Late Week Lamentations

With Round 2 of the Irish Open as our background music, shall we see what we missed yesterday?

Ballyliffin's Moment:  Wow, I thought the old place looked magical.  Golf Channel's coverage began with some aerial shots of the club, panning wide over Pollan Bay and out to Glashedy Rock.  

The course seems to be running firm and fast, despite some overnight rain, and the guys are not going especially low.  It does appear that the rough is not as deep as during our 2012 visit, as I vividly recall anything just missing the fairway plunging deep into the folded-over Maram grass.  Not that I was emotionally scarred by it or anything...

Interestingly, the one hole I saw none of was the controversial seventh...  Many shots that captured the body of water, but none of the actual play of the hole.  But Rory is currently on the fourth hole, so I'd suspect they'll stay with him through the rest of his day (he started on the back nine today).  One unusual feature of Ballyliffin is that all four nines finish at the clubhouse....

Shall we revisit some of our photos?  We ate dinner in their clubhouse more often than one might expect, because the early evening light was so dramatic.   

Perhaps a couple of the bride?

If you've watched any of it, course architect Pat Ruddy has been mentioned frequently.  Ruddy is the dean of Irish architects, at least with the untimely passing of Eddie Hackett, and is quite the character....  We spent a few minutes with him when we played his European Club outside Dublin, and he stage-managed this photo:

Apparently he likes Irish girls as much as I do....

This photo is from that 2014 trip to Ireland, during which we spent a couple of days in Ballyliffin:

There's one in every crowd, eh?  But the real reason I dug this one out is that in an overhead shot yesterday, I saw the lineup of trolleys in it's usual spot outside the pro shop.  I'd have though tthey'd stash them somewhere else this week, but perhaps there's no place to stow them away.

One last shot for you from our stay...  As you might have heard, the weather isn't always great, though there are occasional rewards for persevering:

This concludes our Ballyliffin blogging....

We Have A Verdict - I'm still in the dark as to how this helps him, though it will do so no longer:

It's been less than two weeks since Bryson DeChambeau revealed he was being investigated by the PGA tour for his use of a compass during competitive rounds, but

unfortunately for DeChambeau, the USGA has already decided that his use of a protractor to dial in hole locations is not allowable under the Rules of Golf. 

According to Golf Channel, a statement was sent to players informing them of the decision.

“The USGA has ruled that the use of a protractor (also known as a drawing compass) during a stipulated round is a violation of Rule 14-3a of the Rules of Golf,” the statement said. “It is considered ‘unusual equipment that might assist him in making a stroke or in his play.’”

This is as much explanation as we've gotten:

DeChambeau told reporters in Connecticut that he used the tool to double-check hole locations. 

“I’m figuring out the true pin locations,” DeChambeau said. “The pin locations are just a little bit off every once in a while, and so I’m making sure they’re in the exact right spot. And that’s it.”

What he's really saying is that the pin sheets aren't accurate, but beyond that I'm simply not clear on why stepping it off isn't sufficient.

Other USGA News -  This is a little inside baseball, but welcome news indeed:

On Thursday, the governing body announced revisions to its selection process for not

only the Walker Cup, but also the Curtis Cup and World Amateur Team Championships. 

The changes, which will go into effect beginning with this fall’s World Amateur Team Championships, include adding official automatic exemptions for U.S. Amateur and U.S. Women’s Amateur champions, as well as McCormack Medal winners and highest-ranked amateurs in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. 

The automatic selections add transparency to a process that has been criticized for its mostly-secretive nature, especially in the case of the Walker Cup. 

Last summer, Burns wasn’t included on the 10-man U.S. squad that went on to win in a rout at Los Angeles Country Club, despite Burns winning the Nicklaus Award as college golf’s top player that year. Other notable snubs in recent years include John Peterson, who won the 2011 NCAA individual title but was not included on that year’s Walker Cup team.

The issue is that we want the kids to wait around and play in the amateur events, and then the USGA inexplicably leaves Sam Burns off a Walker Cup team.  This is a partial fix, but they really need a points list so the kids know where they stand and can make rational decisions.

Didn't He Get The Memo? -  Bob Carney uses the holiday to cite nine distinctly American contributions to golf, a cringe-worthy list indeed.  Amusing to read it with Old World golf on the telly, because it's the kind of thing a Scot would chide us for over a pint.  The only thing missing is the guy that screams "Mashed Potatoes" into the open microphone....

But this is just an epic misfire:

9. John Daly. Let Daly here represent the American public golfer and all the fun he's had learning this country club game. Let him represent league guys. Let him represent hackers who hate dress codes. Let him represent the hat-backward, t-shirt wearing, flip-flop dragging ex- jock who just can't get enough. Let him represent the crude and the sweet, the embarrassing and the maddening, the foolishly devoted lover of the game, his marriages to it and his break-ups with it. In America golf is everyman's. And most of our game is played where rules officials and green chairmen have never tread. Let John Daly represent every golfer who's tossed a club, given up, fought back, and birdied the last hole. Let him represent our worst and most colorful moments. Let him represent our faults, our penchant for giving what we haven't got to charity, our innocence and our guilt. Let John Daly represent what happens when you really share your game, when golf is accessible, when we all have to live, let live, and, in the end, learn. About the game, about ourselves, about one another. How American is that?

Excuse me, Bob, but when has John Daly ever "fought back"?  Was it during the forty-something withdrawals or the twenty-one times he was fined for failing to give effort?  

The Tiger Effect -  I'm always amused by the folks that wonder why Tiger gets so much coverage.... I'm agnostic as to whether he's created many golfers, but there's little doubt that he gets eyeballs in front of TV's:

Paulsen at Sports Media Watch has a nice breakdown and chart following a strong 2.3 final round rating for the Quicken Loans National. That's up 92% over last year and 28% from 2016. The third round was up 143% and lead-in coverage on Golf Channel was up 147% Sunday, 129% Saturday.

Admittedly, those growth numbers are off a small base, but still...

Alan, Slighted - We had one item from Alan Shipnuck's mailbag earlier in the week, but shall we see who else he's trolling?  First the inevitable Ryder Cup queries:

Probably late to the party, but with Molinari's romp over a stellar, er, subpar field it's the obligatory Euro Ryder Cup mention, yada yada... #AskAlan -@Andrew_Long

Yes, the European Tour stans are up in my Twitter mentions, as always. Their stridence is misguided — I've been a Euro fan for two-plus decades. In fact, in 1997, when various U.S. golf publications were calling the American Ryder Cup team unbeatable, I wrote a snarky column for SI predicting a European victory. Guys like Tom Lehman and Mark O'Meara still give me a hard time about that one. I've long been fascinated by the Molinari brothers and how differently they play the game — Frankie being a preeminent ball-striker, as we saw at the National, and Eddie possessing a dazzling short-game. I enjoyed Molinari's performance, and was equally impressed by Alex Noren's gritty win in France. It's easy to get wrapped up in short-term bursts of form but things change dramatically in just a few months: In April, Brooks Koepka was a question mark at best, now he figures to be a stalwart. You can go down the list for both teams but the Ryder Cup is still three months away and we have two majors, a WGC and the FedEx Cup to play – a lot of fortunes will change, so it's too soon to render a judgement about which team is in better form. Molinari and Noren are both now virtually locks to be in Paris and they will be assets but they (both 35) are not the future of Europe. This gets back to my central argument: the core of the U.S. team is in their 20s while the European stalwarts (save Rory) are pushing 40. Even if the Americans don't win this year – I still expect them to – I'm quite confident my column predicting long-term U.S. dominance will still look good a decade from now. Which means, gulp, we have another 10 years to debate this daily on Twitter.

Is Alan off his Ritalin?  That went sideways and some places I didn't expect, most notably the pining for Edoardo Molinari....  He's got a strong point, though he might get a little blowback from Jon Rahm.  

How far down the standings must Tiger be for Furyk to leave him off the Ryder Cup team? -Gordon (@fofop05 

As long as Tiger doesn't blow out his back he's on the team no matter where he stands on the points list.

There's little doubt that Tiger's T4 in D.C. helped his cause, but I still don't see him as a mortal lock.  If the Ardmore 3 continues to perform it certainly helps, but it could be an awkward moment for Cap'n. Jim....

But wait, he's got more on Tiger:

Love the ShotLink phrase "to native area" as shorthand for a mile left or right. Amazing TWoods finished T4 with as many tee shots as he hit "to native area." Maybe we need to embrace the mallet putter? -Ron (@PressingPause) 

The flip side to this is that Tiger's iron game was terrific and he made a bunch of mid-range putts, both of which will be crucial factors at Carnoustie. The importance of the mallet transcends how he putts with it for a few tournaments. It is indicative of a larger shift in Tiger's thinking/being. In the old days he could never admit weakness; thus, even at his nadir, he couldn't deviate from his Terminator-like programming, and would still mouth platitudes that victory was the only thing that mattered even when he was struggling to break 80. Going to the mallet was Woods admitting to himself that he's having a problem with his putting and he needed a change. That alone is a victory and makes me confident he will figure it out sooner rather than later, now that he's more open-minded and honest with his self-assessments.

Fair enough, but I'd like to see him finish off a round or two....

One great thing about Alan's feature is that sometimes it's the questions that shine, and he's man enough to roll with it:

On a scale of #LiveUnderPar to These Guys Are Good, how gimmicky is the name change for the Greenbrier this week? -@nocartsplease 

This might be the greatest bad/good continuum I've ever come across. Anyway, like all Americans I'm thankful for the service and sacrifices of our military, but I'm not sure what the heck that has to do with a golf tournament. "A Military Tribute at the Greenbrier" is way too narrow of a focus. A Tribute to Freedom at the Greenbrier would have been more inclusive and dovetailed perfectly with the Fourth of July festivities. If they really want to wave the Stars and Stripes, how about A Tribute to American Golf at the Greenbrier? Given Sam Snead's long affiliation with the place, that could have been really cool and it's about, you know, golf.

I like the cute of his jib, including that Twitter handle.

Lastly, one more Ryder Cup thought:

Wouldn't Phil and Bryson be a logical fit for the Ryder Cup? They can nerd out and Phil has always loved taking younger/newer guys under his wing (AK, Bradley, Rickie, etc...) -Chris (@fancyfeet4) 

One time at the Crosby Clambake, Phil was on Pebble Beach's practice putting green, just down the hill from the 1st tee. I was standing right there, and he wound up in such an animated conversation with Ian Baker-Finch about space exploration Bones had to run down the hill and whisk Phil to the tee so he wouldn't be penalized for being tardy. I recently replayed this anecdote to Mickelson and he went on a long riff about black holes and time travel. After a few minutes my eyes began to glaze over. All of this is to say that, yes, I think he and Bryson are perfect for each other.

I have been reliably informed that our Phil is a genius, and it must require that kind of intellect to pull of all that stupid s**t.   But I really doubt Bryson will be in Paris, especially now that they've taken away his compass and protractor....

Have a great weekend.