Weekend Wrap - Rory Redux Edition

You know how commentators are inclined to interpret the effect of a player's breakthrough win.  Yanno, to the effect that it will "Free them up" and open the floodgates?  And do you further remember how dismissive I typically am of such prognostications?  It never happens that way except, yanno, when it does...

Not that I would describe Rory as looking especially "freed up"...

Shall we begin with Geoff's Masters by the numbers?  Again, mostly rhetorical:

• -11 (276): Winning score by Rory McIlroy (2025: 277)

• 364: Days since McIlroy won the Masters

• 6: Career majors for McIlroy (ties Trevino, Faldo, Mickelson)

• 4th: Back-to-back champion (Nicklaus, Woods, Faldo)

• 283-327-327-304-325-349-317-267-335-350-328-346-303-266: McIlroy’s non-par 3 drives in regulation

• 155-17-208-118-136-228-199-124-151-179: McIlroy’s par-4 approaches in the final round

• 6’7”: McIlroy’s tee shot distance to the 12th hole (birdie)

• 15th: Masters champion to birdie No. 12 in the final round

• 11,036: Masters shots hit at No. 12 since the last hole-in-one

• 27/56: Fairways hit by McIlroy (T52) (2025: 35/56)

• 48/72: Greens in regulation (66.7%, T21) (2025: 47/72)

• 17/25: Scrambling

• 1.54: Putts per hole (T3)

• 334.3: McIlroy’s driving distance average (2025: 329.3)

• 0: Eagles by McIlroy (2025: 3)

• 24: Birdies by McIlroy (2025: 18)

• 8: Bogeys (2025: 5)

• 2: Double Bogeys (2025:4)

• 0: Bogeys over the final 36-holes by Scottie Scheffler (65-68)

• 72.859: Sunday scoring average (2025: 72.05)

• 89: Degrees, Sunday’s high with some swirling breezes

Even a weather update, so quite comprehensive....

Now to the atmospherics:

Wire-to-wire. Back-to-back. Ho. Hum. Rory. McIlroy.

Never dull. Sneakily complex. And a year later, winning with less than his best on the kind of crusty (adjacent) golf course that a frizzier, logoed-up younger self once loathed. The greying and

wiser McIlroy took us on a different toboggan ride—Ben Crenshaw’s Champions Dinner description of last year’s heart attack-inducer—this time en route to taking the 2026 Masters.

“This win is just -- I don’t want to say a stop on the journey, but yeah, it’s just a part of the journey,” McIlroy said. “I still have things I want to achieve, but I still want to enjoy it as well.

“I’ve waited so long to win the Masters, and all of a sudden I win two in a row. So I still want to enjoy it. I’ve got a couple of weeks off before I go back to play competitive golf, but I don’t think I’ll go through that lull of motivation or the sort of things that I was feeling last year post-winning this tournament.”

I certainly hope he doesn't repeat last year's summer poutfest, when stiffing the media became his signature move.   

More from Geoff:

With long weekend days to ponder life, watch Zootopia 2 with Poppy, and a deep golf mind capable of pondering possibilities as only intensely observational greats like McIlroy seem capable of, the third and fourth round execution was ragged at times. Those jet trips up here while, uh, rehabbing his back, also kept him clear of tournament golf. But the time away from the Tour and scrutiny of returning to Augusta quieted his mind and allowed McIlroy to drill down on the nuances that emerged at a faster, drier version of Augusta National. The crash course in local knowledge included a decision to keep score ala Jack Nicklaus. The added focus on scoring bolstered an already strong short game that ended up producing ingenious shots and enough distance from a strong cast of 2026 pursuers.

“My scrambling and my short game and my putting, that's what won me the tournament this week.”

As did his play at Amen Corner.

McIlroy has an unusual relationship with the stretch of three holes that tend to play a massive role in determining who dons the Green Jacket.

Saturday’s double bogey at the par-4 11th raised his career scoring average to 4.354 and a career +23 total. And while McIlroy has made just six career birdies at the par-3 12th entering Sunday’s final round, he’s also recorded only six bogeys and one double bogey on the disaster-laden par-3.

And he’s feasted on the dogleg left 13th, where McIlroy was a career 29-under-par entering the final round. He’s made six career eagles there (and that disastrous double in 2025’s final round).

He's certainly correct about his short game, because he hit it all over the yard the whole week, though he did control things better yesterday.  The drive at No. 13 was to me as important as any shot he hit all week.

My strongest memories of yesterday are how each and every player in the mix had that, "Hey, I can win the Masters" moment, here's his take on the kid from Sleepy Hollow:

Now, truth be told, Rory's tee shot on No. 12, was a significant miss that he got away with, no?

The walk up to the 12th tee featured the traditional standing ovation from the Masters patrons. McIlroy was more concerned with wind that (finally) surfaced to throw some Amen into a Masters played with three extremely benign days (by Augusta-in-the-21st-century standards.)

With the wind coming in from the left, McIlroy seemed to hit quickly in a manner that might have hinted at panic.

“This is going back to one of my first-ever practice rounds here,” McIlroy said. “I played a practice round with Tom Watson in 2009, and he said to me on the 12th tee he always waited until he felt where the wind should be and then just hit it. You know, just hit it as soon as you can.

“That’s what I did on 12. It was all over the place. When I stood up on the tee, it felt like it was off the right, and I looked at the 11th flag, it was blowing right to left. But I was patient, and I waited to feel where the wind should have been coming from,and I knew it was just a perfect 3/4 9-iron.

The world has changed in the last 25 years.  Jack's guidance was in the day of five and six-irons, whereas Rory is feathering as nine-iron, but still quite the dangerous line.

What has me amused is that Geoff also included this tracer of that key 13th hole tee ball:

This cel doesn't quite do it justice, because you needed to see it start to draw to know it wasn't a bomb into the pine straw like Thursday-Saturday.

But your humble blogger's mind moves in strange directions, not that you haven't noticed.  To me, there is no shot in televised golf that benefits more from shot-tracer tech than the tee ball on No. 13, so do you remember how long they made us wait for it?  I just asked AI two questions, the first being when was shot tracer first introduced:

Protracer (later Toptracer) technology, which draws a digital line following the golf ball's flight, first appeared on television broadcasts around 2006-2008

 Then I asked it when it first made its way to ANGC:

The Masters officially implemented shot-tracer technology during its television broadcasts for the first time at the 2018 tournament.

Did you see those cute Masters-themed commercials that recreated Bubba's, Rory's and Jack's iconic moments?  Just a reminder of that 2012 Bubba shot that Nantz and Sir Nick are not giving you a yardage nor are they able to tell you whether he had an opening.  Why?  Because as late as 2012 the Lords of Augusta still wouldn't allow CBS to have an on-course reporter.

My other though is that Geoff gave us the tracers for Rory on Nos. 12 and 13, but the one I really want is No. 18....  Yeah, just how I roll.

Let's see what the Tour Confidential gang made of it:

Rory McIlroy won the Masters to become just the fourth repeat winner in the tournament’s

history. McIlroy closed with a 71 to finish 12 under and beat Scottie Scheffler by one. This all, mind you, after he was up by six after 36 holes but lost that all by Saturday night. How did this happen? What’s your takeaway from his win?

Zephyr Melton: Man, that was gritty. Rory obviously didn’t have his best stuff over the weekend — and he said as much during his Butler Cabin interview — but he played just well enough over the weekend to nab another green jacket. There’s something extra impressive in watching someone win without their best stuff, and Rory did exactly that this weekend.

Sean Zak: Excuse the modern parlance, but this Masters felt like a movie, with an opening act, a middle contextualization, some conflict and then a bit of late drama. Damn — it was wildly entertaining! But I think the McIlroy takeaway is that he is just such a different golfer than he used to be. He’s become the best player in the world on firm and fast conditions. He should have won the ‘22 Open at finicky St. Andrews. He wasn’t doing that early in his career, but late-career Rory is just different. More imaginative, less reliant upon conditions and draw-shots, etc. It’s impressive and makes you wonder mostly about his chances for Shinnecock.

Jessica Marksbury: When the tournament was hanging in the balance on the back nine on Sunday, Rory hit some incredible shots at exactly the right time. I’m thinking of the birdies on 12 and 13 in particular, and the amazing putt from off the green that led to the par save on 16. But he was also the beneficiary of adversaries that didn’t push him much down the stretch. This could easily have been Justin Rose’s Masters, but he faded away on the back nine, as did Sam Burns and Cameron Young. Scottie Scheffler tried hard, but his late-momentum birdies on 15 and 16, and missed opportunity on 17, ended up being too little, too late.

We all watched so I think we all know how it happened....

What really struck me is how each of the guys had that "Hey, i can win this thing" moment in which they completely lost their minds and games.  We'll have a Rose reference coming below, but the only exception was Scottie, who couldn't stop making pars when those weren't quite what he needed.

What was the pivotal moment on Sunday? And what did you learn from it?

Melton: I think it came earlier than the viewers might’ve thought in the moment. After a silly double on No. 4 and another shaky bogey on 6, the tournament looked to be slipping from Rory’s grasp. But on No. 7, he calmly found the fairway, hit the proper shot right over the flagstick and then rolled in a birdie putt to stop the bleeding. From then on, he was nails. When you’re a gunslinger like Rory, sometimes all you need is to see one shot go through the hoop.

Zak: I think it was Justin Rose backing off his shot in the middle of the 11th fairway. Rose was in the lead alone at 12 under. If he pars-in, he’s in a playoff. But Rosey backed off the shot and flared his eventual approach wide, leading to bogey. He mangled the 12th hole. He three putted for par on 13. If that goes differently, everything changes. The man who could have really put pressure on McIlroy faded, and the better golfer won.

Marksbury: Totally agree with you, Sean. Justin Rose went from in command to lackluster over the course of three holes. The bogey-bogey-three-putt-par trifecta on 11, 12 and 13 sunk him. And, as the only player with life at that time in the tournament, his exit from contention changed everything.

I love Rose as much as anyone, a really solid citizen that we all would have loved to see get it done.  But he's got a troubling history of, as the Guess Who would put it, coming Undun.

Don’t look now, but McIlroy suddenly has six major titles and two green jackets. Is the man to beat over the next decade at Augusta National Rory McIlroy, or is it fellow two-time Masters winner Scottie Scheffler? And who you got the rest of the year?

Melton: I’m still on Team Scottie. He was the best golfer in the field over the weekend — by a

wide margin — as he didn’t card a bogey in Rounds 3 or 4. And he did all of that seemingly without having his best stuff with the putter. Whatever “funk” Scottie was in early on in the season seems to be behind him, and he should be the favorite for years to come at Augusta National. That said, I won’t be surprised if Rory nabs another green jacket before he decides to hang it up. He seems to have cracked the code on how to win there.

Zak: Yeah, I’m with Zephyr and on Team Scheffler. I’m waiting for him to get some real luck to go his way in the way McIlroy has at the last two Masters. That’s not taking anything away from McIlroy’s brilliance — he’s so deserving. But I just think Scheffler has brought his B-plus game to the last two Masters and is probably on the verge of another special summer.

Marksbury: I dunno guys, I find Rory’s Augusta stats extremely compelling. Scottie has five straight top-10 finishes since 2022, including two wins. But Rory has nine top-10 finishes since 2014, including the last two wins. Recency bias points to Rory for me. But picking Rory apparently also means signing up for a roller-coaster ride that Scottie rarely puts you through.

 Why would we rule out a modern Arnie-Jack arrangement?

To me, the bigger point is what it does for Rory's historical place in the game, as he starts to look like much less of an under-achiever.  But am I the only one seeing a comparison with Phil?  Their games have always shared connective tissue, but remember how Phil enhanced his career perspective with late wins at Muirfield and Kiawah?  This feels much the same, admittedly without the steamer trunk of baggage that is Phil.

But can someone explain Rory's summer of 2025 hissy fit to me?  because that would have been a really good time to start adding major wins, but he was for reasons unexplained angry at the world... Then again, that reminds of Phil as well.

McIlroy pulled away late, but a handful of capable chasers — Scheffler, Rose, Young, Burns, etc. — were still in it down the stretch. Which player is kicking themselves the most about what could have been?

Melton: Gotta be Scottie. That Friday 74 was so un-Scottie-like, and it really put him in desperation mode heading into the weekend. If he scraps together even an even-par round, he’s the one putting on the green jacket this evening and not Rory.

Zak: Disagree! I think it’s Rose. It has to be Rose. The man without the jacket. The man who was in the lead by himself! Scheffler never touched the lead all week. He also has another 20 Masters in his future. Rosey may not have more than a few.

Marksbury: Rose for sure. He had it! It slipped away. Again! No doubt that stings.

Is this a gross or net competition?

In the gross flight, it's a three-way tie among Cam Young, Justin Rose and Scottie Scheffler.

In the net flight, alas, it's not even close, because Scottie already has two of them and Cam Young is, well, young.  Rose in a rout, because his runway is getting very short.

The Masters’ popular Par-3 Contest received some criticism for what some thought was too much celebrity involvement and strayed too far from the Masters’ long-standing “traditionalist” values. What do you think? And how does the Masters evolve without straying too far from the things that make it unique?

Melton: I could do without the cameo appearances from Kevin Hart and Jason Kelce, but I won’t clutch my pearls too much. The par-3 contest is supposed to be fun. So long as that silliness doesn’t spill over into the actual competition, I’m largely unbothered.

Zak: My strongest par-3 take is … I wonder if players were a bit more surprised by the Thursday conditions of the big course because they’ve grown so comfortable writing off their Wednesdays to the par-3 course. There was such universal surprise at the course conditions that I don’t think we see at other majors with this Wednesday intermission. Anyway, I don’t totally hate the strategy by ANGC. It’s not for ME, but I’m as into golf as anyone in the world. There’s a natural pursuit of all governing bodies in all sports of, as the kids say, the casuals. I think they — or maybe more so ESPN — achieved some of that audience.

Marksbury: The Masters is revered for its traditions and decorum for a reason. I think most people watch or attend the tournament eager for that experience. So while I don’t think it’s necessary for the tournament to evolve in any way, I can understand why there is a feeling that it’s important to try new things to reach new demographics. And hey, if those efforts create new golf fans, that’s a win for everyone.

Jess, if we need Jason Kelce to grow the game, we're in a world of hurt.

The event has been unwatchable for years for one understandable reason, now they've gone and added a second.  No, you should get to bring your emotional support comedian to the Par-3.  Just sayin'...  

I said before the event that the gods of Augusta were punishing Bryson for his Par-67 comment.  I think Friday's 18th hole meltdown was retribution for Kevin Hart.  Well earned Bryson.

Who is leaving Augusta National most disappointed, and who won the week without actually winning the week?

Melton: Justin Rose has to be the most disappointed. He’s been oh so close at Augusta National many times, and once again he couldn’t quite get it done. The clock on his career is ticking, and you only get so many cracks at the green jacket. When you head to the back nine with a lead, you’ve got to close the door. He may go down as his generation’s biggest “what-if” at the Masters.

Zak: I would reckon Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau feel pretty disappointed. They were two of the most deserving favorites entering the week and were never once relevant. Frankly, they seem more confused than anything right now. Can’t be a great headspace!

As for who won the week without winning the jacket, I think Collin Morikawa deserves some recognition. He grinded through a bad back all week, made seven birdies on Sunday and garnered a top 10 finish. That was wildly impressive. He said it’ll be one of his best tournaments forever.

Marksbury: Most disappointed: Bryson and Jon are good picks, Z. Justin Rose also, for reasons discussed above. I will also add Cameron Young, as a leader who faded, and Haotong Li, who suffered a triple-quintuple to completely derail his tournament.

Those who won the week: I’ll add anyone who got their hands on a gnome, and the players who finished T12 or better to guarantee themselves a spot in the Masters for next year.

A bad week for LIV in general.  Hard to keep making the caser that their Tour keeps the guys sharp....

What shall we finish on today?  You know your humble blogger, so I'm thinking you'll be ready for this, though I'll lede with this header:

The most catastrophic Masters Sunday meltdown never aired on TV

 That's about Haotong Li's ten, so hold my beer!  I think Geoff is the man for this task:

Garcia Highlights New Conduct Policy

Sergio Garcia’s petulant start to Sunday’s final round revealed a new code of conduct policy that could lead to a penalty or disqualification.

After teeing off at the second hole ahead of fellow competitor Jon Rahm, Garcia slammed his driver into the turf. He subsequently took a swing at a cooler off to the side of the tee and broke his driver.

The entire debacle was caught on Featured Group coverage and to the credit of producers, there was no glossing over the shenanigans. The coverage even returned to show a marshal walking away with the broken driver shaft, an official cleaning up some of the mess left behind, and eventually a maintenance crew using a cup cutter to replace the maimed turfgrass.

Two holes later, Rules and Competitions Committee Chairman Geoff Yang paid Garcia a visit. Yang was issuing a warning to Garcia under a new, unannounced policy that is separate from the Rules of Golf and expected to be implemented at the PGA Championship. The Associated Press’ Doug Ferguson reported that Garcia received a “code of conduct warning” that starts with a warning, invokes a two-stroke penalty for a second violation, and a third violation results in disqualification.

Gents, if this only deserves a warning, you might want to revisit that policy:

You're gonna let this guy play next year?

Gotta love Geoff providing this transcript:

Q. What did they tell you on the 4th hole?

SERGIO GARCIA: I’m not going to tell you.

Q. You talked coming into the week about how frustrating this year has been overall. Is that just a culmination of everything, too? What’s the plan to try to --

SERGIO GARCIA: No, it’s not a combination of everything. It’s fine. It’s what it is. You’ve just got to deal with it.

Q. How much more difficult does it make it strategy-wise with you not being able to use a driver?

SERGIO GARCIA: It makes it very easy. I just have to hit 3-wood all the time. I didn’t have to choose another club.

Q. Your record here since you won is surprising to a lot of us. Is there a theme there or one reason for it? How do you explain that?

SERGIO GARCIA: Bad golf.

Q. Is there something specific here that has happened --

SERGIO GARCIA: Bad shots.

Q. But you can do that anywhere, but you win here and we would think you know how to play this golf course, so there must be more to it.

SERGIO GARCIA: Well, if you don’t hit good shots, you’re not going to score well here. It’s very simple.

Q. You’ve just coincidentally hit bad shots here, a lot since you’ve won. Is it as simple as that?

SERGIO GARCIA: Yeah, unfortunately a lot of bad shots.

Q. Did they give you a warning or something on the 4th --

SERGIO GARCIA: Next question, please.

 Bad golf shots followed by disgraceful behavior.....

It's always time to remind folks of who Sergio is:

Although the "Nothing but net" defense is a classic of the genre.

Do they invite him back next year?  This is why I've made my peace with LIV, they are welcome to give him a venue for such outbursts.

Have to wrap up now.  Would you believe that Friday night my large living room OLED TV decided to go on the fritz?  Perfect timing, eh?  Anyway, my A/V guy is on the way, so I will try to circle back as the week progresses.  Have a great week.

Weekend Wrap - Masters Week Edition

It's the best week of the golf year, one I'll try to not have ruined by dental surgery this afternoon....  No pimiento-cheese for this dude, at least until the ceremonial opening tee shots in the gloaming on Thursday.

As for the weekend reference in the header, not gonna even worry about paying that off.  What happens in San Antonio stays in San Antonio.

Shall we lede with this rather good forecast?

I wouldn't object to a bit more wind than the 6 mph they're showing for Friday-Sunday, but the course should be as firm as they want it.

The Venue - Geoff has been posting up a storm, and even limited to that which is before his paywall leaves much to discuss.  Shall we grab some of his "by the numbers" data?

By The Numbers

• Augusta National Golf Club: Founded in 1932, opened in January 1933

• Original Architects: Alister MacKenzie, Bobby Jones (1933)

• Other architects known to have made adjustments: Perry Maxwell, Robert Trent Jones, George Cobb, Joe Lee/Byron Nelson, Bob Cupp, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Fazio, Beau Welling

• Yardage: 7,565 yards (up ten yards in 2026)

• Par: 72

• Yards of Walking Between Tournament Tees: 1,236

• Slope and Course Rating: 148, 76.2 (unofficial)

• Course Record: 63 (Nick Price, 1986 third round; Greg Norman, 1996 first round)

• Holes with hazards in play: 7 (2nd, 5th, 8th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 15th, 16th)

• Elevation Change: 145 feet from the highest spot (10th tee) to the 11th green (lowest).

• Elevation Rise: 59 feet from the tee to the 18th green

• Rainfall: 8.0 inches in the current calendar year (on pace to be one of the driest in Augusta history)

• Forecast: To good to be true…at the moment.

The 7th fairway.

There will be a quiz in the morning...

 And a separate set of agronomic bullets:

• Fairways: Ryegrass overseed cut toward tees at .375”

• Acres of Fairway: 79

• Average Green Size: 6,486 sq. ft.

• Greens: Bentgrass, cut at .125”

• First: Set of bentgrass greens PGA Tour regulars have played in 2026

• Bunkers: 44

• Largest Bunker: 8th fairway, 6,107 square feet and 100 tons of sand

• Holes With “Penalty Areas” In Play: 2, 5, 8, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16

• Second Cut: Ryegrass overseed trimmed at 1.375”

• Acres of “Second Cut”: 35

• Collars: Bentgrass .250”

• Approaches: Ryegrass overseed .312”

• Tees: Ryegrass overseed .312”

• Number of Course Maintenance Employees: 60

• Number of Tournament Volunteers: 113

• Senior Director of Agronomy: Brent Seyer, GCSAA (16th year, second as director)

• Other Key Personnel: Director of Agronomy, Scott Waddell, Asst. Superintendent, Connor Castor, Asst. Superintendents Kurt Eller, Justin Henderson, Irrigation Senior Manager, Fred Hartenstein, Equipment Manager, PGA professionals J.J. Weaver, Ryan Sharp

I think the biggest surprise might be how few bunkers there are.  They do seem to always be in the right spot, no?

And this might be of interest to see the relative difficulty on a hole-by-hole basis:

What always jumps out to this observer is that start to the back nine.  

Almost no changes to be conscious of:

“The course isn’t real different,” Rory McIlroy said after a visit to Augusta National early in the year.

🚜 Architectural Changes Since Last Time: The quietest off-season in recent memory saw only one official change: the front of the 17th tee has been reduced by 12 yards, with the tee plate relocated to increase the official yardage by ten, to 450 yards.

😢 Notable trees return: Trees behind the 11th and 15th lost to hurricane Helene have returned, as noted by The Quad in February and confirmed by the official map and hole renderings.

And, in a bit of a digression, Geoff talks about last year's tribute pin on No. 16:

How Did The Tribute Play?

Last year’s final round moved away from the traditional and iconic hole location at the par-3 16th.

The upper back right placement was used on Sunday to celebrate Jack Nicklaus’ winning putt from 1975. The tribute coincided with a fairly elaborate rollout by CBS and Masters social media, even though there were complicating factors in re-creating some of the ‘75 magic:

• The green is rolling at least three feet faster on the Stimpmeter compared to 1975.

• The art of landing and keeping the ball on the upper shelf has become a greater challenge with modern speeds.

• The tee was moved up about 20 yards for the final round. Rory McIlroy hit an 8-iron. Nicklaus hit 5-iron in 1975.

The 16th green was “new” after needing to be re-grassed in October, 2024 after a tall pine fell onto the surface during Helene.

The 16th still played to a 3.019 average for Sunday’s final round with 10 birdies and 83% of the field hitting the green. This was in line with recent years, including 2024 when 11 birdies were made in the final round (nine in 2023).

Rory McIlroy parred the 16th after hitting a brilliant shot to ten feet above the hole, setting up one of the scariest downhill putts on the course. He has since said the shot was one of the best from his wild final round.

“After I missed the putt for the eagle on 15,” McIlroy said, “I stepped up and made another really good swing with an 8-iron on 16 and I didn’t make that putt, either. But that was a hole that I wouldn’t say I was worried about it all day, but it was always in the back of my mind because it wasn’t the traditional Sunday hole location.”

Verdict? Nice tribute. And please Lords, don’t ever do it again.

It's a great memory of perhaps the greatest Masters ever (Geoff has another post on an alternative candidate for that title), but a truly horrible pin position.  In fact, heresy alert, it's a pretty bad green in your humble blogger's opinion, with only the one position that works.  But Jack also hit 5-iron there in Geoff's other tribute....

Before moving on, let me just make you aware of a deep dive Geoff has done into ANGC's second hole.  I'll allow him to explain:

The Quad’s annual deep dive into an Augusta National hole continues with the 585-yard par-5 second hole. The selection process is at the whim of the Chief-Senior-Writer-At-Large, who, this year, selfishly decided to dig deep into the history behind one of his favorite greens in all of golf.

(Last year’s deep dive was a two-parter on the third hole: here and here).

So why dig into the easiest hole (statistically) that was always a bit of an afterthought until television coverage expanded to 18 holes?

• No. 2 remains one of the few multi-dimensional par-5’s left in championship golf, depending on where the hole is cut, and elicits a fascinating range of emotions from
  
  players.

• The second is often cited as one of the least-changed holes on the course. By Augusta National standards, that’s a bit like being the Kardashian family member who's made the fewest visits to Dr. Wecantightenthatup. On a scale of One to Bruce Caitlyn Jenner? No. 2’s a strong Seven.

• The second hole features the best and worst of George Cobb’s handiwork at ANGC modification work (though how much anyone can blame him for the landing area changes is very much up for debate).

• Jack Nicklaus called it the worst hole in major championship golf. Way harsh, Jack! What gives?

 Geez, can't remember Jack saying anything that controversial, not least about Augusta.

There's a lot here (and it's a two-part post), including the origins of this old-time bit:

✈️ Origin of the Delta Counter story: The nightmare awaiting balls going into the left trees was dubbed the “Delta Counter” by pro golfer Gardner Dickinson. The 12-time Masters participant suggested players who drove left here should be ready to change their plane tickets since they wouldn’t be making the cut. (Yes, kids, golfers once flew commercial.)

 There's a name I haven't heard in decades, but it's be funnier if he had used Eastern or TWA, no?

And great old-time photos:

No 2 under construction (left) and the finished product, missing the greenside bunker that was in place by opening day (right)

Dive in if you're interested,.

I Saw It On TV - Geoff did a separate media preview, including this focus on our Prime Imperative:

The breadth and width of Prime’s year-one launch for only four hours of weekday coverage has been surprisingly…bold. At least by Masters media partner standards, where promotional pieces are studied as closely as the actual coverage.

Ads for Prime’s debut have been running everywhere. From local and national cable outlets to NBC’s coverage of PGA Tour events (including a surprising live read from Dan Hicks returning from two Texas Children’s Houston Open commercial breaks).

With Augusta National allowing Amazon to sell how the tournament “Now Begins on Prime” looks, smells, and really, really, really seems like a less-than-subtle warning shot at primary weekday coverage rightsholder, ESPN.

Prime’s first moves are exciting from a pure golf and Masters fanboy perspective. There are legitimate indications that Prime’s new pact with Augusta National will be more than just a way to bring in a new partner and cash a check to pay for the next tee extension.

Amazon’s streaming service commenced with a documentary produced in conjunction with Rory McIlroy’s Firethorn Productions. There will be a new Amen Corner feed focusing on stats and other on-screen goodies (even if it sounds as if they’ll be relying on the latest gizmos CBS has developed and leaves out of the shows in deference to the club’s longtime preference for minimizing screen clutter).

He takes the obvious shots at ESPN, which I quite agree adds little to the week:

Prime’s Thursday and Friday windows will be hosted by Terry Gannon, who will guide two hours of coverage featuring “interviews with current stars and special guests, including six-time Masters champion Jack Nicklaus.” Throw in Prime’s Rory doc, and it’s in stark contrast to ESPN’s often weird approach that screams obligation more than excitement. Under executive Mike McQuade’s watch, the worldwide leader has maintained a stabilizing presence with Scott Van Pelt and Curtis Strange on air, along with Andy North reporting. But ESPN’s inconsistency surrounding the Masters and sometimes unusual attempts at broadening the shows to reach a general audience come off as a lack of full buy-in. They’ve been almost apologetic at times for talking about something other than the NBA as the playoffs approached.

This apathy may explain why golf fans still consistently turn to Golf Channel for pre- and post-round coverage in big numbers, even as ESPN has the right to pop in for things like the Honorary Starters or some early birdie runs. ESPN’s approach generally suggests The Masters is more obligation than honor to cover. (Which is in contrast to its Wimbledon approach, where they generally exude a vibe suggesting it’s a privilege to be there.)

I know, but Golf Channel has guys that actually know golf, whereas ESPN shoves randos down our throats.  And by randos I mean....

News this week of retired Eagles center Jason Kelce handling interviews during the Par 3 Contest has been met with overwhelming derision online. Kelce’s hiring was undoubtedly approved by Augusta National as part of the ongoing and successful effort to make the Par 3 broadcast unwatchable. But the move accidentally revealed another annoyance for Augusta National: ESPN’s propensity for its internal drama to spill out publicly. This time with the Masters getting a mention.

“The Internet goes on to say ‘we don’t need Jason Kelce at the Masters,’” the odious Pat McAfee said on his simulcasted ESPN show. “And that’s probably a valid point if I had to guess. I’m only saying that strictly because we have attempted to be a part of the Wednesday coverage of the Masters at the par-3 thing for three consecutive years now. For the people that are mad about Jason Kelce being a part of the Masters, I have a good piece of news for you: They told us to go to hell.”

I think it's great that we have expanded Thursday-Friday coverage, but the channel-flipping involved is getting way old.

On The Come - Shall we riff on the Tour Confidential panel's musings?  Yeah, that's rhetorical:

Welcome to Masters week, where we won’t see Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson but have a bunch of other storylines ready to unfold at Augusta National. What’s one you’re watching for?

Zephyr Melton: Is Scottie Scheffler’s slump for real? Or has his (relatively) poor play been a

simple case of early-season malaise. If he struggles to find his form at Augusta — where he’s had a boatload of success — it might be time to start ringing the alarm bells.

Jack Hirsh: That’s a good one Zephyr, I really like zoning in on Justin Rose this week. He’s in his mid-40s now, but yet, he comes into this week as the 7th-ranked player in the world and the most recent runner-up at Augusta. It’s incredible to think he’s now lost two playoffs at the Masters. He rebounded from a lull after his win at Torrey Pines with a T13 at the Players. Is this the week he gets a Green Jacket?

Josh Schrock: I second both of the above. Rose would be my top storyline, but I am curious to see what Brooks Koepka has in the bag next week. His major record has been poor since his 2023 PGA Championship win, but he said he fixed a putting issue that has plagued him for two years and was playing good golf until the MC in Houston. Is this the major where Brooks Koepka emerges as a threat?

I have no clue what was up with Scottie, but Meredith and he just had their second child, so not sure this sets up great for him.  But you'll not find Brooks on my bingo card, not that my bingo card has anything to recommend it.

Which big-name player’s recent form has them either trending or fading as the first major of the year approaches?

Melton: I’m buying Ludvig Aberg’s stock heading into Augusta. He’s been in excellent form of late, with three top 10s over his last three starts, and he’s got a great track record in the Masters, albeit in a small sample size. I like Ludvig to be a factor this week.

Hirsh: Tommy Fleetwood is my pick for this week and I think his game fits perfectly for Augusta National. As for his trends? He’s finished in the top-10 in three of his five starts this season, and while he didn’t this weekend in Texas, he was in the mix going into the weekend. I think this is his week.

Schrock: I’m buying Xander Schauffele returning as a major threat. After winning two majors in 2024, he got sidetracked by the rib injury to start last year and never seemed to get his swing right. He has been playing well of late, with the irons leading the way. I think Rose wins but I expect Xander to be a factor come Sunday.

Lots of love for Rosie, and he'd be an awfully popular winner.  But how likely is that storybook ending?

Bryson DeChambeau won both of his LIV Golf starts prior to the Masters, and he’s finished in the top six in each of the last two years. Are you more bullish on Bryson than ever before? And is he your top pick this week among LIV players?

Melton: With Rory and Scottie having a slow start to their seasons, I’d say this is the most wide-open the race for the green jacket has been in several years — so why not Bryson? Hard not to like how he’s trending. It’ll all come down to how well he can control his distance with the irons.

Hirsh: Yawnnnnn, no. A LIV victory just doesn’t have much credibility to me. It was a good sign for Brooks a couple of years ago when he lost to Rahm, but I just don’t see Bryson winning at Augusta. Will he contend again? Probably, but I just don’t see him winning.

Schrock: I agree with Jack. I have a hard time seeing it all come together for Bryson at Augusta. He seems to have figured things out since his MCs in 2022 and 2023, but he contended last year while being mostly unable to control the distance with his irons and he’s been talking about trying to “dial in” his wedges. I think Jon Rahm, not Bryson, is the LIV player who is in the mix at Augusta this week.

Yeah, I still think the Gods of Augusta will not let go of that Par-67 dis....

Are you taking a combination of Scottie and Rory, or the field? And why?

Melton: The field. Neither of the two top dogs have shown enough consistency so far this year for me to back them versus the rest of the field. Does that mean they won’t win? Not necessarily, but the odds favor the field.

Hirsh: The field. Not because I don’t think Scottie and Rory won’t contend, but I’m not convinced Scheffler is comfortable with his driver based on when we saw him last (although it’s been three weeks) and that’s a pretty important club to win the Masters. Rory I expect a little more out of right now, but I don’t think either is in the world beating form they have been in the last couple years.

Schrock: I’ll take the field. Between Scottie’s un-Scottie-like iron play and Rory’s back issue, I think it’s more than likely that someone outside of the top two takes home the green jacket. I am interested to see how Rory plays now that he has finally submitted the mountain at Augusta. I think he contends, but repeating is a monumental task. I’m really not sure what to make of where Scottie’s game is right now and if the iron play is in Augusta shape.

I don't especially like either of those two this week.  

Last year, we asked who needed a Masters win the most, with our panel agreeing it was McIlroy. Well, now that he’s won it, who’s next on your list?

Melton: Justin Rose. He’s had one arm in the green jacket twice, yet couldn’t quite get it done. Father time may catch up soon, and his chances are running out. A green Jacket for Rose may be more meaningful than for any other player in the field. (Plus, a swing that sweet deserves more than one major on the resume.)

Hirsh: Tommy Fleetwood. He was the best player in the world at the end of the year last season and he’s still in great form in 2026. Time to get that major.

Schrock: Agree with Zephyr. It’s Rose. He has held the lead or co-lead at the Masters nine times after Round 1, 2 and 3. That’s third all-time after Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus. He’s -18 under par in the last 10 Masters, which ranks seventh. Five of the six players ahead of him have won jackets during that period. It’s time.

Between those two, it's pretty clear who will have the fewer chances going forward.   There's only two guys that have lost two Masters playoffs, Rosie and a guy named Hogan....

What’s your final, parting Masters thought?

Melton: I think we’ll see a hole-in-one on No. 16 Sunday with the traditional funnel pin.

Hirsh: I think this is the year our Alan Bastable wins the media lottery. Ever since Brooks Koepka asked him in a press conference if he had played the course, I’ve been dying to see that come true.

Melton: I second this motion.

Schrock: Ten years after his collapse at No. 12, I think Jordan Spieth holds the 54-hole lead this year and we’ll have another memorable Sunday on our hands at Augusta National.

Geoff has a post up about an ace on No. 12, which would be a far rarer occurrence.

The Greatest Masters Evah? - Another Geoff post celebrates the 40th anniversary of THAT Masters:

All sorts of great bits, first about that putter:

The putter. Nicklaus’s ridiculous-looking Response ZT MacGregor putter was scaled up 32% from the Ping Pal model it was mimicking. An initial prototype was rejected by the USGA, and Nicklaus asked designer Clay Long if it was “some kind of joke.” But after hitting putts with it, Nicklas couldn’t write it off entirely. MacGregor sent two black painted versions to Nicklaus, who put it in the bag while the company ramped up production for the public. But a Honda Classic mishap with the super lightweight putter nearly saw it get benched. During a pre-tournament scouting trip playing with Augusta Chronicle chairman William Morris (yes, the five-time champion needed to be hosted by a member), Nicklaus putted beautifully with the Response yet gave one of the two versions to Morris.

It just looked so damn big....

For me, the strangest moment involving Seve at ANGC was Clifford Roberts asking his height in a typically awkward Butler Cabin moment.  But see what you think of this bizarre exchange from '86:

Seve. Ballesteros was somewhat of a villainous character because of his ongoing, multi-year spat with Deane Beman over membership issues. The language barrier and overall tension surrounding those pesky foreigners, led to this epic story, as relayed in Boyette’s book when longtime sports columnist Furman Bisher asked a question about Ballesteros’ round.

“Seve, you played like you were on a crusade today. Are you trying to prove something to the PGA Tour?”

“Did Deane Beman pay you to ask that question?” Seve said.

“No, it’s a legitimate question,” Bisher said. “Are you on a crusade?”

“You talk too sophisticated for me,” said Seve. “I don’t understand.”

“You ought to know what a crusade is, Bisher said. ‘They started in Spain.”

Dan Jenkins later wrote of the exchange, “Seve didn’t have a kicker line because, like most everybody else in the press building, he’d never learned that the Crusades had actually started in Rome.”

And that ends today's history lesson....

Wither Tiger -  I have a literal answer to the question:

Private jet owned by Tiger Woods lands in Switzerland after DUI arrest

I had heard reports that he got a judge to allow him to travel overseas for treatment, which seems totally on-brand for the guy.  Remember his cos-play therapy for sex addiction?   

Mike Bamberger, who let us know recently that everyone in golf knew Tiger is an addict, is back with an optimistic take that falls way flat (at least to this observer):

The great tragedy of modern life is that everything has turned into a product. Golf is a product, per PGA Tour brass. Journalism is a product. Clicks are monetized. It’s deadening. Hogan,

Palmer, Nicklaus and Watson were dominating golfers and unique personalities who captured our imaginations. But they weren’t products. Tiger Woods has been packaged and sold since he was 3. Woods knows his state of mind that morning in February 2021, when he was pulled out of another wrecked car. Cry for help is a hoary cliché but that crash had to be a cry for help. In the end, not a very loud one. His crash last week, a mile or so from his South Florida home may prove to be a louder one.

This time, his hand was forced, just as it was after his 2017 DUI arrest by police in Jupiter, Fla. In golf’s various and cloistered circles — on Golf Channel, on websites and in newsletters, in a release from the CEO of the PGA Tour — Woods’s statement on Monday was met with relief and admiration. He said he was “stepping away for a period of time to seek treatment and focus on my health.” You hope, of course, he can get the treatment he, by his own admission, needs. But there’s more going on here.

As this second DUI charge in Florida goes down its jurisprudence road, prosecutors were going to require that Woods seek treatment. Woods is trying to avoid a jail sentence here, of any length. He’s trying to avoid the spectacle of a public trial. There’s nothing for him to fight here. There are lawyers and advisors deep in his life. Signing up for treatment, on a voluntary basis, was a smart and necessary first step in an effort to keep a bad situation from getting worse.

Nicklaus wasn't a product?  Maybe, Mike, it's not that Tiger is product, it's that he never developed into a man like Jack or Tom Watson before becoming commoditized.... 

Mike even throws this in:

Woods has been down the treatment road before. In early 2010, some weeks after running over a fire hydrant in the middle of the night outside his home in the Isleworth development near Orlando, Woods reportedly went to a residential treatment facility in Mississippi to deal with addiction issues. His 2017 plea required counseling as well. A statement is a statement. Last year, when Woods turned to X to announce his relationship with Vanessa Trump, he wrote, “Love is in the air and life is better with you by my side!” Please insert air quotes around wrote. Does that sound like Tiger Woods to you? Monday’s sober announcement has a completely different tone, of course. We don’t know anything about Tiger’s state of mind, and he doesn’t owe us that — or really anything.

To me, Mike falls into the rather obvious trap of assuming that going for therapy is the same as taking the therapy seriously.  I assume that Tiger is doing what he needs to avoid prison, but is this, in fact, a wake up call, or just another crisis to be manages.

I'm going to leave you with this from Geoff's media preview post:

I’ve been at this golf writing thing a while now and have seen “stuff” that I’d classify as surreal-adjacent. And a few things I’d classify as downright surreal.

Yet nothing prepares even the most tired eyes for the extended cut of the Tiger Woods arrest body cam videos. Coppola didn’t capture this much footage for Godfather II. And at least Francis used a long lens to not be so damn raw, up-close, and absolutely devastatingly brutal to see.

Where to start? The field sobriety test, wearing the survival blanket on a warm Florida day, the belching in the back seat, the stroll up someone’s driveway to talk to the President of the United States, the fire department breaking the back window of a brand new Range Rover to retrieve his clubs, and, of course, giving the police a history lesson on the “sticks” needing to be removed so that the impound team wasn’t tempted to sell the Scotty that won 14 of 15 majors.

It’s all just a little much with the Golf’s High Holy Days upon us.

Yeah, I've seen this movie before.  But for those keeping a scorecard at home, this is at least the fourth time that Tiger is "getting the help that he needs", yet folks seem completely credulous that Tiger is, in fact, looking to change.  

Have a great week.  As is typical, I've no concrete plans for my blogging schedule, so check back early and often. 

Weekend Wrap - Groundhog Day Edition

We've got the two obvious stories to blog today.  There's the upbeat testament to a man's ability to survive the unimaginable, even more remarkable when that man seems to be one of the best-liked guys out there.

Then there's a matter of more prurient interest, one that also includes a not insignificant measure of personal vindication.  Because, as regular readers know, I have never been a card-carrying member of Tiger's cult of personality.  In fact, even before this latest Eff-Up, I've had several people acknowledge my consistency.  Comments tended to be along the lines of, "You've been telling me for years that he's a Dick.  I didn't see it initially, but now I do."

To this observer, Tiger's absence from Rome and Bethpage should tell golf fans all they need to know.  To wit, he can't even be bothered showing up....

Tigergate, A Continuing Series - Have we seen this movie before?  You know Hollywood and their tentpoles, they'll keep rolling out the sequels....  Someone better at the digital stuff than I needs to do a mash-up of all four mug shots, no?

The hard part for a blogger is simple, what is there to add to this Greek tragedy?  The first thing to note is the media reaction seems, well, familiar.  Whether it's Harvey Weinstein, Me-Too or any of the mirror image awakenings, we find something notable in the reactions.  See if you can suss it out from this fine example of the genre from Mike Bamberger

Tiger Woods’s latest car accident leads back to same difficult conclusion

It has been an open secret in the tight circle around Tiger Woods for years: If you want to have a serious conversation with Woods — about his charity and architecture work; about the future of

the PGA Tour; about his 15 wins in Grand Slam events — you do it in the morning. Woods, famously, is a poor sleeper and an early riser. The broad picture you get, from people in position to know, is that if you’re in the circle, you can get him early. As his days wear on, Woods becomes less available and less predictable. This is not idle, mean-spirited speculation. More like observations borne in care, if not worry.

If this all sounds depressingly familiar, it’s because it is. In 2017, Woods was arrested by Jupiter Police department in South Florida at about 3 in the morning on a DUI charge. He was found asleep and incoherent on the side of four-lane road, about 10 miles south of the scene of his Friday crash. He spent that night in the Palm Beach County Jail. A breath test that night revealed that Woods had not been drinking but a blood test revealed he had five prescription drugs in his bloodstream.

In 2021, about 22 months after his stirring win in the 2019 Masters, early on a dry weekday morning in Southern California, Woods drove off a rural road, over a median, across two lanes and down a ravine. His vehicle was stopped by a tree, pirouetted and flipped. Woods’s injuries were extensive and his golfing life was permanently compromised. Asked once in a press conference to explain the incident, Woods said tersely, “It’s all in the police report.” But police reports revealed nothing about Woods’s state of mind in the single-vehicle crash. A report did indicate that, per the car’s black-box recording device, Woods had the gas pedal virtually floored through the incident, driving well over 80 miles an hour in a 45-mph zone. Los Angeles County police officials did not test Woods for drugs or alcohol and no arrest was made.

I've been known to refer to Mike Bamberger as the conscience of the game, but see how we like him right now.  Like with the scandals above, they all knew....  the only issue they're forced to deal with now if that the wider public has been let in on it.  So Mike, why exactly did you help cover this up?

Just to reinforce, the man is a sundowner before hitting age 50, but we're putting the future of the game in his hands?  And all of the so-called adults have been covering up his addiction?

Geoff isn't having any of it:

Tiger

Once again.

In the most pitiful form of deja vu all over again, Tiger Woods embarrassed himself, his family, his “team”, his enablers, his foundation, his pride, and the game he loves. For the fourth time.

It’d be swell if his latest car accident served as a wake-up call for Woods and his addiction issues. But we know better. The world of golf should slap him around if it would like to see him turn gray, bald, and generate a 125 ball speed in the Honorary Starters Ceremony.

But if you’ve been around golf long enough, you know this is the same sport that’ll tear a rotator cuff to pat itself on the back for its nobility. So golf will once again scold, scoff, lecture, shake heads, and then, because he’s a once-in-a-lifetime gravy train, write off the latest could-have-been-so-much-worse car accident where good lawyers will get him out of another DUI.

While Woods is entirely responsible for his latest embarrassment, the sport he’s given so much to is once again in a position to send him a signal. Unfortunately, profit and cult-of-personality worship have a funny way of benching principled stances in a sport that can’t wait to tell the world how it plays by the rules.

Unfortunately, I don't think his lawyers will have to do all that much of anything..... these crimes are all misdemeanors.  Shall we allow Geoff to rant on?  Yeah, again that was rhetorical:

While the latest crash has been blamed on enablers, the media, and everyone but Woods, golf has also never really put its foot down when it comes to his accidents. Sponsorships have continued. Partnerships with elite institutions were started after car incidents two, three, and four. Then again, this is the same sport that essentially doxxed a police officer because another No. 1 player was late for his pre-round physio session and acted like a jagoff when there were flashing lights everywhere. So are we really surprised that Tiger’s struggle with addiction has been allowed to fester?

For a change, it’d be really nice if those in power would step up in the name of helping the man face his issues. If nothing else, maybe they would do it in the name of other drivers on Beach Road?

Golf’s leadership does not even have to preach the way Masters Chairman Billy Payne once did. Or go out of its way to embarrass an obviously flawed man who has turned to painkillers after making a mess of his body in pursuit of excellence (and one last major). Nor is a punishment pile-on the right course for someone who hasn’t been the same since the loss of his dear mother, Tida.

So, Geoff asks a lot of golf's governing structures and people, as they're not therapists and/or health care professionals.  But we're told by Mike Bamberger that it's an open secret that Tiger can't function as the day goes on, so by all means let's give him the keys!  They've told us for the last few years that our game will be saved by a low-functioning addict.  

Now I think back to all of the unexplained stuff that's gone down.  The biggest one is, of course, Tiger refusing to captain last year's Ryder Cup team, explained away by his intensive involvement in negotiations with the Saudis.  We've been told those discussions were going nowhere because the Saudis had lost interest....  Maybe, but is it possible that the return phone calls from His Excellency came in after to Vicodin kicked in?  Similarly, did Tiger beg off because he couldn't stay awake for the afternoon fourballs?

How about Presidents Cup Saturday in Australia, when Tiger suddenly couldn't play.  Was it the back, or was he on a painkiller bender?  

Tiger should not be at The Masters next week. Nor should he be allowed to attend the opening of The Loop par-3 course at The Patch. The Lords of Augusta National meant well by bringing one of his foundation’s learning labs to the town, while adding a fun pitch-and-putt designed by Woods. But they should ask him to stay home. Because other than Payne’s lecture in 2010, they’ve accommodated Woods as a five-time winner. They have the power to stop him from being a five-time rollover specialist who has miraculously not killed anyone.

Woods has also been allowed to sully special moments of others, and that needs to stop. Gary Woodland just won a Tour event in one of the great comebacks in golf history. Rory McIlroy will be returning the Green Jacket to a very special Masters, where an incredible dinner is planned among golf greats. As nice as it would be to have all of the living career Grand Slam winners there to toast McIlroy, Woods would diminish the proceedings after his latest incident.

The PGA of America needs to move on to Plan B for its 2027 Ryder Cup captaincy. A decision was due from Woods soon for a gig he has shown an odd ambivalence toward.

The PGA Tour needs to drop Woods from the committee making major decisions about the future until he shows he’s understood how—can’t believe I’m typing this—it’s a privilege to get in a car and go to Medalist to hit balls without risking the lives of others.

In the spirit of vintage values and retro responsibility, it’d be nice to see the sport set aside phony optics plays, dreams of huge ratings, and profit concerns to send Tiger a message. One that will inspire him to ask for assistance from professionals who can help him find ways to manage whatever pains him.

Doug Ferguson adds some interesting timing issues to the mix:

Woods had said earlier in the week he was trying to get in shape for the Masters on April 9-12,

though that was looking unlikely. He turned 50 at the end of last year. “This body, it doesn’t recover like it did when it was 24, 25,” Woods said earlier this week.

He also was days away from a decision on whether to be the next U.S. Ryder Cup captain for the 2027 matches in Ireland. Two officials from the PGA of America did not immediately return phone calls from The Associated Press seeking comment.

And on April 5, he is scheduled to be in Augusta, Georgia, with Masters chairman Fred Ridley to celebrate a project at “The Patch,” the nickname of a municipal golf course where Woods’ design team created a short course to go along with a major upgrade to the public course.

Woods also is the central figure as chairman of the Future Competition Committee that is reshaping the PGA Tour model of tournaments. Tour CEO Brian Rolapp predicted meaningful progress this summer.

Geez.  How could they possibly trust him with the Ryder Cup captaincy at this point?

Am I the only one amused that the photo of Tiger above includes a...wait for it, fire hydrant?

This might be the funniest bit to be found, though maybe it's sadder than funny:

Perhaps the most high-profile example is that of Barstool Sports personality Sam Bozoian, widely known as simply “Riggs” in the golf community. Just over an hour after Marin County Sheriff John Budensiek announced Woods’ charges at a press conference on Friday evening, Riggs, who, along with his cadre of Fore Play buddies, has grown close to Woods in recent years, posted a video admitting he had informed Barstool’s digital team not to post about the DUI charge and then absolved Woods of any wrongdoing.

“You think I told our team to not post about Tiger Woods’ DUI to protect him? You’re goddamn right I did,” a smirking Riggs said. “You want me on that wall. You need me on that wall. We’ll protect Tiger Woods until we f*cking die.”

The video seemingly came in response to an earlier social media post from Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, who posted a text message from an anonymous employee that read, “Riggs told me not to post Tiger DUI fyi if anyone wondering why we haven’t yet.”

When they tell you their job is to protect Tiger, I'd recommend that you believe them.  The real question is why, knowing that, you'd ever read them.

The Tour Confidential panel has long been notoriously sycophantic about Tiger, so this was always going to be a tough morning for them.  They don't exactly duck it, but their flailing also doesn't get much traction:

Tour Confidential: Tiger Woods’ arrest raises thorny questions about past, future

Tiger Woods was arrested on suspicion of DUI on Friday after he was involved in a two-car accident near his Jupiter Island, Fla., home. Police said Woods’ vehicle clipped the back of a trailer, which caused his SUV to flip on its side; neither Woods nor the driver of the truck pulling the trailer were injured. Woods blew 0.0 on a breathalyzer test, but investigators on the scene said Woods showed signs of impairment. He was arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor DUI with property damage and refusal to submit to a lawful (urine) test. So many questions, but let’s start with your first impressions. What was your immediate reaction when the news broke?

Alan Bastable: I wish I could say shock but that would be disingenuous. I think I quickly shifted from a feeling of “not again” to “how did this happen again?” Why is Woods yet again behind the

wheel in an allegedly impaired state, endangering both his own life and the lives of others? How frequently has he been doing this? Who, if anyone, is enabling him to do so? If he’s sick and needs help, has he received that help? Received it and worked at it? Received it and shirked it? If he’s sick and needs help, how has he been managing his many duties, in particular his stewardship of the PGA Tour? How much has his poor decision-making been driven by his litany of injuries and surgeries, of his inability to be the player he once was, of the pressure, generally, of being Tiger Woods? There are so many unanswered questions, many of which we may never get answered. From the outside looking in, this latest chapter stirs up all kinds of emotions — sadness, sympathy, anger, disappointment, bafflement, curiosity, disinterest. The public is entitled to feel all of these emotions. Or none of them.

Sean Zak: My gut was to believe (out of optimism) that this was just a bad-luck incident. But as the details came in, it was a reminder of what we’ve been through before. With such a private person, it will be impossible to know. But when these incidents happen, it gets a lot easier to connect the dots about what we’ve seen from Woods in less-severe moments in the past. His TV broadcast appearances, which haven’t always felt lucid. His Ryder Cup press conference in 2018, at which he basically fell asleep. It’s easy to forget these things when nothing bad happens. It’s really easy to remember them when bad things happen.

Josh Sens. A mix of emotions. Part sympathy for a guy who has never struck me as especially happy; part relief that no one was injured; and part anger at the combination of arrogance/selfishness it takes to get behind the wheel when — as it appears based on the initial reports — you simply don’t belong there.

Yes, please give us your first reaction to his fourth such incident.  Just spitballin' here, but maybe if you guys had reacted to the first three incidents...

I don't much remember that 2018 presser, though the whole week was very weird.  Here's an AI take on it:

Yes, at the end of the post-match news conference following the U.S. team's loss at the 2018 Ryder Cup, Tiger Woods appeared to be falling asleep or was extremely exhausted.

• GOLF.com +1Circumstances: After losing his match to Jon Rahm on Sunday, Woods appeared at the team press conference looking visibly tired and dejected.
• Cause: Woods attributed his exhaustion to an intense schedule, having played seven out of nine weeks leading up to the tournament, which included the Open Championship, WGC, playoffs, and the Ryder Cup.
• Performance: The fatigue contributed to a poor tournament performance where Woods went 0-4 and later cited extreme exhaustion from the long season.

While some reports described it as "sleeping" during the presser, it was widely acknowledged to be extreme fatigue following his comeback year.

Back to the TC gang: 

Woods has an alarming track record of car incidents and accidents. In 2017, he was arrested by Jupiter police on a DUI charge after he was found asleep and incoherent in his vehicle on the side of the road; a blood test revealed he had five prescription drugs in his system. Four years later, in Southern California, Woods was badly injured when, driving well over 80 mph in a 45-mph zone, he swerved off a road and struck a tree; L.A. police did not test Woods for drugs or alcohol and no arrest was made. Does this latest accident change how you look at the framing of what happened in 2021 and ’17?

Bastable: Of course. How can’t it? It’s hard to look back at that L.A. accident and not be mystified by why police declined to blood-test Woods for drugs or alcohol — for many reasons but especially given the high speed at which Woods was traveling and the fact that, according to police, he didn’t apply the brakes before impact. We’ll probably never know the full picture of Woods’ mental or physical state on that morning but, yes, this latest episode absolutely raises more questions about what went down.

Zak: Similar to my answer above — it becomes really easy to connect the dots of these instances. It feels responsible to do so. I imagine a judge will feel similarly.

Sens: I’m not sure it changed how I look at those past incidents, particularly the L.A. crash. It seemed pretty clear that Woods got preferential treatment in that case.

And he'll get preferential treatment in this one as well.... I do think the LA cops treatment was egregiously lax, and at least in the prior Florida incident we got some details.

As of this writing, neither Woods nor his representation have issued any public comments about the accident. How much, if any, transparency does Woods owe the public in terms of exactly what happened Friday?

Bastable: This is Tiger Woods we’re talking about; transparency isn’t among his strong suits, and I don’t expect that to change in the wake of this latest arrest. Also, presumably he and his team are walking a legal tight rope in terms of what Woods can/can’t say or should/shouldn’t say. You’d like to hear ownership for putting lives at risk. You’d like to hear an explanation for how he wound up behind the wheel in his alleged impaired state. And you’d like to hear contrition. We shall see.

Zak: Yeah, I don’t expect any transparency that Woods isn’t forced into offering in court. But it comes at an interesting moment: with a Ryder Cup captaincy in the balance, the PGA Tour’s future partly in Woods’ hands, and a tournament in Georgia he so badly wants to play just a couple of weeks away.

Sens: The idea that Woods “owes” the public anything doesn’t sit well with me. It seems part of the same dysfunctional relationship we have with celebrities that does no one much good. What he owes is an honest account in court.

I don't know what point Josh Sens is trying to make, but the judicial system isn't designed to help golf writers deal with their hero worship.  Yes, I think the LA officials cut him way too much slack, as our society seems determined to not use shame for positive reinforcement.

But the bigger issue we'll find is with the leaders and other participants in our little golf fishbowl.  Think back to everything you've heard about Tiger's role in the game since Jay Monahan put him up to be our savior, all the while they all knew he was a drug addict....  which is a fine segue into their last bit:

Woods’ last official PGA Tour start came at the 2024 Open Championship but he still wears many important hats on Tour. He is a player director on the Tour’s Policy Board; chairman of the Future Competitions Committee; and vice chairman of PGA Tour Enterprises. What does or should this latest arrest mean, if anything, for his involvement in Tour leadership?

Bastable: Tiger Woods is still Tiger Woods, and the PGA Tour is still the PGA Tour; it’s hard to imagine the Tour taking any disciplinary action. Big picture, all of the posts Woods holds now seem so inconsequential, as does any prospect of Woods playing competitively again anytime soon. Stating the obvious but his sole mission in the coming weeks, months and years should be getting better, in whatever ways that is necessary.

Zak: I’m not sure it’s going to mean anything for his place in Tour leadership. He’s too deep in it, and the Tour is too far down the road on establishing its future that it would feel drastic for him to be any less involved. It’s one of the few things Woods feels so strongly about — that involvement.

Sens: I don’t see the arrest in itself as relevant to his role in Tour leadership. The real question is whether Woods has deeper problems that might prevent him from fulfilling his role to the best of his abilities, and — more important — whether he might be better off focusing on his personal health and well-being rather than spending time on the Policy Board.

 Wow, did I tell you guys are dead-enders, or what?

I think that Alan Bastable answer might need to be kept near at hand, because it's pitch perfect.  Tiger Woods is still Tiger Woods, though I'm hard-pressed to understand why Bastable thinks that's more of a feature than a bug.  He's a national disgrace, putting the public at risk of his God complex, but the PGA Tour has no path forward without him, Alan?  Hard to see how we got here, huh?

Tiger has turned himself into a national fisgrace, and we all helped him by normalizing his dickishness.  He's not just an addict, but he's an addict with a God complex that thinks the rules of society don't apply to him.  The first question Rolapp and everyone else needs to answer is, why would we expect that this won't keep happening?

What needs to happen is that Tiger needs to resign from everything and take himself out of the Ryder Cup captaincy discussion.  I have no problem with Rolapp allowing it to be Tiger's decision, he obviously needs to focus on his own issues and I'm not opposed to that indulgence.  But Tiger needs to be out of any leadership roles in the Tour sooner rather than later because, had Tiger injured or killed a civilian, the Tour would find itself with a lot of explaining to do.

I have one more item for you, then I'm going to get on with my day.  See if you spot anything interesting here:

Why Tiger Woods Has Never Been in Greater Legal Jeopardy

The scales tip toward punishment over treatment for repeat DUI offenders

By Jeffrey Toobin

Wow, given Tiger's sexual history, am I the only one rolling on the floor at that byline? Just Google his name with the word "Zoom", and your memory will quickly be refreshed. Which you'll likely not thank me for, but some of you might be amused.

Toobin is a bit of a blowhard, although I probably should pass on the use of the word "hard" in his presence. But see if he isn't setting a bit of a low bar for a fellow miscreant:

At the same time, the law—and the judges who determine the consequences of violations—have come to recognize that driving while impaired is often different from other crimes, like, say, bank robbery. Alcoholism and drug addiction are, or can be, forms of disease, not fully under the control of those who suffer from them. Treatments, not just punishment, are often seen as the appropriate remedy.

It’s tempting to see Woods in this light. For all the blessings in his life, he has also been burdened with an almost unimaginable series of orthopedic horrors, all of which have caused him great pain. He didn’t choose to live that way, and like anyone whose body has suffered so many insults, he’s turned to medication to get through his days.

Great moments in the use of the passive voice.....  Can you see how Toobin characterizes all those "orthopedic horrors" as just thngs that happened to Tiger.  Tiger is simultaneously God but also has zero agency over his life... Gee, Jeffrey, most of his pain right now seems to come from that accident in LA.  Was that just something that he couldn't control, or did he maybe eff up?

I will regrettably leave you here, the regret being my failure to note Gary Woodland's win yesterday in Houston.  I did mean to get to it, though it's admittedly less a golf story than one of human endurance and grit.  Woodland seems to be one of the most-liked players out there, so it's easy to take pleasure in his well-earned success.  

Have a great week and I'll get back to the keyboard as I can.  Although the calendar will have its challenges there for me.