This And That

As I get to work this morning, the taped coverage of the ladies event from Australia is on....Royal Melbourne and Lydia make nice background music but please, no spoilers...

Riviera Wrap - As noted yesterday, I always liked Retief Goosen's game and presence, and Doug Ferguson makes the "Horses for courses" argument:

Retief Goosen handled the tough conditions at Riviera so well on Friday that it brought back some fond memories. 

Sure, he's a two-time U.S. Open champion, and the Northern Trust Open drew some comparisons to golf's toughest test with its firm, fast conditions. For now, Goosen was just thrilled to be in the lead going into the weekend at any tournament.

Now Retief seems to be keeping his expectations in check, probably for the better:

"It's been such a long time since I've last been in contention," Goosen said. "Who knows how my game is going to hold up? But I'm feeling good. My back is feeling great. So if the nerves can hold, just continue to make good golf swings and make a few good putts, who knows?"

It's a young man's game, so watch for the putting stroke to get a little hinky under pressure, but one never knows, do one?

But mostly folks have been enjoying the memories of the 2012 NCAA Championship held at Riviera, specifically the match between current protagonists Jordan Spieth and Justin Hicks:

As if Justin Thomas could ever forget what happened at Riviera Country Club’s 15th hole in their match at the 2012 NCAA Men’s Golf Championship, Jordan Spieth was happy to remind him. 

“He’s sent me like three different pictures of that hole already,” Thomas said. 

Flashback to when Spieth of Texas holed his second shot to all but ice their head-to-head match and help the Longhorns edge Thomas’ Alabama team 3-2 in the match play final.

“4-iron, rolled around the back of the green and went in,” Spieth recalled at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. “He hates when I bring that up.”

I suppose final group Sunday would be too much to expect?  And if you missed it, Jordan's prodigious drive on No. 18 is worth a gander.... It was quite the cool second shot from the bunker I thought:

Read more here: http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2015/02/20/3499675_moore-among-early-leaders-at-riviera.html?rh=1#storylink=cpy

Tiger Stuff - No doubt you've by now heard that he will not be with us next week at The Honda, which is likely for the best.  Though it leaves only Bay Hill as a tune-up for Augusta, if that's even in his plans.

The NBC/Golf Channel crew was available to the media in connection with their coverage of the Florida swing.  What else would they be asked about, so here are the relevant comments.  First, from Johnny Miller:

We've all witnessed Tiger Woods' short-game woes of late and we've all heard his go-to explanation. Woods has maintained a change in his full swing under new instructor Chris Como has resulted in a different "release pattern" on his chips.

But two major champions-turned TV analysts aren't buying it. At all. 

"I think it's crazy," Johnny Miller said in a conference call ahead of NBC's coverage of next week's Honda Classic, which Woods is skipping for the first time in four years. "You know, when you pitch, all you do is just take it back and brush the grass. . . . It doesn't take a genius to just make a little arc and brush the grass and put it up there near the hole."

And David Duval:

"I think that's a false statement. I don't agree with that at all," he said. "I mean, chipping is chipping. To hit a solid contact on a 30-yard pitch, everybody does it the same way. That's just how you get the ball up; keep it low, get it running, whatever."

"Having known him a long, long time, it's hard to say, hard to watch. I had to live through a lot of it on my own, as well," Duval said. "I think that injuries have really broken him down, his physicality, and I think through that, mentally. And once you get scarred mentally, it's a hard thing to come back with. It's a funny thing how memory works -- I'm not a psychiatrist, they could explain it better. But replacing short-term memories is a very difficult, trying process, and that's what you have to do at this point, and it takes a long, long time."

And Johnny again:

"He must have some demons in his head," Miller said. "It's like somebody short-circuited his hand-eye coordination. . . . I don't know what's going on. I really don't. Only Tiger probably could tell you, and he won't tell you how it can get that bad when you're skulling it across the greens and chili-dipping about every other one."

C'mon guys, he just needs his reps so he can get his golf feels back.  And, you know, activate his glutes...

 Luke Kerr-Dineen chronicles Jack's statements about Tiger over the years, most recently this:

We're not sure if Jack Nicklaus has actually said it a million times, but it wouldn't be that surprising. Every now and again someone will corner the Golden Bear and ask him if he thinks Tiger will break his record of 18 major championships, and each time he says basically the same thing: Yes. "I still do. Why would I not think that?,"Nicklaus said on Friday. "He's too dedicated, he works too hard at it, he's got too much talent. He'll figure it out."

Given that there's no other acceptable answer, Luke closes with a seemingly simple request:

In conclusion: PLEASE STOP ASKING THIS MAN THE SAME THING!

Ryder Reax - I'm still chuckling over the task force and eagerly anticipating Tuesday's presser where we learn about how it's all about the future, templates, pods and God knows what else.  Apparently, per Adam Schupak, the task force was necessary to air unresolved grievances about....the pin on 17?

Love fell on his sword then and now, but the captain can only take so much blame when

his players failed to earn more than 3 ½ points out of 12 during Sunday’s singles competition. When asked his biggest regret from Medinah, Love said, “There’s about 10. I learned a lot. I learned a lot from Darren Clarke the night after Medinah when we sat around and talked. I learned a lot in the process with the task force. Phil (Mickelson) and I hadn’t really talked about Medinah until the task force. What was great about it is we were very open and honest. He said, ‘What was with the pin on 17?’ I said, ‘I know.’ Why was the pin over on there? We needed it in the middle of the green. We can all hit it on the green. We let tradition stick it on the right. I’m not blaming anybody. I’m blaming myself. We won’t make that mistake again.”

Sure glad we cleared the air on that important issue (not that some of the pins weren't funky, it's just that as I recall both teams played to the same pins).  Though the Clarke-Love confessional seems curious now...

But perhaps the strangest take comes from Minneapolis Star-Tribune sportswriter Patrick Reusse, who had this to say:

To me, Love always has come across as being put upon by having other human beings

on the planet – not the affable-grump type, but as the woe-is-me type. 

I don’t know. He gets to me. When he was in contention down the stretch of golf tournaments that I was watching on television, I found myself rooting against Love in the same manner that all we righteous Americans root against Duke in NCAA tournament basketball games. 

Davis acts like a guy who wants all the bounces. Duke’s coach gets most of the calls, and acts like a guy who thinks he deserves them all.

That's certainly not his reputation and the guys liked playing for him in 2012, rendering him an acceptable compromise choice.  But we'll give last licks to the Merry Mex, who had this to say about our Phil:

“Tom Watson is a good friend of mine,” Trevino says. “I’ve got a hell of a lot of respect

for the guy, and I was really angry about the way they treated him [after his U.S. team was trounced at Gleneagles last fall]. I don’t know what went on behind the scenes, but the players have to understand he worked his butt off for two years and all they did was show up and go play. 

“If Phil Mickelson wants to say what he said, it’s up to him. I thought it would have come out a lot better from someone like Patrick Reed, who went 3-0-1, instead of a guy who has been a part of so many losing teams. If I had a losing record in the Ryder Cup, I’d keep my mouth shut.”

But Lee, surely they can't play well without pods?

Silly Stuff:  The Bryan Brothers are back:

And this guy might be swapping the large SUV for a subcompact:

First World Problems - Michael Jordan is fed up with The Bear's Club and isn't going to take it any longer:

Those sources say that Jordan has grown frustrated with pace of play at the club. 

“Michael likes to play fast and he can’t stand it when people won’t let him through,” said a golf-industry insider who knows Jordan and who has spoken with several Bear's Club's members. “That happens enough out there that he’s gotten fed up.”

Now Jordan, unlike most of us, is in a position to do something about it:

According to the same source, who requested anonymity, Jordan has secured the option on a plot of land in nearby Hobe Sound, just south of the luxe Medalist Golf Club, which counts Tiger Woods and Rickie Fowler among its members. 

Jordan’s vision, the source said, is to hire a top designer and invite a limited number of like-minded golf buffs to join the club.

Tom Doak has been mentioned as his architect of choice, but Brad Faxon provides just a so-so review of the land:

“It’s got potential,” Faxon said of the property. “But it would take a lot of work. It has what looks like sandy soil but the land itself is flat and there’s none of the infrastructure you’d need for a golf course. If you did something there, it would have to be pretty special.”

Sam Weinman has some thoughts on design features:

1. A bunker shaped like an outstretched tongue.

I don't think Doak does tongues.