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Volkswagen has unveiled its Caddy California camper van with a bed and kitchen — see inside

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Colorado wildlife officials euthanized a bear with human garbage in its intestines. </li><li>The bear had a "plug" of paper towels, disinfectant wipes, napkins, plastic, and food wrappers in its belly. </li></ul><p>Officials had to euthanize a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/lake-tahoe-hank-the-tank-is-actually-3-bears-death-sentence-lifted-2022-2">massive black bear</a> in Colorado Saturday after baby wipes and other human garbage got lodged in its small intestine.</p><p>CPW Area Wildlife Manager Rachel Sralla said in a <a target="_blank" href="https://cpw.state.co.us/aboutus/Pages/News-Release-Details.aspx?NewsID=3938">statement</a> that the bear was "very sick," presenting officials with no other option than to put it out of its misery.</p><p>"When you have a very fat 400-pound bear, it will take it ages to starve to death," Sralla said. "That's a horrific way to die, decaying from the inside out for that long."</p><p>Sralla said human trash disposal is a problem that's hurting bears in Colorado.</p><p>CPW District Wildlife Manager Mark Caddy said the bear's intestines were clogged with a "plug" of paper towels, disinfectant wipes, napkins, parts of plastic sacks, and wax paper food wrappers.</p><p>"This plug was accompanied by french fries, green beans, onions and peanuts," Caddy said, adding that the bear's intestines were already in the beginning stages of decomposition.</p><p>Giving food to bears is a bad idea for several reasons, according to the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nps.gov/slbe/learn/nature/do-not-feed-the-bears.htm#:~:text=A%20single%20taste%20of%20human,fat%2C%20calories%2C%20etc.)">US National Park Service</a>. Giving human food to bears can cause them to become food-conditioned and return to places occupied by humans, the NPS says.</p><p>Food-conditioned bears are more likely to approach people and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/a-black-bear-hunted-killed-a-man-as-he-drank-coffee-at-arizona-cabin-2023-6">can be aggressive, unpredictable, and dangerous</a>, according to the NPS.</p><p>In August, California wildlife officials caught a massive 500-pound black bear named <a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/500-pound-bear-hank-the-tank-captured-in-california-2023-8">"Hank the Tank"</a> who had broken into more than a dozen homes in search of food.</p><p>Bears who eat mostly human foods are also shown to have shorter life expectancies than those that eat natural foods, the agency says.</p><p>The National Park Service recommends storing food in containers that bears can't open, such as bear canisters. When staying in a hotel in an area with bears, the agency says to keep all your food inside your hotel room and make sure to keep all doors and windows locked.</p>

Colorado wildlife officials had to euthanize a 400-pound black bear because its intestines were blocked with human garbage

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="13206017" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="phil-mickelson" source="Orion">Phil Mickelson</keyword> lost $40 million from gambling between 2010-14, according to a new book.</li><li>Mickelson's breakup with longtime caddie Jim "Bones" Mackay also reportedly stemmed from money issues.</li></ul><p>Phil Mickelson had gambling losses totaling $40 million between 2010 and 2014, according to a new biography of the <keyword id="11895642" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="golf" source="Orion">golf</keyword> superstar.</p><p>Alan Shipnuck, author of the forthcoming book "<a href="https://www.insider.com/reviews/out?asin=1476797099&amp;platform=browser&amp;postSource=in%7C620fc22b8fde945231029eee&amp;postTag=biauto-53325-20&amp;sc=false&amp;type=AMAZON-AFFILIATE-LINK&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fdp%2F1476797099%3Ftag%3Dbiauto-53325-20&amp;sessionid=1651773812679qdmzmd9h&amp;tag=insider-safetynet-20" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noindex noopener sponsored">Phil: The Rip-Roaring (and Unauthorized!) Biography of Golf's Most Colorful Superstar</a>," published an <a href="https://firepitcollective.com/the-multitudes-within-mickelson/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">excerpt on the Fire Pit Collective Thursday</a>, revealing both the extent of Mickelson's gambling losses and how his financial issues related to his breakup with longtime caddie Jim "Bones" Mackay.</p><p>According to Shipnuck, Mickelson's finances were audited as a part of the <a href="https://www.golfdigest.com/story/phils-insider-trading-escape" target="_blank" rel="noopener">investigation into accusations of insider trading</a> against him in 2014. </p><p>Per Shipnuck:</p><p style="padding-left: 40px;">"According to a source with direct access to the documents, Mickelson had gambling losses totaling more than $40 million in the four-year period (2010–14) that was scrutinized.</p><p style="padding-left: 40px;">"In those prime earning years, his income was estimated to be just north of $40 million a year. That's an obscene amount of money, but once he paid his taxes (including the California tariffs he publicly railed against), he was left with, what, low-20s? Then he had to cover his plane and mansion(s), plus his agent, caddie, pilots, chef, personal trainer, swing coaches and sundry others. Throw in all the other expenses of a big life — like an actual T. Rex skull for a birthday present — and that leaves, what, $10 million? Per the government audit, that's roughly how much Mickelson averaged in annual gambling losses."</p><p>Shipnuck also writes that financial issues were at the heart of Mickelson's breakup with longtime caddie Jim "Bones" Mackay. While Mickelson and Mackay kept things relatively amicable publicly, according to Shipnuck, it was Bones that dropped Mickelson over "a series of simmering grievances (laid out in detail in the book), including hundreds of thousands of dollars in overdue back pay."</p><p>It's not the first time Shipnuck's book has made headlines in the build-up to its release, due out May 17. Earlier in the year, the longtime <keyword id="11893855" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="sports" source="Orion">Sports</keyword> Illustrated and Golf magazine scribe wrote up an interview he conducted with Mickelson in late 2021, in which <a href="https://www.insider.com/phil-mickelson-saudi-golf-league-scary-2022-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mickelson called the Saudi government</a>, with whom he was directly working on developing a new golf league, "scary motherfuckers."</p><p>Mickelson has <a href="https://www.insider.com/phil-mickelson-suspended-rory-mcilroy-2022-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">not played a PGA Tour event since his comments to Shipnuck became public in mid-February</a>, most notably missing the Masters, a tournament he has won three times.</p><p>Meanwhile, the Saudi Golf League, now operating under the name LIV Golf, is set to host its debut tournament this June in London, with seven more events planned for the 2022 season.</p><p>Mickelson <a href="https://www.si.com/golf/news/phil-mickelson-seeks-release-for-liv-golf-event-also-registered-for-pga-u-s-open" target="_blank" rel="noopener">has reportedly submitted a request for release</a> to the PGA Tour so that he can play in the tournament; he has also registered for the upcoming U.S. Open and PGA Championship. </p>

Phil Mickelson reportedly lost $40 million from gambling over a 4-year period, according to a new book

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="20491" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Tiger-Woods">Tiger Woods</keyword> used to look at <keyword id="20492" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Phil-Mickelson">Phil Mickelson</keyword> in "disdain" during the height of their rivalry, according to HBO's new documentary "Tiger."</li><li>While Mickelson was as talented as Woods, Woods felt Mickelson didn't work hard and was out of shape.</li><li>Woods and Mickelson have since turned their rivalry into a bromance, playing in charity tournaments together and sharing light-hearted trash talk on and off the course.</li></ul><p>Before <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tiger-woods-phil-mickelson-rivalry-turned-bromance-2018-11">their recent bromance</a>, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson were once <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jack-nicklaus-story-tiger-woods-phil-mickelson-ping-pong-2018-4">one of golf's biggest rivalrie</a>s.</p><p>As <keyword id="1226" type="SPORT" weightage="60" keywordseo="Golf">golf</keyword> writer Alan Shipnuck explained in HBO's documentary "Tiger," Woods came up in the shadow of Mickelson in southern California. Mickelson was six years older than Woods, his equal in talent, and had numerous California state records.</p><p>According to Shipnuck, Woods used to look at Mickelson in "disdain," because while Mickelson was as talented as Woods, he didn't work as hard.</p><p>"Tiger knew that Phil was the most naturally gifted player ever to hold a golf club," Shipnuck said. "But Tiger looked at him with disdain. He couldn't fathom having that much ability but not putting in the time to be great."</p><p>According to Shipnuck, much of that disdain had to do with Mickelson's physical appearance.</p><p>"Phil had about 20 extra pounds, and Tiger was looking more and more like Mr. Universe," Shipnuck said.</p><p>That disdain may have resonated throughout Woods' family. Shipnuck described it as "personal" for Woods' mom, Kultida.</p><p>According to Thomas Bonk of The Los Angeles Times, Kultida used to call Mickelson "hefty" instead of lefty." </p><div type="image" title="tiger woods phil mickelson 2001 masters" height="1499" width="1999" msid="80190558" hostid="261"></div>The two players' rivalry came to a head at the 2001 Masters as Woods attempted to secure all four of golf's majors at the same time. He and Mickelson were the top two golfers in contention to win at Augusta National on the final Sunday.<p>Woods' former caddy Steve Williams revealed in "Tiger" that Woods played mind games with Mickelson down the stretch of the round. After an impressive tee shot by Mickelson, Woods then out-drove Mickelson with a three-iron instead of the driver. When Mickelson asked if Woods always hit that far with a three-iron, Woods responded that he usually hits it further.</p><p>"I could sort of sense that Mickelson was feeling a bit dejected ... That shot just deflated Phil's ego" Williams said.</p><p>Woods went on to win the tournament.</p><div type="image" title="phil mickelson tiger woods" height="1000" width="1333" msid="80190560" hostid="261"></div>Of course, Woods and Mickelson are on much friendlier terms now. Neither player is at their peak any more, and they have teamed up to play two head-to-head competitions for charity, the <a href="https://www.insider.com/tiger-woods-phil-mickelson-tom-brady-peyton-manning-golf-match-2020-4">latest with Tom Brady and Peyton Manning</a>.<p>They've also played practice rounds at The Masters together and engaged in light-hearted trash talk.</p><p>After Woods' win at the 2019 Masters, <a href="https://www.insider.com/phil-mickelson-tiger-woods-2019-masters-win-note-2020-4">Mickelson even left Woods a note on a cocktail napkin</a>.</p><p>"Tiger, so impressive!" the note read. "What a great tournament you played! So happy for you!"</p>

Tiger Woods used to look at Phil Mickelson in 'disdain' because he was so talented but didn't work harder

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Cadillac</span></p><p class="caption">Cadillac president Steve Carlisle reveals the new Cadillac XT6 at the 2019 Detroit auto show.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/cadillac">Cadillac</a> president Steve Carlisle will oversee the <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/general-motors-stock-price-cadillac-compete-tesla-strong-guidance-2019-1-1027862757">luxury division's repositioning</a> as <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/gm">General Motors'</a> lead electric brand.</li><li>He admires <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/tesla">Tesla's</a> impact - but he doesn't want <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/gm-stock">GM</a> or Cadillac to win by copying anyone.</li><li>Cadillac is in the midst of product shift, selling more crossovers and moving away from traditional luxury sedans.</li></ul><p><br />Last year, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gm-cadillac-changing-leadership-expands-cruise-business-2018-6">General Motors shook up its Cadillac brand</a>.</p><p>Then-president Johan de Nysschen - who had overseen a move to New York from Detroit and a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cadillac-is-being-reinvented-2016-1">"Dare greatly"</a> advertising campaign that sought to revive luxury awareness of the 116-year-old marque - departed. GM's product guru, Mark Reuss, took over supervision of the brand and company veteran Steve Carlisle was moved in to run the divisions, after successfully reviving GM's Canada business.</p><p>But the shakeup wasn't over. On the eve of the 2019 Detroit auto show earlier this month, GM held a conference for investors and announced that <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gm-bullish-outlook-plans-to-take-on-tesla-with-cadillac-2019-">Cadillac would become GM's main electric brand</a>, taking on US market leader Tesla.</p><p>"We have to fix it," Reuss told Business Insider at the time, speaking of Cadillac's struggles in the hyper-competitive luxury market.</p><p><em><strong>Read more:</strong> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cadillac-new-electric-suv-concept-rival-tesla-2019-1">Cadillac revealed a futuristic electric SUV concept that will rival Tesla's Model X - and it looks awesome</a></em></p><p>Some of the fixing is already underway. Cadillac has the Escalade full-size SUV, which has long been a sales and profit stalwart. But the big guy has come under pressure of late with Ford's successful rollout of a redesigned Lincoln Navigator. </p><h2>A full lineup of crossover SUVs</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Hollis Johnson/Business Insider</span></p><p class="caption">The New Cadillac XT4.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>A new Escalade should arrive once GM's Chevy and GMC brands have completed launches of new pickup trucks. In the meantime, Caddy finally has a complete lineup up crossovers to take on Audi, BMW, and Mercedes. The unveiling of new XT6 in Detroit added a three-row SUV to the compact XT4 that landed last year and the mid-size XT5 that went on sale in 2016.</p><p>Prior to the crossover onslaught, Cadillac was hamstrung with a portfolio of superb yet slow-selling passenger cars. </p><p>Carlisle talked to Business Insider in Detroit about Caddy's past, present, and future. </p><p>"There's work left to do for sure," he said. "But we're confident in the products. We're positioning ourselves for the future. We all know what we're working toward."</p><p>Rather than dismiss "Dare greatly" and the New York relocation - now reversed as Caddy is coming home to Motown - Carlisle said that the time spent in the Big Apple was invaluable. </p><p>"It was not a mistake, for sure," he said. "It repositioned the brand in the minds of people."</p><p>With a redesigned Escalade "just over the horizon," he said, Cadillac is "obsessed with storytelling for vehicles we're launching now."</p><p>The view in the industry is that after languishing with a portfolio that lacked the crossovers US buyers now demand, Cadillac is finally flush with product that matches the market. The divisions also don't need to lean as hard on the heritage of the brand as it has for the past few years.</p><p>"It starts with product," Carlisle said. "Product moments become brand moments - not the other way around."</p><h2>Cadillac goes electric</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Cadillac</span></p><p class="caption">A new Cadillac EV platform concept.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>As far as Cadillac going electric and bearing that responsibility for GM, a company that currently has the only true long-range, mass-market EV available for purchase in the Chevy Bolt EV, Carlisle isn't ignoring Tesla, the current luxury leader. But he isn't overly preoccupied with CEO Elon Musk's' California upstart.</p><p>"You never win by replicating what somebody else is doing," he said, arguing that over time, the entire auto industry could likely go electric, "so at some point, we're competing with everybody."</p><p>He acknowledged Tesla's impact, but he added that the composition of the EV market isn't yet clear.</p><p>"We have to wait a few years, even for the Tesla story," he said. </p><p>Targeting luxury EV customers is critical, however.</p><p>"Reaching back to the past, Cadillac has been at its best when it was leading innovation," he said. Now that the "next big pivot for the industry" has arrived, in terms of electrification and also autonomous vehicles, a luxury play makes sense. </p><p>"The consumer has the means, but also the sensibility," he said, characterizing buyers as people who are interested in technology and potentially receptive to a strong statement from Cadillac. After all, the brand currently has the only fully hands-free highway self-driving system on offer in its Super Cruise tech, an option for the CT6.</p><p>"It's not a clear shot," Carlisle said. "It's not free margin. But the customer can help."</p><p>Cadillac will need additional assistance from its dealer network - a group now facing some challenges to its historic business model.</p><p>"They won't be doing as many oil changes," Carlisle said. (Electric vehicles are mechanically simpler than gas-powered cars and require less maintenance.)</p><p>"What other revenue streams and sources of value do we see?" Carlisle asked. "How can we maintain the value of the dealer franchise? We have to recognize that we're going through some transitions, and there are some profound questions we have to answer."</p><p>Ultimately, Carlisle wants Cadillac to deliver three wins: for its customers, for its dealers, and for the brand. Those objectives do in some ways revisit the "Dare greatly" promise.</p><p>"We want to reposition ourselves as the pinnacle of luxury mobility," he said.</p><p class="tagline">Get the latest Tesla stock price<a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/stock/TSLA-Quote"> <strong>here.</strong></a></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ride-around-nyc-brand-new-ghostbusters-car-ecto-1-2016-7">We took a ride around NYC in the new 'Ghostbusters' car which is actually a 1984 Cadillac hearse</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

Cadillac's new president says that the luxury brand can't successfully go electric by copying Tesla

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>LeBron James' eldest son, Bronny James, is set to begin playing high school basketball at Sierra Canyon this year.</li><li>Expectations are high for Bronny, with many expecting him to be an NBA talent in four or five years.</li><li>On Twitter, James gave fans a sincere scouting report on what they can expect from Bronny as a freshman, noting that he'll be ready to be a team player and learn from his mistakes.</li><li><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.</a></strong></li></ul><p>Bronny James has had some pretty high expectations thrust upon him.</p><p>As the eldest son of the greatest basketball player of all time, Bronny has had eyes on him and his potential development into an NBA talent since he was old enough to dribble.</p><p>This year, he'll take another big step into the spotlight, joining a loaded roster at Sierra Canyon - a high-school powerhouse and <span>California's two-time defending state champions. <a href="https://www.maxpreps.com/news/jctfSu_GzUS4U9J8W1j7dA/what-should-we-expect-from-lebron-james-jr-next-season-at-sierra-canyon.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MaxPreps wrote about James' imminent arrival</a>, noting that getting playing time as a freshman might not be easy, with so much talent already present at the school.</span></p><p><em><strong>Read more</strong>: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/lebron-james-son-bronny-nba-2018-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">LeBron James confirms his goal is to play in the NBA with his son</a></em></p><p><span>In response, LeBron James tweeted out a loving and sincere scouting report of his son, saying that he was ready to be a team player and grow as an athlete.</span></p><p><span>"Expect a kid that will play for his teammates," James wrote. "Will work hard, pay his dues and when his number is called he'll make mistakes like any kid but will be ready and coached very well. Someone who doesn't care about rankings cause the only thing that matters is his team success."</span></p><p>Fans praised James' comments, holding them as an example that James' commitment to being a good father is comparable to his prowess as a player.</p><p>James has been a proud family man for his entire career, from <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/lebron-james-fathers-day-sons-birthday-instagram-2017-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lavish birthday parties</a> to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/video-lebron-james-taco-tuesday-instagram-2019-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">weekly celebrations of Taco Tuesday</a>, and his comments on his son's developing game seem to have especially struck a chord with some fans.</p><ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more from Tyler Lauletta:</li></ul><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/video-dan-le-batard-trump-rally-nick-wright-espn-2019-7" data-analytics-position="1">ESPN's Dan Le Batard rips into racist 'send her back' chants during Trump rally, breaking from company's apolitical stance</a></p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/baker-mayfield-wife-emily-wilkinson-instagram-2019-7" data-analytics-position="3">Baker Mayfield courted his wife by repeatedly following and unfollowing her on Instagram to get her attention</a></p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/brooks-koepka-tiger-woods-practice-round-british-open-2019-7" data-analytics-position="4">Brooks Koepka spurned Tiger Woods' offer for a practice round in order to prevent Tiger from picking his caddie's brain</a></p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/dwyane-wade-curse-jersey-swap-nba-free-agency-2019-7" data-analytics-position="7">Dwyane Wade joked that his jersey-swaps from last season are suddenly irrelevant after so many stars switched teams</a></p><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/300-million-world-cup-stadium-is-nearly-abandoned-2018-6">Brazil spent an estimated $300 million on a World Cup stadium that now sits nearly abandoned</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

LeBron James posted a loving scouting report of his son Bronny on Twitter and fans are saying he's a GOAT parent and player

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>The New York Auto Show is kicking off this week at the Javits Center in Manhattan.</p><p>I've spent the past 10 years in Los Angeles, a city whose automotive extravaganza starts off "car show" season in November. There's always a strong sense of optimism in the air in sunny Southern California.</p><p>But by the time April rolls around and the New York show fires up, as grueling winter slowly shifts to bright spring, everyone who makes cars, markets cars, or covers cars is typically pretty wiped out.</p><p>I couldn't have picked a better time for my first New York show in a decade, however, because the vibe in NYC in 2015 is unlike anything I've ever experienced in my entire career as an automotive journalist.</p><p>No one is wiped out. The mood is extraordinary. </p><h3>A comeback of confidence</h3><p>The industry is buoyantly self-confident these days. Take Cadillac, for example.</p><p>Cadillac is in the process of rebranding itself as a New York car company. Okay, Caddy is still part of General Motors and still builds its cars in the Midwest. But it moved its sales and marketing operations to New York last year, in order to more aggressively focus on being a true luxury brand.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>On Tuesday, Cadillac began to make good on that promise by throwing one of the biggest new-car reveal parties I've ever seen. Droves of people spent an evening in a vast, soaring space in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, checking out Caddy's flagship CT6 sedan. And enjoying a spectacular spread of sushi, lamb, lobster, live music, and a great variety of beverages. </p><p>It was a very strong signal that Cadillac is going to challenge its German rivals in the luxury realm - and do so with big-time New York style.</p><h3>The Ford story</h3><p>Ford is in on the action, too. The company rocked the automotive world when it revealed its new GT supercar at the Detroit Auto Show earlier this year (they've brought the glorious machine to New York).</p><p>In New York on Monday, Ford revealed its Lincoln Continental concept car, the latest thrust in an effort to revive Ford's own luxury brand. </p><p>The car is stunning. The ambition is palpable. The philosophy is distinctive - Lincoln is bucking an industry trend of creating evermore sporty luxury sedans, aiming instead to create a sort of modern throwback, a big car that's plush and dignified: "elegant beauty, not aggressive beauty," as Lincoln head Kumar Galhotra put it.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>And that's just the two biggest US carmakers. Around the world, there's a powerful sense that the auto industry has recovered from its dark days during the 2008-09 period. True, Europe has been a weak spot, the Russia market is falling apart, Latin America is struggling, and growth in China is slowing. But a rocking and rolling North American market is making up for all that. After falling below 10 million new vehicles being sold annually in the aftermath of the financial crisis, the industry is back up to around 17 million. Some are saying it could go to 20 million.</p><h3>Supercars! Supercars! And more supercars!</h3><p>Supercars are breaking out all over. McLaren revealed a new one in New York. The recent Geneva Auto Show was an absolute supercar-palooza. Acura has restored the much-loved NSX to its former glory. New Lamborghinis and Ferraris are appearing in the landscape.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>And speaking of Ferrari, the grandest supercar brand of them all is being spun off from parent Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, with an IPO happening later this year. So even if you've always dreamed of owning one of Maranello's exotic red dream cars, but can't quite swing the financials, you can own a piece of the company.</p><p>As lively as things are for the traditional auto industry, the story is even more dynamic on the disruptive front. </p><h3>Tesla, Google, Apple</h3><p>Tesla continues to captivate the imaginations of anyone who cares about the Car of the Future. Elon Musk unveiled a new version of the company's Model S sedan last year. Sometime in the third quarter of 2015, Tesla's new Model X SUV is slated to roll off an assembly line in Northern California. If there's a superstar who bridges the gap between the world's of cars and Silicon Valley tech, it's Musk. Who, it's always worth noting, also runs another company, SpaceX, that enables him to launch rockets to the International Space Station when he's not trying to reinvent the automobile.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Tesla gets a lot of attention, but two other Silicon Valley companies of some reputation have also leapt into the automotive space in the past six months. Google has been testing its self-driving car technology for years, but it's now officially become a carmaker. Production prototypes of its Google Car are now tooling around the Bay Area.</p><p>That's right: Google is a car company!</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>And of course the talk of the auto industry for the past month has been the Apple Car. No one seems to have any idea of what Apple is up to - Driverless car? Connectivity platform? An expanded version of Apple's CarPlay in-car infotainment system? - but there's been abundant speculation. From where I sit, Apple's "Project Titan" spreads excitement and fear in equal measure. </p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">So there you have it. It's thrilling to be in the middle of it all. </span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Because as of April 2015, the auto industry has fully entered the 21st century. It's a great time to have a front-row seat.</span></p><p> </p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/a-tanker-truck-carrying-90000-gallons-of-fuel-just-burst-into-flames-2015-2">A tanker truck carrying 9,000 gallons of fuel just burst into flames</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="9xOXRqczqKILR1dQ7CCbue9ehBQSXyYo" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

This is the most exciting time I've ever experienced in the auto industry

<p>Since September, an anonymous patron has been leaving mysterious tips of huge proportions in restaurants and bars across the country. </p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">Employees from Ann Arbor, Mich. to Los Angeles were lucky enough to be at the receiving end of some amazingly large tips, all over $1,000.  </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">The tipper is claiming credit for the gifts by posting photos of receipts on the <a href="http://instagram.com/tipsforjesus">Instagram page @tipsforjesus</a>, though as of now it is still unclear whether it is one person or a group behind the scheme. </span></p>
<p>Here's a shot of a receipt from the Legends of Notre Dame, a restaurant on the University of Notre Dame's campus. The mysterious tipper paid a visit before the football team took on USC, which could explain the "Fight On!" message left on the receipt.  The photo shows an unbelievable $5,000 was tacked on to the total. </p>
<p></p>
<p>According to <a href="http://www.southbendtribune.com/news/local/article_3913e516-5753-11e3-9985-0019bb30f31a.html">The South Bend Tribune</a>, the <keyword id="47340" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Mystery">mystery</keyword> tipper returned to the restaurant again after the game, racking up a $164.50 bill and leaving another $5,000 tip. </p>
<p>"We were all looking at this like, is this a joke?" Ashley Rust, a former bartender at Legends, <a href="http://www.southbendtribune.com/news/local/article_3913e516-5753-11e3-9985-0019bb30f31a.html">said to the South Bend Tribune.</a> <span>"We were all super shocked and we didn't want to get too excited because we hadn't ever seen a tip like this."</span></p>
<p><span><span>Rust said that the bill was paid by three men, one of whom was wearing a USC jersey, though all three said they were from California. </span></span></p>
<p><span><span>Several other tips were left in the alleged tippers' home state of California. </span></span></p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">They stopped in Chicago, too.</span></p>
<p></p>
<p>The anonymous tipper even had enough cash on hand to pay this Chicago-area golf caddy.</p>
<p></p>
<p>The mystery of the anonymous tipper first began <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/utah-bar-patron-keeps-leaving-huge-tips-2013-8">back in August</a>, when employees in an Ogden, Utah bar said they received a $1,000 tip from a <a href="http://www.southbendtribune.com/news/local/article_3913e516-5753-11e3-9985-0019bb30f31a.html">young man using a black American Express "Centurion" card</a>. The black card is very exclusive, available by invitation only to those who fit strict qualifications. </p>
<p>The person or people behind the @tipsforjesus account are now <a href="http://instagram.com/p/eEJm_AE50A/">claiming responsibility for extravagant tips </a>left in two different Ogden establishments, though those receipts were not labeled "tips for Jesus" as the others were. </p>

A Mysterious Tipper Is Leaving Thousands Of Dollars At Restaurants Across The U.S. 

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>The Drive</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>Down deep, most car people are magazine people. <br /><br />Even in the digital age, the majority of auto journalists now working revere a pre-digital time when Car &amp; Driver, Road &amp; Track, and Motor Trend created a world of motor-heady enthusiasm mixed with stylish writing.</p><p>Times change, however. Media has moved online decisively, and automotive journalism needs to adjust.</p><p>The Golden Age of print-auto writing may have faded, but the U.S. car market is better than it has been in a decade. That's why Time Inc. just launched a new site, <a href="http://www.thedrive.com/">The Drive</a>.</p><p>It's a risky proposition and a big bet on new media by and old-media company. Previous digital ventures in the auto-journalism space have been scrappy: Jalopnik started out with a small group of oddball car guys and some modest support from Gawker Media. Autoblog was equally bloggy and small-time until it was bought by AOL, but even now, it retains its bloggy, obsessive spirit.</p><p>The Drive, by contrast, is launching this week with a roster of heavy hitters from the media and auto-writing world, including Lawrence Ulrich, who made his bones behind the wheel for the New York Times; and A.J. Baime, who wrote a great book about a legendary race, "Go Like Hell: Ford, Ferrari, and Their Battle for Speed and Glory at Le Mans."</p><p>The site will also, in contemporary startup fashion, be occupying space in Brooklyn, far from the Time-Life citadel in Manhattan. There will reportedly be a garage, optimized for video production and seeking to create the kind of automotive content that appeals to a generation <em>not</em> raised on Motor Trend's printed comparos but on Motor Trend's YouTube channel - and re-runs of "Top Gear."</p><h2>New York state of mind</h2><p>I dropped by Time-Life this week to chat with both The Drive's editor, Mike Guy (formerly of Maxim, and on the phone from the Frankfurt Motor Show) and Matt Bean, <span>SVP of Editorial Innovation at Time Inc. There were two big takeways.</span></p><p><span>First, The Drive is going to have a strong New York flavor. This is a micro-trend in the car business: the resurgence of New York as a place where people care about cars. Cadillac recently moved its sales and operations to New York and has be re-branding itself as a luxury car maker closely connected with New York in all its fashionable, gritty glory. <br /><br />The Driver is aiming for something similar, defying the long-held belief that car publications need to be based in either Detroit or Southern California (the former for the industry, the latter for the weather and the roads).</span></p><p><span>This links The Drive with the Car &amp; Driver on the 1960s and '70s - they're packaging what Car &amp; Driver did during the heyday of writers and editors like Brock Yates and P.J. O'Rourke for a much younger audience. <br /><br />Car &amp; Driver was a very cool car magazine that was written by people who were under the sway of the New Journalism, which was headquartered in New York (Car &amp; Driver decamped for Michigan in 1978 and no one has ever forgiven them). The Drive is designed to explore the New Journalism of now: dynamic digital storytelling.</span></p><p><span>Jalopnik tried to do something like this when it started out in the mid-2000s, blending snappy sentences with an compulsive desire to embrace the Internet's meme-making machine. Jalopnik continues to feature very stylish and opinionated writers in the auto-blogosphere, but The Drive is pushing the revival of this type of car writing in a much better capitalized, less outsider-y direction.</span></p><p><span>Second, The Drive is going to stress a throwback affection for words.</span></p><p><span>Will it work? Well, The Drive does check some boxes. It has a feed for up-to-the-minute automotive news, and it also isn't shying away from big, high-impact visual features. In digital car coverage it's extremely important to <em>show the cars. </em>And the showing won't be limited to photos. There will be video and lots of it.</span></p><h2><span>Creative car writing</span></h2><p><span>What's interspersed with that is a slightly mixed bag at the moment. <a href="http://www.thedrive.com/article/144/cadillac-ats-v-checkmate-for-bmws-bahn-burning-m3">Ulrich's review of the Cadillac ATS-V</a>, a 464-horsepower sports coupe intended to steal share from BMW, is punchy and thrusty and authoritative, if not really groundbreaking. <br /><br />But there is this line: "<span>Once you've snuggled into the Caddy's rib-sticking Recaro buckets, caressed the faux-suede steering wheel and toggled that shifter, you're fresh out of interior talking points." <br /><br />Those are fun words to read, for sure.</span></span></p><p><span><span><a href="http://www.thedrive.com/article/198/the-ford-shelby-gt350-mustang-is-an-8-cylinder-kick-in-the-nuts">Baime's </a>take on the new Ford Shelby GT350 Mustang is ripped from the track - Laguna Seca in California - but a tad workmanlike in execution. <br /><br /> "Th<span>ere are but a few perfect moments in life," Baime writes. "All your senses become electrified, and you feel like you can see the world and where you fit into it with immaculate clarity. This moment is called </span><em>ecstasy."</em></span></span></p><p><span><span>Guy <a href="http://www.thedrive.com/article/144/cadillac-ats-v-checkmate-for-bmws-bahn-burning-m3">shows off some chops at the keyboard</a>, with his investigation of the new Mazda MX-5 Miata. <br /><br />"[T]<span>he Mazda eagerly pursues its limits at speeds that don't threaten your license, life or limb," he writes. "It's a glider, not a fighter. As it does on track, where skilled owners routinely embarrass rookies in more powerful cars, the Mazda rewards those who can carry momentum through curves."</span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span>Writer-large-Brett Burke deliveries some elegant comparisons, <a href="http://www.thedrive.com/article/161/heavy-breathing-in-the-ferrari-488-gtb">in response to a drive of the new Ferrari 488 GTB</a>. "<span>Flooring a Bugatti Veyron pulverizes your senses. Flooring a Lamborghini Aventador terrorizes them. Flooring the 488 releases a flood of endorphins, fight </span><em>and</em><span> flight.</span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>The Drive</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span>And <a href="http://www.thedrive.com/article/208/how-to-get-dumped-and-crash-a-bmw-5-series">Max Prince's post </a>about wrecking his 1997 BMW contains this: "<span>Just before winter, I had a drag-out argument with my then-girlfriend, mostly because she didn't realize we were dating. On the drive home, I listened to Tom Waits and thought about buying a piano. Unrequited love is a bitch. So are dump trucks." <br /><br />Prince is a senior editor at The Drive, and that kind of prose mainlines what senior eds at Car &amp; Driver routinely produced, lightly gonzo with a healthy dash of self-deprecation.</span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span>But the real tell that The Drive is spiritually connected to the car writing of the '60s and '70s comes from <a href="http://www.thedrive.com/article/195/mario-andretti-and-the-brutal-magic-of-monza">a standout feature from racing legend Mario Andretti</a> about the tragic glory of his first Formula 1 World Championship in 1978 (he was the last American to pull this off), when he won the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, but lost his friend Ronnie <span>Peterson to injuries sustained in a crash. The best car publications always reserve space to remind us that the men and women who race cars are miles above anyone who merely writes about cars. The Drive is no different.</span></span></span></span></p><h2><span><span><span><span>Bucking a trend</span></span></span></span></h2><p><span><span><span><span>The site is bucking at least one online-media trend, simply because it's so big (its launching with dozens of stories, after being in stealth mode for months). This makes it a fully fledged play for a large audience, rather than an attempt to capture a niche readership, something that enthusiast sites like Hodinkee have done for watch nuts and that numerous men's style blogs have done for classic menswear and heritage made-in-USA products. </span></span></span></span></p><p>Guy and Bean are optimistic that the readers will come and come in force. And at launch, they've certainly made good on giving those readers something to read. <br /><br />It remains to be seen whether that aspect of The Drive will survive. Car &amp; Driver was always my favorite of the so-called "buff books," so I'm psyched to see its style reborn for a new generation that cares about cars but has moved well past magazines.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/most-extravagant-vacations-in-world-2015-9">The most expensive and extravagant vacations in the world</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="tvMzRndzpNrgBqxHb0FavvEnwVT1v50q" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

A new website wants to recreate the spirit of the greatest car magazines

How Lincoln returned from near death and restored Ford's luxury brand

How Lincoln returned from the brink of death and put Ford back on the luxury map

<p><div class="image-container float_right" style="width:480px"><div class="image"><p class="source">Business Insider</p><p class="caption">A <keyword id="1226" type="SPORT" weightage="60" keywordseo="Golf">golf</keyword> dork in his element. </p></div></div>I like golf. Quite a bit. </p>
<p>So, when I found out in early July I was going to be playing TPC Sawgrass, home of the Players Championship, I was quite excited. </p>
<p>When I say quite excited, I mean very excited. And when I say very excited, I mean, losing sleep because I'm thinking about playing the course excited. </p>
<p>And there's only one thing to think about when it comes to TPC Sawgrass: The world-famous island green on the 17th hole. </p>
<p>The 17th is rather controversial in the golf world. It feels like a quirky, contrived hole to golf snobs. </p>
<p>It gets intense coverage during the Players Championship. NBC has 11 cameras on the hole, and the PGA Tour live streams every shot online from 17. </p>
<p>But, putting the snoots aside, it's a cool hole. It's unique and it's compelling. It's fun.</p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">It's not a hard shot for most pros. It's just a wedge to the center of the green. But, even the easiest shots can be tricky under pressure. </span></p>
<p>This year, Sergio Garcia was tied for the lead standing on 17. He dropped not one, but two balls into the water, losing the lead, and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/sergio-garcia-water-shots-2013-5">$1.5 million in the process</a>. </p>
<p><div class="image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><p class="source"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/golf/2013/5/12/4324930/sergio-garcia-water-ball-players-championship-2013">SB Nation</a></p></div></div></div></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Having seen the hole on TV, I felt reasonably confident I could knock it on. It's only ~130 yards, which is just a smooth 9 iron for me. </span></p>
<p>But, golf is a fickle game. An easy 9 iron isn't always easy.</p>
<p>As a wise man once said to me, golf comes, golf goes.</p>
<p>One day, you've figured out the game, the next minute, you're texting your friend from the course saying, it's time to take a break, this is just an expensive waste of time. </p>
<p>Look at Rory McIlroy. He was <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/rory-mcilroy-is-dominating-golf-the-way-tiger-woods-once-did-2012-9">the best golfer in the world last year</a>. Today, he says he's lost on the golf course. </p>
<p>Or look at Phil Mickelson. He's <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/phil-mickelsons-incredible-run-on-final-holes-has-him-in-position-to-win-his-first-british-open-2013-7">playing lights out golf</a>, telling reporters he's discovered "the secret" to putting. He sounds like a buddy in your Sunday foursome who's figured out the secret to his swing. A week later, he's duffing shots, and looking for a new secret. </p>
<p>So, sure, I could hit a nine iron easily. Or, I could be totally lost out there. You just never know. </p>
<p><div class="image-container float_right click-to-enlarge"><div class="image"><a title_source="Business Insider" title_caption="The view from the first tee. I put the ball in the water on the right." class="zoomin" href="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/51eeaf9eeab8ea5115000002-960/first%20tee%20shot.jpg"><span class="click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></a><p class="source">Business Insider</p><p class="caption">The view from the first tee. I put the ball in the water on the right.</p></div></div>I was invited to play TPC Sawgrass by PGA Tour Experiences. A division of the PGA Tour that focuses on vacations, instruction, and just recently expanded into the digital realm. It flew me down, and set me up with a free round to test<span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> a new app called Tour Caddie, which lets you measure yardage on 40,000 courses around the world. It also keeps track of all your stats, and keeps score. It's a pretty good app, and I'll have more on that later. </span></p>
<p>I just so happened to be slated to play TPC Sawgrass the day after the Open Championship ended. <span style="line-height: 1.5em;">I was waking early to watch the Open Championship, which was making me tired.</span></p>
<p><div class="image-container float_right click-to-enlarge"><div class="image"><a title_source="Business Insider" title_caption="More water!" class="zoomin" href="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/51eeb30f6bb3f7b705000006-960/the%20fourth%20hole.jpg"><span class="click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></a><p class="source">Business Insider</p><p class="caption">More water!</p></div></div>For the week leading up to my round at TPC Sawgrass, the combination of excitement about the course, the Open Championship, plus apprehension about the state of my game led to choppy sleep. </p>
<p>My golf game is in shambles right now. I'm slicing my driver. I'm hooking my irons. </p>
<p>This being golf, I have no idea what I'm doing wrong. I had been playing well in June. I almost broke 80 for the first time in my life on a tough course in California. Two weeks later I was struggling to keep it under 90. </p>
<p><div class="image-container float_right click-to-enlarge"><div class="image"><a title_source="Business Insider" title_caption="From the tee box, the fairway on this par 5 looks wide open. Then you get up there and see traps all down the left. " class="zoomin" href="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/51eeb42ceab8ea8d1e000003-960/11-at-tpc-sawgrass.jpg"><span class="click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></a><p class="source">Business Insider</p><p class="caption">From the tee box, the fairway on this par 5 looks wide open. Then you get up there and see traps all down the left. </p></div></div></p>
<p>I knew my game was not in top form as I was going to TPC Sawgrass, but I was hoping that some how, some way, it would all just snap back together again. </p>
<p><div class="image-container float_right" style="width:480px"><div class="image"><p class="source">Business Insider</p><p class="caption">The rough is rough. The ball sinks in, and you could easily lose a ball. </p></div></div></p>
<p>Before we dig into what happened, a small interlude. </p>
<p>Florida golf kind of sucks. It's a lot of flat boring courses, with water hazards all over the place. You have to take a cart, and it's just a blah experience overall. </p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">There are some great courses in Florida, though. </span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">For instance, <a href="http://www.streamsongresort.com/">Streamsong Red and Blue</a> are fantastic designs, and fantastic experiences. </span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><div class="image-container float_right" style="width:480px"><div class="image"><p class="source">Business Insider</p><p class="caption">The view from the 14th tee box where Tiger hooked it into the water in the final round of the 2013 Players. </p></div></div>I'd put TPC Sawgrass on the list of good golf courses in Florida, but the experience </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">isn't great. You have to be in a cart. As we all know, the best golf is walking golf. You're waiting in the tee box, and in the fairway.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The course is fantastic. It's very lush, and very hard.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">If you can't accurately drive the ball, you're in for a long day. </span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">I<span>t's a narrow course with water and sand lining the fairways and protecting the greens. If your not in the sand, or the water, or the fairway, then you're in the rough, which feels light and fluffy, but is actually quite dense and grabs your club.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Unfortunately, I couldn't drive the ball at all. I was all over the course.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">My handicap is currently 10.1. On the front nine, I shot a +19. I barely slept the night before, tossing and turning, thinking about 17. The fatigue led, in part, to my swing being a mess.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">As I was racking up double bogey after double bogey, I began to become depressed about facing 17. There was simply no way it wasn't going in the water. </span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">On the fifteenth hole, when I was +24 on the round, and telling myself it was time to quit playing golf altogether, a sudden wind hit the course. The beautifully sunny day changed in a blink of an eye. Grey clouds took over:</span></p>
<p></p>

<p>I hit another crappy tee shot, slicing into a sand trap, right of the fairway. We drove the cart on the path, left of the fairway. As I walked across the fairway to get a yardage, the rain started to fall. By the time I was walking back from my ball to the cart, the rain had turned into a monsoon. Howling wind and hard rain was battering us. </p>
<p><div class="image-container display-table float_right click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image"><a title_source="Travis Velichko" title_caption="This is the tree that fell right near us. A clean up crew got right on it. " class="zoomin" href="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/51eeac00eab8eaa30b00000c-960/tree down.jpg"><span class="click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></a><p class="source">Travis Velichko</p><p class="caption">This is the tree that fell right near us. A clean up crew got right on it. </p></div></div></div></p>
<p>We pulled out umbrellas hoping the rain was going to pass. It wasn't. it was only getting worse.</p>
<p>We heard a loud crack. Just twenty feet to our left the wind knocked down a pine tree. Its roots were sticking out of the ground. We quickly jumped in the cart, and drove to the clubhouse. </p>
<p>I was one and a half holes away from playing the 17th. I didn't know if I'd ever come back. It's not cheap, and it's not easy for to get to Ponte Vedra Beach. I was *thisclose* to playing the island green, but it looked like Mother Nature was not going to let it happen. </p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">We sat in the clubhouse, drying off, drinking a beer, hoping the rain would pass. It looked bleak. The Weather Channel showed a green blob of rain just sitting over the course for hours. </span></p>
<p>I had to take a car back to the airport in an hour and half. The rain was not going to be done in time.</p>
<p>As we sat at the table, one of the guys in my group, Ed, started talking about the 17th. "It's easy," he said. You just hit a short iron to the green, putt and that's that. </p>
<p>The really hard hole, according to Ed, is the 18th. The tee shot is nothing but water down the left. Either you're pushing your shot so far right to avoid the water that you have an impossible approach, or you bring the water into play going after the fairway. Travis, who works for the PGA, and was in our group, agreed with Ed's assessment. </p>
<p>It sounded interesting, but it looked like I would never be able to see if Ed was right. I was hosed. The rain was pouring, and the day was over. It was probably for the best, anyway. I didn't have a single par on my card for the day. I don't think I had a single green in regulation. Even if I could have played the 17th, the ball was going in the water. </p>
<p>Just when it looked like all hope was lost, the rain let up just enough that you could play golf if you really wanted. Despite my crap play, I still really wanted. </p>
<p>So, we scooted out to 15, planning to play 15, 16, and if time allowed, 17. From 140 yards away, in rain, in a trap, I hit about 6 shots to finish 15. </p>
<p>At that point, I had only 20 minutes left on the course. I said, screw it, let's go to 17 and get the heck out of here. So that's what we did. In the rain, as the only people playing golf on the course, we rode to the 17th hole. </p>
<p>I walked down to the tee box, an eight iron and a nine iron in my hand, holding an umbrella.</p>
<p>The green looked enormous. The rest of the greens on the complex look like postage stamps compared to 17.  I started to feel irrationally confident. Maybe I could do it, after all.</p>
<p>Ed used his range finder to get the exact distance to the pin, which was up front. "120 yards," he said. In normal conditions, that's a pitching wedge, but in the rain, I figured it was a 9. </p>
<p>Because I was busy taking photos and video, Ed, and Travis hit first. Both took easy swings, both put it on the green. </p>
<p>Here's Travis' shot:</p>
<p></p>

<p>After Ed knocked his shot on the green, he tried to skip one across the water and on to the green. It didn't make it. </p>
<p></p>

<p>It was my turn.</p>
<p>The pressure was on. Ed and Travis, true to their word, made it look easy.</p>
<p>But, my swing was off. And even the best in the world put their ball in the water. It's estimated that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TPC_at_Sawgrass">100,000 balls end up in this water each year</a>. I didn't want to be a part of that group.</p>
<p>A month's worth of wasted sleep all came down to this. I had one chance to hit the green, or I'd forever live with the knowledge that I choked and whiffed on the island green. </p>
<p>A slow back swing, a smooth follow, the ball was on its way... and BOOM. Right on the green, just over the pot bunker on the top of the ridge.</p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><div class="image-container float_right" style="width:480px"><div class="image"><p class="source">Business Insider</p><p class="caption">The walk up...</p></div></div>We drove to the walkway, walked on the green. As we walked up, Ed said, "There are some people that would pay good money to have these shots."</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Not just people like Sergio who dropped in the water, but tourists who, like me, spent weeks dreaming about this shot. </span></p>
<p>I found my ball plugged in the green, softened by the rain. </p>
<p>But, it wasn't over. I still had a tricky two putt. Downhill breaking left. I hit my first putt 6 feet past the hole, and nervously said, "That's good from there, right?" No one said it was good. </p>
<p>If I three putted, it would have been just as bad as if I had missed the shot in the first place. </p>
<p><div class="image-container float_right click-to-enlarge"><div class="image"><a title_source="Business Insider" title_caption="My ball plugged in the green." class="zoomin" href="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/51eead54ecad04876200000f-960/golf%20ball%20plugged.jpg"><span class="click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></a><p class="source">Business Insider</p><p class="caption">My ball plugged in the green.</p></div></div>I lined up the second putt, a little left to right break, hit it ... and BOOM. In the hole. Par. </p>
<p>I no longer wanted to take a break from golf. Golf was once again awesome.</p>
<p>We didn't have time for the 18th, which is for the best. I would have put the ball in the water. We rode straight from the course back to the hotel where I jumped in a car and went straight to the airport. </p>
<p>I was sweaty, covered in sunscreen, and still have bits of TPC Sawgrass stuck to my legs. But I was really, really, happy. </p>
<p>The 17th may be quirky, it may be a gimmick, but it's awesome. Put the ball on the green and it makes a +24 round feel like the best round of your life.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><div class="image-container click-to-enlarge"><div class="image"><a title_source="Business Insider" title_caption="A look down 18 as we rode back. " class="zoomin" href="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/51eeae36eab8eaa410000002-960/18th%20hole.jpg"><span class="click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></a><p class="source">Business Insider</p><p class="caption">A look down 18 as we rode back. </p></div></div></p>

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