Midweek Musings - Match Play Addition

We've got Wednesday golf for you, an Ask Alan and the latest edition of What Will Phil Do Next?  I don't know what you guys pay for this blog but, due to the increasing cost of raw materials, you should be budgeting and increase.

Match Play Madness - It's the upside-down tournament, where the best part is early (technically

Friday, though under the old format it was Wednesday) and from there it drags appreciably.  More golf than a human can watch, but also more golf than a human can play.

Here are your brackets:

Group 1: Jon Rahm, Patrick Reed, Cameron Young, Sebastian Munoz

Group 2: Collin Morikawa, Jason Kokrak, Sergio Garcia, Robert Macintyre

Group 3: Viktor Hovland, Will Zalatoris, Cameron Tringale, Sepp Straka

Group 4: Patrick Cantlay, Sungjae Im, Seamus Power, Keith Mitchell

Group 5: Scottie Scheffler, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tommy Fleetwood, Ian Poulter

Group 6: Justin Thomas, Kevin Kisner, Marc Leishman, Luke List

Group 7: Xander Schauffele, Tony Finau, Lucas Herbert, Takumi Kanaya

Group 8: Dustin Johnson, Max Homa, Matthew Wolff, Mackenzie Hughes

Group 9: Bryson DeChambeau, Talor Gooch, Lee Westwood, Richard Bland

Group 10: Louis Oosthuizen, Paul Casey, Corey Conners, Alex Noren

Group 11: Jordan Spieth, Adam Scott, Justin Rose, Keegan Bradley

Group 12: Billy Horschel, Thomas Pieters, Tom Hoge, Min Woo Lee

Group 13: Tyrrell Hatton, Daniel Berger, Si Woo Kim, Christiaan Bezuidenhout

Group 14: Joaquin Niemann, Kevin Na, Russell Henley, Mverick McNealy

Group 15: Abraham Ancer, Webb Simpson, Brian Harman, Bubba Watson

Group 16: Brooks Koepka, Shane Lowry, Harold Varner III, Erik van Rooyen

Reactions?  I'm having a spot of difficulty seeing much of anything in them.... 

Scottie Scheffler vs. England is mildly curious, mitigated only by there being two Englishmen in another bracket.  I've heard analysts drooling over Group 11 being composed entirely of major champions, but those were in a galaxy far, far away.

For weakest bracket I'd nominate Group 9, where the alpha dog hasn't played since the Carter Administration (and didn't play all that well), and how the hell is Richard Bland even in this field?

Shall we see if we can find anything of interest in today's matches?

10:20 a.m. – Jordan Spieth vs. Keegan Bradley

10:31 a.m. – Adam Scott vs. Justin Rose

10:42 a.m. – Justin Thomas vs. Luke List

10:53 a.m. – Kevin Kisner vs. Marc Leishman

11:04 a.m. – Joaquin Niemann vs. Maverick McNealy

11:15 a.m. – Kevin Na vs. Russell Henley

11:26 a.m. – Viktor Hovland vs. Sepp Straka

11:37 a.m. – Will Zalatoris vs. Cameron Tringale

11:48 a.m. – Louis Oosthuizen vs. Alex Noren

11:59 a.m. – Paul Casey vs. Corey Conners

12:10 p.m. – Xander Schauffele vs. Takumi Kanaya

12:21 p.m. – Tony Finau vs. Lucas Herbert

12:32 p.m. – Abraham Ancer vs. Bubba Watson

12:43 p.m. – Webb Simpson vs. Brian Harman

12:54 p.m. – Collin Morikawa vs. Robert MacIntyre

1:05 p.m. – Jason Kokrak vs. Sergio Garcia

1:16 p.m. – Billy Horschel vs. Min Woo Lee

1:27 p.m. – Thomas Pieters vs. Tom Hoge

1:38 p.m. – Scottie Scheffler vs. Ian Poulter

1:49 p.m. – Matthew Fitzpatrick vs. Tommy Fleetwood

2:00 p.m. – Tyrrell Hatton vs. Christiaan Bezuidenhout

2:11 p.m. – Daniel Berger vs. Si Woo Kim

2:22 p.m. – Patrick Cantlay vs. Keith Mitchell

2:33 p.m. – Sungjae Im vs. Seamus Power

2:44 p.m. – Bryson DeChambeau vs. Richard Bland

2:55 p.m. – Talor Gooch vs. Lee Westwood

3:06 p.m. – Dustin Johnson vs. Mackenzie Hughes

3:17 p.m. – Max Homa vs. Matthew Wolff

3:28 p.m. – Brooks Koepka vs. Erik van Rooyen

3:39 p.m. – Shane Lowry vs. Harold Varner III

3:50 p.m. – Jon Rahm vs. Sebastian Muñoz

4:01 p.m. – Patrick Reed vs. Cameron Young

These are all No. 1's vs. No. 4's, and 2's vs. 3's .  Adam Scott Vs. Justin Rose is quite the match-up, assuming this is 2013.  I'm amused by that 3:28 p.m. match, only because it's the worst dye job on Tour vs. the best moustache.  For what it's worth, in the twenty minutes of Golf Channel commentary that I watched they spoke of the most over-rated top seeds with, ironically, last year's combatants Bryson and Brooksie splitting the vote.

It's a fun event but leaves many disappointed.  It's not team match play, a distinction that many folks don't appreciate...at least until Saturday.

Miss Otis Regrets - The most interesting bit is perhaps how the story broke:

Phil Mickelson will not play in this year’s Masters.

The embattled three-time winner of the event, and six-time major winner overall, notified the

club of his decision to withdraw, Augusta National confirmed to GOLF.com on Monday. As first reported by the Morning Read’s Bob Harig, Mickelson was listed on the Masters website on Monday under the “past champions not playing” for the tournament.

Augusta National directed further questions to Mickelson’s team.

Mickelson has not played since the Saudi International during the first week of February. A few weeks later, he put out a statement on his social media channels, saying he would be “taking some time away” following controversial comments on the new, Saudi Arabia-funded golf league.

The last competitive golf he played was at the Saudi Invitational, which seems appropriate.

Like most, I had assumed that Augusta would serve as his highly controlled return to the fold, but now we're left to wonder about his defense of that PGA Championship.  We're also left to wonder about whether he's allowed to play, to wit, whether he's been suspended and whether Fred is honoring said disciplinary action.

I'm also left to wonder about Jay's comments when asked whether he had spoken to Phil.  Is it conceivable that Phil was suspended indefinitely, told to give us a call when you want to come back?  I'm not even clear what the basis for such a suspension might be, but my first follow-up question would be whether it came before or after the fauxpology?  Because he really did violate the first rule of holes with that.... Making everything harder on him.

Geoff devotes a full Quadrilateral to this subject, oddly identifying winners and losers:

😁 The Masters - Mickelson would have been enormous distraction even if he showed decent judgement by getting the return-from-seclusion spectacle over with at the Valero. Mickelson’s erratic presence in Augusta would have thrown a wet blanket over the many positives heading into this Masters.

🥳 Fred Ridley - The Chairman now only has to prepare for a question or two about whether Mickelson was asked to stay away, or if the club was honoring a PGA Tour suspension. No sweat.

🍻 CBS, ESPN and Masters.com Announcers - Already on edge for fear of using the wrong surfing metaphor to describe green speeds, they would have been tap-dancing around Mickelson’s pre-tournament drama. Not now!

🎉 Playing partners - Whoever was grouped with Mickelson would have been subjected to heaps of unwarranted affection and several sides of “cancel culture”. Augusta National’s already tough enough to play without that nonsense.

OK, this feels like small ball to your humble blogger.  It's all true enough, but the Masters is the petri dish of golf tournaments, in which everything is tightly controlled.  He has to return somewhere, no? 

But I didn't think much about his hat and bag, though:

🤗 Former Sponsors - Since Callaway is in the “paused” category they could not have been excited about Mickelson showing up with a logo-free carry bag. But even free of him, KPMG and Workday must be thrilled Phil won’t be resurfacing in plain Mizzen+Main’s at the most-watched tournament of the year.

Speaking of Mizzen+Main, do you know what those terms mean?  I didn't, but in the aftermath of the recent news item on the subject(Shackleton, not Mickelson), this was my most recent completed book:

As they set sail from Tierra del Fuego, the book speaks of the mizzen, main and foresails all being set (is that the right term), and your humble blogger slaps his forehead while exclaiming, "So that's what it means"!  

For those of you who are readers, highly recommended.  An amazing story of survival and leadership.

Back to Phil...care for some losers?

😡 Tim Mickelson - He gave up taking a cut as Jon Rahm agent to caddie for big brother. I’ve heard of worse career moves. They’re just not coming to mind right now.

🤬 Steve Loy - Mickelson’s longtime agent will have a hard time pretending to be important while standing under the Big Oak. What a shame.

😋 Tiger Woods - Batman’s dreams of mentioning his PIP win along with any number of pithy Champions Dinner greetings now must wait until 2023.

😎 Vijay Singh - Phil’s old sparring partner must have been looking forward to the Champions Dinner and saying, “Hey Phillip, how’s your year going? Still wearing spikes?”

OK, I hadn't given a moment's thought to poor old Tim....  Though Tiger would probably think he's in the wrong column.

As noted above, we're blessed with a Shipnuck mailbag, so let's dispense with the bonesaw questions here:

At this point – to some extent based on his apology – everyone assumes Phil will re-appear at some point contrite and somewhat hat in hand to the PGA Tour. What chance is there he goes the other way? What, if any, obligation to the Tour does he actually have? @BriansullyMD

Well, the Tour was a platform for Phil to achieve fame and fortune, but he gave plenty back in return: endlessly entertaining golf; hundreds of thousands autographs; tens of millions of dollars to charity. So I’m not sure he owes the Tour anything. But after all he’s been through of late, I do think it will be a p.r. fiasco if he pledges fealty to the Saudis. He rightly called them scary mofos while callously acknowledging their atrocities, so to now get in bed with the Saudis would be a very bad look, opening up Mickelson to lots of criticism and burning up much of the goodwill he has banked through the years. But he’s always a wildcard so we shall see which way he goes.

Per my musing above, that's what continues to perplex me about that damn apology.  I don't know that Phil has obligations to the Tour, I actually was focused elsewhere.  If I look at Phil's recent past, that PGA Championship was obviously quite the accomplishment that perhaps makes us think that he's more competitive with the big boys than is likely the case.  But I w3as struck by how much he seemed to enjoy beating up on the round bellies, though perhaps he's unaware that those events are run by the same "obnoxiously greedy" folks.

On another tack:

Now that the details are beginning to take shape, what do you think of the SGL? @Kevinp613

I’m not overwhelmed, or underwhelmed. I guess I am whelmed. At least now we have an actual tournament slate to discuss after a year of guesswork. The SGL has very cleverly focused on U.S. markets that are underserved by the PGA Tour: Portland, Chicago, Boston (which, with the withering of the Deutsche Bank Championship, faces an uncertain future as a host town). None of the courses dazzle me, and Bangkok is a non-sequitur, but hey, you gotta start somewhere. It’s disappointing that a field list wasn’t announced and we will have to suffer more months of speculation about who is or is not playing. But the most interesting aspect of the announcement was that players don’t have to commit to all of the Saudi events and can instead just blow into town whenever they feel like it. If I’m a professional golfer—who, by definition, plays golf for money—would I rather languish in the Quad Cities competing for a $7.1 million purse or enjoy cosmopolitan Portland and play for $25 million? In a vacuum, this seems like a very easy decision, and no doubt some PGA Tour veterans will take the bait. It will fascinating to see how this plays out in the court of public opinion, and in various court cases.

Alan, if the answer is Portland, it's safe to assume you're asking the wrong question.... Remind me how that LPGA event went?

One last one:

I know their current situations are quite a bit different, and Phil has gotten justifiably fried over his miscalculated Saudi gambit. But, shouldn’t we be reserving our worst judgement for Greg Norman? Is his name not mud, or worse, in some circles? Talk about making your bed! @AriSlater1978

It’s amazing that even as he approaches 70 the Shark remains so polarizing. I have stated my objections to the Saudis many times, but I actually give Norman more of a pass here than Mickelson because Shark has been pushing for a world tour for 30+ years… he just finally found someone to buy in to his vision. Is Norman getting paid? Obviously. But I think for him it’s mostly about sticking to the Tour after decades of festering grievances, which I respect more than pure avarice.

Wow!  I mean, it's not exactly a Euclidian vision there, Alan.

But more to the point, Phil is guilty of using the Saudis for leverage (objectionable for sure).  Norman has put his good name (OK, strike that, he's put his name) behind the morality of the Saudis, that he's personally seen the profound changes and warrants that they're real.  You make the call, which is more effed up? 

We have an embarrassment of riches this morning, as we also have an Eamon Lynch column on this subject.  I'm not sure he ever adjudicates the legal issues, but he simply takes no prisoners (you'll understand that metaphor in the context of his cold open):

The true scale of a huckster’s toxicity is never apparent in the cost to his reputation—by definition, he has little to defend—but rather in how easily he imperils the honor of anyone who

associates with him. After two years of speculation and rumor-mongering, the day is near when we’ll finally learn who among the world’s best golfers is willing to sacrifice his standing on Greg Norman’s amoral altar.

Since he is clearly bereft of shame, let’s assume it was out of respect that Norman waited three days after Saudi Arabia executed 81 men for such crimes as “deviant beliefs” to unveil a schedule for LIV Golf Invitational, a tournament series financed by that same regime solely for the purpose of sportswashing things like summary mass executions at home and war crimes abroad.

And when I call it a cold open...well, you get it.

Imagine a housekeeper cleaning a hotel room that resembles a slaughterhouse without concern for how it reached that state. Norman may think heads rolling in the squares of Riyadh or a consulate in Istanbul are above his pay grade, but the stain of his association is undeniable and indelible. And he’s eager for other prominent players to assume the same mark.

June 9-11 in London will see the first event in the LIV Golf Invitational (decide for yourself if the name is a Roman numerical reference to its 54-hole formats or a ghoulish joke about what the regime doesn’t permit critics to do). The second tournament is planned for July 1-3 at Oregon’s Pumpkin Ridge, whose members were simultaneously hit with a dues increase to upgrade facilities and news that they’ve been conscripted into a sportswashing exercise.

That's not a key bit, but does make one wonder about how that decision was reached.

Here's just a taste of Eamon's legal reasoning:

In antitrust, public language matters. This is why Norman’s March 15 letter to players announcing the series and inviting their participation likely wasn’t authored by Norman. The intemperate screed he sent Monahan last month displayed an intellect so shallow it ought to have been scrawled in crayon. This letter was carefully crafted, stating that LIV Golf would complement the existing ecosystem while offering fans an enhanced product. The wording is noteworthy.

Antitrust law centers on what is best for the consumer, with three lynchpins of greater options, higher quality and lower costs. It’s easy to laugh off the letter describing the Saudi venture as a “start-up,” as though it’s a scrappy enterprise aiming for a conventional return on investment, but that framing is intended to suggest a fledgling outfit being stymied by Monahan’s monolith.

This highlights an issue I've been trying to emphasize for months now, that the Tour is profoundly fortunate that the threat comes backed by Saudi money.  I'm not an antitrust lawyer nor do I play one on TV, but it raises a fascinating issue that will be in play.  The money on offer dwarfs the underlying economic value of the game (don't believe me, here's Shack's latest ratings post), so I'm wondering whether the underlying objectives of the Saudis, sportswashing for lack of a better term, can be used to undermine their case.  Of course, this could take decades to play out in court....

But, who will show in London or Portland?  OK, besides Phil and Jason Kokrak?  

As hesitant as players must be to become the public faces of a Saudi hijacking of professional golf, there are office buildings full of lawyers salivating at the billable years ahead. Any player who does step up to demand the right to play with the Saudis and the PGA Tour simultaneously faces a long and lonely road as public sentiment, sponsors and peers turn against them, as Phil Mickelson can attest. PGA Tour pros often peddle a sentimental cliché that how they play the game reflects their integrity. There’s something to that. But in this particular time, it’s no less testimony to a man’s character for whom he plays the game.

That's why Jay looks so smug.

One last bit before moving on, this Bill Pennington Pravda item on the current youth movement in golf.  You might have heard crowing about the top five all being 25 or younger, and here's Kubla Jay taking a victory lap:

“It’s a reflection of the system at work,” said Jay Monahan, the PGA Tour commissioner. “The athleticism, the youth, the preparedness, the system is working. You can talk about the top five, but you can extend it past the top five and into the top 30.”

I have been seriously disappointed by Manahan, whose vision for the game of golf is truly effed up (it seems to consist of little besides drunk fans betting the rent money), and who failed his first stress test at that 2020 Players.

But I've also been trying to make an important point, that the PGL/SGL framework for the game is contrary to the nature of our sport and quite the horrible way to go forward.  Except for some offhand comments, such as Brooks noting that "Golf is about more than the top 48 players, it's not to be found in the golf press.  While Norman and the Brits have talked about cherry-picking the top 48 players or so and making them fabulously wealthy, there's never bene any indication of how in their model new talent rises.  

The PGA Tour I can be criticized in this area, I've long felt that in certain ways it's a closed shop that protects the entrenched players.  But my arguments are that it takes top players too long to make it but, as I understand Greg Norman's vision, it's Phil, Henrik and lee for now and forever.

All Alan, All The Time - We'll riff on Alan's silliness as we eye that exit sign:

In a fun hypothetical, if you combined superpowers of Viktor’s tee-to-green prowess and Cam’s short-game wizardry, how close is that player to Tiger circa 2000? #AskAlan@opinionsvary328

Don’t forget Collin Morikawa’s iron game, too. That would pretty much add up to peak Tiger. Even then I would take the actual Woods over the theoretical composite because the real thing had more dog in him than these three aforementioned players combined.

To me, the bigger difference is Tiger's consistency, that cut streak being the prime example.  But this is the modern game, where they play for a few good weeks a year.  But is Alan suggesting that there's a dog shortage in Collin?  Strange given this next one...

Top 5 Masters favorites right now? Thanks. @mstang1970

Rahm, Morikawa, DJ, Spieth, Na.

Alan, are you sure you answered the right question.  To me, that the answer to, "name five great players off their feed".  Seriously, have any of them shown any decent form lately (I know DJ played well on Sunday at Sawgrass when he was irrelevant, but still).

Is the Players Championship trophy the saddest on tour? Cam Smith looked almost

embarrassed holding that dweeby thing for photos. It’s so ugly that you don’t even see Cam’s scraggly mullet. @MichaelSmyth

I love unusual architecture and modern art and all manner of unconventional thinking…but when it comes to trophies I’m pretty old-school. I understand each tournament wants their trophy to be different and unique but so many are groaners. I don’t hate the Players bauble but it looks rather undersized, which may be part of what is bothering you. They can’t all be the Wannamaker but if I’m designing a trophy it’s going to be big and grand and old-fashioned.

 Heh!  the only thing worse than that trophy is this:

Yeah, this has been an open tab for a while, but a couple of Cam Smith items:

Did Cam Smith push that shot on 17? Yes or definitely yes? @jeffvalois

Of course he did! But that’s part of the rub of the green – if you’re gonna win a tournament sometimes your mediocre swings turn out great.

How good of a putter is Cameron Smith?@ESPN_SwingCoach

Here I will cede the floor to one Muhammed Ali: “I done wrestled with an alligator, I done tussled with a whale; handcuffed lightning, thrown thunder in jail. Only last week, I murdered a rock, injured a stone, hospitalized a brick…I’m so mean I make medicine sick.”

On the first, he admitted that he pushed, but credit him for a sensible line that allowed him to push it and stay dry.  On the second, ten putts on the back nine?  Though I'll concede that Alan said it better...

This is a far bigger issue than it appears:

If you had God powers to summon any particular weather on any particular course at any particular time, what are your choices? @SNESdrunk

Cold, windy, 25 mile per hour gales at this year’s Open at the Old Course; the tomfoolery at the Players was just a taste of how fun that could be. Or, cut the wind in half for Saturday of the 2002 Open at Muirfield and give Tiger Woods a chance to keep chasing the Grand Slam.

We all understand Sawgrass' quirkiness, so think what you will about that Saturday.  But St. Andrews 2022 has profound issues for our game, and I don't know what to hope for.  If the wind is down and the track is soft, I simply can't imagine how low these guys can go.  Part of me wants to protect the Old Girl with heavy winds, but another part of me thinks a 58 would go a long way in our distance debate.

Team Berger or Team Hovland? @raydonovan613

I actually think both handled the situation well. Where a ball crosses a hazard 600 feet away, whilst traveling at 150 miles per hour, is rather subjective, and it can look very different depending on which side of the tee box you’re standing. Hovland and Berger had a difference in opinion, they talked it out like reasonable adults, and Berger took ownership of the decision, as the situation demanded. No harm, no foul?

As we've discussed, it fells like all parties did their job (including the rules official, unlike the Kang v. Dahmen cage match.  But I do hope there are genuinely no hard feelings, because there should be more like this.

What percentage of Tour players would take the guaranteed payday of winning the FedEx Cup over winning a major and the much smaller paycheck but additional prestige, exemptions, endorsement opportunities, etc. that come with that? #askalan @tombagjr

I’m gonna say 70% of players would take the FedEx Cup. Actually, probably 80%. It’s true that winning a major can lead to additional bonanzas but that’s hardly a sure thing; plenty of one-off major winners failed to build on the victory and their careers quickly petered out. The fact is, most guys on Tour play for money and only the most ambitious play for trophies.

I could have put this one up above:

Was the quality of the leaderboard indicative of Sawgrass’ shortcomings and penchant for randomness? No disrespect to Lahiri and Ghim, but does this finally settle the “fifth major” debate? #AskAlan @opinionsvary328

Sawgrass is a quirky, fiddly course with some very awkward shots. Power is always an advantage but less so there, which means everyone in the field has a chance. Ergo, what you call randomness. Some might consider that the greatness of the design. I could go either way but it produces golf that is undeniably entertaining.

He's ignoring one possible aggravating circumstance, my concern that the highest ranked players were unusually bunched together because of the longer TV window.

But you know what Sawgrass really is?  It's a course that's perfect for match play, where the impact of the quirkiness is mitigated by the format.  I'm over the moon at seeing match play on the Old Course, but how about a Ryder Cup at Sawgrass?  OK, that'll never happen because PGA vs. PGA of America, then how about that as a way to breathe some life into the Prez Cup?  Genius, right?

Lastly, this amusing twofer to go out on:

Sergio clearly dying his beard to ridiculously obvious lengths. Where do you stand on this very important golf issue? Consider this on the record and clearance as the jumping-off

point of your next bestseller. #AskAlan @RDeCards

Phil dyes? We want to know. @Chambersjscott

I love that these questions came in independent of each other. I agree Garcia’s beard is suspiciously dark and luscious. Various Twitter sleuths have pulled up photos of Mickelson from a decade ago and his hair was indeed much grayer then. He’d probably say the coffee has had a restorative effect. I don’t want to give away too many goodies from the book but I will say this topic is covered in those pages and in my reporting I discovered that some folks in Phil’s orbit refer to him as “Black Cherry” because that is the name of a certain hair dye.

Busted!  And amusingly so....

That's it for today.  Enjoy the golf and I'll likely see you on Friday.