Thursday Threads - ZoZo Week Edition

I'm thinking we should put the blog on a seasonal hold.... Come back live, say, the second week in April?

I would say that at least we'll have some baseball to watch, but the air times of that aren't any better than the ZoZo.

So, who can we make fun of?  

You Can't Make Me Watch - The major golf publications have been in the tank since forever, but ESPN?

PGA Tour season winds down with a lot left to play for

Apparently the writers at ESPN were never informed that a preposition is a very bad thing to end a sentence with....

But two actual reactions, the first being surprise that the PGA season is still in progress, the second being the obvious need to parse what is meant by a "lot".  More importantly, to whom?

The FedEx Cup fall schedule is halfway over, and there's plenty at stake in the final four tournaments for the golfers who are still trying to secure their PGA Tour cards and playing privileges for 2025.

The FedEx Cup fall finalizes the top 125 golfers who will be eligible for full-field events and the Players Championship next season, as well as the final 10 players who will qualify for the first two signature events of 2025: the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and Genesis Invitational.

"For some guys that are here this week, I mean, it's a matter of keeping their job or not," said defending Zozo Championship winner Collin Morikawa. "With such a small field, it's an opportunity for some of these guys to make a big leap because they're going to be able to play four rounds, they're going to be getting points. This is a big tournament."

There are five golfers in the 78-man field at this week's Zozo Championship who are currently at Nos. 51-60 in the FedEx Cup fall standings: No. 53 Séamus Power. No. 54 Patrick Rodgers, No. 55 Maverick McNealy, No. 58 Nick Taylor and No. 60 Kevin Yu. They need to play well.

There may be a lot to play for for a small number of overly-entitled millionaires, but you'll find it hard to discern a reason for a fan to much care, though I'll try to thread a needle.  There's two lines in the sand, this being the truly existential issue:

There's also a fight to get into the top 125, though you might be scratching your head over how that can be on the table when it's a m78-player field.  But I guess you didn't get the memo that the fix is in:

In regard to the top 125, Michael Kim (No. 112) and Joe Highsmith (No. 125) climbed on the right side of the bubble after last week's Shriners Children's Open in Las Vegas, while Kevin Tway (No. 126) and Joel Dahmen (No. 129) fell out.

Not Joel Dahmen?  OMG, how will the sport survive?  But why are you telling us about Joel this week, he can't possibly be in the field can he?

Dahmen, who received a sponsor exemption to compete in the Zozo Championship, withdrew from the Shriners Children's Open before the second round after he was assessed a four-stroke penalty for having an extra club in his bag.

Talk about sticking to the approved narrative.... Dahmen throws a hissy fit after that penalty (which, we might remind, was result of Guinness-level stupidity), he withdrew from the second round, leaving his playing competitors and the folks from Shriners with egg on their face.  So naturally, he's a perfect candidate for a sponsor's exemption into this money grab....

Not only do we not hate all these people enough, it may be impossible to do so.... Dahmen is T53 after the first round, so stay tuned to see whether that positions him sufficiently well to actually show up for his second round tee time.... Yeah, just kidding, this is obviously one of those no-cut, guaranteed cash and points events, so we know he'll be there.

Ketanji's Revenge - A/K/A the suicide of competence, but we'll test your tolerance for euphemisms and evasions, beginning here:

As transgender golfer Hailey Davidson competes in this week’s LPGA Qualifying event, there’s

growing concern among players on the LPGA and Epson Tour about the organization’s Gender Policy. The Independent Women’s Forum recently shared a letter with Outkick signed by more than 275 female golfers that was sent to the LPGA, USGA and IGF (International Golf Federation) last August calling for the organizations to repeal all policies and rules that allow biological males to compete in women’s events.

The letter, which was obtained by Golfweek, states that “it is essential for the integrity and fairness of women’s golf to have a clear and consistent participation policy in place based on a player’s immutable sex.”

 Does Ketanji know the definition of immutable?

Unless, of course, someone identifies differently....because, reasons.

But do words mean anything in today's environemnt?

Golfweek confirmed that in the memo, LPGA Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan stated that the tour planned to conclude a lengthy review of its current policy by year’s end and would implement any updates to the policy before the 2025 season.

The commissioner stated that the tour’s top priority must be to have a policy that provides for fair competition and considers “first and foremost” competitive advantage.

If I weren't such a lazy blogger, I'd search out some of the recent videos in which women volleyball players were injured from a spike from a player identifying as a demure college coed....

You would think this would be an easy one if you were truly focused on competitive advantage, because men against women in sports range from non-competitive to physically dangerous.

But what is amusing is that Ketanji might actually have to decide what a woman is:

Recently retired LPGA player Amy Olson believes the tour should return to requiring that athletes be female at birth.

“I would say I’m cautiously optimistic that the LPGA will do the right thing,” Olson told Golfweek. “That they will update their policy to reflect a fair competitive environment for women and also continued opportunity for women.

“I am optimistic. The LPGA has fought so hard for women golfers for over 70 years – our mission has always been consistent.”

While the threat of another lawsuit undoubtedly plays a large role in decision-making, Olson has noted that the threat works both ways. Should a transgender woman earn an LPGA card and replace a biological female, the threat of a lawsuit against the tour could be just as strong.

“I so strongly believe that if the LPGA does the right thing,” said Olson, “they will have an immense amount of support.”

It isn't hard to see competing lawsuits as Olson suggests, though you'd like to think that this wouldn't be decided by judges.  What remains blindingly obvious to your humble blogger, though seemingly less clear to others, is that allowing biological males into women's sports will destroy women's athletics.  I'm old enough to remember when we were supposed to support women in sports, but this quite clearly takes us off the hook for that.

Contain Your Excitement - Apparently my mind is supposed to be blown by this:

After its inaugural season was postponed for a full year, TGL, the tech-infused team golf league created by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy and their TMRW Sports business venture, released its

2025 schedule, which begins Tuesday, Jan. 7 and culminates in a best-of-three playoff series March 24-25.

Consisting of six teams with four players each, TGL will debut on ESPN at 9 p.m. ET Jan. 7 with the New York Golf Club, led by reigning PGA and British Open champion Xander Schauffele, facing the Bay Golf Club featuring major champions Shane Lowry and Wyndham Clark and 2024 Masters runner-up Ludvig Aberg. Week 2 in the eight-week regular season features Tiger Woods’ Jupiter Links Golf Club meeting Los Angeles Golf Club, led by Collin Morikawa, at 7 p.m. Jan. 14.

If all goes well, Woods will make his debut in the new endeavor that week. Woods underwent surgery on his back in September and has not said how long the recovery process might be or when he expects to play again.

The overall TGL schedule is highlighted by a tripleheader on ESPN and ESPN2 on Monday, Feb. 17, Presidents Day. The first of those matches begins at 1 p.m. ET.

I love that "tech-infused" bit.  Would Twitter shadow-ban a user that calls it a simulator league?  

Lest you were surprised to not have the big guy in week one:

Wasn’t the whole point of the new league to increase Tiger Woods’ television presence in his post-full-time career? Did the league not grasp the increasingly fleeting attention span of the sports-watching world? Did it not know that Tiger Woods was a crucial piece of the league’s long-term audience success, or did it just not care?

As it turns out, the answer is much more sensible than it seems.

While the league still has every hope of delivering a high-entertainment, big-audience week 1 telecast, the TGL placed Woods’ first competitive appearance in week 2 for a very tactical reason: The NFL.

Not exactly a show of strength.  But their introduction to America will be that first week, and the match-up seems sub-optimal:

Yes, when the action begins in the brand-new TGL from the brand-new SoFi Center in West Palm Beach in January, it will feature a matchup between neither of the league’s biggest stars: New York Golf Club (belonging to Xander Schauffele, Cam Young, Matt Fitzpatrick and Rickie Fowler) and The Bay Golf Club (Ludvig Aberg, Wyndham Clark, Min Woo Lee and Shane Lowry).

This enterprise will succeed or fail based upon the ability of these players to be entertaining during live coverage, which is a big ask of Wyndham Clark or Cam Young.

But, in the tank as the may be, credit Golf Digest for asking the important question:

What's the more egregious ticket price? $750 for the Ryder Cup or $160 for TGL?

I don't have an easy answer here, but perhaps we could kick this to Ketanji?

Did Someone Mention Ryder Cup Ticket Prices -  The gift that keeps on giving, but Geoff has some good fun with it, leading with the origin story:

A lot has changed since the Ryder Cup was awarded to Bethpage Black.

A 2013 rollout event included then-CEO Pete Bevacqua, PGA of America president Ted Bishop, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, and state senator Dean Skelos.

All involved lauded the awarding of the 2019 PGA and 2024 Ryder Cup by regularly invoking the excitement surrounding the “People’s Course.”

Since that announcement press conference 11 years ago, Cuomo resigned after sexual harassment allegations piled up, while Skelos was twice convicted on federal corruption charges. The senator only did three months in prison before finishing his time under house arrest during COVID’s early release days for white-collar criminals.

“This truly is the people's course,” Skelos said at the time. “And the Governor, as he says, works for the people, and he's managed now with the support of Larry [Schwartz] to bring the PGA here and The Ryder Cup, and for that, we say, thank you very much, Governor.”

Including this delightfully out-of-focus police lineup:

 Surprisingly, there's a party whose abuse at the hands of the PGA of America exceeds that of the fans:

There may be no greater grift in golf than to charge people for the privilege of working. Yet few things have confounded me more over the years than listening to volunteers—good people who just love the game and want to be part of making a tournament go—say they are willing to pay to have their job. And one that often requires horrible hours and little gratitude from the golf world.

No where is the mistreatment of volunteers more perverse than the requirement to pay for new uniforms when a tournament changes sponsors, a logo or its name (some quality events like the Memorial do not stoop this low, thankfully). Worst of all are the events with a clothing company partnership charging retail prices to turn workers into billboards.

The Ryder Cup at Bethpage should test the boundaries in new and disturbing ways as James Colgan reported in a follow-up to his story lamenting the price gouging at a state park. According to Colgan, the Bethpage Ryder Cup volunteer package costs just under $400 without guaranteeing a plumb job inside the ropes.

From James Colgan who has been all over this side of the story:

The Ryder Cup’s volunteer package, though, prices the Cup at $80 more than next April’s PGA Championship at Quail Hollow, and $100 more than the volunteer fees at the next priciest golf event, the U.S. Open. According to a letter sent to volunteers and obtained by GOLF.com, the $350 package will not provide volunteers with any additional goods or services: just a volunteer uniform, a drawstring bag, a commemorative pin, food (during shifts only) and a tournament credential. After taxes and a credit card processing fee, the total for the volunteer package rings in at $392, more than two times the price of the volunteer fee at that ’19 PGA Championship ($175).

“It’s basically the same package that volunteers received at the 2019 PGA,” one volunteer said.

“It’s absolutely tone-deaf,” said another.

As outrageous as this is, I have to acknowledge that apparently P.T. Barnum was correct:

 Well, having seen the ticket prices....

That'll be all for today.  Not sure I'll be able to blog on Monday, so you may have to wait until Tuesday for your wrappage.  What we'll be wrapping remains in doubt, but assuage your FOMO by checking back early and often.