'Dis & 'Dat

Hey kids, let's see what we have for you today....

Dateline: Bedminster, NJ - It all started with a Brittany Lincicome tweet asking him to focus on his day job, but no such luck:

BEDMINSTER, N.J. – American Angela Stanford will compete in her 18th U.S. Women’s Open this week at Trump National Golf Club. In her mind though, she feels

like a rookie. 

That’s because with President Donald Trump involved, this could be a major unlike any other. 

“I think there are going to be a lot more eyes on us,” said Stanford, “and I think that’s good.” 

President Trump is expected to make an appearance at the U.S. Women’s Open over the weekend, according to several sources. In fact, there’s talk he might even be involved in the trophy presentation on Sunday. 

Players have been told to expect protestors. The designated protest zone is 3 miles away at a local library.

Fair enough, it could for sure be a distraction that takes away from the golf.  On the other hand, this passive construction comes staright from the Times or WaPo style guide:

Many have asked why LPGA players don’t boycott this event.

Yeah?  Name two.  Not only is that question not being asked, it of course being the most important event in the women's game, but the ladies actually like The Donald because he's been very supportive of their tour.  I'm sure the reporter included that fact, it no doubt was left on the cutting room floor.

 This Tom Canavan piece seems far fairer, including some of that history:

Trump has been one of the biggest boosters of women's golf. He hosted the LPGA's

season-ending ADT Championship at his Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, in the early 2000s, and some players stayed at his Mar-a-Lago mansion.

Players have avoided talking about his controversial comments. 

Defending champion Brittany Lang called the Women's Open her favorite tournament and said she would never miss it. 

Veteran Cristie Kerr, who won the U.S. Open in 2007 and is a member of Trump National, says she tries to stay away from politics and focus on the good in people.

When the AP is the adult in the room....

This from Christine Brennan at USA Today doesn't reflect well on the USGA:

Davis informed the USGA executive committee about Trump’s threat on a conference call about two years ago, just as Trump was beginning his successful campaign for president, according to the person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the USGA has not publicly discussed the matter.

Davis, who told the group he and other USGA officials had met with Trump, told the executive committee, “We can’t get out of this. He’s going to sue us,” according to the person.

In a related item, the sky is falling....  Look, I don't know what the contract actually says, but did they even want to move it?   

Davis added later in a statement to USA TODAY Sports: “As a matter of policy, the terms of our contracts with championship host sites are confidential and accordingly the USGA will not comment. We are excited that our U.S. Women’s Open Championship week has begun and are focused on providing the ultimate test of golf for the best female players in the world.”

Gee Mike, why the qualifier?  Doesn't that bit seem like it was ages ago?

It's all so predictably tedious, as everyone plays their assigned part.  The silver lining is that at least Lizette Salas will gets some air time.... assuming, of course, that she's in the field (which I'm too lazy the check).

Dateline: Troon, Ayrshire, Scotland - The Scottish Open heads to the Dundonald Links this week, one of the few places I've not yet played.  I know, you give me one job and I fail miserably at it....

Via Shack, here's a flyover of all 18 holes:

From the air it looks tasty, but it's reputation is of a needlessly difficult track.  Carnoustie without the history and Barry Burn....

Dateline: Pinehurst, NC - Dis someone say tasty?  Take a gander at this preview of the third hole at the new short course at Pinehurst:

 Talk about coals to Newcastle, more golf at Pinehurst.  Though a short course is perfect for those not wanting or able to go 36....

Dateline: Southport, England - Promoting the Open Championship's return to Birkdale, Shack scored an interview with Johnny Miller.  First, let's get the breaking of the news out of the way:

Q: Contractually, this was supposed to be your last Open unless you extended with

NBC. Is there any news on that front? 

A: “I was ready to retire at the end of the year, to be real honest with you. And I’m not sure exactly why, but NBC basically said we need you to do some tournaments next year. So they’re not settled on who might be the next guy in line to take my position. 

“So I haven’t decided 100 percent how many events, but I’m definitely going to do The Open next year, and we’ll see how many. It’s going to be doing less than I’m doing this year, so I haven’t totally decided if it’s going to be eight or nine events, or somewhere in that range. And they’ll probably try to segue and give guys a chance just to see what they can do. Then, unless they’re begging, next year, that’ll be probably it.”

So, who is that next guy in line?  Maltbie is too old,  so it almost has to be Feherty, no?  Though David has always characterized himself as an outdoor animal....

 But more interesting was his reflections on his Open win at Birkdale:

Q: What do you recall most about playing the last two rounds with a then-unknown 19-year-old Seve Ballesteros in 1976? He had a pretty rough Sunday, no? 

A: “Nobody really knew who he was I guess, maybe in Spain or maybe a few little European events, but surely nobody in the U.S. did. I was sort of curious watching him. He had this great big ‘ol swing and played super aggressively. I was hitting 1-iron off the tee most every hole, and he was playing with his driver. He played pretty good on Saturday, but Sunday he was just all over the place. I guess the thought of a 19-year-old winning the Open Championship was probably, at that point, too much for him because he just started hitting it all over those giant sand dunes.”

This is pretty funny as well:

Q: You shot 66 that last round. 

A: “It was actually a course record at the time. And in both of my majors, if you were going to win them, that was a pretty good way to win them. Of course, Seve opened the door for me. It was pretty much a runaway. Once I holed it from about 40 yards for eagle on 15, the par 5, I had about, a five- or six-shot lead. And Seve always told everybody afterwards, ‘All of a sudden, Johnny got real friendly.’ He didn’t talk to me at all for two days, and then all of a sudden he’s rambling in Spanish at me.”

We're all the same.....

Dateline: The Interwebs -  Remember our old friend Grayson Murray?  Here's a refresher:

With apologies to Steve Elkington, Murray has become golf’s most irreverent tweeter, tapping out controversial 140-character riffs on his peers, a Playboy model, the world-

ranking system, the physical appearance of a high school student, a mid-round split with his caddie, internet trolls, police shootings … the hits keep coming. 

In a sport celebrated for its decorum, Murray, 23, has emerged as a polarizing antihero: He is either crude or complex, selfish or generous, ill-informed or misunderstood. Sure, those closest to him wish he’d just put down the damn phone. But the fact that a newbie with one career top-10 has gained more than 12,000 followers and some level of social-media fame (infamy?) suggests there’s an audience for his incendiary commentary on a Tour that often takes itself too seriously.

There's an audience for train wrecks as well....

Ryan Lavner goes deep with the young man, and most of it is a bit hard to take.  Four colleges in three years and the like, making Patrick Reed look like homecoming king.  There's no question that he was a prodigious young talent, and there's this great photo from the Waybac Machine:

Whatever became of that kid on the right?

Lavner touches on issues of anxiety and depression, and it's not hard to see why.  It may just be that if you suffer from such conditions, that the lonely, pressure-filled life of competitive golf isn't a good fit.

I assume he's a better kid than his Twitter account would lead one to believe, but this was the key takeaway for me:

Maybe so, but Murray’s various blunders epitomize his complicated journey to the big leagues. Each step has been marked by conflict.

Perhaps he needs to stop taking steps?

Dateline: Undisclosed -  It's just a recreational round with some friends, but still:

There are only a handful of guys that have ever done both in the same round, one of whom is legendary B-Ball coach John Wooden.  But back-to-back?

There's video of his celebration at the link....  Amusingly, was was carrying his own bag.

Dateline: Traverse City, MI - Do you trust me with 27 minutes of your life?  Then just click here and read this long profile of Tom Doak, the enfant terrible of the golf world.  No excerpt can do it justice, but it's a fascinating description of Doak's journey beginning, as so many have, as an intern for Pete Dye.  What's great, though, is that through his own travels and studies he developed a design philosophy diametrically opposed to Dye, and was able to write in support of such beliefs.

Now his writing is quite to the point, and that didn't sir well in the staid golf world.  Here's one little bit to give just a taste:

In 1988, the year before High Pointe opened, Doak gave the completed booklet to just forty friends, calling it The Confidential Guide to Golf Courses. It was never meant for public consumption; as Doak wrote, he “reviewed every course on its own merits, gave no free passes, and shredded the myth that hiring a big-name designer guarantees a quality product.” By his own recollection, “the most biting quote was, ‘I don’t know if [architect x] is the worst architect who ever lived, but [course by x] would be Exhibit A if you were trying to prove it.’ But I honestly don’t remember which course I wrote that about. It was just intended as a funny way of saying, ‘Don’t go here.’ ”

Why are you still here?  Go read the damn thing already....

Note to Readers - Way too much going on this week.  You'll likely hear from me tomorrow, but Thursday and Friday mornings are committed.