Tuesday Trifles

It's a perfect golf blogging day.  Lots to discuss, none of which matters a damn....

There's Got To Be a Morning After - Perhaps these folks should have moved on by now?  

It has been a month since the U.S. was blown out by Europe in the Ryder Cup at Le Golf National outside Paris, and with the passage of time, a broader question still remains:

What does it mean for the Americans going forward? 

Almost immediately after the seven-point drubbing in France, the leadership within the U.S. team room started dissecting what went wrong—on the course and off it—according to assistant captain Davis Love III. That conversation hasn’t stopped in the ensuing weeks, either, with a series of debriefings taking place and a string of ongoing text messages exchanged.

Text messages?  Wow, these guys are really committed....  Have they figured out what went wrong with the pods?

These guys are all about accountability, though, as this quote has been making the rounds:

“I dropped the ball on two or three things that could have helped, and I apologized to Jim,” Love told Golf Digest last week. “I should have seen some of those things coming.”

Now, whatever could he mean by that?  I'll defer to Shack's educated guesses:

Not obtaining Justine Reed’s Twitter and Facebook passwords and changing them? 

Too much Polo in the uniforms? 

An imbalance of plain, almond and chocolate croissants in the team room?

I told you we've been overthinking things.  On the croissant issue, just see what the Euros order and make it two...But the actual answer might be even sillier:

That’s overstating things a bit, but one of the responsibilities of Love, a veteran of eight

Ryder Cups including his captaincy in 2012 and 2016, was letting Patrick Reed know that he wouldn’t be playing with Jordan Spieth, whom he’d compiled a 4-1-2 record with in two previous Ryder Cups. 

Love informed Reed during the week that he would be paired with Tiger Woods, and Reed was indeed aware of that likelihood before the team even crossed the Atlantic.

But somehow it got lost on Reed, and the frustration of losing boiled over in his post-match comments to the New York Times in which he said he felt blindsided and called the decision-making process a “buddy system” that ignored the input of all but a few players. Since that story, Furyk and others have spoken to Reed to try and clear the air, among other conversations that have taken place.

Gee, it seems to me that Patrick was informed sufficiently timely that he would get to play with his hero, so I'm hard-pressed to see what the issue is...  It might just be that one of our guys is an a******e, which wouldn't be the first.

While the Americans lost by a larger margin in France than in Scotland, don’t expect a back-to-the-drawing-board rebuild like we saw four years ago. The differences between then and now are significant. For one, Mickelson served as the voice of an entire team that had grown frustrated under Watson’s captaincy; for another, the makeup of the

players who will be part of U.S. teams for the foreseeable future, and the culture between that group and future captains and assistants is more cohesive. And even with Reed’s rant, there have been plenty of teams with a lone wolf across all sports that found a way to be successful. 

“What we did after ’14 was create a sort of USA Basketball mentality,” said Love, referring to, among other things, a continuity in leadership as well as a higher level of commitment. “We’re in this for the long haul.” 

Added Stricker: “We didn’t see [Reed and Spieth not playing together] as an issue while we were there, and it’s unfortunate it came out the way it did. But Jim did an unbelievable job, and he was up front [with Reed and Tiger] and [Reed] handled it great at the time. But I don’t think it will be an issue going forward. I think going forward we’ll stay the track.”

Obviously he's not a disinterested party, as he's in line to get the home game captaincy.  But am I the only one to see a caution flag?

The U.S. won’t have to wait until the next Ryder Cup two years from now at Whistling Straits, when Stricker is expected to be the captain, to find out. In just over a year the Americans will travel to Australia to play the Presidents Cup. Many of the same players who were in France will be in Oz, and Woods will be the captain.

Though the U.S. has been wildly successful in that event against the International team compared to the Ryder Cup against Europe, losing just once in the 12 meetings, the message remains the same in the months leading up to it, according to Love. 

“We’ve done a massively better job communicating,” he said. “But we still have to get a lot better. My advice to Tiger: Keep ramping up the conversation.”

And the evidence that all this talking is actually useful is?  But just a couple of reminders....  First, that one loss in the Presidents Cup was where?  Not only is it an away game, but it's at an odd time on the calendar where the guys might not be at their sharpest.  Because, you know, these things do, as the wise man said, require twelve players....

Euro Doings - No word on their croissant strategies, but there's news on the Euro Tour schedule.  Amusingly, the https://www.geoffshackelford.com/homepage/2018/10/29/european-tour-thanks-for-nothing-franceFrench Open has been degraded a mere month after the venue is credited with securing a Ryder Cup massacre:

The Open de France loses its importance. It's official, the tournament will no longer

benefit from its status of "Rolex Series" next year. Moreover, it will not take place in June but in October, from 17 to 20. 

Title sponsor since 2017 for a period of at least three years plus two years in option, the Chinese tourism group HNA, entangled in serious financial problems, has failed the organizers several months ago. The replacement of Alstom had allowed the Open de France, oldest tournament in continental Europe, to integrate the eight "Rolex Series", the newly created category grouping the most prestigious competitions of the European circuit.

That's quite the bad translation, but we get the picture.  The date might not be quite as bad as it seems at first glance, as the Euro Tour is beefing up its Fall schedule in reaction to the U.S. Tour finishing before Labor Day.  

The bigger news is that the imperiled British Masters has landed safely, at least for 2019:

The European Tour unveiled its 2019 schedule with 47 events once again and a new fall finish anchored by the BMW Championship and followed by the Open de France’s move 

from May to October but losing Rolex Series status (au revoir!). 

Besides elevating the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship to Rolex Series status, the other headlining news is the last minute salvation of the the British Masters. Thought to be in danger, the event has landed the beautiful Hillside Golf Club next door to Royal Birkdale and Ryder Cup hero Tommy Fleetwood as host of the 2019 edition.

From first-hand experience I can assure you that Hillside is a gem.  It's back nine might be as good a nine holes as any in England, and Tommy Fleetwood is a Southport native.

Don't Know Much About History - The World Golf Hall of Fame has taken some body blows recently, as its current induction class was pretty lame.  But Geoff is just merciless in blogging this interview:

Not only must the golf world at large continue to ignore the World Golf Hall of Fame as they have so well in recent years—down to inductees passing on there ceremony when they are in the same zip code—but now there may need to be questions about the legitimacy of the entire World Golf Foundation after its CEO admitted on the record that he Hall is a popularity contest for the selection committee.

So, what's got his dander up?  This comment by WGHOF CEO Steve Mona that he characterizes as a face palm:

“The Fame element is part of it. Some people were just more popular than others when they were on tour.”

OK, I'm thinking that use of the words "Fame" and "popular" will get a reaction, though we can all agree with this part of Mona's clarification:

“It’s not just strictly (based) on playing record,” he told Reuters.

Of course not, as Shack agrees:

In an unbylined Reuters piece, Steve Mona said eligibility is not strictly based on playing record, as it shouldn’t be—Captaincy’s, course designs, influence as a media member and other influencer intangibles should help push some over the finish line.

 The current class is obviously lame, and I'd hope that the Hall recognizes that in its self-reflection.  If you can't up with a stronger player on the merits than Retief Goosen, something has gone woefully wrong.  The bigger issue to me is the failure to enshrine Peggy while the old girl was still with us....  If you want folks to pay attention, that's an important means towards that end.

But everyone is still agonizing over those three same names, Weiskopf, Lema and Macdonald Smith.  Though I think we can all agree that Bill Mallon characterization takes the prize for tone deafness:

“I think both Weiskopf and Lema are two marginal candidates, although both are two of my favorite players,” Mallon told Reuters. 

“Of the two, I think Weiskopf has a better resume for inclusion but that is certainly only because of the plane crash (that killed Lema). Not sure how the voters would figure that in.”

Yeah, i can't imagine what he was thinking....  Didn't he realize how confusing it would be for the voters?

Mikie Bams, Unplugged -  I've taken issue with a couple of recent offerings from the man, so I'm happy to link to some of his better work.  His latest Seven Things offering is all over the place, but I do like this:

7. 4 FOR PHIL 

Last week I wrote about the pleasures of playing in a four-club event. That short commentary elicited this interesting note from reader Michael Sullivan: “I read your article where you talked about the four-club format. I think it would be crazy interesting to see Tour pros manufacturing and improvising shots with only four clubs to choose from. In fact, I think the Tiger vs. Phil event would actually be worth watching if it was played with only four clubs. I think it would be an advantage for Tiger, as Phil would probably forsake his extreme lob wedges. But who knows?” Exactly! You have to make a whole series of decisions before you get to the first tee, and then on the course all bets are off. I’m with Mr. Sullivan. If Phil and Tiger each had four clubs at their Thanksgiving pay-per-view thing, I’d pay to view.

That would be so cool.....  Shotmaking has become a lost art, but this would bring it out in spades.  Forget the $9 million of OPM, this would take them out of their comfort zone, which is precisely why they would never do it.

And this:

1. MERION: ONCE MORE, WITH FEELING 

The worst-keep secret in Far Hills, N.J., is the very likely venue for the 2030 U.S. Open: the Merion Golf Club. The blazers there love the restoration work Gil Hanse (a club member) is doing and has done there. (The course has been closed for almost a year.) The 2030 Open will mark the 100th anniversary of Bobby Jones winning the Grand Slam, which he did by winning the British Amateur, the British Open, the U.S. Open and the U.S. Amateur at Merion. I only hope that in 2030, the USGA will allow the golfers to really play the course as it was intended to be played, which was not the case in 2013, with crazy-narrow fairways and a cumbersome start. ALL play should begin on the first tee, the players should use the member parking lot and the clubhouse and the member driving range. If the field has to be smaller, or ticket sales limited, to make that possible, it should be done. As John Lennon once wrote, You may say I’m a dreamer/but I’m not the only one. The goal is to let the world see Merion. Let the people see Merion.

Screw that, how about letting ME see Merion....  But Mike is a Philly guy, and I do agree with him, though with a non-trivial caveat.  In 2030, Cameron Champ will no doubt be a short-hitter (or retired), so I'm not exactly sure how this will work out....   

Is Gerry McIlroy Involved? - This header caught my eye:

Irish bettor turns €10 wager into more than €10,000 with ridiculous parlay win

Hmmm.... 

In golf, picking a winner from a full field of players is more than hard enough. Picking two winners in the same day—in the same bet? That’s nearly unheard of. But one bettor

from County Mayo, Ireland scored big on Sunday when his two-player parlay cashed in for a five-figure win. 

BoyleSports, Ireland’s largest independent bookmaker, announced on Monday that a customer, who wished to remain anonymous, had placed a 10-euro bet that required two winners: Xander Schauffele at the WGC-HSBC Champions as well asCameron Champ to win the Sanderson Farms. That didn’t mean one or the other could win; both needed to for a full cash-out. 

Schauffele looked like a longshot with just two holes to play, but birdied 17 and 18 to force a playoff with Tony Finau. He birdied the first playoff hole to hoist the trophy. That meant the savvy Irish punter just needed the 23-year-old Champ to hold onto a four-shot lead in Mississippi.

If he's from County Mayo, he can use the money....  It's where Employee No. 2's Mom was born, and is the poorest county in an extremely poor country.

That said, Even McIlroy pere isn't putting money at risk on his kid these days....

 I'll leave you there, with a warning that tomorrow's temps are expected to be in the high 60's.  You know that that might mean, especially as our greens are scheduled to be punched the following week.

Weekend Wrap

I actually got a round in yesterday, though company was hard to come by....

Shanghai Surprise - I'm digging these 30-second summaries, at least in the wraparound portion of the schedule:

Who won: Xander Schauffele (14 under, first playoff hole) 

Why it matters: The 25-year-old has now won three times on the PGA Tour, although

this is his first World Golf Championships victory. Runner-up Tony Finau has finished second four times since the start of the 2016-17 season. 

How it happened: Schauffele birdied the final two holes to shoot a four-under 68. Finau, who held a three-shot lead heading into the final day and was with Schauffele and Justin Rose in the final group, also birdied 18 to shoot 71 and tie Schauffele at 14 under. Playing the par-5 18th for the playoff, Schauffele found the fairway and then reached the green in two with a five-iron. Finau found the bunker off the tee and had to scramble. Schauffele two-putted for birdie while Finau’s tying chance from the fringe missed.

There was a notable rules incident, but one with a happy ending:

Xander Schauffele almost caught a bad break in the final round of the WGC-HSBC Champions, but luckily the Rules of Golf were on his side. 

Schauffele was tied with Tony Finau while playing the 72nd hole at Sheshan International on Sunday, and the 25-year-old’s second shot on the par-5 finisher landed safely on the green. 

Justin Rose, the third man in the final grouping, was up next, but his shot found the green, rolled out and then collided with Schauffele’s ball — sending both balls down the steep slope and splashing into the water. 

The crowd gasped, and more than a few spectators probably thought Schauffele had just been dealt a terribly unlucky break. But fear not, he had Rule 18-5 on his side.

Remember kids, you're always entitled to the conditions that exist when your ball comes to rest.  Patrick made some news over there as well, but we'll circle back to that after finishing our wrappage.

Champing At The Bit - It's not often that the Tour's off-field event is the more significant, but my early call (I know, it wasn't that early) seems to be panning out:

Who won: Cameron Champ (21 under) 

Why it matters: The 23-year-old Texas A&M product is a Tour rookie and regarded as one of the promising young talents in the game. He had only one professional win to his name (the Web.com’s 2018 Utah Championship) before his victory on Sunday, which came in just his ninth start on the PGA Tour. 

How it happened: Champ held a four-shot lead heading into the final round, but Corey Conners bit into it quickly. Conners played the front in three under, while Champ played it in one over. All of a sudden they were tied for the lead heading to the back side. Conners made birdies on 13 and 15, but Champ did one better, making four straight birdies from 13 to 16. Champ added a final birdie on 18 to beat Conners by four. Both players shot four-under 68s on Sunday.

It matters because the kid is a beast, averaging 343 yards off the tee last season on the the Web.com tour.  Yes, that was his average...

Shack has this chart of the kid's stats this week:

Geoff points us to that third line, as he benefits from three clubs less into each green.  I'm actually more blown away by the putting stats, though also a tad curious as to who beat him in SG: Driving....

Amusingly, he had an emergency right before his tee time yesterday:

Given his clubhead speed, I'd be traveling with a baker's dozen back-ups....

The Tour Confidential panel used Champ's win to revisit a popular question:

1. Cameron Champ and Norman Xiong, labeled by many as stars in the making, made headlines at the Sanderson Farms Championship. The 19-year-old Xiong and long-hitting Champ, 23, were tied after 36 holes, but Champ pulled away on the weekend and outlasted Corey Conners to win on Sunday. These two are just a couple of the young, bright players in the game, so we ask, Who is the breakout player of 2018-19?

Yanno, I didn't realize that Norman was still only 19.... Sheesh!  But these guys duck a rather simple question:

Dylan Dethier: I continue to be blown away by Champ’s game and think he’s far more than just “check out this guy’s swing speed.” I think he’s well-suited to contend at Tour stops that allow for some sideways misses (which, frankly, is quite a few of ‘em). But

you can’t go wrong with Xiong, either…expect to see plenty of both these guys. Nor should we overlook 20-year-old Nelly Korda, who had her own coming-out party Sunday in Taiwan. 

Josh Sens: I walked alongside Champ when he was paired with Steph Curry at the EllieMae this past year. The sound his drives made at impact are still echoing in my ears. But I was also impressed by his composure in the Curry-fueled frenzy. There was some Koepka-esque stoicism to him. And the physical game he plays is exactly the type of game the modern Tour favors. We’ll be talking about him a lot this year.

Two guys that draw a paycheck to write the game, and the only other name to surface is Nelly Korda? 

Jeff Ritter: Champ has both the game and the name. I first met him at the 2017 U.S. Open, when he flashed on the leaderboard and came away impressed. He’s soft-spoken, biracial, and possesses the most marketable last name in golf. Also, math is not my strong suit but I think he’s hitting it a full standard deviation beyond everyone else. Is that the right use of standard deviation? It doesn’t matter. He’s arrived.

Statistics, Jeff, not math.... But this might be the most bizarre answer of all:

Michael Bamberger: By breakout, we mean somebody who will win multiple times, contend in majors, maybe win one? I’d look to Daniel Berger, Gary Woodland and (maybe because I’m a new fan) Harold Varner.

Huh?  Gary Woodland has been out there since the Carter Administration.....

Table For One -  Our hero might be trying to suck up to the cool kids, finally, though Shack is none too pleased.  This TC question covers his Ryder Cup-related news from early in the week:

2. Patrick Reed, speaking to reporters at the WGC-HSBC Champions in China, said “I don’t know” when asked who his ideal Presidents Cup partner would be. For what it’s worth, Reed and Jordan Spieth are 4-0-1 as Presidents Cup teammates. Fast forward to December 2019 and the Presidents Cup in Melbourne, Australia, and would you put Reed and Spieth back together or has that ship sailed? And if not Spieth … who?

Let's just note that in ducking the question that Patrick showed some good judgment, not that the degree of difficulty is very high.  You know, baby steps....

Dethier: Hey, their partnership was already built on a bit of an odd dynamic — Reed once summed up their team strategy as this: “I’m going to go out and try to beat him on every hole.” That worked out pretty well for ‘em. In hindsight, JT-Tiger and Reed-Spieth would have made more sense, and could still happen in 2019. But you have to wonder if, deep down (or not so deep?) captain Woods is hoping his 2018 Ryder Cup partner doesn’t make the 2019 squad.

Bamberger: There’s no reason he and Spieth can’t continue to be effective partners. Really. They’re cut from the same cloth. They’re not going to let some newspaper quotes get in the way of winning.

Does Jordan get a say in the matter?   It's less the newspaper quotes than that hot mic incident with the rules issue, at least so I'm guessing.  I'm not sure why this is still a topic, as I think Jordan's partner going forward is pretty obvious, assuming that Jordan makes the team.

At least these guys offer constructive suggestions:

Sens: And if he does, maybe Woods can make Voldemort a captain’s pick so he has someone with a similar reputation to put with Reed.

Shipnuck: Suddenly this Presidents Cup is much more intriguing, especially since it’s Tiger (of all people!) who has to clean up this mess. Bubba could be a short-term solution – both he and Reed are so socially awkward they might make a perfect pair. No doubt they’ll be put in the same corner next to each other at future Masters champions dinners. But as much as we’re enjoying the melodrama the Reed factor has to be addressed or it threatens to pollute the entire U.S. Ryder Cup effort. Expect a lot of the Task Force regulars to have skull sessions on how best to massage this situation.

But to be fair, Patrick seems to be making more of an effort to be one of the guys....  however much we wish he wouldn't:

Those who stayed up to watch think Justin Rose was the kind helper. I will review tape Monday to confirm. Until then…my original snark that will happily be transferred to the

former World No. 1 if he’s not protecting the field.

Maybe being on a Ryder Cup team bonded them, maybe he’s just lazy, maybe those grooves just really needed cleaning instead of protecting the field, or maybe Patrick Reed is just trying to be less of a maverick by leaving his ball next to the hole. Either way, he did it at the HSBC Champions so that Tony Finau could slow down his bunker shot just like we saw a year ago in Napa. 

Yet another example of insidious behavior inside the ropes in the name of faster play when it’s could conveniently save someone strokes no different than turning a blind eye to someone improving their line. At least in a few months when the new rules of golf take hold, players won’t have to pretend to look the other way when a “ball mark” is repaired in their line. Tap away. Too bad the new rules find a way to address this nonsense.

Ironic that it was Finau.....   The video isn't great, but perhaps greater attention would be paid had Finau gone on to win the event....

The Match - Color me indifferent, but lots of buzz over Phil spending time with the has-been ballers promoting his duel in the desert:

Phil has always had the gift of gab, so no surprise there.  I just continue to struggle with the concept of these side bets and so-called action, specifically the issue of whose money is at risk.  

Before my thoughts, let's cover this Jason Sobel item, in which we see him drinking the Kool-Aid:

Sobel: The Tiger vs. Phil Pay-Per-View Backlash Is Misplaced

Don’t get me wrong: I understand the outrage. 

Professional golf tournaments are free on our TV screens from Thursday through

Sunday, nearly 52 weeks out of the year. Now we’re being asked to pay for something slightly similar and many are dubious. 

So yeah, I get that reluctance. I just don’t agree with it. 

I vaguely recall a similar reaction when companies started asking the public to pay for water in bottles. Why should we fork over money for the same stuff that comes straight out of our faucets? 

That sentiment sure killed the bottled water industry, huh?

Bottled water?  Suffice it to say that if I fork over my Jackson it won't be because I got the water thing wrong....

His second reason to order it is even lamer:

And he’s right: On the day after Thanksgiving, a day when people traditionally line up outside malls and trample their fellow humans for the opportunity to spend more money, tossing in $6.66 to get away from it all and watch some golf sounds like a bargain. 

It’s not like there will be many other options. As of right now, the only “big-time” U.S.-based sporting event up against The Match is the Oregon-Oregon State football game. I’ll take the Ducks, 58-14 — and a promise that you’re clamoring for the remote control by the second quarter.

Does Jason know about Netflix?  Want lamer still?

And while there’s been a focus on who won’t be allowed at Shadow Creek — no tickets will be sold to the public — there’s yet to be a leak regarding who will be there. 

Some of the names I’ve heard — famous entertainers who might be heckling and wagering with the players along the way — will ensure that this is no big-money redux of a WGC-Dell Match Play second-round contest. 

But instead of thinking of how this will be a refreshing change for golf, so many people are rushing to judgment. Twenty bucks? No thanks, I’d rather do anything for free than hand over a crisp Jackson.

 If that's your thing, I'd recommend the CBS Saturday broadcast from Pebble.....

I don't know if I'll watch, nor whether it'll be any good, the latter will seemingly depend upon the quality of the golf and the competitiveness of the match.  But let's go back to Phil and see what we've learned....

He's confirmed that there will be no commercials.....  As an aside, I don't really consider the network golf broadcasts as free, as they're full of commercials and the even more annoying network promos.... we pay with our eyes and ears.  The problem here as I see it is that there's an enormous amount of time to fill, and are these two guys that entertaining?

The other premise I question is their bit about the $9 million large taking them out of their comfort zones.  I suppose if they were playing for their own money, but they won't lose anything and we all assume that somehow each guy will walk away with a nice payday.  

Therefore, is it interesting to watch them have closest-to-the-pin and long-drive bets?  Meh!  Maybe the first one or two, but there's nothing really at stake?  As for the banter, doesn't it seem that that will quickly feel contrived?

And that's why I think PPV was a mistake, though Sobel says that the networks weren't interested.  Far better to not limit the audience by making them pop fro the cost...  I have to anticipate blowback if one of the guys is off his game.  But also better to have the audio sliced and diced for our benefit, rather than just picking it all up on open mics....

'Tis the Season - A topical question from the TC panel on which to exit:

6. Happy Halloween! What’s the scariest thing in golf?

This guy nails it:

Dethier: The hosel.

Would you like to hear about my shankie again?

Although this contestant has some game as well:

Shipnuck: Justine Reed opening Twitter late at night.

Catch you tomorrow.

Late-Week Lamentations

Mostly about the Nor'easter that's going to deprive us of our golf this weekend.... Sigh!

'Duh Match - Detailes have been released, and to golf's demographic it'll look mostly like alphabet soup:

For Capital One’s The Match: Tiger vs. Phil

Blockbuster Pay Per View Event – Produced by Turner Sports – to Tee Off

Friday, Nov. 23, at 3 p.m. (EST)/Noon (PST) With a Suggested Retail Price of $19.99 

PPV Event Reflects New AT&T Combined Resources, Available Through

Turner’s B/R Live, AT&T’s DIRECTV, U-verse and Other TV Providers 

WarnerMedia’s Turner will present Capital One’s The Match: Tiger vs. Phil, a highly-anticipated, head-to-head match play competition between golf icons Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson on Friday, Nov. 23, beginning at high noon PT (3 p.m. ET). The pay-per-view event, hosted by MGM Resorts International at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas, will be widely distributed on PPV with a suggested retail price of $19.99.

Capital One’s The Match: Tiger vs. Phil will be available on PPV through Turner’s B/R Live, AT&T’s DIRECTV and AT&T U-verse. The PPV will be distributed to other cable, satellite and telco operators including Comcast, Charter, Cox, Verizon and Altice in the U.S. and Rogers, Shaw and Bell in Canada through In Demand and Vubiquity (an Amdocs Company). Turner International will facilitate the distribution of live PPV access outside the U.S. and Canada.

Anyone have a link to the English translation?  No doubt the biggest takeaway is the price, as thye seem to have backed off the leaked $24.99 price point.  Though that "Suggested Retail" bit suggests that they're expecting some late discounting....

Your humble blogger considers himself of average technological competence, for the age group of course.  But I have little clue as to how to order this product, even if I were, you know, in their target market.

Here was Shack's short take:

WarnerMedia announced the “pricing and distribution partnerships” for their Tiger Woods vs. Phil Mickelson match, the first ever pay-per-view golf event. Capital One cardholders get 25% off.

We’ll never know how many are sold, but I’m having a hard time seeing huge sales at that price given the general hostility exhibited by the golf audience at having to pay for the first time. Then again, it’s the day after Thanksgiving and reality may set in that there is nothing else on television worth watching!

Is it true that they won't disclose the audience size?   I do feel an egg about to be laid, though maybe that's just my inner blogger hoping for some depraved begging as we approach the date.

They continue to hype this in-match betting:

As previously announced, the winner of this blockbuster, winner-take-all showdown between two golf legends will walk away with $9 million. During the live event competition, both Woods and Mickelson will selectively make side challenges against one another. For instance, Woods or Mickelson could raise the stakes by challenging the other to a long-drive, closest-to-the-pin or similar competition during a hole as they play their match, with money being donated to the winning golfer’s charity of choice.

Though they don't exactly make clear whose money is being risked...  Not theirs is the reasonable conclusion.

This is similarly vague:

When Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson get together for their head-to-head match over Thanksgiving weekend next month in Las Vegas, they’ll play for a winner-take-all $9 million purse. They’ll cut big checks to charity, too. 

Their respective managers announced that Woods and Mickelson will each donate a portion of the proceeds to a number of charities of their choosing, according to GolfChannel.com.

Winner-take-all seems inconsistent with the concept of each donating to charity, but perhaps clarity is a bridge too far for guys that have Tiger using a left-handed driver in their ad copy.

Downstream of Slow Play - Rex Hoggard performs a vital public service, answering the eternal question of why we should care about slow play.  First, let's admit that it matters not whether our rounds take ten minutes more or less....  The only time we get aggravated is when we're forced to wait to hit shots.

For the big boys, it seemingly matters even less.  Most of us consume our golf via TV, and they're free to cut away as today's pampered pro consults tarot cards before pulling a club.  Rex uses last weekend's penalty to frame the issue:

At issue isn’t whether Pavin violated the circuit’s policy. He did. What Wadkins and others struggled with is a system that allows habitual offenders to circumvent the desired

outcome - faster play - while continuing their sluggish ways. 

“It’s absolutely ridiculous,” Stephen Ames tweeted. “It took us 4 hours and 15 minutes to play a 2-ball. We were an hour longer than the first guys that teed off. It’s unacceptable.” 

Ames also pointed out in his social media missive that he played behind Bernhard Langer, who has a reputation of being a slow player. Rounds that last five hours or more is the biggest point of frustration for players on both the PGA Tour and the over-50 circuit. 

It’s become a broken record for both players and fans. People complain, pundits point out the flaws in a system that includes warnings and a healthy degree of leeway when a player is timed, and nothing changes. At this point, complaints about slow play have become little more than white noise.

Those of us who care about this issue have to be honest enough to admit that the enforcement protocols are quite horrible, as we never seem to catch those who we know to be guilty as sin.

But here come those pesky real-world consequences, hitting about the only aspect of Tour life that gets their attention:

But before you tune out and dismiss this most recent episode, consider that slow play is much more than a mild annoyance. It might be aggravating to fans that have grown weary watching a Tour-type run the two-minute drill on a tough putt, but next week’s Shriners Hospitals for Children Open offers a glimpse into the cost of slow play. 

The Tour’s policy board approved a plan to reduce the field size in Las Vegas from 144 to 132 players. According to a memo sent to players, the decision was made “to give the tournament a better chance of completing Rounds 1 and 2 on schedule.” 

To be fair, part of this problem was driven by the event’s move from mid-October to early November, when the daylight window is slightly larger. But there’s no denying the fact that if threesome rounds didn’t regularly stretch past the five-hour mark, this would not be an issue.

Got that?  Slow play = fewer slots in the field each week....  next up, per Geoff, is Riviera. Speed up, guys, it's for the children.

Frankie By The Numbers - You guys know the drill....  A player of modest length decides that in order to remain competitive he/she needs to become longer, changes his/her swing, whereupon comedy ensues... The list is endless, but I'll just submit Luke Donald and Lydia Ko as examples thereof.

Bucking that trend, though, is Francesco Molinari, as per this data:

He's basically picked up twenty yards in three seasons, not too shabby.  Of course there's always a price to be paid:

As to the how, it's the usual suspects:

Molinari changed his swing, his equipment and strategy. 

“My swing was very compact and very simple so it was probably easier for me than some other guys to find ways to get more swing speed and ball speed,” Molinari said. “It’s a very delicate work.” 

He also hit the gym. 

“I was more of a couch guy a few years ago,” he said.

We'll need Mark Broadie to tell us what it means:

Francesco is gaining 1.9 more strokes per tournament with his tee shots than he was in 2015 (when adjusted for courses and field strength).

 Lest you have any doubts that we're living in a bomb-and-gouge world.....

Nobody Said There Would Be Math - Shane Ryan has had his share of hits and misses recently, though it's been an interesting ride.  Today's offering promises to continue that trend:

Can any of golf's young stars win 10 majors? A (somewhat speculative, extremely comprehensive) investigation

A quick reminder, unless you include amateur events, there's only three guys that have dome it to date, two if we limit ourselves to the modern era however defined.  To me, it's interesting because of the current state of most of his short list:

Rory McIlroy: 4, 29

Brooks Koepka: 3, 28

Jordan Spieth: 3, 25

Justin Thomas: 1, 25

Some might argue with the inclusion of JT, though he's young enough and has shown enough game to  at least serve as a proxy for the gaggle of newbies.  But I'm more amused by Rory and Jordan,

whose games have been such in recent times that it would seem foolhardy to speculate about them winning anything, much less a mere 6-7 majors.

This is, of course, all about Brooksie, whose current trend line indicates that he'll win his tenth major in 2021, though I'd still recommend the under.

As I'm sure you've noticed, those trend lines do continue, until they don't.  To me, it seems a longshot that we'll ever see anyone win ten majors again, though I won't be here to collect on that bet.

Asked and Answered - Not the best of weeks but, to paraphrase Donald Rumsfeld, you post with the mailbag that you have..... Our weekly dosage of Shipnuck:

What current player(s) can you see filling the role of lead broadcast analyst in the future? #AskAlan -Mike (@mknjvt91) 

You gotta start with Tiger and Phil, who are both very smart and keen observers of the game. Tiger is more analytical, Phil more opinionated. Both are excellent trash-talkers. They have seen and done it all and could offer so much insight. 

If I have to pick one I’ll go with Phil, simply because I think he’d be more entertaining. But neither one needs the money and I doubt either would want to commit to a full schedule, so if we’re talking about more realistic options, my first choice is Geoff Ogilvy. He’s so eloquent about how the game is (or should be) played and is always bursting with counter-intuitive ideas. Padraig would be great, too, bringing a droll wit and golf-nerd viewpoint.

I'm thinking Robert Allenby or Grayson Murray, just on the theory that they won't have to worry about criticizing friends....  Of course, that makes one think of our Patrick, for which it may remain too soon.  To me, his second 'graph is far more interesting than the first, but you all know of my mancrush on Ogilvy.

Which career would you rather have right now, DJ or Brooks? -@theAle Marcoli 

Hmmm, which guy is six years younger but has three times as many major championship 

victories? I know what you’re getting at, that DJ has 19 PGA Tour victories and Brooks only five, and that’s a substantial difference. But how many career victories does Tom Watson have? Nick Faldo? I don’t know without looking it up. Do you? But we can all recite play-by-play from their major championship victories. 

It is majors that define a career, and in golf’s biggest events Koepka has proven to be a ruthless closer while DJ has suffered through a decade of Sunday slippage. Koepka’s haul of three Big Ones is already Hall of Fame worthy, and if he can get to five or six that puts him in Seve-Lord Byron-Trevino territory, which is to say, among all-time legends. 

Meanwhile, 20+ wins with only one major is Davis Love/Lanny Wadkins territory: very good but not quite great.

Paulina vs. Jena?  That is a tough one.....  Silly question, since Brooks has six years on DJ, and already has that 3-1 lead in majors....  DJ has won routinely out on Tour, but has had his troubles when it counts most.

#AskAlan What do you think turned around for Danielle Kang from freezing on her stroke to eking out a come-from- behind win? Is anxiety in international golf a big question that needs immediate attention? -Anand (@SportaSmile) 

I loved how brutally honest Kang was about her mental struggles, and all the ways she brawled her way out of that dark place. It reminded me of Jon Rahm talking about the extensive mental preparation he did (alone and with his quasi-life coach) from Saturday evening at the Ryder Cup until his tee time the next day versus Tiger Woods in singles. 

There’s so much that goes into tournament golf beyond swinging the club; in a recent podcast I did with Brendan Steele, he estimated 50% of Tour players are afraid to win and hold themselves back, consciously or unconsciously. So Kang’s struggles aren’t unique, only her candor is.

This was an interesting story that I never got to, as Kang describer herself as having the full-swing yips, and at a very young age.

Using this to make a broader point, I've long believed that the mental demands of our game are the least understood  challenge by non-golfers.  There's just so much time for your mind to prompt those dark thoughts, unlike any other sport of which I am aware.

No love for Sergio’s third win at Valderrama? -@JacekPerson 

Plenty of love! It is a measure of Garcia’s ballstriking wizardry that he has now won three times on the tightest, most claustrophobic course in championship golf. 

I’ll never forget following Sergio around Colonial in 2001, when he won for the first time in the U.S. I was in awe of how he shaped the ball around that twisty course, and Valderrama requires even more precise ballstriking. It’s nice to see Sergio back on top at the end of a tough year. 

Which 2018 USA Ryder Cupper (if any) would have made the cut at Valderrama? -@theAleMarcoli 

Vice captain Zach Johnson.

Another story on which I passed, as the field was awfully weak.  But those tight confines were tailor made (no longer TaylorMade) for Sergio....  And while Alan's Zach bit is amusing, JT did fine at the French Open earlier this year.  

Any thoughts on the new 8-round cumulative score LPGA Q Series that starts Wednesday at Pinehurst on #6 and #7? 102 players in the field, top 45 plus ties earn LPGA cards. Playing Pinehurst #6 and #7 courses. -Dave (@PopsandSunshine) 

It is absolutely brutal, borderline inhumane … and I love it.

Alan, have you always hated women?

This one has far too low a degree of difficulty:

#AskAlan Which gamer would you have liked to write: ’91 Ryder Cup, ’84 Open Championship, Nancy Lopez’ rookie season, Cherry Hills, or The Match? -Oskar (@tallboy199) 

These are all spectacular options but I’d have to say the Match at Cypress Point between Ben Hogan-Byron Nelson and Ken Venturi-Harvie Ward in 1956. All the other events were pretty well-chronicled at the time, but for more than half a century (until Mark Frost started sniffing around) the Match was little more than an urban legend. 

I sneaked onto the grounds in 2012 when Davis Love, Bubba Watson, Rickie Fowler, and Nick Watney did a quasi-recreation and Cypress Point stole the show. To go back in time and watch those four mid-century legends combine to make 27 birdies and an eagle — and then to be the only person that gets to tell that story to the world — would be a dream.

That one's been done, so it's all a bit silly...  But, in one those cosmic convergences, we have an event that just so happens to be called The Match taking place on November 23rd.  Why not beat the Christmas rush and write the definitive book on that one?   I'm sure you get your publisher to pop for the $19.99....

Have a good weekend.

Midweek Musings - Thursday Edition

Hope you didn't miss me too much, but we've got a lot to cover....

Pete In Winter - As that great philosopher told us, Father Time is undefeated:

Please don't end your story on a sad note," Alice Dye says to me as I close my notebook and reach over to shut off my voice recorder. 

"I won't," I say, not believing I can keep the promise even as I say it. 

How can this not end on a sad note? This entire situation is sad, even tragic. Iconic golf-course designer Pete Dye, author of TPC Sawgrass, Crooked Stick, the Ocean Course at Kiawah, Whistling Straits and many others, a genuine genius at his craft, member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, Alice's husband of 68 years, the love of her life, sits in a rocker some 10 feet from us, seemingly oblivious to our presence. He looks healthy, maybe a bit puffy in the face, remarkably good for nearly 93 years old. But time has robbed him of his verve. He's now almost childlike, his attention not on us, but on a rerun of "Gunsmoke" on television. In the good old days, 30 years ago or three, I couldn't have had a conversation with Alice without Pete jumping in. Likewise, if I'd ask Pete a question, Alice would invariably cut him off with the answer. 

The two of them used to constantly talk to me at the same time, much as my parents used to do. During rounds of golf with Pete and Alice, they'd not only talk at the same time, they'd swing at the same time. The only three-hour rounds I ever played were with them.

The writer is Ron Whitten, longtime writer for Golf Digest and friend of Alice and Pete.  It's a sad take on Pete's current condition, sorry Alice, but also a wonderful encapsulation of his contributions to the game.  His love of which, amusingly enough, saved him from being an insurance salesman.

Pete's (another amusing fact, his name is actually Paul) architectural legacy is profound, though his missteps are sometimes more interesting than his obvious classics.  But I've always loved his partnership with Alice, and  he's just one of the nicest guys to be fund.  He also provided the first step towards the succeeding generation of designers, as this excerpt notes:

A major part of Pete Dye's legacy is the legion of present-day golf architects who got their start being mentored by Pete: designers like Bill Coore, Tom Doak, Tim Liddy, Greg Muirhead, Lee Schmidt, Bobby Weed and many, many others. "Everybody who ever worked for dad considered [Pete and Alice] their parents. That's because they treated every one of them like their son," P.B. says. "It's like they had a hundred kids. I lost track of the number of guys who said Pete would bring them lunch, a sandwich and a bag of chips, and the bag of chips would always be open, half-eaten. That's Dad for you."

They're called "Dyeciples" and, while he may have stolen some of their chips, he obvious helped them think for themselves....

Whitten, with Alice's help, takes a shot at summarizing the legacy:

As I review the final pages of a scrapbook, I try to put Pete's architecture into perspective. It seems to me, I say to Alice, that Pete always built holes to test the good

golfer, the tour pro, and that her role was to constantly remind him that average golfers needed to get around his courses, too. 

"Well, if you look at his courses, he almost always has an open approach in front of his greens," Alice says. But, she says, "I'm the one who put the wall of boards up in front of the 13th green at Harbour Town. I'm the one who told him to turn the 17th at TPC into an island green." 

"And you're the one who added that nasty bunker right in front of the green at the 17th at Whistling Straits," I add, and Alice nods in agreement. 

"The main thing about Pete's career," she says, "was that he had courage to do what nobody else would do. He went way out on a limb with every golf course he built. And the next one wasn't anything like the course he'd just built. 

"Every single green he built was a fresh idea. He never went to a drawer and pulled out a drawing, because we don't have any drawings of his greens. Every green came from his head, a new idea on that particular spot. He's done all the greens on all his courses." Alice folds her arms and looks at Pete.

Golf is a richer game because of Pete, as well as because Pete and Alice found each other.

Waxing Poetic -  You know my weakness for love letters to links golf, and today we have a twofer.  First, a few of the Golf.com gang score three days at Bandon Dunes.  Here's their take on Pacific Dunes:

Berhow: It’s definitely in the conversation, but I haven’t been to Pebble so it’s hard for me to compare. I have played two of the other top five — Bethpage Black and Whistling Straits — and prefer Pacific Dunes. (I also haven’t played No. 3 on the list, which is Pinehurst No. 2.) But Pacific has one of the most fun back nines I have ever played. The whole course is challenging and the bunkering and green complexes run together so seamlessly, but in a beautifully rugged way. As for the aforementioned back nine, it

begins with two gorgeous par 3s — it’s unconventional and I love it — and continues with a strategic par-5 12th and daunting par-4 13th, the latter highlighted by a crazy undulating fairway and a ridiculously huge dune flanking the green. That final nine featured exactly what makes every golf course fun — short par 3s, dramatic par 4s and reachable par 5s. It’s a simple formula and was done right. Play it at sunset. You won’t regret it

Sens: This is one of those fun grill-room debates, but I prefer it to Pebble. I love the raw, unvarnished quality. No houses. Stark cliffs. Minimal pre-round speeches from the starter. If you’re lucky enough to get it when the gorse is blooming, it’s pretty much an out of body experience. Throw in a little coastal gloom, and you half expect Shivas Irons to appear out of the mist. At which point you can tell him that Golf in the Kingdom was unreadable and you don’t get what all the fuss was about. Just to clarify, though. I think the front nine at Pacific Dunes is the stronger side. The back nine has four par-threes. All fun holes but if I had to come up with a quibble about a course I love, that would be it. 

Bastable: Raw is a good word for Pac Dunes. Spectacular is another good word. Doak killed it. It’s a more interesting design than Bandon but it’s also a far superior piece of land. I love the straightaway par-4 4th that plays along a bluff edge, the Pacific Ocean beckoning to your right. For right-handed faders — i.e., most of the golfing population — the drive and approach are knee-knockers, especially if you catch a left-to-right wind. The short par-4 6th will also haunt your dreams. You’d more easily land a wedge shot on your office desk than on the No. 6’s narrow, sloping tabletop green. The variety and creativity in the design is Doak at his best. Make sure your phone battery has a full charge. You’ll be stopping frequently to take photos.

That's the massive blow-out bunker to the right of the 13th hole pictured above, which is mostly ornamental.  But did you pick up all of the cosmic convergences we've featured.  Not only did we have the Doak v. Kidd thread on Tuesday, but we now know where Doak got his start in the biz....  Please, you're too kind, but it's just what I do.....

Amusingly, they're asked to identify any flaws in the design, which elicits this response:

Berhow: I’d like nothing more than to blow up the massive bunker hugging the left side of the 18th fairway. You can probably guess why.

Anything but that, as this is from our most recent trip in 2011:

 

That ill-fated trip into that massive bunker costs the bride our trip-long match, so you'll remove it over my cold dead body....

As for the four Par-3's on the back nine, that's a feature not a bug.

Read the whole thing, unless three guys having the time of their lives annoys you....

Mike Stachura goes the existential route with this ode to The Emerald Isle:

The remarkable restorative powers of Irish golf

Well, duh!  Although, it's not so much Irish golf as it is links golf, because the same can readily be said about Scottish, English or even Welsh golf....

And here he relates an experience we've all had when first we hear this term:

I don’t mean to sound like a drunk poet—although I did experience my first pint of Guinness and my first sip of Bushmill’s—but my Irish golf experience was a much-needed restoring of order, a reality check that is more hearty laughter than rueful smiles, a self-reflection that finds only hope, no regrets. Marty Carr, founder of Carr Golf, uses the lovely Irish phrase, “having a bit of the craic” to talk about the golf experience beyond the shots. I’m not sure of its literal translation, but it encompasses everything from the negotiation of strokes on the first tee to the telling of jokes long into the night. Golf in Ireland was a breath of fresh air that restored my lungs nearly as forcefully as it knocked down my 6-iron approaches. And I heartily endorse it as the best way to rediscover your game more than lessons or sports psychology or a club fitting or a yoga intensive or a new set of wedges. Or whatever else these days constitutes an excuse to make us want to love golf again.

I believe Lowell Courtney was the first I heard use that term, although from his lips it seemed more like crack, though presumably not of the cocaine variety:

"Craic" (/kræk/ KRAK) or "crack" is a term for news, gossip, fun, entertainment, and enjoyable conversation, particularly prominent in Ireland.[1][2][3] It is often used with the definite article – the craic[1] – as in the expression "What's the craic?" (meaning "How are you?" or "What's happening?"). The word has an unusual history; the Scots and English crack was borrowed into Irish as craic in the mid-20th century and the Irish spelling was then reborrowed into English.[1] Under either spelling, the term has great cultural currency and significance in Ireland.

To an extent I'm more interested in Mike's photos than his text, including this of famed Calamity Corner at Royal Portrush:

It's an odd angle, probably taken from over on their second golf course.  The iss on the right is harshly penalized, which is why a certain South African played left off the tee in the 1951 Open Championship, into what is now know as Bobby Locke's Hollow.  We'll have more to say next July...

More wonderful memories, as Lowell took us on a private tour of the Antrim coast, that middle panel is the famed Giants' Causeway.  Lowell and Carol also took us to a rugby match in Belfast, though for some reason we missed the Harbor Bar.  Perhaps next time?

The amazing thing is how these two pieces restored me, so mission accomplished.

Golf In The Middle Kingdom -  A return of our recurring feature, in which we note that if China is critical to the future of our game, that we're all gonna die....  They just don't want to play well with others:

Chinese players on the elite U.S. professional women’s golf tour have pulled out of this

week’s tournament in Taiwan at the 11th hour, after being told by someone “high up” in China to skip the event, sources familiar with the situation told Reuters.

They said world number nine Shanshan Feng and rookie Yu Liu were told during last weekend’s event in Shanghai that they should not play in the Swinging Skirts LPGA Taiwan Championship, which starts in Taipei on Thursday. 

China, which views self-ruled Taiwan as a wayward province, has ramped up pressure to assert its sovereignty. Ties have deteriorated since 2016, when President Tsai Ing-wen of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party came to power.

This is a Reuters item, an alleged news organization that over the years has made curious editorial decisions.   The most famous of which was the ban of the word "terrorist" from their style book, because "One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter".  Even so, I found the segue from the excerpt above to this next 'graph a tad abrupt:

The United States sent two warships through the Taiwan Strait on Monday in its second such operation this year, as its military steps up the frequency of transits through the busy strategic waterway, despite opposition from China.

I don't know much, but I'm pretty sure that the movements of the U.S. Pacific Fleet is unrelated to concerns about the strength of the field at the LPGA's Taiwan event....  Unless it really is Trump playing more of that three-dimensional chess....

Department of Silly Photo Shoots -  Give those mandarins credit, when it comes to awkward photo ops for golfers, they're the gold standard.  Before getting to this year's installment, how about a trip down memory lane?

And this absolute classic from mammary lane:

Though for some reason they omitted the best of the bunch, perhaps because it resulted in a rib injury to the participant:

This year they went in a completely unexpected direction, and I'm man enough to admit that I never saw it coming:

Badminton?  Oh my God, you guys slay me!

Hold That Thought, At Least For Two Years - Wait, I had been reliably informed that the man is a genius.....  Not so much, it appears:

Paul Azinger brought up this question when discussing the 2018 Ryder Cup with the Morning Drive crew, noting that he was the first American captain in the modern era to

influence setup. He said it’s been more of a European tradition to meddle and suggested that Captain Thomas Bjorn exploited the U.S. strength. But the most interesting point: Azinger now agrees with Jack Nicklaus’ view that Captain’s shouldn’t have control over the setup.

While a sportsmanship element certainly seems undermined by course setup gamesmanship, and the 2018 Le Golf National presentation was just plain silly, I think the event is more interesting when the home team attempts to shape the course to their strengths. The move can easily backfire. But since the Ryder Cup seems determined to avoid genuinely captivating match play architecture with strong risk-reward holes, course setup ploys add intrigue.

Ummmm Paul, are you aware that the Americans get to set up the course the next time the event is played?  This is also a good example of over-interpreting the last event, as if our guys can't hit fairways with irons, then they deserve to lose.

See y'all tomorrow.