And quite the weekend it was...
Scenes From the Bayou - The Tour's annual pas de deux in New Orleans was won bt a former Gator.... Really, you can't make this stuff up:
AVONDALE, La. – Billy Horschel was lining up his birdie putt on No. 18 Sunday when a large alligator came crawling out of the water about 20 feet away from the green.
Only one trophy seems....unwise. There is no shortage of local flavor at the team-format Zurich Classic.
Horschel narrowly missed the 31-foot putt. Partner Scott Piercy’s par putt from inside 3 feet circled around the cup for a moment before dropping to secure the win.
“It wanted to take a victory lap,” Horschel joked. “Just wanted to take a little trip around the hole once or twice to soak it in.”
You might have heard of the major change for this year's installment.... No, not the walk-up music, but the format swap, playing alternate shot the final day. Ironically, there was this guy that didn't like that change, a guy who goes by Billy Ho:
“When I was first told they switched the format I was against it,” Billy Horschel said. “Isaid, ‘Why would we do that?’”
On one hand, it would eliminate the kind of fireworks that four-ball can deliver with birdies coming from everywhere. On Saturday while playing four-ball, nine teams shot 63 or better, including that of Horschel and Scott Piercy, who were one of two teams to tally a 61.
There was, of course, a reason behind the change.
“When I thought more about it I was like, ‘You know what? That’s actually really good,’ ” Horschel continued. “Because the better players, better teams, obviously are going to rise on Sunday.”
He may have had it right the first time, but our Billy never fails to amuse.
Let me first stipulate that I saw very little of the week's golf.... Just a few minutes on Thursday-Friday, and the last ninety minutes or so of yesterday's coda. As much as I applaud Zurich and the Tour for seizing the format initiative, I must truthfully confess that I found yesterday's broadcast unwatchable. Why was that?
CBS was in full soporific mode for sure, but that's a weekly occurrence. Jim Nancy-Boy was otherwise engaged, but it took me 45 minutes to realize that. Was it the dreary leaderboard? It just seemed lifeless and forced, and I picked up my book to fill the attention void. To paraphrase Nixon, Richard, not Cynthia, when you've lost Unplayable Lies, you've lost America...
Ryan Lavner seemed to agree, with these constructive suggestions:
If the PGA Tour truly wants to Live Under Par, it needs to go even further with its one-off event. Hold a partner draft. Set up a jazz band on the range. Order a fog machine. Switch to a scramble setup on Saturday.
Go all-out.
I'm guessing that he's kidding about the fog machine...
As for the walk-up music, Shack's header tells us what he thought:
Walk-up Music: It's Not Just A Way To Play...It's A Way To Be...Lame
If you blast Metallica in the woods?
My phone was ringing off the hook with non-golfers totally engaged by this weekend's walk up music, so I saw little of the Zurich Classic.
Actually that's not true. The only people who saw wealthy golfers take practice swings to music were in person or watching on Golf Channel. And they all really like golf already.
Lost in the background noise is the point Geoff makes above, that the only place to see it was on Golf Channel's early day coverage, and that's only seen by golf dead-enders and hostages.
Ryan Lavner had this:
The 10 seconds of walk-up music was a good start for Tour types that are resistant to change, but the latest iteration of the Zurich Classic was awkward. Embrace it fully, or it’ll continue to feel like the Tour is trying too hard to be hip.
Ryan buddy, just because you don't want to Live Under Par™, don't be raining on the Tour's parade.
Our weekly Tour Confidential panel was asked to opine on the week, as well as to amuse with their own choices:
3. Billy Horschel and Scott Piercy teamed up to win the Zurich Classic in what was the second straight year the event used a team format. Two-man duos that advanced to the weekend were also greeted with entrance music on the 1st tee (they picked it out themselves). Reviews were mixed. A pat on the back to the Tour for trying something different, or did their attempt to liven up the sport fall flat? Oh, and what would your entrance music be?
Ritter: They tried something different, and hey, it got us talking. Did the sight of PGA Tour pros head-banging and air-guitaring on the 1st tee make golf seem young and cool? It did not. But they had fun and I respect the effort. As for my own music, I'll go with "Alive" by Pearl Jam. The kids on Tour won't know what hit em.
Dethier: Gotta echo John Wood here: props for trying and fun to watch, although the whole walk-up thing felt awkward at points. I do like the alternate-shot final round, but wouldn't mind exploring even more formats. Gimme the starts of "Intro" by The Xx or "Pure Grinding" by Avicii (gone too soon) but there's one key here: keep the music playing during the shot! Otherwise the drive itself (and ensuing stroll down the fairway) is a bit of a letdown.
It also exposes the principal problems with all of these Hip to be Cool initiatives, it alienates the core audience. At least I've heard of Pearl Jam, but Avicii? Brian Fallon? I may need to quit blogging and get out more....
And Mikey Bams is just showing off here:
Bamberger: The event's format is so good and so rooted in golf it really doesn't need anything else. It was hokey. If I were required to have entrance music, and if my scoring average were about 25 shots better than my current scoring average, I'd be inclined to walk in to Erik Satie's "Gymnopedie No. 1," which I find generally gets me in the mood.
In the mood for what?
Horses For Courses - Do we get results, or what? I watched quite a bit of the ladies' event from Lake Merced, and can't tell you how much I enjoyed last night's denouement. I frequently refer to myself as the '62 Mets of fantasy golf, and my gift was on display this week.
No sooner had I declared Lydia Ko's career behind us than this happens:
DALY CITY, Calif. (AP) — Lydia Ko hit a 3-wood to 3 feet for eagle to finish off Minjee Lee on the first hole of a playoff Sunday in the chilly LPGA MEDIHEALChampionship.
Ko won her 15th LPGA Tour title and first since July 2016, a 43-event stretch marked by changes in instructors, caddies and equipment and a large weight loss.
"It's a huge relief because people are like, 'Hey, because of this you're not winning, because of that you're not winning. Actually, I tried to stay away from all the media and everything that was being said about me and tried to just focus on what was going on in front."
Five days after turning 21, the New Zealander won for the third time at Lake Merced after taking the Swinging Skirts LPGA at the tree-lined layout in 2014 and 2015.
I don't imagine many of you watched it, as LPGA ratings are typically measured in the low teens. But what a great week for the Tour That Can't Win™, in all respects. Kudos to Mike Whan for finding a way back to Lake Merced, a wonderful venue that's a perfect fit for the girls. Great visuals all week, an actual West Coast swing when combined with last week's event at Wilshire, and a prime time TV window that allows for actual viewers.
Before we get to Lydia herself, let's acknowledge that Mediheal, or is it MEDIHEAL, is one horribly awkward name for an event. I liked that the prior week they got LA into the event title, and wonder if this event might do the same. They do use the Golden Gate Bridge in the event logo, so clearly they want some stronger tie to the locale. And the sponsor also results in an additional entry for those Strange Trophy slideshows:
Egads, that's just creepy.
I didn't realize that The Good Doctor was involved with Lake Merced until Shack posted this old photo:
Here's the history from the club's website:
In the late 1920′s the course was redesigned by the legendary Dr. Alister MacKenzie. His signature “cloud shaped” bunkering style dotted the course as did many intricate strategic choices for every level of player. Naturally, the club was a much-sought out venue for amateur and professional competition.
The insufferable purist in me would love more detail on how much of his work remains intact, as well as the results of their involvement with Open Doctor Rees Jones. Maybe next year....
As for Lydia, Randall Mell is all in:
Lydia Ko looks as if she’s back! It sure sounded as if she’s back. That 3-wood she nearly holed from 234 yards into the 18th green on the first playoff hole of the Mediheal Championship ignited a roar Sunday heard around the world of golf.
The greatest teen phenom in the history of the women’s game ended her 21-month victory drought in spectacular fashion, with practically a tap-in eagle. Her 15th LPGA title just a few days after turning 21 should bring back more than the acclaim she enjoyed as an LPGA star. It should bring back the confidence that made her so formidable.
Shack calls is the SOTYSF:
It's early, but given the circumstances, Lydia Ko's 3-wood on 18 at Lake Merced in sudden death is the clubhouse leader for 2018's best to date.In a playoff with Minjee Lee--winner of the U.S. Junior Girls at the same course--Ko went for the 18th in two. But it was the combination of pressure, picking three-wood off the tight LMCC fairways and hitting over an overhanging cypress branch that makes this really special.
Easy there, Geoff, have you been drinking? You're well aware that Brandell Chamblee called DJ's wind and terrain-assisted drive at Kapalua the greatest shot of all time, and that trumps your SOTYSF equivocation....
But on the larger issue of Lydia's career arc, color me skeptical. Let's go back to the videotape:
More than 20 yards behind Lee in the fairway on the par-5 18th in the playoff, Ko hit a 3-wood that cleared the tree limbs on the right, landed in front of the green and rolled inches by on the right side."I knew that I needed to catch my 3-wood really solid," Ko said. "I think the big thought process for me was, ‘Hey, try and hit a 3-wood like I did it on the 15th hole.' I was able to kind of copy that and I heard it almost tried to go in for a 2, which obviously wasn't running through my mind."
You guys know how my mind works by now, to me the most important bit is that first sentence, being more than twenty yards shorter than her competitor. Minjee is a good player, averaging 264 yards off the tee, placing her 26th in that category.
Lydia, by way of comparison, averages a mere 250 yards off the tee, placing her 113th in that category. And lest you think she's make sup for it in accuracy, she's 79th in that category. Her putting stats remain very strong, though she's predictably only middle-of-the-pack in GIR's.
The obvious question is whether her short-game skills can make up for the distance handicap off the tee.... You might say that the did sufficiently to keep her the No. 1 player in the world for a long stretch of time.... But the last two years have been quite the struggle, and there's just so little room for error. She had to stuff a three-wood to win, but how many times can she do that?
But, on the other hand, how do you not love this girl? Even when she was struggling, she was skipping down fairways with that infectious smile on her face....I'm not terribly optimistic about her prospects, but I'll sure be rooting for her.
Time is a bit short at my end, so I'll cover this last item and catch up on all else tomorrow. This has to be music to the ears of Mike Whan:
The positive reviews from players at the Zurich Classic since its change from anindividual stroke-play event to a two-man team competition have led to talk about possibly other team events being played on the PGA Tour, including a potential mixed event in conjunction with the LPGA. It’s an idea that has had the support of LPGA commissioner Mike Whan, and now has a renewed endorsement from his PGA Tour counterpart, Jay Monahan.
“We’re very interested in getting the men and women together inside the ropes in the same week and in the same competition,” Monahan told reporters at TPC Louisiana on Sunday. “I think that’s something you’ll see in the future. It’s just a matter of time. That’s really exciting and interesting.”
Exactly when in the future, however, is unclear. Monahan and his team in Ponte Vedra Beach are in the midst of finalizing a new PGA Tour schedule that would go into effect in the 2018-’19 season. The new schedule would alter when a handful of traditional events are played and move up the finish of the FedEx Cup playoffs to late August or early September. A mixed-team event has not been a serious part of those discussions.
It would be quite the coup for the gals to share the stage with the PGA lads, and interesting to see whether the boys would embrace it. Tiger-Cheyenne, anyone?
All I can see are the scheduling complications in the midst of schedule contraction, but he said it out loud.
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