Midstorm might be the more appropriate adjective.... 15: additional in the last 24 hours, bringing us to a gaudy total of 45" in the last few days. This was your humble blogger yesterday:
One of our ski buddies has a late afternoon flight, so we're planning on hitting it early today. There's an old saying that there are no friends on a powder day, but there are still valued readers...
Sergio Scat - It's a story that makes one want to go take a shower.... But self-reflection is called for when one is taken to the woodshed by.... Brooks Koepka:
“Ugh, it's frustrating as a player to see, to act like that, to disrespect everybody,” said Koepka, who was playing two groups in front of the former Masters champion but didn’t know what happened until afterward. “To act like a child out there is not cool. It's not setting a good example and it's not cool to us, showing us no respect or anybody else.”
You mean he's not growing the game? Shocking....
We do have a titch more details of how this all unfolded, but still no video or photographic evidence other than that photo of one green from Martin Dempster:
His antics in round three included leaving scuff marks and a divot on five greens as he played alongside the young Italian Renato Paratore, whose caddie felt Garcia’s tantrum was excessively prolonged.
According to EFE, Paratore’s Spanish caddie Javier Erviti said: “We are used to shows of character because we are Latinos, but we had the impression this tantrum was a bit over the top.”
Compatriot Jorge Campillo and his caddie Borja Simo, who were two groups behind Garcia and Paratore, called rules officials when they spotted deliberate damage to several greens.
“We knew it could affect us and the groups behind us,” Simo told EFE.
Campillo added: “It could happen once to any of us but several times is not normal.”At the end of the round, tournament director David Phillips was waiting for Garcia, armed with an electronic tablet and showed him the photos.
A bit over the top? I didn't even find time to cover the prior day's bunker meltdown. If you haven't seen it, there's video at the link. As with the greens, we might be inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt for that first angry swipe of the sand, it being a bunker that will be raked and all. But when he continues to pound the sand it's clear that the demons are in control.
I'll also recommend the Matt-Adams-Geoff Shackelford Alternate Shot discussion on this topic, in which the former lets Sergio off with a wrist slap.
Geoff's initial post on Sergio had this header, which is worth revisiting:
Sergio Garcia Probably Needs To Be Given The Year Off, For Starters
I don't pretend to know what's going in with Sergio, a man we all thought had grown up (as Mike Bamberger put it) or had his life in order with a new family and the major monkey off his back. But his weekend antics were those of a man that shouldn't be playing professional golf in public...
Alan Shipnuck fields this query in his weekly Twitterbag feature:
What’s dumber: Sergio or the Euro Tour’s reaction? #AskAlan –@Jknox_59
The whole thing is epically dumb, including today’s Twitter discussion about whether or not the Euro Tour is hiding tapes of the incident, which I doubt. The controversy was the perfect ending to an exercise in cognitive dissonance. No one really wanted to spend a week away from their family in Saudi Arabia. The players took the filthy lucre, only to have to muddle through an event with no fans, no buzz, no meaning, and related questions about their greed, judgment and myopia. No doubt all of this contributed to Sergio’s mental breakdown. Meanwhile, Euro Tour supreme ruler Keith Pelley spent the week getting savaged in the press for having the gall to even stage such a tournament – the last thing he wanted to do was create an ongoing controversy by suspending one of his biggest stars. Better to pull an MbS and just cover-up the whole thing as if it never happened. In Pelley’s case, he’s lucky there is no surveillance footage of the crime.
Admittedly the question isn't great, but I do hope Alan isn't planning on submitting this bit to the Pulitzer Committee.
I find it really disingenuous to mix Sergio's behavior up with the criticism of the event being held in Saudi Arabia. Sergio is supposed to be a professional, yet on consecutive days behaved like a spoiled five-year old. I find it equally objectionable that he was allowed to get away with showing absolutely no contrition, minimizing the number of greens damaged and the like. That to me was eerily reminiscent of his interview after loogiegate, insisting with a straight face that there was no issue for players following him because he got nothing but net.
As for Pelley, he doesn't have the excuse of being in the midst of a competition. But some journalist needs to ask him to rationalize the differing treatment of Sergio and Simon Dyson. We all know the answer, but I'd like to hear Pelley's take on it.
The Jokes Write Themselves - Put Rolling Greens Golf Club on your bucket list:
Come April, there’s likely to be a lot more grass at the Lombard Glen Golf & Country Club.
The course, located in Smiths Falls, Ont., is set to become Canada’s first cannabis-friendly golf facility. In fact, when it does open, it will do so with a new name – Rolling Greens.Seriously.
The jokes have been flying fast since Gordon Weiske and his partners purchased the 160-acre layout from longtime owners Dave and Jean Sherman, with plans to gain traction in the cannabis tourism market.
For instance, a local media outlet suggested that instead of yelling “Fore” after an errant shot, players might now yell “Fore-20,” a shout-out to April 20, known among pot smokers as a celebratory date.
Another local joked that “hitting a fat one” now has a meaning other than just hitting a shot chunky. And pot bunkers may not be such a hazard for players at this course.Even the new owners are getting in on the one-liners.
“Our tag line is going to be ‘Come roll with us,’” said Weiske, whose company has invested in several cannabis-themed tourism businesses, including a Toronto coffee shop.
Hmmm...I don't get the logic of a cannabis coffee shop.... Don't they just cancel each other out?
Busted - This barely registered at the time, but things got ugly at No. 16 during the Wasted Pro-Am:
Police are seeking the public’s help in identifying a golf club thief from No. 16 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open after he jacked a set of clubs from the hole during Wednesday’s pro-am. The set of PXGs, which belonged to Diamondbacks pitcher Archie Bradley, went missing from TPC Scottsdale and were later discovered for sale online.
Over the weekend, the Scottsdale Police Department released photos of the alleged club thief, who was spotted walking away with Bradley’s bag slung over his shoulder. The police described him as a bearded white male in his mid-20s with a tattoo on his left forearm and estimated him to be 5’11, 180 lbs. He was last spotted wearing a black hat, gray t-shirt and dark pants.
I was aware that it happened, though I missed that they were grabbed during the round. That's actually quite amusing.... But here are the surveillance photos:
What was Julian Edelman doing in Scottsdale on Wednesday?
Group Texts, The New Reply All - Brooks broke news on another subject as well:
Four months after the U.S. team left Paris in defeat, the Ryder Cup stories keep coming.Brooks Koepka was among the 12 Americans who couldn't keep pace with ThomasBjorn's European squad, this despite combining with Patrick Reed to win three of the four majors last year. Reed stole the headlines in the event's aftermath, blaming captain Jim Furyk for breaking up his pairing with Jordan Spieth and criticizing the existence of a "buddy system" to determine pairings.
Koepka spent Tuesday doing various media obligations in New York in advance of his PGA Championship title defense, and speaking with the "Boomer and Gio" radio show he explained that Reed ultimately apologized to members of the U.S. team via text.
"Obviously the things with Patrick, it just kind of took on a life of its own," Koepka said.
"We've got a group text, and there were some texts that were sent. He kind of apologized."
According to Koepka, Reed also included a message to his teammates: "Don't believe everything you read."
He's of course referring to Karen Crouse's article that contained his quotes.... But is he also accusing Karen of hacking Justine's Twitter account, which contained virtually the same comments?
More Alan - Just a few quick hits and then I'll need to run. First this on anger:
What’s the line to the “appropriate” level of anger someone can let out on the golf course? Loud expletive? Slammed club? Shaft snap over the knee? Whole bag thrown in the lake? #AskAlan #AskingForaFriend –@Spencer_Wideman
Profanity is as much a part of golf as bogeys and double bogeys. A good club-slam can also be therapeutic. But both are situational – the key is to not offend anyone nearby. Do my buddies care if I go off occasionally? Not at all. If I’m playing in a PGA Tour pro-am and there are kids nearby? Gotta hold it in. Snapping clubs can be dangerous – the broken steel is sharp! Throwing clubs is lame, although undeniably funny. But one thing we can all agree upon is that damaging the golf course is the ultimate no-no.
I'd add affecting your playing partners as well, but Alan is pretty much on target. These guys are human and at times it's hard to hold in.... I don't actually mind the profanity, though we should also acknowledge that with kids in the gallery or watching on TV it's a hard position to maintain.
But that's what's so troubling about Sergio's rage... Back-to-back days, with the second hissy fit dragging out over a couple of hours. I would also suggest that there's a difference between the golf course, which covers hundreds of acres much of it infrequently seen, and GREENS. Enough said.
I haven't even thought about Pebble and this guy's sponsor invite:
Who should be paired with Ho-sung? -@NickGoblirsch
Gawd, I wish Steve Elkington was in the field – he’d have an aneurysm! Similarly, it’stoo bad Pat Reed isn’t here. His suffering would be exquisite, and, honestly, he might learn a few things about not taking himself so seriously. Among the guys who are actually teeing it up this week, how about Kuchar? He’d have fun with it and could definitely use the image-rehab. There are plenty of other amiable pros who would hopefully give Choi the welcome he deserves: Paul Casey, Brandt Snedeker, Tommy Fleetwood. As we know, golf has a unique ability to look fusty and out-of-touch. Whomever is paired with Ho-sung, I hope they will have the good sense to understand fans love this guy and any grumbling/whining is not only a killjoy but simply bad form.
That Elk bit is spot-on.... his head would explode. They already have to lug around an amateur partner for 3-4 days, so the more the merrier.
But finally Alan gets to the pressing issues of the day:
#AskAlan Who loses his hair first, Jordan or JT? -@CountDownDave
This is actually quite a riveting battle. I’m gonna say Spieth by a hair.
This is not remotely close, as Jordan's signature move in which he arranges his three remaining strands of hair makes him the people's choice.
I think he's been asked this previously, though it's a big year for the lad:
Is there more pressure on Rory to win Augusta or The Open at Portrush? #AskAlan -@JoshColey
Oh, Portrush for sure. I’m not sure anyone expects Rory to win a green jacket anymore, given his star-crossed history at the Masters and the fact that the course exposes his biggest weaknesses. But he’s already won an Open and this will be the only one contested on his home soil during his prime. The pressure will be immense.
I think they represent differing forms of pressure... Though,ironically, Rory is such a poor player in wind that I expect more from him at Augusta.
Forgive me, but I'm going to leave you here.
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