love it so much, but I do. Each player's profile on the Japan Tour lists each player's blood type. (Japanese culture believes blood types corollate with personality traits.)
The Alps Tour Ed Loar calls it the most beautiful Tour to go broke on.
Opposite-field events I've said it a million times: life/career-changing wins don't often happen on Tour, but they almost always do at opposite-field events.
All of you I am blown away by the support that I get daily. Thank you for all the help. I wish I could thank each of you individually.
Editors I don't need to elaborate, do I?
Players who are willing to tell me their story This account is nothing without players willing to share their stories with me. I love the part of the game I cover because the players don't have any sponsors to answer to. I almost always get straightforward, honest answers. I am glad that many players have trusted me to tell their stories.
LPGA purses increasing It is much needed and great to see.
Players who carry my towel I give away as many towels as I sell because I am honored that a pro wants to carry my towel.
The picture of David Skinns Seventeen years of grinding his tail off to get to the PGA Tour, captured in one photo. This game can take a toll on players, but the payoff is well worth it. This picture is all of those things.
Rain Pants Guy He didn't know he had to wear pants at Q school, so he bought some rain pants at the clubhouse (they didn't have any regular pants), but it was so hot he would take them down on each tee.
My dad Dementia has taken most of my dad, but I will always have the memories of all he has done for me in my life. The caddie trips we took were the catalyst for this account, years later. (I wrote an article thanking him if you haven't read it, it's here.)
Golf Digest It's wild that I had an article published in one of the most prominent golf magazines in the world.
Neil Johnson's pic of the Barn Rat We were out covering the Honda Monday Q, and while I ran to cover something else, Neil captured this iconic picture of the Barn Rat.
—Ryan French