Loose Ends

It's a slow mid-week lull, so we'll discuss a couple of quick items and we'll have you on your way...

Fourball Fun - Sometimes change is for the good, though in the form of unintended consequences....such may prove to be the case with the USGA's television contract with Fox.  I'll get to their actual coverage in a bit, but my point here is that we're being treated to extensive coverage of the new USGA Fourball event mostly because Fox's fledgling sports network has little other content to compete with golf.

The creation of the fourball was a great move, showing us great amateurs playing the go-to format for club players everywhere... my only quibble was that I never understood why the Public Links had to die to birth this event...  But I digress...

In any event, I turn it on last evening and am treated to the sight of old friend Nathan Smith in the quarter-finals:

SAN FRANCISCO – With the winds picking up, the temperatures dipping and the

Nathan Smith hitting, with partner Todd White

greens at Olympic Club’s Lake Course starting to firm up on the second day of match play at the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball, it was a perfect time for experienced competitors to step up. 

And so they did.

And that of course includes good old reliable Nathan, who played quite well:

Also advancing to Wednesday were savvy veterans Nathan Smith and Todd White, two Walker Cup competitors who took down the last remaining pair of brothers in the field, Jason and Ryan Higton (of Fresno, Calif.), 3 and 2. Smith, 36, a four-time U.S. Mid-Amateur champion, and White, 47, will play the youngest remaining tandem, high schoolers Sam Burns and Austin Connelly, both 18, who captured a 2-and-1 victory over Ping engineers Matt Simone and Corey Bacon.

We met Nathan when he was paired in U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying with friend-of-the-blog and A-1 caddie client Kent St. Charles (d/b/a Kunta Kente).  Nathan could not have been more gracious, especially as he wasn't playing especially well.

As for the coverage, the Fox crew seemed quite amateurish to my eye.  Most of the criticism I've read of their prior appearances has focused on Joe Buck, whose booming voice struck me as ill suited to the game.  He and Norman seem to be struggling to find a cadence for their commentary, and when they veered into attempted humor it was quite forced.

The other announcers are mostly an inoffensive lot greatly in need of seasoning.... probably the funniest moment to me was an awkward interview conducted by Corey Pavin where the optimal positioning of the microphone eluded him.  As for whiz-bang technological advances, there were none.... ProTracer was about the only use of technology I saw, and that's old hat by now.  Not sure what they might have cooked up for Chambers Bay, but they're not tipping their hand...

In any event, they need far more experience, individually and as a team, than they can possibly acquire between now and mid-June.  

The Results Are In - We had the headline yesterday about Rickie and Poults heading to sudden death for the title of most overrated player, now we have the full results.  Seems like we should give equal time to the most underrated player:

Me: 11%Bill Haas (above): 11%

Bubba Watson: 8%

Jordan Spieth: 8%

Charles Howell III: 5%

Graham DeLaet: 5%

Zach Johnson: 5%

Justin Thomas: 5%

Other: 42%

Wow!  We've got a gut (Bill Haas) that's never so much as graced the leaderboard at a major as well as one (Chuckie Three-Sticks) that's been out there since the Carter administration while winning two minor events, none in recent memory.

But this from the Champions Tour players is just madness:

A 10-footer to save your life, and you can't putt it—who do you want to putt it?

Rory McIlroy: 41%

Jordan Spieth: 26%

Adam Scott: 17%

Bernhard Langer: 9%

Steve Stricker: 7%

Guys, Adam Scott is one of the worst putters on the planet, and you'll note that I didn't limit myself to the professional game.   

And from the ladies, this little surprise:

Who will win more majors moving forward: Lydia Ko or Lexi Thompson?

Lydia: 86%

Lexi: 14%

The margin is the surprise here, given that Lydia has yet to contend in one and Lexi has one in the bag already.  On the other hand, have you seen Lexi putt?