Thursday Themes

Just a heads up that I might give myself an off day tomorrow, as Bobby D. and I are plotting a little golf...  Don't get too jealous, as it'll be on aerated greens, a couple of holes will likely be closed and there is that afternoon shower in the forecast.

The Old Switcheroo - When the subject arose yesterday, i was most curious as to the expected timing... Upon further review, the timing was then:

Brooks Koepka announced on Wednesday that he has dropped out of the 2019 Presidents Cup. 

Koepka, who finished first in the points standings for the American team during the official qualifying period, underwent a painful knee procedure after the Tour Championship in August, and re-injured the knee at the C.J. Cup in September after slipping on wet concrete. 

“I notified Captain Tiger Woods that despite constant medical care and rehab, I am not able to play golf at this time,” Koepka said in a statement. “I consider it to be a high honor to be part of the 2019 team, and I regret not being able to compete.”

Excuse me, Brooks, that's Playing-Captain Woods to you....

And one assumes that this phone call was less awkward than the prior one:

Replacing Koepka is Rickie Fowler, who is making his sixth consecutive appearance in a team event (Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup) for the Americans.

On second thought, maybe it was just a little awkward:

“I spoke to Rickie and he has agreed to join the U.S. team,” Woods said. “Rickie has played on a couple Presidents Cup teams, was someone seriously considered for a pick and is well respected and liked by his teammates. I know he’s going to do a great job for us. We’re all excited about this year’s event. The course is outstanding, the fans will be loud and we’re playing against great competitors. We’re ready to go.”

Wow, he agreed...  Just like that?  No outrageous compensation demands?  No pissing and moaning about missing the cut the first time?

Davis Love seems to be adapting to his future as a TV talking head nicely, telling us things we already know, as well as those things that he just makes up.  Oh, he's a nice enough guy, but a reminder that his first major prediction is that Tiger will regain the World No. 1 ranking....  Not only is it a parody of itself to focus on Tiger, but the more you think about, the crazier it seems...  None of us knows whether tiger will stay healthy, but it seems highly unlikely that he would play frequently enough to run up his point total....  At best, he seems likely to peak a few times a year.

Today he tells us that which we already knew about the Rickie pick:

Davis Love III, who has praised Woods for his enthusiasm and preparation as an

assistant captain under him at the 2016 Ryder Cup, said he believes Woods was set on his four captain's picks—as well as a fifth, if needed—before he tied the PGA Tour record with his 82nd official victory at the Zozo Championship last month.

"He knew what he was going to do I think even before Japan," Love said at his Wednesday press conference ahead of the RSM Classic. "He knew who he was going to pick, who his backup plan was. And now with Brooks, he's just been sitting on it, I think, waiting for Brooks to say yes or no. Unfortunately, Rickie got sick and couldn't play last week, but Rickie will be ready, and like I said to another question, he's a great guy to pick. No surprise that Tiger's on the ball."

So, Alex Myers, the author  of the piece, reads that quote and thinks that Rickie is the story.  But what Davis has actually said, something far more interesting, is that Tiger had decided to pick Tiger before the ZoZo.  Big, if true, though I suspect that he didn't even consider that aspect....

But Davis, do babble on:

"The beauty of Tiger Woods is he's—once we found that news out, once he found that news out, he turned the page," Johnson said. "He's like, okay, we're going—we were here and now we're going there. Rickie's coming in and this is our team. And the entire team has not looked back. They've been so receptive to it. Rick's been receptive to it obviously and we've still got a phenomenal team."

As opposed to?  Curling up in the corner in the fetal position?  I have to admit, he seems to be a perfect fit for CBS....   

This non-story on Webb Simpson amuses as well.  It turns out that he hasn't played a lot of golf lately, but not to worry:

Webb Simpson isn’t the least bit concerned about shaking off any rust ahead of this week’s RSM Classic. 

Yes, he’s played just once the past 12 weeks – a tie for seventh in the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas – the longest stretch of inactivity since he turned pro. 

And yes, he’s no longer a youngster anymore, what with his 35th coming up next year. 

But come Thursday at Sea Island Golf Club, Simpson, the world No. 12, is confident he’s ready to play up to his ranking.

And he'll play at Albany with the gang, so DJ would seem to be the bigger worry.  But Webb isn't leaving any stones unturned:

It’s the result of the wisdom he’s piled up through the years. Through trial and error, he’s learned not to put away the clubs for weeks on end and prop up his feet. Instead, he keeps his game in shape off the road by maintaining a routine at home by playing practice rounds, spending time in the gym and on the range; he even stays in touch with his psychologist.

I do hope that psychologist is making the trip to Oz, because Webb is a likely candidate to be paired with either Patrick or Bryson....

Best in Show - Golf Magazine is out with their top one hundred courses in the world, and I just enjoyed scrolling through the listings, attempting to identify each golf course from the accompanying photo.  Of course the enjoyment was tempered by the frustration of not having played them all...quite the grave injustice.

As usual, I'll allow Geoff to be our tour guide, first with major changes to the panel:

Ran Morrissett now helms the revamped Golf Magazine World Top 100 ranking, long the most respected listing of the planet’s best architecture. And while it’s a little tough to take a list covering the world seriously when there are only 80 or so voters and five panelists are said to have not voted at all, the overall statement says the list is once again about architecture. 

Gone are more than twenty panelists, former head Joe Passov and numerous courses that appeared to have bought their way onto the list. The full 2017 list can be seen here and not surprisingly, the controversial Ayodhya Links and Oitavos Dunes are gone this time around, with Nine Bridges and Trump International Aberdeen both plummeting (53 and 54 spots respectively).

Now that mentions it, I haven't seen Travelin' Joe for quite a while.  I'd hate to think he lost that cushy gig.... This was Geoff's biggest takeaway:

Anyway, the headline from the list revamp is the dip of Augusta National and Pebble Beach, as Josh Berhow notes in this item focusing on these two icons taking some hits

from the architecture-focused panel dinging both for not keeping up with the times by emphasizing restoration.

Augusta National Golf Club, home of the Masters, dropped from 5th to 9th in the most recent ranking (its lowest ranking ever), and Pebble Beach Golf Links fell out of the top 10, from 9th to 11th. 

This from an unnamed rater probably summed up the views of many sensing the architecture just isn’t dialed in enough to warrant top five status any longer: 

The raters acknowledged Augusta National’s drop in the December issue of GOLF, saying “When the trend everywhere is to remove trees, widen playing corridors, increase playing angles and promote strategic and attacking golf, something had to give. We appreciate that Augusta National is in the uniquely difficult position of annually hosting the Masters. Still, the founding vision of Bob Jones and Alister MacKenzie matters, and a sense is starting to develop among panelists that the club is moving too far away from it.”

 Moving?  Present tense?  The only golf course in the universe that adds trees....  

You guys know the drill on course rankings...  Enjoy the process and the eye candy, but don't take anything too literally.

I did like Geoff linking back to this 2017 listing of five golf course destined to crack the Top 100, of which none did.  It's an odd list of new tracks, such as Mammoth Dunes and Hogs Head, the new links down near Waterville, and old-timey places such as Royal Aberdeen.

But what the heck is this joint doing on this list?

3. Quail Hollow (Charlotte, N.C.)

Missing this year’s U.S. Top 100 by a whisker is this ever-improving 56-year-old spread, which has been a Tour mainstay since 1969. Its fortunes have soared following a string of Tom Fazio renovations, including three new holes crafted in time for Justin Thomas’s victory in the 2017 PGA Championship. The changes fit seamlessly into rolling terrain framed by hardwoods and dotted with lakes and creeks. Admired by panelists and pros alike is a gorgeous but stern trio of closing holes. Dubbed the “Green Mile,” they tempt and torture in equal measure. Look for Quail Hollow to crack the Top 100 next time around.

Bizarre.  Even the more so, given that it's a September 1, 2017 article.  Meaning that they had just played the PGA Championship there, and the players had universally reviled the latest changes to the course.  

So, who wrote the piece?  Joe Passov, of course....

Torrey On - Friend of the blog Mark W. sent me this item earlier in the week, but now that Shack has gotten his teeth into it...

Sometimes, as in 2001 for the Torrey Pines South Course, Jones does a complete facelift 

The Par-5 ninth, with a new centerline bunker.

to make a track major-championship ready. Other times, it’s nip-and-tuck stuff, like the work he recently completed on the South. 

Billed primarily as a project to replace the course’s irrigation system, the city of San Diego’s golf division budgeted $14 million for the work. And while the contractor, Landscapes Unlimited, was out there in the last seven months replacing pipes and installing more than 2,000 computer-operated sprinkler heads, Jones and assistant Greg Muirhead added some tees and shifted around bunkers to help the course defend itself against the power of the modern game.

Does $14 million large seem a bit much for an irrigation system?  Geoff thinks so:

I haven’t a clue how you spend $14 million at an exsiting golf complex—oh wait, Landscapes Unlimited was involved, I stand corrected. 

You’d think for that amount Torrey Pines might take on some character but judging by the photos and descriptions offered by the San Diego Union Tribune’s Tod Leonard, the course appears to have fewer trees, more visible cart paths and additional bunkers in that inimitable Rees Jones style: looking like bad puzzle pieces dropped randomly from a helicopter.

Wait, he's just getting warmed up.  Rees has big plans for the tenth hole:

The next hole, No. 10, was arguably the most bland on the course. 

“The back nine really started at 11,” Jones said., “The 10th was a driver, wedge every time.”

A new tee was built to make the hole longer, and the visual changed dramatically, with the left side of the fairway split with a bunker, while a right fairway bunker pinches the landing zone.

It’s a more interesting hole for all level of players, who are enticed from every tee to try to drive over the left bunker.

Blandest hole on Torrey South is an incredibly competitive category....  But when landforms that define your hole are, in fact, cart paths, whatcha gonna do?

It's a crime against humanity that such a dreary golf course (courses, actually) was built on such a spectacular piece of property.

Wither The Ladies -  Beth Ann Nichols with yet another thumbsucker on the future of the LPGA, this time bemoaning the lack of heroes for American audiences:

Yes, Ariya Jutanugarn is a sensation in Thailand, and Hinako Shibuno moves the needle in Japan. Sung Hyun Park’s popularity in South Korea is akin to a pop star. 

But none of those players are household names in the U.S. Just when fans are getting to know a breakout player, a new name pops up. 

“You have several players out here having their 15 minutes,” said Amy Alcott as she stood near the putting green at Tiburon Golf Club. 

Fans crave greatness. They respect it. They want to see records fall and rivalries form.

“If we had that one player that brought people to the golf course every week,” said Nancy Lopez, “I think our purses would grow a little bit faster too.”

OK, Beth Ann, but they're gonna be calling you a racist pretty soon now....  

Of course that was supposed to be Michelle Wie and then Lexi Thompson, but that's not working out so well.  Beth Ann begins her piece as an homage to the Commish:

– A handful of months into Mike Whan’s tenure as LPGA commissioner, Lorena Ochoa announced her retirement. Another heavy blow to a tour that had already been pummeled to the point of grave concern. 

To fully appreciate the fact that 60 women are competing this week for a $1.5 million winner’s check and $5 million purse at the CME Group Tour Championship, one has to understand where Whan has taken the tour over the past 10 years. Purses have increased 80 percent. The number of tournaments is up 50 percent. There’s more than a 100 percent increase in television coverage. (That being said, the fact that the first three rounds of this tournament are tape-delayed is an absolute shame.) 

It’s a wildly successful turnaround, and Whan wants everyone to know he’s not done. In fact, that was the title of a letter he sent out to members on the eve of CME’s opening round.

Mike's done a good job for sure, though he benefited from lowered standards in the aftermath of Carolyn Bivens.  But while he has signed a renewal, for some strange reason they don't want us to know its term:

“It’s a long-term contract,” Whan said. “I don’t even know how long it is. I really don’t.”

LPGA president Vicki Goetze-Ackerman confirmed there’s a new deal in place. 

“It’s a long-term contract,” Goetze-Ackerman said. “That’s all you’re going to get anyone to tell you. He has a vision for the future, and he wants to stay. He’s been fantastic, taking us from a dismal place in 2010 to where we are now, with a vision of an even stronger future.”

Really?   In that case, why should we care.

If we don't meet up tomorrow, have a great weekend.