Sunday Stuff

My East Coast readers are enjoying a twofer....unnaturally warm weather allows for December golf (Employee No. 2 will be out later this morning) and the ski season schedule allows for weekend blogging.  Win-win, baby!

However, there's a price to be paid for this bounty as tomorrow is a travel day, so any Wrap, Weekend will be on a delayed basis.

Hero Stuff - Our Bubba is on cruise control, breaking the Albany course record that stood for....well, minutes:

NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) -- Bubba Watson holed out with a 7-iron for eagle and tied the

course record with a 9-under 63 Saturday to build a two-shot lead after three rounds at the Hero World Challenge. 

Watson tied the record at Albany Golf Club set 10 minutes earlier by Paul Casey, who made nine birdies in his first 13 holes before closing with five pars for his 63 that left him two shots behind.

I've watched a bit of the proceedings, though in DVRing it I missed yesterday's jump to NBC, i.e., the important part.  The funny thing is that in watching one is struck by how they struggle with the grain, on the greens but especially in chipping and putting on the fringes.  Bubba notably told us earlier in the week that the track doesn't suit his eye, yet he's nineteen under.

There's been a bunch of video highlights worth sharing, though most are in formats I need a teenager to teach me how to embed.  Many, like this Bubba classic of the genre, involve the many waste areas:

I believe that commentary is the very definition of Praise from Caesar.  This Bill Haas recovery is one that I'd have not attempted:

And how about Damian Green putting the silly in Silly Season:

Of course that's reminiscent of the moves he threw down on the home green at The Open Championship, which is not the slightest bit silly.

Should be a fun finale later today, as long as we don't take it too seriously...

Romance in the Air - Rory is presumably having a good time in Paris, tweeting photos such as this:

But also making news:

Just a year after his first engagement came to an abrupt halt, Rory McIlroy has reportedly popped the question again. 

According to the Irish Independent, McIlroy proposed to girlfriend Erica Stoll – possibly on a recent trip to Paris – and the two are now engaged.

Stoll, 27, and McIlroy, 26, had been dating for over a year, reportedly starting together last fall before first officially being seen together around New Year's at Ashford Castle last year, and the World No. 3 set off suspicions of an engagement when he posted this Facebook photo of the Eiffel Tower on Wednesday night:

I'm not sure why that photo set of suspicion, but Erica might want to consider eloping....  Rory's mind can wander right after those invitations go out.

As we always do when there's news of the couple, a reminder of the circumstances under which they met....Stoll was at the time working for the PGA of America and arranged the police escort that got Rory to his Sunday tee time at Medinah.  She'll be welcome in the Euro team room no doubt.

And in other affairs of the heart...

Stacy Lewis said yes to Houston coach Gerrod Chadwell on the grounds of her beloved

Arkansas. It was game day for the Razorbacks, and Chadwell had convinced Lewis to give him a campus tour. Only it was pouring rain, and Chadwell wasn’t sure if she’d even get out of the truck, let alone go hunt for her name on the university’s senior walk. 

Soaked up to their knees and huddled under an umbrella, Lewis found her name etched into stone moments before 38-year-old Chadwell popped the question. They celebrated on Nov. 27 with friends and family in a private skybox, watching Arkansas romp Missouri, 28-3. In a year where victory had eluded America’s top golfer, life couldn’t have been more sweet. 

“There are no surprises with her,” said Chadwell, who knew better than to propose to the introverted Lewis on the Jumbotron at Razorback Stadium or, worse yet, on the field. 

Perfection.

Expect to see him as a HAB at future Solheim Cups.

 Schedule This - Have you heard about the Tour's new Strength of Schedule rule?  Why, do you have a life or something?  Here's the skinny:

According to an e-mail sent to players on Tuesday, the circuit’s new “strength of field regulation” will mandate a Tour member add at least one tournament he had not participated in during the previous four seasons. 

Under the new policy, which was approved at the policy board’s final meeting on Nov. 22, any player who participated in 25 or more official money events during the current or previous season is exempt from the requirement.

OK, one can see certain sponsors advocating for this, and Todd Lewis and the GC gang slap as much lipstick as they can on the pig here.  But I didn't even need my Nurse Ratched decoder ring to discern the significance of this move, as it was a couple of 'graphs down in that linked Rex Hoggard piece:

Players who don’t meet the new requirement will be subject to a “major penalty,” which under the Tour’s regulations would be a fine in excess of $20,000 or possible suspension.

Rex, you've got a funny way of spelling meaningless penalty.  Seriously,  any player sufficiently prominent to move the needle for a sponsor, tips the locker room attendant more than that each week.

Rex also caught this curious quote from the Commish discussing a related issue:

On Wednesday at the Hero World Challenge, PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem was asked if those appearance fees and the overseas exodus of some marquee players they cause is a concern. 

“There isn't anything happening out there that would say the guidelines are starting to get pushed by players in typically unique situations,” Finchem said. “Certain places have a fair amount of appearance money and it can in turn go to the player's head.”

Heaven forfend!   These guys might think they're special or something...

On a related note, Shack had posted on an interview with new Euro Tour majordomo Keith Pelly, and see what you think of his characterization of his purview as entertainment:

(h/t Shack for the screen shot)

Here's Geoff's quick take on it:

I hate to encourage a man who owns more than one pair of blue-framed glasses, but it's hard not to get excited reading John Hopkins' Global Golf Post Q&A with new European Tour Chief Keith Pelley. 

Why? 

He's punching all of the buttons that Tim Finchem covers with duct tape, belly-flopping if he has to: faster play, golfers as entertainers first, a global tour, etc...

I mostly agree, though with an obvious concern.  It is a sporting competition, and the underlying integrity has to be guarded.  But Pelley does understand that he has multiple constituencies that need to be provided a reason to support his enterprise.

Venue Updates -  The USGA announced venues for 2019, and they hit a home run... First, the ladies will play their Open at The Country Club of Charleston:

FAR HILLS, N.J. (Dec. 1, 2015) – The United States Golf Association (USGA) has

selected the Country Club of Charleston in Charleston, S.C., to host the 2019 U.S. Women’s Open Championship, to be conducted May 30-June 2. 

This will be the second USGA championship conducted at the Country Club of Charleston. The club previously hosted the 2013 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship, won by Emma Talley, 2 and 1, over Yueer Cindy Feng.

I watched that final round match, and it's a strong choice.

Additionally they're taking the Mid-Am to Colorado Golf Club:

FAR HILLS, N.J. (Dec. 3, 2015) – The United States Golf Association (USGA) today announced Colorado Golf Club, in Parker, Colo., as the host site for the 2019 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship. This will be the first USGA championship contested at the club. The dates for the championship are Sept. 21-26. 

“The USGA is pleased to bring a championship to Colorado Golf Club for the first time,” said Diana Murphy, USGA vice president and Championship Committee chairman. “The course has a proven record in both stroke-play and match-play competition, and the variety of risk-reward options will allow for exciting and dramatic play, helping to identify a champion worthy of hoisting the Robert T. Jones Jr. Memorial Trophy.”

Designed by Bill Coore and two-time Masters champion Ben Crenshaw, Colorado Golf Club opened for play in 2007. The 1,700-acre property was once an Arabian horse ranch and features views of Colorado’s Front Range, dominated by Pikes Peak, Mount Evans and Longs Peak. The course plays through open meadows, foothills of ponderosa pine, natural gullies and streams. Coore and Crenshaw also created a nine-hole short course and 7,000-square-foot short game area to complement the championship course.

We saw this venue host the 2013 Solheim Cup, and it's pretty spectacular.  The only caveat is that it'll be a tough walk for the old guys...

And remember the contretemps over the redesign of Torrey Pines' North Course.  Joe Passov has the breaking news:

Tom Weiskopf has won the bid to re-do Torrey Pines (North), co-host of the PGA Tour’s Farmers Insurance Open. 

Sources close to the deal told GOLF.com that Weiskopf and his design firm, Tom Weiskopf Designs, along with Wadsworth Construction, have been selected on a “design build” contract with the City of San Diego/Parks and Recs to renovate the North course, one of the country's busiest and most scenic municipal courses.

They could have done far worse for sure....though the process has been more than a little strange, causing our Shack to get off this good one:

After Phil Mickelson was ruled ineligible by a pending ruling related to governmental rules, the job to remodel Torrey Pines North was opened to contractors who then brought in an architect to join their bid. Meanwhile it was all done in a secret process, though Tod Leonardhad reported some (Tom Weiskopf, Robert Trent Jones) but not all of the names of architects who were attached to the contractors (Natalie Gulbis!).

The entire thing has been done in secret, which is probably best in a time of drought since the entire process makes one yearn for a long shower.

I have no idea about that Natalie Gulbis reference, but that's why I say they could have done worse.  But the project is unfortunately limited in scope:

The renovation budget for Weiskopf's team is roughly $12.6 million. They will rebuild all 18 greens and rework the greenside bunkers. All the tees will be leveled, with some enlarged and others combined. Other planned enhancements include a new set of forward tees, several new back tees for tournament use and reshaped and relocated fairway bunkers. Approximately five acres of existing turf will be removed and replaced with a drought-tolerant landscape pallet.

The renovation will also include new cart paths and a new irrigation system to help maximize water efficiency. There will be no major alterations to the par or routing, but Weiskopf may look to find a worthy candidate to transform into a drivable par-4, one of the designer's trademarks.

It's a fairly dreary routing except for that brief moment on the front nine when you can see the Pacific.  Unfortunately, this means that they'll never blow the place up and start from scratch.

Black Lab Blogging -  I'm sure you're dying to catch up on my ski buddies,  Yesterday was the first reunion of the FOGs with full attendance.  

Mitch has an addition to the family, a black lab named, curiously, Doug.  Gotta admit I've never met a dog with that moniker, but I worry that the other dogs will make fun of him... you know how cruel they can be.

Apparently Mitch had Doug swimming in the little pond within a dog park and was given a $500 citation for Doug allegedly attacking ducks.  I know, it's outrageous, so Mitch fought it in court and, in his telling of the story, opened his defense with the claim that they wouldn't be there if Doug were a white lab.  Funny for sure, but I'll need a corroborating witness to believe he actually used that on the judge.

But he also provided this amusing and oh-so-topical picture of Doug:

Seer why I have so much fun out here?