Add "We have a window" to great moments in golf's oral history.... Who cares how they played, it's just a minor miracle THAT they played.
Mr. Monday - Seriously, that's what Golf Digest dubbed our Keegs, who at least yesterday was the luckiest man on the planet:
Two weeks ago, Keegan Bradley played his way into the final pairing at the Northern Trust Open. It felt like a chance for a career renewal for Bradley, who hadn’t won in sixyears and built up a series of solid, unspectacular seasons. But he looked uncomfortable all day in New Jersey, suffering his way to a final-round 78. As Bryson DeChambeau cruised to victory alongside him, Bradley slipped from second to T34.
Monday was a wholly different story. Bradley rallied in the final round of the BMW Championship with a six-under 64, tied for the best round in the field, and outlasted the new World No. 1 to stand in the winner’s circle at Aronimink. It was his first win in six years.
Monday was a different story, mostly. There was that comically bad shot tracer on his final hole drive, a hole in which he played four consecutive poor shots.
When I say lucky, I of course include this Justin Thomas moment. But, more significantly, Justin Rose's poor play on the 18th in both regulation and the payoff. Not the finish expected from one of the steadier players out there.
Josh Sens finds the event worthy of thirty seconds of our time, though just barely:
Winner: Keegan Bradley, in a playoff over Justin Rose
Why it matters: The win ends a six-year victory drought for Bradley, whose last title came at the 2012 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational
Best miss of the day: Bradley’s pull-hook drive on the 18 hole of regulation, which sailed so wildly left it wound up in a trampled down area of turf—a good lie, with a good view of the green.
Second-best miss of the day: Rose’s approach on the 18th in the playoff, which ricocheted off the grandstand and settled in a good lie, just right of the green.
That's the drive referenced above, which in dryer conditions bounced forever off the hardpan. But the miss of the day would seem to this observer to have been Rose's par putt to win on No. 18, which caught quite a bit of the cup.
As with Webb Simpson, credit is due to Keegs for finding a way back to relevance after the ban on anchored putting. While I remain glad that it's been banished from our game, there's little doubt that it was profoundly unfair to players that came of age anchoring.
A couple of additional notes from Josh:
The woulda-coulda-shoulda been a winner: Rory McIlroy, who led the field in strokes gained pretty much everything, except with his flatstick. In the final round, the longest putt he made was from five feet.
Quote of the day: “Was in control of my destiny, and just didn’t have it this week.”— Jordan Spieth, who after a T-55 finish that left him out of the top 30 in the FedEx Cup standings, and out of the Tour Championship for the first time in his career.
Gonna circle back below to both of those, but first....
Finaust Kind - A bit of an anti-climax, but to no one's surprise:
On an eventful Monday at Aronimink, the final piece of the Ryder Cup puzzle came into place. Captain Jim Furyk chose Tony Finau as his final captain’s pick, rounding out the12-man squad headed to Paris at the end of the month.
Furyk was scheduled to announce the pick Monday morning, but when thunderstorms rained out the final round on Sunday, Furyk’s announcement was postponed. At 4:45 p.m., it arrived on Twitter.
As you know, I'm lukewarm on this pick, as he's an awkward fit for both the golf course and the team. Yeah, he's had a good season with lots of finishes, but a couple of the guys from the Tour Confidential panel with flashing yellow lights:
Shipnuck: I love Finau but the fact is he’s won exactly one tournament in five years on Tour. Aronimink would be Xander’s third win in 14 months. Finau has a ton of firepower but Schauffele is a closer. I’d take X-Man.Passov: I’m absolutely with Mr. Shipnuck here. I’m a big, big Tony Finau fan — I mean, who isn’t at this point — but one total PGA Tour win just doesn’t strike me as an “automatic” reservation on the team. If X-Man bests another great field and bags his third crown, I say he goes to Paris.
Those were written Sunday night, and obviously X-man didn't get it done.... It's hard not to like Tony in fourballs, but even there he's going to have to hit some fairways....
In other cup news, The Forecaddie had this header on which he fails to deliver the goods:
The Forecaddie: ‘Players coach’ Furyk takes football-like strategy to Ryder Cup
I'm not sure what a football-like strategy would entail, but neither is our Forecaddie, as this is the closest he gets:
So do speeches at these things, preferably of the motivational variety. Furyk is hard atwork on his words of wisdom for the squad, and, given that he’s a football fanatic, TMOF wondered if Furyk’s style will be closer to player’s coach or disciplinarian.
More Pete Carroll or Tom Coughlin?
“Players, for sure,” Furyk told TMOF. “I’m not sure in the Ryder Cup the disciplinarian thing would quite fly, but these are my peers too. I’ve played alongside these guys for so long, not only played with them but (coached) as a vice-captain. I’m a lot older than most of them, but I’d say players coach for sure.”
The last RC Captain that was hired to be a disciplinarian was Tom Watson, and we're still waiting for Phil's shiv to be surgically removed.
But I'm still waiting for him to get to the football part....
Come to think of it, Furyk even talks about the Ryder Cup like a football game. One that can’t come soon enough.
“It’s tough to play on the road,” Furyk said. “We’re trying to turn back 25 years of one-way at a golf course they know very well, I’m very aware of all that. I’m looking for players that want to seize that opportunity and really thrive in those conditions.”
Never mind.
And Alistair Tate explains the Sergio pick:
European captain Thomas Bjorn has certainly played it safe in his bid to win back the Ryder Cup.
Selecting Paul Casey, Ian Poulter and Henrik Stenson made perfect sense. But adding Sergio Garcia’s name to that list suggests Bjorn has been too conservative. Rafa Cabrera Bello, Matt Wallace and Thomas Pieters might think so.
Can Bjorn be blamed for choosing Garcia considering the hand he’d already been dealt? With five rookies already on his squad, Wallace had no chance despite winning the last qualifying event, the Made in Denmark, with the sort of golf needed in a Ryder Cup. Wallace, 28-year-old Englishman birdied seven of his last eight holes to win.
Au contraire, Monsieur.... Mr. Bjorn has made the Sergio pick that which will define his captaincy, anything but the safe call.
Besides vast experience, Bjorn opted for Garcia because of a mysterious intangible.
“Sergio is the one that will stand up in the middle of the room and they will listen to,” Bjorn said. “He’ll be the one for me that is Ollie (Jose Maria Olazabal), Seve (Ballesteros) in the old days. Now it’s Sergio. That’s what he is and there’s not many of those people. There’s not many of those people that stand up in front of their peers one week every two years and make everybody better. That’s a massive quality to have and it’s something, as a captain, I feel like I can’t look away from.”
Yet Garcia’s pick flies in the face of Bjorn’s statement earlier this year about picking players running into form. Garcia has none compared to Pieters and Cabrera Bello. Garcia’s performances this year prove that, with seven missed cuts in his last 12, including all four majors, and no appearance in this year’s FedEx Cup.
Tait amuses with his comparison to the notorious Curtis Strange pick, though the comparison doesn't serve us well. There's a case to be made for Sergio, there was none in the case of Curtis. I'm just \never comfortable when the case is entirely related to prior performance and team room intangibles, as these guys inevitably reach a sell-by date. Even the sainted Seve stayed too long at the fair.....
Wither Rory - John Feinstein captures the enigma that is Rory with this framing anecdote:
Rory McIlroy and David Feherty were having dinner in Philadelphia on Wednesday night on the eve of the BMW Championship at Aronomink Golf Club. The mood waslight, stories and one-liners flying back and forth. Almost casually, Feherty said, “So, how are you feeling about your game? Pretty good I would think?”
McIlroy smiled and, as he always does, whether the setting is public or private, answered the question honestly. “My game is good,” he said. “I think it’s actually very good.”
Then, almost sheepishly he added, “I shot 27 on the front nine today.”
Feherty laughed. “Twenty-seven? I’d say that’s pretty good.”
McIlroy nodded and continued. “I’ve really played well all year if you think about it. I’ve had so many chances to win—should have won a lot more. My problem’s been playing in the last group. I’ve just not played well in those situations. If I ever get that figured out, I could be dangerous.”
He’s still trying to figure it out.
Yeah, but John never actually gets around to citing any evidence of the trying thing. It seems just to be something bad that happens to Rory.....
Rory will be an interesting figure to watch at the Ryder Cup. It's hard to see the Euros winning without a strong week from their best player (at least their best player not named Justin Rose), but there no style points available.
Jordan Throws Himself Upon The Mercy Of The Court - That quote above is so quintessentially Jordan.... Though I'd have replaced the word "week" with "year". But I've been reliably informed that he's really close and putting very well. Of course, my source is Jordan, and he's the ultimate unreliable narrator:
Jordan Spieth won’t be getting a Tour Championship invite but he will be getting a slapon the wrist.
The 25-year-old will miss the final event of the FedEx Cup playoffs for the first time in his career next week after just barely falling short of finishing in the top 30 in the FedEx Cup standings — and in the process will be violating a Tour rule.
According to the PGA Tour’s Strength of Field Regulation, if a player plays 25 events in a season, he need not add any new events to his playing schedule. If he plays less than 25, then that player must play add a start to his schedule that he hasn’t played in the last four years. The Tour Championship would have been the 24th event of Spieth’s season.
For failing to satisfy the Strength of Field Regulation, Spieth is set to receive either a fine of more than $20,000 or a three-tournament suspension; the Tour will determine which penalty will be assessed.
OK, the fine comes out of petty cash and the suspension only matters to the extent that it covers events in which he's likely to play. But this is the bit than continues to rankle:
When asked for comment by GOLF.com Monday, the PGA Tour offered: “Regarding Jordan — like any issue where a player is found to be in violation of a PGA TOUR Regulation, the PGA TOUR will handle directly with that player and have no additional comment.
And why is that? As instituted by Nurse Ratched, this is to maintain the premise that these guys are all saints, without sharing any information that would allow us to come to our own conclusions. I look forward to updates about Jordan's jet-ski mishaps.
Department of Strange Timing - The same observer that saw football-inspired strategies in Captain Furyk extends the analogy to TV coverage. But perhaps the Forecaddie hasn't noticed, but these are troubled times for the NFL.... I had been naively wondering which of these would cause the death of the NFL:
- Catastrophic brain injuries;
- The inability to define a catch, or;
- Colin Kaepernick.
Of course, the last of those has moved on to take on Nike, get Woke- Go Broke, as the kids are wont to say. But then I see this looming issue as well:
Pro football is about to gamble away its future.
It's an interesting premise, especially in light of the fact that gambling has up until now contributed to the popularity of the league... It's just amusing timing, but of course there's no reason not to consider whether golf broadcasts could learn from the NFL, so lets' see what he's got:
4. Better use of on-course reporters
During football games, we often see the sideline reporter providing an injury update or giving viewers a sense of the mood on the sidelines. It’s not always great information, but at least it gives viewers the sense that those reporters are close to the action.
No sports reporters are closer to the action than golf’s on-course reporters, but the only time we see them on camera is if they’re forced to do a post-round interview. Occasionally it would be nice to see Roger Maltbie or Peter Kostis show us a bad lie in the rough and explain the player’s options.
Ummm... aren't they already doing this pretty regularly. There's an obvious issue of getting in the way, as well as the fact that their descriptions of lies frequently seems in conflict with the view of said lie provided. Unless he's referring to the Masters, where we get none of the above.
2. Standardize key technologies
When I watch an NFL game, I know I’m going to see the line-of-scrimmage line and the first-down line on every play. When I watch golf, I might see shot-tracing technology or putting graphics on a hole – or I might not.
Rather than golf producers teasing viewers with cool technology here or there, let’s identify two or three of the best technologies, then put all of the sponsorship dollars behind them so that we can see them on every hole.
I don't see this as such a great idea. Since we can't follow the ball on camera, more shot tracing is probably a good thing, but I know many folks hate the putting lines.... otherwise, nothing here really rocks my world.
Loose Ends - Just a couple of insignificant items so you won't feel cheated, including this Signboard from last weekend's Euro Tour event:
That arose because baby brother Chase Koepka was paired with Daniel Brooks.....
This from that Golf Magazine anonymous poll of Tour players will not surpsie anyone that's listened to the audio feed of a Tour event:
In GOLF’s anonymous player poll, out this month in the October issue, 53% of the 59 respondents said that unruly fan behavior has cost them at least one shot in a tournament. “Every. Single. Week,” one player said.
For some players, there is an upside to relative anonymity, compared to the Tour’s biggest stars. One Tour pro remarked that he never has to deal with hecklers: “Not enough people are ever watching me.”
Is that you, Robert Allenby? It's getting very annoying out there, as they compete with each other to live further under par.... Or something.
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