Holmes and Watson

Sorry for the delayed commencement of keyboard activity, but your humble and sedentary correspondent got his sorry butt to the gym this morning...

Blue Monster Blues - Quite the yawnfest down there in Miami, no?  David Hyde of the Sun-Sentinel (their website is far too annoying to bestow a valuable link upon) feels that way, though the only portion I can share with you is Shack's excerpt:

Once upon a time, golfers were the most capitalistic athletes of them all. They walked

onto an unruly course like a lion onto the Serengeti plain, needing to kill their next meal to eat compared to the guaranteed money of other sports. 

But now? With endorsement deals and faux-tournaments like these World Golf Championship affairs? No wonder everyone's happy. Even Stephen Gallacher, the resolute Scot hit two shots into the water and managed to shoot 4-over par – just on the 18th hole. 

He was 12-over for the day. Last place. And, sure, he was upset with his game. But being upset comes with parameters at this tournament. 

"The good news is I can work through this weekend,'' he said.

 That's because there's not just guaranteed money for showing up at World Golf events like this. No one gets cut. Do they all get trophies for participating, too, like a Little League team?

Not everyone was happy...for instance, while on the stationary bike I caught The Donald whining that the Tour had set his course up to play too easy.  More substantively, here's Geoff''s take on that which we can't read for ourselves:

The Sun-Sentinel's Dave Hyde explains what came through on television during early rounds of the WGC Cadillac: Doral's lack of energy and fan attendance at an event once so well-attended and buzzworthy. 

Hyde plays off of Thomas Bjorn's WD after nine (for personal reasons) but still earning the Dane $42,000 of unofficial money. Hyde digs deeper and gets to the lack of edge: limited-field events with no cut do not have the same urgency as a traditional full field event. He even invokes socialism late in the piece.

True that, and I mean all of it.  But it's also the worst of one dimensional Florida golf on display, water and sand, rinse and repeat as necessary.   I've noted previously in this space my desire to play Seminole, the Donald Ross classic, because I'm curious as to how he makes golf interesting in that environment.

But the WGC events are especially tedious, and removing the threat of a cut is one reason why.  Week in, week out, it's the cut that lends the narrative urgency to Friday's coverage (and Thursday to a lesser extent), as nobody likes to be embarrassed on television.  But the WGC's are the poster-child for all the excesses of the all-exempt Tour, limited field money-grabs played on typically dreadful venues (think Firestone).

Now there was one guy that tried to bring some excitement and levity into the proceedings... and if you missed it I'm happy to share:

Look at the classic release of the front hip, the perfectly in-balance footwork and the textbook position of the body facing directly down the target line.  Is there any doubt as to why he's the best player in the game?

Ever the critic, Shack opines that Rory is no match for the all-time greats, such as Terrible Tommy Bolt:

But the equipment was so different back then, Geoff.  Or, as a modern comparison, he suggests our Sergio:

I know, it's just amazing how Sergio creates that lag.  But remember, Sergio was using a 5-iron and Rory a 3-iron, a completely different shot.  By the way, the link above is to a gallery of old photos of classic club tosses, a number of which involve players not typically associated with the anger thing.

And, I should add, that Rory has a signature move I've never seen from Sergio:

Now Rory shows a command we could pray fro in Sergio, as he explains:

"Felt good at the time," McIlroy said after 2-under-par 70 left him 8 shots out of the lead. "Look, I just let frustration get the better of me. It was heat of the moment, and I mean, if it had been any other club I probably wouldn't have but I didn't need a 3‑iron for the rest of the round, so I thought, why not? 

" … Looking back at it, it isn't one of my proudest moments. … I wouldn't encourage anyone to do it; especially if there's kids watching at home. First of all, it's expensive, and second of all, you shouldn't do it."

Rors, can you elaborate on that second reason?  Oh, never mind...  Goose, gander....

There were some funny reactions, for instance you'll be relieved to know that Jimmy Connors was quite OK with it.  I know, I shocked as well... but my favorite was a guy named Chris Chaney with the delightful twitter handle of @Wrong_Fairway who does the ProTracer thing with it:

We like funny.  Abd before leaving the Ulsterman and Doral, how's about this infrared video of the lad posted by @NoLayingUp.

One last Doral note.  Bubba shot a 3-under 69 yesterday, without the benefit of a single birdie.  In fact, he made par at all fourteen of the Par-3 and 4's, and made one bogey and two eagles on the three-shotters.  You don't see that every day...

Getting Komfortable - Beth Ann Nichols posted this on our favorite young lady:

The day Lydia Ko rose to No. 1 in the world, she was a bit “nonplussed” about the honor, according to swing coach David Leadbetter. 

“She was more upset she didn’t win the tournament (in Ocala) than happy that she was No. 1,” Leadbetter said. Ko lost her footing in a bunker on the 71st hole at the inaugural Coates Golf Championship and mis-hit a hybrid. In hindsight, Ko, 17, of New Zealand, realized a safe 6-iron would’ve worked fine. Na Yeon Choi took home the trophy; runner-up Ko supplanted Inbee Park as No. 1. 

Five weeks and two professional titles later, Leadbetter said Ko is “warming to the fact that this is pretty cool.”

 I would rather this had come at a later time, after I felt that she was, in fact, the best player out there.  But she's posted two wins after that disappointment above and her play at Royal Melbourne was something special.  But better to sit back and see how she handles the majors...

Mostly I just wanted to direct you to this amusing Josh Sens send-up of Lydia's future therapy career.  Here's just one little tease involving our favorite Shakespearean hero: 

March 1, 2028

8 a.m. Arrive to find first patient, Mr. Furyk, in foyer. Seems grumpy. Says he’s been

waiting 13 years to see me. Resist urge to point out that it took him twice that long to line up putts. Oh, snap! Session consumed by talk of missed opportunities, male-pattern baldness and sublimated resentment at father for teaching him that swing. In waning moments, otherwise high-functioning patient appears to lose self-confidence and focus. Mr. Furyk? Mr. Furyk!?! Prescription: 5-Hour Energy Drink. Love this job. So great to be able to make a difference!

I'm relieved that she wants to be a therapist, because if she makes good on her threat and quites at age thirty I'll need one.

If I Were A Betting Man - We recently blogged the Royal St. Georges' membership vote to allow women members, and briefly speculated on other dominoes.  As you know, in the U.K. one can lay a few quid on just about any proposition of interest, so we shouldn't be surprised by this Martin Dempster item from The Scotsman:

FRESH pressure has been heaped on the two men-only Scottish golf clubs on the Open Championship rota after Royal St George’s voted to allow women members. 

The Kent club’s decision, which received 90 per cent backing from its membership, leaves the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers at Muirfield and Royal Troon as the only male-only clubs on the list used by the R&A for golf’s oldest major. 

A leading bookmaker has made Royal Troon the more likely of the two to be next to admit women members, with the Ayrshire club being offered at 1/10 to no longer be a men-only bastion by the end of the year compared to 8/15 for Muirfield.

Great minds think alike, though I expressed that sentiment less quantitatively though quite a bit more snarkily.