Friday, March 26, 2021

A Frantic Friday

Not here, of course, but in Austin for sure, as the guys scramble to survive group play.  Closer to home, the first round of 2021 is in the books, though the less said the better.  While the calendar might say late March, my game showed mostly early-March form...  We'll just let Bobby D. get a little cocky...

Austin Powers:  Probably the most interesting conversational bit on the course yesterday was about the format for this very event.  Bobby D. has embraced the pool play concept, pocketing the benefit of keeping the name brand players around for the three days.  Your humble blogger, by way of contrast, lived for the Darwinian intensity of the win-or-go-home of the retro, single-elimination format.  

One aspect on which they'll be no dispute, is that pool play greatly enhances the degree of difficulty of blogging the event.  Accordingly, I'm thinking that Shane Ryan is onto something with this concept:

One-sentence summaries of where all 16 Match Play groups stand heading into the greatest Friday in golf

Also not in dispute is the fact that Greatest Friday in golf is an awfully low bar...

I'm not suggesting we'll cover all sixteen groups, but let's see what Shane's got:

Group 1: With his late heroics to tie Robert MacIntyre, aka the Shocking Scotsman (nickname still a work in progress), Dustin Johnson breathed new life into hopes that were looking slim just half an hour before, and now he and MacIntyre are knotted at 1.5 points, meaning that if one wins his Friday match (D.J. vs. Kevin Na, MacIntyre vs. Adam Long) and the other loses, that will be enough to advance, while if they both win, they'll face off again in sudden death, and if both lose and Adam Long wins, Long can still go through BUT WAIT, because if DJ ties and Long wins, it will be those two in sudden death and look, I told you that some of these sentences will be long.

My kingdom for a period.  DJ looks like he's sleepwalking, so we can declare his late 2020 heater to be officially sleeping with the fish.  The most intriguing thing to come out of this group is the question of why Major League Baseball would pay Adam Long to wear its logo...

We'll need to cover Group 1 as well, if only because those Group of Death rumors were a bit misguided:

Group 2: This is the Group of Death, and Kevin Kisner and Matt Kuchar, both 2-0, will play in the most anticipated match of the day (and a rematch of 2019’s championship) for the right to advance to the knockout stages.

Well, who knew that JT would go AWOL?  Of course, I'm not sure which is the bigger surprise, JT phoning it in or Kooch actually showing up...  But I'll officially jump on the Kiz bandwagon, which no doubt ensures a 6&5 loss today.

 Lots to muse over from this group:

Group 5: A terrific Bryson DeChambeau-Tommy Fleetwood match highlights Friday in Group 5, with Fleetwood holding a slim group lead at 1.5 points, meaning that like Poston above, he can win and advance, but DeChambeau will jump him with a victory and French media-darling Antoine Rozner is still alive at one point with a chance to force a playoff with DeChambeau or Fleetwood (if Fleetwood ties).


I haven't discerned any great return to form from Tommy-Boy, but it's that other guy that's drawing the eyeballs these days.  Because, as you might have heard, he sends it unfathomable distances.  Except, yanno, when he doesn't:

DeChambeau was clinging to a one-shot lead over Si Woo Kim at the time. After losing to Antoine Rozner in Wednesday’s opening round, this was a pivotal point in a must-win match.
“I just like being aggressive, it can get you in good positions sometimes and sometimes it can hurt you, like I did on 10, that was probably the most interesting scenario I’ve ever had in the game of golf.'”

But we still didn’t know quite what he was talking about until DeChambeau took questions from reporters afterward and addressed what he jokingly referred to as “my longest drive of the year.” As it turns out, DeChambeau was taking a particularly aggressive line off the 371-yard par-4 in an attempt to drive the green. But his contact didn’t match his ambitions.

“I heel-pulled it lower than I wanted, it came off low off the face, it came out low,” DeChambeau said. The ball struck a branch on the left side and rebounded backward and to the right, where it settled by the practice putting green.

“I could have easily cleared the trees up and over like I wanted to, but I hit it on the wrong part of the face and consequently hit the tree limb. Hey, look, I was trying to drive the green, whether it was the practice green or the 10th green,” he said with a laugh. “I got it close.”

Leading to one of those amusing ProTracers:

Very reminiscent of that drive on No. 4 at Sawgrass....  Let's see, once is an anecdote, so twice must be data...

I'll throw in this one from Shane for the simple reason that it highlights the fatal flaw of group play:

Group 10: At the risk of sounding like a broken record, Patrick Cantlay is in the Garcia-Hughes situation at 2-0, and is also playing the worst opponent in his group (Hideki Matsuyama, eliminated at 0-2) while needing just a win or tie to take the group, but Carlos Ortiz and Brian Harman at one point each will fight for that critical second win and hope Cantlay blows it to give them a shot in sudden death.


This is where they lose me...  The resolution of this pod will ultimately hinge upon whether Hideki, who has no reason to get out of bed this morning, shows up.  Hard for me to get excited about that kind of match...

For what it's worth, Cantlay seems to be laying as well as anyone, beating both Ortiz and Harman when those guys played extremely well.  I've actually been a little Cantlay-skeptical, but we'll see if this form carries into the weekend.

These groups are very much in anything-can happen mode:

Group 14: Our first of two mad-cap madhouse madman anything-goes scenarios, where every single player is at one point and a million scenarios are possible including the glorious Friday double-tie (Daniel Berger vs. Harris English, Brendon Todd vs. Eric van Rooyen) that would result in a four-man playoff, but more likely the winner of each match finish at two points and meet for some sudden-death action.

Group 15: With Jordan Spieth’s late collapse to Matthew Wolff, this is now a wide open group where Spieth and Wolff lead at 1.5 points and would face each other again in sudden death if both won on Friday, but Matt Fitzpatrick has new life at 1-1 and can give himself a shot with a win over Wolff while Spieth tries to finish strong against Corey Conners.

Group 16: The other absolute cluster ... you-know-what, with every player at 1-1 and literally everything up for grabs in the Friday matches that see Sunjae Im take on Victor Perez and Marc Leishman meet Russell Henley, with the winner of each guaranteeing himself at least a spot in the sudden-death playoff or perhaps an outright group win if the other match ends in a tie, all the while fans of chaos will of course be rooting for two Friday ties and the ensuing four-man playoff.

I expressed two hunches on Wednesday, which were kinda-sorta working out, notable for a man who prides himself on being the '62 Mets of fantasy golf.  I predicted that Rory would be a hot mess,  admittedly more true on Wednesday than Thursday.  My second thought was that match-play would prove a good fit for Jordan Spieth, and I got a strong 34-hole performance out of that one.

With control of his match against Matthew Wolff, 2-up with two to play (your humble blogger being old enough to remember the archaic term, dormie), Jordan proceeded to expectorate all over his Under Armour golf shoes.  We've certainly noticed Jordan's difficulty with Sunday's during his recent strong runs, and this would appear to be the same underlying phenomenon, which I'd encourage Captain Stricker to take note of.  But the funniest bit by far is Golfweek's treatment thereof, starting with the header:

Thriller between Jordan Spieth, Matthew Wolff sets up compelling Friday at WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play

Thriller?  The article itself is equally delusional:

But it ended with a clear path to the round of 16 at the Austin Country Club event. Spieth, who helped the Texas men’s golf team win the 2012 NCAA Championship before turning pro, tied
former Oklahoma State star, and still NCAA defending champion, Matthew Wolff in a wildly entertaining second-round matchup.

Spieth, the lowest seeded player in the group at No. 49, will enter his final pool-play match on Friday with a win and a tie, the same as Wolff. Although Spieth gave up two strokes over the last two holes to prevent the win, he knows a victory Friday over Canadian Corey Conners will give him at least a chance in a playoff and an opportunity to reach the elimination round for the first time since 2016 and just the second time in his last five appearances.

Is the writer even aware that they're playing match-play?   "Giving up two stroke" makes not a lick of sense in the actual context, and one might expect a major golf publication to understand that.  Also, choking is a very different things that thrilling or wildly-entertaining... 

But it ended with a clear path to the round of 16 at the Austin Country Club event. Spieth, who helped the Texas men’s golf team win the 2012 NCAA Championship before turning pro, tied former Oklahoma State star, and still NCAA defending champion, Matthew Wolff in a wildly entertaining second-round matchup. Spieth, the lowest seeded player in the group at No. 49, will enter his final pool-play match on Friday with a win and a tie, the same as Wolff. Although Spieth gave up two strokes over the last two holes to prevent the win, he knows a victory Friday over Canadian Corey Conners will give him at least a chance in a playoff and an opportunity to reach the elimination round for the first time since 2016 and just the second time in his last five appearances.

Though let me set aside my quibbles to agree that this exchange was fun:

Nothing more exciting in our little game than a ball on the ground...  And that's despite how soft the course is playing. 

 Adam Woodard lays out the matches that matter today:

Kevin Kisner vs. Matt Kuchar

It’s a winner-take-all match for Group 2, with defending champion Kevin Kisner and 2013 Match Play champion Matt Kuchar each tied at 2 points. A tie forces a sudden-death playoff.

D'uh!  These are the guys that are 2-0:

Ryan Palmer and Jon Rahm are both 2-0 and will play a winner-take-all match today, though though Mr. Woodard doesn't include that as one of his featured matches for today.  Wassup with that, Adam, as I don't think you understand the nature of this week's event.  This one he finds more interesting:

Tyrrell Hatton vs. Lee Westwood

Sergio Garcia has the best chance to win Group 8, needing a win or tie against Matt Wallace, but that’s not very exciting. In fact, Garcia can still advance with a loss, as long as Westwood ties or loses. But if Westwood wins and Garcia loses? That will force a sudden-death playoff between the two (advantage Garcia, who defeated Westwood 4 and 3 on Wednesday).

Ya got that?  If Sergio tales care of business in this all-Euro pod, this match means as much as Thursday night league,...  Go figure!

I do agree, though, that the hot mess that is Group 16 could be good fun:

Group 16 is anyone's to win

Sungjae Im vs. Victor Perez | Marc Leishman vs. Russell Henley

All four players have one point, which makes things equal parts intriguing and complicated. Here are the scenarios, courtesy of the PGA Tour:

If Im wins and Leishman and Henley tie, Im advances.
If Perez wins and Leishman and Henley tie, Perez advances.
If Leishman wins and Im and Perez tie, Leishman advances.
If Henley wins and Im and Perez tie, Henley advances.
If Im and Leishman win, it will force a playoff between those two.
If Im and Henley win, it will force a playoff between those two.
If Perez and Leishman win, it will force a playoff between those two.
If Perez and Henley win, it will force a playoff between those two.
If Im and Perez tie, and Leishman and Henley tie, it will force a four-man playoff.

Anyone have a four-player playoff on their 2021 bingo card?  

So, a couple more quick bits before we move on.  First, Ian Poulter was asked about his match-play prowess, and got a little hung up on one word:

In his first group-play match on Wednesday, the Englishman continued to show off his match play mettle, disposing of Rory McIlroy on the 13th hole, 6 and 5. McIlroy had been playing poorly, but so had Poulter. Still, it was as if he flipped a switch. Afterward, he explained why he's so good in this format in a hilarious, and NSFW, way.

"I kind of like the sh-t or bust attitude, to be honest with you," said Poulter. "It gets the adrenaline going, the ticker starts going and quite frankly you've just got to be—sh-t or bust. You got to pony up and hit shots, right? So you got to suck it up and sh-t or bust."

 I guess the key word would be....

Lastly, Eamon Lynch reminds some unnamed PGA Tour intern that there's a big, wide world out there:

Kids say the darndest things... 

Great Moments in Sponsorships - For anyone still questioning whether Mike Davis has reached his sell-by date:

Finally, An Almost April 1st-Worthy Partnership

LIBERTY CORNER, N.J. (March 24, 2021) – The United States Golf Association (USGA)

today announced a new multi-year agreement with Dewar’s® Scotch Whisky to serve as a “Proud Supporter of the U.S. Open Championship.”

Dewar’s will become the official Scotch whisky of the U.S. Open, beginning with the 121st U.S. Open Championship, scheduled for June 14-20, 2021, at Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego, Calif.

“Dewar’s Scotch Whisky, like the game itself, can trace its prestigious lineage to the windswept dunes and lush valleys of Scotland,” said Mike Davis, CEO of the USGA.

The official Scotch whiskey of the U.S. Open... Because nothing evokes windswept dunes quite like Torrey Pines and The Country Club....But is there any check that they wouldn't cash?  

Scottish News and Notes - I thought I heard someone mention Scotland... Or whiskey, at least, which is pretty much the same thing.  There's no thread here, but this is an interesting follow-up to our Wednesday Coul Links story.  For those keeping a scorecard at home, it appears that Orange Man Still Bad:

And locals and conservationists now say the Trump Organization's latest plan to build a second 18-hole golf course approved by Aberdeenshire Council last year — will cause even more environmental destruction to the area than the existing course already has.

Locals believe they have good reason to be worried.

Last year, the sand dunes at the existing Trump International course lost their status as a specially designated conservation site after officials at NatureScot, a watchdog, concluded that the golf course had "destroyed" the dune system causing permanent habitat loss.

The damage was so bad that officials decided there was no point in giving that part of the conservation area special scientific status any longer.


To review the bidding, Mike Keiser's proposal to build the Coul Links up near Dornoch was turned down because Trump tweeted mean things or something, yet Trump's second course gets approved.  Maybe they figured it was safe because Trump is off Twitter?

As a business proposition I can't understand the logic of building the second course when the first course gets so little play.  I would also caution against just accepting the assertion that locals are concerned about this development, if only because a local planning commission seems to want it to go forward.

A second story from old country ties into this as well.  Of course, I uncritically accept to global warming climate change hypothesis, because I've been reliably informed that the science is settled.  Of course, the science has had about as bad a year as Rory, I for one being old enough to remember when it was accepted that 2.2 million Americans were going to die from the Kung Fu Flue....  Wasn't that a time?
But the bigger question is, do liberals even believe their own nonsense?  Just in the last few weeks we've had a schadenfreudaliscious John Kerry twofer, first when caught out taking a private plane, he reminded us that he'd different and there's no other choice for a guy like him.  Nice bit of class warfare there, the kind of thing that has folks saying I'll believe it's a crisis when those telling me it's a crisis act, you know, like it's a crisis...

But, even better, a man like John Kerry was seen this week on a commercial flight recently, whether or not as a reaction to the above I know not, but, quell horreur, he was without a mask.  So, Mr. Kerry, do you not believe your won sh-t, or you're just too damn good to be bound by the rules of society?

So, why the digression?  Because if you believe your own nonsense, you should really want Trump to build that golf course....  Because, why worry about areas of environmental importance when WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE ANYWAY:

Glasgow Airport, the Old Course at St Andrews and the Kelpies in Falkirk are among the key sites that could be flooded, if research by Climate Central is correct.

The organisation is made up of leading scientists and journalists who research climate change and its impact on the public.

Journalists?  Wow, we have a new contender for worst appeal to authority ever....

The gist of it?  Apparently, we'll all be under water:

The study predicts a widening of the River Clyde, with it’s riverbank completely changing.

Glasgow Airport would be submerged under the rising water, with Braehead Shopping Centre and the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital also at risk.

Bi biggie, we can always fly into Edinburgh....

But little doubt that your humble blogger is hardest hit:

Further north, the historic Old Course at St Andrews would be lost to history, if the study plays true.

The implication for East Lothian being especially dire:

Edinburgh and East Lothian

The centre of Edinburgh remains fairly unscathed in the predictions, with Leith taking the brunt of the hit, according to the study.

The usually busy Portbello beach will likely look completely changed if the study fairs true, meanwhile further south Mussleburgh faces having a vast chunk of its land removed.

There, the race course and golf courses look set to be unwater.

Boy are these guys thorough... Given that the historic Musselburgh links are inside the race track oval, it would be strange indeed if only one were submerged....

This must be really serious to warrant an interactive map.

Just a little reality check for y'all.  We can't die from climate change, because we're already dead from:

  1. The 1970's global ice age;
  2. The 1980's population time bomb, or;
  3. The inability to heat ourselves due to having reached Peak Oil.
Also, according to Saint Gore, Manhattan has been under-water since c. 2000.  But I'm sure they'll get it right this time....

Wither Brooksie - His won words implied that his presence at Augusta was up in the air, though the word on the range is that he'll be away for far longer:

“There was rumors around here, The Honda Classic was last week where I live, I was on the range with caddies and talking, and I have instructor friends, I think this injury is way more serious than Koepka’s letting on. I've heard, you know, patella injury, post collateral ligament, PCL. I've dealt with multiple ACL injuries, and I've heard rumors he's out for six to eight months. So I don't think the Masters has a chance. I'm not saying I want that to happen for Brooks in any reason. We need him on the TOUR. He's a hell of a player, but I think he's going to battle this one. PCL's a tough injury to get over. Couple that with the other parts of the knee that got injured and we may not know the true story … but I know we're pulling for him.”

The good news might be that the right knee absorbs far less torque than the left.  But Brooks is another example of bulked-up golfers unable to stay healthy....

Yeah, That's The Ticket -  Which was the bigger epic fail?  That 46-yeard drive or his NFT triple bogey?  Brain Wacker takes a deep dive on the issue, and there's much of interest, including his recitation of NFT home runs (deliberately mixing sports metaphors):

Now the important part: In recent months, NFTs have transformed the cryptocurrency market and, in turn, attracted real-world attention. The artist Beeple—a 39-year-old graphic designer
from Charleston, S.C., named Mike Winklemann—has sold more than $100 million of digital creations since October, including one piece that fetched $69 million earlier this month. That instantly put Beeple among the top three most valuable living artists, according to Christie’s, the auction house that handled the sale.

Wanting a piece of the increasingly lucrative crypto pie, the sports world is naturally getting in on the action, too. Last October, the NBA launched Top Shot—a partnership between the league and blockchain company Dapper Labs—as a way to offer officially licensed digital collectibles, with the league getting a cut of the action. One clip of a LeBron James dunk against the Memphis Grizzlies last month went for just a little more than $200,000. To date, Top Shot has generated more than $400 million in sales.

In the NFL, a Patrick Mahomes-autographed digital rookie card nabbed $861,000. And a series of digital trading cards from Rob Gronkowski sold last week for more than $1.6 million, including one, a “Career Highlight Refractor Card,” that went for about $435,000.

I have no clue as to what a "Refractor Card" might be, nor any inclination to find out.  Though I suspect you'll find this explanation as laugh-out-loud funny as I did:

“Whether he made $2,000 or $20 million, he had no idea how this was going to play out,” Falkoff said. “What it shows [by the total] is that golf is still a niche sport.”

 I'll alert the media...

Mission Accomplished, Not - As you might have heard, Michelle Wie West is back after having a child, though she might have saved herself some snark with a little forethought.  She's setting the bar high, which I'm typically a fan of:

“Goal-wise, obviously I want to win,” said Wie. “I’m not out here just to make the cut or just to do whatever.”

And that lasted for approximately fifteen minutes:

CARLSBAD, Calif. — She was away from the competitive game for 21 months, but that hardly
seemed the reality when Michelle Wie West stepped to the first tee on Thursday to start the LPGA Tour’s Kia Classic. After being introduced as “Mrs. Michelle Wie West” for the first time by an on-course announcer, she fashioned a beautiful draw into the middle of the fairway. She then striped her approach to 15 feet, and even when her putt looked like it would glance the cup, it tipped in on the side for a birdie.

Wie West flashed a bright smile. So much for the challenges of a comeback following marriage and motherhood.

If only golf was that easy. If only the game was that kind.

At which point reality bites:

For the other 17 holes at Aviara Golf Club, which was doused by a rare late March storm of wind and rain, Wie West played exactly like we might expect from a player who only two months ago took up practicing seriously again, sometimes while pushing her 9-month-old daughter Makenna in a stroller down the fairway.

Wie West sliced her drive on the fourth hole out of bounds, pulled a tee shot into the water on the 10th, bogeyed three consecutive holes on the back nine by missing putts inside six feet, and drove into the water on the 18th in starting her return to the LPGA with a nine-over-par 81 that put her 15 shots off the lead of 10-time major winner Inbee Park (66).

Making it the perfect synechdode of her career.... But riddle me this, Batman?

Wie has entered next week’s ANA Inspiration, the first LPGA major of 2021, where the conditions figure to be more inviting in the California desert.

Excuse my bringing the hate, but how exactly did she score that invite?  I mean, Sophia Popov was famously excluded from the rescheduled 2020 event, but a woman that hasn't played in two years has a tee time at this year's installment?  Favoritism much?

Zero Sum Games - It's an odd item, though one you'll understand better if you factor in that it's from a local publication.  A partisan should be, you know, partisan, but there's a lot left unsaid:

Honda Classic has been punished enough, time for PGA to reward longest-running sponsor on Tour

I'm going to let you read this one for yourself, though the author seems blissfully ignorant of the zero-sum nature of the PGA Tour schedule.  The author seems to think the Tour is going back to Mexico, though that the event will not have WGC status.  But the bigger issue is quite obvious, that the week before the Match Play will be a loser, so my follow up question is to the effect of, which event do you want to sacrifice?

It ain't gonna be the Players and it ain't gonna be another WGC (to the extent that the WGC event at The Concession becomes permanent, so that leaves Honda or Arnie's event?  Mr. Palm Beach, why do you hate The King?

A second-tier event in Mexico could be thrown to the wolves, though I don't see Gruppo Salinas liking the deal very much.  But that which the Tour has done to the Honda has lots of precedent, making me curious as to why folks keep jumping into bed with Kubal Jay and Nurse Ratched.  The get told that they'll be respected in the morning, though that doesn't seem to be the case.

Have a great weekend and I'll see you Monday.

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