Good news on the home front. Not only did your humble blogger test negative, as expected, after his recent travels, but our Valentine's Day present was an appointment for Employee No. 2 to get jabbed. Much better than flowers, for sure.
Pebble Detritus - As long as I went on this subject Monday, still a few odds and ends. I'm not sure this is exactly the civil rights issue of our day, but Daniel Rappaport thinks we've been slighting this fellow:
The eyes of the golf world fixated upon Jordan Spieth on Sunday. Hard to blame them, really, considering the storyline in play: a win, at this iconic golf course, to end The Slump. If someonewas going to steal the win from him, it’d be Patrick Cantlay. Cantlay shot 62 on Thursday, and he’s one of the best ball-strikers in the world. Scratch that: It was Nate Lashley, who elbowed his way into the lead with birdie after birdie early in the final round.All the while, plodding along just out of focus, was Daniel Berger. Which, of course, is nothing new for him. Berger has been golf’s Forgotten Man—the guy who couldn’t get a Masters invite despite being a top-15 player in the world. The first man out from the high school Class of 2011 discussion, not quite on the Thomas-Spieth-Schauffele-DeChambeau tier.Maybe it’s because Berger doesn’t say much, or because he’s not the front-man for a giant equipment company, or because his sui generis swing and low fade aren’t exactly instruction-book material.
Mebbe, but what's he really done to deserve our attention? Admittedly, some injuries got in the way, but this is the gist of the case:
Only five players have won multiple times since the PGA Tour returned from its COVID-hiatus last June: Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm, Collin Morikawa, Bryson DeChambeau … and Berger. The first four players on that list will all but assuredly be present and accounted for at the Ryder Cup in September at Whistling Straits. Want to bet against Berger being there, too?
No doubt that's the high point, though it would seem that the historically weak field at Pebble should be noted. But prior to Colonial, Berger had exactly two wins, both in the FedEx/St. Jude event in Memphis, both predating the elevation of that event into a WGC. So our estimation of the young man seems generally proportionate to his accomplishments, though the trend line is interesting...
But if you're on a heater, does this make sense?
I'm sure it took a lot out of him, but still...I was reliably informed many years ago that the tend is your friend.
One of the funnier moments last week was when, watching the final round from Pebble, Employee No. 2 opined that Maverick McNeally is probably gay. OK, that's just so wrong on so many levels, especially these days.... Am I allowed to cancel my wife? I also explained that, if true, that would make Danielle Kang his beard, which is awfully amusing...
But I beg to differ with this:
Maverick McNealy’s vicious club twirl at Pebble Beach’s 18th hole was an instant classic
I'm unable to embed the video, so you're on your won to click through and watch it. I find too much of a delay before initiating the club twirl... To me it has to be instantaneous, a reflection of the quality of the strike. He's young, so he'll have plenty of time to work on his skills.
Dylan Dethier has a new weekly feature at Golf.com called The Monday Finish, which we can consider an homage (or, if you're feeling less charitable, a rip-off) of Alex Myers' The Grind at Golf Digest. In this week's installment, he's got this that you'd think the CBS/GC crew might have clued us in on:
Some pros are taking an alternate route down No. 6 at Pebble Beach by sending their tee shots left of the left bunker, thus opting out of the challenge of splitting the tight cliffside fairway. Is that a problem or just an innovative strategy to avoid trouble? That depends on your perspective. But if tournament organizers don’t want players hitting it left, they’ll have to do something to disincentivize that behavior. Check out the cluster way left here:
Without Ray Romano and Larry the Cable Guy to weight down the broadcast, isn't this something they might have wanted to inform us of. Of course, Jim Nancy-Boy is cashing those large checks from Wally Uhlein, so narratives must be adhered to...One can only assume that, if they're taking this new line, it's because they're now able to send it far enough to make it work.... Just sayin'.
Dylan also had this great scatter graph of play on the tenth hole form that wonderful new-old tee box:
You'll have a rather obvious question, which Dylan answers:
That outlier beyond the green? That’s Will Gordon again. He was the only one to get it to the green and actually rolled his monster tee ball over the back.
Again, CBS, are you unclear as to the kinds of things your audience might want to see?
One last bit from Dylan, an ode to those back nine long holes:
Pebble Beach’s back-nine par-5s are things of beauty. While No. 2 and No. 6 each played to a scoring average below 4.5 for the week, No. 14 actually played over par, which is a big-time rarity for any par-5 anywhere on Tour. But even more notable is No. 18, which is often held up as an example of short par-5s losing relevance in the age of the modern bomber. At a softened Pebble Beach in February, the wind bites a little harder and this hole kept its teeth, averaging 4.94 for the week.
I was shocked that No. 6 played easier than No.2, which is a Par-4 in U.S. Opens. Similarly shocked that No. 18 played harder than No. 14. He has another good scatter pattern:
Since you'll ask:
In fact only one tee shot all week traveled over 300 yards on No. 18. That drive was hit by — you guessed it! — Will Gordon. He was a one-man outlier this week.
Apparently Mr. Gordon is quite the beast.
One last Dylan bit, just because it amuses your humble blogger. I've always been amused by Martin Laird, a Scot in name only, who's game is the exact opposite of that which you'd expect of a man with that DNA. Same holds for Russell Knox, but in quite a different context:
CLOTHING CORNER
Who wore what?
The cold weather provided plenty of opportunity for pros to show off a variety of layeringstrategies, but one that I couldn’t quite get down with was Russell Knox’s beanie-over-hat combination.
Don’t get me wrong, I love a good golf beanie. But what’s the point of wearing the hat underneath? It wasn’t raining. The sun couldn’t have been that bright. The beanie covers up any logos you’d be able to see. I don’t get it!
Knox is generally a smart dresser and looked sharp in various Vineyard Vines outerwear, but once I started thinking about the double-hat dilemma on Saturday I couldn’t think of anything else.
True confession time, this is a look I've used. The issue is the low winter sun and, yes, we need the bill of the baseball cap to shield us from it. It is quite the goofy look, but function over form.
Rumor Central - Color me surprised, but you heard it here first:
A little birdie tells me Mike Whan is going to be announced tomorrow as the USGA's new executive director. That's good move for Whan and a great move for the USGA.
— Alan Shipnuck (@AlanShipnuck) February 17, 2021
Really? I wish Alan would share why he thinks it's such a great move for the USGA, as I'm more than a little puzzled.
I have no clue where Mike stands on the threshold issue of the day, but coming from a place sheltered from the distance debate, it's obviously hard to interpret. There's no question that he's an accomplished promoter, but is that the job?
Other Rumors - Sir Nick and Zinger might well be looking over their shoulders:
With his PGA Tour playing career winding down, Mickelson’s representatives have started exploratory talks with interested networks, sources told Front Office Sports.
“Absolutely, we’re always in discussions about Phil’s future,” said Steve Loy, Mickelson’s longtime business partner at SPORTFIVE.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if in the next 12 to 24 months you might see more of Phil on the air.”
First and foremost, this tells you how well the early season has gone for our hero. Of course, when this is the highlight of your stay on the Monterrey Peninsula....
TV networks view the five-time major winner as a crossover star who could attract both hardcore and casual viewers to staid golf telecasts. Mickelson’s longtime caddy, Jim “Bones” Mackay, previously joined NBC Sports/Golf Channel in 2017.
“He’d be the Tony Romo of golf. This is a no-brainer,” said one TV personality.
A source agreed: “Phil would be the great catch of all [potential] golf analysts. He’s the guy all the networks want.”
Tony Romo? I can see how that might work. Phil could grab a couple of sponsors exemptions into Korn ferry events, and play the Tahoe celebrity event as well.
Phil was given the gift of gab by his Creator, so my only reservation (and it's a slight one) is to wonder how that will hold up over the long term. There's a seemingly infinite amounts of airtime to fill, and that necessarily means that the vast majority of what comes out of an analysts mouth is banal blather. Is that a good fit for Phil?
The bigger issue is that I can't see him wanting to be tied to the grind of the weekly broadcast schedules. I assume he'll play on the round-belly Tour, as well as some spot starts on the big-boy Tour, so they'd need to be awfully accommodating as to how often they expect to see him.
Stay tuned. Literally.
Golfers Say the Darndest Things - I'm not suggesting that there's any meaning to any of what follows, just a confluence of comments that had your humble blogger saying, "WTF?".
First up is Justin Thomas, actually using the F-word (not the F-word that cost him his sweet Ralph Lauren contract, though):
Let’s start with one of Justin Thomas’s main concerns: that it’s unfair to set new equipment standards after the OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) have spent so much on researchand development. “Companies have put billions of dollars, I would say—I mean, I don’t know that, so I’ll say millions of dollars into the construction of golf balls and equipment,” Thomas said. “To be perfectly honest, I think it would be extremely selfish of the USGA and the R&A to do that because of all the hard work that [the manufacturers] have put into making their equipment and golf balls as great as they possibly can.”
Two obvious rebuttals. First, the aforementioned WTF! He's actually suggesting that the governance of our ancient game should be determined by the R&D expenditures of the equipment community... It doesn't get more bat guano crazy than that.
Secondly, that's actually a rather compelling argument for bifurcation, though I'm quite sure he's clueless as to that logical thought process. And given his recent sponsorship issues, you'd think he'd want to stick to the Titleist-approved narrative, at least in the short-term.
By the way, that link goes to a Will Knights' piece at The Fried Egg, in which a reader scours 10K's to quantify the actually R&D expenditures of the equipment companies that have made such data available.
Then there was Rory:
Rory McIlroy focused his critique not on the finances of the OEMs but on those of the USGA. “Honestly, I think this [Distance Insights Report] has been a huge waste of time and money,” he said at TPC Scottsdale, “because that money that it’s cost to do this report could have been way better distributed to getting people into the game, introducing young kids to the game, introducing minorities to the game. This is so small and inconsequential compared to the other things happening in the game. It’s the grassroots. It’s getting more people engaged in golf. That’s where they should be spending their money, not spending it on the [Distance Insights Report].”These comments, like Thomas’s, do not fare well under scrutiny. According to Janeen Driscoll, Director of Brand Communications for the USGA, the USGA’s spending on Distance Insights was relatively minor.“The USGA invested $1 million total in Distance Insights from 2017 to 2020—the majority of which was dedicated to third-party research,” Driscoll told The Fried Egg in an email. “A lot of this research was dedicated to better understanding and quantifying the recreational game, as we had more than enough data from professional tours and golf at the elite competitive level.”
They've still got all that Fox money burning a hole in their pocket, so I shan't worry for them (as for the R&A, they still have their thirty pieces of silver). I'm putting both these guys in the bifurcation camp, though I'm not sure that will survive their next phone call from Carlsbad.
But if we're looking for silly, we should turn to the leader in the clubhouse, Mr. Chamblee. On a wide-ranging interview, had some interesting and some, well unique, takes on the issues of the day. This I thought was interesting:
Golfweek: What’s holding back Tony Finau from winning?
Brandel Chamblee: I get your question. I’m not sure I’ve ever encountered a player quite like Tony Finau. How can a player be world class if he doesn’t have victories on his resume? But everything on his resume is world class. It makes no sense. To see a guy play that well and that often and not come away with victories, you keep thinking it’s going to be like David Duval and at some point the windfall is going to happen.
Unlike David Duval, Tony’s not a great putter and unlike Duval he doesn’t drive it really straight. He’s long and a bit crooked. If you think about the greatest closers of all time, they all have great transitions to their golf swing bridging the backswing to the downswing. Tony’s quick. Pressure makes you quick, especially if you’re inclined to be quick anyway. Tom Watson famously said he never got over trouble on Sundays until he learned to slow things down. Finau has a short, quick golf swing. The most successful short, quick swing I can think of is Doug Sanders, who won a lot but never a major. It didn’t endure into his 50s. Finau is still young. It wouldn’t surprise me if he won three times this year. It wouldn’t surprise me if he won 5-6 times in his career. Again, he needs to find some way to be a better putter and a better player on Sunday. You look at his scoring average on Sundays and he’s a different guy.
He's the new Charles Howell, III. Seriously, we've always had these guys in the game... Sometimes they figure out how to get it done, sometimes they just bank a few million large. I'm not sure I understand the Duvall reference, because he won plenty before going South.
But here he misses the point:
GWK: Has Rickie Fowler missed his window to win a major?
BC: I don’t think so. He’s got a good coach (John Tillery) but I disagree with the philosophy that he’s coaching, which is more flex in his right knee. Kevin Kisner (another Tillery pupil) doesn’t hit the ball far, nor does Rickie. I cannot believe Rickie left Butch. Get on a plane and go to Vegas. He had a wonderful relationship with Butch. It’s a risk working with anybody. It could work out or it might not.
A better question might be, "Will Rickie Fowler ever make another cut on Tour?" What Brandel ignores is that he left Butch because his game was in the toilet... Butch is great, but if it had been working, they'd still be together. When the shorter hitters go bad, it's a much tougher road back to relevance...
Here he simply chooses badly:
GWK: DJ or Rory in full flight…who ya got and why?
BC: If they both play their best golf, I think Rory beats him. Rory won majors by 8. DJ at this point in his career is winning tournaments by wide margins. I think it is very close. I’d love to see Rory play his best golf.
How many times have they gone head to head? WGC Mexico, DJ got the better of him. I remember seeing Rory shortly after that and he said when you run into someone playing that type of golf and you’re not playing as well you just can’t beat him. Think about Rory at the 2011 U.S. Open or 2012 PGA, that guy versus Dustin Johnson right now, I’d like to see that, I think Rory would win, personally, but it would be a hell of a battle.
Fact is, DJ has outworked Rory.... words I thought I'd never type.
Never let it be said that Brandel can resist doubling down on stupid:
GWK: Who will be the next player to reach World No. 1?
BC: Let me look at the World Rankings. I think Dustin has a pretty darn good hold on No.1 right now. The next will probably be Rory. He’d have to go on a tear this year, but it wouldn’t surprise me if he did. I think Jon Rahm has the potential to be dominant at No. 1 and drop anchor there. You can just see it in his eyes. He doesn’t have kids yet. He’s about to but they’re not at that age where he’s coaching them in soccer and they’re looking at him with those eyes like where are you going daddy? That breaks your heart. I think the more intriguing question is who’s going to be No. 1 that has never been No. 1 before. Where is that guy?
The funniest part is that he needed to look at the world rankings... If only he had a job that allowed him to stay up to date on our game.
Now comes a series of team event questions, in which Brandel just beclowns himself:
GWK: Do you think Team USA has figured anything out about its captaincy and grooming future leaders or just grasping at straws?
BC: I think they are still grasping at straws. I can appreciate that they tried to empower the players more, to give them more ownership of it. That was a well thought out transition to give the players more of a voice in but it doesn’t mean they should have autonomy to do whatever they want to do. For example, picking six players misses the point. It’s meant to be the best 12 players according to our system, not according to some clique. It’s very clubby, very cliquish and I don’t think it’s a good look for the team, for the PGA Tour. It should be based on merit not popularity, and the captaincy should be an obvious honor to some longtime player irrespective of their popularity. How was David Toms missed? How has David Duval been overlooked?
If by "well thought out transition" you mean a Phil Mickelson hissy fit.... As for missing David Toms? Well, we can all agree that that's just one of life's great injustices...
I do give him credit for calling out the hostile takeover of these events. Those six captain's picks for Stricker might just be an issue this summer.
GWK: What do you make of Davis Love III being named 2021 Presidents Cup captain?
BC: Everyone loves Davis Love. There’s nothing not to love about Davis Love. But you shouldn’t be able to drop anchor in the position. There have been a lot of oversights in that position, Gene Sarazen, Larry Nelson. The nature of the Ryder Cup is the Europeans have better team chemistry. It’s as simple as that. I don’t know why Americans recoil at that idea. You show me the corresponding video of the American golfers putting together the angry golf video. It’s not a knock at the Americans as it is applauding the Europeans. It’s so good that they dominate the USA. On paper, the U.S. is better and so it infuriates the U.S. team and makes the Ryder Cup so interesting to watch.
Yes, they do have the better chemistry, but I've always thought the bigger issue is that they have the benefit of being underdogs...
A long trip, but here comes the payoff:
GWK: Who would you like to see as Team USA’s captain someday?
BC: David Duval.
I’ve said this before, Larry Nelson should be the captain. If people want to say that he’s not relevant anymore, if you don’t know who he is, you should know who he is. The idea of respecting your elders is important and they should respect that he served his country, and respect the dignity that he brought to the professional game and his Ryder Cup record and how good he was at it and how happy he was to not only have fought for his country but then played for his country with distinction. That is worth correcting a mistake. He is still alive. Do you believe in karma? If you do it’s not hard to get to this is what the USA team deserves having so egregiously overlooked such a distinguished player and great man.
I’ve told the story before but the first day I ever spent on a golf course watching a PGA Tour event was the Byron Nelson in 1976 or ’77, somewhere in there, and I was sitting behind the first green at Preston Trail and this guy putted out and walked off and sat down next to me in the stands. He asked me if I was enjoying the golf. I told him I just started to play golf and that my dad had dropped me off and I was spending the whole day out here. He asked me if I wanted to play golf when I grew up and I said I want to play the Tour when I grew up. He said, maybe someday I’ll see you out here. That player was Larry Nelson.
Ten or 12 years later, whatever it was, I got paired with him at the Players Championship. He probably did that to countless kids, but that’s who he is. He didn’t do it gratuitously, he did it sincerely. He won three majors for crying out loud and was 9-0 in his first nine matches. Making him Ryder Cup captain would be the best feel-good, best thing that the Ryder Cup could ever do. From a karma standpoint it would be incredible and would properly tell his story and might be just the thing to turn around…you could say that the Hal Sutton-Jackie Burke old-school thing didn’t work. We too often give pass-fail grades to ideas based upon the results of competition when it shouldn’t play out like that. What’s the right thing to do? Who’s the most deserving captain? Who’s the most deserving player to give tribute to?
That sound you hear is my palm hitting my forehead.
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