Thursday Thoughts

We have actual golf being played today, with the first round from Abu Dhabi already completed.

Rivalry, Projected - Derek Lawrenson handles the golf beat for the Daily Mail, and he's got his 2015 plot line scripted:

American Rickie Fowler looked forward to playing alongside Rory McIlroy in the first

Some of the world's best test the waters of the 2015 season.

two rounds of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship here this week and confidently predicted: ’We’re going to have some fun and plenty of heated battles in the years to come.’ 

They made a good start on that front last year, when the Northern Irishman pipped the colourful Californian to both the Open and the USPGA Championship, before wiping the floor with him in a singles match at the Ryder Cup. 

Yet the gritty Fowler is far from daunted, and believes he will win plenty of such tussles himself in the future.

That's a definite maybe... Rickie remains an enigma, though no doubt he made great strides in 2014.  But his record remains conspicuously short on actual wins, and that Ryder Cup beat down left a mark.

Of course much of the speculation about the World No. 1 relates to his litigation calendar and how that might affect his preparation and play.  In another Derek Lawrenson piece, Rory addresses the coming campaign:

Rory McIlroy insisted his looming court battle with his ex-management company will

Any doubt what's the top item scribbled on that boarding pass?

have no bearing on his golf as he outlined a seven-point plan to rule the world once more in 2015.

As he does every year, McIlroy passed the time away during his first flight of the campaign from Dublin to the Middle East by writing down his goals on the back of a boarding pass. ‘There are seven written down and obviously I am not going to reveal them publicly,’ he said. ‘But I will keep the boarding pass in my wallet and then take it out at the end of the season and see whether I've achieved them all. 

‘I didn't manage it last year. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever managed it. I set my goals pretty high. Last year, for example, I wrote down six wins worldwide but only managed four. It was still a good year though.’

 Until mid-April I don't think many of us care about anything beyond that top item on the list.  Karl McGinty, writing in Rory's hometown paper (well, close enough) notes that Rory seems comfortable with the arc of events:

Official confirmation that Rory McIlroy will play the Dubai Desert Classic hardly raised a ripple of interest either in mainline or social media. McIlroy is, after all, a brand ambassador for the event's title sponsor, Omega.

Yet the fact that he's willing and feels perfectly able to play in a tournament which concludes on Sunday, February 1, less than 48 hours before McIlroy's case against his former management company goes to trial in Dublin's Commercial Court, offers fascinating insight into the strength of his psyche.

Well, Karl, it could mean a lot of things.... for instance, it could equally mean that he knows he'll be writing a big check and is looking to fund it.  Or it could mean that the trial will be further delayed, or that settlement discussions are proceeding or that he needs to get tournament reps in before he's sidelined by the trial.

Both Rickie and Rory shot opening-round 5-under 67's, leaving them three behind Martin Kaymer's blistering 64.

West Coast Swing, Ignored - Regular readers are by now sick and tired of my constant harping on the Tour's wraparound season, specifically it's effect on the West Coast Swing.  Anyone suffering schedule-discussion-fatigue has my permission to skip to the next item, but the West Coast took it in the shorts with this announcement:

Phil Mickelson, who has played in the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am for 20 straight years and won it four times, will not compete this year in order to spent more

time with his family. 

Mickelson, who has 42 PGA Tour career wins, including five majors, made the announcement recently on his website. 

In addition to not playing in AT&T, Feb. 12-15, Mickelson will also skip the Northern Trust Open the following week at Rivera Country Club in Pacific Palisades where he’s won twice. 

“These are two of my favorite events,” Mickelson said on his website overview for the 2015 season. “But with the kids in two schools with two different spring breaks, I’ll take that time off. They’ve accommodated my schedule enough over the years. It’s time for me to accommodate theirs.”

While there's no reason to doubt Phil's motivation, I'm guessing that those two events are going to have extremely weak fields.  Not only does this portion of the schedule offer some of the best courses on display, but it also garners the highest television ratings of the year with football out of the way.

Phunless Phoenix - Luke Kerr-Dineen seizes on our story of the Ponte Vedra suits taking all the fun out of the Phoenix event, suggesting fifteen additional things to ban, including Green Man (with a seemingly oversized....errr....package):

Is this a Waste Management green initiative?

This would seem to be an endangered species...

Luke, don't give them any ideas....

DVR Alert - Alex Myers helpfully provides a heads up that there's more than football to watch on Sunday:

Jack Nicklaus won 18 professional majors, but what he considers the most important putt of his illustrious career happened before any of that. That's just one of many insights from Nicklaus and his contemporaries that will come to life in a new documentary chronicling the "Golden Bear's" life.

Produced by the USGA and Ross Greenburg Productions, "Nicklaus: The Making of a Champion" will debut in the United States at noon EST, Sunday, Jan. 18, on Fox prior to its pre-game coverage of the NFC Championship game. In other words, get ready to spend even more time on your couch on Sunday than you planned.

Watch the trailer if you need further inducement:

Since Jack was my golf God, I'll be recording it.

Courses, Rated - I ignored this when it first was released, mostly as it hit on a travel day.  But Golf Digest released its biannual golf course ratings in early January, with most of the headlines related to Augusta National replacing Pine Valley atop the rankings.  

As much as I love to see architecture debated, the actual rankings of the courses leaves me somewhat cold.  But it's worth reading Shack's lengthy post on the movers that surprise him, and here's his conclusion:

Overall there appears to be a little more recognition of fun and whimsical design, and even more acknowledgement of restored features. There appear to be still too many courses recognized because they are difficult or provide a lavish experience. That said, I see mostly huge positives thanks to the upward trajectory of long overlooked courses and those with genuine architectural interest.

Firestone is blessedly not on the list, so I assume he's referring to Medinah, Congressional and Valhalla, among others.  Also of note is this Matt Ginella interview of Golf Digest Senior Editor of Architecture, Ron Whitten.  Well worth a listen, it can be found here.

MAJ, Unplugged - Admit it, you can't take your eyes off of The Most Interesting Man in Golf....and I'll bet that you've been wondering how he would react to a hole-in-one.  Well, wonder no more:

Poor Miggy, he needs to relax and enjoy life a bit more....