Weekend Wrap

All the good headlines were grabbed by folks who posted yesterday, so I'll go the classical Shakespeare route...

Now Is The Summer Of Our Discontent - Shack grabbed "Deja Vu All Over Again" from the Highlands and Ron Sirak's Plan B was pretty good as well:

ANOTHER U.S. OPEN FOR THE (RULE) BOOKS

 But at least, as the award ceremony proved, the bar remains very much open.... So, let's have at it:

You almost have to feel sorry for the U.S. Golf Association. Almost. While it dodged

disaster in the U.S. Open when a penalty on Dustin Johnson did not affect the outcome, a violation Sunday by Anna Nordqvist handed the U.S. Women’s Open to Brittany Lang. 

Crank up the social media machine: Those who love to attack golf for the complexity of its rules were handed a ton of material during the three-hole aggregate playoff when Nordqvist was assessed two strokes for grounding her club in the bunker on No. 17 -- the second playoff hole. 

Sure to be second-guessed will be the fact TV was used to detect the violation and that Nordqvist was informed of the penalty after she hit her third shot into No. 18 while Lang found out before she played her third over a water hazard, timing that could have affected how boldly she played the shot.

The late Frank Hannigan used to say that the biggest issue with the USGA was its need to be liked..... but I'm guessing that we've taken care of that issue for a while.

The infraction did happen, and it's hard therefore to argue with the Fox crew that the penalty needed to be assessed, though lost to me in all the chatter was the process by which the USGA became aware of the violation:

John Bodenhamer the USGA’s Senior Managing Director of Competitions and Championships and Governance, said they first learned of the rules issue when someone from Fox called to ask if there had been an issue in the 17th bunker. 

A staff member watching from home viewed the shot three times and didn’t see an infraction. Bodenhamer made his way to the compound, and after looking at a different camera angle, saw the violation. 

“We quickly consulted with our committee and decided that we would inform Anna immediately,” said Bodenhamer. “We immediately notified the referee, who, as quickly as he could, notified Anna and Brittany.”

Before we get to the notification botchery, let's lay out some of the obvious issues....

•  The Rule - The Rules of Golf would, I suspect, garner approval ratings consistent with those for mass murders and Congress, ignoring the obvious overlap between those two groups.  I dissent form this perception, as I find them mostly an engaging process and occasionally helpful.  But, as with repairing spike marks on the green, there are always those with which one can disagree...

But it seems obvious that there is both the absence of intent as well as a lack of advantage to the violation which was not evident to the naked eye.  As I understand the rules (and I'll gladly defer to Maggot or Mark W. if they disagree), a player in a different type of hazard that inadvertently grazes the grass in their takeaway would not be penalized.  I would ask why that shouldn't apply here as well.

•  High-Resolution Video - This needs a complete  re-thinking, as we all agree it's  not working as is.  This to me is very reminiscent of the Tiger issue at the BMW a few years back, where the movement of the ball could only be seen in slow-motion.  The rule has been changed to take DQ's off the table for that which can't be discerned in real time, but no one can be happy with this result....

Now golf is different than every other sport in that we expect that our players want to post the most accurate scores possible, and should therefore welcome technology that assists in that objective.  But again, si anyone happy right now?

•  Notification - So, assume for a second that you had a large bet on Brittany Lang to win the U.S. Open and were simultaneously a USGA rules official, would you have timed the notification any differently?

To recap for those with lives that weren't watching, the walking referee notified Nordqvist after she hit her third into the 18th, but got Lang before she hit hers, having this predictable affect on strategy:

“I had lob wedge out, because I was going to hit a high lob wedge to land soft because I thought I needed a birdie,” Lang said. “Right when he told me that, I was thankful he told me before I hit my wedge. I hit a little sand wedge way out to the right, and just tried to two-putt from over there.”

The worst part of this situation is that everyone sitting at home knew of Nordqvist’s error in the sand long before she did. Golf fans – including Fox announcer Paul Azinger – were trying to will a USGA rules official to stop play before Nordqvist hit that third shot.

A number of commentators have made a very good point, that they simply could have stopped play while reviewing the video tape given that there were only the two girls on the golf course.  

Of course we were already deep into Fox's prime time schedule by then:

Worth noting that the final threesome finished in 5 hours and 43 minutes. Pace had been an issue all day.

All week would have been more accurate, but they seem to have also botched the final round set-up, and when Lydia's travails at the ninth took way too much time (was she not supposed to look for her ball in the hazard?), the final group was put on the clock....  Lydia, to her credit, took responsibility, but I think the USGA shares in the blame....

And what would a USGA championship be without Diana Murphy beclowning herself....when she started speaking I thought she seemed more in control but Employee No. 2 opined that she was again under the influence.  A little life lesson for you all.... when the subject is public drunkenness, who are you going to believe?  The Jewish husband or the Irish wife?  The question answers itself....

For those that like such things, Shack has the video, in which the President of the USGA twice calls U.S. Women's Open champion Brittany Lang by the name Bethany.... Don't know about you but while I may not watch much of the Senior Open, I will most certainly catch the awards ceremony....

The Scottish - I opted for competitive significance over linksy goodness, so saw precious little of the Scottish Open from scenic Castle Stuart.  I'm not going to keep you in suspense, the event was won by Sweden's Alexander Noren. but this is likely the greater significance:

Tyrrell Hatton, Noren's playing partner, was the runner-up at Castle Stuart in northern Scotland after a 69, while Nicolas Colsaerts (66), Danny Lee (69) and Matteo Manassero (70) were a further shot back.

Hatton, Colsaerts, Manassero and Richie Ramsay took the final four qualification places for next week's British Open at Royal Troon.

Troon On Our Minds - We'll have lots to cover between now and Thursday, but first some history.  Thanks to Shack for posting these videos of Gene Sarazan at Troon, first an unsuccessful attempt to qualify in 1923:

It's quaintly charming, but as the U.S. Open champion he wasn't guaranteed a spot in the Open Championship, so made the difficult journey knowing he had to qualify.  Then this from his 1973 encore:

The next day he holed out from a bunker, so for two days he played the Postage Stamp in three strokes.

Shack also has this long video of the final round in 1973, hat you'll ant to watch at least part of if only for the regrettable 70's fashion:

Anyone know what that dead animal on Johnny Miller's head was?

Shack has a great Q&A with architect Martin Ebert, though the most interesting parts of it relate to Turnberry and Portrush.  But Ebert has also worked at Troon and has some thoughts worth perusing:

GS: Besides the Postage Stamp, what holes would you say are most worth of study at Royal Troon? 

ME: I believe that the Old Course at Troon is generally underrated. I believe it to be one of the best of The Open venues. It has some superb views, has tees which could not be closer to the coastline on the front nine, some great individual holes including the incomparable Postage Stamp and one of the toughest back nines in championship golf. In terms of other notable holes, the 5th is a wonderful par 3 on its elevated ridge by the sea, the dogleg 7th asks questions from the tee if conditions are favourable, the 11th must have the most intimidating tee shot on The Open rota being played over a sea of gorse with no view of the fairway, the 13th has the most magical undulations and shows that bunkerless holes can be the very best, the 15th, in its new guise has great shape to its fairway line and, of course, the 18th is the ultimate test with the clubhouse and out of bounds so close behind the green.

That certainly wasn't my recollection, but I've only played the course one time and that was back in 2009.  I remember it as being a stout test, but less interesting in a strategic or visual sense.  

So, who do you like?  before you answer that question it might be helpful to peruse the list of winners at Troon:

What?  That didn't help you with your handicapping?  

Actually, the best part of that graphic is the right-hand column.... can you understand why so few players from the U.S. made the trip before Arnie?

The astute reader will quickly note that the last six winners have been Americans, which of course means absolutely nothing this week.  What's more significant, and  quirkier, is that the course produced venerable champions, until it didn't.... I'd like to apologize to Todd Hamilton's' family, but those last three aren't exactly name brands....

The Tour Confidential panel revealed their picks, and it's about what you'd expect:

Shipnuck: Yes, Dustin is going to steamroll his way to another victory. There are a handful of other guys who are similarly long as DJ but into the wind he is by far the longest player in the world, with that low, piercing ball flight. The back nine at Troon is always a brutal, blustery slog. Dustin will bash his way to another landscape-altering win.

Didja stay up all night thinking of that pick?  This one is slightly more imaginative:

Sens: DJ is a great choice, which means it’s not going to happen. And it won’t be one of his countrymen either. The Claret Jug goes to Branden Grace, who hits also hits a low, wind-cheating ball and whose relatively weak putting will not be a hold him back on Troon’s comparatively small greens.

Grace was the flavor of the month before Oakmont, so perhaps Shack and all the others weren't wrong, just early.

As for this one, been there, done that:

Passov: DJ finally got the job done at Oakmont, after so many close calls in majors. It’s going to happen to another guy this week, a guy who’s long been in a similar situation: Sergio Garcia. He’s pretty hot in his own right, with a win at the AT&T Byron Nelson and a stellar effort at Oakmont, and in the past two years, has finished T2 and T6 at the Open Championship. On a course that favors great ballstriking, one with greens that aren’t too vexing, it’s Sergio’s time.

Yeah, Joe, that's the ticket.... Your humble blogger correctly picked all six of Sergio's zero Open Championships, so color me skeptical....

I'll have more later in the week, though tomorrow will likely be an off day due to a Met. Golf Writers' outing.