Tuesday Tidbits

What are you doing reading these unhinged rants when you should be outside enjoying this epic run of perfect weather?  And that includes both of you!

Colonial Scat - See if you can spot the relocated goalposts here:

Shack with the tip-in:

CBS did not make any ratings predictions for the “Return to Golf”, but the Charles Schwab Challenge tournament director predicted a final round rating of a 6, which would have been equal to a lot of majors.

The rating is dismal when you consider: 

—This was the first live, official PGA Tour event since mid-March. 

—Network competition was non-existent. Fox’s presentation of NASCAR was delayed by rain (eventually airing in prime time). NBC was airing the Beverly Hills Dog Show (again). And ABC wheeled out Last Dance (still!). 

—Heading into the final round, the leaderboard featured star players and the promise of a close finish (and it was, with Daniel Berger beating Collin Morikawa in a sudden death playoff).

The logic in the chattering classes seems to be that NASCAR/baseball/hoops fans will tune in to a golf broadcast, quickly get hooked and remain a golf fan for the remainder of his/her/gender of your choice life  But, have you ever actually watched a golf broadcast?  

A few ex post facto reflections, first from Christopher Powers at Golf Digest:

So many chances squandered

I sort of just mentioned all the guys who let the tournament slip away, but they deserve their own paragraph. Man, the chances that were squandered. Rose leaving that birdie

putt on 18 short is a crime. Bryson bogeying the 71st hole, just like he did at the WGC-Mexico, where he also lost by one, will give me nightmares for years to come (I bet him both times). Xander, poor Xander. Morikawa will be fine, but that missed shorty on the first playoff hole will sting for awhile. Jason Kokrak, who was, in fact, playing in the tournament this week, just missed a birdie putt on 18 that would have gotten him into the playoff. As for Spieth, Gary Woodland and Justin Thomas, not shooting under par on Sunday ain’t gonna get it done, boys. Unless you’re up a few shots, of course. Breaking: water also wet.

A year's supply of power lip-outs for sure.  But just your weekly dosage of this:

What are we going to do with you, Rory?

No player on earth makes the game look more effortless. No player on earth makes the game look more frustrating. Talkin’ about Rory McIlroy, folks.

At 10 under heading into the final round, the World No. 1 needed to take it pretty deep to have a chance. Instead, he imploded to the tune of a four-over 74, and that was with two birdies on the final three holes. Just a nightmarish final day for a guy who has sadly made those seem all too familiar. Yes, he did just win a WGC in November, and his three wins a season ago were all wildly impressive. But he still can’t shake the Sunday blues, which shows you just how often he fades in the final round. No one with 18 PGA Tour wins, 14 European Tour wins and four majors should ever have to be asked “what is it about Sundays that you struggle with?” And yet we find ourselves asking this question time and time again with McIlroy. It’s truly maddening. All that said, this Rory-stinks-on-Sundays take only exists because he's constantly in contention, which is not easy to do. There, left him with a compliment.

He seems to fold when in contention...  But give the man an early tee time on Sunday, and he'll charge to a backdoor top ten.

Got commercials?

Given everything that’s going on in the world, and the limitations CBS surely had during this crazy time, you’d think the coverage haters would give it a rest this week. But they did not, and how could you blame them? At times on Sunday, it felt like you got to see one golf shot for every five commercials, which were usually followed by one more golf shot and then an overhead 25-second blimp shot, and that’s only a slight exaggeration. The biggest complaint, however, was that the broadcast pretended Rory McIlroy did not exist, and failed to show us a few wayward Jordan Spieth shots multiple times. Don't get me wrong, the point of watching golf is to see the best in the world be the best in the world, but it's absolutely fascinating to watch them struggle, too. Spieth especially, with all his conversations with himself and penchant for spraying it off the tee. CBS does not seem to share that sentiment.

I didn't watch any of it live, but it did seem that only a few seconds passed before I needed to hunt down that FF button...

But with CBS, I've long felt that the bigger crime is how much of their non-commercial time is wasted on drivel...  I know I'm supposed to care what Jim "Nancy-Boy" Nantz and Mummbles Faldo think about world events, I just can never remember why...

ESPN convened a Tour-Confidential Wannabee panel with all their writers.  The best part?  They included a football writer whose every answer included a disclaimer as to why he shouldn't be there in the first places, such as this:

1. What was the biggest thing we learned from golf's first week back? 

Todd Archer: I'm coming at this from a football perspective as our Dallas Cowboys reporter, so bear with me, but these guys are good. After a three-month layoff, golfers thought there would be some rust. Yes, some were rusty, but the quality of play did not seem to suffer. The play down the stretch wasn't perfect, but it certainly was exciting, even if it wasn't Jordan Spieth or Rory McIlroy leading the way. Given the lack of live sports since March, the drama has to mean something. The more they play, the better they should get, so if they can continue to avoid issues with the coronavirus, the rest of the season could be special.

These guys are good?  I feel like I've heard that phrase somewhere previously...

At least they do have a couple of writers that have seen a tourney or two:

 2. What's the biggest thing that will take some getting used to in the "new normal"?

Harig: No spectators. The golf was excellent anyway, but it's so strange to have no

cheering of good shots and no moans over bad shots. It's a bit eerie. Although having golf back in this manner is better than having no golf at all, it is quite possible that a lack of spectators over the next month will get old. 

Collins: Watching golf with no grandstands is what I imagine watching football in an open cow pasture was like. As a guy who caddied on tour and played courses while the grandstands were up, the depth perception is a lot different. I think the stands make holes a little easier for pros.

Ummm, Michael, it's not just depth perception, there's the whole concept of "grandstanding"... 

There are holes that golf fans, who know golf course from watching the broadcasts, wouldn't recognize without the grandstands.  Holes such as the 16th at Scottsdale (Duh!) and the 18th at Riviera come to mind...  I'm guessing the 18th at Harbor Town as well.  We'll know better on Thursday.

Kraken, Released - For a guy that faded late, he's dominated the post-event discussion, such as this:

Bryson DeChambeau-flex: Big hitter shows off prodigious length

Geoff had a rant inspired by this data:

I believe that was posted before the final round.  It was quite obviously hot there, which makes the ball fly further, but he was long before the shutdown as well:

DeChambeau leads the PGA Tour in driving distance with an average of 323.8 yards off the tee through the Charles Schwab Challenge. That’s three yards farther than the next guy on the list, Cameron Champ, who led the Tour in driving last season at 317.9.

Here's that Shack rant:

Bryson DeChambeau’s physical transformation and continued ability to play at a high level is a sight to behold. And something totally unimaginable. Except to the distanistas

(guilty!) who have long feared that a day would come where distance was so clearly the primary tool, that we’d see players transforming their bodies to take advantage of the remarkable technological advances.

So we will keep seeing the progression to this modified World Long Drive with the potential for an array of health issues, no sign it’s adding fans to the pro game and worst of all, telling aspiring young golfers trying to find speed to play high level golf (and possibly before their bodies are ready).

Then there are aall of the absurd side effects on courses, cost, length of round, and the general cancer such an evolution would be on the game. The governing bodies have never taken these notions seriously in relentlessly passing the buck over the years.

To me the most interesting aspect to watch will be Bryson's health.  Adding that much muscle mass should lead to stress-related issues, such as we've seen from Tiger and Rory....  

The other issue that folks will harp on is that his newfound speed seems unrelated to equipment and the ball.  To me it's interesting but fundamentally irrelevant how the distance is achieved, as it enforces a de-skilling of the game regardless.

Done Deal - As much as anything can be locked down, we have confirmation of this:

The 2020 PGA Championship will be held without fans, according to a report from the San Francisco Chronicle.

San Francisco city health officials approved plans to hold the PGA of America’s flagship 

event at TPC Harding Park, but due to California’s battle with the coronavirus pandemic, spectators will not be allowed on property.

PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh told Golf Digest in May that his organization was preparing for a tournament sans galleries.

“The governor of California, Gavin Newsom, has been pretty vocal about his opinion on things,” Waugh told Golf Digest. “He’s basically saying no fans at any sporting event until phase four, which for them is where the vaccine is available, and the chances of that are, well, who knows. So we're assuming no fans, but we’re still planning for both scenarios.

“They [Harding Park] want to have it, and so do we, but we only want to do something that's in their best interest to be a good partner. And if for some reason something changes or they aren't comfortable committing to doing it even without fans, then we'll look to go somewhere else.”

Upon further review, the decision to hold their marquee event in the People's Republic might not have been the best call...

But we even have a scouting report for you, almost two months out:

Why this year’s first major is setting up to be a brute at Harding Park

Sounds like they're channeling their inner Tom Meeks:

Most munis offer a measure of forgiveness, but not Harding at the moment. The fairways 

have been pinched in to some 60 percent of their normal width, and the rough now nearly reaches your ankles. Miss the short grass by a foot and you almost need to step on your ball to find it. It’s a challenge made stouter by refined mowing patterns, which have shifted target lines to bring out nuances in Harding’s design. Fairways now skirt closer to fairway bunkers and other trouble, and doglegs bend at more beguiling angles, narrowing the margin between a perfectly-placed shot and a problem lie.

For maintenance reasons, you can’t play the tips. You probably wouldn’t want to anyway. New back tees have been added on five holes, extending a 7,100-plus yard sea level layout that has always played longer than the laser suggests (as you go about your day, it’s worth strolling back to the stretched-out tips, in case you need more proof that these guys are good). The greens, though running pure, haven’t yet been quickened to lightning pace. That’s coming. And for now, from one box up, Harding as it rounds into tournament form is as much golf as any amateur can eat.

Nothing plays long for these guys, and hack-out rough is so damn 1970's, I can barely contain my excitement.

It now appears that we'll have fans beginning at The Memorial, a month before the PGA Championship.  To then take a step backwards with the years first major will be off-putting, no?  

I'll segue into this silly Ryder Cup bit, because one assumes that Seth could have held the PGA Championship in late September/October, and had a much better chance of doing so in front of civilians.  

Paul "Karen" McGinley very much wants to speak to the Euro Tour's manager:

Paul McGinley has called on the top players to form a united front and back the PGA of America and the European Tour in their efforts to stage the Ryder Cup in September.

Europe's 2014 skipper believes the announcement by the Memorial Tournament that it

will allow 8,000 fans to attend its event at Muirfield Village from July 16 - 19 is a clear sign that the Ryder Cup could be staged with reduced crowds at Whistling Straits from September 25-27. 

"Personally, I hope it's going to be played and there's some kind of understanding where we all get united rather than the players having on view and Ryder Cup committees having another view," McGinley said during Sky Sports' coverage of the Charles Schwab Challenge on Sunday.

"It's important that we are united. We have always been united in Europe, and it's important we don't have disharmony.

"I hope we can get to a place where everyone is united and we can get to a place where we can have a Ryder Cup because I think the players will enjoy it, I think the fans will enjoy it, particularly the fans at home will enjoy it. In difficult times, putting on professional sport, we have a duty to people."

Well, Paul, you've perfectly captured the current zeitgeist, where no dissenting opinions will be tolerated... good to know that the Euro Tour will be a safe space.

Phil at Phifty - It's tough when our heroes get old.... Not as tough as getting old myself, but my misgivings notwithstanding, it's been a consequential and interesting career.  Golfweek collects Phil stories from his peers, and they're pretty much what you'd expect:

“He’s really just a goofball. One of the greatest players ever, but still a goofball,” said

Harris English, who pointed to a moment during The Match II as an example that encapsulates Mickelson. On the third hole, Mickelson was chirping about activating his calves and begging Tiger Woods for an advantage ahead of the long-drive contest. Woods turned to the camera, smiled and told the viewing audience “this is what I have to listen to every time we play.” 

“That’s Phil,” English said. “He is who he is. Always talking, always having fun, always on the ready. He is very personable. A great guy to talk to. You can ask him about anything and he’s never going to short-change anybody. His heart and his mind is in everything he does. He’s just a great guy to be around.

That which I like about Phil, I like very much....  It's just when he tries to prove how smart he is...

Golfweek also takes on this pressing question:

Will Phil Mickelson win on PGA Tour after turning 50?

For which they do the math:

From the time the calendar flipped to January 1, 1900 – for you history buffs, the first electric bus became operational in New York City that day and the second Olympic Games began in Paris five months later – more than 16,800 players have teed it up on the PGA Tour. 

In that span, more than 4,300 official PGA Tour events have hit the books, with 914 individual winners grasping championship hardware. 

Of those, all of seven were 50 years or older. 

Will Phil Mickelson make it eight? 

History – and the odds – are against him. The only players to roll through the elderly roadblock on the PGA Tour were Craig Stadler, Fred Funk, John Barnum, James Barnes, Davis Love III, Art Wall, Jr., and Sam Snead, who was 52 years, 10 months and 8 days old when he won the 1965 Greater Greensboro Open, making him the oldest to win on the PGA Tour.

There's a long history of older golfers summoning their skills and making runs at wins, often in big time events.  They don't all break the tape first, but it's not crazy to think he might give himself a chance.   The more interesting question might be to speculate on where that could most likely happen, but Winged Foot will always be at the bottom of said list.

This Golf Digest piece covers the universe, from Good Phil to Bad Phil, often in the same moment:

Our 50 favorite 'Phil being Phil' moments

Here's a  perfect Yin and Yang bit:

11. Double bogeyed the 72nd hole (when he needed a par to win) to give away the 2006

U.S. Open title to Geoff Ogilvy at Winged Foot.

11a. Uttered probably the most memorable line of his career afterward: “I am such an idiot.”

11b. Left an estimated $10,000 in tips, according to one Golf Digest story to the staff at Winged Foot after the brutal defeat, further burnishing his reputation as a legendary tipper.

But forget that Presser from Hell in 2014, this just might be the most egregious thing he's ever done:

20. Wore Red Sox jersey to take batting practice at Fenway Park in 2011.

20a. Donned Yankee pinstripe pants at the Deutsche Bank Championship outside Boston the next day. (“Lost a wager to a friend,” he explained.)

Some things are just wrong.

She Is Such a Stupid... -  Before there was Roberto De Vincenzo, there was Jackie Pung:

On June 29, 1957, no one found much pleasure in the final tally at the U.S. Women’s Open Championship, at Winged Foot Golf Club, in Mamaroneck, N.Y., not even the woman who walked off with the title, the future World Golf Hall of Famer, Betsy Rawls.

That's Pung at the far left.

 

“It wasn’t how anyone ever wants a tournament to end,” Rawls, now 92, recalled the other day from her Delaware home. 

In wind-whipped conditions on Winged Foot’s firm, fast East Course, Rawls closed with a 76 for a four-round total of seven over — a solid showing, given the fierce setup and the forceful gusts, but also shy of what she thought she needed. 

It placed her one shot back of the apparent winner, Jackie Pung, a charismatic player from Hawaii, who fired a 72 to pass Rawls down the stretch.

But, upon further review:

As Pung celebrated greenside with her teenage daughter, ringed by spectators and members of the press, Rawls made her way to the parking lot. She had just stashed her clubs in the trunk of her car when word reached her of a scorekeeping snafu. Just as Roberto De Vicenzo would do at the Masters 10 years later, Pung had signed for an incorrect card, a slip-up that resulted in disqualification. 

Rawls received the trophy instead, the fourth of her eight career major wins.

“It felt very bad for Jackie. It was a terrible way to lose,” Rawls said. “But then again, rules are rules.”

These stories are always so tragic, even for the winners...  Exit question:  Would you rather be Jackie Pung/Bob Goalby or Stewart Cink?  There's no good answer, but it's sad when a player's crowning moment comes with a damned asterisk...

Quick Hits - Otherwise known as browser tabs that have reached their sell-by date:

I think this is very much a minority opinion, but quite the interesting ranking nonetheless:

I certainly like Old Mac far more than Alan does, but I'm a certified Macdonald geek...  He does make a point about Pacific in a heavy wind, the interesting thing being how differently Kidd and Doak routed those first two tracks.  

This presents many problems, most notably my need to return there to test his hypotheses...  I need the Sheep Ranch for sure, as well as the 13-hole Par-3 that Alan doesn't even mention.  The bigger problem being that I need a minimum of a week to ten days there.

Via Shack comes this screen grab of a golfcart monitoring system:

The cart convoys have been a notable feature of Golf in the Age of Corona.  Unfortunately for your humble blogger as well, due to this annoying shin splint.

Lastly, I'm guessing that Thanksgiving dinner might be a tad awkward:

Gary Player has won a $5 million legal dispute against his son.

At 84 years old, Player has remained active with an array of ventures, including golf-

course design, apparel and wine, often incorporating his “Black Knight” nickname with these businesses. According to documents from the Palm Beach County Circuit Court, Player was owed unpaid royalties from a five-year period (2014-2018) from the Gary Player Group, which is run by Marc Player, one of Gary's six children.

Along with the payout, Player receives the rights to his name and likeness back from the company.

“Based on the lawful termination of that Agreement, and this stipulation, all such Ownership Rights as definite in the 2013 Agreement revert back to Player’s sole and exclusive ownership, so that GPG no longer has any right to use the Player name, likeness, image, or any of the other Ownership Rights as defined in the 2013 Agreement,” reads the court document.

Sad for sure.

I'll release you to your busy day.  In light of a semi-early tee time, I expect that I'll take a day to myself tomorrow, and see you again on Thursday or Friday.