Tuesday Tidbits

We've got all sorts of nonsense for you today, including a Shark sighting....Spoiler alert, he comes off as a tad self-absorbed...  I know, who could have seen that coming?

Pebble Postmortem - You'll not be surprised to hear that Phil is taking the right (for him) lessons from the week's near-miss:

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (AP) -- The 5-foot birdie putt to force a playoff at Pebble

Beach spun out of the left edge of the cup, and Phil Mickelson couldn't believe it. He bent over and braced himself, the left hand on his knee and the right hand on top of the putter.

"It never crossed my mind that I wouldn't make that one," he said.

And I assumed just the opposite after the oh-so-mediocre chip, but I'm not being critical of our hero, as these guys have to stay relentlessly upbeat.

Right when it looked as though he had shot himself out of it, he made a 10-foot par save with as tough an uphill putt as there is at Pebble Beach on the 16th hole. He poured in a 12-foot putt for birdie on the 17th to get within one shot of Vaughn Taylor. And then he was 60 feet from the hole in two on the par-5 closing hole, a chip and a putt away from forcing a playoff against the No. 447 player in the world, who had gone more than 10 years since his last victory. 

The chip was fine. The putt looked good. It just stayed out enough to the left to ride the edge of the cup instead of gravity taking over.

Oh get over yourself, that chip might have been fine for you or me, but for a guy with his short-game chops?   I've always told you to always trust content from this source, and here's his take:

In the end, Phil Mickelson should feel pretty good. 

Sure, he failed to close out what would have been his 43rd PGA Tour victory—and his first since winning the 2013 British Open some 938 days ago—with an indifferent chip and a lipped-out five-footer for birdie on the 72nd hole of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. The two-stroke lead Mickelson took into Sunday’s play was the 23rd time in his career he had led outright going into a final round. He had converted 18 into victories, but not this one. Then again, he had not led after three rounds since the 2013 U.S. Open at Merion.

I forget, how did Merion turn out?  Oh, never mind...

I completely agree that Phil should be upbeat, as second place in a PGA Tour event doesn't, you know, suck...Here's the thing, on both Saturday and Sunday Phil hit only 9 of 18 greens:

•  On Saturday, he got up and down all nine times, needing only 21 putts to shoot 66;
•  On Sunday he failed to get up and down five times and shot 72.

Both of those are quintessentially Phil.  The question remains which Phil will show up on any given day....

And a little "The rich aren't like us" story about Golf Digest Majordomo Jerry Tarde inviting his neighbor to caddie for him:

That Garvey should also keep his day job, whatever that may be, is another good idea. (As of press time, he was flying to his house in Telluride for some skiing.) Because if there’s one thing a stand-in looper is responsible for, it’s getting to the first tee on time. No one is going to ask you if the yardage is 166 or 167 yards, or if the club looks laid off at the top, but keep your bead on the shuttle as your man might be a bit outside his element among the stadia and TV cameras.

In the first round, Tarde and Garvey were late.

Hey, it could have been far worse....  Oh, I don't know, he could have lost his player's 8-iron....

Shark, Unhandcuffed -  Tim Rosaforte allows himself to be trapped in an automobile with His Sharkness and takes one for the team.  Here's the money quotes:

Norman clearly wanted to talk about his Fox dismissal, saying he was “totally

broadsided” by the decision and that it was “totally contradictory to what I was told by the USGA, and many others within Fox headquarters and a previous Fox guy that was head of sports.”

That reference was to David Hill, a fellow Aussie who in 1994 promised Norman that Fox would televise his proposed World Tour. “I got nothing but compliments from the right people that knew what’s going on,” Norman said. However, he added, “I thought I was handcuffed, to tell you the truth. There was a lot of stuff I wanted to say, but the final comment they told me [was that] I was too unpredictable. I thought that’s what they want you to do in that role.” 

As he has many times in his career, Norman is showing an ability to bounce back from defeat.

But you'll not be surprised that this is the bit the jumped off the monitor for me:

Norman is also trying to rejuvenate Great White Shark Enterprises with a new staff of “younger, energetic personnel that are visionaries like I am.” He promises the launch of a new company this summer that will be a game changer.

Self-aware much?  It's a guilty pleasure watching a man as full of himself as this hoisted on his own petard, but I'm only human...  He was so convinced that being The Living Brand was all that was required that he needn't concern himself with homework or other earthly pursuits.

Not to worry, Greg, you're still big.  It's just the pictures that got small...

Monday at Riviera - A hat-tip to Shack for his coverage of the Collegiate Showcase at Riviera, an event no doubt improved this year by allowing spectators onto the course.

Neither news item will impact your life a bit, but it's still neat for Charlie Danielson to come from University of Illinois to qualify for the Northern Trust Open after a 68 in Monday's collegiate showcase. 

University of Texas kept up its good Riviera karma, earning another $50,000 for a program that won the 2012 NCAA's at the course. Jordan Spieth and friends won the pro-am portion of the gloriously warm winter day to kick of tournament week.

That's World No. 1 with Beau Hossler above... Hossler will be a force in the professional game at some point, but couldn't Jordan have worn Texas colors on more than his hat?  Wahlberg got Bubba into matching unis, you'd think this one would have been a natural.

Confidentially Speaking - The round-table gang kicked around a couple of subjects that were of interest to me.  We'll see if you respond similarly.  First was this:

2. Jack Nicklaus and his wife Barbara are planning a dinner/bonding session at their home for U.S. Ryder Cup hopefuls. Is this a good idea for the Americans or yet more overkill that's likely to make the Europeans roll their eyes?

Godich: Maybe so, Gary, but I'm guessing that there are even some U.S. players who are rolling their eyes at this. The formula's not that complicated: play better golf, hole more putts. As for the dinner conversation, I hope nobody asks Jack what his Ryder Cup record was.

Bamberger: But don't ask Jack what his Ryder Cup record is ... Because he doesn't know. So maybe the best thing that can come out of this dinner is that Jack will tell the boys to just chill a little, try to enjoy the thing, and really, let go. It's just a team golf competition. And golf is an individual sport.

Nailed it, Mike.  But to be fair, it was just a one-sided exhibition in those days...

Want to know how one-sided?  Remember the famous concession to Tony Jacklin?  That was 1969 at Royal Birkdale...  that was also Jack's first Ryder Cup, notwithstanding that he had three years previously completed his first career Slam.  Why?  Because the PGA of America required the players to complete their course work, i.e., they needed to know how to fold sweaters (anyone remember from whom I stole that quip?  Jack was far too polite to be the source).

 But that's what interest me about the exchange... The Task Force and all have only made this more pressure-filled, and I suspect that the better strategy would be to allow the players to relax...

Exit question:  Can anyone name the golfer that beat Jack twice in Ryder Cup singles on the same day?

Anyone?  Bueller?  OK, next subject:

5. Lydia Ko recently said that her wish list included playing a Women's Masters or equivalent at Augusta National. Do you like the notion of the ladies playing a major there?

Before I get to the guys that know what of they speak, let me just note that it's not gonna happen.  But more importantly, you only had to see the gals play the replica hole of ANGC's 13th to realize how disappointing it would be....to the ladies it's just another three-shotter with nothing of interest until that wedge to the green.  And even then kind of a nothing burger.

But, how about this thought?

Shipnuck: I've been saying this forever: do it at Cypress Point. At 6,500 yards it's the perfect length for elite women's events. The smaller crowds would be able to navigate their way through the dunes and there's a nice legacy in that a woman, Marion Hollins, was the driving force in creating CPC. Play it in the fall when the weather is perfect here and it would instantly be one of the best tournaments in golf.

Too cool to ever happen I'm sure... How many would have to lay up on No. 16?

Color Me Surprised -  I'm more than a tad surprised by this news:

The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers at Muirfield is sending out a postal ballot regarding the admittance of female members. According to the Sunday Times, this voting format will increase the odds of the measure passing, encouraging more members to participate in the vote. 

Muirfield has come under increased scrutiny for its men's-only policy. Laura Davies has been critical of the country's slow progress on the issue. In 2013, she recalled her treatment at the 1984 Curtis Cup at Muirfield as a negative experience. 

"We weren't allowed in certain parts of the clubhouse and yet we were playing in one of the biggest amateur women's tournaments you could possibly play in. It's one of those things, but was a bit weird, I have to say."

I was quite amused at the scrutiny involved with the Muirfield membership policy in 2013, given the R&A's own issues in this regard.  And I assumed that the move to add Portrush to the rota was an insurance policy in this regard, but it seems that that binder can be sent to dead storage.

Have I ever told of my day at The Honourable Company arranged by dear friend Mark W.?  That's best left for another time, though Employee No. 2 still cackles at the memory of the condition in which she found me... Suffice to say that your humble correspondent's liver and The Honourable Company were not a match made in heaven....

Rory v. Rickie Cage Match - Taking a page from Tiger, comes this news:

For the first time in more than a decade, golf is getting another prime-time exhibition. Except this one will be live — under the lights. 

Quicken Loans is finalizing details for a match involving Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler a week before the U.S Open, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Monday. 

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the match has not been announced.

The match would be at Detroit Golf Club on June 7, the Tuesday before U.S. Open week begins at Oakmont outside of Pittsburgh.

OK, most of those were utterly forgettable, though we do have one of those to blame for Tiger and Sergio's eternal lovefest.  But is this wise?

Unlike the Monday night matches involving Tiger Woods in 1999 and 2000, there would be a celebrity component with this exhibition. The person said it would be "Team Rory" against "Team Rickie." 

Still to be determined are the celebrities and the format.

Niall Horan is a mortal lock, though you'd be within your rights to question whether your humble blogger could pick the aforementioned Niall out of a police lineup...