Monday, February 14, 2022

Weekend Wrap

It's Monday, so golf first and BS after....  Quite the shame, 'cause I'm itching for my own piece of Charley, not that the vultures haven't already picked that carcass clean.

Clean-Up On Aisle 16 - I've always taken a "Let Phoenix Be Phoenix" position, though it seems to have been more Phoenix than ever this year, so I do hope that the name change hasn't deterred the locals from calling it The Wasted.  Your winner:

The wait is over for Scottie Scheffler.

The 25-year-old Texan sank a 26-foot birdie putt on the third extra hole to defeat Patrick Cantlay at the WM Phoenix Open and claim his first PGA Tour victory.

“I think the first one is probably always the hardest and I definitely made it pretty difficult on myself today,” Scheffler said.

To hear former Tour pro turned CBS broadcaster Colt Knost tell it, he always knew Scheffler was destined for greatness. He remembers when the rangy Scheffler was knee-high to him, a kid who couldn’t get enough of practicing at Royal Oaks Golf Club in Dallas, where Tour winners such as Justin Leonard, Hunter Mahan and Harrison Frazar were regulars.

“He just followed us all around like a little puppy dog,” Knost recalled.

For us as well, the wait that is... Kind of a perfect PGA Tour leaderboard, two kids (though the winner is hardly a newbie) looking for their first surrounded by wall-to-wall studs.  That linked item has all sorts of background on Scheffler's precocious talent, not that any who saw him dismember Jon Rahm at Whistling Straits needs the 411.

This Golf Digest item gets it about right:


Sahith Theegala’s eyes bulged as he trailed his ball screaming through the thin desert air. He’d
escaped the cauldron of adrenaline and beer-throwing at TPC Scottsdale’s madhouse 16th hole with a dry shirt and a par, his focus now solely on winning a truly hectic golf tournament.

The drivable par-4 17th has a habit of deciding the WM Phoenix Open—Brooks Koepka’s chip-in eagle last year catapulted him to the title—and Theegala thought he’d struck the decisive blow. His flushed hybrid was peeling left-to-right toward the slim runway up the center of the green. A perfect line. It would run up the center, he’d two-putt for birdie, par the last, win his first PGA Tour event in front of his parents, five uncles, six aunts and four cousins.

“I thought I hit a great shot,” he said. “It was cutting.”


Until, that is, that damn ball did the one thing it couldn’t do: It kicked left. Hard left, and trickled into the water hazard lurking left of the green. A cruel reminder that golf is played on imperfect surfaces.

“I still have no idea what that bounce was,” his caddie, Carl Smith, said with a shell-shocked expression on his face.

You did and it was cutting, it's just that kind of hole.... 

Theegala, a distinctly un-jaded 24-year-old rookie with an easy smile and a hall-of-fame strut, failed to get up and down and failed to get himself into a playoff with Scottie Scheffler and Patrick Cantlay. He succeeded, however, in capturing the adoration of the 800,000-ish fans who made their way to party this week and the millions more watching on television. (At least until the playoff bled into the Super Bowl.) He slept on the lead three nights in a row and refused to cede his place on a star-studded leader board, even holding a three-shot lead for a brief period on the front nine.

Here's the real reason you should root for the kid.  After serving as the lynchpin of the Pepperdine Golf Team for several years, they won a national championship the year after he graduated.  I feel like he's owed one...

But your humble blogger is old enough to remember when the PGA Tour was sufficiently astute to avoid direct competition with the NFL juggernaut, so I have a modest proposal.  Given that this event is timed to conclude just as a coin is airborne, can we agree to settle any ties via a match of cards?   

Our typical Monday visit with the Tour Confidential panel begins at Query No. 5, so you know it's that kind of week:

5. We’re told there was also golf played at TPC Scottsdale, with Scottie Scheffler winning in a playoff over Patrick Cantlay. Putting the revelry aside, what other storyline most captured your attention at the WMPO?

Sens: We’d seen glimpses already, but this week felt like the full-blown coming out party for Sahith Theegala, free-swinging, expressive, humble and brimming with game. Someone to root for.

Piastowski: Agree, Josh. And speaking of coming-out parties, Scheffler has finally cracked through and won. He wins again this year. And let’s have fun and say he wins the U.S. Open.

Dethier: These guys are right. I’ll just add this: Xander Schauffele came damn close to another win. And he came up just short. His PGA Tour drought grows, even as his sparkling ball-striking continues to dazzle.

Bamberger: I would only add to that there are a bunch of players coming up that are ready, or close to ready, to giving Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy a run for their money. PIP money, too — for those who care about it.

Ummm, Mike, a little pro tip for you.  Those guys you listed we know, your job is actually to identify those you think will break through... I'd especially be interested in that second category, those close to being ready.

So, anything interesting happen on No. 16 this week?  As you know, I've maintained a strict laissez-faire attitude to the event and The Loudest Hole in Golf™, happy to let them have their frat party, a reasonably good fit for a weekend when eyes are necessarily elsewhere.  But the Saturday ace by Sam Ryder was a shock, seeing as how anyone in that zip code would be smelling of beer for the remainder of the day.

Then, this was the scene after Carlos Ortiz jarred it:

OK, fortunately the sponsor is in the waste hauling business.... though most of that seemingly goes with the recycling.

Actually, the crowd is due accolades for their improved behavior, because this was the comparable scene after the Ryder ace:

Ryder's was a bit later in the day and Saturday is actually peak insanity, so I hope Carlos wasn't too terribly let down.

But if there's a scene on No. 16 that I'd like to un-see, it's a different one.  Yanno how I've been trashing that PIP program?  Nothing to see here....

Which in these PIPilicious times inevitably leads to this:


Harry, you're a genuinely funny guy, one that can actually make us laugh with your shirt on.  he was building to this all week, I just can't see why.... Then again, I always tell you I'm deep into the "get off my lawn" stage of life, which seems entirely appropriate for such circumstance.

4. Just when you thought the 16th hole at the WM Phoenix Open couldn’t get any wilder, a couple of aces — one by Sam Ryder on Saturday followed by another by Carloz Ortiz on Sunday — resulted in beer-throwing pandemonium unlike the game has never seen. Also on Sunday, we got a strip tease at 16, with playing partners Harry Higgs and Joel Dahmen baring their chests on the green. It’s a perennial question, but given the exceptionally wild atmosphere at 16 this year and the attention it generated, one that needs to be asked again: Should the Tour strive to create more stadium experiences?

No.  Actually, upon further review, Hell No!

Dethier: I think we can celebrate the spectacular atmosphere of TPC Scottsdale without wishing that more Tour events were exactly this way. So yes to stadium atmospheres, meh to constant beer showers. To put it another way: It was spectacular to see Harry Higgs in all his majesty on Sunday, but if he and Joel Dahmen started getting shirtless week in, week out, the bit might get old quickly.

Sens: You know how our scientific capability to clone a lot of things creeps some people out? Cloning the 16th would be scarier than anything taking place in a lab. Cool setting. One is plenty.

Piastowski: Agreed! Overkill wouldn’t make it unique anymore. It’s something to look forward to.

Bamberger: One is all right. One is plenty.

On the one hand, it's an obvious answer if you know and care about golf.   On the other hand, how else can one interpret the Tour's seemingly abandoned Live Under Par™ campaign as anything other than an attempt to Phoenixize the rest of the Tour.  Dodged that bullet, at least I think we did, but I shouldn't get cocky.

Before moving on, did you catch how Ortiz followed up his ace?  Is there a PEFU or PAFU?  Not yesterday:

But then Ortiz’s round got even better. He stepped up to the drivable par-4 17th and ripped driver 336, leaving himself with a 13-footer for eagle. He buried it.

He went 1-2, which very rarely hurts you....

One last item and then we'll go full-Charley.  Remember last week we had that bit about Jon Rahm being unable to wear his Pat Tillman jersey because of his clothing sponsor?  JT was rocking some kind of Alabama jersey, though he may actually still be without a clothing sponsor ever since Faggot-gate.  But then there's Max Homa paying off a baseball bet:

Being forced to wear the jersey of the sports team your buddy roots for that took down your favorite sports team has become a cliché tried-and-true bet among PGA Tour pros. For as often as it happens, there remains a level of amusement to the whole proceeding that keeps us looking regardless.

The latest example played out Friday at the WM Phoenix Open: Max Homa (die-hard Los Angeles Dodgers fan) and J.T. Poston (die-hard Atlanta Braves fan) had a wager still to be settled after the Braves beat the Dodgers in the National League Championship series last October. It was decided that it would happen in a very public place: the 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale.

 Poston did have some fun with it:

I like that #famous vs. #play better bit, but unbelievably the Tour did just what he asked.  That about wraps up the portion of our programming in which PGA Tour players act in ways that make us like and want to watch them.  Yup, buckle in, it's Charley time.

Charley Hustle - How do you feel about Charley Hoffman?  For me, he's never been good enough to make me care much, but there have been a couple of curious swipes at the USGA where he seemed to be a bit of a jerk.  Most recently on the subject of distance, in which he rejected any further governance but without, yanno, bothering to think through where it all heads.  That doesn't make him different than most Tour pros, though for reasons we'll get into below, he does actually bear some responsibility.

Does everyone know what actually happened? Basically, the same thing that happened to Rickie a few years back at this same event:

Hoffman’s frustrations stemmed from a double bogey he carded on the par-5 13th hole earlier in the day. On the hole, Hoffman hit his ball into the water off the tee, took a penalty stroke and placed his ball back in play. However, after the ball was deemed in play, it rolled back into the water, forcing Hoffman to take another penalty stroke.

Let's agree that that sucks, and yet I know that Rickie handled it much better, because he's Rickie and Charlie is Charlie.

FWIW, a PGA Tour rules official explains:

On Saturday, the PGA Tour explained the ruling and defended themselves against Hoffman’s criticisms.

“Because the ball was at rest after he placed it, the ball was in play,” said PGA Tour Chief Referee Ken Tackett in an interview with Golf Channel. “It was moved by natural forces, therefore, it was a new situation and he had to proceed under the penalty rule again.”

The rule Tackett alluded to was Rule 17, which covers penalty areas. Tackett noted that Hoffman had options after his ball entered the penalty area, including relief within two club-lengths of where the ball entered the penalty area, back-on-the-line relief and stroke-and-distance relief. However, Hoffman elected to take relief within two clubs-lengths of where the ball entered the penalty area, which led to the drama.

There's no shortage of folks that think this is wrong, as it obviously feels unjust.  That said, I'm not sure what the actual solution might be, since once the ball is live, what happens happens.

I haven't yet seen any video, but Geoff seems to think he had options for the drop:

Just to be clear, Hoffman had more than one option, chose to drop in the difficult location and is now whining because his ball moved after he placed it. The rules were there to help him in multiple ways, as were the first and second opinions he called in. (The rules staff responded as detailed here.)

So, Charley was pissed, and Charley, as you're well aware, is special and has no need to just sit there and absorb the indignity, so here's his unexpurgated contribution to humanity:

Your humble blogger is hardly the appropriate social media tour guide, but notice that he actually tagged the Saudis in his post.   

When last Charley crossed my path, he was also playing that tune about the pros being ruled by amateurs, which is just a really curious whine.  The PGA Tour is under no obligation to play under the USGAs rules, they do so for their own benefit.  You know who should be aware of that?  Anyone serving on the Player's Advisory Counsel, as Charley himself does.

You'll also notice that he's unfamiliar with the actual rule involved, always a good look for a professional.  Admittedly, it doesn't matter all that much unless you're a successful professional, so no worries, Charley.

But isn't the bigger issue his left breast (who says we don't tackle the big issues here?)?


Charley is not only sponsored by Waste Management, he was playing this week on a sponsor's exemption.  Well played, Charley, you just pissed on your Tour, your Commish and your sponsor.  Quite the trifecta...

You don't need me to point out the entitlement of which this reeks, but Geoff got off a good rant (at least the tease before the paywall):

When we look back on the Tour Wars of 2022, Charley Hoffman’s post-round tirade will either,

(A) mark the day when the PGA Tour realized they’d let the lunatics run the asylum, or,

(B) Allowed a fatal grievance-culture mindset to define the image of professional golf, or,

(C) Both of the above.

The “athletes”, as the brass call them down at the Global Home, have come to believe they are bigger than the game. Some players are still grounded in reality, but plenty more let their negotiating leverage and years of sweet perks go to their heads. A disturbing number of PGA Tour golfers seem to believe they brought on the Saudi opportunity because of their sheer amazingness. It couldn’t have anything to do with Tiger Woods or an evil entity needing to refresh its image via sports sponsorship. Nope!

Today’s super-humans play courses manicured in almost unfathomably idyllic ways and live in a time when they can walk up to their ball, mash the grass down behind, and do something we might have called cheating just a decade or so ago. No one tells them to stop it.

Throw in gobs of money, a ball that flies super straight and “the product” believes it is entitled to whatever they want. This, even though at least 50% of today’s top 125 will be off the tour in five years and all but a handful of logo-clads could walk down most city streets, never to be recognized.

So it should be no surprise to read Charley Hoffman’s embarrassing post-round Instagram meltdown even when he’s serving as a “brand ambassador” for sponsor Waste Management. Irrational post-round whining is nothing new for Hoffman, long a proponent of the Tour making rules free from the USGA and R&A. But he’s also blissfully unaware of things you never hear at a PGA Tour event:
  • What hole is Charley Hoffman on?
  • What time does Charley Hoffman tee off?
  • Have you seen that Charley Hoffman? Goosebumps!

I would argue that the clean-up had just as many howlers as the Instagram malfunction:

Q. Things often get sort of lost on social media, so I just wanted to ask what you really meant with the Instagram last night.

CHARLEY HOFFMAN: What I meant and what I said, I mean I think I explained it fairly well, but obviously not a huge fan of the USGA and how they govern us all the time.

We pointed oubt above that the PGA plays under USGA rules at their pleasure, obviously happy to hide behind another authority.   But Charley, as you helpfully pointed out, we saw this with Rickie?  How come there no Tour local rule in play?  I know you've been busy playing yourself out of professional golf, but you're taking up space on that PAC.

I was under the, or, under the impression that the rule had changed. And I was frustrated when the rule hadn't changed, why it hadn't changed and I think there's some sort of -- I mean obviously we have a PGA TOUR liaison that helps with the USGA and helps in figuring out what the rules should and shouldn't be.

Charley's such a class act.  having received mondo pushback after throwing the USGA and Jay under the bus, he reacts by throwing Jason Gore under the bus.  Not sure what the busses ground clerarance is, so Charley himself might not actually fit...

And it just, it didn't make any sense at that point in time why that rule hadn't changed, especially this exact tournament when it happened to Rickie Fowler, he ended up winning the golf tournament, but it could have cost him the golf tournament.

But as -- and as I told the rules officials last night it's like, everybody says, We're going to change it for the better, we're going to do this and that, we're close or whatever but nothing seems to get done.

Really?  If only you knew someone in a position of authority...

Q. You wrote that you wonder why guys are looking to join another tour. Do you feel like a lack of accountability or a rules issue are why guys --

CHARLEY HOFFMAN: I think it's a whole, a whole -- everything. You got to look at yourself as a policy board member and look at your self in the face, as I said, what can I do better as a player director, what can the executive committee do, executive directors do better to make sure that we are the best tour in the world.

And if it's -- the PGA TOUR's rewarding us by using social media in their platforms now, but they don't like it when you don't say something that may not be up to their standard. But you're rewarded on it.

Charley, I don't recommend looking yourself in the face.  we've done just that, and it's not a pretty picture.  But those that can and should do better are somehow always in the third person...  But you'll appreciate this clarification:

I'm by no means trying to win the Player Impact Program, but I wanted to get my point across that there's rules out there in the game of golf that should be changed.

Yeah, big guy, I'm not losing any sleep over the thought of you winning anything... But, it wasn't important to change this rule when it was happening to other players, so I think we understand you.

How do we think this portion of the damage control is playing?

Q. And Jay Monahan's name too?

CHARLEY HOFFMAN: And Jay, yeah, it was "Sorry, Jay", that I was doing this, because I have a great relationship with Jay and I have nothing for admiration about what Jay does for this TOUR and how hard he works.

So it was a "Sorry, Jay" because I know he's going -- this isn't an easy time for the PGA TOUR. So that's why that "Sorry, Jay" that that's why I said we need to do better, we as player directors, as executive directors, commissioners, everybody, we need to do better to make sure we keep everybody here in the U.S.

 I'm sure that's exactly how he took it...

So, why bring up the Saudis?  Well, yeah:

Q. You're one of the few players on the policy board. Is the system in place not working?

CHARLEY HOFFMAN: I think it works really good, but we have, we have a threat. I mean, that's real. I mean, you can't hide under a rock and say it's not.

And I, there's no way that I, it's ever crossed my mind to go over and play for a competitor and -- ever -- and it was never -- if it came across in that Instagram post that I have been reached by them, I have not been reached by them, it came across wrong. I added that so the media would catch it, so I would prove my point on the rules side.

Not just overly entitled, but also not very bright.  The man just literally shat all over his sponsor's event.  And he's not very good at the golf thing, so hopefully he will get a juicy offer from the Saudis...

We'll give last word to this gent:

Hoping he's wrong about the early part....

Gonna leave you hear and prepare for my day.  Have a great week and we'll have Riviera to discuss later in the week.  Did you catch all those references to the best drivable Par-4?  I'm guessing there will be more of that this week....

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