A slow day in one of the slower weeks, so I shan't keep you long. I've an early morning match tomorrow, so no blogging until Friday.
Tree, Forest - Which would you like first, the good news or the bad? The good? No problem, the Fox telecast of the Women's U.S. Open was up nicely from last year's ratings. The bad news? Well, let the Forecaddie tell it:
Overnight ratings show an average of 878,000 viewers tuned into Fox to see Ariya Jutanagarn hang on to win, up from the all-time low last year of 790,000. Ratings onrecord date to 1995.
Thursday’s first-round telecast on Fox Sports 1 drew a .09, tying the lowest first round rating of any televised LPGA event in 2018.
The Man Out Front is mostly wondering how the U.S. Women’s Open will fare going forward if always played against The Memorial. This year’s Memorial at least featured tee times moved up to avoid weather that never arrived, giving the women a chance to shine against a tape replay of earlier Memorial play. At least in 2021 and 2023 the Open will be on the West Coast, avoiding the Memorial finish.
I was wondering about that scheduling as well, as they'd be far better served playing this week vs. Memphis. Of course that no doubt stretches the capabilities of the USGA, but they do have that war chest with which to manage things.
I also think that Fox is itself a problem. Not my usual Joe Buck rant, but merely the fact that folks don't instinctively look for golf on that channel. The ladies crave network coverage, which is more than understandable, but it can make them like the proverbial tree in the forest...
One last item on that ladies' final, the issue that had 'Zinger's head exploding:
Ariya Jutanugarn’s victory at Shoal Creek Sunday was, in many ways, the most perfect
Look at those perfect lines on her golf clap. theater that golf can provide. Seemingly cruising to the title, the 22-year-old came off the rails on the back nine, while Hyo Joo Kim polished off the most impressive round of the day, awaiting her chance to steal the trophy.
Anyone who watched surely enjoyed the affair, and they may also have been clued into a specific visual: Jutanugarn applauding successful shots made by Kim during their one-on-one playoff. Kim made some incredible shots down the stretch, perhaps the most significant being her first putt on the first playoff hole, a 30-footer for birdie. Cameras caught Jutanugarn applauding the shot.
Fox broadcaster Paul Azinger did not approve of the sportsmanship. In his day, he said, when players competed for major championships, you would not have seen them applauding a good shot from a competitor. Whether you agree with Azinger or not (and many on the Internet do not),
I'll remind Azinger and others of that wonderful moment when Angel Cabrera acknowledged Adam Scott's fine approach shot during their Masters playoff. In any event, Ariya explains:
"I normally do that," Jutanugarn said. "When you see a good shot, it's just a good shot. There's nothing you can do about that. I just have to do my best. I'm rooting for everyone because if I'm going to win the tournament, I don't want to win because another player didn't play good. I want to win a tournament when she plays good and I play good."
Well, we can't have that, can we? It's not so much that 'Zinger is wrong, he's just wrong for Ariya. He was a more confrontational guy, which might be why Seve described the U.S. Ryder Cup team as eleven great guys and Azinger.
Holly, Unplugged - A quick follow up to her amusing gaffe on Monday. Yanno, that bit about sexual qualifying:
I'm sorry, which network is that?
That's The Ticket - God, it seems like hours since we had the last silver bullet to save our game by making it appeal to Millennials. But this one is a mortal lock:
You've heard of disc golf, speed golf, foot golf. What about jeep golf? One course in Maryland is betting that yet another unconventional approach to the game will entice younger players to book tee times.
Deer Run Jeep Golf Course was sitting abandoned before Justin Hearne decided to turn it into a new kind of attraction, Delmarva Now reports. The new course has nine holes and players use jeeps instead of golf carts to get around. If you don't have a jeep of your own, you can rent one at the course.
“We’re offering something that only takes about two hours, but you still get to have fun with your vehicle and the golf all wrapped up into one with the family,” Hearne said. The course's owner, Ed Colbert, Hearne's father-in-law, said though the emphasis was on creating a family-friendly experience, their ultimate goal was to attract golfers in their 20s and 30s. “We know now, the market for a championship golf course isn’t good down here,” he said. “There’s a lot of courses that have closed, so the idea of really going after the millennials … that is what we’re going to push.”
Just don't go when it's rained, as cart path only rules are a bitch.
Hey, I warned you that it's a slow news day....
The Artist Formerly Known as Travelin' Joe - I did enjoy this feature, but have to waste your time with the intro:
NEKOOSA, Wis. — As the Memorial got underway on Thursday, other golf-related news was breaking in the Midwest with the ribbon-cutting at Mammoth Dunes, the most significant course opening of 2018. Designed by David McLay Kidd, Mammoth Dunes is the second 18-hole layout at Sand Valley, a destination resort in central Wisconsin that is also home to a Bill Coore-Ben Crenshaw layout of the same name. Sand Valley also has a Coore-Crenshaw designed par-3 course, the Sandbox. Joe Passov, GOLF's chief architecture critic, was at Sand Valley this week for a look at the new course, along with GOLF contributor Josh Sens. We asked for their takes on Mammoth Dunes and how it stacks up against the resort’s first course.
Chief Architecture Critic? That rumpled guy with the beard? In his lane, Joe does a perfectly fine job, which does include some architectural notes, but to me he's best considered as the lucky stiff travel writer.
In any event, Josh Sens and he file an interesting take on Mammoth Dunes, the new David MacLay Kidd course to open at Mike Keiser's new central Wisconsin resort. here they're asked to compare it to Bandon Dunes:
Joe Passov: It's fair to think about Sand Valley as the Bandon Dunes of the Midwest. You have three terrific sand-based courses (one being Coore-Crenshaw's 17-hole
The mammoth 18th green at Mammoth. Sandbox par-3 layout) and a remote location amid some remarkable natural dunes as a foundation. Of course, you're not on the ocean in Wisconsin, not even on a lake, the courses won't play quite as Scottish links-like as Bandon's because there isn't anywhere near as much wind, and the greens at Sand Valley are bent, versus the less smooth fescue/poa surfaces at Bandon.Josh Sens: True that, Joe. Another similarity is the variety of architectural styles you have on one property. The Keisers have gone the opposite route of Wisconsin’s other big-name golf course builder, Herb Kohler, who went all in with Pete Dye for his courses at Whistling Straits. Here you've got Kidd and Coore-Crenshaw side by side, with a third 18-hole course likely on its way. Tom Doak has been said to be in the running for that job. So there should be lots of good fodder for grill room debate as golfers debate their favorites, which is always fun. One difference that stands out to me from Bandon, aside from no ocean, the flat Midwestern "a's" in the accents and the Spotted Cow beer (which you can only get in Wisconsin): Although this place is very much golf-centric, it has ambitions to be more family friendly than Bandon. They've got fat tire bike riding, ponds stocked for fishing. They've got plans to add tennis courts, too. Just not too close to the courses, so as not to irk those of us who really only want to think about all golf, all the time.
I suspect there will be two more courses to follow this, based upon the beauty contest Keiser ran. The best part was that the architects all chose different parts of the site in which to route their courses, so it's all teed up.
Do read the whole thing, as there's lots of interesting nuggets. And here's one last photo, this of the 14th hole:
The only thing missing is the Pacific Ocean, but quite a bit easier to get to.
A Taste of Shinny - Shack is finishing up the front nine of flyovers, and while I could embed them all here for you..... errr, I probably won't. I do intend to go through them to refresh my own memory of this exceptional track (and, thanks again Mark), I'll let you decide whether to put in that effort on your own, and just deal with the commentary and my thoughts as appropriate.
In that light, both Tiger and Phil scheduled reconnaissance missions before the Memorial, and had these comments:
It was Woods’ first trip to Shinnecock since he tied for 17th at the 2004 U.S. Open, where he shot 72-69-73-76. (Woods also played the 1995 U.S. Open at Shinnecock, as an amateur, but withdrew after a first-round 74 because of a wrist injury.)
Woods said the course was significantly different than it was 14 years ago. The par-70 Shinnecock will tip out at 7,445 yards for next month’s major championship, about 450 yards longer than 2004, when the course played at 6,996 yards.
“Unfortunately, it rained the day before I got there and the golf course played really long,” Woods said. “I’m sure it probably won’t play as long as we played it. 7,500 yards, par 70 is a long golf course. And they’ve made some pretty significant changes from since last time that I have seen it. I believe there’s over 500 trees that are gone since last time I played it. They added 500 yards to it. So it’s quite significant.”
The need to hit driver is an open issue to me, one that might affect Tiger's prospects. Although it was that only less-lofted club in his bag that's been the more troublesome recently.
Mickelson spent Tuesday at Shinnecock. He went around with assistant pro Matt Cahill and raved at the changes, particularly the widened fairways and shaved run-off areas around the greens.
“Phenomenal,” Mickelson said. “It’s really well done. They renovated it a little bit and some of the fairways are a little bit wider, certainly the rough is as penalizing or more so than I’ve seen it, but the fairways are fair and the greens are as healthy as I’ve seen them.”
C'mon, when have we ever seen unhealthy greens at Shinnecock? Well, maybe just the seventh....
He said the fairways are “very hittable,” and “halfway-decent drives” will find the fairway “100 percent of the time.” But wayward tee balls will be in trouble – as they should, he added.
“If you’re 2 yards off the fairway, the fescue was so high and thick it was well over my knee, and I had a hard time hitting it 2 yards back to the fairway,” Mickelson said.
Hittable for whom? If it's for Phil, then maybe they are too wide. No word on how many drivers Phil will be carrying this week....
Dan Jenkins has a fun feature at Golf Digest on the new USGA playoff format, specifically how it might have changed outcomes... Mind you, the alternative history bit leaves me cold, but it's a fun walk down memory lane. let's just look at the first two examples:
▶On the sixth hole of sudden death, Harry Vardon beats Francis Ouimet at Brookline in 1913, killing one of the great golf stories of all time. Ouimet lives the rest of his life as a bartender.
▶ Instead of Bobby Jones beating Al Espinosa by 23 strokes in their 36-hole playoff at Winged Foot in 1929, Espinosa wins the first two holes to hoist the Open trophy. A year later, Espinosa wins the Grand Slam. Jones retires to practice law. The Masters is never created.
But an amateur bartender, for sure.... At the risk of taking this more seriously than the author, one can readily see where a sudden death playoff would have accelerated the move to schedule the leaders together. Vardon actually finished long before Ouimet, and was listening to the cheers in the clubhouse as the youngster finished and caught him.
There's much about that '29 Open that bears noting. Jones had to make a devilish 10-footer on the 18th green on Saturday to force the playoff. he then interceded with the USGA to push back the starting time of the playoff so Espinosa could go to church Sunday morning, and Jones joined him there. However, the beatdown in the playoff was more medieval than modern Christianity... Good fun from Dan.
No comments:
Post a Comment