Late-Week Lamentations

Just a few items for you today, then I'll let you get on with your day....

The Riv, Torched - Sam Saunders?  Didn't see that one coming....

PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. —Sam Saunders pulled off something his grandfather never accomplished: total mastery of George Thomas’s Riviera design. 

Sure, his late grandfather, Arnold Palmer, won three Los Angeles Opens and even contended in this tournament as late as 1983 at the age of 53. But those wins and great days came at nearby Rancho Park. Palmer’s best round at Riviera? A 68, twice. 

“I know he loved it out here,” Saunders said after a bogey-free 64 has him atop the Genesis Open leaderboard. “We didn’t talk necessarily specifically about this course. He just always talked about how much he loved coming out here and playing. I think his celebrity matched pretty well with the celebrity atmosphere that you have here, so he was obviously very comfortable with that.” 

Saunders did not overpower Riviera, instead using driving accuracy (12 of 14 fairways), scrambling (6 for 6 on greens missed) and just 25 putts to post seven birdies.

He didn't overpower it because....well, he can't.  Was that unkind?  Hey, it's not like he's the only one that can't overpower it... He's a nice young man and who doesn't like this tweet from the event organizers?

The course was there for the taking, there was just that ninety minutes where you couldn't, you know, see it:

That's what we call a marine layer.... please don't use the "F-word".

Yesterday's hero shot 79.... Don't misunderstand, he's still a hero today, but he's just not in the same league as these guys... He handled it like he handles everything, with grace and humor.  

But the big story is....the weather.  Everybody talks about but nobody does anything about it....  Alex Myers with the "freak-out":

OK, I don't think they're actually going to get snow.  They usually save that for Tuscon....

There was more fun to be had, including Sergio taking out a spectator and an ill-timed bee sting.  Shack's got your links here.

Tiger Q&A - Joel Beall surprises with this lively back-and-forth on the Tiger hot mess.  Some high points:

OK, in your estimate, how will Tiger's 2017 play out? 

A tenet of gambling is to bet with your head over your heart. And, Mr. IRS agent, if wagering were legal, I theoretically may have placed a few jellybeans on Tiger not playing in the Masters earlier this year. That conviction has only grown the past two weeks. 

If Augusta is a no-go, perhaps we see Woods in May, with a tournament or two under his belt before the Memorial (a tournament Tiger's won five times) and U.S. Open. If he doesn't suit up by Erin Hills, consider the season a wash.

 I guess that's what they mean by smart money....

Should I abandon all hope? 

Let's assume Woods and his agent are telling the truth, that these issues are merely spasms. While we don't know the exact severity, judging by other athletes with the condition, spasms are not career-enders. And for all the conjecture about Tiger's competitive fire, you don't douse such a flame that burned so bright. In short, don't totally discard those well wishes.

That's one big honkin' assumption, cowboy.  As you might have heard, when you assume, you make a you-know-what of you-know-whom....

And while we're on Tiger, didn't this cause a spot of bother a few years ago?

Agent: Tiger Woods advised to "stay horizontal" in recovery process

Just askin'.... 

The Big (Not So) Easy -  As you might have heard, Ernie teed it up recently with POTUS and Japan's Prime Minister Abe....  I know, this will follow quite the predictable arc:

Speaking to Brian Costa of The Wall Street Journal ahead of this week's Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club, Els said he caught flak from some of his pals who didn't support

the president. 

"A lot of my own friends were not for him," Els said. "They kind of needled me a little bit, saying I was a suck-up. I just said, 'Go eff yourself. I played with the president and you haven't.' You can't please everybody." 

Els, who said the discussion never got political, told the Journal that he accepted the invite out of respect and that it was "almost surreal." Els, a member at the club, was asked the night before to join the high-profile foursome by David Trout, the club's director of golf, who was the fourth member of the group.

I'm so old that I remember when it was important to show respect for the office....  But I've also heard talk that many of the New England Patriots are going to skip the inevitable White House trip to engage in a bit of virtue signalling.  Can we just do away with this tradition, as it's not actually a requirement that every aspect of our life be politicized....

So Much For Those Long Careers... -  Geoff has a post that I can't do much with on longevity in golf careers.  I can't do much because he violated Rule No. 1 of blogging by not linking, though admittedly the original Wall Street Journal item would be behind the dreaded paywall.

Here's his excerpt:

Of course, no one wants to end up exactly like Woods, no matter how many tournaments they win along the way. His present is painful and his future appears increasingly bleak. And there are plenty of ways today’s stars can avoid the same fate. 

Day said he is making a slight swing change this year that will make it easier on his back even if it is likely to cost him a few yards off the tee. Players are becoming ever smarter about the way they approach fitness. And if more of them break down at earlier ages, their peers can draw lessons from that. 

“If these guys only have 10-year careers, that will be more learning for golf,” said 2006 U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy. But if they have 20-year careers, that might well be enough for some of them. 

Thomas Pieters, a 25-year-old Belgian who is one of golf’s rising stars, said for as much as he wants to win major championships now, he wants to do something else by the time he is in his mid-40s. He has thought about joining some of his friends in the real estate business one day. 

“There is more to life than golf,” he said.

Interesting subject, but where does one begin?  They only hint at the issue on everyone's mind, the relationship between bulking up and injuries..... 

As for Mr. Pieters, I'll need a moment to pick myself up off the floor...  There's about two billion real estate types  that dream of being a professional golfer, and exactly one professional golfer that wants to do something more interesting like real estate.... I know, greener grass and all.

Click Bait - I'm just one guy, and with snow on the ground this is more than I can resist:

Travel experts offer best tips for planning your overseas golf trip

I don't want or need their help, but by overseas they of course mean this:

It's never too early to start thinking about linksy perfection..... So now, about that advice:

For starters, make sure every member of your travel party has the same 

expectations“(Our) No. 1 rule is, choose your traveling companions with more care than you choose your life mate,” Baker said.

More care?  I chose my travelling companion with the exact same level of care, though I did make sure we took one trip to Scotland before offering that long-term contract, just to be safe...

But I do need to get cracking on planning a journey, now that we've gotten Employee No. 2's hip remediated....

The Fix Is In - It will be "yes" in a landslide, though as certain lunch tables the grumbling will continue:

GULLANE, Scotland (AP) -- Muirfield will discover next month whether its members 

More linksy goodness...

have voted to end the Scottish club's male-only policy, which could pave the way for its return to the British Open rotation. 

The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, which owns Muirfield, voted last May against admitting female members following a ballot of its members, a move that provoked sharp criticism from players and lawmakers. 

Muirfield was immediately stripped of its right to host the British Open.

A second vote was announced, and the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers said on Thursday the result is expected to be announced in mid-March. 

"Voting in favor of the resolution to admit women as members is recommended, unanimously, by the captain, captain nominate, and the club committee of the Honourable Company," a statement from the company said.

It'll be more interesting what happens after the vote.  The last word I got from our source deep within the Honourable Company is that the ladies would go to the back of the waiting list, and that just seems like it's asking to be brought to heel one more time.  And with a certain Tokyo club certain to be in the news in the near future, I don't see this ending well...