Weekend Wrap -Speed Typing Edition

A delayed arrival at the keyboard this morning, for all the best reasons.  There seem to be a couple of critters happy that I cancelled that trip to Utah...

QBE, M-O-U-S-E - We kid because we love...  Or something.  So, an awkward week in Ponte Vedra Beach for sure.  It seemed a good idea to support the Shark Shootout when the aforementioned Shark was merely fixated on his own naked torso...  Of course, now that he's after Jay Monahan's lunch money, it's another matter entirely.

The week started with some Shark blather about C-Suites or some such thing

On Thursday, LIV Golf Investments named Atul Khosla as its COO. Khosla had been chief corporate development and brand officer for the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers and previously had

been COO of the MLS’ Chicago Fire. Sean Bratches had been appointed Chief Commercial Officer for LIV Golf.

“Our C-suite (or major executive team) has been very, very special to say the least, and it’s a testament to our business model, it’s a testament to our commitment to the game of golf and our C-suite, which is deep and very experienced not only in sport, team sport, not only in business, but right across the board,” Norman said. “Our C-suite starting in London to where we’re going to be in West Palm Beach is solid. Really, it is a commitment by them of, like I said, believing in the product, believing in the business model and believing in the players.”

Ummmm...which players are those?   But that thrice-cited C-Suite talk will have the A and B-Suites feeling overlooked...

Our Bubba took one for the team, playing with Lexi Thompson, who played from the men's tees.  But, in the absence of uniforms, which team exactly is he playing for:

“Anytime Greg Norman’s involved, I mean, that’s the guy I looked up to,” said Bubba Watson, who is playing with LPGA Tour star Lexi Thompson in the Shootout this week. “There’s so many guys I looked up to. That’s one of the reasons we’re here, right? Greg Norman has pushed this event, QBE. He’s pushed it from the player side, but also from the charity side. That’s why we’re here supporting Greg and what he’s committed to the game of golf.

Let's see, Bubba's got those two green jackets... Can anyone remind me how many Greg must have in his collection by now...

Then they play the actual event, the field a Who's Who of the Tour's C-List (presumably different from a C-Suite) and other assorted hangers-on, and who just happens to get hot at the right time?

Jason Kokrak, after Saturday’s second round of the QBE Shootout, was asked his approach down

three strokes entering Sunday’s final round, and this being a two-player event, he turned to another two-player event to sum it up. “Ride my horse to the finish,” Kokrak said. “I told him over there I’ll be there when he needs me.”

And rode his horse he did. And be there when needed he did, too.

Behind a ridiculous closing run of 12 birdies in 13 holes, including seven straight on Kevin Na’s ball, the team of Na and Kokrak stormed from behind to win the Shootout by one shot over the team of Billy Horschel and Sam Burns, and two shots over second-round leaders Marc Leishman and Jason Day and defending champions Matt Kuchar and Harris English. Na and Kokrak finished Sunday’s four-ball format with a 12-under 60 at Tiburon Golf Course in Naples, Fla., and a 33-under total.

Playing fourball the final round, Na made seven consecutive birdies at one point, before Kokrak stepped up down the stretch.  Why does this have the suits squirming?  Have you seen Kokrak's golf bag lately?

Makes a mother proud....How ya coming on those waivers, Jay?

But Geoff has the most amusing aspect to the week:

Going through the Instagram photos someone uploaded for him, the impression is one of a busy week for Greg Norman at the tournament he’s hosted since 1989. He even earned his keep this

year by playing the pro-am and dropping a lot C-Suite references during a pre-tournament press conference.

And yet if you were watching the Golf Channel and NBC telecasts for this year’s QBE Shootout, Norman’s name was rarely mentioned. The CEO of QBE didn’t give the Shark a nod in the telecast opening while doing his best Joe Ford impersonation. Even Norman’s role as Tiburon course architect seemed rarely mentioned. (But we did learn that Naples, Florida got its name because of a resemblance to Italy’s Naples.)

But since Greg Norman is a such a hero in the eyes of today’s youth, at least he got plenty of mentions on the PGA Tour Twitt…wait, what? None? All week?

Not even the traditional pic with the winners? Since Norman’s not much of a presence on the tournament website, that might be asking too much.

Surely there was the all important in-booth visit with NBC/Golf Channel’s Steve Sands and Curt Byrum? You know, to talk about Greg’s favorite subject? No sirree.

The Shark was finally seen on the telecast Sunday when he greeted the champions in the most masculine way possible. But who wouldn’t be elated when Kevin Na and Jason Kokrak win your tournament?

Oops!  That's funny, but maybe that superlative was just a wee bit premature.  This is completely off-topic, but Shack links to this fawning coverage of Greg Jr.'s wedding, which just happens to include an epic typo:

Golf legend Greg Norman’s son Gregory Jr tied the knot with his real estate partner Michelle Thomson last week at a lavish beach ceremony in Florida.

The duo married under an arch of fresh orchids at the five-star Pierre’s location in Islamorada, a village in the Florida Keys, while surrounded by friends and family — including Greg, 66, and his wife, 11, Kirsten Kutner.

Islamorada?  That's not even the typo in question, but you couldn't even dream of making that up.  But, no, it's the obviously mistaken age for his current wife, which, we can all admit, renders his support for Saudi culture more, well, consistent?  Great catch, Geoff.

A PNC Preview - You'll be shocked...shocked, I tell you, to know that this week's Tour Confidential panel is almost entirely Tiger-centric.  I know, who coulda seen that coming?

1. Tiger Woods will make his 2021 debut in the last event of the year. About 10 months after a single-car crash in which he sustained multiple leg injuries, Woods announced that he will

play in next week’s parent-child PNC Championship with his son, Charlie. What are your expectations for the 15-time major champion?

Sean Zak: I predict a bunch of smiling from the Woods family. I don’t think we’ll learn much more from Woods. He’ll hit some great shots, I’m sure. Probably show some rust, too.

James Colgan: My expectations are for a social media frenzy, a metric ton of absurdly overeager proclamations and a handful of awkward moments in press conferences. That much seems ironclad. On the course, though? We know Team Woods will be using plenty of Charlie’s tee balls. Other than that, it’s anybody’s guess.

Nick Piastowski: I’m expecting he’ll play well when he does hit — I mentioned a few weeks back that he wouldn’t enter an event looking like a hack, and I think that holds up even for the PNC. But I’m more expecting a lot more of the feel-good moments with Charlie that we saw last year, which will be a nice way to close out the golf year.

Tim Reilly: We’ll see plenty of smiles from Tiger, mostly stemming from what Charlie does on the course. I know this week is all about Tiger in our eyes, but it will be all about Charlie in Tiger’s eyes.

Dylan Dethier: My expectations are that he’ll hit as few drives as possible, walk as few steps as possible and shoot as low a team score as possible. I expect his swing speed will be lower than we’re used to but higher than Woods has implied. I expect he’ll have a well-honed short game and a less consistent game off the tee. I expect the atmosphere will be slightly wilder than last year’s low-fans event. I expect a whole bunch of people will watch.

Michael Bamberger: He said he is playing as a “Dad.” In this instance, I take him at his word.

Barely a couple of interesting bits.  Will he, as Nick Piastowski suggests, bring it, or is Mike right that we should just expect a loving father?  I myself am most interested in whether he can walk normally?  But also in whether Golf Channel will cover any awkward moments...

2. Is there any particular part of his game, physical condition or demeanor that will most have your attention?

Zak: I will pay attention to his pedometer. I wanna see how many steps he takes. Couldn’t care less about his short game. Will he walk for nine holes? In and out of a cart? That’s the thing we don’t know much about.

Colgan: Agreed, Zak. I’m also interested to see how far Tiger is poking his driver. He made a few vague comments at the Hero World Challenge about his ball “falling out of the sky” a lot shorter than it used to, but I’m curious how much shorter he means.

Piastowski: The speed of his swing and the speed of his walk. I guess that’s a combination of Sean’s and James’ answers. He mentioned at the Hero that going at his “old speed” on his swing would be a risk, so I’m curious just far he dials it back — especially with the cameras on. And it did seem during the times he was on camera at the Hero that he was walking a little gingerly, so I’m curious to see how things hold up, even with the use of a cart.

Reilly: I’ll be keeping an eye on Tiger’s personal expectations. Will he put pressure on himself at the level we’re accustomed to seeing? Or will he be able to laugh it off when JT is bombing the ball past him off the tee? I’m most intrigued to see his demeanor after hitting shots that aren’t up to his typical standard.

Dethier: These guys have touched on the two biggies: His swing speed and his ability to walk. These are still early days, relatively speaking. It’s all still gravy, really.

Bamberger: I will be interested to see how he coaches Charlie. Last year, he almost always let Charlie do his own thing, with almost no fatherly input. It was deeply impressive.

I agree with Mike, as I was very relieved at how chill he was with Charlie last year... Of course we'll all size up his swing speed as a proxy, but I'm far more interested in Charlie than in Tiger.

3. Woods still has a long way to go in his recovery (he said he’s not even halfway through his rehab), but what would you need to see from him for you to feel encouraged that we may see him in a Tour event next year?

Zak: Does his back seem healthy? I think there’s a reality in which his lower body could continue progressing and his back might still keep him from playing well. So, is his ginger gait exclusively a result of his lower body, or is the back still ailing him too?

Colgan: Honestly? I hope we’re able to see he’s recovered to the point he can live a reasonably healthy life. If he’s got any golf left in him, well that’s just extra.

Piastowski: Is he swinging it the same way on hole 18 on Sunday as he is on hole 1 on Saturday? I think we’ll see him making some shots, but I’ll be curious to see how things hold up over two days.

Reilly: I don’t need to see anything from his game. I have no doubts Tiger’s swing will be just fine, and his golf IQ isn’t going anywhere. We won’t learn much about what really matters this week since Tiger will be riding around in a cart. Until we see Tiger walk a course for four rounds in competition, it’s hard to really gauge anything. One milestone at a time. Let’s just be grateful that we’re getting to see Tiger play in the PNC with Charlie and we’ll take it from there.

Dethier: I’ll be curious to hear how he describes his own progress. I’d be surprised if he’s anything but cautionary, but if he expresses any optimism, the entire golf world will go wild.

Bamberger: I don’t think there’s anything that we would really be able to see in this kind of setting. If he is ever going to be a serious tournament golfer again, even if it’s only half a dozen times a year, there will have to be something going on deep within him that this event could not trigger, I don’t think.

Not one of Mike's better answers, as of course this will give us clues.  At some point he'll try to send one, and the question is does he show enough swing speed to make us believe he could be back out there soon?  I'm skeptical, but that's part of the reason I'll watch... Given that we think he's a long way from being able to even walk a golf course, I'm guessing we're way ahead of facts on the ground.

Is Anyone Listening? - Beth Ann Nichols with some common-sense advice for the ladies Tour:

Should the LPGA continue to stage events in China?

It’s a question all players and tournament officials should be wrestling with given the plight of

Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai, who after posting an allegation of sexual assault against a top government official, disappeared from public view.

Last week Steve Simon, Women’s Tennis Association chairman and CEO, announced in a breathtakingly strong show of leadership the immediate suspension of all WTA tournaments in China, including Hong Kong, until Shuai is allowed to communicate freely and her allegation of sexual abuse is investigated in a full, fair and transparent manner.

The LPGA has only one event in China on its 2022 schedule, the Buick LPGA Shanghai, and it’s slated for October.

The tour, of course, has an obligation to the safety of its Chinese members. But it also has an obligation to consider the ramifications of doing business in certain parts of the world for the organization as a whole.

New commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan must answer this looming and most pressing question: What moral line is the tour unwilling to cross when it comes to partnerships?

Fortunately, no major sporting events are scheduled for China in the near future...  What?  In February?  That's awkward....

But, of course, it's not just China, is it?

“I think we’re in a position now that we have an opportunity to say, we don’t have to play in China,” said Stanford, who implores those on the LPGA now to be mindful of the next generation.

“Do you want those girls going to Saudi Arabia?”

Stacy Lewis, who like Olson serves as a Player Director on the LPGA Board, believes this is a conversation the tour needs to have. Lewis said she won’t compete in Saudi Arabia, noting that money used to fund the Ladies European Tour events comes directly from the government itself.

“It’s about women’s rights and silencing women,” she said, “and that’s not OK.”

In recent years, the laws in Saudi Arabia have changed to allow women to travel abroad and drive a car. However, the male guardian system that’s still in place requires a male relative’s permission to marry, divorce or leave a shelter or prison.

Is it me, or is that last bit about needing a male relative's approval to leave a shelter or prison too creepy to contemplate?

Here's the point I keep trying to make.  A certain type of person, let's call them journalists, like to imply that individual players should do the right thing morally and, just to take the most recent example from the men's game, and boycott the Saudi event.  Fine, perhaps, but how do we reconcile that with the fact that the Saudi event was run by the Euro Tour until this year, and that the women also play an event in Saudi?  

It's OK for Keith Pelley to take tainted Saudi money, but not for Jason Kokrak?  Can we please get a clear set of rules from our moral arbiters? I'm at least pleased that Beth Ann has included China here, because, while I'm unclear as to whether they're more evil than the Saudis, they are the far more relevant evil.

I have a bit more for you, but it will have to keep for future posts.  Do check back as your schedules permit.