As the world of motorsports and Golf joined forces for the Netflix Cup, the pressure was on the F1 drivers to keep up with the PGA Tour golfers at the Wynn Golf Club in Las Vegas. And it didn’t take time for the fans to get exactly what they want with Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris going head-to-head for the first hole.
In a dash to the holes in the golf carts, Lando Norris and Rickie Fowler got a jump on Carlos Sainz and Justin Thomas, but the Mclaren maestro decided to take some playful liberty with the rules and moved the ball intentionally before trying to putt at the hole which led to an early disqualification for Norris and Fowler in that round.
Carlos Sainz conducts a smooth-ish operation at the Netflix Cup
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This kickstarted the smooth-sailing journey for Carlos Sainz and Justin Thomas at the Netflix Cup, but the American golfer was scared of a similar fate to the Ryder Cup! With the drivers running to the hole, it was Rickie Fowler who tried to give Lando Norris and himself an edge by putting it in the hole first but he was met with the flagstick! With a similar thing happening to Norris,
As our racers channelled their inner Tiger Woods, we got to see a lot of funny shenanigans instead, with Justin Thomas claiming ‘This is gonna be so embarrassing’ for the Golfers, but the American wasn’t keen on joining the roster of losers at the first Netflix Cup. Fortunately for Thomas, Sainz managed to put in some serious work, even helping out the former world number one whenever he would be in a tricky spot!
Congrats to #TheNetflixCup winners Carlos Sainz & Justin Thomas! pic.twitter.com/B9yoHHvrJX
— Netflix (@netflix) November 15, 2023
Norris’ prediction that Sainz’s golfing experience would cost him came true, as Sainz and Fowler steam pressed through, but they still had to wait on Alex Albon vs Pierre Gasly to find out who they were up against for the finals. Their match lasted relatively longer than the Mclaren bromance did, but it delivered some great golf from the drivers, with Pierre Gasly landing perfectly on the green to get an edge on Albon and Max Homa. Earlier, the Frenchman had revealed to Kyle Porter from CBS News that Carlos Sainz is amongst the better golfers on the grid.
Tony Finau wishes Pierre Gasly didn’t add spice to Carlos Sainz’s golf skills, because the Spaniard and Justin Thomas went on to beat the Alpine driver and Finau, winning the inaugural Netflix Cup! Even though Thomas had predicted this was going to be an ‘embarrassing’ affair, it turned out to be just what he would have wanted at the Ryder Cup, and Carlos Sainz had done more than his fair share to assist the PGA Tour player.
Justin Thomas becomes a time-traveller in predicting Sainz’s embarrassing moment
But hold your horses! Justin Thomas could have predicted the future would indeed be embarrassing after he was heard shouting ‘Get off the stage! Get off the stage!” at Carlos Sainz on the podium of the Netflix Cup award ceremony.
Carlos Sainz really broke the cup 😅🏆 pic.twitter.com/bpcEgZ77Ki
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) November 15, 2023
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After losing out in the first round to JT and Carlos Sainz, it’s almost as if Lando Norris put a curse on his former teammate turned competitor. He had an incident with the Netflix Cup trophy, which immediately reminded us of the fate of Verstappen’s Hungary silverware at the hands of Lando Norris.
In a video shared by ESPN on Twitter, Carlos Sainz is on the podium alongside Justin Thomas. As if it couldn’t get any more like reality TV, the finishing touches were given to the Las Vegas masterpiece by Sainz dropping the trophy slowly and dramatically, with the crowd and Twitter both going wild. Justin Thomas was all laughs at the Spaniard’s silly mistake, “That would make for a good helmet‘.
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It’s safe to say the Smooth Operator had a ball pairing up with the two-time PGA Championship winner for the Netflix Cup. But let’s not forget we have the Las Vegas GP right around the corner. Sainz might bask in the Vegas sunset for now, but the ice-cold track will be a challenge the Tifosi are eagerly anticipating!