With the AppleTV+ sports comedy series, Stick, inching closer to the end of its first season, the stakes are significantly raised for the central characters as the Ready Safe Invitational tournament begins. Although Clark Ross has now seemingly turned friendly towards the main characters, he still makes one last attempt to try to convince Santi to join his academy. Stick episode 9, also features a twist at the very end, or rather, an unexpected introduction of a character, which nicely sets up some drama in the season finale next week.
Spoiler Alert
Did Santi immediately make a mark at the golf tournament?
Stick episode 9, begins with the Ready Safe Invitational tournament kicking off, as professional golfers from all over the country come in to participate in the PGA event. Santi Wheeler is absolutely thrilled to be a part of this grand event, but he is also quite nervous at this stage, especially having to perform alongside athletes he has been looking up to for so long. The episode brings in a couple of real faces from the golfing world, starting with the retired Masters champion, Trevor Immelman, who works in broadcasting at present and is therefore one of the commentators at the Ready Safe Invitational. As Santi has to sign up for the competition officially, he is a bit unsettled, as well as excited, to see the names of golfers whose careers he has been following with great interest all this time. While he is definitely proud of himself for having made it to the same stage as his inspirations, the fear of underperforming and looking like a talentless rookie also grips Santi’s mind.
The teenager cannot believe his eyes when Keegan Bradley walks up to the desk and asks for the pen, for he needs to sign his name as well. Santi needs a few minutes at first to settle in and accept the fact that he is now playing golf professionally, and he has to be given a few words of encouragement by Pryce. Following the topsy-turvy trajectory of their relationship, the two are now finally back to being close friends, with Pryce having returned to the role of caddie. As the two now walk out onto the course, Santi gets to meet a few more of his golfing inspirations, with Wyndham Clark and Max Homa, both real-life pro golfers, coming up to talk to Pryce. This is the first time that we see Pryce in a totally golfing environment, and therefore are able to witness the kind of impact he had actually had on the sport.
Both Clark and Homa happen to be huge fans of Pryce Cahill, the pro golfer who was expected to make it big in the sport, and they both have favorite moments from the protagonist’s career, which actually pushed them towards pursuing their dream of being golfers. This experience is quite wholesome and encouraging for Santi, and he now truly understands the value of Pryce’s presence in his career. It is already an overwhelming feeling for him to suddenly come face-to-face with the golfers whose careers he has followed and sought inspiration from, but then it is a totally different feeling to know that these players were actually inspired by his mentor, coach, and caddy, Pryce Cahill. It is also quite nice to see Pryce admit, although a bit more coyly than his usually confident self, that he too was someone big in his heyday.
Finally, as the tournament begins, Santi has to go up against a seasoned professional named Matt Prost, who is a fictional character in Stick, and he is evidently rattled by the senior player’s mind games. Prost introduces himself to Santi and then comments on how young he is, referring to him as ‘zygote’ from then on. Although a lot of people, including Clark and Homa, and also the old lady at the sign-in desk, had already commented on Santi’s youth, expressing surprise and enthusiasm at the fact that someone so young was participating in the PGA tournament, Prost’s tone is a bit different. It is clear that Matt Prost is looking down on Santi a bit, questioning his skills and perhaps even ambitions, and he then also goes on to toot his own horn when the teenager plays a couple of average shots.
While the senior player does all of this to rattle Santi’s nerves and make him commit more mistakes, it does work in his favor. Santi’s most glaring weakness so far has already been his inability to keep his composure and manage his nerves after a few bad shots, as he always kept making more bad shots after a few slip-ups. Now, Prost’s demeaning tone also gets to him, along with the nerves of playing at such a significant stage for the first time in his life, and by the end of the day, Santi finishes the first round at the middle of the table. It is really not the explosive start that Santi or Pryce would have dreamed of, but everyone around him keeps him encouraged for the next rounds, in which performing is going to be even more crucial.
Is Santi convinced by Clark’s pitch?
After Clark Ross had found out, in the previous episode, that Santi is a tremendously talented golfer who can make it big in the sport, he had immediately planned on recruiting him into his golf academy. Clark’s attempt, in this case, was an indirect one, as he had kept it as a clause of the challenge that he had accepted with Pryce, stating that Santi would have to sign an exclusive deal with his academy for seven years if he defeated Pryce in their one-shot competition. While this attempt had failed, Clark now makes a much more direct approach to have Santi associated with his name and with his academy, paying for a lavish evening for the boy. Clark, or his business, is the official sponsor for Santi, and therefore he is able to take the teenager around, essentially to help him have a good time.
At the end of the evening, Clark takes Santi to his steakhouse and reminds him that there is no need to order anything off the menu, as his head chef is already preparing the best Wagyu beef steak for them. Santi is clever enough to tell what is going on, and more importantly, he does not hide his true feelings and is brave enough to talk about them. He clearly states that he knows how Clark has been trying to win his attention through all the fancy clothes and by letting him sit in a Porsche, but he also intends to stay loyal to Pryce. He is quick to remind Clark that Pryce is the one who has gotten him to a PGA competition when the adequacy of Pryce’s coaching style is questioned.
Technically speaking, what Clark tells Santi also makes sense, particularly with regard to the modern standards of any sport, as things are much more organized and well-planned than ever before. To be competitive in any sport in the modern era, an athlete requires the best efforts of not just one or two individuals but of an entire team, starting from highly trained physios to PR managers. Clark offers to give Santi the best team possible, who will help him on every step of his journey and take care of all the minute details with regard to his performance and also eventually his brand. In contrast, the teenager is still under a very old-school setup in which he is being coached, mentored, and also managed by a single individual, while the others in his posse exist to motivate him. Moreover, Clark reminds Santi that Pryce is actually someone who prefers taking shortcuts in any given scenario, and this is a habit that will not be of any use at such a high level of professional golfing.
While Clark has much more to show than Pryce in terms of golfing accolades, he has even more successes to boast about in his post-retirement career. He is quick to note how the vast difference between his life and that of Pryce, at the moment, has come about only because of his dedication, as opposed to Pryce’s habit of looking for shortcuts. Although there is a slight insinuation against Pryce in his words, Santi actually has to take them into consideration. After all, he would definitely like to be rich and successful like Clark, and therefore, he gives the whole matter some thought. Most importantly, Clark’s observation about Pryce always looking for shortcuts stays on in his head.
How does Pryce still prove his coaching skills?
On the second day of the Ready Safe Invitational tournament, Santi is under even more pressure, as he enters the second round as a mid-table contender, with this round of the competition being an eliminator. He has to play well in order to qualify for the next rounds, but the start to his day is, once again, quite mediocre. Finally, on the 12th hole, Santi faces a decisive moment with regard to his continuation in the tournament, as he has to perform very well in order to succeed. The shot that he has to make is also an incredibly tough one, because of which he feels underconfident and keeps questioning himself about whether to play the shot. Noticing his nervousness, Pryce steps in and comes up with an unusual strategy, which will incredibly help Santi’s chances if he can execute it well.
In order to make the shot for the 12th hole, Santi has to avoid a bunker, meaning a sand pit, first, but he is nervous about this part, as he had failed to do so in the 1st round and had had a difficult time shooting the ball out of the bunker. Therefore, Pryce advises him to take a completely different route by shooting the ball towards the 7th hole first and then shooting it back towards the 12th so that he can literally avoid playing around the area of the bunker. While such a strategy is actually legal and a part of the game, Santi initially refuses to take such a shortcut, and this is where Clark’s words from the previous night become important.
Santi berates Pryce for always taking shortcuts, to which the protagonist defends his habit, stating how taking shortcuts is not necessarily a bad strategy. The two keep arguing for such a long time that they face the risk of receiving a one-stroke penalty for time wasting, but Santi eventually comes to a decision. More than being convinced of Pryce’s coaching skills, he realizes that he has to listen to his mentor’s advice at the current moment, and therefore, he decides to shoot towards the 7th hole. The strategy pays off brilliantly, as Santi is able to execute the game plan, and he immediately jumps up in the standings. This strategy by Pryce does not only help Santi on this particular hole but also gives him a great deal of confidence, which improves his performance, and by the end of the third day, he finishes 2nd in the standings table.
Do Pryce and Amber-Linn get back together?
Pryce is visibly very happy upon seeing Amber-Linn at the golf course on the 2nd day of the tournament, and she admits that she absolutely loved seeing him on TV and therefore decided to come down to congratulate him. Pryce, having done so much to turn his life around, despite his depressive thoughts trying to keep pulling him back, is extremely impressive to Amber-Linn, as it is quite evident that they both still have feelings for each other. After the third day of the tournament, Pryce and Amber-Linn go to a restaurant to catch up with each other, and this is when the protagonist apologizes for being emotionally absent to her for all this while. Amber-Linn had lost her son as well, but Pryce’s inability to process his feelings made her even more lonely.
Amber-Linn accepts the apology, and then, as concrete proof of feelings still existing between them, she and Pryce share a passionate kiss at the restaurant, following which they go over to the hotel where she has been staying. Although Amber-Linn invites Pryce inside, clearly to have a romantic night together, Pryce turns her down, stating that he does not want to mess up their lives once again by getting involved. Despite his claim, though, it still feels like Pryce very much wants to get back with his ex-wife, and since Amber-Linn is also seemingly ready, we might see a development like this in the finale next week.
Meanwhile, love is in the air for Mitts and Elena as well, as Zero notices the chemistry between them and advises Mitts to not let go of the chance. Zero knows that Mitts has been holding himself back in order to honor his deceased wife, who had also been the love of his life, but she manages to convince him that he must give himself another chance at love. Finally, as the mood at the camp is very positive at the end of the 3rd day at the tournament, Mitts kisses Elena inside his RV, and the two are now finally together.
How Will The Surprise Ending Affect Santi And Pryce’s Bond?
The TV broadcast of the Ready Safe Invitational event had brought Amber-Linn to Tulsa, as she’d wanted to meet with her ex-husband, and surprisingly, it is not only her who decides to give the group a visit. At the very end of Stick episode 9, an eager fan comes and talks with Pryce, expressing how he loved watching him play, and so on, when Elena and Santi also enter the scene. As it turns out, this fan of Pryce is actually Gary, the estranged husband of Elena, and Santi’s father, who used to emotionally abuse the boy whenever he underperformed in golf.
Santi currently does not care about the experiences from their past, as he is overjoyed to see his father after all this time, and he goes to hug him. While the father and son share a tight hug, though, Elena is seen visibly upset or at least confused and scared of what might happen next. She knows how manipulative Gary can be and also how his presence can create a lot of problems for Santi, especially at present, when he has been playing so well. In a more personal sense, this sudden emergence of Gary might also affect Santi and Pryce’s bond, with the latter finally starting to feel more like a father figure in the teenager’s life. Pryce had only started to really enjoy his relationship with Santi, but now Gary’s presence might create a distance between the two. How this situation is resolved, or whether there is any resolution at all, will be interesting to watch in the season finale of Stick.
