Monday, February 3, 2025

Weekend Wrap -

Again with the mea culpas....  the week got busy and I got lazy.  Well, when I say I "got" lazy, I mean said laziness remained in full force and effect.

We'll deal with our future scheduling issues at a later time, shall we talk a little golf.....

Overinterpret Much? - A very impressive win indeed, so shall we cue the overreactions?  It starts with the headers:

Rory McIlroy wins when golf needed a Rory win

I have no issue stipulating to golf's neediness but, as with any clinical diagnosis, I'd strongly suggest a second opinion.... Though perhaps I should have gone with the "Irony Alert" bit, since the premise is that a win by Rory was the antidote to the negative changes to professional golf promoted by, checking notes, Rory.

So, do tell:

Toying with his opponents had come to an end. That seems an exaggeration of Rory McIlroy’s standing and prowess in professional golf, given the past few years have been noted not for what
he has done so much as what almost was. It also seems too dismissive of this field, who for 67 holes at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am kept pace with the 35-year-old Ulsterman. But then McIlroy took a line you’re not supposed to take on Sunday at the par-5 14th tee at Pebble Beach Golf Links, an aim that requires accuracy and power and above all else conviction. 

Professional golf is a kinetic chain; McIlroy’s 339-yard drive over a towering tree and rough and sand and more rough into the middle of the fairway some 221 yards from the hole only mattered if he took advantage of it which the next shot, and the next. For those scoring at home, he did just that. McIlroy found the green with his second shot, then dropped a 27-footer for eagle, turning the final four holes at this golf mecca into a victory march.

It was the same exact line he took off the tee on Friday and Saturday, when he notoriously failed to take advantage of a mid-iron into the green.  Of course, if you're looking for supporting evidence of the necessity of the USGA/R&A ball "rollback" plans, look no further....

Shack also overinterprets:

In winning the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am by three strokes over Shane Lowry, McIlroy added another world-class title to his 27-win PGA Tour portfolio. For a player consumed with winning more majors, the overpowering performance delivered a dramatic validation for his off-season of tedious simulator work mixed with some bucket list traveling. As with so many of the four-time major champion’s recent performances on courses set up to trip a younger version of McIlroy, Sunday’s 66 culminated in a Pebble Beach metamorphosis.

During two prior pro-am appearances on the Monterey Peninsula, McIlroy missed a cut in 2018 playing alongside his dad before not turning up again until last year’s T66. In two major starts at Pebble Beach, McIlroy missed the 2010 U.S. Open cut before improving to a T9 in 2019 when winner Gary Woodland was eight strokes better.

The latter U.S. Open performance highlights how much McIlroy's game has matured when it comes to classic designs set up in the firm, fast conditions that he resisted early in his Hall of Fame career. But much has changed in his mindset and appreciation of the game. So much so that the 35-year-old’s biggest career hurdle going forward may be overcoming his indifference to mediocre courses and soft setups.

Geez, sure you wanna go THERE, Geoff?  You seem to be forgetting that he always throws us a tease in the run-up to Augusta....

But get these comments from Rory, which might have been appropriate back in the long ago days of resisting LIV:

“Good venues are a big part of the storyline,” he said after Saturday’s round. “When we go to major championships, especially a U.S. Open and an Open Championship, I always feel like the golf course is a big part of the storyline heading into Thursday. Sometimes on the PGA Tour, that isn't the case because whether you play a run-of-the-mill TPC or whatever it is, it just isn't that interesting.”

But McIlroy also knows what a tall task it is to find venues capable of bringing out the best from players in our era of wild-caught-salmon-infused distances.

Well, that's good to know, but some of us have been noting that venues matter for some time now, but Rory was of course focused on his core obligations of decreasing playing opportunities for the Tour's rank-and-file.

See, he's still on the job:

 Can't let the riff-raff even dream of pegging it with the big boys, don't want them getting uppity.  

Back to that original linked piece:

McIlroy conquered both Mother Nature's fury and a field of elite challengers, playing his best on the back nine to transform what had been a tightly packed leaderboard into a commanding procession on the Monterey Peninsula. His triumph came at an opportune moment for the PGA Tour, which craved a signature victory in a signature event from one of its standard-bearers more than McIlroy needed to add to his already illustrious résumé.

The temptation is to frame this week purely through the lens of the PGA Tour's struggles. The reality isn’t great: Viewership has continued to free fall in 2025, pace of play has devolved into a farce—so egregious that broadcast partners are publicly rebuking their own product—and the shadow of golf's civil war continues to loom, with radio silence on any reconciliation. Yet for all the (warranted) concerns about the tour's present and future, the past three days have reinforced the remarkably simple formula for success: Good fields at good venues create compelling golf and transcend any administrative chaos.

Hey. this concept of good fields sounds promising.... How about we try it?  Nah, once you let the plebes into an event, they start to think they belong.

Logically, I always cite the many years of the WGCs as a cautionary tale, but the current generation is just so much better.  They spend a couple of years flaunting their alpha-greed, then limit their fields to only those guys (of course I'm exaggerating) we've come to hate..... Take a bow, Patrick!

But we can only laugh at this irony.... Rory is telling us that venues matter, so why can't we actually see the best bits of said venue?  It's complicated:

Of course, it wouldn’t be professional golf without an unnecessary self-own: A coverage blackout during the Sunday’s final-round transition from Golf Channel to CBS—exacerbated by an NCAA basketball game that ran past its TV window—robbed viewers of watching the leaders navigate parts of Pebble's iconic seaside stretch. Having McIlroy, the game’s most magnetic presence this side of Tiger, covers a lot of holes. One good week doesn’t make those problems disappear. But it does, if only for a few days, give hope that all the drama can fade into the background rather than continue to command center stage.

Yeah, do they realize the clown show they're putting on?  We're headed to Mars soon, but we can't properly time the TV window for a college hoops game.... Or is it intentional?

The Tour Confidential gang wants in on the over-interpreting:

It was a busy week at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, a star-studded Signature Event where we had wild weather on an iconic golf course, the return of Scottie Scheffler, a handful of interesting pre-round press conferences and, of course, Rory McIlroy’s 27th career PGA Tour victory. What’s your main Pebble Beach takeaway?

Josh Sens: That a short injury layoff has done nothing to change Scottie Scheffler and that 2025
will be much like 2024. No, he didn’t win this week. But if his putter behaves even halfway decently, we will need two hands to count his victories this season. Also, a reminder that venues matter. Those Pebble views–and shot demands– never get old.

James Colgan: Other than Rory McIlroy making our jobs easy prior to Masters week? In all seriousness, so impressed with the way he played this week. He talked on Tuesday about changing his wedge approach to fire at pins, rather than missing to “safe places.” That worked. I think he should keep doing that.

Dylan Dethier: The PGA Tour season is officially underway! Good golf. Familiar names on the leaderboard. Epic Pebble Beach visuals. And a proper champion with a heck of a weekend. Golf fans needed this.

They didn't step too deep into it, and I agree with the writers on the appeal of the venue, though Geoff posted a cri de coeur about how much better it used to be:

While the Saturday pro-am antics and celebrity juice may be gone, a new tradition has become part of tournaments at Pebble Beach Golf Links. My apologies in advance, but I’m going to immodestly take credit for helping start an annual debate about the old Pebble Beach look. (I hereby submit Exhibit A, 1999’s The Golden Age of Golf Design.)

In the twenty-five years since that book of vintage photos was released, I’ve continued to push the case for old Pebble’s beauty and brilliance on my blog, in this newsletter, in magazine stories, and even on the Golf Channel, where we considered the complexities involved in restoring more of the old look. This feature aired prior to the 2019 U.S. Open:

As the photos and course evolution have become better understood, Pebble Beach has begun to reclaim green space on several holes (6, 8, 13, 14, 17, most notably). Much of the work still fails to reclaim valuable hole locations and other subtleties found on a classic course. (At least the early week footage in 2025 suggests a revamped sixth green looks infinitely better, at least when seen from a sensational crane view shot.)

I did my usual bristling when CBS presented the design history of the place, which somehow goes from Neville/Grant to Jack Nicklaus!  without explanation.  yes, jack built a new fifth hole when that prime real estate was acquired, but there's a forgotten man:

Some confusion over Pebble Beach’s architects involves a basic misunderstanding of how the design reached its 1929 zenith. Over the years, and after I presented all of the evidence of Pebble Beach’s evolution in Golden Age, various rankings and other listings have continued to misunderstand the role of H. Chandler Egan. If he’s mentioned at all.

Why overlook the man? He was reportedly a nice fellow and a great American story: Ivy Leaguer, Olympic medalist, and epic golfer who designed sensational courses. Perhaps his name is still left out because it doesn’t fit on a listing?

In official resort materials, the Pebble Beach Company has long skirted mentions of Egan until recent years, where he’s at least viewed as a contributor. But it underestimates his impact. And I get that it’s easy to become enamored with the idea of two amateurs having somehow created a masterpiece only to never to do it again. Some type of one-hit wonder euphoria.

I'm unclear as to what that 1919 version was, but the key bit in Pebble's evolution was Chandler Egan's work in preparation for the 1929 U.S. Amateur.   Geoff even brings in some AI to buttress his claims:


And, yes, the Good Doci

tor was hanging around at that time as well..... I'll spare you the story of Bobby Jones' shocking first round loss in that Amateur, and how it freed up time for him to play Cypress Point and in the opening day festivities at Pasatiempo.  We don't actually know whether Jones and Mackenzie had previously met at St. Andrews, but there's little doubt that seeing those two projects influenced Jones.  As you have heard, they subsequently collaborated on a project in Georgia.

You should read Geoff's post, but I'll just use this photo of the 7th green to show how much better the place could look:


That's how it would have looked before Samuel F.B. Morse got there....

Back to the TC and this inevitable query:

Sunday was the third time McIlroy has won in his season debut on the PGA Tour (the others in 2021 and 2022 at the CJ Cup), but he’s still looking to end a lengthy major drought, which has now reached a decade. Which 2025 major venue sets up best for Rory?

Colgan: Hard to see him losing at Quail Hollow if he plays like he did in Pebble. That course is tailor-made for his game, and features none of the existential concern attached to two of the year’s four venues, Augusta National and Royal Portrush.

Dethier: I like Colgan giving him this year’s PGA Championship but let’s REALLY get wild and get drunk with recency bias: With Scheffler and Schauffele coming off injuries, this is basically his year to win ‘em all, right? (Consider this the reverse jinx.) Augusta still sets up well. He has epic history at Portrush. And Quail Hollow was built with his game specifically in mind. I think it’s really just a question of whether he can win at Oakmont and go four for four.

Sens: Exactly. And if the Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes is still a thing, he’ll win that, too. Seriously, though, I said it a few months ago and I’ll repeat it. This is the year when recent history inverts and McIlroy wins the Masters. His vanquishing of the hobgoblins will be the story of the year.

Josh, care to make it interesting?  Talk about a movie we've seen before....  But the Bobby Jones reference is on point, as Rory's problem resides in the 5 1.2' between his ears.  I mean, let me see if I have Dylan right, the man whose major drought is measured in decades is going to win them all?

Udder Stuff - I refuse to get bogged down, so some quick hits and then I'll focus on my turns.  First, the TC panel's take on that great week of TGL action:

Last week’s fourth installment of TGL might have been the best edition to date, as McIlroy’s squad clipped Tiger Woods’ team in an overtime tiebreaker. While the extra starpower helped, ratings came in at 864,000 average viewers (which ranks third among the four matches). Did that match and those ratings give you reason for optimism, or pessimism?

Sens: I’ve been skeptical about TGL’s staying power from the start, and those ratings did little to dispel my doubts. Ironically, I suspect that the league’s biggest impact may be not in the
simulated game but in the green-grass world, where it stands to further the urgency of the conversation around pace of play. This is anecdotal, but the most popular feature of TGL appears to be the shot clock. It really is nice to see the guys have to step up and hit. Let’s hope that spills into the non-virtual game..

Colgan: Optimism! The TGL has delivered three decent ratings stories in four weeks, which is three more decent ratings stories than LIV has delivered in three years! There are obviously still major questions about the league’s long-term standing considering the contributions it will need from players not named Tiger and Rory. But in the same sense, it’s funny to think about how much better the week-by-week would be with LIV’s stars filling out the remainder of the rosters.

Dethier: Optimism, but more because of the match itself (compelling action) than the ratings (good, if unspectacular). Everybody seemed to walk away saying, “wow, that was fun!” which is the only real bar we should be using as measurement. Good TGL week. Good PGA Tour week. Just in time for the end of football season.

Am I the only one that sees a huge red flag in those ratings?  This was supposed to be THE Week, and they even featured a competitive match, but where are the eyeballs?

I haven't bothered to look at this week's match-up, but don't we think we've seen the high water mark for viewership  We've drawn everyone that was merely curious or wanted to sniff Tiger's jock?  Now, what reason is there to stay?

This one has me chuckling:

Speaking of Tiger, in a PGA Tour Champions presser, Paul Azinger said he feels Woods might feel “obligated” to join the senior tour when Woods turns 50. “The Tour has given Tiger a lot of money the last few years with that Player Impact Program,” Azinger said. “I’m sure he’s going to give back, and it’s going to be to all the benefit of these guys out here that are over 50.” Do you agree with Azinger?

Sens: His health permitting, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Tiger make some appearances on the over-50 circuit. But “obligation” won’t be the driving force. He lives to compete and I suspect he doesn’t think he owes anyone anything. And while I can’t see the week-to-week schedule of the Champions Tour satisfying his competitive appetite, playing in a few senior majors along the way might do the trick.

Colgan: I’m going to assume I didn’t hear the full extent of Azinger’s opinion and give him the benefit of the doubt. But from these words alone, it’s one of the worst golf opinions I’ve heard in a long time. The Tour could pay Tiger PIP money every year from now until the end of time and it still wouldn’t make up for the debt the Tour owes Tiger. Tiger Woods isn’t obligated to give the PGA Tour a bag of golf tees, let alone a few weeks per year of his time. If he chooses to play on the Champs Tour, good on him, but it’ll be because he wants to win and compete, not because he ‘owes’ anyone at Tour HQ anything.

Dethier: James nailed this one. Let’s hope this was taken somehow out of tone or context because Tiger Woods does not owe the PGA Tour one single thing and yet he’s still serving on its board just ‘cause. It’s certainly not his responsibility to prop up the champions tour.

The first response, as always, is that Zinger says a lot of things, which is how he relegated himself to being the lead analyst for the round belly tour.   Interestingly, none of the writers seem to take this as the wishful thinking it is, that analyst chair being the TV equivalent of Siberia.

I don't quite agree that Tiger owes the Tour nothing, but I do agree that Tiger will evidence no such obligation because, in case you haven't been watching, Tiger does only that which he wants to do.  For instance, you might have assumed he'd take on the Ryder Cup captaincy, but he wants to pretend to be busy.....  If you want the man, you'll have to pay him.

Who cares, gents:

The fourth LIV Golf season kicks off this week in Saudi Arabia — complete with a new TV deal — as the breakaway league plays on as a potential merger with the PGA Tour continues to drag on. What’s your biggest LIV Golf storyline or question you want answered as we head into Year 4?

Sens: It’s hard for me to separate any thoughts about LIV from thoughts about the majors, the only events where we get to see all of the best in one place. Will the LIV guys continue to show well in them? Or will the pessimistic predictions about the LIV guys losing their edge start to come true? Also, as more time wears on, and fewer LIV players have pathways into the biggest events, will disgruntlement spread? Any growing evidence of buyer’s remorse? It sure didn’t look like money bought Jon Rahm happiness last year. For him and other guys who might have expected a deal to have been worked out by now, how much disillusionment will they feel. And show.

Colgan: I’m interested in the TV broadcast, which seems to be driving tee times under the lights in Saudi Arabia and beyond. The tech is better than it gets credit for.

Dethier: I’m interested in whether people will be interested. Will LIV get momentum thanks to its Fox TV deal? We’ll get something closer to an apples-to-apples ratings comparison, which should inform the conversation around the pro game going forward.

We get it.  This year when we choose to not watch, it's an entirely different network to ignore.   

And today in BS:

At Pebble Beach, several PGA Tour executives met with reporters to discuss the pillars of their “Fan Forward” initiative. While our writers on-site already broke this down in detail here, we’ll ask for your succinct take: what nugget was most intriguing to you?

Sens: The tough talk around slow play, and the prospect of naming and shaming laggards by posting individual pace data. Will that tough talk turn into firm action? I hope so. Plenty of other sports have managed to pick up the pace. It’s long past time for professional golf to do the same.

Colgan: I was in that meeting (alongside my pal Dylan), and am intrigued by the changes hinted on the broadcast side. On one hand, I like the idea of focus group testing different broadcasts to see what fans really want. On the other hand, my social sciences degree says focus group testing might not be a cure-all for the issues the Tour can fix, to say nothing of the ones it can’t.

Dethier: The slow-play stuff is a hot topic, and for good reason — but I was intrigued by their acknowledgment that the Tour Championship may well get a major format shakeup as soon as this season. I’m sure we’ll never land on a perfect solution but it sounds like we’re moving in a more exciting direction…

It's always special when they pretend to care about the fans..... But all they do is talk, and aren't we a little worried about changing the Tour Championship format in the middle of the bloody season?  Can you say "Clown Show"?  I thought you could....

Today in schadenfreude:


A Chicago-based subcontractor is suing one of the firms involved in managing the construction of the Obama Presidential Center for $40 million, claiming racial discriminatory practices forced the firm to do extra work that left it at risk of bankruptcy, according to a lawsuit.

Robert McGee, the owner of II in One, which provided concrete and rebar services for the center starting in 2021, filed the lawsuit in federal court last month against New York-based Thornton Tomasetti, which oversees structural engineering and design services for the $830 million project.

McGee claims that Thornton Tomasetti changed standards and imposed new rules around rebar spacing and tolerance requirements that differed from the American Concrete Institute standards, which resulted in “excessively rigorous and unnecessary inspection” and massive overruns.

The confluence of racial allegations and construction standards is hard to fathom, but even a rank amateur will notice that the concrete isn't supposed to look like this:

A couple of points to make here.  First, the golf connection, this is on a site that previously held a 36-hole facility beloved by local residents.  The 36 holes was to be converted into an 18-hole championship course, so that Obama could feed his ego by luring the Tour there.  But note the lack of concern for the locals, giving up one of their two tracks for the glory of the Light Worker.

The second thought is noted in that tweet.  Obama would be better served in his denials that he's a communist were his architectural choices less, what's the world, Stalinist?  If you wanted to build a more off-putting structure, what would you do differently?

Lastly, did he won slaves too?  I thought we only vandalized statues of American founders:

The Old Tom Morris statue at St. Andrews was vandalized for the second time in 4 months

He must be one of those settler-colonists we hear so much about..... The Auld Grey Toon seems to have morphed into a bad neighborhood.  Good thing the bride and I will stay in Pittenweem this summer.

Have a great week.  not sure of the schedule, but I'll pop in as time and news allows.

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