Tuesday Topics

Lots of silliness to cover today, as we mark time until Thursday.  None of our heroes are having good weeks, but let's start with everyone's favorite Top Five player:

Say It Ain't So, Top Five - We can all agree that nobody is neutral on Patrick Reed...some love his brash confidence while the majority find him off-putting at best and downright creepy at times.  Golf Digest contributor Shane Ryan has a forthcoming book, "Slaying The Tiger: How golf's young guns took over the sport" that is due to be released in May and pains a rather unflattering portrait of Reed:

It painted Reed as a win-at-all-costs competitor who clashed repeatedly with teammates and coaches. It also alleged that Reed stole "a watch, a Scotty Cameron putter, and $400 cash" from a teammate while at the University of Georgia, and that teammates once caught Reed "red-handed trying to cheat."

No doubt young Patrick had some growing up to do when he arrived at Georgia, and per this found after 30 seconds on Google, after his transfer to Augusta State:

The last time Patrick Reed barreled into the hometown of the Masters and created a new-

sheriff-in-Dodge kind of stir, the welcoming committee was not so welcoming. In the weeks after his arrival nearly five years ago, his teammates at Augusta State could hardly stand him, and his coach could not fathom a day when this transfer from the University of Georgia would be worth the trouble he was causing, times 10.

Josh Gregory suspended Reed for the first two events of the 2009-10 season for violations of team rules he'd prefer to remain unspecified. The Georgia coach, Chris Haack, had warned his Augusta State counterpart that Reed was something of a wild colt that needed to be tamed, this after a series of issues -- including an arrest for underage drinking and possession of a fake ID -- made Reed a one-and-done Bulldog following a few tournaments in the fall.

That he was (is?) L'Enfant Terrible will surprise no one, but specific allegations of stealing from teammates and cheating raises the bar quite a bit.  

Witness For The Defense - The World No. 1 had seemingly no sooner holed his final putt in Dubai than he was due in a Dublin court to commence his acrimonious trial against former management company Horizon Sports:  

At least Lydia's glasses found a good home...

McIlroy’s lawyers were attending a meeting with those of Horizon on Monday night and, although this is standard, there was some optimism that a deal could be reached before 10.30am on Tuesday when the case will begin in the Irish capital’s famous Four Courts.

It is expected that McIlroy will be in court No. 1 if and when the hearing gets under way, but he will not then return until he is required to present his side of the story which has become increasingly bitter in the near two years since the rumbles first began of a split with the Dublin agency founded by Conor Ridge.

He deserves Court No. 1, no?  James Corrigan came up with this bit of actual news:

Mediation ordered by a judge last September failed and sources have indicated that McIlroy has already made an offer to Horizon – which could have been as much as £10 million – but it was turned down.

Corrigan also had this on the likely schedule, which at this point is as big a concern as any:

That (Rory's testimony) may be as late as next week. McIlroy could face up to six days of questioning and will then immediately head back to his home in West Palm Beach to resume his Masters preparations. The hearing would go on in his absence, with it being pencilled in on the court register to take up to eight weeks. If it did go the full distance, the judge’s verdict could be announced in the fortnight before McIlroy’s bid at Augusta to become just the sixth player in history to win the career grand slam.

That's not ideal, but if his required physical presence is completed by mid-February I don't see it as a big factor in his Masters preparation.  He wasn't likely to play before the Honda in any event.

Take The Money and Run - The Scotsman's Martin Dempster has a piece on the controversial awarding of the Open Championship television rights to Sky Sports:

WHILE it will boost the R&A’s coffers if, as predicted, it is worth £3 million more per

year than the current package, a new television deal for the Open Championship taking it away from the BBC to Sky surely can’t be welcomed as being good for golf in its overall landscape.

Admittedly, at a time when the BBC, which has held the live rights for the event for the past 59 years, appears to have lost all interest in the Royal & Ancient game, the sport is now being covered better than ever before.

Many have compared this to the USGA contract award to Fox, and the similarities are obvious.  Though my first reaction is that, unlike with Fox, the monetary difference seems awfully small.

Unlike Fox, Sky has been broadcasting European Tour events for years and has invested considerably in upgrading the quality of these broadcasts.  But on the flip side, there's no comparison to the ubiquity of the "Beeb's" Open broadcast, which go from dawn to dusk (and in Scotland in July that's saying something).  Here's a sampling of reaction from Lee Westwood:

It is little wonder, however, that others, such as former world No 1 Lee Westwood, feel that The Open being lost from terrestrial television is wrong and that action should have been taken long ago to avoid an announcement that is expected in the next day or two. “I cannot believe The Open isn’t protected as one of the crown jewels – that is an absolute disgrace,” declared the Englishman.

It sounds naive, doesn't it?  But as someone who has been in the UK two or three times duroing the Open, it really is a shame.

Tiger Ad Absurdum - Today's State of the Tiger dissertation comes from an unlikely source, former PGA of America Prez Ted Bishop in a Golf.com exclusive:

Bill Harmon, brother of Tiger’s former coach Butch, told me this: “[Tiger] does have the

chipping yips. I also think he has the yips with the driver. Fear will make anyone ordinary. When a golfer is unsure of and fears impact around the greens it’s a totally different game.” 

Bill Harmon would know. He is recognized as one of the game’s top teachers and his stable of players includes Bill Haas. There is no more respected family of golf instructors in America than the Harmons -- Bill, Butch and Craig Harmon, all schooled by their legendary father, Claude. 

“There are very few pros who don’t think that Tiger has the yips around the greens,” Harmon said. “The first step in solving the problem is admitting that you have a problem. That is not a weakness, but a strength.

OK, at least Ted had the good sense to consult with someone who might know what he's talking about, but do we think he's also yipping with the driver?  Funny thing is that, irony alert, hank Haney is one of the most famous sufferers of the driver yips, as documented by David Owen.  

Dissenting from that diagnosis is Dr. Joe Parent, via this Reuters piece:

"The yips are defined by a kind of flinch at impact and I didn't see a gross expression of that in what I saw of Tiger," Dr. Joe Parent, who helped major winners Vijay Singh and Cristie Kerr reach top spot in the world rankings, told Reuters.

"What I did see was a lack of confidence and what I would describe as overly mechanical thinking. He is having trouble finding the right angle to come in at the ball and therefore he doesn't want to risk those high-lofted clubs."

If only there were a blood or urine test for the tips.... My sense was that back in December at his Hero World Challenge was saw Tiger exhibiting classic deceleration on his chips, a shot with which most of us amateurs are familiar.  My question to Billy Harmon and Dr. Parent would be whether that should be considered a yip?

At Phoenix I saw a couple of decels, but not at the level of that seen at Isleworth.  On the other hand, he was clearly avoiding those kinds of shots, opting for either the putter or that little Scottish 4-iron bumper, and if Haney is to be believed he was doing that from his first hole on Thursday.  That leaves me unclear as to whether the "Y" word fits.  But back to Parent:

Parent, a PGA Tour instructor who is author of the book "Zen Putting: Mastering the Mental Game on the Greens", felt Woods' biggest problem with his chipping was an

inability to picture his desired shot. 

"He was a master of the short game," said Parent. "He would make these practice swings with such freedom and you could tell all he was doing was tuning his system into the picture he had in mind. And then he walked up and just produced that picture. 

"I'm not even sure he knows what picture he's got in mind now. You lose confidence and you start choosing less risky shots, putting from off the green instead of chipping, opting for a bump-and-run rather than a lofted club off a tight lie.

"If you don't trust the shot, your mind goes to technique. Tiger looks like he is thinking about how he is making a stroke rather than expressing the artistry of somebody who is a master of a stroke."

It may be that the yip diagnosis is a red herring....it doesn't matter if it's Ebola or the measles, if you can't chip then you can't play at that level.  It's hard to watch, but I wouldn't miss Thursday's coverage for anything...

And the oddsmakers seem to have finally soured on The Striped One, per this Stephen Hennessey item:

Are you a believer that Tiger Woods will turn around his game this week and take home the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines? If so, the odds are in your favor! 

After his worst round as a professional last week at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, an 11-over-par 82, Tiger has been listed at 50-to-1 odds to win at Torrey Pines. That's the same venue he has won eight times as a pro. 

In fact, there's even a proposition bet you can make on whether Tiger will make the cut, which is amazing in its own right:

He's still big, it's just the odds that have gotten long...

And in the "Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln" category, we have two additional reports, the first from an unlikely source for us:

JUPITER ISLAND — Golfer Tiger Woods, who missed the cut today at the season opening Phoenix Open, needs to start winning real bad. 

Why? 

In 349 days, and counting, he’s got a big deadline: According to his divorce settlement, he must pay ex-wife Elin Nordegren $54.5 million by Jan. 15, 2016, or he could lose his Jupiter Island home to her.

The considerate folks at Gossip Extra even came up with a helpful countdown clock for Tiger, though I'm sure Steiny has the date circled on his Dayminder.  The state of Tiger's finances was once the subject of speculation after the hydrant, but not so much in the last couple of years.  But $55 million in cash is a lot of scratch...

And one more from the same dubious source:

JUPITER ISLAND — A retired Surfside police officer who worked security at Tiger Woods’ house in Jupiter Island just filed a lawsuit against the struggling golfer. 

In his filing, Miami resident John Davis says he slipped on wet marble while patrolling the 8-acre property Dec. 23, 2010, and fell heavily, injuring his knee. 

According to the lawsuit, filed by Miami slip-and-fall king Michael Feiler, a badly-oriented sprinkler head made the marble walkway so slippery that Davis’ accident was bound to happen.

This is a nothing item, as it's no doubt covered by insurance (and if he was Tiger's employee he'd be limited to workman's comp).  But like Shack, I just couldn't resist the reference to the "Slip-and-fall king."  His mother must be so proud...