Midweek Musings

Just a couple of trifles to amuse you this morning, then I'll let you get on with your day...

The Sate of the Finchem - Commissioner Ratched gave his annual State of The Tour presser yesterday at Sawgrass, and it was riveting....  I jest, our Commish doesn't do emotion or enthusiasm.  With LPGA majordomo Mike Whan providing air cover, it was mostly happy talk about the Olympics.  Though this was new:

Asked after his news conference whether a team format, and not just an individual, 72-

hole stroke-play event, might have sparked greater interest among players who have withdrawn, Finchem defended the choice of format. Critics say it is the same competition that golf fans see now on a weekly basis, and will almost be a fifth World Golf Championships event. Match play was eliminated early and stroke play chosen with hopes that more countries will have the opportunity to medal on the final day. 

Finchem also said Wednesday that the IOC would not allow golf to compete in a mixed-team format with males and females composing teams. Golf wanted more than 60 male and 60 female competitors, too, but agreed to that number under the condition that it can be revisited after 2020.

Remember, the IOC wanted the players to show up without caddies, because....well, hotel rooms.  And you'll notice that the men and women won't overlap for the very same reason....  but the assumption of folks like Finchie is that it was worth accepting the substantive constraints to participate in the Olympics, but good luck "revisiting" these issues when you first need to wake folks up.

But our hero also took the opportunity to show off his big, brass-plated cujones:

“If you asked me, ‘Let’s get together next week and put together another big tournament,’ I don’t think that’s what golf needs right now, necessarily,” Finchem said. “But the Olympics is unique. You’re talking about 3 billion people watching the sport on television; that’s one thing. When you think about the way it affects the culture of sport in certain countries, and opens that country up to look at golf as a mainstream sport, athletic sport, then that can really be a game-changer.”

The irony, she burns!  That from very same guy that has shoved numerous pointless money grabs down out throats and refused to give up a single one to promote the Olympics... Yes, Tim, it'll be just like a fifth WGC, when we're still trying to discern the point of the first four.

Augusta Envy - They all have it... The USGA apparently gave their TV contract to Fox in search of Augusta-like TV ratings, and the PGA goes to Atlanta Athletic Club because it's in Georgia.... OK, I made that last bit up, but why else would you go there?  

If you have $5,000 burning a hole in your pocket, here's an opportunity to hobnob with the Ponte Vedra family:

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – At noon on a practice-round Tuesday, The Players Club inside the palatial clubhouse at TPC Sawgrass was the new place to be and be seen at The Players Championship. Some of golf’s biggest powerbrokers, including PGA Tour chief operating officer Jay Monahan, entertained guests and dined at a raw bar, sushi and crepe stations and so much more. Champagne wishes and caviar dreams? They can be yours for $5,000. 

To some, it strikes as another example of the Players trying to imitate the Masters, which built the ultimate VIP venue, Berckmans Place, in 2013. When told that some have called the TPC’s version Berckmans Lite, Matt Rapp, the Tour’s vice president of business development, replied, “We’re Berkmans, only better. You can actually see golf from our venues.”

Having been a couple of times, I can't imagine what golf is visible form the clubhouse, but it's hard to see where our game got it's elitist reputation.... 

Quail Hollow, The New Medinah - I've long noted my fascination with Medinah No. 3....  It's routinely rated highly on all the appropriate rankings, but every time they take an event there you notice that the course has been substantially changed.  Obvious question being, if it's so great why does it need to be dug up repeatedly...

Quail Hollow, site of last weeks Wells Fargo, is beloved by the players and commentators alike, and certainly seems like a stern test.  So, naturally this will not surprise:

On the front nine, Quail Hollow will receive a facelist, not just some minor aesthetic retouchings. The first hole will be lengthened, as is often the case for major tournament setups, but that will necessitate the removal of the par-3 second hole for space. As a result, the par-5 fifth will be cut into two holes, a par-4 and a par-3, to facilitate the elimination of the short second hole.

There will also be added length to the 426-yard par-4 11th hole, as well as reseeded greens, causing Phil Mickelson to wonder if an over-par score could win the final major of 2017. 

"Can you imagine this golf course with severe rough where you have to play very defensive?" Mickelson said after the round. "I think over par would end up winning it. It's a very difficult test ... The guys that play well are able to take advantage of it, make birdies, and the guys that aren't are getting penalized. I think that’s the sign of a really great golf course."

I thought they were only redoing the greens, but not so...  I've never understood the need to take majors to regular Tour stops.  I can rationalize it for Pebble, since the course plays so differently in June.... plus, it's Pebble (and they only play it twice at most during the Clambake).

Also, the PGA's affection for Southern locales (think ACC and Kiawah) continues, no doubt Shane Lowry, Kevin Stadler and Brendon de Jonge in wet golf shirts will help us grow the game.

Singhing in the Rain - Game on, Baby!

Vijay Singh vs. the PGA Tour is finally heating up. 

In a pre-trial conference at the New York State Supreme Court on Tuesday morning, Justice Eileen Bransten sided with Singh's lawyer Peter Ginsberg on the issue of confidentiality, a signal that sanctions issued under the PGA Tour's Anti-Doping Program could soon enter the public record.

While Bransten indicated that she was comfortable continuing to withhold the names of offending golfers, she said that identifying other instances of the program's application, including the names of the drugs that triggered them, was central to Singh's claim that he was treated differently than other golfers who ran afoul of the program when he was suspended for his admitted use of deer antler spray in 2013.

I'm not going to go through the history at this point, but it has nothing to do with the plaintiff, a uniquely unsympathetic character.  But sunlight is badly needed in the Tour's disciplinary processes, and this could be a vehicle to achieve that.

Humor as Treatment - Kudos to Stewart Cink for his attitude towards fighting wife Lisa's cancer diagnosis.  A sense of humor can help folks deal with most anything, so it was great to see this tweet from him:

Like you, I never realized that Will Ferrell and he were separated at birth.  But do we think it would help to let Lisa know that regardless of the toll that the chemo might take, she'll never look this ridiculous: