The Time They Are 'a Changin'

This started life as the first item in a typically wide-ranging post.  I went quite long, so let's give it its own space.

Strange doings in Fortress Ponte Vedra Beach these days, as they seem to have lost any grasp of this PR thing.  First they allow Tiger and Phil to steal all the oxygen during the first week of the "playoffs", now they've stepped on their own tail with an announcement of changes to the FedEx Cup events.

Here's Geoff on the subject:

Let's establish a few things for those who might have forgotten: the FedExCup has been a resounding success despite lackluster ratings and constant tweaking over the years. 

The white gloves are oh so precious.

Which, of course, is why something so good, so brilliantly conceived, and so universally adored by the masses will be blown up in 2019. Despite years of great suggestions from all corners of the golf watching world, it should be noted the PGA Tour chose to cook up an internal idea that has some merit but also potential holes.

Resounding success?  As is often the case with the Tour, one needs to be very specific about metrics.  If you measure success based upon decimal places, the point is inarguable.  

But as Shack is noting, they're blowing it up tells us all we need to know about it as an artistic success...  It's the Medinah No. 3 of golf events.... Have you ever noticed that that particular golf course is always held out as one of the greats, yet every time an event is held there they've blown the place up?

Brian Wacker concedes my point:

The PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup Playoffs has always lacked a certain element of clarity and simplicity. By definition, playoffs are a final contest, series of contests or period of play to determine the winner between contestants or teams. Merriam-Webster makes no mention of NBC/Golf Channel’s Steve Sands’ whiteboard. 

“A points system confuses people,” said veteran Geoff Ogilvy, also a member of the tour’s Player Advisory Council. “Once the first round starts [at the Tour Championship] everyone understands everyone’s position.”

The key to successfully implementing change is to properly identify the problem.  How do we think they've done?

The problem was splitting attention on two trophies. A year ago, Xander Schauffele won the Tour Championship by one shot over Justin Thomas, who won the FedEx Cup. Thomas said later it was a “weird” moment to lose the tournament and win the $10 million prize.

I can't in good conscience award more than a gentleman's C, as this is merely a symptom.  The problem is that their objectives are to reward both a worthy season-long candidate, yet have the outcome in doubt until late Sunday at East Lake.  Those two objectives are damn near irreconcilable, except when one player dominates straight through to the Tour Championship.  otherwise, Billy Horschel ensues.

So, what have the geniuses come up with for us?  First, it's always about the process with these folks, so of course there was a Committee Task Force Focus Group:

According to multiple sources, the organization gathered statisticians and focus groups to help flesh out the format and gauge how well the changes would be received. Roughly 80 percent of the focus groups grasped the concept and said it was easier to understand, according to one source.

Hmmmm.... wasn't it Dylan who said that you don't need a statistician to tell you which way the wind is blowing?

Well, the first part makes sense, though Doug Ferguson, whose item we're plagiarizing linking, buries the lede:

The PGA Tour is putting the final touches on a revamped FedEx Cup structure that would award a cash bonus to the leading player from the regular season, followed by a new scoring format for the Tour Championship to decide the FedEx Cup champion, The Associated Press has learned.

OK, so far so good.  While their issue specification lacked insight, this does address their irreconcilable objectives, separating the season-long competition from what comes after.  Elsewhere they speak of warding cash to the top three places, so details are still moving...  That said, this entombed bit is kind of amusing:

One item unsolved is when the regular season would end.

Since the FedEx Cup began in 2007, the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, North Carolina, has been the final regular season tournament for players to finish among the top 125 to retain full PGA Tour status and qualify for the postseason. 

What emerged from a Player Advisory Council meeting last week was the possibility of ending the regular season the previous week at the FedEx Invitational, a World Golf Championship in Memphis, Tennessee. The top players in the FedEx Cup typically take a week off before the playoffs instead of playing the Wyndham Championship.

It takes a focus group to see the brilliance of  ending the season with the FedEx Invitational leading directly into the FedExCup Playoffs.....  Yeah, no confusion there.  Also, the Tour has issued its 2018-19 schedule and the Wyndham is on it, so who gets to deliver that message?  I'm sure the Wyndham folks are excited to get all this free publicity.... And to think I've occasionally accused the Tour of treating its sponsors poorly once the check has cleared....

OK, so now that we've awarded a boatload of cash to reward season-long excellence, we can do something really exciting with these "playoff" events, right?  Egads, are you ready for the camel our committee has designed?

Five people aware of the discussions say FedEx Cup points will not be involved in the

final playoff event at East Lake. Instead, the No. 1 player would start the Tour Championship at 10-under par, with scores to par staggered depending on the 30 players’ position in the standings. 

The winner will be the FedEx Cup champion, and the bonus is expected to be more than the current $10 million prize. 

That means whoever gets the 30th spot at East Lake would have four rounds to make up as many as 10 shots. The change eliminates the awkward moment — and divided attention — of one player winning the Tour Championship and another winning the FedEx Cup, which happened last year for the second time. 

The people spoke on condition of anonymity because the tour has not publicly announced what they are planning to do, and because there are still loose ends.

WTF!  Why not just make them carry extra weight?   I simply can't imagine how this wasn't immediately shot down, it being self-evidently moronic.  Here's another telling little detail:

Winning the Tour Championship will still count toward a player’s victory total as well.

It's not silly enough that one gets a win for beating only 29 other players, now that lucky stiff gets a win for beating only 29 players...with a head start.  

No word on how they'll get from Memphis/Greensboro to East Lake, though I think I smell some kind of reset coming...  And no word on the logarithm to determine that staggered start, I guess they want to maintain the drama for as long as possible....

Here's Shack's conclusion, in which he actually explains what the Tour should do, not that anyone is paying attention:

No doubt, Cialis prescriptions went unused for days when the statisticians and tour executives were told the new format would have produced a one-stroke Justin Thomas win over Jordan Spieth in 2018. (Spieth held the FedExCup lead over Thomas heading to East Lake, so this presumes he started -10 to Thomas's -8). 

That duel surely would have made for some great theater, but the year before, Dustin Johnson would have played just a so-so final tournament and have beaten Rory McIlroy by three strokes. That McIlroy win in a playoff was confusing but also possibly the most exciting in the Tour Championship's FedExCup era despite the confusion over scenarios.

Ultimately Sundays at East Lake should get better and maybe even make more sense in this scenario. But before you say Billy Horschel, the PGA Tour's Playoffs(C) have always lacked the dramatic potential for wild upsets, surprise eliminations and an underdog component.

The final four days at East Lake will still be just like before: three days of ho-hum golf with fingers crossed the numbers add up to make Sunday work. Which begs the question: what so has the players, execs and focus-groups still afraid to cut after 36 holes, reset the points, cut again for an exciting Saturday, then feature a Sunday shootout with just a few playing-for-the-big-check? 

I guess we still will never find out.

Yeah, a high-stakes shootout is the only thing that makes sense, but they've let Tiger and Phil corner that market.  At least we've got Steve Sands updating his CV, but otherwise it seems quite wide of the mark.

Weekend Wrap

Hope y'all had a good weekend.....

The Professor Schools The Tour - For some reason he chose Sir Nick and the Nancy Boy over Amanda Balionis and her chalkboard on Saturday, but he called himself a Man on a Mission.  I think we can agree that Mission, Accomplished:

PARAMUS, N.J. – With players fighting to prolong their season and Tiger Woods coming off a near-win at the PGA Championship, there were more storylines at the start of this year’s Northern Trust than bunkers at Ridgewood Country Club. 

But in the end, Bryson DeChambeau and Tony Finau penned the final chapter to a few.

DeChambeau’s sizzling 63 on Saturday and birdie-birdie start on Sunday sucked most of the drama out of the final round. Sure, Aaron Wise pulled within two shots on the back nine, but after he made back-to-back bogeys on 16 and 17, and DeChambeau birded 12 and 13, his second PGA Tour win of the season felt inevitable once again. 

The 24-year-old DeChambeau likely removed any remaining doubts in the mind of Jim Furyk about giving him a captain’s pick onto the U.S. Ryder Cup team.

I can't imagine what more Captain Furyk would need to see at this juncture.  I'm usually the one cautioning against the siren song of "recent form", but this kid was also ninth in the season-long points compilation.  Oh, and Tiger wants him on the team....

Finau now becomes the more interesting case.... But, hold that thought.

As for that Saturday appearance in the CBS booth, I shan't be missing Sir Nick between now and Torrey:

Dylan Dethier tells us that there's way more to the lad than the Mad Professor shtick:

PARAMUS, N.J. — As the sun set on Ridgewood Country Club following Saturday 

Last man standing....

night’s third round, one player remained on the driving range. There was no way to know that Bryson DeChambeau had just polished off a near-flawless eight-under 63 to blitz to the top of the Northern Trust leaderboard; he attacked the range session as he always does, with a unique desperation at odds with his level of play. 

“I’ve always had to work twice as hard as everybody, growing up,” DeChambeau said. This is among his recurring themes; he is obsessed with his own lack of talent. It’s one of the few things he is probably wrong about — he’s undeniably talented — but it’s a delusion that keeps him obsessed with improvement. “I was always a guy that would study for three hours and barely get an A on the test and you would have another guy next to me who would study for maybe 30 minutes and ace it,” he said.

The weekly Tour Confidential gabfest agrees:

2. Bryson DeChambeau built a four-shot lead after 54 holes at The Northern Trust and never left the outcome in doubt on Sunday, shooting 69 and beating runner-up Tony Finau by four. DeChambeau was the first man out in Ryder Cup auto qualifying after the eight spots were solidified after the PGA Championship. Has this victory, his second of the season, guaranteed his spot when captain Jim Furyk announces the first three picks on Sept. 4?

Shipnuck: It’s done and dusted. With Tiger and Phil as locks, the only intrigue is now around the final pick, though Finau’s strong second at Ridgewood may have taken away all of that suspense, too.

Sens: What Alan said. DeChambeau was already putting up an impressive season. Add this further evidence of “recent form” and he’s a shoo-in. 

Berhow: He’s in! Lots of practice rounds with Tiger, too. Wouldn’t be surprised to see them team up.

It was a good week at the right time, but I'm still not there in seeing Tony Finau as a lock.  His game is a mismatch for the golf course, as he's currently 188th in driving accuracy and 88th in Strokes Gained: Putting.  The logic for taking him would be to play him only in fourballs, but hopefully our captain already plans to do that with Tiger and Phil.  

Back to the TC gang with an odd question, that generated some interesting reactions:

3. With captain’s picks looming, DeChambeau and Finau were among those to beef up their resumes. But, with one event remaining to prove themselves (and with the final pick coming a tournament after that), which Ryder Cup captain’s pick hopeful took the biggest step backward at Ridgewood?

Shipnuck: DeChambeau and Justin Thomas will be rookies. If Furyk wants to add another veteran instead of a third rookie in Finau the only options that make sense are Zach Johnson and Kevin Kisner. Given the disparity in their resumes, Kiz needs to clearly outplay Zach but the opposite happened at Ridgewood. So, I’ll say Kisner here.

I just think that the last pick demands a better putter, a Kisner or Brian Harman perhaps.  But, to be fair, those guys haven't played well lately...  But here's where it gets interesting:

Bamberger: I just don’t see Phil as a lock. Now is an excellent time for him to become an assistant captain, and a captain-in-training. I don’t see Furyk having any trouble telling Phil that. He’s had a great run. He’ll be an interesting and original captain. It’s the cruelest and greatest aspect of golf, that Phil still needs to play his way on to the team, at this late date.

Ummmm, Mike, I have a follow-up question.  I agree with him that Phil shouldn't be a lock, but I tend to think of Furyk as more of a hostage these days, with little choice in the matter.  What does Mike see that makes him believe that Furyk has XXL cujones?

Eamon Lynch seems to agree with your humble blogger on all points:

The absence of tangible results is why so much emphasis is placed on Mickelson’s intangibles, his leadership qualities and popularity with younger team members. 

“Phil’s been that basically for the last four or five Ryder Cups. He’s been a playing

captain. He’s been a leader for the team,” said Davis Love III, who was nominally captain for two of those Cups. 

That’s true, but it’s also the kind of immeasurable metric that implies Mickelson has a place on Team USA until he decides to step aside. And who will tell an aging monarch when it is time to abdicate for the good of the kingdom? It’s unlikely to be Furyk, who shared all nine of his Ryder Cup team rooms with Mickelson. 

This is Phil’s team, and the captain knows it. 

It’s been that way since his 2014 coup against Tom Watson at Gleneagles, an unseemly knifing that ultimately led a PGA of America task force to hand more power to players, including in the choosing of captains.

I've been calling it a hostile takeover, but coup works as well, maybe better.  Eamon isn't finished, though:

There are sentimental reasons for picking Mickelson: he’s made every Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup squad since 1994, and he’s just two wins shy of passing Billy Casper as the top U.S. Ryder Cup points scorer ever. Mickelson’s overall record is 18-20-7. Not atrocious, by any means, but shy of what a vaunted team leader might be expected to deliver. (His last three Cups brightened a grim ledger after seven consecutive losing performances.) 

Captain’s picks ought to sacrifice misty-eyed sentiment for present form and future potential. Right now, Furyk’s team features a single rookie: Justin Thomas. Adding fresh blood would be a commendable investment in the future of Team USA, and all of the most-worthy recruits — DeChambeau, Schauffele, Kisner and Finau — are playing better than the 48-year-old veteran of 12 teams. 

Mickelson’s leadership and popularity are reasons why he should be in Paris. Current form is why his sticks should stay in California. Tiger earning a pick frees up a vice-captain position. Phil should be a lock for that.

Not.  Gonna.  Happen.  But if it allows a little more light to be cast upon that infamous 2014 presser... 

Back to the drama that is the FedEx Cup, as Ryan Palmer was the biggest mover of the week.   Like you, I live and die with the updates about Bornson Burgoon moving up from 111th place to 73rd, what a thing.  But I want to know what kind of dirt they have on the Texan that would make him agree to this:

I wonder if those involved did this as an homage, or are they merely too young to remember:

On to Boston.

The Reviews Are In - That TC panel leads with Tiger v. Phil, but do we think the principals will head the warning flares?   Yeah, what am I thinking?

1. Phil Mickelson joined Twitter on Wednesday, and sure enough the $9 million match play event versus Tiger Woods was announced later that day for Thanksgiving weekend in Las Vegas. (GOLF.com first reported that discussions for the match were in the works.) Turner Sports will produce the match and offer it through pay-per-view and a premium streaming service. No information has been released about pricing. Should golf fans be miffed they have to pay to watch Tiger vs. Phil? Are you? And how much will golf/sports fans be willing to cough up to watch?

Josh Sens: The pay-per-view decision strikes me as tone-deaf. There was always a degree of cynicism behind the marketing of Phil and Tiger’s evolving friendship and rivalry. This just makes that cynicism more explicit. I was never especially interested in watching these guys play for other people’s money. (They already do enough of that.) Less so now. I’ll watch because I should, but not because I’m all that excited by it. No doubt some people will buy in, though.

Alan Shipnuck: This ain’t the freakin’ Ryder Cup — I’m not sure there’s that much demand. For $9.99 some fans will tune in because it could be fun. For $19.99 only the lunatic fringe will buy in. Any more than that and it’s full-blown insanity. I guess in this ever-changing media landscape it’s worth a try but it’s hard for me to imagine PPV will be anything like blockbuster.

I remain surprised by the PPV decision, which seems an unnecessary risk.  Isn't the trade-off between PPV and commercials?  How are they going to fill the airtime while these guys walk to their balls?  

Josh Berhow: Golf fans have the right to be a little peeved. The vast majority of the golf 

world was giddy about this event when Shipnuck broke it last month. And then you start to see all the orchestrating behind the scenes like the Masters practice round and Phil’s timely Twitter account. You can tell this is a show. Not a golf match. And those fans who were pumped to watch are probably now a little bummed they didn’t see the pay-per-view angle coming. It’s hard to blame the network — you gotta make money — but there’s a lot of pressure on Phil and Tiger (and producers) now to make sure this isn’t a flop. 

Dylan Dethier: This whole thing feels weird and forced now. It still has potential, of course — it’s Tiger and Phil! And we’re still months away. But there’s something particularly appealing about the secret money matches that big-time pros must play against one another at their home clubs, when they are most truly themselves. This feels like the opposite of that.

Josh could have added the Tour, whose pairing of the two at The Players was part of the awkward dance.

Michael Bamberger: I can’t tell you how bored I already am of every aspect of this match. Whatever mild interest I had has left the building.

Didn't Mike get the memo that this frees them up to be "real"?   That's a pretty embarrassing ohfer amongst guys whose contracts require them to be enthusiastic.... If the match is a dud, the backlash should be good fun.

Shack looks at the involvement of AT&T, though methinks he's stretching the implications.  First, his excerpt from a Market Watch column:

AT&T said it will distribute live pay-per-view coverage on a number of its platforms, including DirecTV, AT&T U-verse and sports streaming site B/R Live. The company

said the match will also be available on other on-demand platforms, and a rebroadcast will air on the TNT network. The pay-per-view price was not announced. 

In a statement, AT&T said the two will be able to make side challenges: “Woods and Mickelson will selectively make side-challenges against one another during the match. For instance, Woods or Mickelson could raise the stakes by challenging the other to a long-drive, closest-to-the-pin or similar competition during a hole as they play their match, with money being donated to the winning golfer’s charity of choice.”

OK, but it's left unclear as to to the extent of their investment in the match....  Here's Geoff's thoughts:

While long focused on sponsoring tournaments and providing bonus coverage on its more recent acquisition, DirecTV, this is the first major play by AT&T on the golf content side. With CEO Randall Stephenson on the PGA Tour Policy Board, could their role in the match and use of TNT as the broadcasting brand to deliver the coverage--despite consistently loathsome reviews of their PGA Championship effort--give folks the impression AT&T is getting in the golf business.

Or, is this all a way to justify their recent mergers by bringing together too many AT&T properties under the AT&T umbrella: DirecTV, TNT, Bleacher Report, HBO and AT&T U-Verse? 

Time will tell, but a big PGA Championship bid does not seem too far fetched. Certainly bidding on some PGA Tour events for 2022 and beyond seems plausible. One question remains and probably always will go unanswered: what does Stephenson do when these matters come up before the PGA Tour Policy Board?

One assumes that he recuses himself, but I don't see where this is going?  As an outlet for streaming coverage, why not?   I might also be tempted to remind Geoff that the contract for the PGA Championship is not awarded by the Tour....  But still, it will go to either CBS or NBC, because there's simply no way yet to monetize it through AT&T's properties.

Udder Stuff - OK, I lied...  I'm not providing anything significant here, just this one addition to the Gallery of Awkward Photographs.  Brooke Henderson won the LPGA event in her native Canada, leading to this....well, you decide:

Really?  You couldn't come up with a third hat so that guy on the right didn't have to give up his?

Late Week Laments

Finally, the weather cooperates.  At this point I figure we need about three weeks withour t rain, and we'll be in a position to resod the entire golf course....

Northern (Trust) Exposures - Like your humble blogger, this guy found the timing of a certain story a bit curious:

Tiger Woods vs. Phil Mickelson overshadows slow start in Round 1 of Northern Trust

PARAMUS, N.J. – Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are going to play in Las Vegas for

an absurd amount of money on Thanksgiving weekend. Woods’ team confirmed it via Twitter Wednesday ahead of the Northern Trust at Ridgewood Country Club. 

That news was more exciting than Woods’ uneventful even-par 71 Thursday to start the FedEx Cup Playoffs, and he was asked about it after the round. 

“We’re going to have fun doing something that’s never been done before,” Woods said. “Trying to showcase golf and showcase golf in a different way.”

Showcasing golf?  Why didn't I think of that?

It seems that the Tour was aggressive in protecting their rights as relates to the purse size, but allowed the announcement to detract from the playoff opener.  Excuse me, "playoff" opener....Weer I among the 123 other guys in the field, I might be a tad miffed.

Woods is playing with a new driver shaft this week and used it nine times off the tee, along with four 3-woods and just one iron at the short, par-4 12th. The course was soft enough that lift, clean and replace was put into effect, and the lack of runout likely led to Woods using a healthy number of drivers. He hit the fairway on 4 of 9 attempts with that club. 

His chili was running hot late in the round, after missing wide right with driver at the par-4 fifth. That led to his second and final bogey of the day, which he finished with three straight pars including a 12-foot birdie miss at the last. 

The slow start wasn’t abnormal for Woods this season – over 15 starts he’s only broken 70 twice in the opening round. He’s done it nine times in Round 3.

 From the Tour's perspective, this header isn't much better:

Sean O’Hair headlines four-way tie for lead at Northern Trust; Tiger is five shots back

And they might just have found the only three players to share the lead with lower Q-Factors than O'Hair...  Tiger's 71 might be a mere five shots off the lead but it's only good for T60, leaving him a huge swath of humanity to pass today to stick around for the weekend.

I did watch some of the taped coverage last night, as it's always great to see the boys on a first-class venue.  Of course, conditions were far from ideal.  The most interesting lens through which to view the next couple of weeks is, of course, Ryder Cup related, and I'll credit this guy with the right attitude:

PARAMUS, N.J. – Phil Mickelson made it hard on himself Thursday in Round 1 of the Northern Trust. 

He sprayed the driver all over Ridgewood Country Club and hit just 3 of 14 fairways. True to form, he still managed a solid round with a 3-under 68. 

As for the other thing in play – a captain’s pick for the U.S. Ryder Cup team – Mickelson said he won’t make it so hard on captain Jim Furyk. 

“I really like this golf course. I had a great week last week where I’m playing well, and I love TPC Boston,” Mickelson said. “So I’m going to play really well these next two weeks and I’m going to make it an easy decision.” 

Mickelson finished 10th on the points list and failed to secure an automatic qualifying spot entering next month’s matches at Le Golf National in Paris, the first time that’s ever happened dating back to his debut in 1995.

Unless, of course, he knows the fix is in and he's just playing us.... Of course, that 3-14 thing is a really bad fit for Le Golf National, which only matters if Captain Furyk is able to express free will.

In other Ryder Cup news, this might just stop the Sneds boomlet in its tracks:

Brandt Snedeker is dealing with injury less than a week after winning. 

Just days after capturing his ninth PGA Tour title at the Wyndham Championship, Snedeker has withdrawn from The Northern Trust due to back spasms. 

Snedeker, a potential U.S. Ryder Cup captain’s pick after his dominant wire-to-wire win that saw him open in 59, looks to be back in action next week at TPC Boston.

 I didn't love his chances in any event, but this is obviously horrible timing.

In other RC implications, Rafa Cabrera-Bello and Paul Casey each broke from the post quickly with 67's, both of whom I think figure to make Captain Bjorn's team one way or the other.  On the U.S. side, Bryson DeChambeau (-3) and Tony Finau (-2) didn't hurt their chances, though the latter's seem pretty remote to me unless he pulls off something pretty special.

We'll Always Have Vegas - I refuse to call it The Match, because our game already had one of those.... But I missed the faux pas, how about you guys?

Curb your enthusiasm, Tron, as a natural right-hander Phil would have a decided advantage....  In any event, quite the amateurish and amusing F-up.

Tiger thinks the PPV won't be much of a deal:

PARAMUS, N.J. — News that "The Match" between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson

would be shown on Pay-per-view put a bit of a damper on the initial hysteria surrounding the Thanksgiving weekend clash in Vegas between these two legends. Woods, however, doesn't think asking golf fans to pay what is still an undisclosed amount to watch is a big deal. Rather, he sounds fairly confident it'll be worth every penny. 

"I think they can afford it and I think it will be done differently," Woods said when asked after his opening 71 at the Northern Trust if he was worried about "the average fan" missing out. 

"You know, how many times have we all purchased fights," Woods continued, "whether it's MMA or it's boxing, whatever it may be. We all purchase those fights."

Porn, maybe, but certainly not MMA....   

As for the trash talk, Tiger goes for the kill shot:

"I think I'm minus 180 right now," Woods chirped, referring to his current Vegas odds, which make him a solid favorite. "That's all I've got to say." 

At least, for now.

Travelin' Joe fills us in on the venue:

What: The reported host course for the Tiger vs. Phil challenge match, Shadow Creek, is nearly equal in hype and aura to the players themselves. The “It” course of the 1990s was hotelier’s Steve Wynn’s vision and architect Tom Fazio’s execution. When Shadow Creek debuted in 1990, there was no course anywhere, private or public, where an invitation was so coveted. Until 2000, the only way aboard was via an invitation from Steve Wynn himself. In March of 2000, Wynn was divested of his Mirage holdings and he was forced to hand over Shadow Creek to the new owners, MGM Resorts International. The mystique changed forever, but not the course itself. A Fazio renovation in 2008 stretched the par-72 layout to 7,560 yards, but none of the holes were materially altered. Tiger Woods and Fred Couples share the old course record of 60, while the newer version has witnessed 66 as the best score, once by Dustin Johnson.

I guess we know why Tiger signed off on it...

What it Looks Like: Hewn from a poker table-flat, lifeless plot of desert, Fazio and Wynn conjured up a Hollywood set come to life, complete with rolling terrain, thousands of pines, bursts of flowers and a network of creeks and lakes. The foliage and features

block out any glimpse of the surrounding desert, except for the mountain peaks.

Signature holes: There’s not a weak link in the entire chain, but five holes stand out for scenery and challenge, including the 553-yard, par-5 fourth, the 409-yard, par-4 ninth and the 438-yard, par-4 15th. Still, the showstoppers, as they should be in Las Vegas, arrive at the end, with the 164-yard, par-3 17th and the 564-yard, par-5 18th. In particular, the 18th befits its locale as the ultimate gambler’s hole. From an elevated tee, the ambitious player will contend with a water carry on both shots via a network of three lakes separated by waterfalls. Choose the three-shot route and you still must fly over water to a long, narrow green surrounded by grassy hills, pine trees, mountains and flowers. Desert? What desert?

That's what passes for strategy in Fazioworld, but for us to see it the match has to make it to No. 18....  Unless, you know, a press?

We'll exit on this from Phil:

Viewers will be able to check out the match via Turner Sports in a pay-per-view setting, in which the players and caddies will be mic’d up to add commentary and context. “It allows us to be a little bit more real, if you will,” Mickelson said Wednesday. “We think there will be some pretty good interest, but we’re also trying to present it in a way that you don’t get to see with normal TV.”

So, let's see, we have a contrived match to be played on an oasis carved out of the desert at outrageous expense?  As the kids like to say, we're keepin' it real....

Today in First-World Problems - I feel the pain of Golf Digest's Undercover Tour Pro, who shares this tale of woe:

Every three months I get a shipment of 50 shirts, plus a few dozen pairs of pants. My

clothing supplier wants me to wear the new season and encourages getting rid of the old to avoid confusion. I've purged entire boxes when one sponsor changes a logo. I give clothes to friends as much as I can and save certain items I especially like to wear just around the house. Still, I'm always bringing garbage bags to donation boxes. At the moment, I probably have 300 golf shirts in my closet. I've kept every shirt that I wore on a Sunday when I won (never to wear again, but because I think it's a nice tradition). And like any golfer, I'm occasionally compelled to visit the golf shop when I play a bucket-list course. But other than that, I'm really not sentimental. Shirts just pile up.

Pants are more personal, and I can have a hard time parting with a pair that works. Hats? Don't get me started. You'll find several unopened boxes in my garage. Socks, belts, embroidered towels and random accessories—I tell anyone who visits to take whatever they like. Take as many balls as you want, too, though I've seen only one person grab more than two dozen. I even tell people to take clubs. There's just one staff bag that is off-limits.

Oh the inhumanity of it all....  But, hey, what was that address again?

What's In A Name -  An amusing story for sure:

Like many high-level internship programs, the PGA Tour’s is not an easy one to get into. With just 25 spots available and anywhere from 800 and 1,100 applications in a year to sift through, the tour is looking for the best and brightest, specifically rising college

sophomores who have to go through a rigorous process just to earn consideration. Standing out would appear to be an intimidating task. 

But what if your name is Island Green? With the tour’s headquarters being located in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., site of the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass, which features the famed island green at the 17th hole, it could only help, no? 

If you can first believe that there is an intern at the PGA Tour this summer named Island Green, then you’ll also believe that his name had no bearing on whether or not he was chosen as one of the tour’s 25 summer interns.

The Tour goes to quite a bit of effort to convince us that the hiring decision wasn't affected by his unique name, though I'd question which way that cuts.  I don't have a problem with them showing a sense of humor, especially as the realization dawns on why they did hire him:

This summer’s interns, which Clarke says is 62 percent diverse and half male, half female, features collegiate golfers, golf fans, individuals who have never touched a club, kids from state schools, small private schools, rural areas and those that grew up in a city. It’s the type of class the tour was searching for when they analyzed others and found that the minority community was largely unaware of the opportunities in the golf industry beyond the competitive side shown on television.

The mask slips.... Ironically, they've done this young man no service, publicly documenting him as an affirmative action hire, all to satisfy their need to signal their virtue.

It's Gonna Be YUUUGE - Absolutely no surprise here:

Tickets to watch the 148th Open live at Royal Portrush are sold out. 

It will mark the first time the event has been held in Northern Ireland since 1951. It is also the first ever ticket-only Open Championship. Dates of play will be July 18-21, 2019.

“It is clear from the record-breaking ticket sales that golf fans are looking forward to the long-awaited return of The Open to Northern Ireland. We knew there would be great demand but it has been even higher than we expected and we expect fans will take advantage of the remaining practice day tickets now that we have sold out on Championship days,” Johnnie Cole-Hamilton of the R&A told Golf Monthly.

I'm not quite clear on the ticket-only concept, but this is a spectacular venue....  I only hope it's not a one-off.

Respect, Finally -  Friend of the blog Mark W. helpfully provides the following updated rules from the USGA:

USGA NEWLY ENACTED RULES FOR SENIORS

Rule 1.a.5

A ball sliced or hooked into the rough shall be lifted and placed on the Fairway at a point equal to the distance it carried or rolled into the rough with no penalty. The senior player should not be penalized for tall grass which ground keepers failed to mow.

Rule 2.d.6 (B)

A ball hitting a tree shall be deemed NOT to have hit the tree. This is simply bad luck and luck has no place in a scientific game. The senior player must estimate the distance the ball would have traveled if it had not hit the tree and play the ball from there.

Rule 3.B.3(G)

There shall be no such thing as a lost ball. The missing ball is on or near the course and will eventually be found and pocketed by someone else, thereby making it a stolen ball. The senior player is not to compound the felony by charging himself with a penalty.

Rule 4.c.7(h)

If a putt passes over a hole without dropping, it is deemed to have dropped. The Law of Gravity supersedes the Rules of Golf.

Rule 5.

Putts that stop close enough to the cup that they could be blown in, may be blown in. This does not apply to balls more than three inches from the Hole. No one wants to make a mockery of the game.

Rule 6.a.9(k)

There is no penalty for so-called "out of bounds." If penny-pinching golf course owners bought sufficient land, this would not occur. The senior player deserves an apology, not a penalty.

Rule 7.G.15(z)

There is no penalty for a ball in a water hazard, as golf balls should float. Senior players should not be penalized for any shortcomings of the manufacturers.

Rule 8.k.9( S)

Advertisements claim that golf scores can be improved by purchasing new golf equipment. Since this is financially impractical for many senior players, one-half stroke per hole may be subtracted for using old equipment.

Please advise all your senior friends of these important rule changes and keep multiple copies in your golf bag. Those not following the rules need to be provided a copy. Golf is a game of integrity.

 Alas, Mark and I are both at the point where something like this is sorely needed.  

Have a great weekend.

Thursday Threads

Gee, where would you like to start?  OK, if you insist....

The Duel In The Desert - I refuse to acknowledge their chosen moniker, as it demonstrates a lack of respect for the history of our game:

PARAMUS, N.J. -- Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson took to Twitter on Wednesday afternoon to announce their much-discussed winner-take-all match was on for Thanksgiving weekend. 

Turner Sports will produce the pay-per-view telecast of the event, which will offer $9 million to the winner and will be played Friday, Nov. 23, at Shadow Creek Golf Course in Las Vegas.

Twitter, eh?  These crazy kids...But the key takeaway is that it'll be PPV, more on that in a bit.

More from Phil:

"It's an opportunity for us to bring golf to the masses in prime time during a period where we don't have much going on in the world of golf," Mickelson said Wednesday after his pro-am round at Ridgewood Country Club ahead of Thursday's Northern Trust Open. 

"It's a way to show a side you don't normally see by having us miked up to hear some of the interaction between us."

Yeah, but this has all been done before....  Unless, of course, Tiger is going to share his flatulence repertoire with us.

Now, did $9 million strike you as an odd number?  I'm pretty sure I had previously heard them bandy about a ten million dollar figure.  Wassup with that?

He said a decision had to be made on whether to let in a lot of spectators or keep it very small. And while it was reported that the initial winner-take-all fee would be $10 million, Mickelson said the PGA Tour had a role in having it reduced, ostensibly because it pays that amount to the winner of the FedEx Cup playoffs.

Those spoilsports in Ponte Vedra Beach don't want anyone to have any fun, do they?

"With only two guys, we should have a total different experience with fans, because we will have smaller galleries that won't necessarily have ropes that can walk inside the fairway and up near the greens," Mickelson said. "We'll have mics on both us and our caddies and you'll be able to hear all of the banter as well as commentating that will be more interactive. 

"The idea is not just to have this great match but to have this interactive experience so fans can see something that they've never seen in televised golf before."

Have you told Tiger about the no ropes thing?  He seems to me a guy that's spent most of his life keeping the adoring public at some distance....   I assume Sign Boy will have the Purrell?

Here's Shack on the timing and pricing:

Love the lights, love the holiday weekend play and my sources are saying the streaming price will not be substantial. Some--other than millennials who like to share passwords--will find dirt cheap, in the $5 to $15 range, $20 likely the top end depending on how you access. The goal is to make this available via as many options as possible, not to launch and promote one entity.

Yes, TNT will be announcing, which means Ernie Johnson welcoming us in a PGA Championship Thursday flashback. But as our poll last month showed, 22% of you were willing to pay in that price range.

Also undefined:

Mickelson said the format would be match play, and details are being worked out that would allow for various challenges during the match, such as longest drive, closest to the hole, longest putt and closest out of a bunker.

I like the long drive, though what does Vegas have as the odds of either guy actually finding the fairway?

 Tiger must be taking it seriously, as he's already fine-tuning his equipment:

“We’ve been working on it, experimenting with different shafts and different lofts on my driver and 3-wood,” he said. “Just trying to figure it out. Same thing with my two-iron.

Just trying different things. I’ve still got two more days and I’ll still be monkeying around with a couple things and come game time we’ll see what I go with.” 

Woods has used a TaylorMade M3 driver and fairway wood throughout the 2017-18 season. At the PGA, he played his M3 driver bent to 8.5 degrees with a Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro Orange 70TX shaft. He used a Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro Orange 90 TX shaft with his 13-degree M3 fairway wood. Reports say he’s experimenting with adding loft to his driver this week.

Might be time to give that senior flex shaft a go?

As for those side bets, this doesn't add much:

Woods and Mickelson will also be making “side-challenges ” – aka side bets – during

play. The money won will go to the charity of each golfer’s choice. 

“As part of the live event, both Woods and Mickelson will selectively make side-challenges against one another during the match. For instance, Woods or Mickelson could raise the stakes by challenging the other to a long-drive, closest-to-the-pin or similar competition during a hole as they play their match, with money being donated to the winning golfer’s charity of choice,” a release said.

Gee, wonder what charity Tiger will pick?  More to the point, though, is that if you're telling us where the money goes but avoiding a discussion of its source, we have to assume there's a reason....  If it's TBS money, that's one thing, but there's been talk of them using a crowbar on their very own wallets....

News From Augusta - Nope, not another land grab to secure the perimeter, just a renovation of one of their iconic buildings:

The Augusta Chronicle reports that Augusta National is undergoing an extensive restoration of the Eisenhower Cabin. 

The structure – named for Dwight D. Eisenhower – was built for the former president and his wife, Mamie, in 1953. Eisenhower became a member at Augusta in the late 1940s but the cabin became necessary after Eisenhower won the 1952 presidential election and his visits to Augusta brought increased security demands. 

The cabin is near Augusta’s 10th tee and a practice putting green. 

Per The Augusta Chronicle, plans titled “ANGC – Cabin Expansion” were filed earlier this year with the Augusta Planning and Development Department and an Augusta National spokesman has confirmed work has started on changes that are expected to be completed by October. 

The restoration will update the cabin’s infrastructure to reflect modern standards while also preserving its historical feel. There will also be 15 holly trees and 61 azaleas planted on the east side of the cabin.

Well, unless they're taking reservations....

Silly Item Of The Day -  Golf Digest must have been saving this one up for a slow news day:

The Unwritten Rules Of Mixing Golf With Matrimony

It's every bit as awful as you'd expect, though with a few nice anecdotes, such as this one:

Or you can get Justin Thomas to help. Sean Powell, a fan from Sioux Falls, S.D., reached 

out to Thomas on Instagram with a request: "Any chance the reigning Player of the Year could lend a hand in a marriage proposal?" To Powell's surprise, Thomas responded within minutes, and in the affirmative. After two months of coordination with Thomas and the PGA Tour, Powell and his girlfriend, Andrea, were in the gallery at Charlotte. On the first hole, Thomas walked over to greet Powell and handed Andrea a golf ball inscribed "Will you?" Then Powell went down on one knee. Video captured Andrea nodding her head up and down, although it wasn't clear if the gesture was in response to Powell, or if she would accept a memento from a major champion. 

"I thought he was just going to sign autographs," Andrea says. "Then Sean and Justin started talking like they were old friends that hadn't seen each other in a while. I was very confused and shocked—How do they know each other?— but the moment Justin asked if I was Andrea, I knew what was happening!" 

"I'm really happy that I didn't screw it up for them," Thomas says.

Not to worry, JT, screwing up the marriage is their job....

Might Be Time To Move On -  Did someone mention Justin Thomas?  This bit from his Ridgewood presser is both amusing and telling:

As a follow-up, a reporter asked Thomas, “How far do you go back in your memory of stuff that really still annoys you after all these years?” Apparently Thomas still isn’t over another loss.

“I totally choked the U.S. Kids when I was 8 years old,” Thomas said. “I shot 32, 30 — I shot 37 on the second round. I’m dead serious. I lost in a playoff. I lost — I got up-and-down on the first playoff hole then I lost on the second playoff hole. Made bogey.”

Thomas said he didn’t remember the exact name of the player who beat him. But he doubled down that he’s still irked. 

“I’m serious. Look it up,” he said. “Jekyll Island. My dad was caddying for me. I choked it. I was so mad. … It’s dad’s fault.”

It's always the caddie's fault... They need their little grudges, don't they?

Ryder Cup Radicals -  The premise is a bit shaky, but given the slowness of the golf news cycle, any port in a storm.  Golf Digest has asked Luke Kerr-Dineen and Shane Ryan to e-mail their darkest Ryder Cup thoughts, which started last week with Shane's status update on the U.S. team:

Koepka: Two majors to his name, but has to read about how nobody likes him and he’s boring. Clearly a confidence crusher. 

Johnson: Another year, another 0-4 in the majors. Worse, he got beat at the U.S. Open

by his younger doppelganger. He’s crushed. 

Thomas: Just a slew of missed short putts in the year’s final major, and he’s going in on a sour note. CRUSHED. 

Reed: Obviously coasting on his Masters all season, will go in over-confident. CRUSHED. 

Watson: No bit, has legitimately been terrible since mid-June (and cost me my fantasy championship). CRUSHED. 

Spieth: Doing his best Rory impression this year as the nearly man, still huge ?? with the putter. CRUSHED. 

Fowler: No matter what I say about him here, he will go 1-1-2 at the Ryder Cup. CRUSHED? 

Simpson: Was beyond bad at Gleneagles, will definitely get paired with a fading Bubba in Paris. CRUSHED!

Perhaps I'm misinterpreting, but I think the concept he's going for there is....well, CRUSHED!.

 In this week's installment Shane Ryan confesses to being an American.....  But a Yank in King Arthur's Court, it seems.  Luke tries to talk him down, but the more interesting bit involves the Captain's picks, most notably Phil:

SHANE

No, you’re absolutely right, there’s no planet on which he deserves a pick beyond the planet where “team chemistry” is over-valued to the extreme. (And even on this planet, we have to conveniently forget that Mickelson staged a mutiny just four years ago.) 

I was talking with a few media members at Greensboro last weekend, and one of them raised the possibility of Mickelson becoming a vice captain if he didn’t get picked. And all I could think was “hellllll no.” If I were Furyk and decided not to take Phil, I’d keep him as far away from the team as I possibly could. I’d show photos of him to every customs agent in France and sick Interpol on him the minute he entered the country. 

As much as the rest of the team loves Phil, do we really think he’s going to swallow his pride if he gets snubbed? The chances of him reprising his ’14 shenanigans the minute Furyk does something wrong are about, oh … 95 percent. And yes, this means I trust him less than I trust Bubba Watson, who was in the same position in ’16 and was, by all counts, a great addition in his role as vice captain. That’s not Phil … not even a little. If you’re Aerys Targaryen, you don’t let Tywin Lannister into the walls of King’s Landing after you’ve betrayed him. 

(Looks around for other Game of Thrones nerds …)

That's not a terribly flattering portrait of the guy...  But, we all know the fix is in.  Furyk owes his captaincy to Phil, therefore the chances of not pick Phil are asymptotically approaching zero....

Midweek Musings

I received a Fairview Golf Committee report yesterday, and the covering e-mail noted that in the first three weeks of August our course received 13 inches of rain.  So, if I seem a little cranky...

59 Is The New 64 - Everyone is all over the fact that 59's aren't what they used to be, first this from Shack:

I was at a golf course snack bar when the Golf Channel was showing highlights from Brandt Snedeker's 59 at the Wyndham Championship. It was the 10th such round in PGA Tour history and when some golfers looked up and asked if he'd shot 59, I said yes and

they went, "ah that's great" and then went about decorating their hot dogs. 

A decade ago, I'm pretty sure we all would have stopped what we were doing to watch all of the highlights and regale in the history playing out before our eyes.

Throw in a 58 by Jim Furyk and it seems like the 59 has gone from golf's equivalent of a perfect game to a no-hitter. Still an amazing feat and worth dropping what we're doing to see a player break the barrier, but also not quite as satisfying as it should be. 

Is this because of how many have occurred since Al Geiberger broke golf's sound barrier, perhaps coupled with the 13-under-par nature of the first three when par-4s sometimes actually required a long-iron approach? 

Or has the role of distance, improved technology, amazing agronomy and golf courses put in a strategically untenable position played a role in making them a little less magical?

Ya think?  Hasn't exactly the same thing happened with the Major Championship 63, which have become a dime a dozen (and we even have exactly one 62, to make the analogy even more fitting).

Alan Shipnuck gets into the act in his weekly mailbag feature:

Which of the ten 59s shot on the PGA Tour was the best and why? #AskAlan -@ViniciusAlvarez 

Al Geiberger’s, because it was the first. You can’t understate how big a deal it was to become golf’s Roger Banister – don’t forget it was 14 years until another player broke golf’s 4-minute mile. It’s tempting to say the best 59 was actually a 58; funny how what Furyk (and Ryo Ishikawa) did seems to fall out of the conversation. But for sheer artistry and drama, I think the greatest sub-60 round is David Duval’s 59 at the ’99 Bob Hope. The tie-breaker is that Duval’s came on Sunday to win the tournament, and his walk-off eagle is the all-time exclamation point.

No quibbles on either point, though I'll just add that the course on which Geiberger made his was not the pushover folks assume.  

What strikes me is the odd mix of players that have accomplished the feat:

Al Geiberger (1977)

Chip Beck (1991)

David Duval (1999)

Paul Goydos (2010)

Stuart Appleby (2010)

Jim Furyk (2013 & 2016)

Justin Thomas (2017)

Adam Hadwin (2017)

Brandt Snedeker (2018)

A lot less talent on this list than I'd have expected, and also not the bombers I'd have expected.  Almost leads one to view it like a hole-in-one, more indicative of luck than... well, who knows?

Scenes From Tiger's Presser - Tiger tries to explain his effect on golf fans:

“I’ve had people into it over the years, but this has been so different,” said Woods, who

will compete in the FedEx Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2013. “We go back to how everyone received me at [the Valspar in] Tampa, that was very special and I had not received ovations and warmth like that. I guess everyone knows I’ve struggled and I’ve had some back pain and I’ve gone through four surgeries and I’m trying to work my way back, and it’s been tough. People understand that. 

“I think that people are more, I guess, appreciative,” he added. “I don’t want to make that sound wrong or anything but they know I’m at the tail end of my career, and I don’t know how many more years I have left. But I’m certainly not like I was when I was 22. Forty-two is a different ballgame.”

All things being equal, I know I find myself pulling for the old guy.  It's just a great story, so I don't feel like we need to put it under the microscope to explain it...  

Also, this little nugget of postmodernism:

Conversations between Jim Furyk and Tiger Woods have gotten a little awkward. 

That’s what happens when Woods, the U.S. Ryder Cup vice captain, needs to assess the prospects of Woods, the player. 

“We’re talking about myself in the third person a lot,” he said with a chuckle Tuesday at The Northern Trust. “That’s one of the most interesting conversations I’ve ever had and I’m having a lot of fun with it. 

“I’m one of the guys on the short list, and sometimes I have to pull myself out of there and talk about myself in the third person, which is a little odd.”

 Life always devolves into a Seinfeld episode....

Back to Shipnuck for a sec:

Why is Tiger teeing it up this week? #AskAlan -@djdonof

The search for feels never sleeps.

Heh!  Though, to be fair (Ed: Why start now?), Tiger isn't yet into the Tour Championship and can use the ranking points to secure his slots in the WGCs next year.  

Bubble Boys -  That puts us at two Seinfeld references today, but the meter is still running....  Joel Beal reviews the candidates and has this on the current state of play:

Lock: Tiger Woods 

Stop playing games, Jim. This "Tiger hasn't earned his spot" charade is fooling no one.

Not only has Woods turned in admirable runs at the Open and PGA Championship, but his second-shot performance (fourth in approach) and work around the greens (ninth in sg/atg) are sought-after attributes in team play. Plus, the Ryder Cup, at its modern core, is a TV-constructed spectacle. PGA of America and NBC Sports executives have seen the recordaudience figures in Tiger's return. You think they're going to allow the most popular player to be sitting on the sidelines? Throw in his contributions as vice captain the past two seasons, Woods is a surefire bet to tee it up in Paris.

 Of course, though if he really stunk up the joint the next couple of weeks....Next case:

Should Be In: Phil Mickelson 

One. That would be the number of top-10 finishes Mickelson has logged in the last five months since his win in Mexico. The venerable left-hander hasn't been bad in this stretch; he just hasn't been particularly good. That he's been a non-factor at big events—T-36 at Augusta, T-48 at Shinnecock, a distant T-24 at Carnoustie, missed cuts at Sawgrass and Bellerive—doesn't help, nor does the lingering stigma of his U.S. Open gaffe.

Depends what you mean by "should"....  But if he hasn't been "bad", maybe you could explain what bad would look like.

Let's digress to Mr. Shipnuck:

Phil should be content with a vice captaincy in Paris and not take a spot from a younger player with a bigger upside in years to come. Does Furyk have the huevos to make that call? -@CountDownDave 

Not in a million years.

Another amusing bit from Alan, but I've long argued that that Gleneagles presser should be viewed as Phil's hostile takeover of the event, making his exclusion a non-starter.

Back to Joel:

Vets: Matt Kuchar, Zach Johnson, Brandt Snedeker

As for Snedeker, the former FedEx Cup champ was in golf's wilderness for almost a year with a rib injury yet enters the postseason with four top 10s in his last eight starts, highlighted by a 59 and win in Greensboro. Additionally, he was 3-0 for the Americans in Minnesota, seemingly making everything on the greens inside 30 feet, and gave the world this:

I'm pretty sure those guys won't be in Paris.....

Beall goes through the young guns (The Professor, Dr. X, Finau), as well as the bulldogs, so give it a read if you're interested.  I'm more interested in the sudden Sneds boomlet, as I just don't see a spot for him on the team.

Shipnuck seems to buy in with this Q&A:

Is Snedeker now a lock for the Ryder Cup team? -Cathryn (@catheconnors) 

‘Lock’ is a very strong word but he’s certainly put himself in a great position. Sneds’s rousing performance in Carolina was a chance to revisit his rock-solid play at the ’16 Ryder Cup, where he won both a fourball and foursomes match shepherding a kid named Koepka and then dusted Andy Sullivan (who?) in singles to complete an undefeated week. Given that the U.S. hasn’t won a road game in a quarter-century, I’ve been saying all along that Furyk’s picks are going to skew toward hardened veterans over untested young talents. With Tiger and Phil taking up two picks, it could very well come down to a choice of Snedeker versus contemporaries Zach Johnson and Matt Kuchar. Sneds is clearly a lot hotter right now than either of them so I think I just talked myself into believing he’s, ahem, a lock.

But two questions later comes this:

How can players like Snedeker play so otherworldly—as he just did—but are usually so mediocre? Or did he find something special about his game? -@JoeGunter

It is the eternal mystery of golf. Every guy on Tour has the tools to go low – what pushes them into that zone? Sometimes it’s a new swing thought or rediscovered mechanical fix. In Snedeker’s case, he said after the PGA Championship he realized he was obsessing too much about the outcome of every shot and at Sedgefield merely focused on the process of hitting a good one. Simple, right? Clearly he should play like this every week for the rest of his career. But now Snedeker is thinking (and being asked incessantly) about the Ryder Cup, and maybe winning the FedEx Cup. Suddenly it becomes much, much harder to blot out the thoughts about what every shot means, and that little mental shift is enough to make him revert to the mean. Swing thoughts are similarly perishable. With diligent work a player may start to hit it great, so suddenly they change their focus to improving their putting, which makes sense. After a week of relative neglect their swing deteriorates just enough that a little doubt creeps back in. There are many permutations of this but the bottom line is that so many factors – mental, physical, spiritual – go into playing high-level golf it’s really, really hard to stay in the zone for very long.

The other way to explain it is statistically.  Four rounds is a very small sample size, but everything ultimately regresses to the mean....

The question to me is what is the predictive value of good play at Greensboro in mid-August as relates to the Ryder Cup in late September?  I would think fairly low, but it's obviously an arguable point.

Secondary Laments - Got yer first world problems here, complete with a counter-intuitive solution:

The season’s final player advisory council meeting will be held on Tuesday at Ridgewood Country Club, and one item of interest on the agenda appears to be gaining traction among the 16-member panel. 

The secondary cut - introduced in 2008 to address large fields after the 36-hole cut and pace of play - has become increasingly unpopular. In 2014, the PGA Tour eliminated the secondary cut, which occurs if 78 players make the 36-hole cut, at the first two playoff stops. Following a 54-hole cut at this year’s Players Championship, some suggested it should not be used at the circuit’s marquee event. 

The alternative that’s being studied is to reduce the cut at all Tour events from the lowest 70 players and ties to the lowest 65 players and ties. This would allow the circuit to eliminate the secondary cut at all events.

Doesn't that make the problem worse?  Here again, the reasoning escapes me:

“I think I’m a fan of it, because I’m a fan of trying to play twosomes on the weekends as much as possible,” said PAC member Paul Casey. “In Europe it seems to work all the time. I don’t like the extra cut on a Saturday, never liked that. A guy could have an amazing Sunday, he could go out and shoot 61 or something and get a top 10.” 

The European Tour utilizes a 65-and-ties cut, as does the Web.com Tour, which had 78 players or more make the cut in just three of 23 events this season.

Then why have a cut at all?  This isn't an issue that keeps me up at nights, but I also don't care much about the affected players, because they've by definition gone out Saturday and shot 76.

Shack Goes Medieval -  Upon former TaylorMade CEO Mark King, hired by Honma Golf to run their North American operations:

Overcompensated retread alert! 

Honma Golf USA is apparently unable to do basic Google searches to read up on how Mark King is not the man to run your equipment company unless you want an unhappy ending.

The former Undercover Boss star who wheeled out multiple Taylor Made drivers in a year in a move that set the company back with consumers, advocated 15 inch cups, sat on the two-meeting PGA of America task force to grow the game and eventually found himself stashed in Adidas North America offices somewhere, is back running Honma Golf USA.

Golf Digest gearhead Mike Stachura has a more favorable take on King:

Mark King, the former president and CEO of TaylorMade who transformed the golf industry’s innovation cycle and restored the company to a dominant leadership position throughout his three decades with the brand, is getting back in the golf business.

King’s TaylorMade was famous for relentless innovation and equally relentless product launches, eventually reaching more than 50 percent market share in metalwoods at one time and launching four new drivers in one 12-month span. Of course, a key part of its success also was dominance as the No. 1 played driver on the PGA Tour, but he also wasn’t afraid to change the status quo by introducing white drivers and even doing a segment on CBS’s "Undercover Boss". He was on the offensive from the jump in an industry that was conservative and defending the norm almost by rule. Under King, the then TaylorMade-adidas Golf reached $1.7 billion in annual sales in 2013, or about 1,700 times the revenue the brand was generating when King started there in the 1980s. 

Of course, King also hasn’t been shy at challenging golf’s traditions and its ruling bodies, advocating 15-inch cups and other alternative forms of the game, including non-conforming equipment, and once suggested to Score Golf that "the PGA of America should write its own set of rules with the PGA Tour."

Given that the denouement of his term was Adidas dumping TaylorMade, I think Shack has a point....  But Honma is quite a different company:

Honma, famous for its gold-plated clubs, artisan-style craftsmanship and five-figure price tags, has redoubled its efforts to become a major player in the golf business both globally and specifically in North America. Originally established in 1959 in Sakata, Japan, it languished in the early 2000s and was purchased out of bankruptcy in 2005 by a fund run by Liu, a Chinese businessman whose company makes hair dryers and rice cookers. An avid golfer, Liu changed Honma’s business model in Asia and its sales have increased the last four years in a row to nearly $250 million. Honma now is listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange after a 2016 initial public offering.

Five-figure golf clubs?  A niche brand for sure....