Thursday Theses

So let's count down... We have Bermuda this week, Houston next week....then.... All good things come to those that wait.  Well, perhaps not all...

Let The Finger-Pointing Begin - I guess Mr. Slumbers must be feeling a little heat, because he seems just a tad bit defensive....:

The major that never happened: The story behind the cancellation of the 2020 Open Championship

Spoiler alert:  There's a large check involved... But let's allow Martin to tell us how he's suffered:

On March 23, as soon as the United Kingdom officially joined multiple nations around the globe in COVID-19 “lockdown,” Slumbers began talks with the game’s other power brokers. Alongside the

R&A chief executive, representatives of the PGA Tour, the European Tour, the LPGA Tour, the USGA, Augusta National and the PGA of America sat down in an attempt to assemble and salvage a viable tournament schedule for the remainder of the year.

All to no avail as far as the 14th Open at Royal St. George’s, on England’s southeast coast, was concerned. By April 6, Slumbers had released a statement saying that the “champion golfer” of 2019, Irishman Shane Lowry, would have to wait at least another 15 months to defend his title over the Kent links.

“In those 13 to 14 days, we covered ground that in normal times would have taken a year’s worth of thinking,” Slumbers said. “We all worked together, which is a very powerful point to make. That doesn’t happen often. But you build friendships in good times, and all of us knowing each other as well as we do really paid off. It was like putting together a jigsaw without a starting point. It really was extraordinary.”

That last 'graph is pretty damning, as it's usually pretty quick business to count up the zeros on a check... But I'm sure he's got all sorts of strong reasoning behind him.  Shall we sample some?

As Slumbers explained it, quickly it became apparent that the Open wasn’t going to happen, not in its now traditional third week of July spot anyway. Government restrictions meant such a hope was summarily dismissed. With around 5,000 people involved in the vast array of preparations for the event, it would have been irresponsible, according to Slumbers, for he and his staff, led by the executive director of championships, Johnnie Cole-Hamilton, to have so many people working in close proximity.

“We then looked at a full staging of the Open in September,” Slumbers said. “Pragmatically, it takes us four months to ‘build’ the championship on-site. So we had to get going by June at the latest. But again, it became apparent very quickly that we weren’t going to be able to have people working by then.”

OK, so the problem is the four-month build-out of infrastructure except that, once Covid hit, the option was for a minimalist Open, so the build-out is clearly just a strawman.  Just compare and contrast with the USGA, PGA of America and Augusta National, who grabbed dates and were prepared to go forward with whatever circumstances would allow.

But wait, there's more:

Additionally, as was the case with the U.S. Open at Winged Foot, there would have been less daylight available in September, noted Slumbers, a fact amplified by Royal St. George’s being the southern-most Open rota venue. “Had we been going to, say, Carnoustie [555 miles north] we would have had more time to accommodate a bigger field,” Slumbers said.

Turnberry would have been happy to host you, even on short notice.... But again you'll note that the other organizations dealt with the shorter daylight hours as necessary....

But it just so happens that it wasn't the shorter days...Egads, it was the camera towers:

Option 3 then came into play: an Open closed to the public, much in the way the PGA Championship and U.S. Open were played this summer and how the Masters will be conducted next month. Inside five days, Cole-Hamilton and his team came up with a plan to do just that, a feat Slumbers calls “extraordinary.” But again, the whole thing proved to be logistically unfeasible, argued Slumbers. Although the R&A were able to stage the AIG Women’s Open at Royal Troon in mid-August without galleries—the only major sporting event in the U.K. this year—the sheer size of the men’s Open was an insurmountable obstacle.

“Yes, there would have been no grandstands or a big tented village,” Slumbers said. “But we would have needed camera towers behind every green. There would have been a bigger—five acres in size—media area because there is so much interest in the Open. Then we would need contractors and everything else that goes with an event of that size.”

See what he did there?  It so happens that it's all your fault, dear Reader, for being interested in the Open Championship.  I've got good news for Mr. Slumbers, he's made good progress in solving that specific problem... 

There's no shortage of nonsense, though this is of course the key bit.  I encourage to reader to pay careful attention, as the astute observer can actually see Mr. Slumbers' nose growing:

There was one more piece of ammunition for potential critics. Did the financial safety net provided by the presence of the R&A’s “communicable disease” insurance policy play too much of a role in the eventual decision?

“Although it would be wrong to say that having the insurance in place was not linked to what we came up with, all the decision-making was done through the lens of being uninsured,” Slumbers said. “We would have come to the same conclusion, irrespective of that. We were fortunate to have insurance. That protects part of our expenses, and we are working though all of that with the insurers at the moment. But it was independent of the final decision. [Slumbers would not say how much the insurance cost, how much the R&A has or will receive as payment or what it covered.] The All-England Tennis Club at Wimbledon was in the same position. They had an identical policy, and they canceled their championship, too.”

Let me see if I have this right?  It would be wrong to say there was no linkage, but....there was no linkage.  

I've had all sort of differences over the years with the USGA, PGA and the Lords of Augusta, but when the Covid-shite hit the fan, they stayed flexible and tried to hold their events.  That's to me  minimal level of expectations, whereas all Martin did was to fill out a deposit slip.

The Kids Are Alright - Historians will have a field day with that which we've done to a generation of kids during the pandemic, and college golf is not even a footnote in that accounting.  Still, if it's you or your child, it's a big deal.  That's an awkward intro for the East Lake Cup, a marginally-meaningful event in a normal year, but one that assumed outsized importance this year:

While both teams might not be explicitly saying it, the Ole Miss women and Pepperdine men each made a statement, loud and clear, to the college golf world.

“We’re here.”

Both teams claimed the title at the East Lake Cup on Wednesday afternoon in Atlanta, each in their school’s first appearance at the college event normally reserved for the semifinalists from the previous season’s NCAA Championship. Due to the pandemic, this year’s East Lake Cup field was built based on the final spring Golfstat ranking, with teams not playing because of COVID-19 weeded out.

The Rebels defeated South Carolina, 3-2, while the Waves crashed over Oklahoma, 4-1.

I do hope you caught some of it, because it was good fun.  Part of that is youthful exuberance, but a big part is the team match play format.   

At one point, one of the men was referred to as a 6th year senior...I assume that means that those that missed last year's season were offered another year of eligibility, which seems a good thing.  

Callaway, All In - Callaway made an astute investment in TopGolf a few years back, one that has had an outsized effect on their earnings and stock valuation since.  But now they channel their inner James Holzhauer and push all their chips into play:

Callaway made its first investment in Topgolf in 2006 and already owned 14 percent of the company. The transaction announced on Tuesday is an all-stock deal. Callaway will issue approximately 90 million shares of its common stock to non-Callaway shareholders of Topgolf based upon an implied equity value of Topgolf of $1.986 billion.

Many people’s first exposure to golf has been at a Topgolf venue, attracted by the nightclub-like atmosphere, food and drinks, high-tech games and non-competitive environment. During a conference call on Tuesday evening, Berle said all Topgolf venues in the United States had re-opened by early September. Recent operating sales are back to 80-85 percent of 2019 same-location sales. He added that 33 new venues are in the planning stages and sees approximately 200 possible locations for Topgolf venues in the United States.

Topgolf not only owns 58 locations in the United States, but it also owns Toptracer. This technology is used during television broadcasts to allow viewers to follow balls as they fly through the air. That technology is also being rolled out at driving ranges in the form of Toptracer Range, allowing golfers to see their shots’ ball flight as they practice on screens, smartphones or tablets.

The old saw is that "The trend is your friend", which is completely true....except, of course, when it isn't.

A couple of quick points, first Cally is getting quite the steal, at least if you believe the world will return to something approximating normal:

But if we go back to January, Topgolf was worth $4 billion. It was going to IPO. And now Callaway gets to buy the whole thing at basically half off.

It's 50% off, who doesn't like that?  Well, preexisting Cally shareholders, perhaps:

Now, the stock is off about 20% today. Dan Roberts, investors don't seem to love this news for Callaway. And I think on the call, there were some questions about the valuation.

Of course, that sell-off only decreases the purchase price for TopGolf, so win-win, baby!

Dylan Dethier scores an interview with Callaway CEO Chip Brewer and Dolph Berle, his counterpart at Top Golf, who ponder this existential question that we've previously discussed in these pages:

Dethier: You mention this interesting split, nearly 50-50 I think, of people who go to Topgolf and identify as golfers versus non-golfers. So my question is this: Is Topgolf golf? And does it matter whether it is or not?

Brewer: That’s a great question; I’ll answer it and then let [Topgolf CEO] Dolf talk. Golf is not traditional golf, but it is golf.

There are different types of golf as the game is moving forward, which is awesome. And we

should celebrate that. That’s the best thing that’s ever happened to golf, right? It isn’t all tournament golf. It isn’t all country club golf or even private vs. public golf, right? Golf doesn’t have to be a four-hour round on a golf course or a five-hour round or, if you’re playing in college, a six-hour marathon.

And so Dolf and his team at Topgolf are bringing in a whole new aspect to golf. But the metrics show that 75% of the people that are non-golfers and visit Topgolf have a strong desire to then go play traditional golf. Another survey that was just done at the venue showed that half of these non-golfers intend to play golf on a golf course in 2021. So you’re clearly creating new golfers.

As existential questions go, this one is reasonably interesting.  When we last visited this subject, a TopGolf official (I can't remember is it was Berle) made it clear that they were in the saloon business, with which I agreed.  I also have an intrinsic skepticism that the TopGolf experience will actually produce new golfers, just like watching Tiger on TV didn't create new players.  

But TopGolf has created a unique, fun experience and they were growing like gangbusters because of that.  Callaway made an astute investment on that basis, though I think the synergy arguments in Dylan's piece are pretty silly.  The success of this investment will be determined not be the creation of new golfers, but rather by whether the saloon business is viable in the future.  And, just to be clear, no one has ever gone broke by betting on alcohol consumption...

Strange Daze At Augusta - In confirming that which we already knew, the folks at ANGC came up with quite the twist.  First, there will be no "Doing it for the children" this year:

Another beloved Masters tradition has been put on hold for 2020: the Wednesday Par 3 Contest.

Augusta National Golf Club chairman Fred Ridley announced on Tuesday that the low-key lead-

in to the tournament, first held in 1960, will not take place when the Masters is contested without fans next month.

“The fun and excitement of watching Masters competitors with their friends and family is what makes the Par 3 Contest such a special part of Masters week,” stated Ridley. “We know that experience could not have been replicated without guests and patrons at Augusta National, and we eagerly anticipate the opportunity to bring back this signature tradition.”

Inevitable, I suppose.   Of course, it's become unwatchable in recent years, but still sad.  But here's that twist, quite the clever bit I think:

Fred Ridley, chairman of Augusta National Golf Club, announced the Masters, scheduled for November 9-15, will provide an expansive slate of content across multiple platforms, including ESPN’s College GameDay airing live from Augusta National on Saturday, November 14.

“Given the circumstances brought about by the pandemic, the delivery of quality content is as important as ever to the storytelling of the Masters Tournament,” said Ridley. “While we will dearly miss our patrons at Augusta National this fall, we are excited to showcase what promises to be a truly memorable Masters in a variety of ways for viewers around the world.”

One such way is the addition of College GameDay, which is scheduled to take place from 9 a.m. – noon before the live CBS broadcast of the third round. The studio will be staged overlooking Ike’s Pond and the 9th green of the Par 3 course.

ESPN’s regular GameDay cast will be on site except for Lee Corso, who will check in live from his home in Orlando.

That's the one day of normal tee times, so they won't be competing with the golf.  Given the younger players deep affinity for their college teams, I suspect this will play quite well.

Life During Wartime - A mélange of  unconnected items on life on tour, first this on actual galleries this week:

This week’s Bermuda Championship will be the first PGA Tour event to allow fans on site since

the opening round of the Players Championship in mid-March because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Although the island paradise has had just 188 total cases of coronavirus and has only three current known cases, strict guidelines will be in place at the tournament—most notably a maximum of 500 spectators will be permitted on the grounds at Port Royal Golf Course each tournament day.

There are other stringent protocols as well, including the requirement of anyone at the event getting tested seven days before arriving, then tested again upon arrival on the island while staying in their hotel room until receiving a negative test result. Masks will also be required for anyone in attendance.

Of course, that phot above from last year's event indicates that they might not het more than those 500 fans in a normal year...  I just hope they have more than 500 watching the broadcast.

Next up is Houston:

The tour has not allowed fans since its return from a three-month break due to the pandemic in June. The PGA Championship and U.S. Open were played without spectators, and the Masters won’t have them when it’s played next month. But next week’s Houston Open will also allow fans on site, capping its capacity at 2,000 spectators per day.

Pretty sparse when spread over 200 acres, though the griping has begun:

Scott Stallings, who is in the field this week in Bermuda and will play in Houston next week, believes it’s too soon to have fans in attendance. Privately, others also expressed similar concerns.

“It’s not worth the risk with only three events left in the U.S.,” Stallings said. “We’ve made it this far without issue, why rush back?”

How about because your sponsors need it and your ecosystem is unsustainable without them?  But isn't the better question whether this is rushing at all?  I mean, I'm old enough to remember when we agreed to a two-week lockdown...

But the reason to rush, if rushing this is, might just be that the schedule looking forward isn't so hospitable, per this from behind the paywall at Sports Business Daily:

Tour executives said they are looking at the March 2021 Florida swing as the time when more fans may be allowed at events, since Florida has been less restrictive on gatherings during the pandemic. The Florida stops in March include the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the Players Championship and the Honda Classic.

“As we look to January, it is a case-by-case basis,” Dennis said. “As we look to Florida, we have time and that allows us to focus on what we would do. We know that in Florida there is an opportunity to have spectators and it is evaluating how we do that in a thoughtful way. Certainly, in Florida and well into the spring in Texas, we see an opportunity to build out a model and reintroduce things.”

 Ironic. no?  That Players (and especially that Chainsmokers concert) seem a lifetime ago...

On another subject, did you catch Tiger's Houston head-fake?  How did I know it was a head-fake?  That's easy, anytime Tiger indicates a willingness to go somewhere he hasn't played previously, your BS detector will be in the red zone:

Tiger Woods’ preparation for the upcoming Masters won’t include a trip to Texas.

According to a Golf Digest report, Woods’ agent Mark Steinberg said his 15-time major champion client will not be entering next week’s Houston Open ahead of his title defense at Augusta National Golf Club, Nov. 12-15.

After a disappointing finish at last week’s Zozo Championship that saw the defending champion finish 22 shots behind winner Patrick Cantlay, Woods was proud of his putting but left the door open on playing in Houston.

At least Houston was precluded from selling a bunch of tickets based on the news, as happened to Johnny Miller and the folks in Napa a few years back.  Did Johnny ever get his apology?

If you've some time to kill, this Drop Zone podcast might appeal:

A PGA Tour caddie's job is both easier and harder than ever before. Our new podcast explains

Is there a serious case that the life of the caddie is harder today?  Just can't be, as they're valued far more highly than ever and the money doesn't suck (at the Tour level, that is).

 There's also this confirmation:

Patrick Reed's coach: 'He's not out here to make a lot of friends. It's work'

Mission Accomplished!

The LPGA is a different kind of place, where the caddie roundabout has romantic overtones:

Spend an unusual amount of time with your partner in 2020? These LPGA player/caddie couples make it work

 You might need a scorecard to follow this one:

There are a number of caddie/player couples on the LPGA. There are times when a couple might find themselves on opposite sides, like during a Solheim Cup or a playoff.

Masson and McDede

Last year in Taiwan, Caroline Masson competed alongside Nelly Korda in the final group at the LPGA Swinging Skirts. Masson’s fiancé, Jason McDede, carries the bag for Korda. They eventually faced each other in a playoff, which Korda won.

It happened at the 2019 Solheim Cup too, when Masson and Jodi Ewart Shadoff squared off against the Korda sisters in Friday morning foursomes. (The U.S. won.)

That reminds me of nothing so much as Fritz Peterson and Mike Kekich, for those old enough to remember that crazy story.

I shall leave you on that note.  Unsure whether I'll blog tomorrow, as it's a quiet week and I've a morning appointment.  Can we agree to make it a game time decision?  After all, it's in your interest to have me tanned, rested and ready for Masters week.