Wednesday, April 14, 2021

Midweek Musings

The Wednesday game kicks off its 2021 season later this morning, putting your humble blogger very much on the clock.  It also necessitates, perhaps. a modification of the Monday-Wednesday-Friday blogging schedule to which I've reverted.

Masters Detritus - The search for deeper meaning continues, though mostly without your humble blogger's participation.  See what you think of this bit:

You walk around at the Masters and the sameness is evident. Take a peek inside the clubhouse if you need to. It’s predominantly white Americans strolling the grounds, enjoying the same American cuisine, speaking the same language, wearing the same brand of sunglasses.

There’s no surprise to it — this is Augusta, Georgia, America, after all. But on Sunday, a new visual appeared to the few thousand spectators on site and the millions watching at home: an Asian-born player winning the Masters for the first time, punching the sky with both hands, a green jacket on his back, with a smile that could have reached across the Pacific.

It’s difficult to categorize how significant Hideki Matsuyama’s Masters victory is, can be and will be. We can’t begin to quantify it. Perhaps sometime down the road. But a more subtle, qualitative takeaway from the 85th Masters has to do with a simple concept: representation. The image of a Japanese man doing exactly what he did Sunday, here in this southeastern corner of the United States, and just eight days after a Japanese woman prevailed at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.

OK, but the Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion would like to talk to you about that accompanying photo.  Just kidding, but are we still comfortable with the caddie bibs being, you know, white?

Daniel Rappaport has 18 parting thoughts for us, beginning with this on the winner:

1: We start, as always, with the winner. It wasn’t so long ago that Hideki Matsuyama was a can’t-
miss kid. He and Rickie Fowler were the two players who hadn’t won majors yet but were destined to win multiple. You can’t be that constant of a presence on big-time leader boards without eventually finishing on top of one (or several). It was only a matter of time. Or at least, that’s how the thinking went.

Matsuyama’s subsequent dip in form since his last tour win at the 2017 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational wasn’t anywhere close to as dramatic as Fowler’s ongoing fall, but he had begun to fade from golf’s consciousness. The lowest Matsuyama ever dropped was to No. 32 in the world, so it’s not like it was a violent disaster. But, in a way, such a slow-but-steady decline is even more rare. Guys completely lose their games all the time; much less often does a top-five guy become just another good player, especially in his 20s and without significant injury.

Yeah, I mean how often does the sun rise in the East?  Like every friggin' day, Danny Boy.  Rory, anyone?  Yeah, I know, he might be on an express train to Obscurity, but you take my point...

 And this on the Z-man:

2: For a guy who has only played PGA Tour events since last September, Will Zalatoris is hella polished. (You’ll notice I used hella, NorCal slang, because he was born in San Francisco. I’m here all day, if you’re wondering). We’re talking about his game, but also his demeanor. After his opening-round 70, he said “if I’m stupid enough to think I can play here, then I’m stupid enough to think I can win it.” Bold. On Saturday, he said after playing in the final group: “I thought I might have been a little bit more nervous than I was.” On Sunday, after finishing one shot short winning of the Masters in his first try, all he could think about were the shots he left out on the par-5 13th; he three-putted for par on Sunday and played it even par for the week, a costly effort on the easiest hole on the course.

There's a confidence with the 24-year-old that borders on cocky, but in the right way. Plenty of golfers are cocky; you almost have to be in this solitary game. But Zalatoris' confidence stems from training with Jordan Spieth and playing money games with Tony Romo. He’s rubbed shoulders with golf’s elites since he was a kid—Ken Venturi gave him a lesson at age 6, and Lanny Wadkins was telling him how to play Augusta when he was 12—and has spent heaps of time around exceptional people. It’s clearly rubbed off. Don’t be surprised if he makes the Ryder Cup team this fall; he has that juice.

Funny, had this very discussion with our head pro yesterday.  I'm a tad more skeptical, as they'll be no sneaking in as the 8th or 9th guy off a points list, with Strick having six picks.  Let's just say that Will needs a stronger case than just the one week, especially when the weakest part of his game is the putter.

But, since we're on the Z-Man, how about this loaded team?

Here's the background:

3: Speaking of Zalatoris … with his emergence, the 2017 U.S. Walker Cup roster continues to look more and more ridiculous. You’ve got Zalatoris, Collin Morikawa, Scottie Scheffler, Cameron Champ, Maverick McNealy, Doc Redman and Doug Ghim. All of those guys are already legit PGA Tour players, and the oldest among them is 25. The group is going to give the vaunted 2007 U.S. Walker Cup team a run for its money as the best of all time. That one had Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler, Webb Simpson, Billy Horschel, Chris Kirk, Kyle Stanley, Jamie Lovemark and Colt Knost. The advantage still lies with the ’07 squad, but let’s give the ’17 crew a decade before we make a definitive call.

 And still musing over that gunshot heard from the grassy knoll:

4: It’s hard not to think that Xander Schauffele wins this tournament if he hits the 16th green on Sunday. Consider the moment in context: Matsuyama has just made a mess of the 15th hole. Schauffele is red-hot; four birdies in a row and six in his last nine holes. He’s just two shots back with three to play after being nine back earlier in the round, and he has the honors on the tee. If he hits that one stiff, Matsuyama slips into panic mode—hell, he bogeyed three of his last four anyway!—and the crowd reaches volumes it hasn’t all week. Schauffele feeds off that energy, pours the birdie putt in …

Instead, his 8-iron landed a good 12 yards short and kicks into the drink. He claims he flushed it. He’s either fibbing, or that’s one of the worst yardages ever calculated given the gravity of the moment—especially considering the wind was 10 miles per hour tops. Either way, it was another disappointing finish in a huge spot for Schauffele. On the other hand, he now has eight top-10 finishes in 15 career major starts and six top-fives. You want to say it’s a matter of time until he wins one, and we believe that’s true. Then again, there are no guarantees in this game. See the musings on Hideki and Rickie above.

But Daniel, I've been reliably informed that he "flushed it"...  Abraham Zapruder was unavailable for comment... 

This seems way ahead of facts on the ground:

6: Reading between the lines of chairman Fred Ridley’s press conference on Wednesday, a rollback on distance seems increasingly likely. The foundations for the move were laid in February, when the USGA and R&A deemed ever-increasing driving distance “detrimental to the game.”

Ridley took it a step further in his first public comments since that report: “Fortunately, we do have the ability to make any number of changes to protect the integrity of the course. At the same time, we hope there will not come a day when the Masters or any golf championship will have to be played at 8,000 yards to achieve that objective. This is an important crossroads; so we will continue to urge the governing bodies and all interested parties to put forward thoughtful solutions as soon as possible.”

By hosting one of the biggest golf tournament in the world, Augusta National sits at the table in any discussion about the future of the game. And its position on distance seems clear: this has to stop. The governing bodies are clearly on board, as well. But the PGA Tour and the equipment companies are not, and it’s going to be a fascinating clash of competing interests. Without taking a side on the distance debate—it’s a longer conversation for another time—it feels increasing from this writer’s vantage point like the governing bodies and Augusta are going to get what they want. They make the rules; the others follow. People were really upset when the anchoring ban came down. Same when “U” grooves were outlawed a few years back. Change is scary and uncomfortable, but golf adjusts. It’s been that way forever, and it will continue to be that way.

If only.... To me, the interesting thing is that the threat is to go to 8,000 yards, as opposed to requiring the use of a rolled-back tournament ball.  They certainly have a seat at the table, it's just that those advocating for stricter equipment rules are prone to expect too much from the club.

But in what sense are the governing bodies "clearly on board"?  One of those bodies has just hired a new CEO, whose position on this issue is one of life's great unknowns.  I have no clue whether they have the stones to take this on, or even see the need to, but Perhaps Danny Boy has a better pipeline into the these ruling juntas.

And this one just tugs at my heart strings:

13: The Tuesday press conference carousel typically finds players beaming about the state of their game and their confidence levels going into the week. Not Rory McIlroy.
The World No. 12 offered this honest (and somewhat depressing) assessment as to his game: “I’m trying to see the big picture here. I’m obviously focused on this week as this week is very important, but it’s bigger than that. I’m just at the start of a journey here that I know will get me back to where I want to be.”

Translation: Winning ain’t in the cards this week (and it wasn’t as his 76-74—MC proved). He’s recently started working with swing instructor Pete Cowen. And when we say working, we mean working—just 30 minutes before his tee time on Thursday, they were in full lesson mood. McIlroy hit one-handed chips right-handed, then left-handed, then Cowen would come in to show him the wrist action he wants, then McIlroy would exaggerate it, then McIlroy would hit a shot, than he and Cowen would discuss it. It cannot be easy to play a major championship on a course as difficult as Augusta with all those thoughts running through your head.

McIlroy has now missed the cut in each of his past two stroke-play starts and is a combined 16 over par in those four rounds. It can only go up from here.

I'd like to see your sourcing for that last bit...But it seems you'll respect me in the morning, so we've got that going for us...

Dylan Dethier mothballs his Monday Finish style book for just this week, sharing things the TV cameras missed.  This one was echoed in the Daniel Rappaports piece as well:

I missed the fans, too. Augusta National allowed several thousand patrons on property (between five and 10 thousand, depending upon whose estimates you believed) but a higher-than-usual concentration were members, guests and various other well-connected folks. That meant something was missing atmospherically.

Put another way: There were just enough fans there to remind us that the fans weren’t quite there. When they’re back, we’ll be better for it.

For sure.  The more interesting though ultimately futile issue, though, is to discern whether the lack of rampaging hordes patrons was a factor in the desultory play.  As the kids like to tell us, correlation is not causation.... Still, it is curious.

I completely missed this, which CBS might have deigned to show us, given the low energy level elsewhere:

1. One more year!

Late on Sunday, Masters rookie Robert MacIntyre was going through his own unique brand of

scoreboard-watching. That’s because the Scottish lefty sat in a tie for 12th — and the Masters automatically invites its top 12 finishers back for next year’s tournament.

MacIntyre was clearly aware. And he wasn’t afraid to celebrate, either. When Brian Harman’s birdie try slid past the cup at 18, MacIntyre came jogging out of the clubhouse, jumped on his caddie and gave out fist-bumps left and right. Part of the Monday Finish ethos is being fully appreciative of cool things that you get to do. Playing the Masters definitely falls under that category.

The Scottish lefty, which seems to be his nom de guerre, is on a bit of a roll lately, and has a better chance of making that Euro team than Zalatoris does of making the Yank team.

He even did an exit video for us:

4. QB camp

The grounds of Augusta were crawling with NFL quarterbacks. Patrick Mahomes was accompanied by trusty tight end Travis Kelce. Trevor Lawrence and fiance Marissa Mowry

kicked off their wedding weekend with a trip to the Masters. Ryan Fitzpatrick showed off his beard for several days on the grounds. Augusta member Peyton Manning towered over fellow patrons. Tom Brady FaceTimed in to Tony Finau. And there were rumors of a Mitch Trubisky sighting, too, though I couldn’t independently confirm that one.

If they came with hopes of recruiting some receivers, though, I’m not sure they found what they were looking for. Will Zalatoris might be quick, but how many big hits could he really take?

Mitch Trubisky is a quarterback?  I guess if you use a loose definition of the term...

Back to Rappaport for this one:

17: The other par 5 on the back gets more attention, but for my money, No. 15 is a perfect golf hole. The fairway is wide as hell, but massive trees that jut in down the left force you to stay right of center if you want an unimpeded look at glory. If you do go for it, you’re forced to send a long iron way up in the air if you want to hold the putting surface. The natural bail-out is in the right bunker, but the entire green slopes from right to left.

You’re not going to lose your ball if you spray it in the right trees or pull one left, but you’re laying up. Then, it’s maybe the best wedge shot in the world: off a downhill lie, to a green with a devilish false front and a downslope over the back. They shaved that downslope tight this year, so multiple balls that landed over the green went into the water on 16. And the greens were so fast that at least three guys knocked it in the drink from just over the green. Just delightful.

No. 13 is the more beloved hole, though it certainly doesn't garner any greater attention on the CBS broadcast.  

But I've always struggled to understand my own reaction to this hole, because it's so obviously unfair even under normal conditions.  But on day like Thursday, with it's macadam playing surfaces, you're trying to land a mid-iron on the hood of a Buick (which is, from memory, a Jack line).  

A little Billy Ho for ya?  He had quite the week, especially when you might expect him to be mellow following his match-play triumph.  First we this bit in which he nails the dismount:


Yeah, the white pants are the priceless detail, though I'm also partial to the Phil cameo, especially since he's in Johnny Cash black.  

Then this from Sunday:

Which inevitably is followed by this:

“I am and have always been a fiery competitor,” Horschel wrote. “Unfortunately, the fire inside me sometimes runs hot when I’m not getting the most out of my game. This leads to some instances where my conduct is not what I wish to show, especially as a role model to the younger generation.

“I apologize to Augusta National, the Members of the Club and to the patrons for any conduct that may have crossed the line,” Horschel continued. “I am always trying to improve and do better; as a golfer, husband, father, or as a human being.”

Human being?  I don't know, Billy, but perhaps you're setting the bar a tad high?

Back to Dylan, with the kind of items his Monday Finish column was made for, because you certainly won't get this kind of thing from the CBS crew:

6. The longest layup

Yes, we decided that Spieth was basically already “back” after last week, when he went out and won the Valero Texas Open. And he was even more “back” this week, logging a T3 finish with a four-day total of seven under.

But I really knew Spieth was really back when he sent caddie Michael Greller some 150 yards ahead to pace off his entire layup at No. 15. There must have been something trickier about the shot than it looked, because the entire process took some 10 minutes, longer than any layup I can remember. At the end, after switching clubs two final times, Spieth sent what looked like a relatively simple punch shot up the fairway, leaving himself almost exactly 100 yards for his approach.

There are some things that Spieth does just slightly more intensely than other golfers. This was one of them.

 Veddy interesting.

The ice thing has be debunked, but who doesn't enjoy Azalea-blogging?

8. Replacement flowers

How, you might ask, do Augusta National’s flowers all seem to be in bloom at the same time? Based on my estimation, there are two main reasons.

No. 1: This part of the world at this time of year seems like the ideal place to grow azaleas. The apartment complex down the street from our rental has a splendid set of azalea bushes. So does the cemetery we pass on the way to the course. So does the second hole at nearby Aiken Golf Club, one of the coolest sub-6,000 yard golf courses I’ve ever played. The flowers aren’t just reserved for the National.

But No. 2 is far more interesting when it comes to Augusta minutiae. The plants you see on the Masters broadcast are very much real, living things. They’re in full bloom. They just might not be the same plants you saw in the same spot the day before. The overnight horticulture scene at Augusta is, by reputation, a busy one. They tap into stores of backup plants and bring them in like relief pitchers, dig up any that are fading or wilting and replace ’em. In the mornings, you can try to spot which plants weren’t there the day before. At Augusta, the cycles of nature are considered a challenge that can be overcome.

How sure are we that they're not replacing azaleas mid-round?

Alan Shipnuck is in the midst of a career move, having just left Golf Magazine for a endeavor in conjunction with Matt Ginella.  So, color me surprised when his piece hit on Golf Digest:

You just won the Masters. Here's what happens next

Give it a read for yourself, but here's just a taste relating to the dinner with members after the green jacket ceremonies and press interviews:

Unlike the Tuesday night Champions Dinner, the club handles the menu (lobster macaroni and cheese is a perennial favorite) and covers the cost. But after his breakthrough win in 2004, Phil Mickelson pulled aside then chairman Hootie Johnson. “He was so overjoyed to have won he really wanted to celebrate,” Amy says Amy, "so he tells Hootie, ‘Go deep in the wine cellar and pull out your best stuff.’” Augusta National’s cellar is legendary and has been widely described as among the best in the world. A particular favorite among the green jackets is Château Lafite Rothschild, a Bordeaux of which some vintages can retail for up to $15,000 a bottle. “Phil got pulled away and after he was gone I heard Hootie say to another club official, ‘Do be sure that Mr. Mickelson is presented the bill for the wine.’”

During dinner, it’s common for some of the richest and most powerful people on the planet to stop by the champion’s table and pay their respects. “Gosh, I got a couple phone calls from high up in the government, the vice president and president, which was a cool honor,” says Bubba Watson. “You're not allowed cell phones there by the way. There was a member that gave me their cell phone and said, ‘This is the vice president of the United States.’”

Good Stuff.

Lastly, those Canadians are quirky for sure, though I'm reliably informed that this is the highest civilian honor a Canadian citizen can receive:

The 2021 Masters was loaded with tasty storylines, including Canadian Corey Conners draining the sixth hole-in-one on No. 6 in the tournament’s history — marking the first time since 2013 a player aced a hole other than No. 16 during the event at Augusta National.

Conners hails from a small region in rural Ontario, Canada, about two hours from Toronto, and was immortalized as only a Canadian can be — through a Tim Hortons donut.

Robert Rumph owns the Tim Hortons — a famous coffee and donut chain named for a hockey player that stretches across Canada and into some Northern U.S. towns — in Listowel, a small unincorporated area where Conners was raised.

I'm not sure I'd so much as try one:

Of course your humble blogger is notoriously hostile to the green food group.

Torrey Daze -  One last story, then I need to get moving.  This strikes me as an interesting contrast to Kubla Jay las March:

Through all of the logistical challenges that COVID-19 has created for professional golf tournaments, from safety protocols to testing to managing fans on-site, it appears that the two
biggest events on the USGA’s calendar this year—both scheduled for California in June—are going to come down to a problem that few saw coming: shuttles and parking.

Fresh off a video meeting with his executive staff on Monday morning, USGA CEO Mike Davis said that the amount of people who will be allowed on the grounds of the U.S. Women’s Open at San Francisco’s Olympic Club and the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines is being dictated by how much on-site parking is available. This is because the state of California has made it clear that it will not allow the USGA to use large buses or shuttles to transport people in from satellite parking sites.

“What we do know, and I think this is pretty much final, is that both in San Francisco and San Diego, we’re just not going to be able to shuttle people from distances,” Davis told Golf Digest. “It’s hard for us, because how do we even plan?”

How do you plan?  You plan in just the manner you described above the whine, without shoving the great unwashed masses onto busses.  If I had any lingering doubts that it was time for Mike to go...

Jay, as you'll recall because I've bene beating a dead horse, kept falling back on the fact that golf is played outdoors over hundreds of acres, with not a thought spared for the paying customers jammed in like sardines on shuttle buses (not to mention grandstands).  Peoples lives have been on hold for more than a year, but poor, pitiable Mike has planning issues... Boo hoo.

OK, gotta run, but I'll make it up to you later in the week...

 
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