Midweek Musings

Yanno, I was pretty sure that the dull throbbing headache was an after effect of the root canal....  But perhaps not.

FedEx Redux - Be still my foolish heart, the FedEx Cup lives:

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — FedEx will continue delivering major sponsorship dollars to the PGA Tour. 

The shipping giant and the Tour, who have been partners for more than 30 years,

extended their alliance through 2027, the two announced Tuesday morning. The FedEx commitment includes the FedExCup, the post-season, four-tournament financial boons for the Tour and its players that rewards the playoff victor $10 million of the $35 million in bonus money. Tiger Woods, the only player to win the FedEx Cup twice, won the inaugural playoff extravaganza in 2007. 

Financial terms of the deal, which was set to expire at the end of this year, were not revealed, but PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said “as we go forward, we expect the Cup and the payout to increase significantly.” 

“For now we're just announcing the extension through 2027,” said Monahan, who took over his post Jan. 1. “As we went through this process, we've identified a number of ways for us to continue to enhance the magnitude and consequence of the FedExCup, and that's complicated. There's still some other moving parts that we need to get to before we'll be able to announce any additional changes. ... 

“I’m really comfortable with where the Cup is and excited about the flexibility that this gives us on a long‑term basis.”

Well, as long as he's comfortable... There's some world-class double-speak to be had, including this fine example of the genre:

“Right now the schedule that we play is the schedule we're going with and will be going with for the foreseeable future,” Monahan said. “Whether or not we make any changes, we haven't made any firm decisions, but that is what I'm referring to when I talk about flexibility. ... 

“ I'm not saying we're making scheduling changes. I am saying that we've got a commitment through this agreement to significantly raise the consequence of the Cup.”

But wait, there's more gobbledygook:

“There is some exciting potential when you look at the schedule and other things, but I don't know what the best answer will be yet, and that's why we are so fortunate that we have a close collaborative working relationship with the Tour,” Fitzgerald said. “They have a very clear view of some potential things that could change and how that would affect things. So I'm confident that if the schedule changes, it will be in the best interest of golf and of the FedExCup. ... 

“Because we measure so closely and carefully all of our sponsorship investments, (the extension) is a significant endorsement for the effectiveness of the PGA Tour.”

Investment is used herein roughly as the term is used in political discourse....  FedEx shareholders are hereby put on notice.  Shack has some fun with the announcement, including this no-doubt-by-now trending hashtag:

#pgachampionshipmoving

Here are his takeaways from the announcement:

1. The PGA Championship is moving to May.

Yeah, I think you mentioned that one already.... He's probably right, but wouldn't you have thought that would be locked down before FedEx would sign?  I think the PGA would be foolish to do so, but that might mean only that a significant amount of money will change hands.

3. The PGA Tour calendar will be contracting by a few events, including, most likely, one playoff event to get the entire thing finished by Labor Day. Sorry Boston, even if you put on a great event every year.

4. The Florida Swing will still be a giant mess thanks to Tim Finchem wanting to get away from Doral's owner and insisting Cadillac pay WGC prices and...

5. No-cut, limited field WGC events will remain while some regular stops seem almost certain to go.

Obviously there's weaklings on the PGA's calendar, but those typically are in weak weeks, if you follow me.  For instance, last week's Wells Fargo isn't yet a weakling, but it's been weakened by moving The Players to the week following.  Slot the PGA into that week, well, you can do the math...

Boston is by far the best of the three weeks, so it of course has to go.  You wouldn't give up NYC, and the BMW has the historical tied to the Western Open...  Yeah, I'm pulling your leg.  But you could have both events leading to East Lake in the Northeast, so thanks for playing, Boston.

But this I assume is just wishful thinking:

9. If it took this long to get the deal done, hopefully FedEx asked for concessions such as a more interesting, sensible format that is a true PLAY-OFF.

Heaven forfend the thought that we'd end up with an unworthy FedEx champion, say a golfer with the limited resume of a Billy Horschel.  I know, could never happen...

I've assume that it's the negotiations with the PGA of America that have prolonged the negotiations.  Either that's the next shoe to drop, or the contract somehow incorporates that uncertainty.  Stay tuned...

The Sawgrass Shuffle - It is amusing that the FedEx Cup announcement comes during Players week, almost as if the Tour considerately avoided stepping on another sponsor's event....  Nah, probably just a coincidence.

I'm having trouble finding any insightful coverage of the important change, the new driveable Par-4 12th.  I'd guess something will pop up in the next day or so.  I thought the old 12th was a perfectly fine, though not memorable, shortish Par-4.  The second shot played uphill, about the only elevation change on the entire property.  It was clever of Pete to so use that unusual land form... What?  Of course, I was joking.....

The TC panel did get this question on the subject:

5. TPC Sawgrass, site of this week's Players Championship, has undergone more changes. Most notably, the par-4 12th is now drivable. Course architect Pete Dye says he's not a big fan of drivable par-4s, contending they are nothing more than longer par-3s. Where do you stand? And what's the best short par-4 on Tour?

I hate to answer a question with a question, but why should it matter what the par is?  

Bacon: Sawgrass is tough enough, so any scoring opportunity and excitement early on the second nine is a good move to me. 

Bamberger: If Pete Dye were trying to break 90 like the rest of us, he'd welcome the drivable par-4. If he were putting on a TV show as NBC will be doing next week at the Players, he'd welcome the drivable par-4. They are one of the coolest things in golf. Merion had one at the U.S. Open on Sunday, the 3rd hole. The only problem was that they called it a par-3. 

Shipnuck: Yeah, Pete is apparently getting a little crotchety—everyone loves drivable par-4s and they make for great TV. Riv's 10th is great, even though the green has gotten too extreme. I'll go with the 17th at TPC Scottsdale. The fact that it comes so late in the round makes it the ultimate risk-reward hole.

Getting crotchety?  Actually Pete's one of the great sweethearts of the golf world, but he's wrong on this one.  There are so few opportunities to give these players choices of strategy, that we have to create them where we can.

From what I've heard, I'm not sure they've achieve this objective on No. 12.  The man that totes Kooch's staff bag seems to agree:

Wood: Having seen it just today as I walked the course—I really like the look of it. Standing on the tee, the most attractive option visually is to hit driver or whatever club gets you up around the green. The layup doesn’t appear to be an easy shot, with a sloping fairway and a target that just doesn’t look that big. I’m a big fan of drivable par-4s—they're usually the holes that can really frustrate both caddies and players. These guys are so good and so long, it's my opinion that the best way to defend a course is with options. "Am I making the right play here?"

The other factor is that the water to the left of the green does not extend back from the green very far.  Any player finding the hazard will drop quite close to the hole, from which they'll have a good chance to get up-and-in for par.  

Wood goes on to answer to last question in a predictable fashion, but adding a wonderfully funny story from that hole.  Given the depressing opening item today, I figure you guys deserve laugh:

PLUS, 10 at Riviera is the site of perhaps the greatest caddie-player exchange in the history of the Tour. This is the gist of it. Geoff Ogilvy and his caddie, Alistair Matheson, or Squirrel, as everyone calls him, were playing the 10th at Riviera on Saturday, their third round of the L.A. Open. In the first round, after consulting with Squirrel, Geoff hits a 3-iron off the tee, wedges it close, and makes a birdie. In the second round, Squirrel again suggests laying up. Geoff agrees, lays up, wedges close and again makes birdie. Day 3, Geoff consults with Squirrel before hitting his tee shot, and based on the day’s pin location, Squirrel answers Geoff with, "I actually quite fancy driver today." Geoff took the advice, hit driver, and while I'm not exactly sure HOW it occurred, I know a double bogey was the result. Geoff and Squirrel were walking off the green, and Geoff was letting it be known he was displeased with their decision. Let's just say it was an animated conversation. All of a sudden, their exchange is broken up by a phone ringing—from inside the bag. It was Squirrel's. Geoff is gobsmacked, and Squirrel (you have to know him to understand completely) calmly puts the bag down, unzips a pocket of the bag and ANSWERS the phone. "Hello? No. No, I can't talk now I'm working. OK? OK, bye." Geoff, in awe, says "Squirrel, who was that?!" Squirrel, with a slight smirk on his face, says: "That was my mum. She wanted to know why we hit driver on 10 today."

Love it.  Absolutely love it....

That Shipnuck fellow got a couple of related questions in his weekly mailbag:

Is The Players a major? I mean I know it's not, but you? -Wyatt (@wjzangl) 

I must be getting old—I remember when Quail Hollow was the fifth major. Although a few players considered Doral the real fifth major. Whatevah, if you can wade through the endless hype, the Players is a pretty good little tourney. And that's enough.

Does your West Coast/TPC/modern tracks bias make an exception for Sawgrass? That should be anti-TPC, etc. I don't have to tell you what you hate, I suppose. -Will (@willbardwell) 

It's true, I have often pointed out how flat Florida courses bore me, and expressed disdain for the artifice of much late-20th century architecture, and I do find it irksome how the majors, WGCs, Ryder/Presidents Cups and other overhyped events rarely visit the Best Coast. But I will admit a grudging appreciation for the Stadium Course. It's so over-the-top it somehow works. If I had to play Sawgrass every day I'd certainly quit the game but as a high-stress tournament venue it's pretty fun once a year.

I agree with both answers....  The over-hyped event was the Tour's first attempt to solve their ongoing problem, to wit, that they don't control any of the 4.5 events per year about which golf fans actually care.  They've been fairly successful in that to this observer, the shame is that it didn't slake their appetite...

I'll also add that I liked the course much more than I expected to...  It's much more playable than it seems, with extremely wide playing corridors.  Pete's a master of the angles, and some of the lesser-known holes provide challenges because of that, such as the second shot on No. 2.  You'd never want to play there every day, but that wasn't the objective...  

The one mistake they've made is in making the place too green.  Shack has been all over this over the years, referring to the original "Pirates of the Caribbean" look of the place....  Adding, correction, restoring, that dune scrub surrounding the playing corridors would be consistent with the original vegetation and make it visually so much more appealing.  Trump would hate it, but win-win, baby!

Rory Stuff - By now you've heard that Rory has joined Taylor Made for $10 million large per year.  Color me skeptical about the value of such deals when the player is swooshed from head to toe, but this is the bit I found most curious:

McIlroy, fresh off his wedding to Erica Stoll and their honeymoon, said the TaylorMade ball was the most important factor in his decision to sign the undisclosed deal. 

“I wasn’t really happy with the golf ball I was playing, and I needed to do something,” McIlroy said during his press conference Tuesday at the Players Championship. “I felt like I struggled in the wind. So I sort of went back to the drawing board and tested for about 10 days pretty extensively after Augusta. (I) worked with a lot of different things, but I worked with the TaylorMade guys one day and started just on TrackMan (launch monitor) on the range and saw stuff with the golf ball, that new TP5x ball that they have. I thought, ‘Wow, this is what I need.’ This is exactly the thing that I’ve been struggling with, and this is, I feel, what I need.”

That golf ball was the Titleist Pro-V1, which Jim Nantz had assured me was perfect for any player.  

There's a lot of interesting technical detail to be found, as Rory was unhappy with how he was playing in the wind.  Welcome to the club, Rors, because I've also been unhappy with how you played in the wind.

Gotta run... Same time tomorrow?