Thursday Thoughts

Four weeks from today, Jack, Arnie and Gary will be striping their ceremonial opening drives down the first fairway at Augusta National Golf Club.  Hope that brings as big a smile to your face as it does to mine...

Today's Required Reading - Jaime Diaz goes deep with this long profile of World No. 1 for the Golf Digest Masters Preview edition.  Oh, and don't be put off by the cover photo, which is quite off-putting.  There are two threads that caught my eye, though your mileage may vary.  First is this:

That mind-set might have evolved slowly, but history will mark it as the moment

The unfortunate cover.

McIlroy publicly broke off his engagement with Caroline Wozniacki May 21 at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth. Five days later, when he came from seven shots down in the final round to get his first win in Europe or America in 18 months, he appeared a new man. 

Even after the victory, McIlroy was understandably subdued. But it wasn't long before he set a new course. 

"After [the breakup], I thought, What else do I have in my life?" he says during lunch at the downtown Standard, High Line. "I have family and friends, but they're always going to be there. What else? That's when I decided, You know what, I'm just going to immerse myself in golf for a while. I spent more time at it, thought about it more, spent more time at the range and at the gym. Because that's all I had, and that's all I wanted to do."

It really does appear that the break-up was a significant turning point in Rory's attitude.  But his newfound determination and commitment isn't necessarily good news for the other lads.  In terms of the Masters, Jaime had these comments:

But there is evidence to support why McIlroy might not win at Augusta. In his six Masters, last year's T-8 is his best finish (see chart). In those 22 rounds, he has made an astounding 11 double bogeys and three triple bogeys. Just as amazing, considering McIlroy's length, his cumulative total on the par 5s is only 21 under. Although scattershot short irons have been responsible for most of his big numbers, McIlroy has had trouble on the iconic greens, consistently finishing in the bottom half of the field in putting. 

"A firm and fast Augusta, or a typical U.S. Open setup, is probably the most difficult test for me," he says. "It requires so much discipline and precision, and that's something I'm still learning. I won a U.S. Open, but it was much wetter than normal, and even Hoylake was soft for a links. So if Augusta is fiery, winning there would get me closer to being a complete player, because I don't think I'm there yet."

True that, but the real significance is that it comes form Rory himself.  I've often told the story of watching Rory in the second round of the 2010 Open Championship.  After posting a 63 on Thursday, Rory caught the worst of the nasty weather that later suspended play because balls were moving on the greens, and I watched him launch moonball after moonball.  The fact that he shot 80 was less surprising than the fact that he never tried to control the flight of his shots.  He grew up in friggin' Northern Ireland and couldn't hit a kockdown....still can't explain that one.

There's also interesting discussion of his work with putting guru Dave Stockton, interesting to me because Rory still misses an inordinate number of short putts, a real issue when you putt as aggressively as he does.  But lastly, care for a look at what all the gym work has created:

 

On the left is the famous pic of Rory with Rickie Fowler at the 2007 Walker Cup at Royal County Down.

Piling On - Anyone know what the opposite of the phrase "Praise from Caesar" would be?  Because when John Daly is poking fun at your drug testing protocols, that warrants top drawer snark:

Speaking on “Hit It Hard With John Daly” from a Clearwater Hooters, the two-time major champion called the PGA Tour’s anti-doping testing program “a big joke.” He also said called out Tim Finchem, the PGA Tour's commissioner, and Andy Pazder, the Tour's senior vice president and chief of operations, telling the two to “get off your ass and get it right. I’m tired of it. Because it (testing) has to be random. This is bull----. I’m sorry. I don’t care what you do. Fine me. But do it randomly. I know when I’m getting drug tested.” 

Daly would add, “Who knows? Finchem probably owns the drug-testing company, anyway.”

To be fair, when it comes to big jokes, Long John is a recognized controlling legal authority.  Though this is clearly TMI:

Daly had a lap band inserted years ago to lose weight and doesn't like to drink water (“I drink Diet Coke”), so being tested, which requires providing a urine sample after play, proves to be a time-consuming inconvenience. If he urinates on the golf course late in his round, he knows he’ll have to stick around for hours after play to provide a sample. So instead, he does not use the bathroom for several holes, which he says affects his play.

JD's premise is that the players are aware of when they'll be tested, which of course the Tour denies.  But add that to our recent piece about the Tout not using blood testing, required to screen for HGH and other PED's, because it might cause a hematoma (notwithstanding that samples are taken after play).  

But Commissioner Ratched is sure we don't want to be bothered with this information, right?  Errr...not so fast, per Sam Weinman:

On Tuesday, in the wake of remarks from PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem about

why the tour doesn't publicize fines and suspensions, we conducted a poll asking whether fans were interested in such disciplinary measures.

By Finchem's estimation, the tour keeps these transactions private is because "we don’t think the fans really want to know about most of the stuff we would be talking about." It was a rather bold supposition, so our poll essentially asked, Is this true?

Just a quick review for the benefit of anyone new to this issues.  The Tour has separate policies for PED's and recreational drugs.  As for the former, the Tour does announce suspensions, though it doesn't give us the details of the drug used.  The issue here is that the protocol is designed to not catch anyone, both because of how it's administered and in not utilizing blood screening.

I don't believe there is a tremendous amount of PED use in golf, but I'm also not crazy about taking Uncle Tim's word for it.  And the two unfortunate tour rabbits that have been caught is not credibility enhancing.

As for recreational drugs (as well as deportment violations), the Tour's "Nothing to see here" policy is hopelessly naive.  Unless, of course, fictitious Jet-ski accidents and unexplained absences are your cup of tea.   I could easily make the case for not testing for pot and cocaine, but if you're testing then the results should be out in the open.

Whither Tiger - For anyone that might still care, 5:00 p.m. tomorrow is D-Day, the time by which Tiger must commit to play nest week at Bay Hill.  From where I sit, that tells us whether he intends to tee it up at Augusta....

From the ones I got somewhat correct, comes this clarification from Team Tiger as to the name ownership issue.  Mike Bamberger had been told and recounted that the awkward name of Tiger's new restaurant was the result of Nike owning Tiger's name.  That didn't make sense, and now comes this from the ultimate source, our Steiny:

“I can’t imagine how this could have been communicated this way. It is wholly inaccurate and categorically false,” Steinberg said. “Tiger owns his own name and always had. He can use his name in any form he chooses. Nike would confirm that if asked.” Later Wednesday, a Nike spokeswoman did just that, saying, "Nike does not own the name 'Tiger Woods.' We can confirm that Mark Steinberg's comments are accurate."

Shackelford, putting his spot on Steiny's Christmas card list in jeopardy, snarked this:

Startling words to see in print! "We can confirm that Mark Steinberg's comments are accurate."

Snark aside, how then did you come up with such a cumbersome name for your diner fine dining venue.  In other Tiger news, new details have emerged in a story long lost to the memory hole:

Anonymous threats to poison milk formula in an apparent protest over the use of an

agricultural pesticide in New Zealand has brought out new details of a cyanide threat at the New Zealand Open in which Tiger Woods played in 2002.

The New Zealand Herald reports that “the cyanide sent to the US Embassy was contained in sealed sugar sachets,” according to Labour MP Trevor Mallard, then the duty minister.

It's resurfaced because there's a new threat to baby formula... I love humanity, except for the people, that is.  Meanwhile, loosely linked to our Tiger thread are these cringe-inducing comments by David Feherty, that Shack recommends scoring to Ave Maria:

"For the last 18 years he has had a camera meet him in the parking lot and follow him to the parking lot when he's done," Feherty said. "It's a great shame, really, that we haven't given him any privacy or any kind of respect. Even this last episode when he was so bummed and deflated, and for the first time he gave the impression he felt like a basket case, we still followed him to his car and watched him struggle to get his shoes off and drive away. 

"I mean, really? Enough. I never thought I'd feel sorry for him, but I do."

I'll give you moment to compose yourself and wipe away that tear that formed in the corner of your eye.  Is it news to you as well that we've never giver Tiger any respect?  Yes, there's a downside to celebrity, which I don't think will come as a surprise to any of us....but he signed up for the program, and I'm guessing that the benefits outweigh the negatives.

Feherty did leave us with this:

Feherty: All of my contracts are up at the end of this year with the Golf Channel and CBS so I don't know where I'll be or what I'll be doing. It's kind of a strange time, but no matter what happens, I'll think of something. I've got to a stage in my life having been through what I've been through and gotten sober and healthy for the last eight-and-a-half years, nothing matters to me except the time I have left and how I spend it. It's nothing to do with money or anything else. It's just about time, it's all that matters. If I can spend that time enjoying myself, but helping other people, then I'll grab my hat and be happy." 

AL: If you are still having fun, would you want to stay with CBS and the Golf Channel? 

Feherty: Absolutely, I enjoy doing it. I'm constantly surprised. Can you believe I get paid for this shit?

Just enjoy it, David.  Because we still enjoy you... and every moment you're speaking is one in which Nick Faldo is silent.  Win-win, baby!

Ranking Your Office - Professional golfers have better offices than most, and GolfWorld has asked them to rate them.  Now Tour pros have never struck me as being architecturally sophisticated, but here's there top ten:

1. Augusta National GC (Augusta, Ga., The Masters)

2. Harbour Town GL (Hilton Head Island, S.C., The Heritage)

3. Riviera CC (Pacific Palisades, Calif., Northern Trust Open)

4. Pebble Beach GL (Pebble Beach, Calif., AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am)

5. Colonial CC (Fort Worth, Tex., Crown Plaza Invitational)

6. Muirfield Village GC (Dublin, Ohio, The Memorial)

7. Shaugnessy G&CC (Vancouver, B.C., RBC Canadian Open)

8. Aronimink GC (Newtown Square, Penn., AT&T National)

9. Innisbrook Resort - Copperhead (Palm Harbor, Fla., Transitions Championship)

10. Congressional CC (Bethesda, Md., AT&T National)

Seeing Congressional in the top ten is enough to make me lose my will to live, and there's other surprises (including Kapalua at No. 43, almost in Liberty National territory).  For those interested in the subject, it's worth listening to Shack talk about the methodology and results in this podcast.  surprisingly, at least to me, he gives the players surprisingly high marks for their frightfulness.

And I am glad to see this week's venue rank highly, as it's a good one...

Champions' Challenge - Cancelled in 2010 due to Open Championship weather, the R&A has announced a mulligan for the event this July:

Golf fans will also be delighted to see three-time Champions Gary Player, Nick Faldo

and Tiger Woods playing in the event alongside the 1963 and 1969 Champions, Bob Charles and Tony Jacklin, and more recent winners such as Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els, Darren Clarke and Padraig Harrington. 

Among the other champions confirmed so far are Louis Oosthuizen, who won The Open in 2010, the last time it was played in St Andrews, Stewart Cink, David Duval, Paul Lawrie, Mark O`Meara, Justin Leonard, John Daly and Sandy Lyle. 

The occasion will also be used to pay tribute to Australia`s Kel Nagle, who won the Centenary Open in 1960 at St Andrews and who passed away in January at the age of 94.

That's a nice event, but are we sure that Tiger will be there?   The tribute to Nagle is also a nice touch...

Playing Through - Of course this guy plays through when he wants, but look how relaxed the other players are: