In partnership with
This week's sponsor keeps Read The Divot free. If something catches your eye, give it a click. More at the bottom.
Every headline satisfies an opinion. Except ours.
Remember when the news was about what happened, not how to feel about it? 1440's Daily Digest is bringing that back. Every morning, they sift through 100+ sources to deliver a concise, unbiased briefing — no pundits, no paywalls, no politics. Just the facts, all in five minutes. For free.
Chris Gotterup started Sunday five back at the John Deere and closed with a 62. He didn't even have to make the winning putt. Ben Kohles took care of that for him, in the water, on 18.
IN THIS ISSUE
Gotterup Grabbed His Third Win of the Year With a Closing 62
Harrington Ties a 46-Year Record
The Titleist Everyone's Actually Buying And an $800 Rangefinder
A Raleigh Native Medals at Pinehurst
PGA TOUR . JOHN DEERE CLASSIC
Gotterup Grabbed His Third Win of the Year With a Closing 62
Chris Gotterup closed with a 9-under 62 to erase a five-shot deficit and win the John Deere Classic, but he was standing on the practice range when it became official. Ben Kohles, chasing his first win in his 120th start, striped his drive down 18 needing a par to force a playoff. Then he tugged a three-quarter 8-iron into the pond.
Double bogey. Tie for third. The exact same gut-punch he took at the Byron Nelson two years ago. Gotterup, meanwhile, has now won four times in 12 months and jumped to No. 7 in the world. He defends in Scotland next week with his brother back on the bag.
"I was kind of a little in between." - Ben Kohles on the 8-iron that found the water and cost him the tournament.
From a sponsor's letter in 2022 to top 10 in the world. Gotterup's arc is the real story.
PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS . U.S. SENIOR OPEN
Harrington Ties a 46-Year Record
Padraig Harrington closed with a 66 to win the U.S. Senior Open at Scioto by four, becoming just the fourth player ever to defend the title and joining Miller Barber as the only three-time winners in 46 years. Stewart Cink, who had the 54-hole lead, hit 2 of 7 fairways on the front nine and finished runner-up for the second straight year. A wild tee ball into the creek on No. 8 and a Harrington 30-footer on top of it were the day's turning point.
ALSO THIS WEEK
YouTuber Brad Dalke Actually Contended Good Good's Brad Dalke sat two off the lead at the halfway point of a DP World Tour event before a triple bogey Sunday dropped him to a still-respectable T30.
Hollick Eagles the 72nd to Win in Munich South African Michael Hollick holed a 20-footer for eagle on the final hole to steal his maiden DP World Tour title at the BMW International Open.
LOOKING AHEAD
Genesis Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club
The Tour and DP World Tour co-sanctioned Scottish Open runs July 9-12 at The Renaissance Club in North Berwick, Scotland. It's the traditional links tune-up the week before the Open, and this year the field is stacked in a new way. Names to watch: defending champ Chris Gotterup, Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, plus a seven-man LIV contingent led by Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton.
Titleist GTS2: The Off-the-Shelf Pick for Real Golfers
The players'-driver crowd wants the GTS4, but the GTS2 is the one you should care about. It became Fairway Jockey's best-selling driver in June for a reason: the Split Mass Frame moves weight both forward and back, so off-center strikes lose less speed and stay on line. At $699 it's not cheap, but it's the forgiveness-plus-speed combo most 10-to-20 handicaps actually need. Skip the GTS4 unless you're a low-spin ball-striker who wants to feel every miss.
The $800 Rangefinder Is Real. It's Also Not for You.
The Mileseey GenePro S1 costs $799, which makes it the most expensive rangefinder Breaking Eighty has ever tested. The optics are genuinely the best out there: 7.5x magnification, 95% light transmission, an OLED that switches between red and black. But at that price it's a flex, not a necessity. Bushnell's Tour Hybrid gives you slope-compensated laser plus GPS yardages for $499. That's the smarter buy for a weekend player.
ALSO THIS WEEK
Meta Glasses Now Talk Yardages to You Arccos and 18Birdies integrated with Meta AI glasses, so you can now ask "Hey Meta, what club?" hands-free mid-round, which is either the future or deeply annoying to your foursome.
Tour Edge Hot Launch Max: Value Play for Improvers Tour Edge's new Hot Launch Max and Max D irons and wedges lean on Ironwood hybrid-iron construction to get the ball airborne, aimed squarely at value-conscious golfers fighting long irons.
Emilia Doran Grabs Medalist Honors at Pinehurst
Raleigh native and Wake Forest grad Emilia Doran, now an NBC/Golf Channel analyst, earned medalist honors at the 124th North & South Women's Amateur at Pinehurst with back-to-back 70s across Courses No. 2 and No. 4. It was the first medalist finish of her career, and she did it while juggling a full TV travel schedule, practicing 30 minutes at a time between broadcasts.
UNC's Sheils Donegan Reps the Internationals at the Palmer Cup
Rising Tar Heel senior Niall Sheils Donegan played for the International Team at the 2026 Palmer Cup at Tralee Golf Links in Ireland, July 3-5. He's the sixth Tar Heel ever to make the field. His 69.91 scoring average led UNC last season, fourth-best in program history, and he's a second-team All-American. This is a kid worth knowing before he turns pro. The Internationals took six of the first nine singles matches, then held on for a narrow victory Sunday.
U.S. Girls' Junior Comes to Old Chatham in Durham
The U.S. Girls' Junior Championship tees off later this month at Old Chatham Golf Club in Durham, and the local pipeline is loaded. Pinehurst's Savera Sandhu qualified, and Mia Carles punched her ticket by winning the Carolinas Junior Girls' by eight shots. A national championship in the Triangle is worth the drive to watch.
Cameron Young Defends the Wyndham at Sedgefield in August
World No. 3 and Wake Forest alum Cameron Young will defend his Wyndham Championship title August 5-9 at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro. Since breaking through for his first Tour win there last year, Young has won THE PLAYERS and the Cadillac Championship. As the last stop before the FedEx Cup Playoffs, it's the best value ticket in NC golf all summer. The Donald Ross course is worth the visit alone.
ALSO THIS WEEK
Date Night Ends in the Rough at Charlotte National A Union County couple was arrested after a pickup tore up cart paths, benches, and greens at Charlotte National Golf Club during a Sunday-night joyride.
Royal Birkdale Lands in Triangle Simulators Toptracer added Royal Birkdale ahead of The Open, with a July 13-19 global closest-to-the-pin challenge and Sunday Open tickets on the line at participating ranges.
Coastal Detour Worth the Drive If you're headed to the beach this summer, Leland's two courses, Cape Fear National and Magnolia Greens, are the pick near Wilmington, with 18 and 27 holes respectively.
NC Now Has 356 Golf Courses For the record-keepers: North Carolina is home to 356 golf courses, with Pinehurst (19) and Charlotte (15) leading the state and Raleigh third at 10.
That's your read this week.
Tour intel, gear picks, and local course intel — every Monday.
If this landed, forward it to your foursome. That's how we grow.