Monday, December 4, 2023

Weekend Wrap - Bifurcation Blues Edition

Lots to discuss, but rather than grind over a cold open, how about we just grab Geoff's link-rich open with the intentionally-buried lede:

Just another eventful weekend in golf.

Two LIV players won national Opens.

Scottie Scheffler did not three-putt en route to winning the Hero.

Tiger Woods finished 72 holes looking like he can be competitive in 2024.




Up to the reader as to whether or not to click through on that last one, as sometimes it's just better not to know.... And, based upon events of the last few years, I sometimes think of Earth as needing a gut-rehab...

But as for that buried item:

And if it’s not clear by now, I’ve buried the lede long enough: Masters champion/YouTube golf historian Jon Rahm—who would never go to LIV—might be headed to LIV for hundreds of millions in a move that may implode the history-rich PGA Tour and confirm it’s an American entity while ceding the globe to LIV.

If that doesn't depress sufficiently, there's a second buried lede that might be the most significant of all.  We'll get to that second one, but we certainly won't have the bandwidth for Rahmbo today. 

So, shall we start with some actual golf?

A Hero For Our Time - As always, it's the guy that finished 18th that draws the pixels, but I do want to give props to the guy that won the thing in a manner that could be portentous:

Scottie Scheffler put a bow on his season before the holidays with his first win since March, and put the PGA Tour on notice that he may have figured out his putting woes.

The world No. 1 shot a bogey-free 4-under 68 at Albany to win the Hero World Challenge on Sunday by three strokes over Austria’s Sepp Straka, who closed in 64.

Scheffler followed up last year’s four-win season, which included the Masters, by defending his title at the WM Phoenix Open in February and winning the Players Championship in March, but he finished second twice and recorded 17 top-10 finishes as a balky putter held him back from possibly having a historic year. Despite ballstriking that rivaled some of the best seasons of Tiger Woods, Scheffler ranked 162nd in Strokes Gained: putting. Robert Damron, a former Tour pro and commentator for PGA Tour Live, followed Scheffler at the Charles Schwab Challenge and Memorial, which both were held in May, and where Scheffler finished a stroke out of a playoff in each.

“He putted like hot garbage,” Damron said on PGA Tour Network’s Sirius/XM Radio broadcast of the Hero World Challenge. “The ball striking was something I’d never seen before and I’ve seen a lot of golf in my day.”

These magical fixes don't necessarily last in a linear fashion, but this one is unique in that we've never really seen a disparity quite like Scheffler's, where he only needs to be an average putter to win regularly.

Not a betting man, but hard to imagine Scheffler's 2024 will disappoint.

Shall we speak a bit of the host?   Props to the Tour Confidential panel who, notwithstanding their decades-long Tiger sycophancy,. actually led this week's installment with the ball rollback.  But, that's not binding on us, so shall we see what they thought of the Striped One?

3. Tiger Woods returned to action for the first time since he withdrew from the 2023 Masters, finishing 18th in a 20-player field at his Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas (Scottie Scheffler won). What did you learn after watching Tiger walk 72 holes the past few days?

Barath: First off, I learned that the man truly has no quit. He’s reached the top of the game more
than once and has records that will likely stand the test of time, but even after multiple injuries and surgeries, he refuses to give up trying to compete and at this point, you really gotta hand it to him. Secondly, I never realized just how much people care about Tiger’s (or any golfers’) shoes. And finally, he still has game. I think that if the stars align and you give him conditions that play into his hand and current skill set, he has a chance to maybe win once more.

Berhow: That he’s aging, like all of us do. Albany is relatively flat and there are lots of birdies available on this course, but that’s also why it’s a perfect spot for Woods to return. He looked good at times and made some rust-induced big numbers as well. I think it was kind of expected. But based on all his injuries, surgeries and just his body simply getting older, this is the norm we should get used to seeing.

Sens: That he still can still compete but that, more than ever, he will have to pick his spots. He himself said it. The most recent surgery has forced him to make all kinds of compensations, which increase strain on other parts of his body. How long before another one of those parts wears out?

You mean, like the left knee, Josh?

Kind of an unfocused question, but the week was unquestionably a home run for Tiger, but one that couldn't remove many of the4 nagging doubts.  Let's see where else these guys go?

4. As for what’s next, Woods will play the PNC Championship in a couple of weeks but said his goal for 2024 is “maybe a tournament a month.” Do you see this type of schedule at all feasible? And based on what we saw and heard from him in the Bahamas, does he have any chance to contend?

Barath: I think Tiger’s chances of week-to-week contending are slim to none but that doesn’t mean he won’t be able to put himself into a position to do it if, and it’s a big if, he is able to stay healthy. He had a few moments that week, like when he stepped out of the bunker on 9 in the final round and winced pretty hard toward his caddie, and that’s not a great sign for long-term outlooks. So with that in mind, I think playing once a month is still a pretty unlikely scenario.

Berhow: His comment about a tourney a month seemed like a lot, but in reality, it’s probably just him trying to play the Genesis, the Players and then the four majors, which seems like a good goal. As long as he doesn’t have any long-term setbacks, I can see him playing the majority of these, but probably not all of them given his injury issues. I don’t see him contending much, but that doesn’t mean he can’t put together a really good round, or tournament, here or there. I mean, did we really expect him to win the 2019 Masters?

Sens: if he is healthy enough to play, no reason he can’t be in the mix. But that’s a big if. Playing once a month strikes me as a big ask. It would be great to see him in all the majors. What seems more likely is that the wear and tear of high-level competition will force him to take a longer break at some point in the season. We will obviously have a much better sense after he’s had to walk a bunch of rounds on those hilly grounds at Augusta.

As Josh B. circles around, that "monthly" comment from Tiger was quite the red herring.... Optimistic for sure, but to me the only added bit was the head fake at the Players, telling us that maybe one set of reps in February isn't sufficient to have him honed for Augusta.

I do think the week went about as well as it could have for him, and he seemed to recover sufficiently each day and even within each round.  That said, walking a full course still seems to take it out of him, and it's hard to compete with elite players when you're humping just to get to the green.

The man himself seems happy:

Tiger Woods optimistic after walking, finishing 72 holes at Hero

He had this as well:

Then he will prepare for the 2024 season. He still believes, as he claimed in his pre-tournament press conference, that competing once a month is a realistic goal.

“I think that if you asked me right now I'm a little sore, but once a month seems reasonable,” said Woods, who had TGR executive and close friend Rob McNamara on the bag but hasn’t figured out yet who will caddie for him next year. “I think that having a couple of weeks off to recover, a week to build up, there's no reason why I can't get into a rhythm. It's just a matter of getting in better shape basically. I feel like my game's not that far off, but I need to get in better shape.

“That's what the plan was going into next year and I don't see why that wouldn't change.”

He's never going to be completely healthy and we should start a pool on the next body part to require successful surgery, but he's certainly looking stronger than he has at any time since the car accident.

And this one last bit on the bigger picture:

5. The Hero was also the first time Woods has fielded questions from reporters in months, and he touched on a variety of topics — his health, the PGA Tour/PIF merger, the golf ball and more. What’s the one subject or answer that stood out to you?

Barath: With so much talk about the golf ball, Tiger’s take on bifurcation was interesting and talked about the difference between wooden and composite bats. He also talked about how the same technology that brought others closer to him now allows him to keep up with younger players. “I think I was saying to you guys yesterday that I’m hitting the ball further than I did when I first came out on Tour,” he said. “I’m slower, but tech, I’m still able to hit the ball in the middle of the face so there’s always an advantage to do that.”

Berhow: His “that can’t happen again” comment about players being left in the dark with zero involvement regarding the merger was telling. He’s on the board now and I’m sure will be a big part of everything going forward, but I can’t imagine any big decision happening in the future without the game’s most important player being a part of it first.

Sens: His comments about how his body hurts “everywhere.” It’s only natural that he’d be sore in his first tournament back. But Tiger himself said that other parts of his body are bearing more brunt than they used to. Obviously, tomorrow is promised to no one. We are all day-to-day. But Woods’ description of his own modified swing — and the soreness it is causing — is another reminder: Enjoy watching him now because who knows what’s next.

He's go himself into the middle of the vortex on the two biggest issues of our timer, so we'll see what kind of field general he is.

I'll leave you to dive into that bizarre Collin Morikawa penalty on your own.....  at least for now.  Just a mess of a rule that is perhaps worth our time later.

No Bifurcation For You - Do we love professional golfers or what?  The USGA and R&A are certainly to be criticized for letting the issue fester for some twenty years, but this latest switcheroo has me cackling at our entitled pros.

Basically, the governing bodies decided to go with the bifurcation strategy, minimally rolling back the ball only for elite players.  The logic was that, with Fred Ridley on board, they should have been in a strong position, controlling three of the four majors.  Not sure where this went awry, but here's an update on what's coming this week:

The expected rule change comes after a three-year “Notice and Comment” period with equipment manufacturers and other golf organizations, including the PGA Tour.

It is expected that a new standard for testing the conformity of golf balls would be introduced for elite players and competitions in 2028 and then for recreational players in 2030.

Riddle me this, Batman, but doesn't that sound like two years of bifurcation?  Obviously they're allowing plenty of time to exhaust my current TP5X inventory, but WTF?

But did you ever think that Tour players were whiny and entitled?  Keegan, take a bow:

Bradley, who already had to adjust his game to a change in equipment rules several years ago when the governing bodies prohibiting an anchored putting stroke, wonders how he and his peers will be forced to adjust their games further.

“I don’t know what the ramifications are going to be with the ball—what they're going to do, what direction they going to go,” he said. “It would have to be a complete overhaul of the equipment that I use, the shafts that I use. Yeah, I mean the amount of change that's happened just in the course of my career is insane.

“I think we constantly get penalized for mistakes they [USGA and R&A] make. Whether if they let the ball go too far, that's not our problem. They [are doing this] to punish not only the professional golfers, but the world of golf for something that they screwed up on. I really think it's one of the dumbest things I've ever heard of.”

 Let me just interject that i do feel for Keegan on the anchored putting bit, but otherwise...

Let me just say that I'm the first to criticize the governing bodies for ducking the issue for two decades, but that's amongst the laziest excuses possible here.  But how about that whine about equipment?  The man is a professional golfer but apparently is unable to adapt?  If only he had someone to help him.....  Kind of forgetting also that his peers will all be in the same place....

Then there's Rickie:

Rickie Fowler is not a fan of the ruling bodies making any change to the ball at any level. “There are other ways of going about this,” he said, adding that they are "20 years too late" on the issue.

But he is especially opposed to a shorter ball for recreational players. “To take the game and knock it back when it's in the best position it's ever been in, I don't want to see it as the golf ball being necessarily the right move,” Fowler added. “I don't see how when we're at the best place the game has ever been. ‘Oh, you love the game? Yeah. Hey, thanks for joining us over COVID. Now we're going to make you hit it 20 yards shorter. Have fun.' I understand both sides. But looking at it as far as the game and everyone talks about growing the game, I think it's going to be a huge step back.”

So, what you're saying, Rickie, is that the Tour, which opposed bifurcation, is not being responsive to your opinions.  Gee, I happened to notice that on Friday you were paired with a Player Director, so I do hope you addressed this issue.

Let's get the Tc panel's thoughts:

1. In news reported on Friday by Golf Digest that was confirmed by GOLF.com through multiple industry sources, golf’s governing bodies are preparing to announce a golf-ball rollback (as soon as this coming week) for both professionals and amateurs. This comes after the USGA and R&A proposed a Model Local Rule option for tournament organizers in March, which would have required pros and elite amateurs to play a rolled-back ball while the majority of amateurs would see no change. That option, however, wasn’t well-received. While we’re still waiting to hear more details, what’s your general stance on a golf-ball rollback for everyone?

Ryan Barath: As someone who reports on equipment, I expect a lot of people would assume I would be against any sort of rollback, but my view is actually quite the contrary. I believe the governing bodies have the game’s best interest at heart and something needs to be done to curtail the way distance is having a huge impact on the game at both the professional and recreational level.

Josh Berhow: There are so many layers here, I’ve long struggled to come up with a proper rollback take, and it’s hard to make one here without knowing all of the details. But my general thought is golf is already stupid hard for 99 percent of the population and I’m against making it harder for your Average Joes. But what if a new ball — which we know little about — might actually help slower swing speeds and be better around the greens, even if it costs a couple of yards? That’s the kind of stuff I’m waiting to learn. I DO like weekend hackers and pros using the same balls, though, so I guess that makes me against bifurcation. I’ll close this rambling thought with something R&A chief Martin Slumbers told Golf Digest recently, which I think is a really smart way of looking at all of this, regardless of what side you are on: “Our responsibility is to the long-term future of the game. … We’re responsible for our period of time, something that has gone on for hundreds of years and will go on for hundreds more.”

Josh Sens: For golfers of my level or worse (that is, the vast majority of golfers on the planet), my hunch is that you could slip a rolled-back ball into any of our bags without telling us and we would never know the difference. The main problem here is optics, and it’s a real one for the governing bodies, who now have a serious PR headache on their hands. In an ideal world, the rollback would apply to the elite game only, but the USGA and R&A floated that idea and it was roundly rejected by everyone from the Tour to manufacturers to everyday golfers who say they want to play the same equipment as the pros. At first blush, this new proposal seems like the next-best option. It’s easy to get caught up in the fury of the moment, but this is meant to be a forward-looking decision, and just because it didn’t happen sooner, when it should have, isn’t a good argument for it not happening now. The catch is that now is the age of social media, where levels of outrage routinely distort any real-world impact (he says, flinching in anticipation of being called an idiot on the cordial platform formerly known as Twitter.)

In what sense was bifurcation rejected by everyday golfers, Josh?  Seems to me this is on the two PGAs and the equipment manufacturers, no?

We are a little blind here, as we really don't understand the kind of ball they'll be using, specifically how it'll spin.  I suspect that the recreational golfer, who uses his sweet spot sparingly, might find that his or her mishits are penalized more severely, though not until 2030, blessedly.

2. The golf-ball news has yet to be officially announced, but that hasn’t stopped pros (including Tiger Woods and Brandel Chamblee) from chiming in. Rory McIlroy added his feedback on Sunday, saying “people who are upset about this decision shouldn’t be mad at the governing bodies, they should be mad at elite pros and club/ball manufacturers because they didn’t want bifurcation.” He also added this will “make no difference whatsoever” to the average golfer. Do you agree with Rory’s comments?

Barath: I fully agree with Rory and also agree with the likely decision to not bifurcate the game. Although it’s speculation, I have a feeling that the impact is mostly going to be felt by those with the highest swing speeds producing the highest ball speeds. The best simple analogy I can think of works like car aerodynamics because the relationship is nonlinear — if a car with 100 horsepower goes 100 mph, it takes way more than double the horsepower for that same car to get to 200 mph because as the car gets faster there is greater air resistance. So for those average golfers with average to moderate swing speed, any loss of distance will be marginal comparatively. On top of that, golf has never been bifurcated, and I’m glad to hear that it’s likely going to stay that way.

Berhow: Rory could be right that most players might not see much of a difference, but it’s difficult to point fingers at anyone at this point. Parties always want what’s best for them, and it’s hard to blame that thinking. There’s a trickle-down effect here, though. If the ball goes shorter, I would assume courses are more conscious of where tees go. Everything here is linked.

Sens: I’m not going to tell people not to be mad because it’s not my place to deprive people of something that clearly gives them pleasure. But I do agree with McIlroy that a rollback is not going to make a tremendous difference in the average person’s game. Yes, as my esteemed colleague Mr. Berhow mentions above, golf is “already stupid hard” for most people, myself included. But the incredible challenge is a big part of the appeal. To the extent that a rolled-back ball has any real effect on my game, maybe it will help me learn a few new shots.

I don't know about that "no difference whatsoever", which awaits an actual proposal from the governing bodies.  But two guys were sold until recently as the conscience of our game, and here's the other guy's thoughts on this subject:

Tiger Woods is good with the golf-ball rollback. In fact, he says it’s about time.

“Yeah, we’ve been hammering the ball needs to slow down,” he said Saturday, one day after
news broke that golf’s governing bodies would, indeed, slow down the ball.

But Woods has a suggestion:

Dial back the ball for him. For Scottie Scheffler. For Brooks Koepka. For every pro.

And no one else. Amateurs can play with what they’ve been playing with.

Which is what the USGA and the R&A are not proposing: The rollback will be for everyone.

“As I told you guys,” Woods said, “I’ve always been for bifurcation.”

Veddy interesting, because that Tour you just took a leadership roll in rejected bifurcation.  And this is kinda weird, no?

Last one: Had he heard any reaction from other players?

No.

“Honestly, I haven’t talked to any other player yet,” Woods said. “I’m curious to see what the feedback is. I know the PGA Tour had their stance on it. [It had said it would not play a rolled-back ball when bifurcation was suggested.]

“But the ruling bodies are — they’re the ruling bodies.”

Gee, if only you had some influence with the PGA Tour, Tiger?

This is just weird.  Obviously the ball rollback is a threshold issue of our day,.and the man whose supposed to lead us out of the wilderness just shrugs his shoulders....

But the two biggest advocates for controlling distance, Tiger and Rory, will be tested on this issue as well.  I think this is an issue Tiger actually cares about, it's just unclear where it fits on his list of priorities.  And Rory's days of leadership would seem to be behind us.....

Stay tuned....

I shall leave you here.  I'm a week out from my first trip to Unplayable Lies Western HQ, but my week has gotten complicated.  I'll blog for sure, though the timing thereof will be a gametime decision, so check back early and often.

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Friday, December 1, 2023

Your Friday Frisson - Prodigal Son Edition

So, what would you like to talk about this morning?  

The "R-Word" - Rusty, as expected, but with golf skills still apparent:

Tiger Woods returns: How did he play? What looked good? What looked bad?

What were Tiger Woods’ highlights?

— The look of comfort with his swing. Since his return from a 2021 car crash, the ‘new’ Woods has relied more on a noticeably larger upper body in his swing, lessening the work his legs have to do.
Thursday was more of the same, and he appeared comfortable. While not as explosive-looking as it was once, his swing does not lack for power, though. On No. 1, no player in the 20-man field hit his tee shot farther.

— No noticeable walking problems. More on that below. But in short, there was no noticeable limp. If you’re a Woods fan, this might be your biggest highlight.

— The tee shot on 1. As noted above, on his first shot of the day, from the tee on the 438-yard, par-4 1st, Woods ripped one 326 yards, tied with Max Homa for the longest shot on the day on the hole.

Yes, the footwork seems noticeably flatter, with that upper body, if possible, even more ripped than previously....  

There are more highlights listed, most notably with his putter.

I checked out after the thirteenth hole, after which it went (somewhat predictably) wrong:

What were Tiger Woods’ lowlights?

— An awful finish. After 14 holes, Woods was one-under. Hopes were high. Then they crashed. He finished this way: double bogey after a questionable decision; bogey after a poor pitch, bogey on a three-putt; par.

— A poor decision. On the 554-yard, par-5 15th, Woods hit his tee shot into a bush, then things snowballed. Instead of taking an unplayable, Woods worked his way into the shrub — only to hit his ball a foot. From there, he played his third shot backward, and he finished with a double bogey. It’s here where we’ll note that Woods confidante, Rob McNamara, is on the bag this week. Would an experienced caddie have coaxed Woods into a different play?

— An inability to build momentum. Woods followed a birdie on 3 with a bogey on 4. He followed a birdie on 5 with a bogey on 6. He followed a birdie on 11 with a bogey on 12. He followed a birdie on 14 with a double bogey on 15 and bogeys on 16 and 17.

— Squirrelly irons on 2 and 4 and 12. Notably, three iron shots got away from Woods — his tee shot on the 169-yard, par-3 2nd, which went out to the right; his fourth on the 503-yard, par-4 4th, which went out to the right; and his tee shot on the 187-yard, par-3 12th, which, yes, went out to the right. It’s something to watch.

— Three-putt from 13 feet. After three shots on the 563-yard, par-5 6th, Woods was 13 feet away. From there, he putted 5 feet past the hole, then missed from there for a bogey. Rust? Maybe.

Here's what that bad decision looked like:

Assuming no physical issues when he awakes this morning, we can call the day a success, because nothing could be less relevant than the number on the card.  And Will Zalotoris posted the kind of number guaranteed to keep Tiger out of last place, so he's got that going for him.

This from Dylan Dethier seems about right:

It wasn’t his body that let Tiger Woods down.

That felt like the most important takeaway from Thursday’s opening round at the Hero World
Challenge, Woods’ first tournament since the Masters and since his subtalar fusion surgery: Woods looks like he can do this. In recent comebacks, his swing has looked good and his game has looked sharp but, over the course of one or two or three or four rounds, his body hasn’t kept up.

But if Thursday’s biggest question was whether Woods looks healthy enough to have a future playing a limited professional golfing schedule, the answer was exciting: so far, so good.

“I was dealing with bone on bone for a number of months,” Woods said, referring to pain in his now-fused ankle. “I don’t have to worry about that anymore.”

That still doesn’t mean Woods is all-the-way, 100-percent healthy. He still walks with a slight limp. He aches. And his ankle may not hurt like it did, but he describes the pain as having redirected elsewhere. Asked where he feels sore, he tried for a one-word answer — “everywhere” — but gave more specifics, too.

“My leg, my back, my neck. Just from playing, hitting shots and trying to hold off shots,” he said. “It’s just different at game speed, too. Game speed’s a lot different than at home speed.”

He looked like he could walk, with that slight limp only occasionally in evidence.   This is far from the hardest course to walk and it's only Day One, but very encouraging on that basis.

It wasn’t until Woods’ post-round remarks that we entered unfamiliar territory. Woods has faced questions after nearly every round of his professional life, good or bad. But while we’re used to him explaining poor results with references to his swing, his body or his execution, one area has generally remained untouchable: his mind. But not on Thursday.

“I had, really, a lack of commitment through of of the middle part of my round and finishing,” he said. “I just didn’t quite commit to what I was doing and feeling.”

A couple shots in particular drew Woods’ ire. His tee shot at the par-5 11th squirted out to the right and forced a layup. His iron shot on the par-3 12th started way right and stayed there, leading to bogey. And a quick-hook driver at No. 15 led to double.

“You take it for granted, I guess, when you’re playing all the time,” he said post-round. “OK, the wind, it’s coming up, move the ball back [in your stance], you just kind of lean on it just a little bit, just flight it down a little bit, add a couple yards. Instead of reacting to it, I was thinking about doing it. Then as I was thinking about it, should I do this or not, by then I’m pulling the trigger when I shouldn’t really pull the trigger. Hit a bad shot. I kept doing it time and time again. It was a lack of commitment to what I was doing and feeling. I’ve got to do a better job of it.”

If he can walk, one assumes this will take care of itself.....  He's always going to have to make it work without a lot of competitive reps and practice time, but encouraging all the same.

With the caveat that we have to see how multiple days affect him.  I doubt he wants to be in the first group out on Sunday, so let's see what he can show us.  For now, thanks to Will and Wyndham Clark, he's in the second group out:

2023 Hero World Challenge Round 2 tee times (All times ET)

10:51 a.m. – Will Zalatoris, Wyndham Clark

11:02 a.m. – Tiger Woods, Rickie Fowler

11:13 a.m. – Viktor Hovland, Justin Rose

11:24 a.m. – Keegan Bradley, Sepp Straka

11:35 a.m. – Jason Day, Sam Burns

11:46 a.m. – Lucas Glover, Justin Thomas

11:57 a.m. – Matt Fitzpatrick, Max Homa

12:08 p.m. – Collin Morikawa, Scottie Scheffler

12:19 p.m. – Cameron Young, Jordan Spieth

12:30 p.m. – Tony Finau, Brian Harman

The Golf Channel coverage window technically starts at 12:30 p.m., but their pregame show starts at 11:00 a.m., and I'll go way out on a limb and suggest that they might show the start of Tiger's second round.

Tiger, The Presser - Almost more interesting (and perhaps important) than his actual play, lots of thoughts on his comments from Tuesday's presser.  Like Sean Zak, most folks were focused on this bit:


That’s right, Woods hasn’t spoken publicly about the seminal day that defined much of the 2023 golf year — and could define much of the golf world moving forward.

“Well, going back to that,” Woods started, “I would say that my reaction was surprised as I’m sure a lot of the players were taken back by it, by what happened. So quickly, without any input
or any information about it, it was just thrown out there. I was very surprised that the process was what it was.”

It’s not surprising that Woods was surprised. So was every pro golfer on the planet. But Woods — the global face of the game, who decried LIV Golf and rallied the top pros into creating a Signature Events system — also wasn’t going to let the Tour’s secret backroom dealings with its one-time Saudi rivals pass, or further develop, without closer inspection.

That’s why Woods is now one of six players on the PGA Tour’s all-important Policy Board. He never once held that position during the peak of his playing days, but he does now, thanks to a late-summer quasi coup during which 41 pros demanded Woods be granted a place on the board.

fair enough, though he's obviously keeping us in suspense as to those three magic words, no?

Why did that happen? Woods is never keen to dive into detail, but for a man who doesn’t say much, it’s often telling when he repeats himself. Tuesday’s phrase of the day was just three telling words: Can’t happen again. As in, what happened in the weeks leading up to maybe the most pivotal decision in PGA Tour history can’t…happen…again.

When asked about Jay Monahan’s role as commissioner, Woods said, “I think Jay has been a part of the direction, he understands what happened prior to that can’t happen again and won’t happen again.”

When asked for the emotions that drove him to join the board, Woods said, “I think the overall emotion is…we can’t let that happen again.”

When asked about his confidence in Monahan, Woods said, “That was part of why I came on to the board is I did have faith in Jay and in what he could do going forward and what can’t happen again.”

So, going out on a limb, I'm guessing the key point Tiger wants to emphasize is that something can't happen again, although the exact nature of that which can't happen again is just a little vague, especially since they seem to be moving forward with the initiative and the guy that did that which can't happen again keeps his job.... 

James Colgan had this take:

Why Tiger Woods’ spicy return press conference felt like a job interview

God doesn't do job interviews....

And not a lot of granularity as to the nature of said job:

So when he arrived at the lectern for his opening salvo from the Hero World Challenge — a frequent spot of Woods comebacks over the years — it was telling that his focus appeared to be on his new gig. For the first time in at least a decade, the most interesting thing about Tiger Woods was not his golf game nor his return to major championship contention, but rather his newly-anointed position.

“We have to protect the integrity of our Tour and what that stands for going forward,” he said poignantly. “Trying to figure all that out in the past few months has been a very difficult task, but we have to protect what the Tour is for the players.”

Yes, but for which players exactly?  Therein lies the rub...

I just find it odd that he's being lauded for candor such as this:

On the topic of the merger, Woods defended players with a mix of candor and cantankerousness. He acknowledged there wasn’t enough time for the players to settle every score, but remained furious about the backroom nature of Monahan’s initial agreement with PIF chief Yasir Al-Rumayyan, and about the Tour’s initial handling of the news. (Three times during the course of Tuesday’s presser, Woods used the same words to describe the agreement: that can’t happen.)

“I would say that my reaction was surprise, as I’m sure a lot of other players were taken back by what happened,” he said. “We were very frustrated with what happened and we took steps going forward to ensure that we were not going to be left out of the process like we were. So part of that process was putting me on the board and accepting that position.”

Yet, despite the seemingly strong words, that which he objects to is moving forward....  Weird.

Ryan Herrington takes us through the surprises from Tiger, not least this:

Tiger thinks he might be playing a little more regularly

Sitting for another "return" press conference after another surgery and having played in just two
tournaments in 2023, you figured Woods would probably repeat himself again when posed the question about an anticipated schedule for 2024. Instead, there was a more optimistic response.

"I think that best scenario would be maybe a tournament a month," Woods said. "I think that's realistic, whether that's … you would have to start with maybe at Genesis and something in March near the Players. Again, we have set up right now the biggest events are one per month. It sets itself up for that. Now, I need to get myself ready for all that. I think this week is a big step in that direction."

Given the new PGA Tour calendar, that would essentially amount to seven or eight starts in 2024. That doesn't sound like much until you consider eight is the total number of tournaments he's started between September 2020 until today. More over, he's played more than seven events in just three of the last nine seasons.

That points squarely at the Players in March, not Tiger's favorite track but one that is one of the easier walking courses.  Not a huge surprise to me, because to play this week he has to be feeling much better, as it's too far out to help with Augusta prep.

Tiger isn’t thinking about Ryder Cup 2025 just yet

In the wake of the Americans defeat at Marco Simone in September, there had been chatter that Woods should take the reigns as U.S. captain when the Cup is up for grabs at Bethpage in 2025. While Woods didn’t rule out the possibility, he also was quick to say it hasn’t been top of mind of late.

“Right now, there's too much at stake with our tour to think about a Ryder Cup right now,” Woods said. “We have to get this done and we have to be focused on this right now. The Ryder Cup can take a … the players and everyone involved understands that this is an issue we need to focus on.”

More to the point, Tiger doesn't want to talk about that yet.   There is no scenario in which he hasn't thought about it, because there isn't really another logical candidate.  Unless, yanno, Phil is suddenly welcome back into polite society, and let's hope that's not something they try to jam down our throats.

The delay in launching his tech-infused golf league might come with a silver lining

In development for more than 14 months, with all six teams and 24 players lined up, the TGL was less than two months from playing its inaugural match. But then a storm blew through Florida and tore the roof on the still-being-constructed SoFi Center, forcing Woods, Rory McIlroy and other officials to put everything on hold for a year. Given the hype behind the venture, it would be natural to think that Woods was upset with what happened. His response when asked about what happened, however, didn’t leave that impression.

“I think it was moving very quickly and I think we can take advantage of time delay,” Woods said. “I think that we can do it right and I think all the parties that are involved really feel that this is going to be the best thing for it. There's so many partners, so many people that are involved in this league that have had so much brand experience and they want to get it right, and they have gotten it right, they're billionaires. I think that if we're able to capture that I think going into '25, I think that it will be positive for all of us.”

That sound you hear are my eys rolling, though I did lie this quickie slam from Geoff:

He did get a TGL question but here at The Quad we don’t do game show golf-without-backup power generators.

And this as well:

The PGA Tour’s future is more likely to include team golf than you might have expected

There’s been a presumption since the framework agreement between the PGA Tour, the PIF and the DP World Tour was signed in June that should LIV Golf be consolidate in golf’s ecosystem, its “team concept” would likely disappear. But Woods hinted that there is likely to be an aspect of it moving forward (for the record, Tiger has an interest in team golf succeeding given the TGL is built around it).

“Now, as far as team golf, I think there is away in which we can all benefit from team golf, it's just how do we do it. We're just trying to figure out that process now. We have been, we've been doing it for months, trying to figure out how that all works, what does that landscape even look like and where do we play and what impact does it have on our PGA Tour schedule. I think that's something that we have focused on and we don't take lightly.”

A classic Tiger response which tells us exactly nothing.  As LIV has discovered, there's no silver bullet to including a team component, so color me skeptical.  The one thing we can rely upon, though, is that he won't allow any team component to impair his TGL venture. 

Geoff captures Tiger's curious take on the current state of play:

On the progress of negotiations with Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund. “Also frustrated in some of the slowness and the governance change that we want to have happen. And December 31st is coming up very quickly, so there's the timetable* there that we would like to implement some of these changes that have not taken place.”

*Sounds like a hard deadline in his mind!

On options should December 31st come and go. “We have multiple options, but still, we would like to have a deal done December 31st. That's what the agreement said in the summer and all parties understand that. But there are other options out there.”

On what the professional golf landscape will look like in a year or two years. “The answer is murky. I would have to say there's quite a bit of -- there's a lot of moving parts on how we're going to play. Whether it's here on the PGA Tour or it's merging, or team golf. There's a lot of different aspects that are being thrown out there all at once and we are trying to figure all that out and what is the best solution for all parties and best solution for all the players that are involved.”

The rest of the world has assumed that December 31st will come and go, but perhaps the Tour is trying to force the issue with PIF.  

That Other Presser - I don't know what to make of Jay Monahan these days.  Does he still matter in this process, or is Tiger's coup complete and Jay has merely been left in his position as a feckless placeholder?

He gave an interview at the DealBook Summit, and had this on the current state of discussions:

Monahan, 53, did not address those concerns in his talk on Wednesday. Instead, he portrayed himself as a key player in the continued negotiations with PIF and other potential investors. A
deadline of Dec. 31 was set for a deal to be finalized in the original framework agreement.

“We’re having conversations with multiple parties,” Monahan said. “The deadline for our conversations with PIF, as you know, is a firm target. I'll be with Yasir next week. And we continue to advance our conversations. And I think it's pretty well known that there's a large number of other interested parties that we're also pushing to think about.”

Fenway Sports Group and the KKR & Co. investment firm, co-founder Henry Kravis, have been among the entities that are reportedly interested in a tour stake.

“When this gets finalized,” Monahan said, “the PGA Tour is going to be in a position that … the athletes are owners in their sport, and you've got not only the PIF, but you've likely got another co-investor, with significant experience in business, in sport and brand that's going to help take the PGA Tour to another level and help us take share from other sports and even be more competitive.”

But, of course, this is the bit that continues to puzzle:

In the aftermath of the stunning announcement on June 6 about the PIF agreement, Monahan felt barbs of criticism from numerous sides, and that situation came to a head when, a week later, it was announced that the commissioner was taking a leave of absence from the tour for health issues. Monahan revealed in August that he was suffering from anxiety related to the PIF situation that caused him physical and emotional distress.

Well, barbs of criticism, yanno!   Most folks in senior positions try to hide their weakness, but was he expecting to be received as a conquering hero?  None of this makes any sense to me....

“I think what's happening to me in my head around that timeframe was not too dissimilar to what was happening to me in my head in the months prior to it,” Monahan said on Wednesday. “This had been an extended conflict.”

It clearly pained him to leave at such a critical time in the tour’s history.

"I knew I'm the first person to run into a fight,” Monahan said. “Anybody that knows me will tell you that. And I knew the perception was that I was running away from a fight. And that was excruciating. That hurt me to my core.”

In his most insightful comments since his absence, Monahan called himself “a work in progress,” while noting that he’s taken steps in his life, both mentally and physically, to rectify some of his past problems in dealing with stress.

“You'll hear people talk a lot about 'I focus on the things I can control.' I wasn't doing a good job of that," Monahan said. “I was confusing that. I am fully focused on the things I control. And so, you have to realize that it's part of life, it's part of who I am, it's my truth. And I am a work in progress. And I'm just every single day trying to improve.”

I especially love that Brave Sir Jay bit about running into fires, but is he sufficiently stable to be entrusted with sensitive negotiations?  because I don't think the barbs of criticism are done.... 

Or has he been sufficiently defenestrated that he no longer is a threat to Tiger and the other elite players?  The above strikes me mostly as a cry for help, but as long as he knows that he works for Tiger and Patrick now....

That's it for this week.  Enjoy your weekend and the Hero, and we'll revisit it all next week.

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Tuesday, November 28, 2023

Tuesday Tastings - Eye Of The Tiger Edition

 T-Minus 48 hours for you-know-who's return.....

State Of The Tiger - The Tour Confidential panel was always going to dive in on Tiger, this of all weeks, although they started at a less predictable spot:

1. This week’s Hero World Challenge will have extra eyes on it, as tournament host Tiger Woods will be among the 20-player field in the no-cut event in the Bahamas. It will also essentially be the first time Woods has fielded questions from reporters since the 2023 Masters, which was also his last start. Lots has happened since. What are the top two topics you’d love to hear Woods answer questions about candidly?

Candidly?  So we're asking them to fantasize, is it?

James Colgan: The merger! Crazy as it sounds, we still haven’t heard from the man since the golf world flipped on its head. I want to know what he thinks about the prospect of joining forces
with the Saudis. I’d also love to hear Tiger talk about the list of demands submitted to PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan that resulted in his becoming the Tour’s sixth player director. That story — and the resultant fallout of a considerable shift in power at the PGA Tour level — feels like one of the most underreported pieces of 2023.

Josh Sens: What does he think pro golf will look like in the years ahead? And since he’ll have a say in that, what does he want it to look like? More elevated events? Fewer? Could he himself stomach playing in events under a Saudi partnership? Would that tarnish the sense of legacy that he values so much? Underlying all of those questions is the issue of the growing divide among pro golf’s biggest stars and the rank-and-file. Does he think more needs to be done to appease those stars? What about the rest of the players who increasingly feel like they’re getting short shrift? Where would Tiger strike the balance? Yeah. I know. That’s more than two questions. At this point, security has ushered me out of the press room.

Jack Hirsh: I think my colleagues above covered a lot of the top questions with one notable exception: His health. I’m not sure I’m more concerned about his health than two years ago, but certainly more than last year. With the fusion surgery he had on his ankle last spring, he likely had to relearn how to walk again. I want to hear about that process and how he had to rework his golf swing to accommodate it. Tiger is normally coy when talking about his injuries, but he’s also more insightful about the golf swing than just about anyone. I bet his press conference could serve as a clinic for golfers battling trail leg injuries.

A Tiger presser is, as the old saw goes, the triumph of hope over experience....  To me his sudden elevation to Player Director is the great uncovered story here.  You'll intuit my sense, which is that he's there to take care of himself and  his elite buds, but the first question would be who thought he should be there (and, perhaps, why?).  In any event, we'll get precious little from the man.

The Colgan response above caused me to revisit that August putsch, and find that I had forgotten Tiger's active involvement:

According to multiple reports, Woods was the leader of a group of more than 40 players who delivered Monahan a letter on Monday detailing a list of demands for the future of the PGA Tour. Monahan swiftly agreed to those mandates, which included installing Woods as a sixth “player director” atop the PGA Tour policy board and granting players the right of first refusal on all aspects of a “definitive agreement” with the PIF. The changes give players a voting majority on PGA Tour matters heading forward, and ensure that Monahan and the Tour’s non-player board members can no longer act unilaterally on behalf of players without their knowledge, as Monahan, Jimmy Dunne and Ed Herlihy did forging the “framework” agreement with the PIF.

The number forty jumps out at me, as I've always used twenty as my shorthand, perhaps PIP-inspired.  But this also jumps out at me as somewhat disingenuous:

“The players thank Commissioner Monahan for agreeing to address our concerns,” he said in a release distributed by the Tour. “We look forward to being at the table with him to make the right decisions for the future of the game that we all love.”

But it didn’t take a linguistics expert to understand the deeper meaning. In perhaps his most brazen move as a playing professional, Woods had led a mutiny to seize back the power of golf’s largest professional tour from its non-playing leadership. Under the new agreement, Monahan was rendered powerless in negotiating a definitive agreement with the Saudis without player support. The players, on the other hand, now hold the full weight of negotiating power — and the counsel and expertise of Colin Neville, a long-time team-golf proponent and newly minted special advisor.

I cringe every time I read something of this ilk, in which the "Players" are treated as a unified voting bloc, which couldn't be further from the reality.

It's a common enough story to see an organization forget its purpose, and lose the faith of its putative owners.  Why does that inevitably happen?  First, because those owners are busy pursuing their demanding careers, often at the same time of life as their building their families.  But the second reason is the widely varying needs and objectives of the "owners", which are easy to play off against each other.

I see this as a coup by the elite players which will change the DNA of the Tour, much to the worse methinks.  The Tour's mandate has historically been to maximize playing opportunities for its rank and file, and to essentially let the cream rise.  There really has never been a need for the Tour to compensate Tiger for being Tiger, because Nike was kind enough to do that for them (if there's one aspect of the golf ecosystem that I think is underappreciated, it's this bifurcated compensation system).  

But obviously we'll see how this plays out, but for what purpose do we think Tiger seized power?  Do we expect him to be an advocate for the journeyman?  No time for a deep dive today, but color me suspicious.  Earl Woods carried a huge chip on his shoulder, and I certainly harbor a suspicion that his son does as well.  This crisis could not be allowed to go to waste, and we'll perhaps get a view into who Tiger Woods really is as a result.

Back to more mundane matters:

2. Woods has played sparingly over the past few years as injuries and a condensed schedule have limited his starts. But what if his game isn’t up to his standards? Could Woods’ play this week give any hint to how much he will attempt to play in 2024?

Colgan: I think we already know how much Tiger Woods is going to play heading forward: minimally. The bigger question is how well will Tiger Woods play golf heading forward. This week we’ll get a much clearer picture of how the subtalar fusion surgery he underwent in April has affected his ability to walk and swing with ease. His score, spare for something crazy, is irrelevant next to how comfortable he seems shooting it.

Sens: I think we can pretty much count on Tiger’s game not being up to his standards this week. How could it be? But I doubt how well he plays this week will determine how often he plays this season. As James says, we know Tiger is going to pick his spots. The majors. Maybe Jack’s event. Maybe the Players. Maybe the Genesis. Ultimately, the deciding factor will be his health, not how well he strikes it or putts it this week.

Hirsh: This week is about one thing: can he still walk 72 holes? He’s only done it two times since his car accident. I don’t think his play means anything this week and I think it’s probably a good bet that he finishes 20th in the field of 20. But if he can walk 72 holes without limping too severely, it will still be a win.

Hirsch with the tip-in.

 A quick one on TGL:

3. Speaking of Tiger, it was announced last week that his tech-infused TGL golf league, which was supposed to launch in January, will now be postponed until 2025 after its roof collapsed. Why such a long delay? And will this setback have any lasting ramifications on the league, including things such as player commitments?

Colgan: My instinct tells me the delay has more to do with the golf schedule than the repairs necessary to get the arena up and running. The issue here is timing: flying pros in for a Monday or Tuesday match, then flying them out to play a 72-hole tournament beginning on Thursday. It’s a big ask! Having it overlap with the major season was too much to ask.

Sens: Agreed, James. There was a window to get this started, and it closed when the roof collapsed. As for what happens going forward, like so much else these days, that seems contingent in large part on what happens in the bigger picture, with the proposed merger. What if the framework agreement falls through and other big names jump to LIV? Would they be welcome on the TGL? Would they even want to join? What about Tiger himself? What if he gets hurt again and can’t take part? What does that do to the league’s prospects and appeal? So much is up in the air, to the point where I don’t think it’s silly to ask—is there a chance that the TGL doesn’t ever get off the ground at all?

Hirsh: I think the cause of the 12-month delay is actually very simple. Monday nights on ESPN are occupied from April to December with Monday Night Baseball in the spring and summer followed by Monday Night Football in the fall. TV is where all the money is, therefore they get to call the shots. If the league was pushed back just a month or two for the dome’s repair, ESPN wouldn’t be able to show matches in April or May on its main channel. I’m sure more went into the decision than that, but money talks and that’s where the majority of it was. I’m still optimistic we see the TGL in 2025.

Yeah, the schedule is the killer, as the window for getting these guys together is really difficult.  But that only makes me understand that this initiative will inevitably hurt their actual weekend tournaments, because of the need to fly back and forth.  Further, it will inevitably hit the weaker events more, at the same time as those events are being devastated by the bifurcation into designated Events vs. Marginal Events.  Yet again, the Tour is backing an initiative that hurts its own sponsors, which is basically what they do once the ink is dry.

I know, they keep signing up and funneling millions to support the cause, then they get Honda'd.  You'd think they'd learn, no?

Just a few other bits. 

Irish Eyes - Who doesn't like a free home trial?

Paul McGinley will step in as temporary lead analyst for NBC Sports’ golf coverage this week at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, according to a report from The Independent in Ireland.
McGinley, 56, is a four-time European Tour winner best known for his captaincy at the 2014 Ryder Cup, where he led the Europeans to a resounding victory. The Irishman has previously appeared on Golf Channel’s “Live From” show, which is owned by NBC, and also appears in Sky Sports’ golf coverage. McGinley reportedly will work alongside NBC play-by-play commentator Dan Hicks and analyst Curt Byrum.

According to the Independent, “McGinley's [TV] future will likely depend on how he does in the Bahamas and future events over the next few months.” McGinley has received kudos for his commentary on "Live From" as he often gets into spirited golf debates with fellow commentators Rich Lerner and Brandel Chamblee.

Brad Faxon will have some advocates, but McGinley seems an amusing chap, though it's always hard to anticipate how they'll play over the endless hours of commentary.   Given that The Zinger move was over salary, this seems portentous:

Sources have told Golf Digest the move is part of a larger overhaul of NBC Sports’ golf coverage, with more changes possibly coming to the company’s Golf Channel brand.

I assume they'll regret turning this down:

Paige Spiranac ready to replace Paul Azinger on NBC Sports amid calls for golf's glamor girl to join the network: 'I'm a woman of the people'

She has one obvious advantage over McGinley, in that she certainly knows what she' selling:

 


Hate to see you sell out, Paige.

An Honor Just To Be Nominated - Alex Myers traditionally gives out his Turkey Awards at this time, reminding us of, well, those whose palms met foreheads in such schadenfreudelicious and, most importantly, publicly.  First, do you care much that Paul Azinger got fired?  I think he'd declined into quite the oddball analysts, with off-kilter takes offered breathlessly.  

That said, NBC/Comcast shows contempt for its audience in how they fired him.  To me, the savings couldn't have moved a needle, but either he's your guy or he's not, it shouldn't turn on the outcome of the4 haggle.  Or am I a hopeless romantic?

But this will arm those who think he wore a short skirt and had it coming:

Paul Azinger: The (former) NBC announcer is back on our list. Look, it's tough being in the booth for hours at a time, but Golf Twitter had a field day with Zinger just about every day he called golf. If we had to single out one moment, though, it would be with his call of Wyndham Clark attempting to get up and down on the par-3 ninth hole at LACC during the final round of the U.S. Open. First, Azinger said it would be impossible for Clark to get his chip within 10 feet of the hole. Wrong. Then he said Clark had missed a slope he needed to hit. Wrong again. Then he continued to say Clark had missed said slope even as millions of people saw the ball perfectly rolling down said slope toward the hole.

It was really wild. Anyway, the result was Clark's ball rolling out to about five feet and him making a huge par save on his way to winning his first major. Oh, and in somewhat related news, Azinger's five-year contract was NOT renewed by NBC Sports at the end of the year. Speaking of that tournament . 

From the Twitterverse:

Are they allowed to do that?   

But I had forgotten about this, even more amusing after his 4-play season:

Aaron Rodgers: We've knocked Rodgers a lot for winning the pro-am portion of the AT&T
Celebrity Pro-Am with a 10 handicap, but he deserves one more QB knockdown. Especially with PGA Tour winner Keith Mitchell calling it "crap" and Josh Allen, who finished fourth alongside Mitchell, telling everyone that Rodgers "sandbagged the world" in addition to literally giving a thumbs down.

Not to mention his impressive past performances in The Match. A 10?! The guy is more full of sand than Pebble Beach itself! To be fair to Rodgers, we could also assess a turkey to whomever at the tournament assigned him that handicap or let him keep it, but like in football, ultimately, the blame falls on the signal caller.

Josh got himself bagged again Sunday night, though under different circumstances.  He might have time on his hands earlier than usual, though no Pebble ProAm for him to grind over.  They had to cancel it so that Patrick can get paid....

This is deserving of its honor as well, the logic escaping your humble blogger:

John Daly/David Duval: To be fair, this pairing of past British Open champs at the Zurich Classic was a combined 107 years old when they teed off. So when you're that long in the tooth you're going to be a longshot in a PGA Tour event. But not only did they finish dead last through two rounds, they finished dead last by 12 shots.

And the next team featured a former military man who had made just one cut in 28 starts on something called the GPro Tour playing on a sponsor exemption. We're guessing Double D and JD won't tee it up together in 2024. While we're on the subject of star-studded teams . . .

How can a sponsor believe that these guys can help their event in 2023?  And Daly always acts as the consummate professional, those twenty-something fines for failure to try being a grave injustice.... A self-inflicted wound of the silliest sort.

I'll leave you nice folks here, and be back at some point later in the week.

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Monday, November 27, 2023

Weekend Wrap - Porta-Potty Update Edition

Lots to cover, surprisingly including some actual golf.... Shall we lede with that?  Yanno, Just for a change of pace....

Let Him Cook? - It's hard to keep up with these kids, but this guy seems to be a comer:

BRISBANE, Australia — It's hard to know where Min Woo Lee does his best work. Tournament results this year suggest it's on golf's biggest stages. But one could argue it's on social media. There,
the younger brother of LPGA star Minjee Lee does everything from mobilize his 600,000-plus total followers with a catchphrase, "Let him cook," to obtaining Steph Curry's cell phone through Instagram DMs.

Lee, 25, fended off a field of stars from Australia, Europe and Asia to capture the first of two tournaments that make up the DP World Tour’s Down Under swing. Lee began the final day with a three-shot lead at Royal Queensland and a closing 68 gave him a 20-under-par 264 total. He defeated runner-up Rikuya Hoshino of Japan for his third career DP World Tour win. Lee is expected to rise to a career-high No. 38 on the Official World Golf Rankings when the next listing becomes is posted on Monday.

Australian Marc Leishman (64) was third at 16 under. Former U.S. Amateur champion Curtis Luck (69) was fourth, while LIV golfer Joaquin Niemann was fifth at 13 under, making an ace at the par-3 fourth. Adam Scott (sixth), Lucas Herbert and Cameron Davis were some of the names in the top 10.

What used to be the wonderful and meaningful Australian Championship Season has now been downsized to a 2-week Down Under Swing on the Euro Tour, but at least they're drawing some familiar names.  The hat is not a candidate for our ongoing coverage of bizarre tournament trophies and prizes, but rather a social media homage:

One of the more outgoing characters in the game, Lee put on a chef’s hat on the 17th green to celebrate with fans and honor his “Let him cook” social media mantra that took off during the Players Championship. Imagine having that kind of confidence with a hole still to play. That’s Min Woo Lee.

According to mythology, Lexi Thompson is a battle-hardened competitor by virtue of growing up with two athletic brothers, whereas the reality is far different for sure.  I just wonder in Min Woo's case if his big-game hunting capability is the predictable result of competing against his big sister....  Time will tell, but the kid could be great.

Golden Slumbers -  One under-appreciated aspect of D-Day (the 2023 version, it goes without saying) is the effect it can have on the USGA-R&A proposal to institute a Model Local Rule governing balls used in elite competition.  It's been quiet through the comment period, but the R&A's Martin Slumbers had some quite specific comments on this important subject:

Distance. Specifically, how far golf’s leading practitioners can these days propel balls with their turbo-charged equipment, is the aspect of the game that, surely more than any other, bonds the
regulatory bodies. Standing side-by-side, arm-in-arm and shoulder-to-shoulder, the R&A and the USGA are currently going head-to-head with a variety of interested parties in a battle for the future of the sport.

“Unequivocally, the ball is going further than it did 15 years ago,” says R&A CEO Martin Slumbers in an exclusive interview with Golf Digest. “And I see no reason to doubt it will not continue to do so. I’ve long been of this view. And for a long time, I had to keep it private. But once we published our distance report at the start of this process, I was very clear that, for the good of the game, we need to address this issue.

“From that point of view and from an environmental point of view, we have to do something,” he continues. “We have been very clear, as has [CEO] Mike Whan at the USGA. There are only three options: We can bifurcate; you change the whole game; or you do nothing. And doing nothing is not an option. We stand by that.”

Slumbers seems to be saying to the two PGA's, your ball is being rolled back, regardless of what happens to the great unwashed masses.  So, Patrick (just to pick a PGA Tour player at random), do you want your intransigence to affect Joe Sixpack?  More importantly, do you want that hissy fit to result in the shrinkage of the recreationally game, because that's what you tell us will happen.

And, yes, the question is better directed to Wally Uihlein.....

“The game was not happy with the Model Local Rule,” admits Slumbers. “There was a view that it would create a bifurcated game at the elite level. It was a very strong pushback against that. The PGA Tour was very public about it. So was the PGA of America. A number of players spoke out. And our job is to listen.

“But our responsibility is to the long-term future of the game. Along with the USGA, the R&A is a custodian of the game. We’re responsible for our period of time, something that has gone on for hundreds of years and will go on for hundreds more. So, we are listening. And we have made a decision about what we are going to do. We’re working that through at the moment and will make it public before the end of the year.”

We'll see how it all plays out, but apparently we should be hoarding golf balls, at least according to Geoff:

This was the second report quoting Slumbers suggesting the “Model Local Rule” bifurcation concept may be jettisoned after excessive whining by the PGA Tour and PGA of America. The first dropped November 10th from Golf Monthly. But the Digest report was the first to get widespread notice and, my oh my has it been fun reading predictions of mass quitting, hoarding of (current golf) balls, and other petulant social media displays of ignorance oblivious to the fact that (A) the Rules of Golf are 100% optional to abide by for golfers and manufacturers, (B) companies could continue to sell non-conforming equipment for those who prefer to buy their skill, and (C) very few of these softies have the clubhead speed to notice a distance decrease as presented in the Model Local Rule proposal. But let’s just see the details first, shall we?

It's not so much a preference as a necessity, Geoff, but we take your point all the same.

In the aftermath of that D-Day shock, I spent some time thinking through the impact of that "merger" on the USGA-R&A initiative, which seemed tricky for the governing bodies, though perhaps manageable with three of the four majors committed.

But it took longer for us to understand the paralyzing uncertainty of that effort, which has already consumed to comment period and makes for unprecedented uncertainty for the governing bodies and tours.  

Did Someone Mention Uncertainty? - For the Chinese, living in interesting times is a curse, which only now makes complete sense to me....  Because...well, you'll not need me to explain.

It's supposed to be the quiet se4ason, but it's been anything but.  First, the payoffs:

The PGA Tour gives mega-millions to its stars. Some pros hate it

Some fans, as well..... And don't get me started on bloggers....

But, as many times as you've heard me call out headers, this one gets it so very right, specifically with that first verb.  Oh, they're trying to convince us that it's earned, not given, but boy is that weak tea:

But the popularity of the PGA Tour, the ratings its TV partners receive, the people who will travel to Charlotte for the Wells Fargo and buy tickets in Los Angeles for the Genesis Invitational — these things are not necessarily tied to where players finish on the leaderboards. That is what the PGA Tour has earmarked millions of bonus dollars for. A payout for players who have the stardom to impact those aforementioned things that matter to the PGA Tour. Players who have weight in the golf world. Players who can impact the Tour’s bottom line simply by existing. That’s why it’s called the Player Impact Program.

Oh, that makes perfect sense..... We're paying Tiger for existing but, gee, other guys exist as well, no?  

In year’s past, the PIP rankings have been shared by the Tour itself, and sometimes even leaked through golf media. But one thing was different this year: The rankings came via Instagram. And via one Instagram account in particular. Nate Lashley’s Instagram.

Lashley is the 187th-ranked player in the world. He just finished 96th in the FedEx Cup Fall standings, which means he won’t be playing in any signature events to begin the 2024 season. He has full status, which is job security. You’ll see his name on leaderboards next year. But for the moment Lashley is upset.

“How many golf fans actually know what the PIP on the PGA Tour is?” he wrote in his IG caption. “Would love to hear from golf/PGA fans if they think this $100 million was spent well? There’s 150-200 members of the PGA Tour and they just spent $100 million on 20 players. Seems a little ridiculous. Time for new leadership on the PGA Tour. This is an absolute kick in the face to the rest of the PGA Tour players.”

A kick in the face! That’s how Lashley feels. He wants that sum of $100 million redistributed to tournament purses, which he made clear in subsequent comments, and you can’t blame him for feeling that way. That gives him the best chance to grab a share of that money. Because Lashley is not going to finish anywhere near the top of the PIP rankings, barring a massive change in ability. And if the entire structure of the PGA Tour’s profits and losses hinged on those tournaments and their leaderboards, he might have a decent case.

Right.  But Jay needed a slush fund to pay off Tiger, who isn't able to earn purses any longer.  So many lazy sports journalists have written as if this is a battle between the players and the "owners", whereas the battle lines are among these players and the rest of professional golf:

1. Rory McIlroy — $15 million
2. Tiger Woods — $12 million
3. Jon Rahm — $9 million
4. Jordan Spieth — $7.5 million
5. Scottie Scheffler — $6 million
6. Rickie Fowler — $5.5 million
7. Viktor Hovland — $5 million
8. Justin Thomas — $5 million
9. Tommy Fleetwood — $5 million
10. Max Homa — $5 million
11. Xander Schauffele — $3 million
12. Jason Day — $3 million
13. Tony Finau — $3 million
14. Collin Morikawa — $3 million
15. Matt Fitzpatrick — $3 million
16. Wyndham Clark — $2 million
17. Cameron Young — $2 million
18. Justin Rose — $2 million
19. Patrick Cantlay — $2 million
20. Brian Harman — $2 million

That's $100 million diverted from purses to allow Jay to pay off the guys he thinks he needs... Based upon opaque measurement criteria that exactly no one understands.

The only good news is that Tour is appearing sheepish about this.  Why do I say that?  First, there's the bit above about not announcing it.  Secondly, there's this:

The Tour’s only problem in acknowledging its most impactful stars? It’s that Lashley is not alone. James Hahn has made a stink about this same issue in the past — millions in funds going to a select few instead of the membership at large. Lanto Griffin just bemoaned the difference between the Tour’s haves and have-nots a week ago in Georgia. A divide exists now more than ever before. And the PIP isn’t going anywhere. Players received a memo with the results Wednesday, but along with it they received a note on how the program would exist and change in 2024. $50 million to the top 10 players, a slight change from $100 million to the top 20. Lashley now has a full year to get comfortable with that.

So, let me see if I follow.  The PIP program is necessary to continue to promote the Tour's growth, but we're gonna chop it in half in 2024....   OK, who doesn't love a clown show?

I've long been a Mad-Lib fan, so this might be podcast to give a listen:

I've mostly gone with slush fund, but I'm guessing their listeners will have some better bon mots.

Among the many reasons to hate PIP is this gnarly issue of what social media engagement is actually positive.  For instance, this sourpuss seemingly got his $2 million for being an a*****e:

Why not?  Phil got $200 million for the same....

But wait, we're not done coddling these overly-entitled game growers.  The Tour has sent a memo to sponsors dramatically upping the care-and-feeding of these delicate warriors:

The requirements are:

• All tournaments now must provide complimentary courtesy cars during the week.

• Tournaments will have amenities for players’ families on the course, including a private restroom on each nine, with flushable toilets, water and dry snacks. Additionally, four restroom stations on each nine will be provided for the players.

• Cold plunge tubs, which have become popular to the players, will be provided by the tour, with tournament directors needing to find a place to put them and keep them maintained during the week.

• The memo states that tour players are focused on their nutrition and wellness, and that the tour is “encouraging” events to re-evaluate the meals that players and their families are receiving in player dining.

I was under the impression that golf had been played for hundreds of years without cold water plunges, but I stand corrected.  But I hope you've kept some outrage in reserve, because you'll be shocked to know that the Tour is only worried about the diets of those twenty guys:

The enhancements get nicer for the tour’s Signature and Playoff events. Among the requirements for those tournaments are reserved parking for the players’ families, agents and coaches; organic food options; complimentary dry cleaning for players and caddies, and free picture yardage books.

The Tour seems perfectly happy to allow Nate Lashley to poison himself with non-organic food, which seems a human rights violation.

The funny part of this is that the Ports-Potty thing apparently originates with comments from Jon Rahm back in August, and we all understand that when you gotta go..... But Mr. Rahm has been subject of many recent rumors, so this seems a fair trade-off:

If you're familiar with Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, the answer is quite obvious, although organic food is way down the list.

Just to amuse us further, we have Phil and Alan Shipnuck getting into it again:

I have no idea whether Rahm is really in play, though he at least seems willing to allow the rumors to stand:

Meanwhile, Rahm’s reps scoffed at the notion during his recent Dubai appearance and yet the Masters champion has yet to get on social media to calm Global Home nerves. You know, the way he did after bailing from the TGL before the ceiling caved in. Rahm could just be leveraging a few millions more out of the Tour’s private equity bonus pool expected for top non-LIV defectors. Or, he’s talking with the Saudis and is merely negotiating final details on a Fireflies ownership takeover from Sergio. Or he just doesn’t care about refuting the possibility of a jump to LIV, which, no disrespect to Cam Smith, would be a monumental twist in the LIV v. PGA Tour saga.

Although Phil saying that he doesn't know anything is quite precious..... He usually embraces being a lightning rod, so it's amusing and perhaps meaningful that he's ducking here.  I'm having trouble understanding how Rahm could jump at this juncture, given that sad state of all things LIV, but no doubt $500 million is hard to decline.  But funny that someone should mention Cam Smith, because:

Obviously we shouldn't draw too many conclusions from a mere 36 holes of golf, tough let's remember that Cam told us he signed to spend more time in his homeland, though he didn't specify that he'd be stinking up the joint.

I and many others have noted that LIV can't be good for a players long-term competitiveness.  Of course, the LIVsters fet that 2023's major season vindicated them, not without some favorable data points to cite.  Obviously we're all reacting to small sample sizes, but it's not like any of us thought these guys would lose their skills completely.  Still, Cam seems like he doesn't much care anymore, so remind me why we should.

I'm going to leave you here, Dear Reader, and hit the hero World Challenge and other bits over the next few days.  Nothing too taxing but, we do have Tiger to watch this weekend.  Have a great week.

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