Thursday Threads

My apologies, Dear Reader, for a day off from blogging yesterday, as I attended the Met. Golf Writers meeting at The Woodmere Club.  If it makes you feel better, my golf was sufficiently dreadful that I'm quite certain that I suffered more than you...  Of course dinner at famed Don Pepe's was a different matter...

That'll Leave a Mark - Last week we had good fun with Vijay Singh's decision to skip the Rio Olympics.... Not only is the Veej a spent competitive force, but his famed self-absorption is legendary.  Plus, he couldn't carve out enough time to think of a logical excuse, instead going with the Zika-FedEx points parlay.

But this from an actual professional golfer, one Adam Scott, will sting.  From Adam's statement:

“My decision has been taken as a result of an extremely busy playing schedule around the time of the Olympics and other commitments, both personal and professional,” Scott said today.

“I have informed the Australian team captain (Ian Baker-Finch) and relevant authorities, who are understanding of my position and I wish the Australian Olympic team the very best of luck in Rio.”

Ahhhh, the schedule.... that again.  His fellow Aussies are a bit miffed:

Scott’s decision received a swift response from several Australian athletes, with the most vocal being those who had already represented their country in the Olympics. Dawn Fraser, one of the great female swimmers of the 20th century, took to Facebook to voice her displeasure with Scott’s recent announcement. The a 78-year old Olympic medalist — she is one of only three swimmers in the Games’ history to three-peat in a single event — and self-described “proud Australian” lambasted the golfer for opting out of the 2016 games, insinuating greed drove Scott’s decision to pass on Rio.

“well done Adam great to put your country on hold so that you can fulfill your own schedule how much money do you want in life not showing much for your country
I guess working 3 jobs a week to secure my place as a Olympic swimmer has giver me the strength to say what I feel about sporstmen and women that do this”

 And Johnny Miller isn't much more excited about the prospect it seems:

Miller stressed that “going for your country is bigger than yourself.” 

“Do I want to go all the way down to Rio for the Olympics? No, but yes,” Miller said. “I know it’s important for golf, and my job is to build up the tournament, to build up the players when they deserve it and to build up the growth of the game. So I have a big responsibility that week to make people who wouldn’t normally watch golf say, ‘Dang, this is a pretty cool sport.’ ”

Everyone will have their own opinion, but neither of those personages has to play the schedule as laid out.  But Johnny seems to think that non-golf viewers will tune in, to which one van only shake one's head in wonder.  When there's no other sports on TV we find that most of the world prefers The Real Housewives of Medicine Hat...  As I always note, the viewer can watch Usain Bolt, or he can struggle to find The Golf Channel on his cable system and check out that cool game....

Shack explains why this is a blow (though not a fatal one):

- As a global golfer who represents very international brands in Rolex, Titleist and Uniqlo, Scott appreciates his place as an international ambassador. He didn't take this decision lightly.

- The Rio Olympic course is by an architect he likes who channeled sandbelt aesthetics and principles. So the golf course was not an issue. 

- He was a lock to make Rio and could easily plan for the inconvenience, yet still chose to pass. At least, unlike Vijay, he didn't mention a desire to win some FedExCup points. 

- This may be Scott's best chance at a medal. Four years from now he will be pushing forty and less likely to have his game as sound as it is now.  

- Coupled with any more high profile passes on Rio, there is a danger of momentum building toward a negative sensibility come early August.

OK, that first one strikes me as a variant of the stock N.Y. Times parody headline, in this case it would be along the lines of Golf Dies, Women and Uniqlo Hardest Hit.

Though all of those commenting seem to be making a concerted effort to avoid the elephant in the corner, that Olympic golf will not have a meaningful effect on a golfer's career.  The best parallel would seem to be Olympic tennis, and can anyone name a gold-medal winner there?

Shack lays the blame at the feet of the PGA:

All of this goes back to the PGA of America committing to Baltusrol very early for 2016 to tie into the anniversary of their founding, along with the leadership of golf finding no major scheduling solutions to alleviate this summer's logjam without sacrificing money or a spot on the network schedule. Dropping the utterly droppable WGC in Akron for a year would have been a nice gesture, though even that might not have changed the thinking of someone like Adam Scott. 

But if more players drop out and the schedule turns out to be the reason, the decision to work the PGA Championship around the fall football schedule will have major implications for Olympic golf.

In a sense that's true, because the Olympics are in August and that's Glory's Last Chance This is Major territory.   But the most logical solution would have been to move the PGA to after Labor Day, and there you run into Commissioner Ratched's FedEx monstrosity as well as its own Ryder Cup.

We don't know what went on behind the scenes, but I can easily imagine the Commish's indifference to pleas from the PGA to cooperate in revising the calendar....But we're left with governing bodies that tell us that the future of our game is inextricably linked to participation in the Olympics, and yet:

1. They're incapable of negotiating a format with the IOC that might actually interest viewers;
2. They can't adjust they're schedules to make the summer manageable.

Now I haven't heard any rumblings of further defections, as the players are under tremendous PR pressure to show up.  But they better hope that they get lucky in terms of competitive tourneys with worthy winners, or 2020 might be a harder sell.

Strange Bedfellows - Has your Golf Digest arrived yet?  Mine hasn't so I'll not comment on the content, but you can imagine the reaction this will draw:

For those that have been in abubble the last few years, that's Instagram hottie Paige Spirinac, a woman who is famous mostly for being famous.  Or for being hot?  Same difference...

Now, for a woman of limited golfing ability (as compared to the best in the world, that is), Paige has utilized social media to carve out a meaningful presence and perhaps even a career.  On the other hand, does that make her a Futurist?  You could write the reactions:

The choice didn’t go unnoticed by LPGA pros teeing it up at the Swinging Skirts Classic. Spiranac, the former college player who has become an Internet sensation with her provocative social media videos and photos, wasn’t among the top 300 players in the NCAA rankings when she played at San Diego State. She sparked some controversy in December when she received a sponsor’s exemption to play the Ladies European Tour’s Omega Dubai Ladies Masters and then missed the cut shooting 77-79.

With Spiranac the featured model in Golf Digest’s package on “Futurists,” the “innovators and influencers changing the game,” LPGA Hall of Famer Juli Inkster noticed who wasn’t on the cover. 

“You look at what Lydia Ko’s doing, and why isn’t she on the cover?” Inkster said. 

Ko has yet to be featured on a Golf Digest cover.

Yeah, they've done precious few covers of the ladies, and when they do the focus is on... well, let's just say that they tend to follow a certain pattern.  This, for instance:

I'm sure it's just a coincidence.... But this was my favorite reaction, from the great Twitterer NoLayingUp:

Employee No. 2 remains convinced that the guy on the left had reduction surgery....

Short Takes - No, Next Question - Should golf take a stand against North Carolina's controversial bathroom bill?

I Think You Spelled "Silly Incorrectly - Bryson DeChambeau is holding off on wearing knickers because he doesn't want to look "arrogant"

Didn't He Get the Memo That We've Moved On? - Report: Tiger Woods logging 4-5 hours of practice daily at Medalist

I'm Hoping There's No Coke Involved - Dustin Johnson on His Near Miss at the Masters, His Plan for the U.S. Open, and How He Stays So Trim

Ahhhh...Good Times -