'Dis and "Dat

While I was off on caddie duty, we may have missed a few items of interest.  Shall we go to the Unplayable Lies news feed?

What's An International Crown? - Turns out it's an LPGA event beginning today with a  team play format.  The ladies long ago copied the men's Ryder Cup Europe vs. the U.S. with their Solheim Cup, but

with the rise of South Korean golfers it's recently deserved an asterisk.  Rather than go the Presidents Cup route (which was largely to give Greg Norman a team event), they came up with the International Crown.

This event incorporates eight countries, the U.S., Sweden, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Australia, Thailand and Spain, which will play round-robin fourball matches within two pools.  You'll by now know that I love team events and also love match play, so what could be wrong with this?

As per Ron Sirak's primer:

Rolex Rankings No. 2 Lydia Ko (New Zealand), No. 4 Suzann Pettersen (Norway), No. 8 Shanshan Feng (China) and No. 27 Charley Hull (England) are left out because their countries did not qualify. If the U.S. team were based on the current Rolex Rankings, No. 6 Michelle Wie would be in and No. 12 Paula Creamer would be out.

Sandra Gal as well.  Anyone leaving Lydia out of an event will experience the wrath of Unplayable Lies,  but let's at least give it a chance, shall we.  The most intriguing player involved is Australian amateur sensation Minjee Lee.  Tune in just to give her a look-see.

Royal Porthcawl - Most of my golf viewing this week will be of the British seniors, because it's at famed Royal Porthcawl, the best of the Welsh links.  I've had this browser window open since before the Scottish Open, so let provide Shackelford's Bernard Darwin quote and be done with it:

Royal Porthcawl hosts the Senior British Open and ESPN2 will show it starting July 24th. Safe to say, Tom Watson will be favored to win at the youthful age of 64 on a links few of today's players have seen. But Darwin noted this is a "genuine" links, "the sea in sight all of the time, and the most noble bunkers. True to its national character, the course also boasts of stone walls."

It's reputed to be a first-class links, and Wales is a place the bride and I need to explore, featuring many great links including Royal St. David's, Aberdovy and Nefyn & District.

The More Things Change... Luke Kerr-Dineen supplies today's fun with Gif's, contrasting the 9-year old Rory swing with the present incarnation:

Luke channels Peter Kostis with this analysis:

Rory is obviously a lot bigger now, which is why he's much more in control of the club than when he was young -- look at how stable his head stays, for example. 

One thing that's especially interesting to see is how hard the 9-year-old Rory swings at the ball -- something that has obviously continued into his adulthood. And that process is driven by the way Rory's lower body works through the ball. Rory says the "rotational speed" in his hips is key reason he hits it so far, and is something that is present in his 9-year-old swing, too.

Are You Excited Yet? -  The initial Olympic Golf rankings are out, and the excitement is palpable.  Apparently we're to be treated to weekly updates so we can track at home who's in and who's out, though since they're simply taken from the world rankings it's hard to see the necessity.  But Will Gray provides the details, sordid as they may be.

To review, the men and women will play 72 holes of stroke play with a 60-player field.  Sixty is far too small a field for the event to have any significance, but it's far worse than that.  Each of the top 15 players in the OWGR will be eligible, though capped at four players per country.  Gee, anyone care to guess the only country with four players in the top 15?  Anyone?  Bueller?

Here's an arbitrary cut-and-paste of the bottom of the list:

51. Danny Lee (New Zealand)

52. Tim Wilkinson (New Zealand)

53. Chan Shih-chang (Chinese Taipei)

54. Antonio Lascuna (Philippines)

55. Adilson da Silva (Brazil)

56. Juvic Pagunsan (Philippines)

57. Jhonattan Vegas (Venezuela)

58. Roope Kakko (Finland)

59. Thomas Pieters (Belgium)

60. Ricardo Santos (Portugal)

So, no Phil, DJ or Zach, but you'll have your fill of Juvic Pagunsan.

Gray has the women's list here, which suffers from the same issues, though because the ladies' talent is more widely dispersed there's not the same risk of omitting big names.  I'm sure Fabienne In-Albon is worthy, but for sure there will be some show ponies missing.

Remember kids, this is supposed to save our game from oblivion.

Logic in Chambles - I've always found Brandel Chamblee a reasonable sort, especially considering how much airtime there is to be filled.  But I simply am mystified by this rant after Tiger's second round stumble at The Open Championship.  Rather than an excerpt, let me just send you to Shack's post and suggest you watch the embedded video.

OK< now that you're back, what the heck is a "coup d’etat by self-immolation"?  I'm guessing it's the latter that's the accusation, not the former.  But what an odd construct.

More importantly, he's no doubt correct that the era of Tiger dominance is over, if by that he means the 2000-2002 Tiger.  But does he think that Tiger's 2013 was dominant?  I'd say because of his indifferent play in the majors it was a great year for an ordinary human being, but just short of the "D" word.  But he won five big-time tour events, including the fifth of four majors, so it's damn good.

It seems to me that he's over-interpreting the four rounds that Tiger had played when that segment aired.  The reality is that we'll only know in hindsight the parameters of the "Tiger Era," but let's at least let him get back on form after back surgery and see how he does in the majors before consigning him to the dustbin of history.

Golf World, RIP (Sort Of) - Via Shackelford, Golf World has announced the end of its print edition after 67 years.  Golf World, which is owned by Golf Digest, will convert to a digital format and be available on Monday mornings fifty weeks of the year.  From a Doug ferguson follow-up piece:

Golf World has offered an abbreviated roundup of the week's golf coverage through tablets and other devices on Monday morning, and recently the magazine has been made available digitally in the middle of the week. Starting Monday, the full magazine will be available online for free. Readers can sign up for it on the website. Tarde said Golf World subscribers can either be switched over to a Golf Digest subscription or refunded.

We're all familiar with these stories by now, as the costs of printing and mailing a magazine simply can't be supported by the advertising revenue model.  Of course digital advertising has its own challenges, but they do have the Golf Digest checkbook behind them.

Holywood Stories - The Belfast Telegraph has a piece on the reaction in Holywood, from whence young Rory Hails:

Joy at Holywood Golf Club.

While there was a party atmosphere in Holywood Golf Club, the mood was also celebratory in the town itself last night as its most famous son scooped his third Major by winning The Open Championship.

People that the Belfast Telegraph spoke to on the streets and in local bars all smiled at the mere mention of McIlroy's name and were keen to relay their pride.

I'm sure most folks know that for a time David Feherty was the assistant pro at Holywood Golf Club.  I would note that it's a small world, but when you're from Northern Ireland, it's a tiny world.

Music To My Ears - Alex Myers informs us of a man named Nigel Tait.  He and his buddies take a golf buddy trip every year to Australia (Myers doesn't specify where Tait lives), and they have a tradition of making music parodies.  I know, sounds positively dreadful, but trust me and watch it:

And like me, do you ever find yourself wondering whether Lee Westwood can sing?