Sunday Soupçons

Just a few odds and ends for you today, as a the FOGs kept me up way past me bedtime last night.

The King's Week - With two ladies in residence at Unplayable Lies Western HQ (Employee No. 2 and my cousin), I haven't so much as turned on the TV since Thursday.  Playing the role of Jason Day this week is....well, the name escapes me at the moment, but he was most assuredly type cast.

As for former World No. 1 Rory McIlroy, his 75-67-75 line tells us much about the state of his game and his preparedness for Augusta.  Rory wouldn't be the first to allow his personal life to negatively affect his game, though in his case it would seem to the threat of, you know, happiness that's the root cause.  My question: when do the wedding invitations go into the mail?

Though there's good news for those getting to Bay Hill early this morning:

ORLANDO, Fla. – Bryson DeChambeau recorded his third consecutive even-par 72 at a

rainy Bay Hill on Saturday and earned a final 18 holes with World No. 2 Rory McIlroy. 

The pairing for Sunday’s final round here will not be new to DeChambeau, the 22-year-old reigning NCAA and U.S. Amateur champion. He and McIlroy played together in the final group of the third round of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship in January.

Rory will shoot a 65 and Bryson another 72.... I know, it's a gift.

Via Shack (though absent the Congessionally-mandated link) comes this word on the social graces of a certain young star:

The news was confirmed reluctantly, as the idea to drive to Orlando from West Palm Beach and have lunch with Palmer was not meant to generate any publicity, but to simply do what Fowler felt was the right thing and express his reasons for having to pass due to a scheduling conflict. It was an incredible gesture, and showed an impressive level of understanding.

Bubba did much the same thing, and good on them for making the effort.  

I also apparently missed a Poulter shank-fest... but props to Poults for not ducking the issue:

But shouldn't that be Love a skank?  Or am I confusing him with Tiger?

Unsolicited - Brandel Chamblee pens a column for his employer under this header:

If these stars could do just one thing differently ...

There's some interesting thoughts in here, though he does wander far off the reservation as the item meanders on.

Suggestions that got my ear:

To Rory Mcilroy: I would have him practice putting with just his right hand, a la Tiger Woods in his prime. Rory talks about wanting less right hand in his stroke; I would argue he needs more. Much more.

All of his misses on short putts are to the left, which seems to this observer to fit Rory's description of the malady.  But the drill suggested could help keep that right hand under control.

Shall we look at another?

To Justin Rose: I would stick him in a room and make him watch Lee Trevino and Bobby Joneson a loop. Specifically, the way they get “into a shot” with their feet and hands always in motion so that the backswing begins almost as a rebound of that motion. Rose is too good to be that stiff-looking before he swings a club.

Interesting for sure.... but a query:  Is there anything wrong with Rose's ball-striking?  He's offering a fix for that part of the game that's superior.  Now, if he could fix Justin's putting....

And this is a great suggestion, if you're not forced to live in the real world:

To Dustin Johnson: Six hours a day in a bunker for a month. It worked for Tom Watson, it will work for you.

I would have gone with staying off the coke, but maybe I'm just hyper-critical.   

You might also be amused by Shack's quasi-Fisking of Brandel's piece.

Resolved - You've no doubt been losing sleep over the ongoing contretemps at tony Wentworth....well, you can put away the Ambien now:

Golfers declared victory in the battle of Wentworth on Friday after the club’s Chinese owners caved in over plans to charge members £100,000 to rejoin.

In an unexpected u-turn, Reignwood, a Beijing-based company owned by one of China’s richest men, announced it was scrapping a series of proposals that had members threatening to quit in their droves.

Isn't that a relief?  

Reignwood had wanted to cull the membership from 4,000 to under 900 and impose a one-off rejoining fee of £100,000.

The plans had provoked outrage among members at the prestigious club in Virginia Water, Surrey.

Sir Michael Parkinson, the broadcaster who has been a member for 25 years, had accused the Chinese owners of ignoring tradition to create a club for the “super rich” with a “car park full of Lamborghinis” while Philip Hammond, the Foreign Secretary and local MP, had expressed his disappointment and concern.

So now the car park will be filled by?   The point of course being that this was a problem of a decidedly first-world nature.  That said, it's folks' home and club, and we'd all go to some effort to protect those.

Lots of great photos of old money in the linked item, including this one of the Burma Bar:

Now, any thoughts on returning your famed West Course to the original vision of Harry S. Colt?  Yeah, thought that was rather too low on your list of priorities....