Ryder Recriminations

We're on the clock, as the Met. Golf Writers are meeting at Century Country Club.... Cobra/Puma will be there with demos for us, so there goes all the good work we did at yesterday's lesson.

Lots to talk about with the seemingly-deserving Russell Knox left at home....First, John Huggan tells us what Darren Clarke was thinking:

Perhaps the biggest influence on Clarke’s overall decision was the presence of five Ryder rookies amongst those identified by the two-pronged qualifying system that involved

European and World Ranking points lists. A keen student of statistics, the Northern Irishman knows that success rates within the biennial contest tend to drop off markedly whenever the number of debutants in a 12-man team goes above four.

Still, just as then-captain Colin Montgomerie rewarded the fast-finishing Edoardo Molinari in 2010 ahead of the much higher-ranked Paul Casey—the Italian birdied the last three holes to win the final qualifying event, the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles—Clarke has similarly opted to add a sixth rookie in the big-hitting Pieters. The Belgian closed with three successive birdies to claim last week’s Made in Denmark tournament on the European Tour (where, significantly, he shot an opening 62 playing alongside his captain). Further strengthening his last-minute case, Pieters was runner-up in the Czech Masters one week earlier and, seven days before that, fourth in the Rio Olympics.

Given the field in Rio, that 4th isn't all that impressive, but there's little doubt that Pieters is a rising talent.

But a meme has developed that it's Knox's "arrogance" that kept him off the team.... Huggan had this:

On the other hand, one week before his trip to Long Island, Knox was asked to play in the Wyndham Championship by Clarke and European vice captain Ian Poulter. This could be interpreted as a strong hint as to Clarke’s intention not to select Knox (or indeed mildly insulting to someone who had just won on the world’s most competitive circuit) as a good performance in North Carolina could have seen the Scot make it to Hazeltine as an automatic qualifier. But Knox declined, citing his high standing in the FedEx Cup and the need to already play four weeks out of five immediately before the Ryder Cup. 

But why Westwood and Kaymer, both without wins on either the U.S. or European circuits since 2014, over Knox?

 More telling is this from Tom English at the Beeb:

He should have gone to Denmark last week, thereby showing his captain that he had a huge desire to make the team, but instead he opted for the cash mountain that was The Barclays. There were Ryder Cup points on offer in Denmark but not in the USA. In choosing the USA, the Scot gave out a bad signal.

First of all, is that even factually correct?  I assume that Knox would only have qualified based upon their international points list, for which I'd assume The Barclays counts.  More to the point, Knox supported the Euro Tour earlier in his season, and as a member of both Tours would naturally want to participate in its season-ending playoffs cum money grab.  

This is the bit that's causing Russell the pushback:

"As I said to someone recently, my big problem was not getting the points for winning in 

China," said Knox of his victory in Shanghai. 

"I'd be in if they counted. So there is a moral obligation to pick me, I guess. I don't want Darren to pick me because of that, though. His goal is to pick the three best players who did not make the team. And I have a hard time not thinking I am one of those right now." 

Moral obligation? This was a player dictating to a captain - and no good ever comes of that. It was a bizarre approach from Knox; it was utterly self-defeating when Pieters was already laying down a huge case for inclusion.

Does that offend any of you?  If it does, it might say more about you than him....  But this does seem like it's more on point:

Clarke hinted at Knox being an outsider when he said Tuesday the Ryder Cup is about more than just playing. ''It's about the team room and the dynamics and everything that's involved in it,'' he said. 

Knox was hard-pressed to think of another European who played primarily in America. He said he barely knows Clarke or the assistants. That includes Poulter, even though they've had the same agent for years.

''Ultimately, I had that going against me,'' Knox said. ''I don't even know Paul Lawrie. Sam Torrance seems like a legend - I don't know him. I played with Thomas Bjorn once, and we didn't speak one word. I don't have relationships with anyone. I'm not really close to anyone on the team."

We have way too much time to fill and too little to talk about, so we inevitably blow these things out of proportion.  It's apparent that, given the composition of his automatic qualifiers, Clarke was always taking Westy and Kaymer.  Given their form, that can be legitimately questioned, but that's his job.

It came down to Knox v. Pieters for the last slot, and Clarke went with Belgian.  He's younger than Knox, so there's a long-term benefit potentially, but I could also see where he projects as more valuable.  As one of the GC commentators noted last evening, Knox's principal skill set is bogey avoidance, which is not a priority in team formats.  perhaps more to the point, he's a much longer hitter than Knox, and Hazeltine will play long.

For an amusing walk down memory lane, John Strege ranks the biggest Ryder Cup snubs of all time here.  Like Shack, the Casey snub simply has to top the list.  as even John agrees in this argument against interest:

Paul Casey -- 2010

Arguably the biggest snub in the annals of the Ryder Cup, Casey was ranked inside the

world's top 10 the entire year, yet was left off the European squad in favor of Pádraig Harrington, who was struggling mightily at the time of selection. Not helping matters was captain Colin Montgomerie's refusal to discuss the matter, with sources around the team saying the pick was influenced by politics. Casey remains bitter to this day: many viewed his decision to end European Tour membership in 2015 as fallout from the 2010 overlook.

Though I also like this one, because it shows the Sir Nick that's so beloved in the game:

Nick Faldo -- 1999

Although Faldo's game was a mess in 1999 (falling to 197th in the world after being in the top 10 just two summers before), Sir Nick expected to make his record 12th Ryder Cup team that fall. Instead, Mark James picked Andrew Coltart and Jesper Parnevik. The decision caused a split between the two; James would later claim in a book that Faldo tried to undermine the European effort.

I have more of everything for you, except time.  See you tomorrow.... 

Tuesday Tastings

Lots to cover, so freshen that cup of coffee and let's have at it:

Ryder Roundabouts - What a long, strange trip it's been... 

By the time you read this, Captain Darren Clarke will have committed to rounding his squad out with Thomas Pieters, Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer.  But yesterday word broke of a Luke Donald boomlet.....  I know, who's Luke Donald?  Turns out that he's an English professional golfer and the former top-ranked player in the world.  Yanno, for about an hour-and-a-half.

Luke Donald, a potential Ryder Cup captain’s pick? 

That theory gained serious momentum on Monday, just a day before European Captain Darren Clarke is set to make his three wildcard selections at Wentworth Golf Club, the headquarters of the European Tour. 

With many believing that veterans Lee Westwood, an Englishman like Donald, and Martin Kaymer of Germany were locks for Clarke’s team, the third selection is the only one that seems to have much suspense. But even with just that spot open, the drama is building, as several options are on the table. 

Scotland’s Russell Knox and Belgium’s Thomas Pieters have both won in recent weeks and appeared to be the pair vying for the last spot, but then almost out of the blue, Donald’s name was mentioned.

Joking aside, Donald was once a stalwart Euro Ryder Cupper, and I still remember the scene on the first tee at Medinah on Sunday.  Bubba was batting leadoff against Luke, and doing his now-tired routine of riling up the crowd.  Luke was just watching calmly, secure in the knowledge (as was your humble correspondent) of the inevitable outcome.....

The 2012 Luke Donald was the guy they picked to go out first and silence the crowds.... the 2016 Luke Donald never entered the conversation, as he's simply too short and too crooked off the tee to be competitive.  

But here's the interesting part:

Much of what fueled the Donald fire was an online report by the Scottish golf magazineBunkered. In the end, William Hill, one of the largest sportsbooks in the United Kingdom, suspended the betting on Donald in the afternoon. 

According to Joe Crilly of the Press Office Team at William Hill, Donald was at 7-1 mid-morning in the U.K. and over the next three or so hours went to 6-4, which is when William Hill suspended betting at about 2:30 p.m. BST. 

The betting came not from its web or mobile sites, but from differing Hill retail locations throughout England, mostly in the northeast of England. 

“They were only small bets, the biggest of which was I think 200 pounds,” Crilly said of the Donald bets. “They were only small bets but they were of the frequency on a special market like that that you wouldn’t necessarily see on a special market and thus somebody had an inkling that something was going to happen.”

Really?  A guy that can't hit it 250 yards can move the betting market?  I find it both amusing and depressing....  But I also feel bad for Russell Knox, who deserved a selection.

But, alas, it's not just the Euros that have lost the plot....  Davis Love gave a presser on Monday and, SPOILER ALERT, he really likes his team.  I know, I'm shocked....  But with far too much time on his hands, he might have a tendency to overthink things:

Specifically, Love has been consulting with a group of statisticians hired by the PGA of America. During his last captaincy at the 2012 Ryder Cup, categories like strokes gained putting and other ShotLink-driven stats were still rather esoteric. But they’ve since gained wider understanding and their keeping more sophisticated, and Love plans to give them increased weight in his decision-making this time around. 

“Patrick Reed suggested we pay closer attention to strokes gained tee-to-green,” Love said. In alternate-shot, for example, it could be possible to pair a player whose proximity to the hole with irons syncs with another’s putting percentages from those distances, and then overlay that data across the holes at Hazeltine National. 

“Now instead of saying ‘OK, you two go play together,’ we can give players a reason they’re paired,” Love said. “We can say, ‘Hey, we ran the numbers and dissected the course and together you guys are unbeatable.’ 

Unbeatable?  I'd rather you tell them that they have no chance.....

I'm a big fan of statistical analysis, as it provides many useful insights into players' abilities from tee to green.  But, and it's a big one, you can see how this readily jumps the shark, as evidenced by the nonsense-on-stilts above.

Again, how about we just tell the guys to play better?  Now, remember that task force?  Yanno, the one that was going to lead us out of the wilderness and into the promised land.  Also, it bears noting, the one that gave Davis his mulligan.....get a load of this heresy as relates to Justin Thomas:

He averages more than 300 yards off the tee and has chemistry with Fowler and Spieth. His 2015-’16 track record shows a win at the CIMB Classic (from last November) and four third-place finishes, including the Players. 

In this case, Love is willing to overlook the Mickelson edict of not fully counting fall tournaments in the wraparound schedule, instead giving consideration “to the big tournament he won in Malaysia.” Love also questions the analytics of how Thomas could enter the Barclays ranked just 25th in Ryder Cup points but 10th in the FedEx Cup standings.

I've no clear sense of Justin Thomas' ceiling, but there's little doubt that he's not yet earned a captain's pick.

Now the siren song of experience beckons like a modern day Scylla and Charybdis, so this little trial balloon is to be expected:

Love has affectionately told 46-year-old Jim Furyk “flat out” that he’s playing his way out of his place on the sidelines as a vice-captain. In an exchange of text messages with another vice-captain—Tiger Woods—Love expressed that Furyk’s late-summer hot streak “is screwing up the top 12 right now.” 

According to Love, Woods responded, “That’s great. Let him mess it up. We want guys to play good to make the decisions hard.” 

Furyk missed the first four months of the 2016 season with a wrist injury that required surgery, but started to make a case for himself with a T-2 finish in the U.S. Open at Oakmont in June and back-to-back top-10s before the Barclays that included his PGA Tour-record 58 at the Travelers.

To which I ask, experience at what?

The other criticism of Furyk is a 10-20-4 record in 34 matches going back to 1997.

May I please have more, Sir?

Lastly, Mark Hermmann throws a bit of cold water on the inevitable Fowler selection:

In any case, the ending was somber for Fowler. “If I focus on winning the golf tournament, things would be fine,” he said. The troubling part is that it is a trend. He is 0-for-4 with a 54-hole led in PGA Tour events. Almost every time he faced a crucial shot down the stretch, he made a poor one. “Just made some not-so-good swings at a bad time,” he said after another rough Sunday in an unfulfilling season. 

All of that notwithstanding, he probably is a lock for the team. The other United States players like him. So does captain Davis Love III, who gets to pick four players to fill out the squad.

Rickie has never won a Ryder Cup match and famously laid down when pitted against Rory in singles last go.  I agree with everything above, but I'd gamble on Rickie way before Alas, Poor Furyk.

Burying the Lede, USGA Edition -  Today's comic relief relates to word that the USGA sees the need to simplify the rules of golf in order to.... wait for it, Grow the Game.  I know, hiding behind Mom's skirt again....

From Brian Costa in the WSJ:

For the USGA, it isn’t just a matter of creating more rules buffs. It’s a matter of creating more golfers. The number of Americans who play at least once a year has declined steadily from a peak of 30 million in 2005 to just over 24 million last year, according to the National Golf Foundation. Surveys of people who quit the game have shown a direct correlation between participation and their overall comfort level on the golf course. To that end, a Byzantine rulebook doesn’t help. 

This summer, in particular, has been like a billboard for everything people find absurd about the rules of golf. Before the sight of Spieth pondering the intricacies of his relief options, there was the U.S. Women’s Open. Anna Nordqvist of Sweden lost in a playoff after incurring a two-stroke penalty because her club grazed a few grains of sand in a bunker.

I find the rules of golf to be a challenging jigsaw puzzle, though we've long established that I'm not like other people.  Are the rules needlessly complex?  There's a few that I quibble with though I think Costa gets this somewhat wrong:

To some degree, the nature of golf requires a more complex set of rules than in other sports. There are 34,000 courses in the world, each one of them different, which creates endless hypothetical scenarios. But in their quest to cover all of them, rule makers have left players with a document that makes the federal tax code read like “Goodnight Moon.”

It's not that the course are different, it's that ours is the only game played over hundreds of acres of land, creating the myriad, oddball situations that can occur.  Here's his coda:

The proposed changes are being drafted by a group of around a dozen people representing the USGA, the R&A and the pro tours. The goal is to create a simpler set of rules that apply to all levels of golf without fundamentally changing the way the game is played. 

“We realize that when golfers go out to play golf, they’re not always going to play 100% by the rules of golf, and you know what? That’s OK,” Davis said. “What we want to do is make the game more welcoming and easier to understand for everyone that plays it.”

Thanks for your permission, Mike, though I didn't actually notice anyone asking for it....

You'll know where I'm headed with this....  The USGA has embarked on a multi-year, task force-driven process to simplify the rules of our game.  I have no particular ax to grind with that, and the guys on Golf Channel have come out with their own simplified rules of golf towards that end.  

But Coasta's piece leads with the USGA's annus horribilis, DJ and Anna Nordqvist and such....  So Mike, we've got a problem in the here and now, namely that the best players in the world are playing on greens the texture of marble where balls won't stay put, and you're throwing us a head fake for the good of the game.

Wake me up in 2019 when this committee is ready to save our game....

Tiger Droppings - A couple of items about our favorite cart driver, first John Strege with some fun facts about Tiger's professional debut twenty years ago:

2. In Milwaukee, Woods paid for dinner one night with a gift certificate he had received

upon his arrival. A day later, when Woods and his instructor Butch Harmon were driving to Brown Deer Park Golf Course in the Milwaukee suburb of Glendale, Butch asked him whether he had his checkbook, so he could pay the $100 entry fee. “Butch, I don’t have one-hundred dollars,” he said, despite having already signed a $40 million contract with Nike. Harmon floated him a loan. Later, Woods said, “I haven’t seen a penny yet. I haven’t seen any check in the mail yet. I’m still broke.”

 Has he compared notes with Hillary?  And I think I like his Mom:

5. The Woods family — Tiger, father Earl and mother Kultida — was sporting 27 Nike swooshes on its clothing and shoes on Wednesday, though Kultida vowed not to give up the Reeboks that she had been wearing the week before. “They pay Tiger, they don’t pay me,” she said.

Yeah, but they pay him a LOT!

 Also this on the state of Tiger's dining room:

Despite his absence from the game, Woods remains one of the sport's most recognizable entities, making the 40 year old a prized free agent among club manufacturers. According to Golf Channel analyst and Woods' friend Notah Begay, equipment companies aren't letting this opportunity go to waste. 

"I walked into his dining room and it was like going into a PGA [Tour] Superstore now that Nike's equipment line no longer exists," Begay said on "Golf Central" Sunday morning. "Every single manufacturer had sent equipment in there, and he's trying a variety of different things, trying to get a sense of where he's going to go from this point on."

I can see why they'd all want their equipment in his hands assuming he comes back, since there will no doubt be millions of eyeballs on him.  It's risk free, in the sense that at this point it's all upside....  If he still stinks up the joint, no one will blame the sticks.

But, how much guaranteed money would you throw at that endorsement deal?  So, yeah, if I were Tiger I'd be trying them all, because who can predict who'll throw a bunch of money at him?

PXG has been bandied about, and makes some sense since Bob Parsons thinks he's the smartest guy on the planet....  I'd also throw Cobra out there, just spitballin' who might feel the need to do something irrational....  

I'm going to wrap it up here and catch you further down the line. 

Weekend Wrap

I hope our time apart wasn't as hard on you as it was on me....But some good golf was played, as well as a bit of that less desirable kind....

Barclays Boogaloo - It was a cringe-worthy finish, one of those where the protagonists stagger to the finish line:

Patrick Reed picked up two victories in one day. He won The Barclays to assure himself

a clear shot at the $10 million bonus in the FedEx Cup, and he easily secured a spot on his second straight U.S. Ryder Cup team. 

Rickie Fowler, with a surprising meltdown, walked away empty from Bethpage Black.

Reed overcame an early two-shot deficit and built a big enough lead on the back nine that some nervous shots and sloppy play didn't keep him from winning for the first time since the 2015 opener at Kapalua. A bogey on the final hole gave him a 1-under 70 and a one-shot victory over Sean O'Hair and Emiliano Grillo. 

"It's just been great to finally be able to close one off," Reed said.

I'm guessing that the Golf.com style book requires the mention of the "F-word", whereas it's the latter that provided what little drama was to be found.  Well, that and the over served patrons....

Today's "Orange is the New Black" moment is brought to you by the man from Oklahoma State, whose porn 'stache seemed to be paying dividends....until it didn't:

Thanks to a back-nine collapse by 54-hole leader Rickie Fowler, the top eight Americans in the Ryder Cup standings entering this week are the eight players who will automatically earn spots on this year's U.S. squad. Fowler, who needed a top-three finish at Bethpage to jump into the top eight and join the team next month, seemed halfway to Hazeltine when he made the turn on Sunday still with a share of the lead. Then disaster struck. 

After making just one bogey over his first 64 holes of the tournament, Fowler made three bogeys and a double bogey over the final eight holes. The tough finish means he'll have to rely on being one of Davis Love III's four captain's picks if he's to play in a third career Ryder Cup. 

See what I mean?  The CBS gamely tried to hype the event, but the best they could do was to tie it to that other event....

And here's one more guy generating buzz for Commissioner Ratched's  illegitimate child via an unrelated event:

Time to move on, Justin....

Ryder Ruminations - As noted above, as of close of business Sunday your Great Eight is set:

Draw a bold line under Zach Johnson's name and north of that latitude is two-thirds of your U.S. Ryder Cup team.  

Here's the schedule for captain's picks:

Traditionally, Ryder Cup USA Captains have announced all their Picks at once. Things are different this time around in an effort to include the hottest players not already qualified. 

That means there are two key dates in the coming weeks. The first is Monday, Sept. 12, the day after the third leg of the PGA Tour Playoffs, the BMW Championship. On that morning at 10 a.m. ET, Love will hold a press conference at Hazeltine National to announce three of his four Captain's Picks. 

Thirteen days later on Sept. 25 -- the same day that the Tour Championship ends -- Love reveals his fourth and final Captain's Pick. 

The matches will tee off just five days later.

Shack characterizes the current state of play as five guys playing for four spots, though I have to guess at who's his fifth....  I assume it's Alas Poor Furyk, Mr. 58, but I'd speculate that a win by Bill Haas or even Scott Piercy could complicate things.....

You know what else complicates thing?  Pods....  Do you have a white trash pod for J.B?  How about a metrosexual pod for Rickie?  DJ is your leading qualifier, but who fills out his coke-head pod?

The complications are endless....Makes a fellow long for the good old days when we just picked the best players and allowed them to, you know, play...

The Plot Thickens - Darren Clarke's decision tree has sprouted more complications than perhaps even Bayes could accommodate (and on what other golf blog would you find such an arcane reference?):

Thomas Pieters improved his chances of earning a captain's pick for the Ryder Cup by

winning the Made in Denmark tournament on Sunday to claim his third European title.

The 24-year-old Belgian, who was fourth in the Olympics, finished with three birdies for a 6-under par 65 on the day and a 17-under total of 267 to beat Bradley Dredge by one stroke. The Welshman finished in style with a 30-foot birdie putt for 67.

 As we've discussed previously, the issue is that the Euro squad already has five rookies, and the conventional wisdom is that Clarke will need to add experience to his team.  But Pieters is a strong player and has just demonstrated that he's on form, so I think those of us that lean towards the Yanks should hope to see Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer picked.

The lad that may end up disappointed is Russell Knox,.  Euro Ryder Cup standings can be found here.  You can ignore the Euro points list as the top five on the international points list have qualified,  

 As for rookies, an interested observer has some firm opinions:

Regarding the matter to which he doesn’t have any say, he is equally adamant. Casey said Russell Knox should get the first nod to be one of Darren Clarke’s captain’s picks.

“Let’s face it, he would have been qualified had he been a member when he won the HSBC (Champions in China),” said Casey. 

And to suggestions that adding Knox, who has never played in the Ryder Cup, to a European side that already had five rookies earn automatic berths, Casey brushed it aside. 

“I don’t see Russell as a rookie,” Casey said of the 31-year-old Scotsman who has had a breakout season. “He’s been out here long enough and besides, rookies aren’t scared anymore. Rookies aren’t what they used to be.”

Nothing is... But I agree with his two basic points.  Experience is sometimes an asset, but it's dwarfed by ability.

But this triggered five seconds of amusement:

When he took himself out of the Ryder Cup picture by forgoing his European Tour membership, Casey, 39, caught some flak in the press. But he lives permanently in the United States, plays the PGA Tour and said his priority was to spend as much time as possible with wife Pollyanna and their son, Lex. It’s worked out well, Casey said, “but even (without playing the European Tour) it’s still not enough time with them.”

So, when he accuses his wife of being a Pollyanna...Oh, never mind.

Lastly on the Euro Beat, that Danish event seems to have carved out a nice little niche according to Shack:

If you've been watching any of the European Tour's Made in Denmark event Himmerland Golf & Spa Resort, you know the par-3 16th hole is quickly becoming of golf's iconic tournament scenes. It's TPC Scottsdale 16 meets Riviera's 18th green, with a Masters-classy gallery and American college football card stunts. 

The course was redesigned by golf course architect Philip Spogárd and has some great looking bunkers along with a special setting. It's the “Himmerland Hill” that is hard to take your eyes off of, especially when the card stunts are rolled out. 

Last year, the fans displayed 500 cards for Soren Kjeldsen's 500th European Tour start.

This year they took things up a notch with a show of support for Darren Clarke, European Ryder Cup captain.

Here's what it looks like, but Shack has some video of those card stunts that are worth a moment of your time:

It seems to a casual observer that there's far more energy and fun to be found on the Euro Tour.  Now I get that it's at least partially driven by necessity, but still...

The Lady Rocks - You know where I'm going.... Best known for her epic meltdown at Mission Hills, Ariya Jutanagran absorbed her painful lesson with uncommon grace and simply will not stop kicking butt:

Ariya Jutanugarn ran away with the Canadian Pacific Women's Open on Sunday at chilly Priddis Greens for her LPGA Tour-leading fifth victory of the year. 

Nine days after withdrawing from the Rio Olympics because of a left knee injury, the 20-year-old Thai player made a 12-birdie putt on the final hole for a 6-under 66 and a four-stroke victory. 

"I felt like I wanted to have fun and be happy on the course," Jutanugarn said. "No matter what's going to happen, I can handle it. ... I feel really happy with myself right now."

Well, it's not much fun for the other girls.... But she features a unique combination of power and touch, and she's hardly peaked.  Her only challenge seems to be staying healthy...

It Was Twenty Years Ago Today.... Not that silly boy band, but Hello, World!

Twenty years ago, Tiger Woods uttered those famed words announcing his professional

debut at the 1996 Greater Milwaukee Open. 

"I guess, hello, world," Woods, then 20, said to flashing cameras. 

2015-16 has been a time of celebrating a myriad of Tiger-related anniversaries -- Woods' 40th birthday, his claret jug wins at St. Andrews, his third consecutive U.S. Amateur Championship rally against Steve Scott -- but none are so succinctly summed up as Woods' Milwaukee press conference to kick off his illustrious and infamous professional career. 

''If I had shot 88, I'm not sure I would have turned pro," Woods said, indicating how seriously he thought about his decision to wait until after the U.S. Amateur. "That wasn't the case. I finished medalist, which was awfully good, I think."

Feeling old?

I maintain that those six straight match play wins might be the most remarkable achievement of Tiger's career.

Jordan At His Best -  Shack tees up this feel-good video:

Great work by AT&T and others to get Jairam Hathwar to The Barclay's as promised to meet his favorite athlete, and to set up a very enjoyable mini-spelling bee with Jordan Spieth. 

Besides having a very nice putting stroke, Jairam reminds us it was no fluke that led to his epic showdown with Nihar Janga.

Logorrhea is officially our word of the day and, yes, the shoe fits.

Photo Of The Day - Evian is using this photo in their current advertising campaign and on their water bottles:

Still tormenting me with those glasses....

There's  more, but I'll let you get on with your day.  Same time tomorrow?

Midweek Musings

I've opted for a double dosage of ibuprofen to contain my case of FedEx Cup fever.....please consult your physician with your own specific symptoms.

I do want to provide a heads up to my vast readership that the next two days include golf outings, so I'm uncertain as to when we'll see each other again.  I know, but it's hard on me as well...

Playoff Fever - It's Killer "B" time, it's the Barclays, it's Bethpage Black and, yes, it's boring as heck.  But it's Commissioner Ratched's world, and we're just lucky that we're living in it... And there's at least one reason to feign interest, that little event in Minnesota in five weeks:

This may come as a bit of surprise -- especially given his propensity to make putting

look easy -- but Brandt Snedeker has only played on one Ryder Cup USA team. That was in 2012 at Medinah under then Captain Davis Love III, who also happens to be the 2016 Captain for the matches at Hazeltine National. 

On Sunday, with a tie for third in the Wyndham Championship, Snedeker went a long way toward clinching a second Ryder Cup appearance.

With the T3, Snedeker snagged the No. 6 spot in the coveted top 8 -- up three spots from No. 9. It was a crucial week for Snedeker, seeing as Ryder Cup USA points close for the top 8 spots at the conclusion of this Sunday's Barclays at Bethpage Black. 

Snedeker didn't guarantee himself a spot on the team just yet, but he did put himself in a position to control his own destiny with a solid week in the PGA Tour Playoffs for the FedExCup opener.

Au contraire, that doesn't surprise me in the least, as he's not actually all that good a player.   And talk about burying the lede, the writer can't find the time to inform that Sneds was 1-2-0 at that 2012 event.

But if the only interest is attributed to an unrelated event, what does that say about our playoffs?  The author lists the bubble boys, though fails to discuss Patrick Reed, currently No. 8 on the points list, who would be usurped if any of the five have an especially strong week.

Jim McCabe scrapes the bottom of the barrel for storylines heading into said playoffs, and....well, you'll see what I mean:

4. Can he be Smylie again?

He was the rage early on, winning in just his second PGA Tour start, but the latter part of this season has been tough for Smylie Kaufman. 

The 24-year-old has missed the cut in seven of his last 10 tournaments, and there’s been just one top 10 in a full-field event since Vegas in November. 

Good news: His torrid start has enabled him to keep a lofty FEC standing (26th). 

Bad news: He needs to turn things around should he want to make it to the Tour Championship as a rookie, something Daniel Berger did in 2015.

Yeah, I'm on the edge of my seat.... 

Ryder Ruminations - The nonsense continues to metastasize, but perhaps I'm too simple to understand the complexity of their worldview....  (any readers know that reference?  Anyone?.... Bueller?)  OK, we can move on....

Here's today's installment, courtesy of our captain:

Tiger channels his inner Rodin.

Tiger Woods is playing a big role in planning for the Ryder Cup. 

Serving as an assistant captain to Davis Love III, Woods has apparently been spending his time off from competitive golf — which passed the one-year mark last week — trying to come up with the best possible pairings and practice pods (or groups) for the upcoming matches at Hazeltine National in September. 

“Tiger was on the Task Force, he’ll be a future captain, so he’s got to be a part of the decision-making process of this whole new, Ryder Cup committee,” Love said in a diary for PGA.com. 

Love and Woods were among the players named to the PGA of America-created Ryder Cup Task Force, formed after the U.S. was drubbed by the Europeans in the 2014 matches at Gleneagles in Scotland. Love, who was losing captain in 2012, got the job again as part of an effort to create continuity in leadership and set a standard moving forward. Woods, as well other members like Phil Mickelson, Steve Stricker and Jim Furyk, are set to serve as vice-captains now and in future years in preparation for becoming captain.

Egads, we've got the pods!  Phil, I'm going to get you for this damn Ryder Cup task force, and your little dogie too.....

But wait, there's more:

“Tiger is more interested in the strategy side of it — rounding out the team with picks, or making small groups, making pairings,” Love said. “He’s our tactician more than anything. And he’s really been helpful on how to prepare for a major championship. He’s like me. He’s excited about it, he doesn’t sleep much, he puts a lot of thought into it. There’s a reason why he’s arguably one of the greatest players to ever play the game. He knows how to prepare, he knows how to think his way around a golf course, around a golf tournament. He’s committed to being a part of it and he means it.”

Here's a thought.... How about if our guys just, you know, play better?  

On the Euro Beat, where they actually seem to understand that it's the golf, stupid, John Huggan catches up with bubble boy Russel Knox:

Currently fourth on the FedEx Cup rankings, the 31-year-old Scot would have been an

automatic qualifier for the European side had he been a member of the European Tour at the time of his victory in last fall’s HSBC Championship in China. Still, given that he recently added the Travelers Championship to his résumé, the Jacksonville resident (his father is American, his mother Scottish) is currently ranked in the world’s top 20, making it difficult for Clarke to ignore Knox’s claims. 

“I think Darren has made his mind up no matter what I do this week,” said Knox, just prior to his first look at the Bethpage Black course that will host the Barclays. “I don’t think me missing the cut or winning this tournament is going to change anything. Then there are other guys who can do well here or in Denmark. It’ll come down to the last day, I think.”

The young man seems to be handling it well, making the case for himself but in a an inoffensive manner.  The issue, as addressed in Huggan's piece, is that the roster is rookie-heavy.  And w ecan argue deep into the night about the value of experience, but unlike the Yanks their experience is at least in the winning of Ryder Cups.

I'm going to hope that Clarke leaves him off the team, because right now he's better than several players that have already qualified.... and hasn't Lee Westwood reached his sell-by date?

This Explains So Much - Patrick Reed puts his hands of stone on public display, and comedy ensued:

Patrick Reed is one of the best golfers in the world, largely on the strength of a fantastic short game. That soft touch, however, doesn’t appear to carry over to other activities. 

Reed was at the closing bell ceremony at the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday afternoon, representing the PGA Tour ahead of the FedEx Cup Playoffs and looking snazzy and patriotic in a blue blazer with an American flag tie (think this guy wants to make the U.S. Ryder Cup team again?). But a bizarre thing happened when he banged the gavel. It broke. As in, it actually snapped into two pieces from the force of this young star. Thanks to Twitter user @WillHarrelson for catching this instant classic.

There's allegedly video at the link, though I only got the audio.  Apparently the broken gavel flew into the crowd, but Reed failed to yell "Fore".

Olympic Observations - Zach Johnson shared his thoughts on Olympic golf, harshing the mellow of the golf world and inviting public rebuke from his elders.  In response, Shack dug deep for some of his signature small-batch artisanal snark, so it's win-win, baby.  In fact, Geoff was so worked up that he snarked before excerpting, a violation of the blogging code of conduct.

So, what did Zach have to say that had Shack spitting out his coffee?

“Oh, I didn’t watch golf,’’ Johnson said. “I’d rather watch the sports that should be in the Olympics. I’d rather watch the athletes who train for four years for that one week. I’d rather watch swimming and diving, track and field — the athletes that are relevant for one week. All of our [golf] athletes are relevant 24-7, 365. I just don’t see the need for golf to be in the Olympics. Same thing with basketball. It’s relevant all the time. LeBron James, Kevin Durant? They’re relevant all the time.’’

Can't we all just get along....  Here's Geoff's somewhat over-the-top rebuttals:

Why would the veteran Johnson unwisely go down the "matter" path that so scarred McIlroy and caused the lad unnecessary grief? Especially after two sensational weeks where the golfers who went to Rio reported emotions ranging from life-changing to mentioning new perspectives on their sport?

Life-changing?  Back to Shack:

"All of our [golf] athletes are revelant 24-7" eh? 

Speaking of relevance, I'm fairly certain that Zach could have walked through the Olympic Village with his caddie wearing a name-labeled bib, the Claret Jug in hand, all while singing the Star Spangled Banner, and still would have been guessed by most as a masseuse for the USA sailing team.

Geoff was there and I get that he loved the experience, but more than a little excessively personal, no?   Shack then posted this excerpt:

Johnson said he’d rather see amateur golfers play in the Olympics if golf continues to be an Olympic sport. 

“Make it a team format and give amateurs and college players, who don’t have the relevancy [pros do] a chance,” he said. “That would have been more interesting. For those guys who played, any time you can represent your country, it’s a pretty awesome endeavor. But we have so much international golf as it is. And the fact that it put a kink in our schedule this year irritates me. To mess with the four tournaments that matter most [the majors] because you’re at the Olympics, I’ve got a strong, strong disdain for that.’’

To which Geoff responded that Zach's mother swims after troop ships.... well, close:

Those pesky Olympics putting kinks in schedules with their millions and millions of viewers messing with the relevancy of golf's majors. 

Johnson comments speak to a level of ignorance that sadly reinforces the pre-Games view of grossly-out-of-touch and spoiled PGA Tour players. This will also not decrease the view inside golf circles that Johnson was mysteriously and passionately instrumental in talking Jordan Spieth out of going to Rio. 

Perhaps he'll address his views in more depth during his pre-tournament press conference. Wait, those are for relevant golfers only, sorry.

I'm guessing that Geoff will be off  Zach's Christmas card list, but the irony is that each of Johnson's criticisms was made by Geoff prior to the games and after, in that piece we linked yesterday with suggestions for improvement.  I don't know if it's Zach's use of the D-word that set Geoff off, but the irony is they probably agree on more than either party realizes.

I'm going to give you all a break and not rehash all of the valid issues here, though I will remind you that Zach has an unusually strong tie to the John Deere event, as it's where he grew up and he's a past champion.  That event took one for the team, and I suspect that Zach's ire is at least in part a result thereof.

And as long as we're on the Olympics, Forbes has an interview with NBC's David Feherty who cracks wise about the "Z" word:

“There are a couple of things that will really make the difference. Word of mouth is one

and scheduling is the other. The schedule will have changed by the time they get to Tokyo. I don’t think we’ll be playing three majors and this in the space of two months. I imagine it will be spread out a little better. Between that, the FedExCup (playoffs) and the Ryder Cup coming up, it’s a really tough spell, and not physically. These are tremendous athletes and they’re young, but there’s a mental strain to play in these four-day golf tournaments and perform at your best all the time. A lot of the decision — never mind the Zika virus, that was partly an excuse, I think. Hell, I saw one mosquito the whole time I was down there and it was at the bar at the Hilton drinking a Jack Daniels because I don’t think it trusted the water. So I think the next U.S. team will be harder to make because of that.”

That's a good one, David, though why were folks worried about the water?  

And, having nothing to do with anything, Golf Channel replayed the singles matches from the 1991 Ryder Cup, the famed War by the Shore.  Watching Feherty close out Payne Stewart was a bit surreal.... 

It Ain't Over - I'd love to know what triggered this, but Mike Bamberger has filed an interesting take on Phil Mickelson's insider trading case.  The lede:

Phil Mickelson has lived large and played large all his life. It's why millions of us love 

Billy Walters

the guy. What has Phil done except make our lives more interesting by aligning ours with his? All those heartbreaking losses and Phil-the-Thrill wins. The beautiful wife. The crazy-big tips. The feuds with Tim Finchem. The many hours on the autograph line. The glassy-eyed quotes. From the U.S. Open at Winged Foot, after making a mess out of the 72nd hole: "I'm such an idiot." 

If only we could sweep Phil's recent out-of-Billions debacle under the clubhouse rug. You know: his alleged debts to the gambler Billy Walters; the money Phil made (and eventually forfeited) in his too-good-to-be-true stock trading.

Can't be done. You know the phrase "Don't make a federal case out of it"? This is one. Prosecutors have been after Walters for decades (five indictments), and if he goes to trial on this case, the "professional golfer Philip A. Mickelson," as the SEC refers to Lefty in its complaint, will likely be a reluctant witness for the government.

Yes, that inevitable testimony should be very interesting....  as will the Tour's reaction, if they deign to share it with us.  You know how I feel about that last bit...

Mike makes this obvious but important point:

One of the five was John Dowd, a Washington lawyer and the lead investigator for Major League Baseball's investigation into the Pete Rose gambling fiasco of the late 1980s. "When you owe a large sum of money to someone like Billy Walters," Dowd told me, "he owns you."

In all the coverage of this case there seems a total lack of interest in what seems to me the most perplexing aspect, why was this debt unpaid?  Seriously, did Phil not have the money?  Or was he unwilling for some reason to make good?  Or was Walters sucking him in deeper, and to what end?

Mike concludes on quite the optimistic note:

This matter is not over. My view—worth nothing more than a free roll with unmarked dice—is that a full accounting here would only help Phil and golf. The candor he showed that Sunday night at Winged Foot is what makes Phil Phil.

Color me skeptical, but if a full accounting would make Phil or the PGA Tour look good, don't you think we'd have received it by now?

Spanning The Globe... - A couple of items that allow us to talk about great places in golf, as well as to make fun of certain ill-considered choices.  

First, Joel Beall shares his thirteen most famous landmarks in golf.  he ledes with Amen Corner and the Swilican Bridge, so you get the gist.  But....is this a landmark?

Wicker baskets, Merion Golf Club

No doubt they're iconic, but I wouldn't call them a landmark.

This next one is a landmark, it's simply one that's become tedious and regrettable:

The Bear Trap, PGA National Golf Club

In this day and age you can't have a proper golf course without an animal-themed thre-hole stretch.

Let's recount, no R&A Clubhouse, no Postage Stamp, no Turnberry lighthouse, no Devil's A*******e, but we've got the Bear Trap.

Lastly, Travelin' Joe puts together his Dream 18, the best 18 holes that anyone can play..... Well, anyone with a 7-figure net worth.

No need to quibble here, as of course your or my list would be different.  But I link mostly because the photography is so good, such as this one of the iconic 13th hole at Pacific Dunes:

 

And a couple of surprise selections, most notably this one:

If the text is too small to make out, you can click through to the original.  

Dis, Dat And D'Udder

In which we put aside our growing case of FedEx Cup fever and focus on that which matters....

Nine For The 'Tine - The automatic qualifiers are set for the European Ryder Cup team, as per this tweet:

In his header, Shack refers to this team as "Suddenly looking very strong", but that's not my reaction at all.  Perhaps I'm over-interpreting the current form of their top two qualifiers, but there's nothing in that list that overwhelms or intimidates.

Chris Wood would seem to be the type of gift we've seen in prior years, a player that qualifies by virtue of the European points list, but he's actually seventh on the world points list and would have qualified under any system.

As always, the interest now turns to the captain's picks, and here's Shack's take:

On the outside looking in: Russell Knox, Lee Westwood, Soren Kjeldsen, Thomas Pieters, Martin Kaymer, Shane Lowry and Andrew Johnston. 

I would think Knox and Westwood are locks, while the Pieters v. Kaymer decision provides intrigue given Pieters nearly winning last weekend's Czech Masters on the back of finishing fourth in Rio.

Given the rookie-heavy roster, I'd add Victor Dubuisson and Jamie Donaldson to his list of possible picks, both having played well at Gleneagles.  I don't know that I consider either of Geoff's locks to be of the mortal variety, as Knox is deserving but yet another rookie and Westy is a grizzled veteran but not that great at the playing golf thing.

And then there's the tribal pick of Graeme McDowell to consider.... I don't envy Darren having to choose from a somewhat motley crew, though these guys have a way of surprising us, don't they?

If that last automatic qualifier is new to you, he won't be for long as per this item from curmudgeonly James Corrigan:

Matt Fitzpatrick’s reputation as being a boy wonder in a hurry was given further

substance when he became the youngest Englishman to qualify for the Ryder Cup in more than 30 years.

The 21-year-old’s Hazeltine berth was confirmed when he finished fifth and Thomas Pieters failed to win the Czech Masters on Sunday. And in the immediate aftermath Thomas Bjorn, Darren Clarke’s assistant captain, tipped Fitzpatrick to emerge as “one of the greatest Ryder Cup players Europe has ever produced”.

The kid is good, and of course there's more background at that link, but I do think his qualifying at such a tender age says more about the play of his fellow Europeans than it does about his career arc.

And there's this additional reason to hope he won't be on his game:

Just a guess, but your Sunday probably wasn't as good as Matt Fitzpatrick's. The rising star from England shot 69 at the Czech Masters to move up to fifth place and in the process, earned a year's supply of beer by winning the tournament's long drive contest.

Oh yeah, he also qualified for his first Ryder Cup team. 

But seriously, Fitzpatrick is 21. A year's supply of beer at that age -- and not just the cheap stuff, but Pilsner Urquell -- might be the greatest thing in the world.

It's only for a year, so drink up, young man!

The Olympics, It's Love - Shack plays aggregator-in-chief with a long post filled with sloppy wet kisses for Olympic golf, including this from the estimable Jaime Diaz:

With that larger context as the backdrop, everyone who bet against golf succeeding—players, agents, commentators, fans—were wrong. Golf was swept along by the immense power of the Olympics and was watched by millions who might never have seen a golf shot before. Who knows how many future golfers that inspired? More than we have now. 

The players who did play were unanimous in expressing how fulfilling it all was. An effervescent Justin Rose and a serene Inbee Park conveyed deep emotion in victory. 

Those who didn’t win medals still had experiences for a lifetime. The IOC next year will vote to approve golf in the Olympics beyond 2020 in Tokyo, and the game’s best golfers won’t bet against their sport on the world stage again. 

In essence, Olympic golf has become the closest thing to the Ryder Cup: Worth it to play for free. A place—especially if it becomes, as expected, more of a team event—to deepen friendships. Something worth sacrificing for and not to be missed. Amid the distortions that come with professionalism, commercialism and politics, on the field at least, a chance for pure golf amid what aspires to be pure sport.

I agree that golf had a very good couple of weeks in Rio, thanks in good part to the enthusiasm of the players.   That this comes as surprise to folks is its own issue, as the uniformly dull week-in, week-out life on tour doesn't need to be that way.

But Jaime's comparison to the Ryder Cup is a stretch, as will become clear when we have that event for comparison in a few weeks.  But most of the love seems generated more from releief that it didn't bomb and didn't produce a Ryan Lochte, which seems like a bar set awfully low....

Shack had previously posted his suggestions to improve Olympic golf, leading with the consensus candidate:

Introduce A Team Format. Golf wants to “grow” but how about a more modest goal of trying to sustain and entertain? In randomly polling those who were in Rio attending other sports, two words came up most when considering golf's four-day 72-hole format in the context of Olympic competition: team format. Since the IOC does not want to give up more than 60 spots to prevent Olympic Village overpopulation, we are likely needing to keep the format at two-person teams consisting of the current fields. Another word that came up repeatedly: “disciplines” that expose skills other than playing 72 holes for oneself. The consensus for team is there, now we have to find the best format.

Shack is underselling and overproducing, as there's at least two suggestions bake in.  Team play is a horse beaten to death long ago, and we don't need to dwell.  Team match play would be far more exciting, but may be a bridge too far.

But the point I want to make is that the IGF needs to seriously address that field limit, because a 60-player field is simply not a legitimate competition.  Remember, because the spots are allocated by country, a 60-player field can't have more then 30 or so elite players under the best of circumstances.  Unless that can be expanded, it's the Hero World Challenge under new ownership.

As for other "disciplines", bring on a long-drive competition....

As for this suggestion, can you believe we even need to have the discussion?

Do not schedule competing tournaments by tours during Olympic week. Every tour complied on this front in 2016, except the PGA Tour. The John Deere Classic, an event that has grown in prominence, took an unnecessary backseat this year. Two players skipped the Games for the Deere because their careers were on the line, and they didn't regret the decision, but also lamented not being in Rio. The FedExCup “race” was even impacted, as Justin Rose lost ground in this points race because he played in the Olympics.  The LPGA's Commish noted that this was a concern for his tour, and his tour set aside a nice window for Olympic golf. If the PGA Tour wants the world to take a competition they worked hard to successfully produce, next-Commish Jay Monahan has to tell his members, sponsors and TV partners he'll be shutting down his tour one week every four years.

One?  How about both weeks?  Seriously, they're telling us that this is the future of our game.... but The Wyndham?  Sheesh.

And by the way, folks are way over-interpreting those ratings:

US RATINGS FOR GOLF MAJORS v OLYMPICS

Masters final round – 12.4 million

Olympic final round – 8.8 million

US Open final round – 5.4 million

PGA Championship final round – 5.3 million

British Open final round – 4.9 million

I don't know exactly how to interpret those Olympic ratings, but it's obviously apples and orangutans.....You're including the core NBC Olympic audience that at best didn't throw a shoe at the TV when they switched over to golf, to an audience that tunes in FOR golf.  I'd also add that there was pretty brutal weather in much of the country, which might have kept more folks indoors than is typical.

And in hitching our wagon to the Olympics, I'd also suggest you  consider this item to which Geoff helpfully linked.  There's good tongue-in-cheek millennial-bashing, and who doesn't enjoy that?

And now NBC’s past two weeks of prime-time ratings reveal that millennials are also right about the Olympics. Bloomberg reports that among 18- to- 49-year-olds, prime-time broadcast viewership of the Olympic Games declined by roughly 25 percent compared to four years ago. That drop can be attributed, in part, to the higher concentration of millennials in that age bracket. 

“Sports is less ingrained in the younger demographic,” Brandon Ross, an analyst at BTIG Research, told Bloomberg. “It has been replaced by other things like video games and e-sports and Snapchat feeds.”

In other words, millennials’ mastery of technology has made them disproportionately aware that the Olympics are, in truth, boring and lame.

Boring and lame?  Who says golf doesn't belong in the Olympics?  But here's the buried lede:

This is not to suggest that many individuals within older generations haven’t also come to appreciate that the Olympics are a dull spectacle built off the exploited labor of unpaid athletes and impoverished construction workers. Across all demographics, viewership fell by 17 percent. This surprising decline forced NBC to give ad buyers free commercial time to provide them with their contractually guaranteed share of eyeballs.

17%?  And that's with the games in a relatively favorable time zone.  So are the Olympics going to save golf or drag it down with it?  Discuss among yourselves....

Ryder Redux, The Yanks -  Just a quickie here, as the the U.S. team's automatic qualifiers will be known at the end of business Sunday.

The Tour Confidential panel was forced to opine on this conundrum:

3. Rickie Fowler added the Wyndham Championship to his schedule with the hopes of playing well and catching the attention of U.S. Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III. Fowler played respectably in Greensboro but was outplayed by another potential Ryder Cupper in Jim Furyk. Does Fowler deserve one of Love's three captain's picks?

Arguing in the affirmative....

Van Sickle: Outside of Jim Furyk's 58, the guys outside the top eight on points haven't done much. I don't know who deserves the picks, but I'm pretty sure Love will take Fowler anyway. He's got a match-play reputation and a resume. A more interesting question might be, should Bubba Watson be a pick? Glad I'm not captain.

Ummm.....Mr. Kotter, I have a question.  What in Hades is Van Cynical talking about?  Fowler has never won a Ryder Cup match and when drew Rory in singles never saw the fifteenth hole.  here's our GMTA moment of the day:

Godich: What match-play rep? Let's remember that Rickie can still play his way onto the team, but if he doesn't, this becomes a tough call for Love -- and not just because of Rickie's indifferent play of late. Don't forget that his next Ryder Cup victory will be his first. (Please don't confuse the Ryder with the Presidents Cup.) He has been a great ambassador for the game and I'm a big fan, but Rickie has gotten a lot of mileage out of that four-birdie finish to halve his singles match as a rookie in 2010.

Notwithstanding the steps forward in 2014 and '15, Rickie hasn't done much this year.  I suspect he'll be picked, I just think that once again the reputation seems disconnected from the actual results.

Being Tiger Woods - Golf.com has released it's second short film, celebrating the twentieth anniversary of Tiger's third U.S. Amateur in an epic match against unknown Steve Scott.  Well worth your time if you're not familiar with 

Perhaps in this summer of our golf rules discontent, you'll find a measure of solace in Scott's sportsmanship.

I was introduced to Steve by big break Anthony at a blackjack table in Atlantic City a few years back, and he was impressed that I remembered the venue and year.  Either that or he pegged me as a stalker....

Slow Play, The Penalty Stroke - Golf in Utah has it's weirdness, as I discovered last month.  But based on that, this story doesn't really surprise:

Around the ninth hole, Johnson and his wife caught up with part of the group and thought they would be allowed to play through, but again the group refused. 

Johnson then pulled a pocket knife and stabbed one person, Wright said. He was wrestled to the ground by the other golfer from the group. 

According to Wright, one man received a small cut. Wright said the victim was sent to Mountain View hospital with non life-threatening injuries. 

Johnson was taken to the Utah County Jail. 

Authorities say Johnson's wife was not involved with the stabbing and was not arrested.

The key phrase to my ear is "part of the group", as it was explained to me when we saw our first 8-ball that the typically large families will play all together.  

Now I agree that it was rude not to let the couple through, but that of course doesn't justify a stabbing.  Such disputes should be resolved in a civilized manner, say by hitting into them repeatedly until they grasp the message...