Weekend Wrap

Things are a little more hectic than I expected, but we'll do a proper wrap of the weekend.....

Rahmbo Reigns - While most of his peers were off in the Middle East, Spaniard Jon Rahm added a notch to his belt:

Jon Rahm beat Andrew Landry with a 12-foot birdie putt on the fourth hole of a playoff Sunday in the CareerBuilder Challenge. 

In fading light on the Stadium Course at PGA West, Rahm finished off Landry for his second PGA Tour title and fourth worldwide victory in a year. The 23-year-old Spaniard will jump from third to second in the world ranking behind Dustin Johnson. 

"It's hard to believe, to be honest, passing Jordan Spieth, three-time major champion," Rahm said. "I only have two wins and he's got 10-plus, right? I never thought I was going to be at this point in my life right now."

OK, as I understand it, he would have passed Spieth in the OWGR had he lost the playoffs as well.... Not to take anything away from the young man, but that's just nuts.  With his great play he should now be in the mid-teens....

More importantly, did you watch any of it?  I flipped a few times during commercials, but it had zero energy, and I'm not the only one that noticed.  Shack goes delightfully medieval on the Tour:

With the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC Championship game, even PGA Tour VP'swho've jumped on the Jags bandwagon could not possibly have been watching the 

Not Kidding: It's the Goo Goo Dolls...

CareerBuilder Challenge final round. Not even with a young star and now World No. 2 in Jon Rahm atop the leaderboard. 

And yet here we were again, with PGA Tour golf on the west coast, in front of light crowds, somehow trying to go up against America's beloved playoff football.

In a world when we know the time NFL playoff game dates and times for months, and we know that their audiences will be massive, golf still thinks it can put up a fight. We're that dumb Chihuahua barking at a head-tilting Rottweiler, only we're not nearly as loud, entertaining or effective. 

No sports fan in their right mind watched the Careerbuilder Challenge live when Tom Bradyand the Patriots were taking on the entertaining upstart Jaguars. That is not the fault of any player involved. This is a scheduling snafu repeated for the umpteenth year-in-a-row. 

So to recap: the PGA Tour returned from Hawaii and had the boys tee up Thursday in La Quinta instead of waiting a day, starting on Friday and finishing on Monday in east coast prime time. Remember, the CareerBuilder is a Golf Channel hosted event, meaning there is programming flexibility. 

Also recall that the CareerBuilder is played in a retirement community, with a pro-am format that would actually welcome taking up both weekend days for the pro-am players instead of another weekday. 

Last point before I stop beating this too hard: the next PGA Tour stop is in San Diego, less than three hours by car and an easy turnaround for players who make the cut. Yes, they'd only have two days to regroup for the Farmers Insurance Open but bruised linebackers, these are not. They are pro golfers whose sponsors deserve to have their sponsorship positioned in the best way possible. That is currently not the case with the CareerBuilder Challenge. 

Unless...the Goo Goo Dolls are playing the 18th hole...

He's right on pretty much everything, though I'm not sure it matters....  I consider it good scheduling, hiding one of their weakest links against the toughest Sunday of the NFL.  And Torrey thereby gets the week with no pigskins in play....

You want a measure of how bad it was?   The Tour Confidential panel couldn't be bothered..... 

The Euro Beat -  Interesting week in the desert for sure:

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Tommy Fleetwood successfully defended his Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship title on Sunday after a sensational back nine to

clinch the win. 

The 27-year-old Englishman, who celebrated his birthday on Friday, started the final round two shots behind overnight leaders Ross Fisher and Thomas Pieters, and an indifferent front nine saw him make the turn five shots behind Fisher as gusty winds hit the National course of Abu Dhabi Golf Club 

But Fleetwood birdied the 10th, 12th, 13th, 15th, 16th and 18th holes for a seven-under par 65 round to finish on 22-under 267.

And this was perhaps the more important bit:

McIlroy finished inside the top-five once again — his eighth top-five in nine Abu Dhabi starts — but he was happy with the result this time. 

"It just felt great to get another tournament under my belt. It's a great start to the year. I have no complaints. My body held up really well. My game was probably better than I expected it to be. So I'm really happy with the week," said McIlroy who started well with two birdies in his first four holes, but could not get going on the back nine.

Perhaps.  And I'll just note that Sergio also won in Singapore, though against a very weak field.  That TC panel did have time for a query on Rors:

Wood: No, I think it's a great sign. After taking a good amount of time off, especially after a year he wasn't pleased with, there had to be a few questions he wanted to answer for himself, not for media or the public. Will the changes I made feel comfortable when I'm playing for real? Did the rest do me good mentally and emotionally? Did this short-term plan accomplish what I wanted it to accomplish heading into 2018? I'd say the answer is yes to all these questions. 

Shipnuck: Big picture, it's definitely progress. But I couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed — Rory has been teasing us for years, and it would have been a macho statement to kick off the year with a win. Yet on Sunday he played his most indifferent round of the week and got blown off the course by Tommy Fleetwood.

I feel strongly both ways....  It's a necessary step, but hardly sufficient....

The Euros had quite the week...  Not just the wins, but guys like Rory and Pieters showing some form.  Though they may be getting a tad cocky, as per this from Geoff's Instagram aggregation:

As long as that guy on the far left isn't on their team, we should be OK....

Torrey, Torrey, Torrey -  I'm flying back to Utah on Thursday.  I know, what was I thinking?

I'm sure you guessed as to what bumped the Hope from the TC panel:

1. Here we go again. Tiger Woods returns at this week's Farmers Insurance Open, which is also the site of his most recent PGA Tour start, when he missed the cut

there a year ago. How important is Tiger's performance at Torrey Pines (he's also playing in three weeks at the Genesis Open) in the grand scheme of this comeback?

John Wood, caddie for Matt Kuchar: It's important, but I have to believe he's viewing it as a stepping stone rather than a final destination. Would he like to play well, feel healthy, get in the hunt? Absolutely. But if he doesn't, I think he'll have a good idea where he is on Monday. To my eye he looked fantastic in the Bahamas. Healthy and swinging athletically, happy and confident. The interesting thing to me will be the early morning start times. Heat and humidity tend to be a great way to play with any injury that needs testing. Those La Jolla mornings can be quite cool and foggy, and it takes some time to get the gears moving and stay moving like you'd like them to. I'm quite sure Tiger has planned for this, though. He's worked too hard to get back to this point to leave any stone unturned.

Alan Shipnuck: It's important. At this point, every start is, because Tiger needs to build confidence and momentum after years of accumulating scar tissue. And unlike the cupcake course he played in the Bahamas, Torrey is big and brawny and will require Tiger to play big-boy golf. I'm quite curious to see how he does.

Progress.... Make the cut and no short-game yips.... You'll have guessed the next question:

2. Prediction time! Where will Tiger finish, and will we look back at his play at the Farmers and feel better, worse or the same regarding his prospects compared to how we felt after his performance at the Hero World Challenge in December?

Wood: Top 20, challenging for a top 10, with a couple of spurts on Saturday where he gets onto the leaderboard and people start to go, "Hmmmmmm, this is interesting!" 

Shipnuck: I think he'll make the cut and that alone constitutes progress. 

Bamberger: I'm with Alan. If he plays four rounds, that's good. 

Sens: I think he'll be right along the cut line. If I had to wager, I'd say he falls short. But afterwards, I suspect there will have been enough good shots for the Tiger optimists to see promise, and a enough squirrelly ones to give the skeptics cause for further doubt. Paul Simon had it right: a man sees what he wants to see and disregards the rest.

As I've noted often, I'll be interested in how he handles the early tee-time on Thursday of Friday.  The obvious thing to note is that slow progress will be easier to manage than if he shoots up the leader board early in the week.  I also won't be surprised if, like Rory, Sunday is a step back....  It's a long week if you haven't been out there...

Sean Zak, in taking the under, is guessing that it won't be such a long week:

Zak: I predict Tiger will miss the cut, and we will thereby feel a little worse about his comeback. Sure, pessimism is no fun and yes, he's an underdog here, but the course difficulty should recalibrate us all a bit.

If it does, then I'm looking forward to their crystal ball for Riviera, a place where Peak Tiger had no success.

Here's one more quasi-interesting note about the BIg Cat:

Tiger Woods has been a creature of habit for most of his career, but The Forecaddie hears that the 14-time major winner has made one change to his routine inspired by another legend who has battled a balky back.

The Man Out Front hears Woods told folks at the Floridian that he got the idea after chatting with Fred Couples, who is known for his driver-first warmup before rounds. Couples has been plagued with back issues for 25 years.

“Think about it. Short irons into the turf are the worst thing for Freddie,“ says a fellow PGA Tour Champions player and friend of the ’92 Masters winner. “I’ve seen Freddie with six balls teed up in a row and he hits them with driver. He has his caddie tee them up.”

“It’s a longer swing. It loosens everything up,” says one teacher, explaining the theory behind Tiger’s change.

 That's mostly interesting to me because of how set in his ways Tiger is....

Jay's Edifice Complex - In the private sector, the rule of thumb is that you sell anytime you hear of a company building a Taj Mahal-type headquarters, the logic being that they've taken the eye off their knitting.

So, what to make of this:

Like any sport, golf is a game in a state of constant evolution. Not only have the clubs

and wedges of old become relics of a bygone era, but many modern golfers have a physical appearance more akin to lean wrestlers. It would make sense, then, that the sport’s main organizer for professional tournaments, the PGA Tour, should also shed its old skin by finding a new home. Which is exactly what will be happening come 2020. 

It was announced today that the PGA Tour will be moving into a brand new headquarters designed by Foster + Partners, among the most recognizable firms in the world. Considering the headquarters of a few other major sports governing bodies (such as FIFA's Tilla Theus–designed HQ in Zurich and the NFL's nondescript midtown Manhattan location), the fact that the PGA is working with such an esteemed firm as Foster + Partners is exceptional. A quick glance at its oeuvre tells the story: Apple's new campus, the renovation to Wembley Stadium, London's City Hall, and 30 St Mary Axe, just to name a few.

Let's see.... you're compared to FIFA, a criminal syndicate passing itself off as a sports organization, is that a good thing?  As for the NFL?  Well, it's not the best of times, is it?

But of greatest importance, does the building remind you of anything?

Anyone?  Bueller?

OK, I recommend making sure that there no liquids in your vicinity....

The new, 187,000-square-foot structure will feature a clean, minimalist aesthetic, which makes the reflection off the surrounding natural lake all the more powerful, as it echoes the iconic Island Green 17th hole at THE PLAYERS Stadium Course (an instantly recognizable setting for any golf lover). Narrow pillars support an overlay, which will allow employees to enjoy the outdoors even during inclement weather.

Thud!  OK, they both have water, but so do the other seventeen holes at Sawgrass.....

Floor-to-ceiling windows spread across each of the three floors in the building, not only allowing an ample amount of natural light into the building, but also blurring the distinction between indoors and out. "Inspired by the lush greenery of TPC Sawgrass and the beautiful Floridian light, the new PGA TOUR headquarters is designed as an extension of its surrounding landscape," said Nigel Dancey, head of studio at Foster + Partners. The interior of the new headquarters will feature an open layout, which promotes a non-hierarchical identity, as well as ample space for informal group collaborations.

Yes, because the PGA Tour just screams non-hierarchical identity.  Just ask any of the 114 Executive Vice-Presidents....

Thinks I Liked This Week - Mid-week, Alan Shipnuck had a mini-rant that proved prescient:

Nothing more boring and tedious than playing the SAME HOLE for a tiebreaker, and having to wait for them to return to the tee. What idea do you have to make it more agile and entertaining? - @Fernarentes 

I understand making 18 on any course the first playoff hole, because the fans and tournament support staff are already gathered there for the end of regulation play. But quite obviously you should not play it again until at least another three or four holes have been utilized. Those fans have legs, and they can get themselves to some other holes.

Spot on, as in their four-hole play-off, we saw Rahm and Landry play the 18th an estimated three times....  Strike that, we didn't actually see it, because the dreamy Tom Brady was coming back against the Jaguars....

I also liked this one, though you have to bu up on the fact that Alan has never had an ace:

#AskAlan This time the missile attack warning is real and you have two hours before kingdom come. You're given an unlimited supply of balls and can go to any par-3 in the world to score your ace. Where do you go? - @laz_versalle 

Well, I'm lucky that I have some of the very best options about five minutes from where I live. The 16th at Cypress Point is tempting because of its sheer grandeur, but it's hard to even hit that green with a 3-wood, let alone give one a chance to go in. The 11th at MPCC's Shore Course might be the most artistically beautiful par-3 in the world, but the hard right-to-left wind makes it a tough shot. Ditto the 14th on MPCC Dunes, which is Cypress-like, demanding a full-blooded carry of the ocean, albeit with a mid-iron. 

So, I'm gonna go with #7 at Pebble Beach. Over the years I've already hit a handful of shots relatively stiff on that hole by feathering a wedge, and the steep downhill makes for a perfect view to watch the ball drop. There will also be panoramic vistas of the mushroom clouds.

There's nothing especially wrong with that choice, it's just awfully commercial..... I might have been tempted to go with the 15th at Cypress, equally special but just a chipped short iron:

And for those keeping their own scorecard, that is back-to-back Par-3's.... and on the front nine there are back-to-back Par-5's.  I've always had a thing for eccentric routings.

Don't miss Golf Digest editor Jerry Tarde's love letter to the caddies at Cabot Links/Cliffs or, as he calls it, Briga-Dune:

This past summer my wife and I packed up the SUV and drove 939 miles from our home in Connecticut through Maine and New Brunswick to Cape Breton in Nova Scotia to

play a couple of courses owned by Mike Keiser and his Canadian partner, Ben Cowan-Dewar. It was my third visit, Beth's first, to Cabot Links resort, or what they should have called Brigadoon. 

Keiser is famous for his Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Oregon: He gives Americans a wee dram of Scotland without crossing the ocean. It's hard to believe, but Cabot Cliffs and Cabot Links are even better in my book—they rank ninth and 43rd among Golf Digest's World 100 Greatest Golf Courses. I should add that Keiser churns out masterpieces at a Picasso pace because he has more projects going in Wisconsin, Oregon, Scotland and California, but if I had to pick one spot anywhere to spend a summer, it would be in this old coal-mining town called Inverness on a beach fronting the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

Here's the gist of it, with another stunning image:

The proof is in the four caddies who carried my bag over four rounds there: a Scottish farmer, a junior high school principal, a practicing attorney and a renowned pediatric surgeon. Each made their way from far and wide to live or summer in Inverness so they could caddie and play the Cabot courses.

That's just a bit, a wee dram if you will, of what makes Scotland so delightful.... And that image I promised:

I must get there....

In tackling Phil last week, I missed this amusing bit from Jon Rahm:

"I have a good time when I play practice rounds with him because we joke around

together a lot," Rahm said. "And for me it's fun to hear, now that he's with Tim [Mickelson], and we are all really close. It, to me, is really fun to hear how they talk to each other, because Tim being my coach at ASU, I don't need much. OK, it's like 120, this shot, right.

“And you have Phil, it's like, oh, this shot, the moisture, this going on, this is like one mile an hour wind sideways, it's going to affect it one yard. This green is soft, this trajectory. They're thinking and I'm like, I'm lost. I'm like, God, if I do that thought process, I could not hit the golf shot. And it's funny, he gets to the green and then it's the same thing. He's very detail oriented. He gets there and I'm like, oh, it's a foot right. And he goes, OK, he reads the green, like, oh, it's 1.8 degrees of slope here and this and that. And I'm there listening and I'm like, man, I hope we're never paired together for anything because I can't think like this."

How about a Ryder Cup singles match?   

Back to Alan's mailbag:

The golf world is not in a bubble, so how long before the first #MeToo in pro or college golf? - Eric (@GolfTrotterQc)

Oh, it's coming, and soon. I've already heard of a couple reporters who are running down leads, and egregious tales abound. It's not any consolation but golf will not be alone, as the power structures of every major professional sport are male-dominated. Brace yourself.

I've been reliably informed that golf is a game played by gentlemen.....   Of course we're not immune from the real world, but I'd be surprised if we find anything Weinstein-easque.  

A golf course in Michigan has applied to put 37 of its 95 acres under medical marijuana cultivation. Will growing weed help grow the game, or will it just cause slower, mellower play? #AskAlan - Dave (@CountDownDave) 

This is certainly a boon to the caddie industry. But all joking aside, marijuana cultivation is going to become such a huge and profitable industry across the country I can imagine it will accelerate golf course closings. Already we've seen a trend of courses folding because of rising water costs and greater demand for land for new residential developments. If you owned 100 irrigated acres on which a barely-profitable daily fee course sits and some latter-day Spicoli offers you a fortune to grow weed, well, that's an easy choice for a lot of people.

Amusing, but the pressures on golf will not be significantly impacted by increasing legalization of pot.  But the slow play issues trouble me...

Lastly, no love for Tiger from Vegas:

According to BetDSI, oddsmakers do not envision Tiger playing on the weekend at Torrey Pines, bestowing Woods with +100 odds to make it to Saturday (against -140 of missing the cut).

Of course, these are the same guys setting this line:

The Philadelphia Eagles are the biggest Super Bowl underdogs since 2009. 

The Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas on Sunday installed the Eagles as 5.5-point underdogs to the New England Patriots for Super Bowl LII. 

Other sportsbooks went higher. The Wynn opened at New England minus-6.5, and Caesars Palace and Station Casinos each made the Patriots minus-6.

I get the Belichick/Brady factor, especially with two weeks to prepare, but Philly destroyed the best defense in the game....