Sometimes you need to take a break from watching golf on TV of whatever means you use to watch the action, and check out some social media, specifically Instagram. It’s quick and provides photos that can be entertaining and useful to learn more about players and products, notably balls. Here's some Instagram accounts that you should be following:
Paige Spiranac (@_paige.renee)
Followers: 1.2 Million
Paige is in the top-five in terms of ALL pro golfer Instagram accounts.That’s quite a feat given that she is relatively new to the pro scene, having played only two years since graduating from San Diego University. In 2015, Sportsgrid named her The Hottest Female Athlete.
On her website, www.paigespiranac.com, she is described as a “rising, young talent, media personality and online influencer who’s on a mission to show how much fun golf can be while making a positive impact on the world.”
She has been the victim of some cyber bullying and online hate, which can be the price of engaging in social media. She is the official ambassador for The Cybersmile Foundation and, according to her site, often speaks out about her many experiences being bullied throughout her childhood, college and pro career.
A post shared by Paige Spiranac (@_paige.renee) on
Wesley and George Bryan (@bryanbrosgolf)
Followers: 149,800
The success of Wesley winning the 2017 RBC Heritage Open magnified his status on the PGA Tour and social media. Prior to this, the Bryan Brothers were known for their trick shots.
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Bryson DeChambeau (@brysondechambeau)
Followers: 118,000
He’s one of many young talents on the PGA Tour and has drawn attention for the way he dresses, in particular his old-school hats. The fact he won a tournament this year really elevated his Instagram status.
Perry Lefko is an award-winning writer who has published nine books, three of them bestsellers. He has been involved in sports writing for more than 35 years and has interviewed many superstar athletes. He lives in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada and enjoys watching golf and playing it.
Bye bye Bridgestone. Shocking news that Bridgestone is closing its golf ball plant and test facility in Georgia after 36 years and shifting its manufacturing to Japan on June 30. The bulk of Bridgestone balls are manufactured in Japan anyway. As one of the top five golf ball manufacturing companies, Bridgestone got a huge lift when Tiger Woods became its top player. Chris Gotterup (Bridgestone Tour B X) is its top PGA Tour ambassador now. It will be interesting to see if Bridgestone makes a huge marketing push to tag along to the current popularity of Japanese men's and women's golf.
Woah, Nelly. That was quite an impressive performance by Nelly Korda (TaylorMade TP5x) in the Chevron Championship, scoring a five-shot victory, winning wire to wire and setting a LPGA majors record with a score of 14-under par after 36 holes. With the win, she vaulted into first place in the world rankings ahead of Jeeno Thitikul (Callaway Chrome Tour X), who surprisingly didn’t make the cut and continued the distinction of the greatest active player not to win a major. More on that later.
It’s the first LPGA Tour major of the season. Who do you think will win? It will be interesting to see who takes the ceremonial jump into the water at the 2026 Chevron Championship, which takes place this year at the Memorial Park Golf Course, site of the recent Texas Children’s Houston Open, following three years at Carlton Woods.
Image Credit: Rezdy