Friday Frisson

I didn't see that much golf yesterday, but with Madam heading out of town for a few days I don't expect to miss much for the next three days...

The Soft and Cuddly Riviera - The key number is .6.... that's how much rain they received overnight, which softened up the course considerably.  Here's the lede from Doug Ferguson's game piece composed, I assume, from those stands behind the 10th green:

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Camilo Villegas hasn't make a cut all year and has only broken 70 one time in four previous trips to Riviera, so it was mildly surprising to see him with an 8-under 63 to build a three-shot lead Thursday in the Northern Trust Open.

Mildly?  You're more likely to see him on a milk carton than a leaderboard... Shall we let Doug continue?

That wasn't the biggest surprise.

One spot from the bottom of the leaderboard was Jordan Spieth, the world's No. 1 player who shot an 8-over 79 on one of his favorite courses. It was his worst start ever as a pro, and his highest score since an 80 in the third round of the 2014 Tour Championship. 

"In the course of a career, I imagine it's going to happen," Spieth said. "Just unfortunate when it actually does."

Jordan did his usual nice job of handling the press after the frustrating day, and it's somewhat amusing that his 79 might not hold up:

After posting his worst score since the 2014 Tour Championship, Jordan Spieth still could add another stroke to a shocking start in the Northern Trust Open. 

The 79 leaves him currently T142 and 16 strokes behind first-round leader Camilo Villegas. 

As if the battle with his swing and stroke (34 putts) wasn’t enough, Spieth followed a three-putt double bogey at the famous 18th by calling for a rules official prior to signing his scorecard. The reigning Masters and U.S. Open champion was concerned his ball moved after commencing the third shot on the ninth hole. Officials can review the tape overnight and add on to the signed scorecard if they determine Spieth’s ball moved.

Since we're relentlessly upbeat here, let's focus on the positives.  First, he beat Steven Bowditch by a shot....well, unless they determine that his ball moved on No. 9.  Secondly, no sooner does Gary Player call him the best putter of all time (you'd think Player might have heard of Bobby Locke), than Jordan posts a Strokes Gained-Putting stat of -5.025.  Think about that for a sec, the BPOAT gave up more than five strokes to the field on the greens.  Yanno, they were putting on poa as well...

It might be slightly premature to declare the Jordan Spieth era over, but he looked quite the mess yesterday.  Folks took encouragement from his Sunday 66 at Pebble last week and he spoke gamely of making the cut here, but he seemed to have the dreaded two-way miss going... even with the flat stick.

Brave words aside, he was the last guy on the range Thursday night, so I'd expect a bounce-back today.  But I'm not surprised by the struggles because, you know, golf.  It's a great leaderboard and an even better weather forecast, so anything short of a great weekend would constitute a surprise.  The course should firm up day-by-day, 

Ferguson had this on Rory's opening 67 (all sorts of video here):

McIlroy started birdie-birdie, and his lone mistake was a tee shot into a deep bunker on No. 15, leaving him no chance at reaching the green. Even so, he was happy to take advantage of the conditions.

"Put myself out of position a couple of times, but with the way the conditions of the golf course were, it didn't punish you as bad as if it would have been as firm as it was the last couple of days," McIlroy said.

It looked pretty stress-free and kudos to Rory for making it there....  but if there's a concern about Rory's game, it's his ability on hard and fast tracks.  So as The Riv firms up, watch how the younfg lad handles it.

But this gets my vote for the round of the day:

This time of year, most college seniors are planning spring break trips or attending basketball games. Charlie Danielson is spending February in a slightly different fashion: 

Hanging around the leader board at the Northern Trust Open. 

Danielson, a product of the University of Illinois, logged seven birdies on Thursday to shoot a four-under 67 at Riviera Country Club. 

He's the lad that won the College Showcase on Monday with a 68, which got him his tee time.  However today plays out, it's quite the experience for the young man.

Some Cheese With That Whine - Why is everyone so cranky?  I'm cranky because Employee No. 2 is going away fro a few days... you can't blame me there.  But these folks should really be counting their blessings...

Exhibit A:  Stacy Lewis

How can the LPGA grow the women's game and come out of the PGA Tour’s

shadow?

It’s pretty frustrating to still see the huge gaps that we have in what the guys are paid and what we are paid, when really, we’re doing the same thing and the only difference is the TV numbers and the TV ratings. That’s really it.

Ummmm Stacy, you're not helping yourself here.  Saying the only difference is the TV ratings is equivalent to noting that the only difference between Usain Bolt and your humble blogger is that he runs faster than I....  Isn't that the whole point?

Stacy goes on to violate the first rule of holes:

We’re probably actually hitting more fairways than the guys and more greens than the guys, you know? There are certain parts of the game that we actually do better. When I play with the guys a lot, ‘Do you ever miss a fairway?’ is usually what they say to me. Our games are pretty comparable, it’s just the exposure.

Stace, I'm going to type slowly so you can follow me clearly.  There is not a single aspect of the game in which your skills are remotely comparable to a similarly-ranked male professional.  Now by all means go curl up in the corner in the fetal position if that ruins your day, but it's a pretty clear fact of life.

And I say that as a fan and supporter of the ladies' game.  There's a good case to be made for the women (and she actually touches on it later), but that case is not that they're just as good.

Also, Stacy, the pay is better when you actually win.  Just a helpful suggestion....

Exhibit B:  Kenny Perry

See if this plaint tugs at your heart strings:

“I don’t think anything on the Champions tour means anything to anybody, to tell you the truth. The media, golf fans, they look at us as a freak show. We don’t get any publicity. None of our tournaments mean anything. I think it is sad because the golf out here is tremendous.”

Oh the inhumanity!  He's playing for six-figure purses in his mid-50's, but we should feel sorry for him...  I'm a bit unclear as to what exactly he's done in this game that should make me yearn to see him play in his dotage....

By the way, the freak show plays 26 events for total prize money of $55.7 million...  I don't think carnival sideshows are quite that disrespected.

Foursome, Complete - I know, I couldn't sleep either awaiting word on who will tee it up with Rory and Rickie:

Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler won't be the only stars facing off in primetime in June.

Make room for Justin Timberlake and Mark Wahlberg.

WXYZ Detroit is reporting through sources that Timberlake and Wahlberg will join Fowler and McIlroy for their upcoming match and TV special at Detroit Golf Club the week before the U.S. Open. The Associated Press reported on Monday night that Quicken Loans was finalizing a match centered around Fowler and McIlroy for June 7 in Detroit and that it would include a celebrity component, which the AP said was still to be determined at the time.

Here's my thought.... Let's have Marky Mark and JT tee it up the next day with Stacy and Kenny at Oakmont, from the U.S. Open tees.  There's not a doubt in my mind that Perry would post the lowest score, but any thoughts on whether Stacy could beat either of these two?  I hear she never missed a fairway....

No, Next Question -  Jessica Marksbury, Are Golfers in Tights Coming to a Tour Stop Near You?

I do so hate to be judgmental, but I'm not expecting any push-back on this:

That's an actual PGA Tour player, Scott Pickney, in a picture he'll no doubt have to explain to his kids in a few years.  

I'm full of helpful suggestions today, but I'd warn Mr. Pickney that when Nike puts you in an outfit that Rickie rejected, it's cause for concern.

The Olympics Ara A Sewer - No, literally!  I almost skipped this story for reasons of overkill, but surprisingly CTR:F "Zika" returns no results.  But do hold off on reading this until you've finished your breakfast:

In December we posted a story on Brazil's rampant pollution in the country's waterways and its possible effect on the upcoming Olympic games in Rio de Janeiro. For context, according to the AP, the areas in question had disease-causing viruses directly linked to human sewage at levels up to 1.7 million times what would be considered highly alarming in the U.S. or Europe.

However, there was slight hope that this situation could be cleaned up before the games' arrival. 

Not anymore.

As the man says, hope is not a strategy....Unless, of course, you're the U.S. Olympic Committee:

"It's not going to happen because there was not enough commitment, funds and energy," said Rio 2016 spokesman Mario Andrada. Worse, Outside the Lines obtained documents from the United States Olympic Committee stating "The USOC has ongoing concerns over possible existing viral and bacterial contaminants in the water. ... The USOC remains hopeful, but we do not expect to anticipate major reductions in bacterial or viral pathogen levels at the competition venues."

 Well, as long as you're still hopeful.  Denial, not just a contaminated waterway in Egypt...