Tuesday Trifles

Quiet times after the holiday weekend, but we've a few notes for you...

The Euro Beat - New Euro PGA Tour chief Keith Pelley has heretofore seemed a relative straight shooter, though in this interview he seems to have studied at the knee of Nurse Ratched (video at link):

"We are in the midst of transforming this tour. It will be completely different in 2017,

and a complete overhaul by 2018," Pelley said at Wentworth Club. "And really doing it by listening to the players." 

Golf Channel commentator Rich Lerner pressed Pelley for details, but while the CEO didn't offer specifics, he did cite some areas which would see significant improvements. 

"The schedule will be different; it will be more friendly from a travel perspective for the players. There will be a number of events where the prize funds will be significantly increased, and there will be more playing opportunities for all of our members," Pelley said. "A different schedule for sure and a different players-first philosophy."

personally, I think the "Make the Euro Tour Great Again" baseball cap was a nice touch... It's gonna be YUUUUUGE!

But completely different?  The Tour Confidential guys took a crack at it and this was the best they could come up with (other than that they were going to switch to tennis):

Shipnuck: Well, this is a very unusual year with the Olympics crammed into the summer schedule. A lot of guys are doing things differently in ‘16. Next year’s turnout at a renovated Wentworth will be a clearer indication of where this tournament stands. The tour overall is in the same place it has been for a long time: there’s more money and World Ranking points and easier travel and lower taxes in the U.S., so the players congregate here. But many are still loyal to Europe and they’ll continue to peg it over there if the schedule is made sensibly.

 Alan hits the obvious notes, but we're really not at the crazy part of the schedule yet.  The Euro Tour is no doubt at low ebb, but the only thing maintaining that loyalty is the requirement to remain a Tour member to play in Ryder Cup, and even there we had a defection.

I give Pelley points for acknowledging the need to boost purses, though I remain a bit skeptical about whether he can succeed.  He's used some assets wisely, for instance using the Ryder Cup to boost the fortunes of events such as the French Open.

Now, about Wentworth, you know where I stand:

VIRGINIA WATER, England May 29 (Reuters) - The bulldozers will arrive at Wentworth next month as organisers begin their bid to restore the BMW PGA Championship venue to its former glory, European Tour supremo Keith Pelley said on Sunday. 

The iconic layout on the outskirts of London was originally designed by Harry Colt in 1926 but has undergone a complete facelift from four-times major champion Ernie Els in the last decade.

The changes have not met with unanimous approval and top players such as Rory McIlroy, Sergio Garcia, Justin Rose, Henrik Stenson, Ian Poulter and Padraig Harrington chose to give the tour's flagship event a miss this year for a variety of reasons.

And that Pelley guy didn't pull his punches:

"There are a number of players that aren't here because they don't want to play this golf course," Pelley told reporters. 

"I'm confident ...that what (owners) Reignwood have planned will bring this back to the Harry Colt design and the Harry Colt magic that once made this the place where players want to play.

OK, given the membership squabbles, I'm not sure the confidence in Reignwood has any basis in fact,  but I'd also feel better if they let us know who's doing the latest work.  One can only hope that it's not Ernie, whose design work is a bit yippy....

 And in our last Eurocentric item, Darren Clarke has given out golf cart keys:

Darren Clarke announced his first wave of Ryder Cup vice captains on Friday at the BMW PGA Championship. 

Clarke pegged Thomas Bjorn, Padraig Harrington and Paul Lawrie as three of his assistants for this year's match at Hazeltine National Golf Club.

Did you catch that "first wave"?  Apparently each player has his own vice captain...  Paddy will obviously be a captain soon and I suspect Bjorn might as well, but Paul Lawrie?

And in an epic display of tying threads together, it's entirely possible that this was the only way they could get anyone to play at Wentworth....

College Daze - I'll get no argument from Maggot I'm sure, but the college girls seem to outshine the lads.....  Personally I don't see the appeal of comely coeds. but that's an equally valid lifestyle choice....

But the young men wrapped their individual championship yesterday with a home team champion, and we now head to match play:

Individual champion Aaron Wise.

Oklahoma, which only made it to Monday via a new tiebreaker, shot 3-under 277 to get into the match play portion of the tournament after entering the day nine shots out of eighth place. They will face conference rival Texas, which hung on to the No. 1 seed despite a round of 7-over 277. The Longhorns have not advanced beyond quarterfinals since winning the NCAA title in 2012 

Only 10 strokes ultimately separated the top eight teams, with Illinois, LSU, Southern California, Vanderbilt, Oregon and South Carolina filling out the rest of the bracket.

LSU is back to defend its national champions 

hip which it won last year, while the Ducks, on their home course and riding the hot play of individual champion Aaron Wise, are headed to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2012, when they lost to eventual champion Texas in the semifinals.

There's so much happening in the team qualifying for match play that one can't really keep up with it all...  But with the Monday-Wednesday TV window the NCAA would do well to line up some additional West Coast venues....  It's a bit difficult to get eyeballs during the week, but prime time rocks.

And there's a Tiger connection....

Did Tiger Woods unwittingly help Oregon’s Aaron Wise win the individual title at the

NCAA Championship at Eugene Country Club on Saturday? 

Possibly. 

Wise, a sophomore, noted that Oregon’s coach Casey Martin, a teammate of Woods at Stanford, had brought in Jay Brunza, who was Woods’ sports psychologist throughout his amateur years, as well as his caddie in his first two U.S. Amateur victories and part of his third Amateur victory.

Who knew Tiger had a sports psychologist whim an amateur?  Kind of disillusioning, but perhaps after the NCAA's are over he can spare some time for the 21st century Tiger?

Dazed and Confused - You know it's a slow news day when...

It should come as no surprise that Hunter S. Thompson was capable of playing golf high. Thompson’s daily writing schedule famously included a potent mix of cocaine, whiskey, coffee and cigarettes.

Cigarettes?  Wow, those can be bad for you...

Former Esquire Editor-in-Chief Terry McDonell has another Thompson golf story for the ages (add this to the time Thompson and Bill Murray invented a game called “shotgun golf” together). In this one, McDonell visits Thompson in Colorado, and Thompson insists they play golf. On acid. 

McDonell notes that Thompson’s swing was “explosive if not smooth and his third drive was solid and long.” When Thompson missed a putt at the end of the round, he “let out a howl,” threw his putter into the water and used the 12-gauge shotgun in his golf bag to fire above the geese in the pond.

Is that weird or something?

Our holiday mixed event was sixties-themed, and I was heard to opine that a couple of doobies on each would be appropriate...  But I could have used that shotgun out there a few times, and no geese would have been harmed.

Gator On Parade - The Sarasota ABC affiliate had video of the largest gator you'll ever want to have join your twosome, though of course I can't embed the video.  Here's a still frame:

His freind helpfully suggests that he get closer for, you know, perspective.  It's a shame he didn't, because that video would have aired on every ABC affiliate.

Can't Wait For Those Pairings - Not only does this story confirm the existence of the almighty, but He's a merciful God that troubles himself to ensure that I have sufficient content for the blog.  To wit:

It's been quite a a few weeks for Andrew Johnston. The golfer better known as "Beef" won his first European Tour event in April and famously celebrated by getting "hammered." And on Monday night, we're pretty sure he had a couple more brews to toast qualifying for his first major championship in the United States. 

Oakmont, get ready for Beef:

The seat belt is a nice touch....Not surprisingly, lots of Twitter back and forth about finding some BBQ in Western Pennsylvania....

So, who do we see him paired with?  Unfortunately Boo has shaved his beard, otherwise Beef, Boo and DeLaet would be a natural...  Or we could just put him with Poulter and pop some corn.

Weekend Wrap

Mother nature has intervened to ensure that you get your weekend wrappage on a timely basis...  That makes me a tad cranky, so you've been warned.

Denial, Not Just a River For Jordan - Jordan had assured us that all was well, and that he laughed at his Masters pratfall....  Mehtinks thou dost protest too much, but first the game story:

Spieth, who began the final round with a one-stroke lead, made the turn on Sunday

trailing Harris English by two. Then this: 

— He holed a 21-foot birdie putt at 10, got up and down for birdie at the par-5 11th and holed a four-footer for his third-straight birdie at 12. 

— He holed a 13-footer to save par at 14, a 20-foot birdie putt at 16, a 20-foot pitch-and-run from behind the green at 17 and a 34-foot birdie putt at 18 to win by three over English. 

“It’s always nice to see those kind of putts and even chips go in on the back nine on Sunday and that’s going to serve me well going forward,” he said.

Cablevision made a unilateral decision that I didn't want to see the final round yesterday, so that let's friend of the blog Wally off the hook for his "Did you just see that shot by Jordan" text, But it seems that Spieth stayed patient during his front nine, then was able to summon the magic down the stretch. Kind of what's expected from our alpha dogs, but we do understand that it's not going to appear on cue every week.

I was of two minds about the young man's struggles....  I'd predicted a more difficult season for him, based principally upon it still being golf, a game not nearly as easy as he made it look at times.   So I wasn't put off by him scraping it around, but it did seem that his head was going to explode all over his lovely Under Armour polos, and we were left to hope that it happened on a hole with Protracer...

But of course that Masters meltdown was troubling... when you build a five-shot margin after 63 holes of a major, we expect our heroes to be able to avoid crooked numbers.  But Jordan puts the lie to his post-Masters bravado with his comments after yesterday's win:

“This day is a moment that will go down, no matter what happens in the next 30 years, as one of the most important days I’ve ever had,” he said. 

This was the day that he won a tournament, the Dean & DeLuca Invitational, that allowed him to quiet the drumbeat of negativity that haunted him since the proverbial back nine on Sunday, a month ago, when he kicked away the Masters.

My bad, that excerpt should have carried a metaphor trigger warning... I know it's a home game, but if the Dean & Deluca is your career highlight, it's not really much of a career.  And will someone please send John Strege a dictionary, because that back nine a month ago was anything but proverbial.

And then there was this bit:

On the 10th hole at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, on this Sunday, he heard a man in the crowd yell, “remember the Masters.” 

“I had a little red-ass in me and it came out in the next few holes,” he said. “I wasn’t sure how long it would take to get over the hurdle, of having to come into every interview room, having to listen to the crowds, talking only about what happened a month ago. I’m 22 and we’ve won two majors. But it’s very difficult to stay present, to stay positive, when that’s happening, when those are the only questions. So in our third tournament coming back to close this one out the way we did is really, really special.”

Everyone is playing their parts from script, even the buffoon on the tenth that took time out from screaming "Mashed Potatoes" to analogize the Masters to Jordan's own Alamo....  Not surprisingly, the Tour Confidential crew renders a split decision on whether Jordan is over his hangover:

Josh Sens: Does that sort of thing ever really go away? Decades after Doug Sanders missed a clinching bunny at the British Open, he admitted that he never could forget it for more than a few minutes at a time. The Masters will always be there for Spieth. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Not every memory in life is a big smiley face. It’s how you use the memory. Spieth will use it as motivation, and draw something positive from the pain. All the more so if his putter stays hot.

Bunny?  Is that a real term, 'cause it's a new one to me...  I don't actually think that's a good analogy, because that was Sanders' one real opportunity at lasting fame, whereas Jordan already has his Champions' Dinner invite in perpetuity.

But it's hard to find anything to quibble with here:

Alan Shipnuck: He’s a resilient kid, clearly. Colonial is one of the best tracks on Tour, and anything in Texas is Spieth’s fifth major, so you can’t understate the importance of this win. All I know is that it was nice to see him smiling after months of grinding.  

One minor quibble, or perhaps more of a clarification.  The D&D is now a distinctly second-tier event, and if you disagree just look at those names that Jordan battled down the stretch.  Added to the fact that this should be a golf course that suits him perfectly, it's a week that he should do well.  I know he couldn't find a fairway early in the week, and the Golf Channel highlight reel on Thursday was exclusively great recovery shots from the rough, I'll just note that at Oakmont those recovery shots will be hit to firmer greens with 4-irons and hybrids....

Before we get to Oakmont, Nick Menta did have this preview of next week:

More importantly, the top three players in the world – Jason Day, Spieth and Rory McIlroy – will enter next week’s event, the Memorial, coming off a victory in their last start.

That doesn't suck....  Now to Oakmont, and the TC boys working their handicapping magic:

Godich: It’s gotta be Day. Seven wins in his last 17 starts—nobody’s hotter. I’ll rank Spieth second because he’s the best putter on the planet. I can’t see Rory negotiating those treacherous Oakmont greens. 

Morfit: Jason Day is still No. 1, until proven otherwise. He has something like Spieth’s short game, and something like Rory’s long game. Oakmont is a funny place. It favors bombers like past winners Angel Cabrera (2007), Ernie Els (1994) and Jack Nicklaus (1962). But keep in mind that Loren Roberts almost won there in ’94, and Jim Furyk in ’07. I certainly wouldn’t rule Spieth out. Rory, though, might find those greens a bit harsh.

It's intriguing to see Rory and Spieth find some game, and if they're on form they bring a lot to the party.  But Jordan has been spraying the ball all over the yard, and as a shortish player that's a big ask at brawny Oakmont.  As for Rory, his short iron and wedge play has been so dreadful of late that I assume we'll see him in awkward spots on those greens....  

Though I was happy for this "peace in our time" moment:

I just hope these crazy kids can work things out....

This Ariya Rocks - The ladies get no respect....  If you want to see a bounce back from drop-kicking a major away, look no further than Ariya Jutanugarn:

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) Ariya Jutanugarn became the first player to win three straight LPGA Tour events in three years, closing with a 5-under 67 for a five-stroke victory Sunday in the Volvik Championship. 

The 20-year-old Jutanugarn is the first player since Inbee Park in 2013 to win three consecutive tournaments and the first ever to make their first three career victories consecutive. 

Jutanugarn finished at 15-under 273 at Travis Pointe after starting the day with a one-shot edge thanks to a closing eagle in the third-round.

She is a great player as she showed at the Dinah Shore before she realized that she could win, but she really charmed me with her reaction to that meltdown.  She hits the ball a long way, but has amazing feel around the green.  It's almost as if Lexi Thompson and Lydia Ko had a baby....

Not A Fan - It's always noteworthy when one of the writers for the major golf sites picks up on the same thing that I do, though admittedly he liked it more.  In this case it's Kyle Reifers' logos and the writer is Peter Burkowski:

You couldn't miss Kyle Reifers, either. Not because of his following but because of his shirt.

Reifers sported massive logos -- like, NASCAR massive -- for Chef's Cut beef jerkey, tech consulting firm NV5, and another company on his sleeve that we couldn't quite make out. Reifers also wore a bold Black Clover hat, which was, well, black and must have been pretty toasty in the Texas sun.

The really good news for Reifers' sponsors? He shot a 68 in the final round at Colonial and finished 5th, which meant mucho airtime and a healthy amount of social-media snark for him and his not-so-subtle shirt.

I stand squarely with the snarkers...see what you think:

It's just butt-ugly for sure.  And wehn a logo is both over-sized and unintelligible, that's a double-daily of ugly.  And I don't like the over-sized Polo logo much better, but at least it's not just text.

Soon Please - Joel Beall pens an items on the five reasons that the Tour should hold a fourball event.  I'm not the only golf writer that seeks to amuse, so let's enjoy the fun that he provides:

High-five fails

I use to think the lack of hand-eye coordination for team celebrations was hysterical. It's

now an epidemic. Sure, laugh away when two grown athletes struggle to slap hands. It won't be funny when someone breaks their wrist in this fashion. 

(Thinking...) 

OK, it will still be funny. Nevertheless, a four-ball event can serve as high-five practice for players, making sure their hand gestures are on point come fall.

Fair enough, but while high-five fails are amusing, chest-bump fails are comdey gold.

But this is the gist of Joel's argument, with which I couldn't agree more:

Breaking up the monotony of the season

There are 47 -- 47! -- PGA Tour events this year. While each has it's own flavor and distinction, let's be honest: The general public can only name a handful of non-major tournaments. With such a long campaign, the occasional change-of-pace could do the players, tour and fans some good. It's precisely this notion that has made Match Play a prosperous endeavor, and it's a sentiment that should be replicated.

But in dog years, that's 329 boring events.... First off, the Tour has a long history with four-ball events... For instance, at my first Met. Golf Writes meeting Dave Anderson, the Pulitzer-winning N.Y. Times sports writer, told us that the first PGA Tour event he covered was the Miami Four-ball played at Wykagyl.... Also, one of Byuron Nelson's eleven straight wins in 1945 was similarly a four-ball event.

But as Joel notes, the Tours calendar is the Bataan death March of stroke play events, barely distinguishable from each other.  It's little wonder that no one watches the telecasts, as there's little to interest anyone except dead enders such as your humble correspondent.  

Now, Shack can't contain himself and goes completely off the rails in his reaction:

Which is exactly why, besides the pleasures of watching epic high five fails and allowing today's Hogan's to practice this all-important gesture, we need more four-ball with...you know where I'm going! The Stymie! 

Granted, today's non-confrontational players would balk and possibly take forever (though not touching their ball once they start putting might offset some of the slowness). And modern green speeds would make it hard to stymie someone, but imagine the intrigue and creativity we would have seen in even something like the US Amateur Four-Ball? 

I'll repeat for the 400th time: if the stymie was desperately missed by Bobby Jones, and it was worth a chapter in his later-in-life biography, that should be all anyone needs to bring it back at least once a year.

Uh Geoff, you got a little spittle on your chin....No, other side....

OK, I love the stymie as much as the next guy, most especially in a four-ball...  In fact, I might just suggest w euse it one of these weekend.  But I hasten to add that you can only do so in match play for obvious reasons, and I fail to se ehow this could be a match play event.

But you could mix in a day of alternate shot or other formats....  Who am I kidding, though, if the NFL is the No Fun League, the PGA Tour is the Wipe That Smile Off Your Face League.

Just got word that the golf course has opened so I'll catch you all later...

Friday Frustrations

Mostly concerning an air conditioner compressor that's gone walkabout on us..... I often tell you how I sweat for my craft...today it's literal.

Hair Jordan - Everyone wants a piece of our hero....or has a suggestion to turn around his game.  Meanwhile he's three shots off the pace after the first round at Colonial, so the obituaries might be just a tad premature.  Certainly the man himself knows where his game's at:

"Last year, I was, I think, making a few more mid-range putts than I have this year, but overall I feel like I'm still stroking it the same. I feel like the way I'm striking the ball has been the same," Spieth said before playing a pro-am round Wednesday with Bill Murray. "Recently, I've been trying to get back to the consistency my swing was at last year, so I'd say maybe that's it. Just a little bit in the fine-tuning of the ball-striking, but it's coming around now."

OK, not so much.... I only saw his highlight package on Golf Central, in which he hit some quite wonderful approach shots.  Thing is, not one came from the fairway....

Brandel Chamblee is always reluctant to share his thoughts, so see what you think of this insight:

Chamblee: “Lot of conversation about his golf swing last week. In general he stands over the ball a lot longer this year than last year. When you’re doing that you’re usually thinking golf swing, not golf shot. The longer you stand over the ball the more apt you’re going to take the club away quick. The more apt you are going to have a quick change of direction, which means you’re going to get in front of it, and you’re going to miss your lines. And that is it. That’s all that’s going on with this kid right now, is that he’s got just a little too much in his head.”

But when he's not spending quality time over his ball, he's causing folks to create fake twitter accounts such as @grellerstowel...But I think Craig Perks speaks for us all with this comment:

Perks: “What’s a little concerning is the body language, berating himself. I think the mental attitude and the makeup is most important. He’s been exasperated a lot, maybe too demonstrative at times.”

 I predicted a season of struggle for the young man, because golf didn't suddenly become that easy....  And while it's hard to go from Master of the Universe to Middle of the Pack, he doesn't seem like he's having much fun out there.  But there's always more failure than success in our game, so he'll need to cope with it in ways that don't cause his head to explode, as dramatic as that might be on Protracer...

When Bad Marriages Go Worse - The post-fire hydrant endorsement market was challenging for Tiger and Steiny, but a deal that was always embarrassing is no more:

With the aim of cutting expenses, struggling sports nutrition firm MusclePharm (OTCQB:MSLP) terminates its endorsement deal with golfer Tiger Woods. The chronically cash-poor company is mired in lawsuits as it attempts to stabilize its business. Supplier Capstone Nutrition filed a $65M breach of contract suit a few days ago.

The company agreed to pay $2.5M to terminate the contract with Mr. Woods and eliminate all future costs and obligations, a good deal considering it owed $7M.

What's worse than a sleezy sponsor dealing in dubious products?  You in the back row....that's right, one that's cash-starved.  Props to Shack for his deft use of the Wabac machine to exhume this delightful bit of hucksterism in announcing this very deal:

“Our goal is to take the stigma out of supplements,” said Woods’s agent, Mark Steinberg. “Tiger Woods, maybe the most fit golfer that we’ve had, let’s show that it’s O.K. to align yourself with supplements. Just be safe when you do it. That’s the message we collectively want to spread.” 

Dietary supplements are a billion-dollar industry, and Brad Pyatt, the chairman and chief executive of MusclePharm, argues that Woods can help the company become the industry’s gold standard. 

“Tiger Woods is kind of the stamp of approval we were looking for,” Pyatt said in a telephone interview. “He’s the biggest figure in athletics we can get other than LeBron James.”

I agree that aligning yourself with supplements is OK, it's taking them that's crazy...

So, if and when he returns to the fray, what should go on Tiger's bag?

Cialis?  Too soon for that?

What?  He Went On A Bender? - Well, how would you react to this header?

John Daly just had his first real John Daly moment on the PGA Tour Champions

Here's the gist of it, a dog-bites-man story for sure:

In just his eighth career round on the PGA Tour Champions, John Daly had his first

blowup hole. Playing No. 16 at Harbor Shores in the first round of the Senior PGA Championship, Daly found the water with his tee shot. Then found a dry part of the hazard with his third. He hacked another ball into the water on his fifth shot and wound up taking a nine on the par 4.

That capped a wild five-hole stretch in which Daly went birdie-bogey-birdie-bogey-quintuple bogey to tumble down near the bottom of the leader board on Day 1. Daly is paired with Bernhard Langer, who is attempting to become the first player to win all five PGA Tour Champions majors

Boy, bad things keep happening to this guy.... I'm just sorry that Bernhard Langer had to watch it, as someone needed to keep track of the strokes.  It's going to be difficult for Long John to save that Tour when he's not there for the weekend.

Rules, Schmools -  Joel Beall provides a public service in this piece:

18 golf rules you definitely need to know when playing in a tournament

I'm of many minds on this subject, but it's undeniable how clueless most folks are about the very basics of the rules.  My personal favorite is the drop from a cartpath, which comes up pretty much every round.  For some reason people just can't or won't get a grip on the concept of identifying one's nearest point of relief and only then measuring the one club length.

But one has to concede the futility of expecting club players to know the rules, when those that earn their living at the game can't be bothered... and yes, I'm talking about you, Rory.

But I'm more interested in another type of rules at the moment:

Beach rules

The two biggest infractions in the sand are grounding your club and moving impediments from the bunker. This pains me to bring up, but my high school coach made me call both infractions on a competitor in a match: He chunked his first bunker shot, causing him to slam his club in disgust. He then threw out a few rocks around his ball before attempting his next shot, both violations. If you thought he was mad then, you should have saw his face after I sheepishly told him about said offenses.

You should have saw?  Have they done away with all editors at Golf Digest?  That sound you hear in the background is my mother spinning in her grave....

So Very Monty - Colin Montgomerie is as reticent to share his opinions as Brandell Chamblee, but the latter has the better argument in that he is paid to do so.  Alex Miceli makes the error of asking Monty his thoughts, and Monty's Christams card list keeps shrinking.  First there was this:

Now that golf will be returning to the Olympics after a 112-year hiatus, the 52-year-old Scotsman said in a press conference he cannot understand why any eligible player would not make the trip to Rio de Janeiro in August. 

“I’m staggered by the fact that some have decided that it’s not for them,’” said Montgomerie, in the aftermath of major champions such as Australia’s Adam Scott, Fiji’s Vijay Singh and South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel opting not to go. “You might be world champion or you might be PGA champion or you might be the Masters champion or whatever, but Olympic champion, you’re Olympic champion for life.”

But Colin, you're an Open Champion for life....Oh that's right, no you're not.  But he's making essentially the same argument that an Olympic Golf gold medal is the same as the golf medal for the 100 metres, and that's at best a speculative argument.  Plus, with Monty's ever-presnet baby bump, I'd think he'd be more sensitive to those with concerns about Zika...

And because those prior comments left a few folks on speaking terms with the man, he added this:

Montgomerie also criticized players who skipped this week’s BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, including World No. 3 Rory McIlroy. Montgomerie claimed three victories – 1998-2000 – on the tour’s flagship event among his 31 European Tour victories. 

“I’m surprised that a number of top Europeans aren’t playing,” Montgomerie said. “Not many, if any, don’t compete at the TPC at Sawgrass (site of the recent Players Championship). And I really, for the life of me, I don’t understand why top Europeans – probable possible Ryder Cup players, whatever, this year especially – aren’t competing at Wentworth. I don’t understand that.”

There seems no shortage of thing he doesn't understand, including that that says more about him than those he's calling out.

Da Bidness of Golf, And Other Loose Ends

It's gonna be a scorcher, so don't forget to hydrate...

The Business Beat - Our Commish lapses into MBA-speak with such frequency that we'd prefer that he find a home in the orange juice or widget business... Just once I'd love to hear him express a pure love of our game.... I know, when pigs fly.

We hear so often about companies leveraging value propositions, but the dark truth is that very few business acquisitions pay off.  That's why it's so great when that rare occasion surfaces and the announcement of a deal elicits a simple "Wow."  Submitted for your approval is such a moment:

Topgolf, the booming golf entertainment company, has acquired Protracer, the Swedish

company known for its technology that tracks ball flight during televised golf. 

The acquisition gives Topgolf a well-known tool to incorporate into its massive driving ranges, which pair leading-edge technology games with a festive social environment filled with food, drink and music. 

Topgolf customers soon will be able to use the same Protracer technology that they’ve grown accustomed to seeing on television. 

Erik Anderson, co-chairman and CEO of Topgolf, said he hopes to integrate Protracer into the company’s high-tech driving ranges within the next year. His company has 26 locations and hosts 8 million guests annually.

This is effing brilliant.  Topgolf isn't really a golf company, they're in the saloon industry, but they're way smarter than most of the folks that run our game.  Figure out what the folks want, and give it to them hard....And of course the ironies abound.  For instance, the guy at TG shanking a nine-iron will have Protracer before the thirteenth hole at Augusta National....

I have no idea what the economics are and I don't really care if they overpaid.  Shack had a concern that seems illogical:

On the list of viewer requests to improve telecasts, Protracer is always top three. Hopefully this improves and does not impede its expansion into televised golf.

That's the whole point....  See it on TV then go experience it while overpaying for food and drink.

In other golf business news, the long-anticipated Acushnet IPO is being, well forgive me, teed up:

The IPO would come five years after consumer products conglomerate Fortune Brands sold Acushnet, under pressure from activist investor William Ackman, to South Korean sports apparel company Fila Korea Ltd (081660.KS) and Mirae Asset Private Equity for $1.23 billion.

Acushnet is now working with investment banks that include Morgan Stanley (MS.N), JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N), UBS Group AG (UBSG.S) and Nomura Holdings Inc (8604.T) on the IPO, the sources said on Wednesday.

Combined with Adidas offering up the TaylorMade stable of brands, we'll see the financial markets appetite for golf-related assets pretty clearly.  While I don't have specific numbers to share, there simply can't be a more profitable golf asset than the Titleist golf ball business.  Why?

Golf balls are cheaper and more easily lost than golf equipment, making them more frequently replaced. The more rounds of golf people play, the more balls they will buy.

Well, I try to do my share.... though I don't play their balls.  Why?  Because there's way too many of them out there, so I'm guessing they do well.

Purple Reign - It was quite the finish to quite the week in Eugene:

EUGENE, Ore. – “You have to clap,” Shannon Aubert said. 

Yes, yes you do. 

Aubert, a Stanford sophomore, had dispatched Washington senior Charlotte Thomas and was standing on the side of Eugene Country Club’s 18th green cheering on teammate Casey Danielson, who was 1 down in a crucial match against Ying Luo. Danielson (5-0) hadn’t lost a match in the NCAA Championship in the last two years for Stanford. She was safely on the green in two and Luo was 45 yards short after her tee shot found some thick, gnarly rough. 

Just when it looked like the match was destined for extra holes, Luo, a senior playing in her last-ever round for Washington, holed out for birdie from 45 yards to win the match.

That’s what prompted Aubert, in shock for several seconds, to finally deliver the line, “you have to clap.” 

“When I was standing behind the shot, I was imagining it going in,” Luo said. “That was unbelievable.”

Team match play is just da' bomb, and this wa son top of the bunker-hole-out to win their semi-final.  Good thing we don't have anything potentially this exciting in the Olympics, because that wouldn't be prudent...

As a nice touch, the Stanford ladies acquitted themselves nicely in a stinging and sudden defeat.

If I Had A Hammer... - I used this item yesterday for a small bit of fun, but missed the money shot, specifically this comment:

Former Scotland rugby player John Douglas, 81, said: “It wasn’t so much a vote against the ladies as a vote against the media and the press telling us what to do. No-one likes being hammered all the time.”

Oh Mr. Douglass, are you sure that's the term you wish to use?   Though I ask while fully understanding his underlying point.

But here's what you need to know....  Muirfield is often called a dining club that happens to have a golf course attached.  And by dining club I, of course, mean a drinking club....

I was fortunate enough to spend a full day at The Honourable Company through the efforts of my dear friend Mark W,. and let's just call it an awkward fit.  Oh, I can rattle off the names of Open winners with the best of them, I just can't hold my drink.  So when my host suggested that we grab a nip "for courage" before heading out to the course, you'll know I was quickly out of my depth.

At lunch I remember looking down at my place setting and seeing five drinks, the provenance of which had long been lost to the ages.  And I vividly remember the golf after lunch, in which I tried to contain my need for plumbing fixtures of all types (remember, no trees to be found).  At one point I remember amidst my life-threatening dehydration seeing a water faucet about a foot off the ground, debating whether or not to abase myself by placing my parched lips around that appurtenance..... Fortunately for Mark's reputation I was able to resist, but I do note that they treat their dogs better than certain visitors....

So they do very much like getting hammered, it's pretty much in the DNA of the club..... just perhaps in another sense of the word.

Today's Obligatory Zika Item - No real news, just an amusing framing of the dilemma:

Olympic qualifying for golf ends in seven weeks, at which time players will have to determine if medals outweigh mosquitoes. 

For now, there is only concern.

That's not bad, though could I also suggest medals vs. maternity?  Or, since it's Rio, medals vs. modernity?

And I missed this as we were assessing Rory's readiness to start a family?

Ask a player a question, and there's bound to be an answer, even if it's not entirely informed. McIlroy said he was planning to get ''injections'' on Wednesday so that ''I will be immunized for whatever - if I do get bitten by a mosquito down there.'' 

There is no vaccine for the Zika virus.

But there's no shortage of other diseases to be had there, so get every shot they're offering.

''They have been receiving regular updates on the topic,'' Whan said. ''No player has suggested she is not coming (at least not to me). But it is certainly a concern.'' 

It could be another example that the Olympics mean more to the women, who rarely get a stage as large as this and have a stronger tradition of competing for country in what was the first truly global tour.

More the former than the latter, you'll no doubt agree.  By the way, have you seen the ladies commercial promoting Olympic Golf?  All the usual suspects are there, earnestly informing us of how big this is....  Christie Kerr says she just loves it.  Ummm Christie, how would you know?  Exactly how many Olympics have you been to?

Midweek Musings

Way too many browser tabs open, so let's have at it...

Rut Roh - He's been following the script better than most, but even he has limits:

Rory McIlroy has admitted to concerns over the Zika virus’s threat to the Olympic

Note the perfect lines in his mosquito swat.

Games, conceding for the first time he may reconsider his participation in Rio this summer. The four-time major winner is due to play golf for Ireland in Brazil and has previously spoken of his desire to see the sport embraced on its return to the Games. However, with rising coverage of Zika’s potential impact, the 27-year-old has admitted to a personal dilemma. The virus is said to be particularly dangerous for those looking to have children. 

Speaking to the BBC on Monday, McIlroy said he is “monitoring” the situation. His body language was arguably more telling than his words. McIlroy said: “There’s going to be a point in the next couple of years where we [McIlroy and his fiancée, Erica Stoll] are going to have to think about starting a family. Right now I’m ready to go but I don’t want anything to affect that.”

OK, I'm trying to get the image of Rory "ready to go" out of my mind.....there, that's better.

I don't believe for a minute that Rory isn't going to Rio, as he's been more supportive than most.  But you don't need to be an Einstein to know that his withdrawal might easily trigger a preference cascade among other players.  So, we're one bad news cycle from disaster....

My feelings in this matter are well known, but I'd love to have been a fly mosquito on the wall during all these discussions and/or negotiations.  My more recent thoughts focus on better the 2020 games would have been for golf's encore debut in the Olympics.  They're to be held in a developed country with an actual golf tradition, and no new course would need to be constructed.  It's even possible that the extra time would have allowed the negotiation of a more interesting format.... Nah, that last bit is crazy talk!

And others are paying attention as well...

Couching Tiger - The great Jaime Diaz, with an assist from the Zinger, puts The Striped One on the couch for psychoanalysis.  Here's his lede:

What are we to make of Tiger Woods dunking three straight balls in the water from 100 yards during an ad-libbed closest-to-the-pin contest with two hackers at last week’s media day for the Quicken Loans National? 

Well, to paraphrase Dr. Freud, sometimes—even when struck by the most talented player of all time—a mishit wedge is just a mishit wedge.

Veddy interesting, Dr. Diaz....So sometimes a banana slice is just a..... Her's the gist of the case:

Amid such an immeasurable mix of physical impairment, psychic wounds and simple entropy, a unified theory that better explains the Tiger conundrum has been lacking. But Paul Azinger, one of the game’s original thinkers and a former major champion, has a profound knack for getting to simple and authentic truths about the game and its players. His big-picture take on Woods: He’s stopped being a show-off.

According to Azinger, all tour pros, and especially the best ones, are show-offs. From an early age, putting their talent on display has garnered them praise, prominence and, most important to a competitive golfer, the admiration (and even awe) of their peers. Years of being reinforced by this process builds tremendous confidence and an abiding gratification. Sometimes great players actually do love the game for itself. Very often, though, what they really love is the feeling they get from successfully showing off. 

“I was a huge show-off,” Azinger says. “Especially when I was at my best, I loved showing people how good I was. But when what I was showing off stopped being as good as what I used to show off, and when I realized I was being measured against that old standard, I started thinking less about showing off and more about not embarrassing myself. When you lose that confidence that you will impress people or your peers, then it becomes uncomfortable. You feel way more pressure. And the game stops being fun.

I think this is less profound than folks are making it out to be, as it's merely a different spin on the psychology of ageing athletes.  Tiger is hardly the first great one to deal with embarrassing himself as the skills erode.  I was recounting to Employee No. 2 last night how sad it was to watch Willie Mays in the '73 World Series...  Zinger's point is that injuries can play a role in creating this fear of humiliation after the performer is healthy, but we're of course not sure that last bit applies just yet.

But I'm also guessing that this thought will stay with us when Tiger inevitably returns to competition.... and, as seems with Tiger to always be the case, there's this corroborating witness that always appears to know what lays in store for him:

These words jibed with conversations I had with Earl Woods, who would say, “Tiger is so good in his biggest moments because that’s when he knows he can really show off. He loves that.”

As with the fourteen majors and Tiger getting married, is there anything Earl didn't foresee?

On a related note, the ubiquitous David Feherty was out promoting Golf Now's ad campaign in Ireland, and had these comments on Tiger:

As for Tiger Woods, Feherty reckons the 14-time major winner’s career could be over

but he’s too stubborn to admit it. 

He said: “I am not sure that Tiger will come back because it is a nerve in his back. It’s not muscular or skeletal. It’’s not something you can deal with in a physical way. 

“He is in phenomenal shape - just ripped as usual. But he is not able to make a full pass at it. I saw him a few weeks ago in Houston and he hadn’t played in five months and he hit some good shots and some awful skanky looking things.

With Dr. David on the stump in Ireland as the Ulsterman wins the Irish Open, he's gonna be asked about the kid.... But if you think Rory shared too much information, how about this money shot?

“It’s hard for me to commentate on Rory in the US without a massive boner because I love the kid and want him to do well,” said the 57 year old, who could the 1986 Bell’s Scottish Open among his five European Tour wins but famously lost the trophy.

David, even if I stipulate to the existence of wood, massive?  We're gonna need independent corroboration of that claim...

Meanwhile, I've suddenly lost any appetite.

Fox Fail - Are you ready for some golf?  Oh, sorry, wrong network....  So did you even know that Fox was showing golf yesterday?  Of course not, because it might as well be taking place on Pluto.

The USGA is holding it's amateur Fourball event (and does anyone know why these events are called a Fourball when there's actually only two?) at storied Winged Foot, and the coverage is buried on FS1, a channel you undoubtedly receive but have never had need for.

Want to know how serious Fox is about televising golf?  Shack is all over it:

Also this week is Fox's return to televising USGA golf, and the programming execs showed their continued passion for the game by scheduling a U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship live window--no weather issues--that left viewers with four quarterfinal matches at one 1-up through 15, 1-up through 13, AS thru 11 and 2-up through 10. That's 2.5 hours of golf with no plans to show the conclusion of matches. #usgaonfox #12years

You know what followed golf on FS1?  Something called Nascar Race Hub...  The thing is, actual people tune in to that.  The promised the USGA 2 1/2 hours of coverage, and they delivered.  perhaps today they can show us the players warming up...

It's easy to blame Fox, but the USGA is unfortunately getting what they deserve for worrying only about the number of zeros on the check.

The Gotcha Olympics - And our winner is POLITICO, the hack media outlet that uncovered this amazing act of duplicity:

Donald Trump says he is “not a big believer in global warming.” He has called it “a total hoax,” “bullshit” and “pseudoscience.” 

But he is also trying to build a sea wall designed to protect one of his golf courses from “global warming and its effects.” 

The New York billionaire is applying for permission to erect a coastal protection works to prevent erosion at his seaside golf resort, Trump International Golf Links & Hotel Ireland, in County Clare. 

A permit application for the wall, filed by Trump International Golf Links Ireland and reviewed by POLITICO, explicitly cites global warming and its consequences — increased erosion due to rising sea levels and extreme weather this century — as a chief justification for building the structure.

WOW!  That pretty much seals the deal for Hillary, I mean unless someone has evidence that the other candidate has ever been inconsistent.... Not that you'll ever read any of that in POLITICO.

There's of course no evidence that Trump drafted or reviewed this document, but these world class journalists make you dive deep into their article for this little nugget:

Trump snatched up the golf resort from a distressed buyer in February 2014, after a winter in which an unusual number of severe storms hit the west coast of Ireland.

No need to mention that Doonbeg itself suffered severe damage from these storms.... So the wall might be a wise precaution even before global warming destroys our planet?  Not that anyone should treat The Donald's utterances as anything meaningful, but  please wake me up from this bad dream when they start treating both sides equally.

College Capers - Have you been watching the NCAA's on Golf Channel?  It's really good fun and I highly recommend it.  The girls are good players, though you'll see lots of long putts for bogey...  Love them carrying or pushing their trolleys, and tending the pin for their opponents. as well as their reactions to the many ups and downs....

First we had an unlikely winner of the individual event:

Prior to the start of the NCAA Women’s Championship, the 19-year-old freshman from

Italy had a vision that the individual winner would shoot 16 under par, which turned out to be exactly right when the final round of the individual championship wrapped up at Eugene (Ore.) Country Club. 

Carta, however, failed to see who would be the one shooting the record-setting 72-hole score. Turns out, all she needed to do was look in the mirror. 

“I didn’t think it would have been me,” Carta insisted after posting her fourth straight sub-70 round to win the title by an impressive eight strokes over Arizona’s Haley Moore and Miami’s Dewi Weber 

Envisioning Carta’s convincing victory would have been tough for anyone. In nine starts in the 2015-’16 season, the college newcomer posted a modest 73.12 stroke average, second best on the Blue Devils squad behind first-team All-American Leona Maguire. Prior to late March, she had just one top-10 finish as she adapted to life in Durham, N.C.

But the event really rocks when it comes to team match play.  How was this finish to the semi-finals:

Washington's Sarah Rhee came from three down with three to play, then holes a bunker shot on the 19th to help lead Washington into Wednesday's NCAA women's final againstStanford. And showing proper respect for her opponent and the course, promptly picks up the rake to clean up her bunker mess, just in case the match continues on. Impressive!

I'm sold, Geoff.  Video at the link, and tune in tonight for the final match between Scarlet and Purple.

Cheap Shots - 

I'm Not That Cheap A Date - John Daly continues to win our hearts, calls for drink after eagle

Again With Too Much Information - Understanding the Mickelson case: Why Lefty got lucky

Well, The Bibles Says Be Fruitful... - Jordan Spieth ‘laid an egg in his hometown’

A Tiger Sighting? - Man crashes cart into fire hydrant

Same Reason Many Are Voting For Trump - Muirfield vote ‘wasn’t against ladies,’ was ‘against media telling us what to do’

Phil Fallout

It's quite shocking how little discussion of Phil's stock market prowess is to be found in the golfing press....  It's being treated just like cattle futures trading by the Dowager Empress of Chappaqua..... I get that political reporters are merely Democratic operatives with bylines, but this?

Is it their lack of familiarity with the stock market and the ramifications of the Supreme Court's 2014 decision in U.S. v. Newman?  Or, as per Occam's Razor, are they just in the bag for Phil?  Because this is really deplorable behavior from Phil, and we shouldn't be fooled by the fact that the SEC has found it not specifically indictable.

So props to Shane Ryan for digging in and providing some useful background.  let's piggy-back on his efforts, though we'll come at it from reverse order, starting with the above-referenced legal precedent:

• Not so fast! This is where it gets a little tricky—the SEC complaint against Davis
  
  fell within the Second Circuit, which is the U.S. Court of Appeals with jurisdiction over New York, and hence Wall Street. In 2014, that same court overturned the conviction of a man named Thomas Newman on insider trading charges. More importantly, the case—U.S. v. Newman—gave new protection to traders who were separated, by at least one degree, from the original source of inside information.  

• Here's what the pertinent part of the ruling said, in basic, over-simplified terms: If someone (the "tippee," a term I am so happy I get to use) profits from insider trading after receiving a tip, that person ("tippee") can't be convicted unless A) the tipper received a personal benefit in exchange for offering the inside information, and B) the tippee also knew about the actual benefit the tipper received. That last part is really significant here. 

• As a brief aside, this ruling seems really strange—and the SEC hates it—but it sort of makes sense. Imagine some CEO releases inside information about his company in order to collect $3 million from some Saudi Arabian billionaire because he wants to buy a new yacht. Now imagine that billionaire called a few friends, tipped them off, and somehow you're a golf buddy with one of those friends, and after a dozen intermediaries, the information gets to you.

Of course the SEC hates it, because it dilutes their leverage over those that get in their scope sights.  Not just those that they indict, but those they leverage into cooperating against other defendants.

But conceptually the decision rings true.... to indict and convict for insider trading the government should have to prove that the trader (or "tippee", though I'd think it should be spelled with a single "P", though that's not important now.  

Now let's circle back to the relevant facts of this case:

• The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alleged that a man named Thomas Davis—one of the directors of the Dean Foods Company—gave his pal Billy Walters insider information about the company, including the hot tip that one of the company's subsidiaries (WhiteWave Foods, which traffics in organic products) was about to go through a "spin-off," which essentially means that it would become a separate business. These spin-offs frequently result in huge leaps in stock price for the parent company.

• Walters is an infamous professional gambler, and Davis owed him money. Davis also owed money to the IRS and other parties, and in exchange for all the Dean Foods information, Walters kept him afloat with loans that totaled almost $2 million.

• It was a good investment by Walters, who in turn received information worth $40 million from Davis.

• Paying it forward, Walters tipped off Phil Mickelson to the WhiteWave spin-off. In July 2012, Mickelson very suddenly dumped $2.4 million into Dean Foods stock (records showed extensive phone contact with Walters beforehand). The spin-off happened within a week, Dean Foods stock went up 40 percent, and Mickelson pocketed $931,000 when he immediately sold out. Some of those profits went to paying off Walters for gambling debts.

We'll assess a mandatory deduction to Shane for that pay it forward bit, as this was no random act of kindness...  And it's at best a tad early to conclude that it was a good investment by Walters, as the end result might prove to be a cot and three hots at a correctional facility....

I'll draw your attention back to the second bullet in the first excerpt, in which Shane discusses the legal requirements, which reasonable assumptions would lead us to conclude fits our fact profile.  

• Did the tipper receive a benefit?  Shane kind of glosses over the fact that there was a sizable gambling debt due, I've seen a million dollar number bandied about;
• Did the tippee know that the tipper would receive a benefit?   Well, duh!

Without full knowledge of the nature of those phone conversations, the SEC might have logically concluded that they couldn't meet the burden of proof to convict Phil.  But, dear reader, we are not similarly constrained....

It's blindingly obvious that Phil knew he was receiving material, non-public information, and that the information was being provided to ensure the collection of a gambling debt.  Shane reacted as I did to his claims of vindication:

So let's drop the pretense. As a collective entity, golf journalists should have the guts to say what Joe Nocera of the Times said: Looking at the facts, Mickelson clearly benefited from the recent change in insider-trading laws. For a golfer who seems to believe that he's the smartest guy in the room wherever he goes, he made a really dumb move, and I'm going to take a wild guess that he didn't know U.S. v. Newman was waiting as a safety net. Furthermore, for a guy who Golf Digest estimates makes more than $50 million a year in winnings and endorsements, why would he risk his neck for a profit that falls short of what he'd make for filming a single commercial? What kind of decisions has he been making? 

These are the questions we should be asking. So when the "vindicated Phil" narrative starts gathering momentum, as it inevitably will, please don't believe it. Lefty got lucky, and that's about it.

Now, let's fill the popcorn bowl and find a comfortable seat and see what, if anything, Commissioner Ratched will do.  Having a big-time star like Phil owe a sleazebag like Billy Walters a million large has to violate every ethics clause of the players agreement with the Tour.  And such a violation can only be appropriately dealt with through a long suspension....

Of course, the astute reader quickly sees through that clever sleight of hand.... that only applies to the extent that the Tour's objective are to keep the game clean.  As distinct from what seems to be the Tour's policy to be to keep the appearance of being clean.  Two very different things...

My guess is that Phil will at some point suffer a back injury while jet-skiing....