It's been a good stretch here in the Wasatch. The snowfall totals haven't been gaudy, 13" in the last three days, but it has accumulated nicely. Yesterday on a trail called Illusion we found ourselves waist deep in the stuff.... Good times.
Since I devoted yesterday to Pete Dye, shall we catch up on other, excuse me, udder stuff?
Sony Stuff - Hard to get especially worked up over it, but there is actual PGA Tour golf being played this week:
Brendan Steele and Cameron Davis share the lead
After firing rounds of 68-66 on Thursday and Friday (six under par overall), bothBrendan Steele and Cameron Davis are tied atop the leaderboard, with a one-shot advantage over eight other players who are tied for third at five under par overall.
Steele carded six birdies, an eagle, two bogeys and a double in an eventful round. The 36-year-old is seeking his fourth career win, and first since the 2018 Safeway Open.Davis’ round was much steadier than Steele’s, and included five birdies and only one bogey. The 24-year-old Australian has never won on the PGA Tour.
Jessica Marksbury quickly realizes the magnetism of those two leaders and attempts to retain the audience:
What happened to Collin Morikawa?
First-round leader Collin Morikawa is still very much in the hunt. After firing a second round of even-par 70 to follow up his first-round 65, he’s only one shot behind the leaders. On Thursday, Morikawa’s stellar round was especially notable because he was the only player in the field to go bogey-free. Unfortunately, Friday’s round was a different story, and he suffered three.
Concerned that even young gun Morikawa isn't sufficient click-bait, Jessica throws her Hail Mary:
Who are some notables in the hunt?
Keegan Bradley and Webb Simpson made serious moves on Friday, jumping 13 and 34 spots up the leaderboard, respectively.
OK, that's the loosest possible definition of "notables"....
But alas, the real notables will not be with us over the weekend:
Did any big names miss the cut?
In a word, yes.
In a surprising turn of events, last week’s playoff contenders at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, Justin Thomas and Patrick Reed, will be bidding Oahu an early aloha after finding themselves on the wrong side of the cutline. Both players ended up at three over par overall — two shots shy of making the weekend.
Matt Kuchar, too, will be heading home after missing the cut by one shot at two over par overall.
Fortunately we have playoff football games to amuse and entertain.
On Patrick - Really folks, he's not all that consequential... Obviously I'm milking it to its fullest extent, because it's what I do. In fact I'm considering replacing that Random Musings tagline with Golfers Behaving Badly.
At Golf.com, Tim Reilly wants PReed to embrace his inner bad boy, framing his argument using, of all things, professional wrestling:
In wrestling terminology, a “heel” is a villain. Characters often turn from good guy to bad guy for storyline purposes. No one did that better than Hulk Hogan when he famously went from America’s hero to one of the greatest villains in history by revealing himself to be the secret leader of the New World Order (NWO), the most despised group in wrestling at the time.There are parallels you can draw between Reed and Hogan’s characters.Immense early success and over-the-top patriotism at the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup helped Reed earn the nickname “Captain America.” Reed was beloved by U.S. fans for his brash antics and fearless approach toward match-play competitors and opposing countries’ fans. “Hulkamania” was running wild in the ’80s and early ‘90s when Hogan would defy odds and complete epic comebacks against giants and opponents who stood strongly against American values. Hogan was as synonymous with America as apple pie and baseball. Reed had his finger wave, Hogan had his power point.
But after a turmoil-filled 2018 Ryder Cup, a bunker controversy in the Bahamas and more drama at the 2019 Presidents Cup, Reed has fallen out of favor with some fans. Just as they turned on Hogan, cheers are now boos and hecklers are waiting at every turn. To be fair, Reed brought most of this upon himself. But perhaps it’s time to envision a new version of Reed — one that embraces the hate. If you don’t like what’s being said, then change the conversation.
OK, so you're encouraging Patrick to act the "heel". Well, I've got good news, he seems to be taking your advice.... But, Hulk analogies aside, the problem is we're talking about the Pillsbury Doughboy:
Good luck with that....
But wait, Tim, I have even more good news for you:
Patrick Reed doesn’t only have his caddie wading in to defend his badly batteredreputation — he’s sending in his lawyer too. Golfweek has exclusively obtained a cease and desist letter Reed had his attorney send to Brandel Chamblee demanding the Golf Channel analyst not repeat accusations that the former Masters champion cheated at the Hero World Challenge last month.
Chamblee has been a vocal critic of Reed’s hugely controversial actions at the Hero, where video showed him twice scooping sand from behind his ball on practice swings in a bunker, thereby improving his lie. Reed was penalized two strokes by rules officials but denied deliberately cheating, a brush-off that did little to alter the widespread belief that he did just that.
“The purpose of this letter is to obtain assurance that you will refrain from any further dissemination, publication or republication of false and defamatory statements concerning Mr. Reed, including any allegations that he ‘cheated’ at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas,” wrote Peter Ginsberg, a partner at the New York City law firm of Sullivan & Worcester.
What comes after a******e? Because that term is clearly insufficient for the underlying behavior.
But I thought that first sentence was telling, because those defending the man are those being paid to do so...
Of course my first question was to the timing of the lawyer's letter:
The letter was dated and received by Chamblee on Dec. 13. It was sent on day two of the Presidents Cup, by which point Reed was already 0-for-2 and embroiled in a maelstrom of controversy over his conduct in the Bahamas a week earlier. Perhaps the man once known as Captain America was distracted by legal bluster 10,000 miles away.
How is it that we're only finding out about this now? I'm guessing those Aussie fans might have had an amusing reaction to this news as well.
But it gets better even than that, as reed seems to have found just the right mouthpiece:
Ginsberg, who previously represented Ray Rice and has sued the PGA Tour on behalf of Vijay Singh and Hank Haney, confirmed to Golfweek that he represents Reed and sent the letter.
Was Michael Avenatti not available?
Alan Shipnuck has a new mailbag up, and has one query on this subject:
How long will people be yelling “cheater” in Reed’s backswing? And is there anything he can do (short of having his brother-in-law fight every heckler) to make it stop? #AskAlan -@EthanZimman
Alas, it’s going to get worse before it gets better. Reed’s ridiculous shoveling antics at the Presidents Cup showed every would-be yahoo that they can get under his skin, so I expect there will be a lot more heckling until it gets so tedious and redundant everyone moves on to the next thing. (Paging Sergio…) Clearly the Tour needs to have an increased presence in Reed’s galleries — not the fuzz, but at least some roving uniformed marshals to serve as a visual deterrent and who have the power to toss the most obnoxious bros. I really don’t think Reed himself can do much at this point. Winning is not going to make things better; all the bad juju has only intensified after his Masters triumph. He’s done the warm-and-fuzzy appearance on Feherty but that didn’t change anything, except to make us question his taste in home furnishings. Reed unrepentantly is who he is, and golf fans are not likely to buy any amount of P.R. spin. So, to quote one of our great philosophers, it is what it is.
We'll get to the Tour's role in a bit, but the real issue becomes those playing with Reed, otherwise I could care less.
Amazingly ESPN, which has other sports to focus on, convenes a round table on these weighty issues:
1. Is "cheater" too strong a word here?Bob Harig: Yes. Because we really do not know intent. It is impossible to be sure what was in Reed's mind when he did what he did. Obviously, it looks bad. All should agreeon that. But did he deliberately break a rule? While some might think so, he offered a defense that his ball was farther away from that clump of sand than replays indicated. To many, that is not a suitable answer, but it is hard to know for sure.
Michael Collins: Whatever happened to "sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me?" Yes, the word "cheater" is extremely harsh, but getting a lawyer involved? I would not have used the word "cheater." If you believe Patrick Reed was intentionally trying to break the rules, then you can call him a liar. But if you don't know with 100 percent certainty what his true intentions were, then you cannot call him a cheater.
Ian O'Connor: I personally would not call him a cheater. I think it's too strong. But in a legal context, I don't think Reed has a legitimate claim of defamation here. As a public figure, if he ever went ahead and filed a claim, Reed would have to prove not only that Chamblee was wrong when he said it but also that Chamblee knew he was wrong when he said it. And it's hard to look at that tape and say Chamblee knew he was wrong when he publicly stated his belief about Reed.
Nick Pietruszkiewicz: That word makes me queasy. There is no more offensive word in golf -- well, maybe "shank," but let's not go there -- than "cheater." Is it hard to defend Reed? Absolutely. What happened in the Bahamas was bad and pretty much indefensible, even though he tried with a lame excuse about camera angles. The big problem here is reputation. Reed doesn't have a good one. His history is bad. His antics haven't helped. And that's why this incident in the sand in the Bahamas is sticking to him perhaps more than it would stick if this had been a one-time thing that happened to another player.
I thought so, at least until I heard about Mr. Ginzburg's letter.... That requires us to use the C-word extensively....
2. What, if anything, can Reed do to make this all go away at this point?
Harig: It might be too late. I have said all along that his answer in the aftermath hurt him. He realized that a penalty was coming and that his explanation for space between the ball and the sand could not be verified. His best course of action was to say, "I understand it looks bad; I did not mean to break a rule, but I did. I'm sorry. I accept the penalty.'' And then move on. Obviously it has not played out anywhere near that.
Collins: This will never go away. Unfortunately, the perceptions of Patrick on the PGA Tour and in golf were never great to begin with. This ensures a continuous flow of fuel for people who despise him. Of course, in today's society, Reed could do a funny video a year from now that would make everyone forget.
O'Connor: I think Reed needs to follow the Tom Brady model. How did Brady respond after the 2014 regular season when his integrity and authenticity were questioned during Deflategate? He won his fourth Super Bowl ring and his first since he had won his third in four years in 2004, launching an entirely new Patriots dynasty. Reed should go win his second Masters title, fairly and squarely, or the U.S. Open. And then stare defiantly into the crowd with a look that says, "You really think I need to cheat to beat these guys?"
Pietruszkiewicz: Nothing. This is going to follow him pretty much everywhere he goes this year -- and perhaps beyond. Given he is such a lightning rod, one incident would have stuck to him, but now we've had the "cheating" question in the Bahamas, a Presidents Cup in which he brought more attention to the "cheating" question, and an altercation between his caddie and a fan, and now his lawyer going after a media member. That's just too much to forget about. And, let's be honest, fans at golf tournaments are already rowdy, thanks to all that sunshine and available adult beverages. So, no, this isn't going to go away.
He can stop being Patrick Reed. Admittedly, wishful thinking...
3. The PGA Tour didn't come out forcefully when the incident happened in the Bahamas. Is the Tour partly to blame for all this?Harig: Absolutely. Surely PGA Tour rules officials look at that incident and see what we all see, that at the very least it looks horrible for Reed. Some sort of public rebuke suggesting that Reed should know better, that he's been penalized and warned, would have done a lot of good. There is a perception out there that the tour is trying to sweep this away with the sand and hope it goes away. That has not worked. And there is some high-profile precedent on the European Tour, where action was taken after the fact -- see Colin Montgomerie in Jakarta as just one example -- for violations that were not penalized in the moment.
Collins: What was the tour supposed to do? I specifically asked the head rules official if intent mattered. His response was that intent had no bearing on this penalty. Which means even if Patrick Reed was trying to intentionally break the rules, he could only take a 2-stroke penalty. Those are the rules, like it or not.
O'Connor: Everyone knows professional golf is something of a joke when it comes to disciplining players. The other sports seem to understand that suspending players and publicly shaming them for misbehavior act as effective deterrents, while the tour forever hides behind the notion that its athletes are better off policing themselves. PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan missed an opportunity here to make a forceful statement about Reed and to scare off anyone else who might be so reckless with the rules.
Pietruszkiewicz: The tour made this worse. Instead of coming down on Reed, chastising him publicly, reminding the public and the players how serious it is to even allow the possibility of cheating to enter a conversation, it didn't. Without a reprimand, all it did was embolden Reed to keep the controversy alive -- by making a shovel gesture during the Presidents Cup to mock the incident -- and to allow his lawyer to keep it alive by going after Chamblee.
OK, there's a lot going on there... I take a back seat to no one in my criticism of the Tour's opaque disciplinary policies. You've read my rants on that subject previously, and no one would be happier than I should Patrick experience an unfortunate jet-ski accident.
That said, I fail to see what the Tour could have done here, at least about the incident at Albany. The penalty was proportionate and, while I hated Slugger White's unnecessary and irrelevant enconium, that's a minor matter. The Tour can't and shouldn't prevent players from beclowning themselves in their public statement, we're left with a minor incident that in normal year probably plays itself out quickly. Really, without the Prez Cup the following week, it's just Patrick being Patrick.
But riddle me this, Batman. How is Kessler Karain out there plying his trade after putting his hands on a fan in Australia? Is nothing beyond the pale? He should be serving a lengthy suspension, and that's on you, Jay.
4. Will all this attention impact his game -- for better or worse?
Harig: It might be uncomfortable, but Reed seems to thrive on this sort of negativity. He managed to put it aside during Sunday singles at the Presidents Cup. He had a great tournament in Maui last week. He'll be asked about it, deflect it and move on.Collins: We are talking about golf now, aren't we? And it's the weekend of the College Football Playoff title game and NFL playoffs! Normally golf talk doesn't make news or sports headlines until The Players. Didn't someone once say there's no such thing as bad press?
O'Connor: An old and trusted source once told me this about a wildly successful college basketball coach who kept getting in trouble with the NCAA: "He thrives on chaos." To me, Patrick Reed thrives on chaos. It's why he beat Rory in that wild MMA fight of a Ryder Cup match at Hazeltine in 2016. I think the negativity will continue to fuel him in a positive way.
Pietruszkiewicz: Not one bit. If Reed has proved anything, it's that he doesn't care about not being liked. (If he did, maybe this stuff wouldn't keep happening.) He won the Masters when the patrons were clearly behind Rory McIlroy. After the mess on the second-to-last day of the Presidents Cup, he went out the next day and won his singles match -- which, by the way, was his only point of the week. In his first event after that, he got himself into a playoff at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. And as the letter from the lawyer became public on Thursday, he shot 69 in brutal wind at the Sony Open to put himself into a tie for 16th after the first round. None of this stuff bothers him.
Patrick chooses to have no contact with the woman that carried him for nine months, so this is the organizing principal of his life. So, concern for how it will affect his game seems inappropriate. Table for one and all.
5. What will Reed's 2020 season actually look like? Will he win? Will he win a major?
Harig: I expect him to have a good year. He's motivated to make the U.S. Ryder Cup team on his own, without needing a pick. After a substandard 2019, he won late in the year, had a solid fall and now has lost in a playoff. I expect him to contend often and win at least once.Collins: It's pretty obvious that, if the letter was sent the week of the Presidents Cup, it didn't affect his on-course individual play very much. I don't expect Patrick Reed to win a major, but I truly and fully believe that he will win at least two tournaments in 2020.O'Connor: I definitely see Reed winning, and perhaps winning a major, based on what I said above. His me-against-the-world mentality might be the most dangerous club in his bag. In the end, Reed is good for golf because golf needs a villainous figure. He's Gorgeous George blowing kisses to the crowd. But to stay relevant, he needs to win. I definitely see Mr. Reed staying relevant in 2020.
Pietruszkiewicz: He'll have a good year. And Bob's right, qualifying for the Ryder Cup will be a big motivation because it's hard to imagine any scenario in which Steve Stricker, the U.S. captain, would put him on this team unless Reed qualified on his own. Seriously, after all this, would you make Reed a captain's pick and invite this chaos if you had a choice? As for the majors, the interesting one will be the U.S. Open. The Masters is respectful. So is The Open. The PGA is at Harding Park in San Francisco, not necessarily a place known for loud and unruly fans. But the U.S. Open is at Winged Foot in New York. Those fans can get loud. And the conditions for that one promise to be treacherous, with the USGA likely out for revenge after Pebble Beach played rather tame a year ago. That's one where things could get dicey for Reed and caddie Kessler Karain. But, no, I don't think he'll win a major this year, but it has more to do with the depth of these fields than reaction to these incidents.
I have mixed feelings about his actual game, his driving being the Achilles heel. But he'll probably thrive with the world aligned against, so the fun will await the Ryder Cup.
I'd love someone probe that American Prez Cup team for their genuine reactions to the man, most notable the captain. One assumes that captain's picks would be an issue, but we all said that after Paris. Perhaps if he qualifies automatically, Stricker can sit him until singles because no one wants to play with him? Can you sit at a table for one in the team room? I know, more of that wishful thinking...
Alan, Unplugged - We do love our non-aerobic blogging....
Thoughts on expanding the “Sentry Tournament of Champions” to include winners from the PGA and European Tour? #AskAlan -@GoranBarnes
We already have a series of limited-field events marrying the top players from PGA Tour and European Tour — the WGCs. We don’t need another. Like most of you, I would love to see a mixed event combining the PGA Tour and LPGA, but it needs to have a much larger field than what we get for the T o’ C. I happen to like the concept of Kapalua — it’s the ultimate reward for winning and a lovely way to kick off the new year. I just wish more top players would support it. Le sigh.
Since all of the top Euros are PGA Tour members as well, there's little sense to the question. As for inviting the ladies, heads will explode when it comes out that the ladies are paid less. I know, the patriarchy and all... How about we just get the course running firmandfast..... Oh, and how about we fix the schedule, so that this really is the start of the season?
JT, 5’9 145 lbs…Xander, 5’9, 150….Reed 5’9 215 lbs. Somebody told me that athletes were “taking over golf.” Was I lied to? -@Laz_versalles
Not exactly. Guys that size used to be the archetype on Tour, and now there are big boys like Koepka, Rahm, DJ, Tiger, Woodland, Bryson and Finau all in the top 16 of the World Ranking. Matt Wolff was a standout baseball player who picked golf; there are other jocks like him in the pipeline. As these guys use the long-ball to enjoy long, profitable careers and help subtlely reshape the image of the sport, other such ath-o-letes will continue to be attracted to golf, making the typical Tour player bigger/stronger. Both JT and Xander spend a lot of time in the gym, increasing their strength and flexibility and allowing them to generate a ridiculous amount of speed despite their petite frames. It’s cool that in golf there is still room for anyone if they have the right skill-set. The difference is that almost all of these athletes are now maxing out their physical gifts with the help of trainers, nutritionists and osteopaths, to say nothing of TrackMan and custom club-fitters. I would argue Justin Thomas is an incredible athlete, even if he doesn’t quite look like it.
Tiger isn't much bigger...
I guess I could have included this one up above with the other black hole items:
In astrophysics, the event horizon of a black hole is the boundary within which the black hole’s escape velocity is greater than the speed of light, meaning no escape. What is the p.r. event horizon for a PGA Tour pro, where the behavior is so boorish that there is no coming back? -@ANTIFAldo
Well, Thorbjorn Olesen may serve as a test case, but since he previously came off as a likable character I suspect Thunder Bear will survive his scandal if he displays the proper amount of contrition. I mean, Tiger Woods has enjoyed many of the seven deadly sins and he’s more beloved now than ever before. In golf, cheating was the original sin that could forever taint a player. But that seems to be changing; look at how the lords of Ponte Vedra Beach whitewashed Reed’s antics (“perfect gentleman”). If the Tour were to start handing out suspensions for flagrantly breaking the rules — as happens in other sports — that would powerfully affect how those players are perceived. But many known rules-breakers still walk among us, so it feels like the stigma is not what it used to be, despite the mob justice currently being visited upon Reed.
Has anyone seen Robert Allenby lately?
Isn't it amazing how little we've heard about the Olesen case? I assume it was really bad, but we've gotten very few details about his actual behavior on that flight. But it seems that Alan was equally put off by Slugger's comments.
What needs to change for there to be more variety in Tour courses? Kapalua and Waialae are so refreshing. -@Kyechsports
Geoff Ogilvy needs to become the CEO of FedEx. And Bill Coore needs to become commissioner of the PGA Tour. Right now, the shot-callers are satisfied with the product, even as the style of play has become increasingly redundant and uninspiring. It will take an entirely different sensibility to force the Tour to seek out more interesting venues. For now, at least we have the Walker Cup, Mid-Am and select other events that are ranging further afield.
They do hit some good venues, but the bigger problem is how such venues need to be set up.
What is the topic or event that you are most looking forward to this year? #AskAlan -@_Qonquistador
Oh, that’s easy: golf at the Tokyo Games.
Such a horrible misfire. I know it's well intended, but it's really off-base. The funny thing is that the Olympics itself has lost most of its interest since the end of the cold war. But Olympic Golf, with tired format and strength of field below that of the Hero? I'm almost hoping for Tiger to fail to qualify, just to wake Alan up to how inconsequential it all is.
#AskAlan Why do pro tours have Monday qualifiers for many events? Is it just tradition or do they serve some function that escapes me? Why not just make the spots available to players further down the priority list? -@PopsAndSunshine
It’s partly driven by tradition — before the all-exempt Tour came to be decades ago, the so-called rabbits had to qualify more or less every week. So Monday Qualifying is the last vestige of this meritocracy. There is undeniably some romance in allowing a few folks to play their way in every week, whether it’s the local hot-shot or a grizzled vet just trying to hang on. There are already 120-140 spots taken by the priority list at every event, so I don’t see the harm in allowing a handful of players to barge in through the side door.
Nor do I, especially since they pony up a meaningful amount and they get in by using their sticks.
#AskAlan How do we fix the Middle East stops taking away the star studded fields that made Kapalua so fun? So far Amex has announced 5 top 50 commits vs. 14 for Abu Dhabi. It seems to get worse each year. Three top Americans in Abu Dhabi, at least six in Saudi Arabia, etc. -@Brianros1
There are only two options: the PGA Tour has to become more protectionist and exert some control over its members’ schedules, or there needs to be more coordination between the tours when it comes to dates. The second option would be much simpler to enact. The only Euro Tour events paying enough in appearance fees to attract top Americans are the Middle East events. Why can’t these be scheduled for December when the PGA Tour is in hibernation? Or perhaps the Tour could have a bye week each January, and the various Mid East events could take turns being plugged into that date. This seems fixable but maybe I’m just a dreamer.
Good luck with that, Alan. Without the ME the Euro Tour couldn't kick off until April or May, and that's obviously a non-starter. I would argue that the issue is with the US events, as the event formerly known as the Hope has become a minitour stop.
I'll leave you there, and see you on Monday. Unless, of course, it's a powder day.
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