The Riv: Great venue, incredibly weak field this year, with only eleven of the top thirty players in the world in attendance, And, on a topical note, Freddie Couples and Davis Love taking two valuable slots that coulda/woulda/shoulda gone to actual competitive Tour pros.
The weak field is very much a long-term trend caused by Commissioner Ratched's wretched scheduling decisions, exacerbated by the one-off move of the WGC Match-Play event to later in the season.
Speaking of match play, see what you think of this two-part, two-Shack feature comparing Pebble and Riviera:
Whew, that was nip and tuck the entire way... Fact is they're pretty much the two best venues that the Tour visits every year.
Also of interest are the wide range of viewing options, including Live@ Coverage of play at the always interesting tenth hole. There are five channels devoted to the event on Direct TV as well, although for now I've got messages indicating that the coverage is upcoming.
This Week In Trick Shot Videos - It makes my job far easier when we can combine our quotas of trick shots and golf babes in one short item...Submitted for your approval is the San Diego State Women's Golf Team:
Those are some lucky golf balls....
DVR Alert - The ladies are at Royal Melbourne, well worth a look if you're awake at zero dark thirty. I'd suggest taping, and here's the broadcast windows:
Tournament Airtimes On Golf Channel (Eastern):
Wednesday 11 p.m.-2 a.m. (Live) / 1:30-4:30 p.m. (Thursday replay)
Thursday 11:30 p.m.-2 a.m. (Live) / 1:30-4:30 p.m. (Friday replay)
Friday 11:30 p.m.-2 a.m. (Live) / 3-6 p.m. (Saturday replay)
A Little Cheese With That Whine? - Boy are they getting soft up in Boston...this guy is going for pity, no?Saturday 9 p.m.-2 a.m. (Live) / 3-6:30 p.m. (Sunday replay)
OK, enough of the whining (or is it whinging?)... you don't hear this guy complaining, do you?
Mixed Feelings - Like many, I've found the whole AT&T event increasingly cloying, and at the top of the list of malefactors is Bill Murray. But then you read this Jaime Diaz feature on Murray and you realize the error of your ways:
Arguably no one on earth is better at making the mundane memorable than Bill Murray, and his gift finds particular expression in golf. The comedian's pro-am rounds produce an uncanny flow of distinctive moments, fueled by a beyond-showmanship obligation to leave a personal signature on every encounter. Murray seems to live by the E.M. Forster directive: “Only connect.”
For example, when, after putting out on Monterey Peninsula’s 17th green and a bevy of adult women on a patio scream his name, Murray joyfully called out “Cougars!” and strutted over for a few sips of wine. Then, in front of the 18th tee, 11-year-old Rachel Ellison of Palo Alto shyly asked him for an autograph. Murray paused, then suddenly swung her low in a ballroom-dancing dip.
It was all more fodder for the website, billmurrarystories.com, dedicated to people recounting random meetings (most of them true) in which Murray applied his magical spin. “I try to be alert and available—available just for life to happen to you,” Murray recently told Charlie Rose. Murray confided once to longtime caddie Andrew Whitacre that when choosing gallery members to interact with, he looked “for the ones with kind eyes.” And though he is big hearted, Murray is also honing his craft. “You make it difficult for me, I will make it work,” the Academy Award-nominated actor said to Howard Stern. “Put me in a box … that’s where you really have to be creative.”
You'll come away from Jaime's piece thinking far more highly of the man. No man should have to leave this mortal coil before Jaime puts their life in perspective.
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