Tuesday, February 13, 2024

Weekend Wrap - Tuesday Finish Edition

Amusingly, your humble blogger went to bed Sunday night assuming that the Niners would hold off the Chiefs and that Charley Hoffman had won in Phoenix.  Do I have my finger on the pulse of professional sports, or what?

Wasted Again - That was a tough one at Casa Unplayable Lies, because Employee No. 2 is a Charley Hoffman dead-ender.  How did she become a fan of Charley?  Well, Lumpy's retirement hit her pretty hard....

But the Face Plant Tour™ continues unabated, eh?  That was intended to be a Canadian-inflected "eh", so hope it sounded like that as you read it.  I mean, were Jay Monahan trying to destroy the PGA Tour, what exactly would he do defiantly?

A couple of events ago I recited the list of 2024 Tour winners, featuring everyone from Grayson Murray to some amateur that will now commence seven years in the wilderness.  Since then, we can add Wyndham Clark and Nick Taylor, but the needle remains stubbornly unmoved.  Tiger, Patrick and their sycophants assure us that only about five players actually matter, but that leaves a kind of emptiness when those specific guys play poorly and don't so much as contend.

There are stories to be had, whether it's Grayson Murrays redemption, Nick Dunlap's coming out party or that middle-aged Frenchman, but the Tour has effectively spit on anything that doesn't involve the Chose Few.  Now, conveniently, the Tour answers the pressing question, what else can we do to eff this up?

Well, how much you got?

Gates closed, alcohol sales suspended amid chaos at WM Phoenix Open | Rogers Report

And:

‘Don’t ‘sir’ me!’: Tensions boil over between players, fans at sloppy WM Phoenix Open

And:

'Shut up': Zach Johnson, Billy Horschel yell at unruly 2024 WM Phoenix Open fans

 But wait, it wasn't just unruly, apparently The Wasted now comes with a body count:

Video shows fan being carried out before the end of Day 1, the WM Phoenix Open is officially underway 

Were I a cynical man, I could add the NY Times-inspired, "Women and minorities hardest hit":

Woman hospitalized after falling from Phoenix Open grandstand

Do we think UPI was paid by WM to, just in that one instance, call it the retro Phoenix Open?

But before we leave this topic, Golfweek reminds of an epic comeback from Chris DiMarco:

Unruly Phoenix Open fans stir memories of epic Chris DiMarco quip: 'I'd love to get a six-pack of beer ... go yell at them while they're making sales calls'

I include that bit mostly because it's funny, but also because it highlights that, despite to response we'll get to below, this is not something that just suddenly happened.  They've been living on the edge for years....So, in that vein:

Phoenix Open leadership eyes changes in wake of incidents

Let's give them their due.... the Thunderbirds have created an event that doesn't blur into the life-sapping, week-to-week drabness of the PGA Tour, even more impressive in that they've made Super Bowl week actually work for them.  That said, it's long been apparent that someone is gonna get hurt, but we can't do anything about that because there's beer to be sold.  So, you can judge whether this is sincere:

Chance Cozby, the executive director of the Thunderbirds, the civic organization that hosts the Phoenix Open, told the Golf Channel on Monday that the tournament is already looking at ways to fix the issues that plagued the largest tournament on the PGA Tour this year.

"I think that you will see a complete operational change of how we manage, really, our Friday and Saturday, but the entire week," Cozby said. "We're very proud of what we've built. I think, we've been tournament of the year on the PGA Tour five of the last seven years. But we don't like what happened on Saturday. The players don't like what happened on Saturday. Our fans don't like what happened on Saturday, and, so, nothing is off the table."

Cozby said the Phoenix Open's leadership team spent "five or six hours" Saturday afternoon as fans were starting to leave brainstorming what changes needed to happen. The initial focus will be on the sale of general admission tickets and the tournament's "complete security plan."

 OK, but everyone talks about the weather, but no one does anything about it:

Cozby explained that the onslaught of rain last week led the grounds at the TPC Scottsdale, where the Phoenix Open has been played since 1987, to become muddy and slick, which forced fans to walk along the concrete paths instead of using the grassy hills to sit and walk.

That "really created significant congestion to where, ultimately, on Saturday we didn't do anything different from a ticketing or fan perspective as we've done in years past," Cozby said. "But since areas of the golf course were not usable, the decision was made by our security partners and our team to close the front gate, to close the concession stands, to close alcohol sales. We opened up all of our security blowouts on the entire course to safely remove our fans from the course and get everything back under control and try to get through that Saturday, which was a very tough day."

Yanno, it's pretty easy to get a weather forecast, and perhaps adjust before the disaster.... I put in that DiMarco just to remind that these aren't new issues.  I'll also remind that the Tour's ill-conceived Live Under Par™ campaign encouraged and celebrated drunken fans and combined with the Tour aggressive embrace of on-course gambling, puts us in uncharted territory.

The Tour Confidential panel led with this issue:

Due to overcrowding, the WM Phoenix Open cut off alcohol sales and closed its gates from ticket-holders entering the course Saturday. The tournament has long marketed itself as the biggest party in golf, but on Friday a spectator fell from the 16th hole grandstands, and
several videos shared on social media showed wild scenes and irritated Tour pros. (In a statement, the WM Phoenix Open said it closed the course since heavy rainfall led to severe congestion at key points.) Are these instances outliers, or has the biggest party in golf finally gotten too big?

Josh Sens: Are we supposed to be surprised by any of this? It’s exactly the type of atmosphere the tournament has cultivated for years. I don’t think of this as a tipping point. It’s just the odds playing out. You don’t get to throw a boozy fraternity party for tens of thousands of people and then act surprised or disappointed that some crazy things went down.

James Colgan: As someone generally terrified of large crowds, enclosed spaces, and overserved twentysomethings stoking the embers of their problematic college youth, WMPO sounded like it might literally be the worst place on earth for a few hours on Saturday. On Sunday morning, it seemed like the players began feeling that way, too. Yeah, it got too big for a little bit this weekend, but I’m mostly glad I watched that happen from the comfort of my living room.

Sean Zak: The biggest outlier was the storm mother nature dumped on Phoenix in the lead up to this event. But this event is all about fans standing out compared to the normal golf fan. They promote “Look what I can do,” or “Look what I can shout.” If enough players speak up, tournament organizers will do something. But it may be too far gone to really contain it easily.

Speaking up is good, the other alternative is to not peg it that week.

But, having suggested that the lads vote with their feet, I also have to acknowledge that that's probably not an option, thanks to our enlightened Tour leadership.  For the great unwashed masses, playing opportunities are scarce, because of the microscopic fields at the Signature Events Money Grabs.   We've always said that Phoenix works because those uncomfortable with the environment don't have to play there.  Which is great, until you deny them a tee time at Pebble and Riviera, so now they sort of have to play anywhere they can...

Should any preventative measures be taken going forward? And how do you tone down the Phoenix Open without ruining its reputation that’s made it stand out from other Tour stops?

Sens: This thing has gotten so big and wild that you could probably cut the crowds in half and place stricter limits on booze and still have an event that stands out from other Tour stops. But
that’s still no guarantee that things wouldn’t ever get out of hand. Maybe just rebrand it Golf, but Dumber so you have complete buyer-beware deniability.

Colgan: Obviously the tournament organizers lost control for a bit this weekend and would be wise (for basic legal and public health reasons) not to do that again, but I don’t think there’s an existential issue here. Cut the crowds a little and hope for better weather next year.

Zak: What I appreciate most is the tournament just pinning these issues on the rain. Sure, it led to overcrowding, but you know what also leads to overcrowding? Selling hundreds of thousands of tickets. This event was overcrowded in 2023, when there wasn’t a drop of rain. So yeah, I think preventative measures begin with selling fewer tickets. Or maybe build out a reason for those fans to actually go out to the 6th or 7th holes, rather than focus on the final three.

The good news is that the Tour itself has marginalized this event.  It's not important enough to carry that Signature moniker, so we are all free to ignore it. Except, of course, for those trying to hold onto or enhance their playing opportunities.

But this might be my favorite side note to this event.  Can anyone sense what might go wrong here?

 Ringing any bells?  Anyone?  Bueller?

His wife did encourage him to get tackled harder.... But he does indicate that the lesson has been learned:

Adam Hadwin learned his lesson. He wore his PGA Tour badge and didn’t go running on the
green with a bottle of champagne to spray Nick Taylor when he holed the winning putt to win the WM Phoenix Open in a sudden-death playoff on Sunday.

Hadwin, you may recall, got tackled by a security guard at the RBC Canadian Open in June when he wasn’t recognized as a Tour pro.

On Sunday, Hadwin wore the same green hoodie and jeans he was wearing in Canada on that fateful day as Taylor battled it out with Charley Hoffman. Hadwin said he sported the same outfit that morning for good luck for Taylor, who shared the 54-hole lead. As one social media commentator noted, “It’s like he wants it to happen.”

Sounds like a great friend willing to take a hit for his team....

LIV Stuff -  I can't help myself, they're just too damn easy to pick on... Apparently, we're supposed to be excited:

Glitzy?

LIV Golf’s decision to stage a tournament in Las Vegas the same week as Super Bowl LVIII was … let’s call it ambitious. That’s looking at it as a sporting event. But consider LIV Golf, whic
h blares music during tournament rounds at its 54-hole events, to be an entertainment product and the gamble to go to Vegas seemed to pay off with big odds.

LIV Golf Las Vegas was a show, and like the dozens of others held in the casinos along The Strip, this one came to a dramatic end.

In cold and windy conditions on Saturday at Las Vegas Country Club, six players shared the lead at 10 under with three holes to play, and Dustin Johnson birdied three of the last six to shoot one-under-par 69 and finish 54 holes at 12 under to claim his third overall LIV title by one shot.

OK, but was anyone watching?   That sound you hear is LIV not releasing their ratings.... As I've been reliably informed, the only way to grow golf is to pay Patrick and put up with loud noise: 

Jon Rahm was not really feeling the 'Golf, But Louder' vibes on Saturday at LIV Vegas

So sad....But, just to clarify, the check cleared?

Unfortunately, silence is not golden on the LIV Tour, which allows music to blare in the background throughout competition. The party atmosphere was very much alive for Saturday's final round at Las Vegas Country Club, where Rahm was firmly in the mix with just seven holes remaining.

At the par-3 12th Rahm sat just two shots off the lead, and things were getting tense. Despite numerous pleas from his caddie Adam Hayes to get fans to quiet down, they would not listen (mind you, there is music blasting). Eventually Rahm himself had to step in, saying "make sure your phones are on silent." However you feel about all the LIV-PGA Tour drama, we can all admit Rahm begging for quiet when there's no quiet to be had is a hilarious image. Shoutout to our friend Joe Idone for picking this one up:

The irony, she burns.

But these guys are world class, we're reliably informed:

A Rahm shank, a Bryson top, and a DJ win — how LIV finished out in Vegas

I can't stop laughing.  Brooks has admitted that he'd never have gone to LIV if he thought he could still play and their latest savior obviously hates everything about the place, so I love when a plan comes together.

It doesn't get more pitiful than this:

Were LIV pros told they’d get World Ranking points? Carlos Ortiz weighs in.

Of course they were told that, the bigger issue is why they would have believed it....

The issue of World Ranking points was never really a secret. Members of the upstart league were unlikely to get them for any number of reasons, and even if they were to receive them, it would likely be a while before they arrived. Major championship eligibility is determined using the same rankings, so those who accepted bloated payouts from the upstart league were doing so with the tacit acknowledgment that their major championship futures were in doubt.

So why, exactly, were so many LIV players upset to see their World Ranking dropping?

I'm going to go with that they're entitled asshats that believe they're so special that they can screw the organization that made them incredibly wealthy and it will all somehow work out.

On this week’s Subpar, LIV signee and long-time pro Carlos Ortiz explained.

“I think it’s both [LIV told us that we were going to get World Ranking points and that we feel we have good enough golfers to get them],” Ortiz said. “They definitely said that we were going to get them, we haven’t got them. I just feel that, people have to recognize that there are good players here, and if you want to have a ranking that includes all the golf players, you have to have some [LIV] people included in that ranking.”

Yes, Carlos, there are good players there.  Unfortunately, these good players have devoted their precious, time-sensitive caree4rs to a series of lucrative exhibition matches, in which actual golf fans have no interest.  

But the funnies thing of all is that they believed Greg Norman....  Or, more likely, the checks were so big that they didn't care.  Now they care and whine, which is even funnier and kind of pathetic.  Actions have consequences, Carlos.

I'm going to release you here and promise to caver all things Riviera, Tiger and Sun Day Red in the next couple of days.  Hope you're jiggy with that.

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