Your Friday Frisson - PNC Edition

I actually played thirteen holes yesterday, which took some of the sting out of the nascent ski season.... More importantly, hope to play another 13 later this morning (that odd number is because five of our greens are covered).  Though, time is very much of the essence.

Charlie, Sophomore Slump Edition - I might be the only observer in America still more interested in how Charlie plays than that stiff he got stuck with as a partner.  They toss balls on the first tee like we do, right?

This will be the bit you're most curious about:

The latest and best-sourced reporting on Woods’ recovery came straight from the mouth of Mike Thomas. That’s Mike Thomas, Justin’s father, Justin’s coach, Woods’ frequent playing partner and the PNC’s defending champion.

Justin and Mike didn’t play in Thursday’s Pro-Am but arrived at the Ritz-Carlton in the early afternoon for a session with reporters.

Pleasantries dispatched, one reporter dived into the inevitable line of Tiger questioning. Justin, who is well-practiced in fending off inquiries on his famous friend, downplayed any update. He hadn’t played with Woods, he realized, since this event last year. Instead it was his father who had the intel; he’d played with Tiger and Charlie last week. He gave a glowing update.

“It’s crazy how good he’s hitting it and far he’s hitting for what he’s been through,” Mike said. That was Tiger he was talking about, for the record. “Well, both,” he added for clarification. “But Tiger has been through a lot more than Charlie. It’s impressive where he’s at.”

OK, since you raised the topic, how far IS he hitting it?

“I don’t know, I mean, you all know him well enough to know that he’s never going to admit to being close to where he’d like to be,” Mike said. “I mean, he’s still — he’s got some speed. He’s got some length. Hits a lot of really, really flush shots. I mean, I was surprised

Still vague, but he has some cred when it comes to Tour-level games.  We shall see for ourselves soon enough...

But I though we were protecting Charlie from the grown-up stuff?

Tiger and Charlie will play together in Friday’s Pro-Am.

According to the Pro-Am tee times, Woods is playing alongside someone from his own generation on Friday: Matt Kuchar! Woods and Kuchar are scheduled to go off the first tee at 9 a.m. Friday.

At first glance that makes it seem like the Charlie Woods Show will be on hold until Saturday. But after consulting with Tour staff I understood the listings better: Other participants are split up from their playing partners, but participants playing with younger sons will stay with their sons in the pro-am. That includes Tiger and Charlie Woods, Henrik and Karl Stenson and Matt and Cameron Kuchar, the three youngest participants in the field.

To maximize pro-am groups, many of the players in the field are split up — Nelly Korda and her father Petr will each play with their own group, for example. After nine holes, they’ll swap foursomes so their group of ams gets to play nine with each participant. Team Woods, Team Kuchar and Team Stenson will stay together, though.

OK, so Charlie can play with Ams, just a carefully curated Am...

Off topic, but who doesn't like the trash talk stuff?

Justin Thomas and his dad wore their PNC Championship title belts to Tiger Woods' house last Christmas

 Wouldn't you?

The coverage windows are wide, but a crazy patch quilt of channels.  But get this for a Friday in December:

• Golf Today, 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., Golf Channel
• Golf Central, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Golf Channel
• Pro-am, 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., Golf Channel
• Golf Central, 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., Golf Channel

Beats General Hospital.

Ready For Its Close-Up - I've been itching to blog this one since it hit:

The PIP explained: PGA Tour reveals details on its controversial new program

Gee, why would it be controversial?  Perhaps we should start with the fact that we weren't even supposed to know about this program... When they make Andy Pazder available on something like this, there's a narrative they've failed to control...

What is the PIP, anyway?

Simply stated, it’s “a program designed to reward the players who have the biggest positive impact on our business,” according to Pazder. Literally speaking, it is a $40 million fund of money earmarked for the top 10 finishers of an internal PIP points list, which uses five criteria to rank tour players based on how much attention they bring to the game. It was ratified by the tour’s board in March 2020 and went into effect on Jan. 1, 2021. The list will refresh at the beginning of each calendar year and it is not tied to the tour’s wraparound tournament schedule.

And why was it on double-secret probation?  Why wouldn't you want us all to know about this?  It's almost as if you're confirming our worst assumptions about it...

Why now?

 It’s a great question, and the timing’s hard to ignore. While Pazder said the tour had held internal discussions about creating a program like PIP for years, its start in 2021 coincides with discussion surrounding the potential rise of two upstart leagues—one surfacing from the Greg Norman-led LIV Golf Investments (which is pumping money into the Asian Tour), the other known as the Premier Golf League, which hopes to team-ify golf under the PGA Tour umbrella.

While it is not clear what the Saudi-backed LIV Golf Investments’ ultimate vision is, Norman confirmed to Golf Digest that a significant portion of its $200 million investment will go toward player appearance fees, which are prohibited on the PGA Tour. A number of stars including Bryson DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Xander Schauffele committed to February’s Saudi Invitational and are surely being paid handsomely to do so. The PGL has discussed a payment structure that does indeed reward higher finishes but pays all participants. This, then, would seem to be a mechanism for guaranteeing the very biggest names in the game a hefty payday even if their on-course form takes a dip.

 It's a great question, but one that you let Pazder blow smoke up your butt over...

But that second 'graph is good fun.  We know exactly what LIV's vision is, it's the very one they stole from the Brits.

But now we get granular:

How are the PIP rankings determined?

Pazder emphasized the objective nature of the ranking—suggesting that, given the subjective nature of popularity, the tour felt strongly about creating a system that filters out bias, is trackable in real time and relatively easy to understand. A player’s score is determined by five total components that are all worth 20 percent of the overall mark. They are as follows:

• Google searches: How many times a player’s name is searched for. Players will only receive credit for searches related to them, so Adam Scott won’t benefit simply from having the same name as the actor.

• Meltwater mentions: Tracks how often a player is mentioned across global media

• MVP Index: A measure of a player’s reach on social media

• Nielsen score: How often a player is featured on the television broadcast

• Q-Score: A decades-old measure of an entity’s familiarity and appeal

Are you done laughing yet?

Seriously, Google?  Because they've certainly carved out a position of impartiality recently.... 

But the funniest of all is that bit about appearances on the broadcast.... because they've never over-emphasized that which Ponte Vedra Beach  orders, have they?  But this is what the Tour sees as unimpeachable data, which tells you all you need to know about their objectives.

So, it's completely verifiable and designed to filter out bias.... but later in the piece:

Can a player check where he stands in the PIP race?

Yes, players can receive a detailed breakdown of their standing throughout the year. They will not, however, be able to obtain information on where any other player ranks.

Does the tour care whether a player’s coverage/attention is positive in nature?

Yes and no. Pazder said fears that a player might purposely act out to drive up his PIP score are unwarranted. The tour does hold the authority, however, to nullify a player’s score in a certain category for extreme cases.

He's so caught up in his own BS that he doesn't think we noticed that little finger on the scale....  Of course, Golf Digest's Dan Rappaport is so bought-and-paid-for that he doesn't ask whether any such "adjustments" are being made to the 2021 program results.   Yanno, say for Brooks or Bryson?

This a slight digression, but it's spit-take funny:

When will we know who wins?

The tour plans to distribute a list of the top 10 winners to its membership in mid-to-late February. And while that list will not be made public, there is little doubt the information eventually will find its way to the media.

Eventually?  If by eventually you mean mid-to-late February.... If nothing else, we'll hear it from No. 11 on the list.

Any guesses who this clause was written for?  

Who is eligible?

Any PGA Tour member who has played five or more events in the current season, or five or more events in at least one of the preceding five seasons. Tiger Woods, then, is eligible to win the 2021 grand prize and will be eligible through 2024 even if he never plays a tour event again.

“From the point when a player retires or isn’t physically eligible to play,” Pazder said, “there is a trailing period of five years when they can still benefit from this program. And that’s by design. It’s a reward for being a great ambassador of the game and remaining visible.”

Remember his press conference in Albany and that unqualified support for the PGA Tour?  Hell, yeah, he's just a really loyal guy....

Remember Jay's recent announcement of their intention to add a Fall super series on top of the current wraparound season, completely screwing those sponsors of what will be lesser events?  keep that in mind as you read this:

Does the money come in a lump sum?

Players will be paid in two parts, but only after satisfying two requirements. The first half will be delivered after a player attends a mutually agreed upon “sponsor function.” This can take the form of media interviews, a dinner party, a Q&A, a golf outing, etc. The second half comes after the player plays in a mutually agreed upon tournament on the PGA Tour schedule. The tour could use this rule to drive interest in a lagging tournament or to help a player satisfy his requirement to play at least one new event (defined as a tournament he has not played in the last four seasons) each year. “It can be a number of things,” Pazder said. “Could be sponsor-related, or we’re running a campaign and it makes sense for us to have a specific player there.”

The Tour has a well-earned reputation for screwing its sponsors once the ink is dry on their contracts.  here's yet another under-the-table mechanism whereby the Tour can enforce conformity from its players, but also play favorites among its sponsors.  Nice event you have there, Mr. Sponsor, sure would be unfortunate if you don't get any big-name players.

 It's a very effective protection racquet, at least as long as the money keeps gushing in...

It's A PIP World - This is the kind of world that PIP promotes, so cue the existential queries:

The Bryson vs. Brooks feud dominated PGA Tour chatter, but was it good for golf?

No.  Next question.

Ah, but herein lies the rub...it got lots of Meltwater Mentions.

 Alas, I am out of time, so I'll allow you contemplate that by your ownself.

Not sure whether I'll find the keyboard over the weekend, or wrap Tiger and Charlie's weekend in the usual manner on Monday.  Have a great weekend.