Monday, March 24, 2025

Weekend Wrap - Snakebit Edition

No, not JT and his Snake Pit follies... Your humble blogger took a cheap, gratuitous swipe at a certain Norwegian golfer mired in desultory play.  Do I get results, or what?

The schedule for the neat-term is clear....there will be no blogging until the middle of next week.  Employee No. 2 and I are taking a quick, season-ending trip to Utah, then it officially transitions to golf season.  Sit tight, it's not like anything important will happen in Houston.

Back From The Dead - I've been of the opinion until yesterday that Viktor would not even be at Bethpage, so that will of course change.  But the winner doesn't seem to be declaring victory, does he?

When he turned up on the first tee Thursday at Innisbrook’s Copperhead Course, the 27-year-old Norwegian star was fresh off three consecutive missed cuts and wracked by deepening self-doubt.

“When you have no confidence and you don’t believe you’re going to play well that’s pretty tough,” Hovland said.

It was Sunday afternoon, and Hovland was speaking to the cameras in the incredulous tone of a man trying to wrap his head around what had just transpired.

Moments earlier, with a tap-in bogey on 18, he had completed a 4-under round of 67 to claim his first victory since the 2023 Tour Championship. He won the 2023 BMW Championship the week before. His 11-under total for the week put him one shot clear of Justin Thomas, who had surged to a three-shot lead with four holes remaining but slipped down the stretch while Hovland birdied two of his final three holes. Jacob Bridgeman finished in solo third, two off the pace at 9-under.

“It’s unbelievable to see that I could win,” Hovland said. “Because I honestly did not believe that I could do it this week.”

His lack of faith was based on mounting evidence, including a dispiriting showing at last week’s Players Championship, where he shot an 80 in the opening round. Battling his mechanics and his mindset, Hovland was an 11th-hour entry into the Valspar.

On a tight, tree-lined course that ranks among the toughest venues on Tour, Hovland leaned on his iron game to overcome an inconsistent driver — “I am still hitting a lot of disgusting shots,” he said— and scrape his way into a tie for the 54-hole lead. Even then, he wasn’t sure what to expect on Sunday.

I'm pleased to report that Luke Donald is once again able to get oxygen into his lungs.... At this juncture it would be hard to identify a player more important to Luke.  Their roster is so thin that one more stud makes an outsized difference, at least in the team play.

The Tour Confidential panel is of course around to add their invaluable insights ensure that your humble blogger can phone it in:

Viktor Hovland beat Justin Thomas by one to win the Valspar Championship on Sunday, his first victory since he won the BMW Championship and Tour Championship back to back in August 2023. It had been a struggle for him since then, and he missed his last three cuts entering this week. What was the difference at the Valspar? And are you a believer that he’s back? Or do you need to see more?

Josh Sens: It’s hard to believe he’s really back when Hovland himself doesn’t seem to think he is.
By his own admission, he is still hitting a lot of what he calls “disgusting” shots. But this week, he managed his game beautifully, especially down the stretch, leaning on his iron game and coming up clutch with the putter. I don’t mean to minimize the win. Winning any tournament is no small feat. But golf is just too fickle–and Hovland himself seems so committed to constant tinkering–to use this week as a predictor of what’s coming next.

Zephyr Melton: Echoing what Sens said above. Hovland won’t be fully “back” until he feels like he has full control of his swing. Sure he won this week, but it doesn’t sound like he’s content with where his game is at. This week is a great step in the right direction, but Hovland’s swing is far from a finished product.

Josh Berhow: He hit some really key irons late — which is exactly where he’s supposed to excel — to set up his last two birdies, but difficult to say this will turn the tide given how transparent he was afterward. His confidence doesn’t seem high — he did just shoot 80 last week — and he seemed surprised to win this thing. But a win like this might do wonders, so perhaps this is just the start of a string of strong finishes and a little more belief.

Next up, how many angels exactly can fit on the head of a pin....  I just don't know how to argue that he can win but isn't "back", whatever that might mean.  To me, though, the takeaway is how narrow the gap is between dominance and futility, yet we keep trying to pick based upon current form.

And talk about your angels on the head of pins...

Thomas held a two-stroke lead late but missed fairways and bogeyed 16 and 18. As someone who hasn’t won since May 2022, is he the headlining pro who needs one most? Or does that honor belong to someone else — Homa? Spieth? etc. — on the PGA Tour?

Sens: Thomas may be in a victory drought, but he’s also won more times (15) than any player other except Rory since 2016. Getting this close has got to feel promising for him on some level. I’d give the “honor” to Spieth, who has been winless for even longer than Thomas, and has arguably fallen farther from his peak than his good friend.

Melton: JT may be in a winless drought, but his game is in a far better spot than Homa and, to a lesser extent, Spieth. I’m sure he’d much rather be holding a trophy tonight rather than stewing on the “what-ifs,” but he’s not nearly as lost as those other two. The next JT win feels close.

Berhow: I’d argue Homa needs it most right now, since he is currently in a very similar spot to Viktor (before he won Sunday). Thomas and Spieth have winless streaks extending a little longer than Homa, although Thomas seems close. Few guys have the firepower he does when he’s on. He barely made the cut at the Valspar and fought to the top of the leaderboard. I think good things are coming for him.

It's a fun question, but I'm not inclined to venture too deep into the long grass.  Spieth's last spiral down was at least in part injury-related, Homa and Hovland have been so futile that they weren't even sniffing cuts, but we see how quickly that can swing.  Spieth and Homa might prove to be dilemmas for Keegan, but there's so much golf to come that it's not worth diving in this early.

I do want to add, though, that I hope Viktor had words to this effect in his post-win presser:

"I'd Like to thank Justin Thomas, without whom this wouldn't have been possible."

Explanation here. 

I have a couple of submissions for shot of the week, first from Billy Ho:

Made the putt for birdie as well.

And Patton Kizzire:

Very impressive hang time...

And let's not forget Adam Hadwin:

Of course, as regular readers of this blog will know, that last guy needs to be careful because he's married to the best Twitter-slinger on Tour:

Girl. Got. Game.  The TC guys had some fun with two of these (and I could have also included Sahith Theegala):

Who had the best — or most cringeworthy — anger-management moment at the Valspar? Patton Kizzire’s putter punt or Adam Hadwin’s sprinkler mishap?

Sens; Kizzire’s putter punt was a novel move. At least, I’d never seen one like it before. But for keystone cop comedy and comeuppance, I give the nod to Hadwin triggering the sprinkler’s wrath.

Melton: The putter punt was great theater, but certainly some embarrassing behavior coming from a seasoned Tour pro. Hadwin’s sprinkler mishap seemed more like bad luck than anything else. I’ll give an honorable mention to Spieth for unleashing an aggressive f-bomb on Saturday. He got his money’s worth with that one.

Berhow: The PPP — Patton Putter Punt — had impressive hang time. He’s gonna shank that thing more times than not. If you are going to punt a putter, you better make good contact. He did. Hadwin’s was definitely more embarrassing.

Thank God the boys were acting up a wee bit, otherwise it would have been a dreary week.  

Before we move on, a quickie Florida-swing summary:

The Florida swing is officially over. What did you learn?

Sens: That Rory McIlroy is going to win the Masters. (or not).

Melton: Rory is still a dog and Russell Henley is going to be on the U.S. Ryder Cup team. Plus, I learned who Joe Highsmith was!

Berhow: Scottie Scheffler is not yet 100 percent following the hand injury. When will he be, and how much can he win when he’s not 100 percent? These are questions we don’t have answers to yet.

I certainly agree that Scheffler's play has made me wonder if there's any lingering effects to the injury, but perhaps his roiling frustration is the bigger surprise.  Rory feels like the only top player who has shown any form, but is that a good thing for him?  Or he is he better  off coming in just above the tree line....

It Would Take A Heart Of Stone... - It just so happens that I have this tab open forever:

Sergio Garcia is willing to jump through countless hoops for chance to play in one more Ryder Cup

 At a certain point he was willing to do anything except pay those DP World Tour fines, though that has seemingly now been done:

Still, none of that is deterring the 2017 Masters champion. Before playing this week in the PIF Saudi International, Garcia re-joined the DP World Tour and paid all of the fines levied on him when he played in LIV events directly opposite of those on what was, for most of his career, his home circuit. That left him only needing to serve nine weeks of suspension from events on the European Tour. By his own reckoning, Garcia will be unable to play in a DP World Tour event until the Bahrain tournament at the end of next month.

That item dates back to early December, the implication being that he might have gotten in more starts had he not dawdled in paying those fines.   So, perhaps with some strong starts in those events he can play himself into the Majors....  Oops!

Sergio Garcia came to Macau this weekend looking to play his way into “his favorite” major. In the end, a three-foot birdie putt stood between Garcia and a spot in the 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush.

But golf is a brutal sport. Garcia missed the short putt and left the Asian Tour’s International Series Macau event with a fourth-place finish and not much else.

While Garcia failed to qualify for the Open via a top-three finish in Macau, his fellow LIV mates Carlos Ortiz (first), Patrick Reed (second) and Jason Kokrak (third) all punched their ticket to Portrush. Garcia’s three-foot birdie putt on the last would have had him finish tied with Kokrak and earn the final spot in the Open via a countback system based on his world rankings points. Garcia is currently 513 in the world, while Kokrak is 775 due to LIV’s inability to earn Official World Golf Rankings points at LIV events.

Patrick vs. Sergio?  Man, talk about a devil's dilemma....

But the idea of Sergio paying those fines and not making the Ryder Cup team brings a smile to my face.... Although Sergio back at Bethpage could be good fun as well.

Eamon's Take - the incendiary Eamon Lynch assesses the current state of PGA Tour-LIV negotiations with his characteristic astute eye.  His header will point you towards his thinking:

Lynch: If the PGA Tour wants reunification, it should do one thing — wait

Eamon's discussion of the party of the second part is, methinks, the most interesting part thereof:

A month has passed since the White House meeting that was expected to deliver a deal, but which instead produced a barely civil face-off. The Tour presented a proposal valuing LIV at $500 million, a comically generous grant for an entity that spends cash faster than a returning submarine crew in a brothel (though at least the sailors get something in return). PIF’s governor, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, was insulted by that assessment and the summit resulted in a setback rather than a settlement.

There are several possible reasons for Al-Rumayyan’s obstinacy. Perhaps he felt ambushed in Washington. Maybe he’s facing pressure at home and is desperate to show a win. Or pride got the better of him. Or he believes the fee-taking leeches who assure him that he’s created a revolutionary product with a lucrative future. Or he knows that entering LIV into any kind of investment partnership will crystalize his multi-billion dollar folly.

The other day, I asked an insider about Al-Rumayyan’s stiff-arming proposal after proposal from the Tour (PIF hasn’t submitted a single overture of its own during the negotiation process). “Will there ever be a day of reckoning?” came the reply. “Really, I can’t think of anyone who’s been lied to more than him. That the idea was good. That the product is good. That it’s going really well. He needs someone he trusts to tell him the truth, that it’s just not working.”

OK, are you finished laughing yet?  There is no doubt something profound in Eamon's take, but there's also some huge gaps.  I was reminded of that laughable Kinsey Report, which made Al-Rumayyan look like a guy that wanted to be lied to.  Or, more likely, wanted to do what he wanted to do, and just needed something in the file to support it like any mid-level bureaucrat.

Whatever governs the governor’s attitude, sentiment has hardened across the table. Rising broadcast ratings and a run of sponsors re-upping have restored a little swagger to the formerly defensive PGA Tour. Fear of Al-Rumayyan’s checkbook is lessened too. LIV hasn’t signed any major talent since Jon Rahm 16 months ago, and the only three players who could impact things — Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Scottie Scheffler — are not only staying put, but have made public comments that were at best lukewarm about the prospect of a deal. A year ago the foremost question for the Tour was how to stem the erosion of its product, now that question is what can actually be gained from a PIF deal at all?

The answer, of course, is money and power, which is what executives really mean when they talk about the “reunification” of golf, even as they frame it as something fans demand. Both tours — PGA and DP World — want Saudi investment dollars and they don’t want the major championships to hold all the influence, which has been the by-product of the best players only competing against each other four times a year. Comrades Monahan and Kinnings can’t be thrilled to see assets developed on their circuits largely being used to benefit four other organizations.

I believe Eamon grossly overstates the positives in that first 'graph.  The ratings look good mostly in comparison to a dreadful 2024 ( in at least some weeks they've been below 2023's numbers), and there has been some decent sponsorship action as well.

Eamon states that they want Saudi cash, but my thoughts are that they might well need Saudi cash, as the one critical data point neither of us has access to is the Tour's burn rate.  My operative assumption is they bur through SSG's $1.5 billion large quicker than we can imagine....

But let me also focus you on that last bit from Eamon, which I think is critical The LIV confrontation has exposed the vulnerability of the Tour, which is perceived as the most important golf Tour on the planet, but doesn't actually control the four most important weeks of the year.  Tat's a profoundly week position, but Eamon is correct that the civil war in golf has only enhanced to position of those four other organizations.  Ironic that, eh?

Exit Strategy - Far too early for this, and yet....

We’ll get into Masters storylines and picks more in the coming weeks, but with a hat tip to March Madness tipping off, who is your early Cinderella pick for Augusta National?

Sens: I wouldn’t exactly call it a Cinderella pick, but Joaquin Niemann, LIV’s hottest player this season, would count as something of an upstart win.

Melton: I need to see a top 20 in a major from Niemann (he still doesn’t have one!) before I start picking him. I’ll keep showing love to Russell Henley. Two major top 10s to cap last season and an API win already this year. As they say, he’s trending.

Berhow: I love Niemann at Augusta, but since he’s already taken, how about Keegan Bradley as a long shot? Hasn’t missed a cut in seven starts this season. Five times, he’s been 20th or better. Not a ton of success at Augusta, but he’s finished T22 and T23 in his last two starts. There’s lots to like for someone you can find at +18000 to win. Plus, Bradley contending would make for juicy Ryder Cup captaincy storylines.

Hold on just a second.  You're picking the best player in the world as your Cinderella?  because we know he wouldn't lie to us... 

We'll get to Augusta in due course.... Have a great week.

Posted by at No comments:

Thursday, March 20, 2025

Thursday Threads - Glide Path To Augusta Edition

With the Players Championship behind us, it's officially that time of year....  Even the Delta Sky Club gets it:

It's Not About You - The Morikawa bit continues to amuse this observer, beginning with the young man violating the first rule of holes:

Collin Morikawa claps back at criticism from Brandel Chamblee, Paul McGinley, Rocco Mediate

Do we think he's going to make things better for himself with this?

Collin Morikawa has heard the criticism of his decision to decline speaking to the media on Sunday after losing a three-stroke lead with five holes to go at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. On Friday, Morikawa doubled down on his claim that "I don’t owe anyone anything.”

Morikawa answered 10 questions in all and as he finished explaining why he opted to chip with a 5-wood instead of an iron or using a putter, he stopped the assembled media who had started to walk away and said, “I just want to add one more thing.”

That entailed trying to clarify what happened on Sunday after he finished his round at Bay Hill and lost by one stroke to Russell Henley. Clearly, Morikawa is irritated at the response from former players-turned-TV commentators Brandel Chamblee and Paul McGinley on Golf Channel’s “Live From” and PGA Tour Champions pro Rocco Mediate, who skewered Morikawa on his PGA Tour Radio show.

“I might bite my tongue after saying this, but to the Brandel Chamblees, to the Paul McGinleys, to the Rocco Mediates of the world, I don't regret anything I said. You know, it might have been a little bit harsh that I don't owe anyone, but I don't owe anyone,” he said. “I respect the fans. I'm very thankful for them. I'm grateful. It makes me emotional, but it's just — it hurts to hear people say this, and especially you guys, because I finished the round and I went to go sign for 10 minutes, 15 minutes for all the people after. Not a single person from media went to go follow me because, I don't know. But that's me.

“So for people to be calling me out is — it's interesting. It just, it doesn't show anything. I mean, look, I get what you guys are saying. But I was there. I was signing for every single person right after the round, whether they wanted it or not. I finished second. They could care less. But yeah, I'm going to leave it at that, all right? So thank you guys.”

Wait, you were forcing your signature on folks that didn't want it?   If you don't regret your comments, then why are you still trying to explain them a week later?

Before we get to Shane Ryan's follow-up item, I just think that Collin is doubling down on the type of entitlement that is so hurting the game right now, but I just wish he could get out of his own way.

First, at the risk of repeating myself, I believe the Tour should require the players to be available to the media on some reasonable basis, but the reality is that they don't and they won't.  So, Collin has a legal right to not appear, and we can even sympathize with his excessive use of the first-person singular (he was wallowing in frustration in a very human way).

But, while stiffing the media isn't a hanging offense, Collin should also understand that it's not his finest hour.  They were at Bay Hill a few weeks ago and every story about Morikawa included a reference back to Arnie, who told every young player that would listen to be even more gracious in defeat than you are in victory, a standard that Collin didn't quite meet.  

You don't have to be perfect at every moment in life, but..... The problem, and somebody should take Collin aside and tell him the facts of life, is that, when he tells us he doesn't owe anybody anything, we believe him.  In a handful of years, this group of men has gone from These guys are Good™ to I don't owe anyone anything™.  Well played!

Shane Ryan has thoughts, though he seems to be taking Collin awfully personally:

The question of whether a professional golfer "owes" something to the media puts a writer like me in a tough spot. If I say yes, they do owe us something, I sound entitled. But if I agree that they don't, I'm arguing for my own obsolescence, because if there's no need for any relationship, what's the point of me?

He doesn't owe anybody, Shane.  Don't be so needy....But see if you think Collin is up for this:

From a player's side, it's a terrific way to frame the question if your goal is to tie the media in knots. Not only does it sound righteous to reject the idea that you're obliged to give away part of your soul to the media, but it paints them as a pack of leaches looking for blood. Add in the fact that hating journalists has become a national sport, and it's a hell of a sympathy play—in 2025, you can't lose by standing against the press.

At its heart, though, this question is meaningless and should be ignored as a distraction. It's paradoxically both harmful and silly, and it doesn't deserve to be taken seriously.

Why? Because it paints the two sides as enemies, and none of us should accept that definition, much less promote it. What we need is the creation of a mutually beneficial relationship between players and those writers/producers/podcasters they trust to act in good faith, because that produces the best stories that reveal the humanity of these great athletes … which, by the way, they could really use at a time when many fans consider them boring or greedy.

But Shane pulls back the curtain a little, and it's not an especially pretty picture:

I work for Golf Digest, a prominent golf media outlet, but if I wanted to get 30 minutes alone with Morikawa or Scottie Scheffler or Rory McIlroy at some point in the next three months, I'd have a hard time. I could either approach them personally at the course or email their agents, and I can tell you with near certainty how that would go—in person, they'd tell me to talk to their agents. Then their agents would likely say no, but in the off chance they said yes, it would be after a long series of emails sussing out my intentions, possibly asking for the questions in advance and wondering whether it could just be a phone call. I've been there, and the process is unpleasant enough that it has a chilling effect … at a certain point, it's easier just to stop asking and find other ways to cover them. Needless to say, those other ways don't involve an actual human conversation.

Remember all those years ago when I was ranting about Nurse Ratched's refusal to reveal Tour disciplinary actions?  This is how we got where we are, as the Tour has protected its players from any scrutiny for decades.  

Shane sounds hopelessly naïve above, with his mutually-beneficial bit.  That's all well and good until a tough story appears, then they'll expect you to cover for them.  I just think when they tell us they hold us in contempt, we should do them the courtesy of believing them.  And make our own appropriate arrangements....

LIV Musings - It would take a better man than I not to laugh at this:

3.6 million people watched the final round of the Players Championship while just 34,000 tuned in for LIV Singapore.

 Didn't they have 12,000 people tuned in earlier in the year?  I mean, look at the growth!

To be fair, these seem like good numbers for the PGA, given the weather delay:

According to Josh Carpenter of Sports Business Journal, Sunday’s broadcast of the Players Championship, a weather-impacted round that ended with eventual champion Rory McIlroy and runner-up JJ Spaun tied headed into a Monday morning playoff, averaged 3.6 million viewers on NBC, up about 3% versus Scottie Scheffler’s win last year (3.5 million viewers).

It's almost like a familiar venue and full field add value....Oh, what am I saying?

If I were a harder-working blogger, I'd check the Friday ratings.  JT's Friday charge to make the cut is to this observer one of the great things about our game, so great that they can't stand it happening....

Of course LIV was on at zero dark thirty, but still:

And it’s not as if large audiences are allergic to watching live sports late at night on a cable channel. The same night that LIV Singapore aired on FS1, Formula One’s Australian Grand Prix averaged 1.1 million viewers on ESPN. That event actually began an hour and a half later than LIV Singapore, even more of an unfavorable time slot for American audiences.

Just something to keep in mind when we hear that the Saudis want to keep LIV going....

A certain player did win that LIV event, and spawned a cottage industry of musings:

Where should Joaquin Niemann actually be ranked?

The first reaction is that he took himself out of the mix, so do I need to care?  He ne4eds to make himself relevant, and he's unfortunately only left himself four opportunities a year to do so.

This guy can't help shred whatever vestigial credibility remains (spoiler alert, it's zero):

Following Niemann's victory, Mickelson logged into his X/Twitter account to pump up Torque GC's best player. Torque GC's main acount posted that Niemann has "got to be a top 5 player in the world right now." Mickelson's response? "Top 5? Try #1."

Per that unimpeachable source, this is the best player in the world's record in majors:


 Really Phil?  

Cup Fever - It was a great week with a nasty ending for J.J. Spaun, but I didn't see this coming:

Scottie Scheffler
Xander Schauffele
Collin Morikawa
Russell Henley
Bryson DeChambeau
JJ Spaun
Maverick McNealy
Patrick Cantlay
Lucas Glover
Tony Finau

Those are the current U.S. Ryder Cup points standings after the Players, showing  the runner up as an automatic qualifier.  That'll put the fear of God into the Euros, no?

Of course, the Euros have their own problems:


Not even expecting Viktor to be at Bethpage, that's how lost he seems.

I must leave you good folks here and get on with my day.  Hope to see you Monday.

Posted by at No comments:

Tuesday, March 18, 2025

Weekend Wrap - Playoff Letdown Edition

I acknowledge that I had promised to wrap the weekend on Monday morning, but perhaps you missed that fine print....  It actually ends up in existential territory, can a blogger wrap that which itself has not wrapped?  

An odd week at Ponte Vedra Beach, one in which the Tour will no doubt take comfort in the outcome, though I'd assign a huge asterisk to it all.  No doubt recency bias will dominate, so all sorts of folks will be conceding him that little event in three weeks.

Rory In Full - That's a recurring header here, and Golf.com actually used it on their home page for this piece:

Rory McIlroy’s week at the Players Championship started with a heckle and ended with heroics. On Monday morning, McIlroy claimed his second career Players title after beating J.J. Spaun in a three-hole aggregate playoff in blustery conditions at TPC Sawgrass.

It was a week that illuminated what makes McIlroy such a compelling figure off the course and magnetic one on it.

After 20-year-old college golfer Luke Potter chirped McIlroy with a dig about his 2011 Masters collapse during Tuesday’s practice round, McIlroy walked over to the rope line and grabbed the phone of one of Potter’s teammates. The college players were removed from the premises.

It was an understandable, human reaction from McIlroy. A revealing one, too, as my colleague James Colgan noted. It showed the duality of the four-time major winner. The unpredictability of the contrasting versions he chooses to exhibit.

He is both willing and vulnerable enough to show the emotional anguish of his failures but also knows he can’t let those letdowns define him.

We'll touch briefly on that punching down incident, but that last sentence is the crux of the matter, no?  He seems as indecisive as Hamlet, but also more than a little thin-skinned.  A modern day Colin Montgomerie, though admittedly the current Rory has shed the baby fat.

And then he gets into this, for reason only his shrink will understand:

On Wednesday, McIlroy said he plans to retire with “some left in the tank” and that he won’t play on the PGA Tour Champions. In the next breath, he allowed there is always the possibility he could change his mind. To be willing to evolve your positions based on new information is admirable and a sign of an ability for deep introspection.

Same goes for his on-course approach.

McIlroy can overpower almost any test, but he’s working to fight his natural aggressive instincts in an attempt to mirror what has made Scottie Scheffler so dominant over the last two years.

That mentality shift helped McIlroy win the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am earlier this year and had him enter the final round at TPC Sawgrass within striking distance of another Players title. Despite beginning the day four shots back of 54-hole leader J.J. Spaun, McIlroy was expected to track down the contenders ahead of him with an average world ranking of 103. Anything else would be a letdown.

The curse of being great is that the accompanying expectations lead only to failures being magnified exponentially. McIlroy knows this too well as his major championship drought enters its 11th year.

There may be something there, but just think about how long he's been out there..  If this is the silver bullet, you'd have to agree that it took him an inordinate amount of time to get there, no?

I don't have quite as much time as I need, so shall we do our usual thing of drafting off the  Tour Confidential panel?  Sorry if I confused you, but that last question was very much rhetorical:

Rory McIlroy took down J.J. Spaun in a Monday playoff to win the Players Championship
for the second time in his career and claim his second win in three starts this season (the first time he’s had two wins before April). What’d you think of McIlroy’s week? And with the Masters looming, has he shown you anything to think this year at Augusta could be different?

Josh Sens: Yes. He’s talked about swing tweaks, and he’s been working hard on his wedge game. I can’t say I understand what he has changed in his mechanics, but he’s been playing a more controlled game so far this season. Augusta, of course, is a different animal for McIlroy. The Masters has been in his head. But a month ago or so in this space, I chose him to win the green jacket this year. I like that pick.

If he's improved his distance control with his wedges, that's huge.  Of course, it took him a decade or more to diagnose the problem, if only he read this blog.

James Colgan: If he’s walking up the 18th fairway at Augusta National with a two-shot lead, I’ll safely believe this year could be different. Until then, I think the burden falls on Rory to show us he is different.

James, just to be safe, I'd make that a 3-shot lead.... Yanno, Arnie '61 and all...  But a pretty damn cynical take from Mr. Colgan, which I find appropriate.

Josh Schrock: The easy answer is yes but I think it’s unknowable. I think McIlroy’s decision to try to emulate Scottie Scheffler’s course management style and limit mistakes has clearly paid off so far. He’s hitting a variety of different golf shots, especially with his wedges and short irons. It’s all good. But with McIlroy, everything changes once he steps foot on Augusta National. As we saw this week with one chirp from Luke Potter, McIlroy’s failure at the Masters still cuts deep. Whether or not he can heal that mental wound once inside the ropes at Augusta is something that no one, not even McIlroy, knows.

Yeah, I haven't blogged it, but they do a deep dive on the incident, which I do think is a tell:

McIlroy also made headlines earlier in the week, when he had a couple of fans kicked out and took one of their phones (which was later returned) after one of them heckled McIlroy for hitting a ball into the water during a practice round. Did McIlroy cross the line? Or did he have the right to do what he did?

Sens: I can understand the impulse in the heat of the moment. But he crossed the line. He’s a professional. He knows that dealing with yahoo behavior is part of his job. That involves rising above — or blocking out — the occasional idiocy around him.

Colgan: Definitely crossed a line, but I’m also not bothered by it. If anything, I found it funny that the thing he desperately wants us NOT to talk about (Masters 2011/U.S. Open 2024) became the story of tournament week because of Rory’s own actions. In that same breath, kudos to him for vanquishing some demons with his performance on Sunday and Monday.

Schrock: I don’t think he crossed the line. To be honest, I don’t think we need to let hecklers off the hook for being cruel. It’s really easy to say that McIlroy should have just blocked it out but I think there’s something more endearing about athletes who aren’t robotic. From Potter’s perspective, I couldn’t imagine chirping someone who I hope to be peers with one day. That would be like me going to the Super Bowl and yelling at Dan Wetzel over the column he wishes he had back. What are we doing?

I haven't followed this story closely, but the only part that sounds "over the line" is the taking of the cellphone, assuming he did it himself.  A player should not interact with fans directly, but I've no issue in a player reporting fans to tournament officials.  But having no issue with it is different than thinking it helpful for the player.  Players shouldn't even be conscious of the nonsense coming from the crowds, and Rory has just introduced his rabbit ears to the inebriated malcontents of the world, which I assume he will come t regret See:  Montgomerie, Colin)

But what intrigues us all is likely two aspects, the obvious continuing sensitivity to 2011, combined with the incident happening in a practice round....   As the man above hinted at, if you have rabbit ears in a practice round at Sawgrass.... well, you can finish the thought.

As for Luke Potter, he did send Rory a written apology, one assumes the wording was challenging, but what could he have been thinking?  I hate to bring him up, but it reminds of Grayson Murray's challenges, so not sure the 38th ranked amateur in the world is ready for prime time.

TPC Sawgrass proved to be a challenging yet entertaining test, the addition of a pesky tree made one front-nine hole much more compelling, and Justin Thomas nearly set the course record a day after he shot one of the worst rounds of the week. What did you learn this week?

Sens: This isn’t a new lesson but an old one reinforced. Venues matter. Architecture buffs can debate the merits of TPC Sawgrass until they are blue in the face. But there’s no doubt it’s a great tournament stage.

Colgan: I learned that this is still a really fun golf tournament, even when it’s missing some of LIV’s big stars. I really hope we find a way to get some of those players in the field in years to come, because, while this tournament is not a major, it does have some space between the next nearest golf tournament.

Let's take that thought a little further, James.  He's spot on that it's a more important event than any other, sans the four major.  What's the difference, kids?  C'mon, anyone?  Bueller?   You might have noticed that it had an actual full fie4ld of 144 players....  Did you catch any of Friday's action in which great players were fighting to make the cut?  This is exactly what Patrick Cantlay wants removed from professional golf.

Schrock: The Players is a great tournament because of the combination of the course, the conditions and the spot on the calendar it holds. I think that having it be the first major-type test of the year really sets the stage for what’s to come and guys are really on edge because of that. But I guess the field was missing Joaquin Niemann. The absence of Phil Mickelson’s World No. 1 was felt for sure. This tournament will feel even bigger when/if the game gets reunified, but it’s an awesome test and has a diet major feel.

I wouldn't argue against the inclusion of the best LIV players,  but we're talking about 3-4 guys.  The harsh reality is that no one misses Joaquin, because he simply hadn't done enough in the game (though I give him props for playing where he can to stay in the mix).

Who won the Players without winning the Players?

Sens: Danny Walker is an obvious choice, as he came in as a last-minute fill in and wound up T6. But I’ll go with Spaun. As painful as that playoff had to be for him, he can take it as a confidence boost that he got to extra holes, and also as an agonizing lesson learned. Both valuable, assuming he can look at it through those eyes.

Colgan: Bud Cauley and Danny Walker went from last-second additions to near-million-dollar paydays. That’s pretty good!

Schrock: Not Scottie Scheffler. The game’s best player didn’t have his best stuff and his attitude soured as his three-peat quest ran aground on Saturday. He is clearly not happy with where his game is after the layoff due to Ravioli-gate and has work to do to defend at Augusta. But in all seriousness, it’s Bud Cauley, Danny Walker and Spaun.

Most of those names would not have even been in the field were it a Signature Event.  Can we not acknowledge the diminishment of events through limited field sizes and no cuts?  It is without a doubt an inferior product in all respects, and those controlling the game are too busy lining their own pockets to do the right thing (Rory and Patrick, call your office).

In honor of the Players’ three-hole aggregate playoff, which playoff format is best?

Sens: Three holes seems about right to me. Long enough to eliminate flukes, but not drawn out enough to become a death march. I wouldn’t have wanted to see this morning’s playoff go on a second longer.

Colgan: Depends on the venue. Some places should be the same hole over and over again. Some should be a full, 18-hole aggregate. TPC Sawgrass is dead perfect as a three-hole aggregate.

Schrock: If it’s a big event, it should be a full 18-hole aggregate. If it’s a non-major, non-Players Signature Event, it should be a three-hole aggregate. Everything else should be sudden death.

Funny answers, as if they want to avoid the obvious conclusions....

First, just let me add, this is a tough question and Colgan's answer is downright bizarre, because layoff formats are mostly chosen based upon the event, not the venue.   Those three finishing holes at Sawgrass provide a routing that's hard for any other venue to match, which only begs the question of whether the PGA of America could ever take a Ryder Cup here....  I mean, if the USGA can bring an Amateur there....

But it's a good question, though the writers seem unwilling to pull at the thread.  Because if the fifth of four majors has an epic three-hole playoff, isn't it weird that the U.S. Open has 2-hole playoff and the Masters is still sudden death?

They actually have a Joaquin follow-up:

Joaquin Niemann won LIV Golf Singapore on Sunday, giving the 26-year-old pro two wins in four LIV starts this season. With the Masters a month away, is he the most dangerous LIV golfer playing Augusta?

Sens: I dunno. I wouldn’t look past a certain Masters winner named Jon Rahm.

Colgan: Well, Phil Mickelson called him the best golfer in the world, so I think that stands for something!

Schrock: Niemann needs to show a pulse in a major before we’re calling him a threat of any sort. It’s Bryson, Rahm, Hatton and Brooks. Then, maybe, Niemann. Maybe.

Yeah, when has Phil ever lied to us?

I think they do a credible job, and Joaquin is a bit of an enigma for sure.  I though his decision to join LIV was one of the most regrettable, for the simple reason that he was still ascending, and LIV is just not the same competitive environment.

But on this question my thought go to the state of the Tour-LIV negotiations, wherein it's our understanding that the issue is the ongoing status of LIV.  Their players have obviously had some success in majors, but I'll opine that their top guys (and it's really only 3-4 guys) guys need to perform in the 2025 majors to maintain their negotiating leverage.  It puts quite a lot of pressure on those few guys, Brooks, Bryson, Rahmbo and maybe Joaquin and Cam Smith (although he doesn't seem to be the same guy).

One last bit and then the exit for me.  On Sunday I was watching the restarted final round when Employee No. 2 said words to the effect of, "Look at the package on Lucas Glover".  So, I couldn't help looking and, while I wish I could unsee it, that is no longer an option.  What's a blogger to do?  My Google subscription is current, so I searched Lucas Glover package" and got this:

Lucas Glover's "package" refers to the specific golf clubs he uses, which include a Titleist GT2 driver, a Cobra Darkspeed LS 3-wood, Srixon ZX7 irons, Cleveland RTX 6 ZipCore wedges, and a L.A.B. Golf Mezz.1 Max putter.

No, that's not what the bride meant at all.  She was perhaps using a more colloquial definition, for which the Urban Dictionary is the reference of record:

Male genitalia (penis and scrotum together), often associated with large size.
Man, look at the bulge in that dude's pants! His package must be huge.

It's twoo!  It's twoo!  All I can say is that the bride was not mistaken....

If I were on my game, this story should be combined with the news of Tiger's latest romantic relationship, which will have all sorts of heads exploding.   

I will catch you all later in the week. 

 

Posted by at 1 comment:

Thursday, March 13, 2025

Thursday Themes - Full-Field Edition

Enjoy the week, kids, they don't give us many quite like this one.  Exactly four in total, including this week and three of the majors.  Elite professional golf should and used to be about beating strong, deep (but I repeat myself) fields.... Keep that in mind as you list to Jay's nonsense.

I'm in the late stages of my last full-field (see what I did there?) ski trip of the year.  It hasn't been brilliant, 220 inches of snow to date being quite the half-assed year.  Now the last few days have been warm and sunny, and its been quite fun sliding around in the slush low on the mountain.  A series of storms hits beginning today, though it has the potential to merely complicate my final two days on the mountan.

But enough about me....

The Players - I shan't spend too much time previewing this event, you can read Golf Digest's ranking of the entire 144-player field here, or ESPN's preview here.  Shall we just take a quick peak at the ESPN writers' picks?

Schlabach: Give me Scottie. It's March and the world No.1 golfer hasn't won a PGA Tour event yet. To win the Players, you have to be accurate off the tee and on approach. Few players hit it as straight as Scheffler, and I think he'll work some magic around the greens and make enough putts to complete the three-peat.

Uggetti: Maybe I'm a sucker for the storyline this would create, but short of Scheffler three-peating, I think I'm going with the Morikawa instant redemption arc. He has been playing such good golf lately that it feels like he is due. Then again, it felt like he was due last week, and we saw what happened.

However, despite the fact that he said he never needs some kind of external affirmation for coming up short, everything he said Tuesday struck me as his own version of a self-prescribed pump-up speech fueled by some combination of anger, frustration and motivation.

"If you get beat, you get beat, like I can't do anything about that. But I knew I had more inside of me to control for that day to where I'm like, 'Man, if I shoot, if I have two more birdies, I win the tournament,'" Morikawa said. "So I look at it both ways. And that's why it sucked. That's why you just, you're pissed. But you got to move on."

At a course that fits him like a glove, I think Morikawa will be able to do just that and finally get his first win since 2023.

I haven't seen that much from Scottie since his return, but we all understand it will click back in at some point.  But the Morikawa pick seems a good one on the merits, but would it be a popular win?  Well, depends who you ask, because Collin might need a remedial PR course:

Three PGA Tour pros who have adopted a role in golf media took offense to Collin Morikawa
blowing off the media on Sunday after finishing second at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Morikawa, who lost a three-stroke lead with five holes to go, said he was pissed and needed time to cool down.

“Like I don't owe anyone anything. No offense to you guys, but for me in the moment of that time, I didn't want to be around anyone. Like, I didn't want to talk to anyone. I didn't need any sorries. I didn't need any 'good playings.' Like, you're just pissed," Morikawa said on Tuesday during his pre-tournament press conference. "I get it. Like you guys are there to figure out how we played and how things went, but in my perspective, like I just didn't want to talk to anyone, and I think that's fair to myself, you know."

Translated into the original English, it' basically a double-middle finger.....

But I personally love it when they drop the mask.....Don't you?  I mean, we all get the disappointment and he could have skated if he had merely said that he was so distraught and disappointed that he couldn't pull it off.   But what he said was so much clearer.  Shall I render it with a little bolding?

“Like I don't owe anyone anything. No offense to you guys, but for me in the moment of that time, I didn't want to be around anyone. Like, I didn't want to talk to anyone. I didn't need any sorries. I didn't need any 'good playings.' Like, you're just pissed," Morikawa said on Tuesday during his pre-tournament press conference. "I get it. Like you guys are there to figure out how we played and how things went, but in my perspective, like I just didn't want to talk to anyone, and I think that's fair to myself, you know."

Does that help explicate?  I've bolded everything that's important to Collin.... Really, what could he do to make things clearer to us.  We're just lucky to be allowed to live in the same world as he does.... But by all means don't take offence.

Now, there are a handful of guys out there that get it:

But Rocco Mediate, a longtime pro who won on PGA Tour Champions last year, isn’t buying Morikawa’s explanation.

“Biggest bunch of horsesh--t you could ever say, period. I mean, that is the dumbest, most selfish garbage you could ever say,” Mediate said. “Mr. Palmer would've hunted him down. Trust me on that one because he told me one thing, Mr. Palmer told me one thing that stuck with me. [He said,] ‘You know what, Rock, it's real easy to go in and talk to somebody when you won or when you've played well, but can you do it when you don't? That's the key.’ Obviously he can't, OK, so stop talking to me about, ‘I didn't wanna talk to anybody.’ Your job is to tell people what happened. I don't give a s--t about your workout in the morning and all that other crap. Tell me what happened. You lost? You lost. You got beat? That's what happens. Guess what? Golf's hard.”

Arnie has left the building....

Obviously the worst bit was the lede about not owing anyone anything, which doesn't even have the benefit of being true:

Mediate continued his rant against Morikawa: “Please stop trying to tell me, ‘I didn't feel like talking to somebody.’ I mean, if Mr. Palmer was there, he'd have grabbed, I'm telling you, it wouldn't have been pretty, it would've been public, too. You don't need to act that way. The Tour does not need that garbage at all. I'm not sure if I was clear. Was I clear or was that a little ambiguous? Man up, talk about it and be done. He said, ‘I don't owe anybody anything.’ Actually, he does. The people that are watching. The reporters that bust their ass to write stories about our sorry asses. And I get this s--t? No, pathetic. You can say it. You can put it all, I don't care. Come to me, Collin. We'll talk about it.”

It's hard to overstate how bad this crap is, because he's showing contempt for the Tour's fans and sponsors.... There are precedents that Jay and other might want to consider, yanno, major brands such as....wait for it, Bud Light.

Brandel gets it as well:

Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee, speaking on “Live From,” echoed that sentiment, beginning his comments by saying, “It’s so disrespectful.”

“When I found that he had refused to do the interview I was thinking about the players who had suffered far more devastating losses, far more momentous losses, who regained their equilibrium and with class gave the media – and it’s not just giving the media, it is giving the fans and the sponsors and the entire ecosystem of the golf world an explanation of the humanity of losing,” he said.

Chamblee thought of Robert de Vicenzo signing an incorrect scorecard at the 1968 Masters; Greg Norman losing a six-shot lead at the 1996 Masters; Jean Van de Velde at the 1999 British Open after tripling the last hole to fall into a playoff; Phil Mickelson at the 2006 U.S. Open, Jordan Spieth at the 2016 Masters – each of whom stood in front of the media and answered questions with candor.

“The one that really resonated with me and that Collin Morikawa and Rory McIlroy can learn from, there is no more devastating loss in the history of golf and maybe the history of sport than Tom Watson not winning the 2009 Open at Turnberry. He gathered himself after the loss and went in and spoke and opened up his heart to the world to what this loss meant."

Collin was very clear that he doesn't owe us anything.  The only logical reaction to that is to remind ourselves of that should he win soon....  That's not something I feel compelled to watch.

State of Play -  Jay's presser was quite the work of art:

Let me help you with the translation there.  We have Patrick Cantlay reasonably content, so we've successfully destroyed our product be copying LIV, so as long as Tiger and Rory are happy, we're good.  I know, not much in there for the rest of us....

Speaking Tuesday at the TPC Sawgrass ahead of this week’s Players Championship, Monahan opened his annual state of the tour address by giving an update on the discussions with LIV Golf’s financial backer, stating reunification with those who defected to Saudi-backed circuit remains his priority. However, as Golf Digest detailed last week, both sides have hit a roadblock in trying to finalize a deal, a sentiment Monahan nodded to by mentioning “when you may be near a breakthrough, there are ebbs and flows in the discussion.” While Monahan was quick to say both sides are operating from a place of respect, the commissioner was adamant he would not accept anything that would harm the existing tour product.

“We will not do so in a way that diminishes the strength of our platform or the very real momentum we have with our fans and our partners,” Monahan said. “So while we've removed some hurdles, others remain. But like our fans, we still share the same sense of urgency to get to a resolution.”

Oh yeah, it's like a rocket ship..... No doubt you've noticed the coordinated talking points about the Tour not needing a deal, though buried in the fine print is an asterisk, since they much be burning through that SSG cash infusion, no?

But there's a lot to unpack here:

Publicly and privately, Monahan continues to push for a deal. He is wary of the fatigue from fans about the schism and also has preached the danger of continuing to war with the PIF. The tour’s
private equity partners, the Strategic Sports Group, are in favor of a deal, as well. Conversely, though the PIF has vast resources at its disposal, it also is under a mandate to curtail some of its expenses. LIV has already burned upwards of $5 billion on the fledgling venture. To those who view LIV Golf as an exercise in sportswashing and soft power, LIV has succeeded, giving the kingdom direct access to the White House. With that mission accomplished, LIV Golf’s success as its own vehicle warrants further scrutiny. Now in its fourth year of existence, LIV continues to struggle to gain traction with the golf populace. Though the league signed an American broadcast deal with FOX Sports, ratings have been soft, and for the second time in three years LIV failed to extract a marquee player from the PGA Tour or DP World Tour for the 2025 season. In short, there’s the question of what leverage LIV has at the moment.

The same leverage they've always had.  Because of the greed of the players, they have the financial wherewithal to inflict pain on the rest of professional golf.  Just not the power to create a compelling product.

Of course, everyone assumes this is a reference to team play:

In his opening remarks, Monahan spoke about assimilating some aspects of LIV Golf into the PGA Tour product. However, in Golf Digest’s reporting, LIV’s team element remains a sticking point. When pressed by Golf Digest and other reporters on what exactly the tour is interested in, Monahan repeatedly declined to get into specifics.

It has to be, because the other core components of LIV, specifically tiny elite fields and no cuts, have already destroyed to competitive integrity of the Tour's premier events.  It would take a heart of stone to not to laugh at Jordan Spieth's frustration at not getting a sponsor's exemption into Bay Hill, maybe he should take that up with Cantlay?  Or Tiger?

But while beating their chest, have their ratings improved?

PGA Tour telecasts (finally) trending up, but biggest issue still looms

 Issue?  You sure about that use of the singular?

Good news first. The Tour knows it has to get better on TV, and efforts to get there are leading somewhere. For years, the biggest problem facing PGA Tour telecasts was the same problem facing the Tour itself: It was too large, too slow, and much too bureaucratic. Most fans understood that commercials were unlikely to disappear in an environment where the Tour had to generate $700 million in ad revenue each year for its network partners. But why did that render the Tour incapable of changing anything that irked its most loyal consumers?

The Tour introduced the Fan Forward program — a survey that solicited responses from more than 50,000 golf fans — almost exclusively to fix that. The program has identified a roadmap forward for “fixing what can be fixed” in Tour telecasts, in the parlance of many Tour execs. These changes, outlined in Monahan’s annual state-of-the-state speech on Tuesday, include more live golf shots, more player-caddie interactions and an increased focus on cutline battles. According to multiple people at the Tour, the modifications also include new focus group-tested shot sequences that show fewer tap-in putts and a greater number of golf shots per minute.

Many of these changes already are on display, with a few more expected to roll out this weekend at the Players Championship. And while the Golf Twitter army will be relieved to hear there is still ample room to quibble with the Tour’s network partners — including after NBC missed a tournament-deciding moment on Sunday — there is little disagreement that the survey already has produced welcome changes. Before Henley’s tournament-winning eagle at Bay Hill, NBC had delivered one of its more comprehensive Tour telecasts in recent memory, and its analytics-focused approach to the cutline replaced an outdated Friday golf TV tradition with something new and considerably more watchable.

Let me see if I have this straight.....  We're wowed by NBC analytical approach to......really, the cut line?  When Tiger and Rory are committed to a world with no cuts?  Sheesh, what a clown show.

I do love the buried counter-point:

Still, these changes to golf TV can best be viewed as fixes on the margins. They are fixing problems of golf TV that can be fixed, and that’s good, but they fall well short of addressing the proverbial elephant in the room: commercials.

 Yeah, the broadcasts are unwatchable due to that commercial load....

As part of the PGA Tour’s 2019 TV rights agreement with CBS and NBC, the networks air between 17 and 21 minutes of commercials per hour on any given week, and average about 18 minutes of commercials per hour. That’s a tremendous “commercial load,” as it’s called, and it places an equally tremendous burden on the editorial folks responsible for bringing Tour broadcasts to life to stitch together something in the remaining 42 minutes that keeps fans engaged.

The problem, of course, is that the current PGA Tour TV machine basically prints money. Eighteen minutes of commercials per hour might not be the best way to win over an audience, but it turns out to be a great way to make everybody in the golf world (Tours, networks, players and sponsors) very rich. Considering the many pieces of professional golf that remain broken as the golf world turns to Players Championship week, it is understandable and perhaps fair for the Tour to view tweaks to the one irrefutably solid piece of its business as being beyond reproach.

Really?  I don't expect that it's printing money for the broadcasters, and even that commercial load doesn't sate the players.

Of course, it’s easier to sell your advertising partners on higher prices when you’re delivering on your end of the bargain, and that can also be said for the Tour in 2025. Since the Farmers Insurance Open, Tour viewership is up 16 percent in Nielsen’s new “big data panel” — and by a smaller but still encouraging margin in Nielsen’s more traditional ratings panel.

That viewership rebound can largely be attributed to a successful sophomore season for the Signature Events, particularly in Pebble Beach, which went from three rounds to four in 2025 and also saw a thrilling win by Rory McIlroy. For the first time since they were announced a few years back, the Signature Events seem to be delivering on entertainment value. The schedule is more solidified, the stars are getting together more often, and the big events feel bigger — this is what golf fans were promised.

From the numbers I've seen, that 16% increase is entirely attributable to decreases in 2024, and leaves the Tour with a viewership lower than before the creation of these money-grabs.  More importantly, those ratings can't support the economic model of the Tour.

Tied to the Morikawa hissy fit, it creates a weird juxtaposition.  The players demand more money than the ecosystem can produce, then they tell us they owe us nothing.  We, in turn, owe them the respect of acknowledging their contempt for us, and responding in kind.

Elvis Has Left The Building - I'm legally required to cover this story, right?

For the two people on the planet that missed the story:

"As I began to ramp up my own training and practice at home, I felt a sharp pain in my left
Achilles, which was deemed to be ruptured," Woods wrote. "This morning, Dr. Charlton Stucken of Hospital for Special Surgery in West Palm Beach, Florida performed a minimally-invasive Achilles tendon repair for a ruptured tendon. “The surgery went smoothly, and we expect a full recovery,” added Dr. Stucken. I am back home now and plan to focus on my recovery and rehab, thank you for all the support."


Tiger injured?  Say it ain't so, Joe!

I'm so bored by this man.  Remind me again why hw isn't the Ryder Cup Captain?  What, it would cut into his Call of Duty play?   Maybe you can devote yourself to making those field even smaller.......

That's it for this post and this week.  Heading home Saturday and we'll wrap the Players on Monday.  Have a great weekend.

Posted by at No comments:

Monday, March 10, 2025

Weekend Wrap - You Had One Job Edition

I dubbed the 2024 Tour Schedule the Faceplant Tour™, falling into that blogger's dilemma of using the good bits too early.... I could go with the Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight™, though the field sizes are so small that they might not meet the minimum to be considered, yanno, a gang....

I did watch it, it's just that like NBC's entire audience, I wasn't permitted to see the one shot that mattered....

Not TGL - I'm guilty og belaboring the bit for sure, but perhaps NBC thought we were playing only fifteen holes, like that Monday-night craze sweeping the country.  Anyway, to the actual golf:

He best be careful, this is Florida where theft is still a crime....

As I'm sure you'll have noted, the chip came in hot:

“I knew it was probably going to be, I don’t know, 5, 6 feet by, but I don’t know that you can stop it with any pace right there,” Henley said. “I think Collin hit his a couple feet by. That’s just kind of golf. I mean, sometimes you get a good break like that and it hits the pin and goes in.”

The Tour Confidential panel take a different tack, eschewing the theft angle entirely:

2. Russell Henley chipped in for eagle on the 16th hole to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational, beating playing partner Collin Morikawa by one. Did Henley win it, or did Morikawa lose it?

Colgan: Henley won it, but man, Morikawa’s gonna be replaying some of those putts down the stretch in his mind on the trip to Jacksonville. I feel for Collin — he’s been one of the three best golfers alive over the last 16 months, and he’s got no wins to show for it.

Berhow: It might be a little bit of both. Morikawa was one over on the back nine and that’s not how you close golf tournaments, especially when you lead by three at the turn. You could argue Henley got lucky with his eagle chip in on 16 (which would have cruised well past the hole if it didn’t hit the flag) but he also had to be aggressive. Plus, after a bogey on 10, he had birdies on 12 and 14 before that eagle. Three under on the back which included two textbook, smart two-putt pars on 17 and 18? Hat tip to Henley.

Sens: Henley won it with some help from the golf gods. No doubt Morikawa could play the woulda-coulda-shoulda game, but I don’t think he’ll dwell for long on that and he’ll go right back to striping it at Sawgrass. Talk about a good candidate to spoil Scheffler’s attempt at a three-peat.

Not the most illuminating of questions, as it takes 72 holes to separate them by a mere shot.  That chip, which could well have saved Henley two shots by clattering in is the obvious hinge point.  Good thing NBC was all over it, eh?

Still, is there a lack of clarity at NBC as to the nature of their job?  Because...well, in addition to the merits of an NBC eff-up, we have a new contender for the header Hall of Shame:

Cause and effect can challenge many, but NBC's assclownery didn't actually affect the tournament outcome.  They just televise it, though just because it's happening doesn't mean we actually get to see it...

In the end, only one shot mattered at the 2025 Arnold Palmer Invitational.

And in the end, most of the golf world failed to see it.

The moment arrived on the 16th hole on Sunday afternoon, as Russell Henley stared down the short-sided eagle chip that would change the fortunes of his PGA Tour career. The 16th, a short
par-5 by PGA Tour standards, has long played as the easiest hole relative to par at Bay Hill, so much so that The King himself had it shortened to a par-4 for several years. Sunday was no different. Trailing Collin Morikawa by one, Henley needed a birdie to bring things back to even, which meant he needed to keep his chip close to the flagstick.

The ensuing high, spinning chip Henley popped out of the greenside rough was the kind you might have seen on NBC’s telecast live, had the network been showing golf. But in the moment Henley made contact NBC was not showing golf. It was showing a minute-long Rolex commercial.

Had the Rolex advertisement run for 59 seconds, the golf world might have seen the entirety of the shot that altered Henley’s career and the shape of the Arnold Palmer Invitational in real-time. But it ran for 61, and the golf world saw only Henley’s ball after it skittered across the green and into the cup for an eagle three, veering the telecast from synthy commercial notes into the tournament’s biggest moment like a five-lane sweep into the exit ramp.

In the end, only one thing matters, and that's the commercial load....  The golf is obviously secondary....

The author goes full Zapruder with a timeline, but also has some deeper background:

So, what happened?

It’s easy to point the finger at NBC’s production team for failing to navigate seamlessly in and out of the break, but after rewatching the sequence, there’s not much fat left to trim. From Morikawa’s approach to Henley’s chip is a gap of one minute and 48 seconds. Perhaps NBC could have gotten into the commercial a second sooner after Conners’ missed tee shot on the 17th, when the network went to Brad Faxon for 5 seconds of analysis. But in that moment, Conners was as close to leading the golf tournament as Henley. The decision is hard to second-guess.

Of course, some amount of blame belongs to the whims of live golf, where there are 18 playing fields and as many as 72 balls in play at any moment. Unlike other sports, golf does not stop when its networks go to commercial, which means there is always the chance, however small, that a big moment will be missed entirely. It is largely the responsibility of the professionals employed by networks — an army of producers and directors — to ensure that those commercials are aired judiciously to avoid these slip-ups whenever possible. Often these professionals are good enough that audiences miss only fodder. But sometimes they bet on Russell Henley taking 120 seconds to hit a consequential chip shot and he only takes 108, meaning half the chip doesn’t air. “That’s golf,” as former CBS Golf lead producer Lance Barrow used to say.

No, the bigger issue seems to be the commercial itself. Did Rolex pay for this advertisement to run specifically during this section of the telecast, or was it merely a one-minute spot that needed to run sometime in the final hour or half-hour? If it’s the former, then it seems remarkably short-sighted of the NBC and PGA Tour sales teams to have agreed to these terms, given what we know about the 16th hole and its penchant for providing low scores and tournament-defining moments. If it’s the latter, it’s still short-sighted, because it places a commercial interruption during a stretch of play when the “winning moment” could be anywhere (and arrive at anytime).

All of this raises a larger, more existential question: Is the entertainment value of a thrilling finish not more vital to golf’s continued financial success than another commercial break? Said differently: Don’t be mad at NBC for missing Henley’s chip-in — ask why NBC needed to air a 61-second commercial in a moment of significance in the first place.

On that last bit, everything in golf is currently driven by one simple overriding necessity, to wit, that Patrick Cantlay needs to get paid.

The bigger issue is no doubt that, in funding the current rights contracts, the commercial load renders the broadcasts unwatchable.   That's our current reality, which even makes watching on tape a marginal experience.

That said, while everything said here is true enough, doesn't it miss the larger point?

Golf’s business people will argue that you can have your cake (great golf) and eat it too (advertising dollars), but as golf grows richer, that vision grows more opaque. The margin of error for the NBC production team in navigating three golf shots and a one-minute commercial break was five seconds of analysis and one second of black. Meanwhile, the obligation facing the NBC production team was to feather 61 seconds of advertising between three contending golfers on two holes separated by a single shot. For those in the business of missing nothing, those are not particularly favorable numbers.

Nobody — not fans, NBC’s editorial team or the PGA Tour — is happy with the televised outcome of Henley’s chip, but it’s worth remembering why the possibility of this outcome exists. Golf on TV is ultimately a money-making entity, and for PGA Tour golf that costs upward of $700 million per year, commercial interruptions are how the money is made. The more of them, the larger the profit.

In other words, the real problem here isn’t an inept production but one overburdened by its commercial obligations. Real golf moments will continue to get squeezed from viewers in an environment where NBC is routinely expected to air 18 minutes per hour of commercials to satisfy its profit margins, and in turn pay the PGA Tour its chunk of the $700 million annual rights fee. Whether they’re tournament-deciding moments is anyone’s guess, including those employed to make the hard marriage of timing and obligation.

I think we all understand that not every shot can be covered live, but they can be covered plausibly live.  What I can't understand is why an experienced NBC producer comes out of an extended commercial break showing a ball in motion.... WTF!  Just set up the damn shot on tape, tell us it happened second ago if you must, but show the whole damned shot from start to finish.  What is so hard about that?

Lastly on this event, Eamon Lynch does the hard work that American bloggers are happy not to have to do (at least this morning):

 They're using Arnie much the way Stalin used Lenin....

Elitism is the idea that a select group — let’s say, the uppermost tier of golfers — is entitled to
special privileges and power. Exclusivity, on the other hand, would insist that a certain contingent — let’s say, everyone not deemed part of that uppermost tier — is undeserving of access to those advantages. It’s a fine distinction, one muddied by PGA Tour mandarins, whose Signature events masquerade as promoting the former while actually practicing the latter.

Arnold Palmer was elitist only in the administration of his craft, as both golfer and businessman. And he was anything but exclusive. His career was built on being a consummate Everyman, the guy from working-class Pennsylvania stock who earned what he had. Which makes it all the more lamentable that Palmer’s eponymous tournament has become everything he was not.

The Arnold Palmer Invitational remains one of the Tour’s premier tournaments, but it has clearly been diminished, and not because its founder passed more than eight years ago. Decisions, not death, diluted the API.

The field at Bay Hill used to be 120 strong, with morning and afternoon waves of three-man tee times. Spectators filled bleachers erected behind the practice range and pressed against the fence overlooking the putting green. For the past couple of years, those bleachers have seen about as much use as an ashtray on a Harley-Davidson and space has been easy to find along the fence. With just 72 men in the starting field this week, there was usually no more than a handful of them warming up for fans to watch. The buzz of activity that once characterized this event is gone because the activity is gone, not because Arnold is gone.

Hey, at least they went through the motions of a Friday cut, though I can't imagine the number of players cut was even in double figures.

 But in one sentence Eamon provides the essence of the scam that Rory and Tiger have perpetrated on the Tour's members:

Go back a few years to 2021 B.Y. (Before Yasir) and 120 guys competed for $9.3 million. A decade ago the pot was $6.3 million. This week, 72 played for $20 million.

Forget the purse, it's all about the denominator.  Amusingly, above we spoke of Russell Henley stealing the event, whereas the actual theft is to be found in that field size.

 Eamon again using plain English:

A cash grab has disfigured professional golf and the API bears the scars because that’s how the PGA Tour had to buy the loyalty of a disloyal cohort: its own members. Or at least its elite members, who wanted the rank and file to be excluded from the deepest troughs.

A couple of years on from meeting that ransom demand, the Tour should recalibrate Signatures. There’s a sweet spot for field sizes that’s probably closer to 100, certainly a couple dozen more than the current norm. That would give fans more to watch, broadcasters more to show, and media more storylines to cover. It would permit the inclusion of stars who are commercially relevant (Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler are both absent this week) while not denying spots to rising stars and others deserving. And if top players don’t want to share the purse, pay the lowest finishers less or nothing. (That cuts to the heart of it: top players still want to be paid when they underperform inside the ropes).

Which explains why, in the midst of the PGA Tour-LIV enmity, the format of the LIV events was never criticized.  Why?  because those that stayed were jealous.... They expect to be paid for merely showing up, and seem to be getting their way.  The only chink in the armor is that they're not doing at all well at getting us to watch.

So now the PGA Tour's most important events have all the excitement of a LIV event (or, if you're a retro kind of guy, a WGC event).  And they're waiting for us the thank them.

The Players - I hope you've secured any open containers, because you're about to be shocked:

The 144-player field features 48 of the top 50 players in the Official World Golf Ranking, and representation from 24 countries.

Just a reminder that Scottie Scheffler's 2024 season included only one win against a full field, the Players Championship being that lone example.  That's where the TC panel opted to begin:

1. It’s officially Players Championship week, with Scottie Scheffler headlining the field at TPC Sawgrass’ Stadium Course. He’s won the last two years, how bullish are you on a Scottie three-peat?

James Colgan: Bullish!!! The game hasn’t quite been there for Scottie thus far in ‘25, but it looked closer at Bay Hill than at any point since Pebble Beach. The ball-striking is still there, the relentlessness is still there. Now he’s had a month to shake off the rust of the famed Christmas Day Ravioli injury. Call him Spaghetti Scottie in Ponte Vedra — I think he’s hitting it long and straight enough to lock up three-in-a-row.

Josh Berhow: Few people you can say this about but he’s kinda due, isn’t he? (He last won in December.) He’s been solid this year just hasn’t quite had everything clicking at once. I hope he contends because it’s a great storyline to see unfold next week.

Josh Sens:  He’ll rightfully be the favorite – and I expect him to be in the mix–but three in a row is too outlandish to bet on, even for Scheffler, especially on a course that has historically allowed for so many different styles of play.

I didn't see much at Bay Hill to justify the bullishness, though of course he's such a stud that he'll get back on track at some point.  Though I tend to focus more on that event the second weekend in April...

What’s one storyline you are monitoring at the Players?

Colgan: We have a LIV Golf return!!! Laurie Canter played his way back into major professional golf after leaving for LIV, and played well enough to earn a late invite into the field. As far as I can tell, this is the first time a current or former LIV player will have returned to the fold at a PGA Tour event. I’m intrigued by his performance.

Berhow: Jay Monahan’s annual state of the union presser. Part of me thinks there won’t be much of an update on the state of pro golf’s merger, but another part of me thinks the people deserve some candid answers. This has dragged on long enough. Oh, and the par-5 16th is a hole I like a lot, but it gets overlooked because it precedes the par-3 17th. So I guess I’m excited to watch that and the golf.

Sens: Xander Schauffele does not have a great track record at the Players–not by his standards anyway. He’s just coming off an injury and working on the longest-running cuts-made streak on Tour. I’m curious to see if he keeps that streak alive, and what kind of shape his game is in as we work toward the Masters and the meat of the season.

Hey, I'm just happy to have a full field....  Just remember, the next important full-field PGA Tour event after this one will be....checking notes, the 2026 Players Championship.

Is That What He Said? - This is interesting, though not how I remember Keegan's comments:

Also at Bay Hill, Keegan Bradley has his best finish of the season with a tie for fifth. While he’s not yet near Ryder Cup auto-qualifier status, he has said before that as captain, he would give up that gig if he qualified for the team. We still have lots of time left to sort this all out, but if Bradley keeps it up, who would you pick to replace him?

Colgan: Will clear out the obvious selection first: Rick Pitino. In all seriousness, seems clear that
Furyk would get first crack at it given his leadership experience, but I sorta love the idea of calling Tiger off the bench to rile up the boys. If not, I’m sure Phil is available.

Berhow: Furyk is already one of the vice captains and seems like the obvious answer due to his experience, especially since whomever might replace Keegan will have less time at the helm. James is right, Tiger would be an awesome fill-in, but he declined this originally because he couldn’t commit as much time as he wanted. So unlikely he’d take on the gig with even less time to plan. Bummer.

Sens: Do the rules allow Bradley to make himself a captain’s pick? That would be entertaining. Furyk would be the natural substitute, and they could make it official at a press conference where Bradley, doing his best Bugs Bunny, tells Furyk, “I’m captain, and I say YOU’RE captain.”

I thought what he said, back when we were all shocked at his selection, that he would only be a playing captain is he automatically qualified.  I remember it being along the lines of, "I can't imagine using a Captain's pick on myself."  I don't remember him talking about giving up that captaincy, but I've seen quite enough of "Alas, Poor Furyk" to last a lifetime.

But since we're talking Tiger, anyone notice his absence from this week's field?  He was well enough to enter the Genesis before his Mom passed, and there may not be an easier course to walk than Sawgrass.... Can we dispense with any pretense that he is still an active professional golfer?

I shall release you all here to get on with your week.  I'll see you down the road....

Posted by at No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)