Catching Up

Apologies, dear readers, for my prolonged absence from these pages.  Unfortunately I have had to deal with quite a few family issues in these days, as well as some bureaucratic snafus worthy of that Kafka fellow.   So, while time is still a precious commodity, let's catch you up on things you might have missed.

How Can We Miss You? - Our Commissioner Ratched refuses to go gently into that good night, ensuring your humble correspondent that the Nurse Ratched bit has legs... 

Finchem's latest four-year contract will expire in June, which would complete 23 years

as the commissioner. But even with a succession plan in place - he named Jay Monahan the deputy commissioner in March - it didn't sound as though Finchem was counting the days. Far from it. 

"It's a little ill-defined at the moment," Finchem said. "We have a great succession plan in progress. There are a couple of three major kind of projects I'd like to get pushed a little bit. The timing of what that means is still up in the air. The board is very comfortable about that."

I'll bet they are... after all, it's just a tad inbred.   But our Timmy has shoved more than one executive out the door at age 60, but the goose-gander thing is applied selectively.

Of more interest are the projects to which Nurse Ratched believes attention must be paid.  Annotated with mine very own comments:

• The policy board at its last meeting approved a massive capital campaign project for improvements to The Players Championship and TPC Sawgrass. For all that Finchem has done in his two decades, The Players always has been among his highest priorities.

Well, yeah, 'cause he doesn't control any of the really important events.  But that baby has gone under the knife more than all of the Kardashians, yet they assured us it was just perfect the last time.  And the time before.... 

• Golf returns to the Olympics next year in Rio de Janeiro for the first time since 1904, though the work is not done. Golf will be part of the Olympic program in Rio and in Tokyo for 2020. But the big hurdle is securing its place for 2024 and beyond. The IOC will decide that in 2017, though it helps that most of the top stars plan to compete.

After putting everyone to sleep in Rio, that's gonna be a big ask...  Not sure Finchie has much to offer here, but I'm mostly interested in the fallout experienced in the rest of the jam-packed schedule.

• Most intriguing is the possibility of a global tour. Finchem first mentioned it five years ago. He didn't have a clear view of what form it would take other than to say that "at some point in time, men's professional golf will become integrated globally." This constitutes a long-term project that he would like to "get pushed a little bit." It also requires plenty of cooperation with other tours, particularly in Europe and in Asia.

The AP is playing a little fast and loose with the concept of "intriguing".  I don't think our man sees any need for a world tour, as he's riding high these days.  But by all means, because there's ate least two weeks when he doesn't have an event on the calendar....that void cannot stand!

And these are offered as afterthoughts:

• An early start on the next round of TV negotiations. The contracts are up in 2021, though it's never too early to start. 

• The contract for the title sponsorship of the FedEx Cup ends after 2017. By the same token, the tour has some title sponsorships that end after 2016, and the 2017 schedule could feature plenty of moving parts. But renewals and scheduling - and television - are issues that will continue to be part of PGA Tour business.

Conventional wisdom is that the inevitable unbundling of cable services is going to impact sports in a big way.  He can likely see the tea leaves and knows not to dawdle, but FedEx is the linchpin... I'd love to be a fly on the wall in that boardroom, because the economic justification for that mega-deal escapes me.

It'd be a hoot to see them have to rename it The Tostitos Cup or the The Liquid Plumber Cup or The Cialis Cup....

Sportsman of The Year. Not - Jordan Spieth is a finalist for Sports Illustrated's prestigious SOY award, but he'll be a losing finalist.  Mike Bamberger makes what case can be made:

If Jordan Spieth, the big-hearted golfing prodigy, is not named Sportsman of the Year,

expect civil unrest. Middle-aged men in Under Armour windbreakers and soft-spike Foot Joys will gather outside SI’s offices, carrying placards marked 54 under! in bold red ink. The 22-year-old Texan was 54 strokes below par in the four majors this year. The total winning score for all four majors was 58 under. He was there, there, there and there.

OK, I'm hoping you've got more than that.

There were other highlights in a season that will go down as one of the five or 10 best in the (roughly) 150-year history of professional golf. In August, Spieth took solo second at the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits, near the factory town of Kohler, Wis. In September he won the Tour Championship at East Lake, in Atlanta—the course Bobby Jones grew up playing—and with it the FedEx Cup. In October, at the Presidents Cup in South Korea, he was the buoyant epicenter of the winning team, as the U.S. beat the Internationals by a point.

So, yes, this Jordan Spieth was a big-time big winner in 2015. But the name of the honor under discussion here is Sportsman of the Year. That’s why he’s most deserving.

Yeah, you know who else won a lot?  That horse with the misspelled name... not to mention the Royals.  And that Steph Curry guy didn't suck... Josh Sens takes a shot at electioneering at the polls, elevating Jordan above America Pharaoh as follows:

Why Spieth is more worthy: There are horses for courses, and in that regard, the Tour’s young thoroughbred was even more adaptive than this year’s Triple Crown winner. From plush Augusta to baked-out Chambers Bay, he triumphed on a variety of tracks. He also won in nearly every fashion, whether leading wire-to-wire or mounting a comeback on the closing stretch to nip the competition by a nose. Nothing against the history-making colt, but Spieth had a stronger finishing kick: as the year wound down, and American Pharoah was heading out to pasture, Spieth kept charging, winning $10 million and the FedEx Cup. You tell us who’s the bigger stud.

Now that baked out track, that's where he won when the other guy gagged?  Even Zach gets into the mix, with this:

All that being said, it’s what happened at St. Andrews, where Jordan actually lost, that

makes him Sportsman of the Year in my mind. We must remember the award is given not only for athletic achievement, but also for sportsmanship. 

It took some of the best golf I’ve played in years to win the British Open. Jordan had narrowly missed the playoff for his third major of the year by just a single stroke, his history on temporary hold as I won the 3-hole playoff. As I walked off the 18th green at St. Andrews, with thousands of people crowded around one of the most famous settings in golf, the first peer waiting to see me was Jordan Spieth, wearing that classic smile and embracing me in congratulatory hug. 

I’m never going to forget that classy move, and I’ll never forget his 2015.

Yes, and that's very much what makes our game so special.  But it's no more special than we see from many other players, and Spieth is a tad early for a lifetime achievement award.  We're a fringe sport and it simply ain't gonna happen.

My New Mancrush - So, the bride and I were watching the Australian Open a few weeks ago when Geoff Ogilvy appears on camera.   Employee No. 2 sees the Aussie, and notes that she's happy to get a glimpse of the object of my mancrush.  Hey, he's got a sophisticated appreciation of timeless golf course design, and a fellow could do worse.

But Geoff had best not take my affections for granted, as a Rose by any other name:

With the Hero over, Rose turns his attention to fun with his friends from England, some pleasure golf at Albany and a healthy stretch of rest. He hasn’t quite made his mind up about accepting a spot into the Hyundai Tournament of Champions in Maui (Jan. 7-10), but for sure he’s going to play heavily on the West Coast in lieu of the Florida Swing. 

“My allergies were so bad in Florida last year, I was miserable,” Rose said. “Also, I just feel like the golf courses in Florida are a little tricked up. You end up playing great defensive golf.” 

On the flip side, with a nod to Torrey Pines (the Farmers Insurance Open), the Pebble Beach-Monterey Peninsula-Spyglass rota (AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am) and Riviera (Northern Trust Open), Rose said, “I think the layouts are the best on Tour on the West Coast.”

Really, Justin?  You think the Snake Pit and the Bear Trap and the Seasick Crocodile are contrived?  Boy, you're hard to please....

At least we'll have one show pony on the West Coast Swing.

Life Imitates the Onion (with apologies to James Taranto) -  You really can't make this stuff up:

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Nicole Jeray has heard all the jokes about sleeping on the job. Over the years, she has learned to laugh at herself when she awakens in the fairway during golf tournament rounds or on greens when it is her time to putt.

Her life as a touring professional has been anything but typical since 1996, when she was found to have narcolepsy, which the Mayo Clinic describes as a “chronic sleep disorder characterized by overwhelming daytime drowsiness and sudden attacks of sleep.”

OK, I don't know who else in the golf world suffers from narcolepsy, but I'm pretty sure that Nick Faldo is a carrier.

All joking aside, it's a debilitating disease and all credit to Jeray for fighting through it.  She earned herself conditional playing privileges at the most recent  LPGA Q-School, so let's hope we see her out there in 2016.  Give the piece a read, as it's always helpful to get an up close look at how the 99% struggle to make it.

Our Phil - Chris Chaney tweeted this about Lefty:

Chris Chaney‏@Wrong_Fairway

Phil Mickelson is the best. He posts all of his Tour scores to his GHIN handicap. Tuesday money games are for real.

 

Now what tour course has a slope of only 132?  That's lower than Willow Ridge and many others....and didn't he play a lot of golf on 8/15?

That Justin Rose item above includes a discussion of his get together with his chums from growing up... they're making him play as a +10 in their matches.  As Justin put it so well, his Sunday 62 had him shooting his handicap.