Monday, April 4, 2022

Weekend Wrap

For those checking in on a typical Monday morning, a heads up that directly below your weekly wrappage is a rare Sunday post, in which I blogged the Augusta National Women's Amateur and went deep with Mike Bamberger on all things Phil.

That's A Wrap - Lincoln spoke of the mystic chords of memory, though I don't think the rail splitter was much of a golf fan, but humor me in repeating a question that I posed to Employee No. 2 last evening.  It was a model of simplicity, "How many venues figure prominently in woman's golf history?"  The answer until approximately 8:30 last evening was one, as I write this morning the answer is zero.

So, how did it go?  A bit of a patchy finish for sure, but she'll be fine:

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. — An odd game, golf, where one hits down to get the ball up, swings right to hit it left. Jennifer Kupcho is a comfortable fit with these contradictions, shy by nature, yet embracing the game’s biggest moments.

She did so again on Sunday, the day the LPGA bid adieu to its grandest stage for the better part of 51 years, the Dinah Shore Tournament Course at Mission Hills Country Club. Kupcho, 24, made her first LPGA victory a major one, winning the Chevron Championship by two shots, then taking the victor’s obligatory plunge into Poppie’s Pond, the last to do so in a tradition that Amy Alcott began in 1988.

“I think it’s surreal to be a major winner,” she said, “and to be the last person to jump into Poppie’s Pond, it’s all really special.”

Winning wasn’t easy. It usually isn’t. But she made it look harder than it might have been after staking herself to a six-stroke lead through 54 holes and increasing it to seven at one point in the final round. She squandered much of it before regaining her equilibrium with a tap-in birdie at the 15th hole to go four ahead with three to play.

OK, admittedly the Poppy's pond thing gets a little old, and Jerry Paste still thinks he's do royalty checks, but at least it wasn't a Masters rip-off.  The equivalent Golf.com game story trots out the "S-word":

So if it's one of golf's most storied championships, why is it discontinued?  Oh yeah, yet Christina Kim seems to be the only one with the cujones to say it out loud (which is why I mentioned yesterday's post, so you might want to scroll down now if you haven't seen it)?  

As the final twosome walked to the first tee, a Mission Hills legend joined them. Amy Alcott
stood under the starter’s umbrella, taking in the moment. Longtime first-tee announcer Rich Galgallon stepped aside for the final introductions, ceding the stage to Alcott.

“He told me, ‘This is where you need to be,'” Alcott told GOLF.com.

It’s impossible to tell the story of The Dinah without Alcott. She won the event three separate times (1983, 1988, 1991) and invented the leap into Poppie’s Pond. Her mark on this tournament is indelible, and it was only fitting to have her on hand as the last players struck their opening tee shots.

“It’s bittersweet,” Alcott said. “But I’m glad Chevron is stepping up and doing whatever they need to do to elevate the tournament for these great young players. When one door shuts, another door opens.”

That would be the glass half-full answer, though we don't typically traffic in optimism here at Unplayable Lies.  And, really, why start now?

The new door opens onto an opportunity that might work out fine, though the cynic in me feels compelled to point out, opens onto a generic event (and a generic major, more substantively) in the most quintessentially generic American city at a to be announced venue on a to be announced date.  And, most importantly, one that comes without any of those pesky mystic chords of memory, so we've got that going for us....

It's a Monday morning and about that time that we dip into the Golf.com Tour Confidential panel, which historically offers up six questions and their writing staff's responses thereto.  One of recurring themes over the years has been their myopic Tiger-centric view of the world, and at the current moment even I can't begrudge them their big-cat hunting (which we'll get to in a moment).  But they do spare one query for the girls, though you'll note that to do so they had the turn the amp up to eleven:

7. Jennifer Kupcho took a six-shot lead into the final round of the Chevron Championship at Mission Hills and ended up with a two-shot victory over Jessica Korda. It’s the first major title for the 24-year-old former Augusta National Women’s Amateur and NCAA champion. What made her so dominant in the desert, and what kind of staying power does she have atop the women’s game?

Dethier: She jumped out to a massive lead because she caught fire on Saturday. She won because on No. 15, after leaking two bogeys in a row and seeing her lead dwindle from seven all the way down to two, she fired driver down the middle and nearly holed her approach. The kick-in birdie sealed it. That was big-time stuff.

Berhow: She was also 2-1-1 in her Solheim Cup debut last year and now gets her first LPGA win. A shaky finish but she had some room for error, and the first victory is never easy. A really good player who’s bound to add several more victories to her resume.

Colgan: What made her so dominant is her competitive fire. I suspect her staying power will likely be tied to the same.

Bamberger: She’s a winner, as Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods and Mickey Wright and Jack Nicklaus were winners. Winners as juniors. Winners as amateurs. Winners as young pros. Winners throughout their careers. Talent + mindset + health = consistent winning.

I'm old enough to remember when you got bonus points for winning at storied venues, though I guess this is now a formerly storied venue...

You could liken her to Scottie Scheffler, where the wins were always going to come, it was just a matter of time, and the coming out party took place at the major team event.  

Kupcho's win will inevitably be somewhat obscured by the Last Dance storyline, as well as the fact that her Sunday play was more than a little sketchy.  The fact is that the breakthrough was largely a result of her putter (she's always been a top notch ball-striker), and therein lies a typically LPGA back story:

She won with a club that also was a cause for concern, the putter. She made two putts greater than 10 feet on Thursday, three on Friday and five on Saturday, and made several key putts on Sunday with her lead slipping away.

“It's actually something she's been working on for a little while now,” Jay Monahan, her husband of little more than a month, said. “It's just something that's stroke related. For a while her through stroke was getting a little too far on the side, and so I honestly just set up a drill for her to kind of try and work through that, get the stroke a little more straight back, all more straight through, and she's been doing such a good job working on it. It's nice to see it pay off.”

Monahan caddies for Sarah Schmelzel and was still working when Kupcho began playing. “I was paying attention. I was thinking about it this morning, whether or not I was going to look, and it was too hard not to. I think I looked after hole number nine and then I had to look again after 16 just to hope that she was still in the same position she was when she started the day, if not better.”

Which to this observer means that a final round pairing of Kupcho and Schmelzel in a major will be eagerly anticipated.  Oh, and it's not the Jay Monahan of "obnoxious greed" fame.

What I most eagerly await is that moment when the girls realize that the man who was supposed to have their best interest at heart, Mike Whan, didn't put up a fight when their only longstanding event was threatened by the patriarchy.  His move to the USGA looks quite different in the rearview mirror.

Augusta On My Mind - Still just gently segueing into the week, though that's hard to do when leading with this bombshell:

He just gives nothing away, does he?  Maybe he can't know for sure, but your humble (albeit cranky) blogger has been watching his act for too long to let it pass without comment.  Regular Tour events are different, with a Friday before commitment deadline.  Notwithstanding that his presence would require logistical adjustments by the organizers, Tiger would never make his intentions know before that deadline, because, yanno, privacy.  

Here's what Dylan Dethier thinks it means:


3. Barring a setback, Woods will play.

Do I believe Woods that he intends to make a game-time decision? Sure. But Woods fully intends to play. Sources familiar with his training have emphasized that he looks good, that his ball speed has returned, that he’s been a regular on the Medalist range. We saw him showing both form and competitive juices at the PNC. We’ve heard about Joe LaCava heading to Florida to accompany Woods on some golf outings. All signs point towards the fact that Woods wants to play, expects to play and, barring a setback, will play.

So..... 

So why the vague announcement? Why the “game-time decision”? Because Woods has managed expectations at every step of the process. He has tried to ensure that people are realistic about his return, given he’s 46 years old and recovering from a devastating set of injuries. That’s not to say he’s been successful in doing so. Tiger Woods and “realistic” have never gone hand in hand. Woods is already climbing odds boards at sportsbooks, going off at 50-1 or shorter in places. The hype will continue to build.

Tiger Woods is in Augusta for Masters Week. The golf world will be watching what happen next.

Which to me would be fine, had he not been such a dick on this topic since 1996.

Before we get to that TC panel, I'll nominate this as the single funniest Masters commentary evah:

Besides Phil?  Really, you're not going to believe what they think should surprise us, starting at the orange end of the visible spectrum:

Rickie Fowler

Fowler actually missed last year’s Masters, too, after playing in the previous 10. His last win was the 2019 Waste Management Phoenix Open, and he’s now ranked 130th in the world.

I'm sorry, you expect me to be surprised that a player that didn't qualify for the 2021 Masters did the same in 2022?  

But, a quasi amusing note.  Last week we had Shack's homage to the Bubba shot form the woods that won the 2012 Masters.  In watching that video of the second payoff hole, as Bubba and Louis walked off the tenth tee what jumped out to your humble blogger was a patron at that tenth tee box that was dressed head-to-toe in orange, a trip down memory lane.  The specific thought that hit me was that 2012 was about the last time wearing orange was cool... So, color me unsurprised.

Here's a couple of equally unsurprising misses:

Matt Kuchar

Kuchar, ranked 148th in the world, has played in 15 Masters, but he’ll miss this year’s for the first time since 2009, and his streak of 27 consecutive majors played will come to an end. He was in contention at the Texas Open, but he tied for second, just two shots behind Spaun. Kuchar has had good success at Augusta, too, registering eight top-25 and three top-five finishes.

Ian Poulter

Poulter famously won the Houston Open in 2018 to lock up a spot in the next week’s Masters, but he wasn’t able to summon the same magic this year. He had made the cut in 15 of his previous 16 Masters appearances and finished in the top 10 three times. This is the first time he won’t be in the field since 2017.

 Cue the Time Warp, because the writer seems unfamiliar with the fact that it's 2022.

As ridiculous as those were, this is the one that caused me a spit take:

Jimmy Walker

Walker played in eight-straight Masters but will be on the outside looking in this year. This will be the first missed major for the 2016 PGA champ since the 2013 U.S. Open. Walked is one of a few players on Tour who won several times before receiving their first Masters invite. He won the Frys.com Open in October 2013, the Sony Open three months later and the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am one month after that. Up until last year, Walker never missed a Masters cut.

 You mean the one from Good Times?  The last time he was relevant I was a much younger man...

Shall we hit that TC panel?

1. Will he or won’t he? He, of course, is Tiger Woods, who played Augusta National on Tuesday of last week and again on Sunday, fueling speculation about his potential return at the Masters. But we still don’t have any answers, as Woods tweeted on Sunday that it will
be a game-time decision on whether he competes. The 15-time major champ was in a near-fatal car crash in February 2021, played in the PNC Championship in December with his son, Charlie, but hasn’t walked 18 holes of a tournament since the 2020 Masters. So, back to our original question, will he play, or won’t he?

Dylan Dethier: Yes. He’s playing. Once he decided to fly to Augusta last week, he was very likely going to play. Now that he’s here, he’d have to experience a serious setback to keep him from that first tee come Thursday. Yes, yes, yes.

Luke Kerr-Dineen: Every indication we have is that he’s playing. He’s in the field. He’s got a press conference lined up. He says it’s a game-time decision, but the way I read that statement is that Tiger’s reserving the right to pull the plug at the last minute if his body takes a bad turn. But all else equal, he’s teeing it up.

Josh Berhow: I’d be shocked if he didn’t play now. It was a good sign he played on Tuesday, but an even better one that he decided to give it another go on Sunday. He’s not coming in two days early just to attend the Champions Dinner on Tuesday night. Plus, Augusta is intoxicating, for players and patrons and people watching at home. He’s human, and the more time he spends on the course the more he’s going to want to play, even if he is on the fence.

James Colgan: Duh. Yes. It’s Tiger Woods at the Masters. If his body is close enough to competing at the Masters that he’s willing to leave it up to the last three days before the tournament to make a decision … it’s close enough for him to play. It’s just that simple. Though I respect Tiger’s flair for the dramatic.

Michael Bamberger: Everything I think about Tiger Woods is wrong.* I really thought he would not play. Which surely means he will.

As I meant to mention above, it's a slightly awkward thing for the club as relates to the pairings.  With J.J. Spaun added yesterday, the field is 91 players, which means they'll likely play as threesomes with the first two groups being twoballs.  The awkward part would be if Woods literally dropped out Thursday morning, which would presumably result in a twoball amid the threesomes, not great for those two.  Presuming, which seems safe, that Tiger wouldn't be among the dewsweepers (although no one goes all that early at Augusta).

Is this second question as silly as it seems?

2. Are you surprised Woods, who has played this course hundreds of times, needs these scouting trips to test his body? What is he testing that he doesn’t already know from his decades of experience or past recoveries from injury?

Dethier: No, I’m not surprised. I’m guessing many of our readers have been to Florida. It’s flat! Augusta National is distinctly not. He wanted to test his ability to walk the course. He wanted to test his ability to recover from walking the course. He wanted to see Augusta National. And he wanted to play golf with his son Charlie. Why not go?

Kerr-Dineen: Tiger’s not scouting the course. He’s scouting his leg. How does it feel going up and down hills? Or when he twists and turns after walking three miles? What about when he’s in the slippery pine straw? It’s stuff that’s very specific to the layout itself.

Berhow: I would guess he had a pretty good indication he’d play even before he made the trip. A tune-up round or two couldn’t hurt just to be sure. Plus, when you have a private jet at your disposal it makes things a little easier.

Colgan: Do you go to the gym once or twice before trying to hit your max on the bench? Or take a few greens before working your way up to the black diamonds? Yes, you do. Tiger was doing exactly the same. We should expect nothing different.

Bamberger: Tiger is, like all the greats, a wild mixture of personality types, both hyper-realistic but also capable of great, fantastical thinking. On the physical side, he had to see if his body can walk it for four straight days. On the fantastical side, he had to talk himself into thinking he can shoot 140 for two rounds. After that, who knows?

We saw at the PNC that he was already able to hit the shots, the kicker was whether he could physically walk the course.  I don't what that Tuesday round would tell him beyond how he'll feel Friday morning, but you have to start somewhere.

3. If Woods tees it up, what are his chances? To win? To make the cut? Does he care?

Dethier: To make the cut? Excellent chance. He’s never missed the cut at the Masters as a pro. We’ve heard and now seen that his swing looks good. As long as his body cooperates, Woods is there on the weekend. As for winning? Sheesh. You’d think the rust would keep him from winning. You’d think the strain of 72 holes would keep him from serious contention. But I’ve officially quit counting out Tiger Woods, permanently.

Kerr-Dineen: On paper, a 46 year old coming off a horrible leg injury after a horrible slate of back injuries, without any competitive rounds before this, is a player primed to miss the cut. But I’ve learned my lesson on Tiger too many times. Anytime Tiger Woods tees it up, he can win.

Berhow: From the little we’ve seen from him, he looks pretty good. And his Augusta course knowledge is impeccable. That’s mental, and it’s valuable, and it doesn’t matter how his body feels. I don’t think he’d have any issues making the cut. I’m also not going to pick him to contend on Sunday, but what a boost his presence would give what’s already the biggest golf tournament of the year.

Colgan: Dylan, you were the one who first pointed out to me last April that it’s really hard to miss the cut at the Masters. It’s one of the smallest fields in golf, so making it to the weekend is significantly easier than at the other majors. If Tiger plays, we should expect that much. Anything more? Well, let’s not be ridiculous.

Bamberger: Yes on making the cut. Yes on contending. Yes on winning.*

I didn't like his chances of winning another major before he played Mario Andretti, so no reason to change that now.  Just a quick reminder that there was a fifth "successful" back surgery after the first Father-Son and before the car accident, which seems to have gotten lost in the shuffle.

And, no, I have no idea why Mike has an asterisk after his answer...

4. Woods’ potential return will dominate the headlines, but what other Masters storylines should the golf world be aware of?

Dethier: Rory McIlroy’s pursuit of the career grand slam feels like it has gotten less attention this year than any previous attempt. Combine that with the extra eyeballs on Woods and his missed cut at last week’s Valero Texas Open and you’ve got a potential recipe for an under-the-radar McIlroy to fire a decent opening round (his major championship Achilles heel) and get in position to win the green jacket.

I would think that the best case for Rory is the weather forecast, about which Geoff had this:

Scattered thunderstorms in the morning, then mostly cloudy during the afternoon with heavy thunderstorms becoming likely. Potential for severe thunderstorms. High 77F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall may reach one inch.

Wednesday evening into Thursday morning features a decent chance of thunderstorms, with this of note for Friday’s second round:

Partly cloudy skies, with gusty winds developing during the afternoon. High near 65F. Winds W at 20 to 30 mph. Higher wind gusts possible.

A soft course plays to Rory's strengths, though you'd also want the wind to sit down.  Rory has struggled mightily on Thursdays, so he'll need to keep touch with the leaders, which might be enough if he's figured out how to control the distance on his wedges.  Spoiler alert, but the latter seems unlikely.

Kerr-Dineen: Viktor Hovland has been running hot, and seems to have a game that suits this course — off the tee and into the greens, at least. If he chips it well enough to get a green jacket, it could bring the dawn of a new wave in European golf.

That chipping, from those notably tight lies, would be the issue for our Viktor. 

Berhow: Can Rory finally finish off the grand slam? Will a struggling Spieth once again find it at Augusta National? And will Jon Rahm start piling up major titles? Rahm has every tool you need to win a bunch of major championships, and he seems like he could be ready to go on a heater. He’s been in the top 10 in his last four Masters and was top 10 in all four majors last year, which included a U.S. Open title.

Rahm may have every tool, though his putter has been on the fritz pretty much all season. 

Colgan: Collin Morikawa is the best ball-striker in the world, playing on the course best-suited for ball-strikers, and is looking for his third(!) major in 20 months in the process. Of course, he’s like the ninth-biggest storyline of tournament week, but that feels pretty big to me!

He's developed a deserved reputation as a big game hunter, but hasn't shown any form for quite some time. 

Bamberger: Who will fill out the Tiger Woods threesome if Tiger Woods doesn’t play? Because the other two players, likely a Big Name Pro and a Promising Amateur, will not likely go off as a twosome. Also, will Phil attend dinner Tuesday night? (Not likely but he does like sushi.)

He might like sushi, but Fred Ridley doesn't like him, at least at the present moment.

I'm pretty sure that they don't send a marker on Thursday-Friday, although I'm sure Jeff Knox is available and happy to burnish his legacy.   

5. We know there’s a lot to like about Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler, Collin Morikawa and the rest of the crew atop the Official World Golf Ranking, but what other player is trending in the right direction for this year’s Masters?

Dethier: Max Homa has been sneaky-good. He hasn’t been winning events but has been lurking and arguably playing the most consistent golf of his career. This feels like the year he breaks through and gets in contention for the first time.

Kerr-Dineen: It’s an eclectic and unexpected group of golfers trending well early this season. Outside of the obvious: Joaquin Niemann would be a fun player to watch contend for his first major.

Berhow: Dylan’s right about Homa. He’s had a really solid run but has made just one cut in his last seven major starts. That trend can’t continue forever. Also, Cameron Smith has entered four events in 2022 and won two of them. He’s one of the best putters out there and, last I checked, that’s one big key to contending at Augusta.

Colgan: I sure wouldn’t want to be counting out last year’s Masters runner-up Will Zalatoris right about now.

Cam Smith is the name on my lips, though I don't know that he's played since Sawgrass.  I like Max Homa as much as the next guy, though not sure I see him winning a major...  Our head pro at Fairview also picked Zalatoris, though Employee No, 2 has for some reason taken a dislike to him.  So, obvious Cam misses the cut and we get to see how Will looks in green, because your humble blogge remains the '62 Mets of fantasy golf.

6. Which major-less player — guys like Scottie Scheffler, Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele and Viktor Hovland, among others — has the best chance of claiming their first at the Masters come Sunday night?

Dethier: Xander. When he steps onto the 16th tee come Sunday I suspect he might have a chance at redemption.

Kerr-Dineen: Our cover star Tony Finau hasn’t had the hottest start to the season, but he’s comfortable at Augusta and more than talented enough to slip on a green jacket one day. What a way to kick start his 2022 season.

Berhow: Scottie Scheffler has been on an absolute tear lately — three wins in his last five starts — and now he’s coming to a course where he’s placed in the top 20 in both of his starts. His confidence must be off the charts, which is bad news for the field.

Colgan: Patty Ice! It’s about time for Mr. Cantlay to break through.

Bamberger: Scheffler, because he’s the one, from the group, for whom winning the Masters likely means the least.

Not sure how this question differs from the previous one, but Tony Finau looks completely lost to me, so I'd steer clear there.  I can only hope that Xander pures another one on No. 16, so we can revisit that nonsense.

We'll leave with this from Geoff's visit to the merchandise tent:

Patch-adorned bucket cap ($48) and Teddy bear ($15). The stuffed bear looks pretty cool in his white hat with green rope. And my favorite entry of 2022 features patches sewn on a weathered blue bucket cap with various Masters badges, crests, player badges and a 1986 logo to suggest years of attending the tournament. ($48)

Not usually a fan of bucket hats, but love the patches...

But even ANGC isn't above supply chain issues:

This newsletter reports the warts and all. So here goes: the Georgia Peach Ice Cream Sandwich, arguably former Chairman Billy Payne’s greatest gift to golf and human history (after the Drive, Chip and Putt of course), has not been seen on property yet. Supply chain issues on the ice cream side, my sources say, significantly impacted the ability to produce them.

Other sources believe a replacement ice cream-filled concoction is on the alternate list and ready to step in, and another source said a few GPICS’s could turn up by the weekend.

Pretty sure that when you look up "First world problems", that that's their example.  Although it does sound pretty damn good.

That's it for today.  Check back early and often this week.

Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)