We've got some hard-hitting coverage for y'all today.... We report without fear or favor.
Holy S**t, Batman! - I had been reliably informed that golf is a game played by gentlemen, though I'm thinking there has to be a Robert Allenby exclusion buried in the fine print. Josh Berhow has this unique year-in-review offering:
Justin Thomas was overwhelmed with emotion. Under the fading sunlight in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., Thomas had just two-putted for birdie on the first playoff hole to win the 2018 Honda Classic.
After holing the tournament-winner — a knee-knocking four-footer — he took a step back and pumped his fists once. “Let’s go!” he yelled. Then he did it again. This time with slightly more colorful language, and CBS microphones caught it all: “F— yeah, baby!”
Less than an hour later, while meeting with the press, Thomas could only laugh at his 73rd-hole slip.
“I didn’t know that was obviously going to be on TV or I wouldn’t have said it,” he said. “I’m sorry. Please don’t fine me very much, PGA. … I apologize to anybody that heard it, or everybody that heard it.”
Apparently nine complaints were made to the FCC, and Josh has them all.... This guy singles out one repeat offender:
One of the NBC complaints was triggered by a Tiger Woods expletive during the final round of the Bay Hill Invitational. The viewer said they were watching with their 10-year-old son.
“I am trying to teach my son golf and would like to continue watching, but I don’t think I can,” the viewer said. “I feel like when [Woods] plays they should use a delay.”
Oh sure, pick on the black guy. But for those keeping score at home, this was the most memorable of these incidents:
In all fairness, is it too much to ask that we get a shot of said hot ex? They get us interested in the characters, and then cut us off abruptly.....
Cancel The Rent Party - Forbes with the comforting news that our hero might just make it after all:
Tiger Woods cracked the winner’s circle for the first time in five years when he won the Tour Championship in September. It was a remarkable comeback after four backsurgeries for Woods, who will turn 43 at the end of the month.
While injuries have limited the golfer on the course since 2014, he continues to be a bankable star off it, more than two decades after he turned pro. The result is an estimated net worth of $800 million, tied for ninth with author James Patterson in Forbes’ annual measure of America’s Wealthiest Celebrities. The golfer and author rank just behind hip-hop artist Diddy ($825 million). Star Wars creator George Lucas is the top celebrity at $5.4 billion.
Woods has earned $1.5 billion since he turned pro in 1996 ($1.8 billion adjusted for inflation), with more than 90% of the tally from endorsements, appearance fees and golf course design work. His $116 million in career prize money on the PGA Tour is 31% ahead of Phil Mickelson, who sits in second. Woods was the highest-paid athlete for 11 straight years when he was at the peak of his game and winning 14 major championships.
Well, that's certainly a relief.... A major in 2019 and he might just catch Diddy..... There was a time a few years ago when Tiger was rumored to be somewhere between cash poor and destitute, though he's so cheap with a dollar that it never computed.
Top-Dressing In Scotland - Don't you just hate the aeration on your home course? More than anything, it's the sand used as part of the drill and fill program that irks me. But this from one of Scotland's historic links seems like overkill:
Scotland’s Montrose Golf Links advertises itself as the fifth-oldest golf course in the world; the rugged links have stood the test of time for more than 450 years on Scotland’s east coast. But the second hole, which overlooks the beach and the North Sea, was radically transformed during a weekend storm.
As sea levels have risen in recent years, the sea has crept closer and closer to Montrose’s first three holes — 70 meters closer in 30 years, according to research from Dundee University. When Storm Deirdre hit the area on Saturday, the high winds brought the beach to the course itself, blanketing the fairways and greens and filling holes and bunkers with sand.
Head greenskeeper Darren McLaughlin told PitchCare he’s never seen anything like it in 22 years in the industry, and locals have said this is the worst they’ve ever seen.
“This is a result of coastal erosion, the dunes slightly just retreating towards the golf course,” McLaughlin said. “When the wind turns to come from the southeast then effectively there is very little protection. It blows up towards the course, to the second fairway and leaves this fairly thick carpet of sand; and then the fairway is basically unplayable. I have never seen anything like that.”
Looks really wild, and you'll never guess where they lay the blame.... Oh, who am I kidding? They can't help themselves...... Apparently there was never crazy weather before the invention of the internal combustion engine.
Is This a Good Look? - I have a question for you... what exactly was wrong with dropping the ball from shoulder height? One of my ongoing frustrations with our governing bodies is that they waste their efforts on rules that don't need updating. For example, the elimination of the penalty for double-hits. Who exactly was the pro-double-hit lobby?
Golf.com has been running a series of items on the pending rules changes, none of which I've felt the need to share with my knowledgeable readership. Today's installment covers the revised rules governing drops, and I have a simple question. Why do they want make us look like buffoons:
It's not a dignified look, is it? I guess there's nothing preventing us from continuing to drop from shoulder height....
Alan, En Fuego - Alan Shipnuck's weekly mailbag feature has carried many of my posts, but this week's is especially good. Shall we dive in, the first question being something of a twofer?
#AskAlan What is the bigger crime against humanity – Dru Love (aspiring Tour pro, a dozen career Tour starts) competing in the Father/Son or Omar Uresti (a PGA Life Member, over 350 career Tour starts) competing as a “club pro”? -@BladyNick
What about John Peterson getting his am status back in 3 years? -@NoCartsPlease
All of the above are abominations, fundamentally altering the playing field in unfair ways. The Peterson thing really bugs me. Amateur status should be like your virginity – once it’s gone, it’s gone forever. To be a pro means devoting countless hours to your game, conferring a lifetime advantage over mere amateurs. Uresti has a similar edge over the poor sweater-folders he’s competing against. And the Dru Love outrage has been so pervasive I don’t have much to add, other than scorn.
OK, I have trouble working up any outrage over the Father-Son, it not being serious enough to warrant my scorn. But I am amused by how angry club pros get about Omar Uresti, given that he's legitimately working as a club pro.
A couple of Jack queries for you?
Looking for a late Christmas gift: what is the best Jack Nicklaus biography? -Eric (@GolfTrotterQc)
It’s kind of sad that all the Nicklaus autobios are somewhat dry and boring. Arnie & Jack by Ian O’Connor is probably your best bet, since it’s enlivened by the Palmer material. Duel in the Sun by Michael Corcoran is not as expansive but it does a terrific job bringing to life the unforgettable 1977 Open Championship. I also really like Curt Sampson’s The Eternal Summer about the 1960 season – there’s a lot of Hogan and Palmer here but also some fascinating stuff about the young Nicklaus.
Jack is my golf God, but he's not a terribly interesting subject for a bio.... Just too nice and too upstanding. But this one I like:
Looks like Jack can still putt. What would his legitimate handicap be? #AskAlan -John (@jkellegrew)
Put him on 6K yard tees, which makes sense for a man of his age, and he’s scratch … at least if there are cameras and fans around. The Nicklaus kitchen is papered in signed $100 bills he’s taken from his regular playing partners. One of Big Jack’s intimates told me that these days across 18 holes his interest seems to come and go but he *always* birdies the last hole to take the money. How good is that?
It's very good, indeed.
One more from the F-S:
I fell in love with Little John’s game this weekend. Discuss. -@BrianvRowe
Yeah, it was a revelation watching him play. Like most golfers, I probably spend too much time worrying about mechanics and being bogged down by swing thoughts. Little John is the antidote to all of that. The freedom with which he plays is truly inspiring.
I'm sorry, I couldn't get past the shorts....
In order, Koepka’s power, Spieth’s putter, Tiger’s mind, Reed’s short game, Stenson’s 3-wood, Pepperell’s humour or Rock’s hairdo? -@MarkTownsendNCG
I don’t need Rock’s hair! This is what I crave, in order: Koepka’s long-game, Reed’s short-game, Spieth’s putter, Tiger’s mind (because if I have all of the above, I can remain mentally weak), Stenson’s 3-wood, Pepperell’s wit.
Alan's hair supremacy acknowledged, it seems a strange time to go all-in on Jordan's putting...Just sayin'.
Since repairs will be allowed on greens starting in January, do you think there will be a movement to wear steel spike shoes again? -@TimothyrPope
I doubt it, since most golfers are now used to wearing glorified tennis shoes and they are undeniably more comfortable. But I hope a few die-hards will go back to the nails, if only because the sound of those shoes on hard surfaces is so evocative – I can still hear the stomping of pissed-off Tour pros from the mid-90s as they stormed out of the scoring area and across parking lots.
Sigh. he's preaching to the converted, but I miss the days when trunk-slammers were preceded by the clomp-clomp-clomp across the parking lot.....
At which North Carolina course would you like to see a PGA Tour event? Excluding Pinehurst and courses already hosting (Quail, Sedgefield, etc). -@Mason_Herlihy
Tobacco Road!!! I played it for the first time this year and it blew my mind. It might be the most fun/outrageous course I’ve ever seen, just a vast canvas for Mike Strantz to express his artistry. The pros would probably hate it, which is all the more reason to make them play it!
I can't tell you how much I hated that golf course....
Who is your favorite player to interview? #AskAlan -Matthew (@DKMSKeller)
Geoff Ogilvy, Padraig, Phil, Pat Perez, Rory, Martin Kaymer, Bryson, Tony Finau, Bubba, Keegan Bradley, Sneds, Charles Howell, Stewart Cink, J. Rose, Kevin Na, J. Vegas, Brian Gay, James Hahn.
No Grayson Murray? Patrick? The shame, of course, is that some of those engaging personalities aren't better players.....
Here's my fave, on which I'll exit:
All these guys on Tour seem to want to get married by age 25 … usually to girlfriends they’ve had since middle school. Are there any proud cocksmen on Tour or is any action happening on burner phones behind closed doors? -@PaulKoehorst
I agree it’s a troubling trend – these young superstars should be cutting a swath through the Maxim Hot 100! But a few Masters ago I was chatting with a tween golf phenom in Jordan Spieth’s gallery – they share a trainer and Spieth had become a mentor. I asked the kid if Jordan ever offered advice for his love life and he said,”Yeah, he told me to find a good girl and hold on to her – it’s better for your golf.” No doubt skirt-chasing siphons a lot of time and energy that could otherwise be used to accrue FedEx Cup points. Spieth’s words are more than advice – it’s a worldview. And most of his contemporaries have taken it to heart.
Hey, we still have DJ..... Cocksmen don't get much prouder than that, and he's seemingly been up to old tricks lately....
Catch ya later....
No comments:
Post a Comment