Your Friday Frisson

Not inclined to go long today, so let's have at it....

Trinity, Torched - On the one hand, it was all new to them....  But, as we've discussed, these guys are all about LUP™ :

The first round of the AT&T Byron Nelson came and went on the much-scrutinized layout at Trinity Forest and, alas, a golfing apocalypse did not occur. 

The adjacent Trinity River did not run backward. Cats and dogs and snakes did not lay down in harmony together. And the world’s best golfers — who are rarely shy to opine about course design and conditions — were mostly positive about the wide-open, topsy-turvy Ben Crenshaw-Bill Coore neo-links design that is unlike anything they have experienced on this side of the Atlantic.

Indeed, on Thursday the pros did what they do best: They adapted, overcame and went about their jobs. 

Marc Leishman, an Australian with a propensity for going low, went really low, posting a two-eagle, 10-under-par 61 to grab the 18-hole lead. Trailing him by three, in a tie for second, is the duo of J.J. Spaun and Jimmy Walker. Eight players are knotted at six under, while de facto tournament host and Trinity Forest member Jordan Spieth is eight back, at two under par.

They just torched the joint though, to be fair, there wasn't a lick of wind...  And very much like a proper links, nae wind, nae golf.  This bit is kinda funny:

One of the harshest assessments came from the spicy six-time Tour winner Rory Sabbatini, who posted an opening 66.

“Today was good,” he said, “but I told the rules official it’s all on them how they set up the course — it can be good or it can be a disaster.”

Spicy?  I'm old enough to remember when the USGA would have an a******e pairing in the U.S. Open, which could be positively identified by Mr. Sabbatini's presence.  I love him laying down markers for the Tour, when he's just lucky to have a tee time...

A couple of minor notes...  First, what a horribly shallow field.  This event had little going for it beyond the ties to Lord Byron, but still.  Yesterday's "Supergroup" pairing included Spieth, Jummy Walker, Texas Ranger and.....Graeme McDowell.  We have sentimental ties to the Portrush native related to the return of Employee No. 2's rainsuit from Ballyliffin, but he's not exactly appointment TV.

More embarrassing than the competitive field was the Golf Channel crew....  This event was certainly on life support prior to the venue change, but isn't the network required to keep up the pretense?

Adam Scott showed, though not in good form for sure, unless we're speaking of his wit:

Might be about time to move on....

Lusty Month of May - Quick, name that musical....  Of course, jeopardy fans will get it because it was clue on last night's broadcast.  Joel Beall checks in with certain venues to see how things look in May:

So after She threw her best punch, has Wilson’s outlook changed? Not in the slightest.

“We came out of this winter fine," he said. "We are a little behind a typical spring, but the course is green and the park has a spring look to it.” 

Wilson admits the rain, snow and cold complicated matters, and mentions the trees aren’t as far along in leafing out as usual. However, all systems are operational. “The greens, fairway and tees are ready for the PGA,” Wilson says. “The playing surfaces are very good right now. We will have to change some practices in taking care of rough, 

especially high rough, to leave certain areas undisturbed in the fall to have a good look in the spring.”

I was there last week and it was OK.  Some spottiness in the turf, especially around the greens, but nothing too dramatic.  

They spend some time talking about the "week of" weather, but you might remember those two U.S. Opens in June.  The weather sent the USGA running into the arms of Chambers Bay.

 This was the greater concern:

Even before the PGA’s official announcement last summer that it was moving the date of the championship, some speculated that Oak Hill, scheduled to host the 2023 edition, could be in jeopardy as a May venue when the prospect of a date change was being discussed. The weather that northern New York experienced the past three months—record lows were recorded as late as mid-April—did little to alleviate these worries. 

While granting the weather put his crew “a week or two” behind schedule, Jeff Corcoran, Oak Hill’s manager of golf courses and grounds, seems far from stressed. “I believe that everyone has the perception that the weather in Rochester in May is cold, wet, and that we are still recovering from winter,” Corcoran says. “In reality, the weather averages right around 70 degrees, with a low humidity making for excellent playing conditions.” 

Similar to Wilson’s assessment of Bethpage, Corcoran thinks May is the preferred choice, saying the golf course has a tendency to be “more tired” from the stresses of the golf season at the end of the summer. He also notes humidity levels are higher, as is average rainfall, in August.

 Not keen on Rochester?  Joel actually debates a May PGA at Whistling Straits.... Color me skeptical.

Debating The Major Issues of the Day - I think this belongs under the #humblebrag hashtag.  I've made the case for poker chip ball markers as a courtesy to other golfers, but have tangled on that subject with with everyone up to and including Brad Faxon.

Does Brad have a problem with this guy's marker of choice?

Winter Olympian Matt Hamilton brought his patriotic pride to the course this week, and we're not just talking about his head-to-toe star-spangled outfit and USA hat: the curler used his gold medal from Pyeongchang as a ball marker at the BMW charity pro-am. The Web.com Tour posted video of Hamilton calmly laying down the medal on the green, calling it "the best ball mark ever."

Now, THAT'S a manhole cover....

Paradise Lost - I suspect that Lucas Glower won't be retiring to spend more time with his family anytime soon.... the 911 tapes are interesting, if mostly for the casual comments indicating deeper issues:

The wife of former U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover made the first call to 911 and

claimed she was attacked by her mother-in-law, according to a tape of the call released Wednesday that provided another bizarre twist in the wife's arrest on a domestic violence charge. 

Glover answered when the St. John's Sheriff's Office in Florida called back, and he said his wife was lying. 

"Yeah, hi, I think we got our lines crossed here. This is the husband, the sane one of the bunch," Glover says in a calm voice. "My wife has called you. ... Now she's trying to blame it on my mother, which is not the case at all. ... My wife has gone crazy."

You could be the sane one and still be a carrier....

According to the report, Glover said his wife began the altercation when he was on the back porch and then began attacking his mother, Hershey Glover, when she tried to intervene. The deputy said in the report she was arrested based on injuries on Lucas Glover's arm and his verbal statements. The deputy also observed cuts and bleeding on both arms of Hershey Glover. According to the report, she refused to pursue a battery charge against Krista Glover.

This will not end well....

After yesterday's disastrous performance, Bobby D. senses there's easy cash to be had, and requests my presence at the club.  Can't say I blame him....  Catch you guys Monday, if not sooner.