Sorry about the no-show yesterday, but I suppose a post-Ryder Cup letdown was inevitable.... We'll make sure that we don't miss anything.
Ryder Cup Detritus - Josh Berhow tries to make sense of the Patrick reed nonsense, and we can all wish him good luck with that. First, after setting the scene at the press conference, he makes the astute point that one is not like the other:
But Mickelson in ’14 and Reed in ’18 aren’t remotely the same.
Although his Ryder Cup record leaves plenty to be desired, Mickelson in ’14 was anestablished team leader who owned five majors and 42 career PGA Tour wins. His words, while perhaps poorly timed, carried weight. And, in hindsight, his comments questioning captain Tom Watson’s strategy put the wheels in motion for changes to come (including the formation of a new “task force”).
“I think there was some legitimate discord between Phil Mickelson and Tom Watson prior to the Ryder Cup,” says Brad Faxon, who played on two Ryder Cup teams. “And I also feel like with Furyk and Reed there was no sign of any discontent there. So I think it was surprising. I think it’s been surprising to everyone to hear his. I’m just kind of blown away. And it’s not doing anybody any good to hear this.”
Those changes are far less than Josh perhaps believes, but his basic point holds. The other point to note is that there was no love for Watson in that team room, though eleven of the twelve were prepared to be good soldiers. Furyk, in contrast, was of them and let them do as they pleased, so none so much as brought a shiv into the press conference.
As I noted in the aftermath of the Masters and revelations of Reed's estrangement from his family, it's really quite a sad story. The personality seems borderline at best, the self-imposed isolation and intentional creation of grievances. Yet he seems simultaneously to want to be loved like Phil, but of course without having any relationship with the guys.
If you read Josh's piece, the Henrik Stenson bit will make you laugh or cry, when a little of each seems appropriate. But at every step on his path to stardom we see this:
Reed has a Masters title and, until this year, a stellar Ryder Cup resume. But he doesn’t have the influence Mickelson did four years ago. Reed, 28, is a loner on Tour. He butted heads with teammates in college. Said Henrik Norlander, who played at Augusta State with Reed, in a 2014 ESPN piece: “He shot his mouth off early on when he shouldn’t have.” Today Reed often plays practice rounds by himself and his management team is essentially his wife and a small close-knit group; his wife’s brother is his caddie. Reed’s side of the family is estranged.
And he did that at two colleges, Georgia and Augusta State.
But the thing is that he loved being Captain America, and he seemed rather too willing to flush that away. I'll guess that he'll effectively utilize Jordan's slight to further isolate himself from his peers, and perhaps spur himself to more individual glory. But the team events are going to be deliciously awkward for all of us, though as a blogger I of course love it.
But there's this rather obvious point as well:
Asked if future captains will remember, and consider, Reed’s comments if the brash talent ever needs a captain’s pick to make a team, Faxon didn’t hesitate.
“There’s no doubt about it,” he said.
How are future captains, Tiger next year and Stricker at Whistling Straits, going to find pairings for him? I picture them convening the other eleven guys and drawing straws, because there will be no volunteers.
Before moving on from our Patrick, I want to repost this bit from Alan Shipnuck's mailbag in mid-September:
Does Reed deserve all the hate? Is he just complicated like Bubba? If we give Tiger multiple second chances then don’t we owe it to the other players as well? – Mary (@Mergett1_mary)
Does Reed get that much hate? I think it’s more like benign eye-rolling, or mild pokingof fun. The well-documented estrangement from his family is awkward and unusual but do fans hate him for it? I don’t feel that; more like it just adds to the widespread belief that he’s a different kind of dude.
Certainly Reed’s life is complicated but he himself is not – he’s a good ol’ boy who loves BBQ, his cowboy boots, his wife, and making birdies. Bubba certainly has more layers. There is a central conflict between Bagdad Gerry, the God-fearing, small-town family man who does lots of admirable philanthropy, and Augusta Bubba, who loves fancy watches, fancy cars and other trappings of success. Add in his social anxiety and attention-deficit disorder and you get some highly unpredictable behavior. Tiger is certainly a template for forgiveness, and I think Reed and Watson benefit – for all their little controversies and gaffes and rough edges, I think both remain pretty popular.
I don't hang in PGA Tour locker rooms, so I tend to accept Alan's assessment of the status quo ante, though it of course conflicted with all those college teammates. But I think his comments will successfully move folks from amused indifference to outright hatred, so Patrick will have that going for him....
For the record, Koepka is denying the fight with DJ in the Euros locker room:
It is a saga, however, that Koepka was quick to deny.
“This Dustin thing I don’t get,” Koepka said. “There was no fight. There was no argument. He is one of my best friends; I love the kid to death. We talked on the phone Monday and yesterday. So tell me how we fought? I don’t know. People like to make a story and run with it. And this is not the first time a news story has gone out that isn’t true.
But this is a classic of the genre, including the rare combination of logical thought and a priceless tease:
“The whole thing is … I don’t get it. It’s actually quite funny to us. How could we get into a fight on the flight over? We were sleeping. It’s just laughable. I’d actually be curious to see who would win that fight, though. It would be interesting. It would be rough and rowdy. But we have never fought. That’s not our relationship. We are two even-keeled guys. I can’t remember raising my voice to him. And I don’t think he has ever raised his voice to me. Ever, in our four years of friendship. That’s not who we are.”
He makes a very good point about them both being flatliners, though this story has been corroborated by multiple sources. Frankly, you'd almost like to see these guys show that kind of raw emotion after getting humiliated so badly.
But the tease is so great, and I'd be far more likely to pay $24.99 to see that fight than to see these two old guys miss fairways.
Before we move on to other golf news, Brentley Romine takes a stab at what the 2020 team might look like. Yeah, too soon methinks, but some interesting nuggets:
Rickie Fowler: Maybe the biggest question mark among the Ryder Cup veterans. Fowler has yet to really take off and win majors, and he hasn’t been great in Ryder Cups, going 3-7-5 now for his career. But here’s to thinking he’ll finally break through and win a major, and then play his way onto another team.
I do hope Rickie will be sending parting gifts to Patrick, Furyk, Phil and Tiger, because his poor play has been getting lost in the shuffle. I tagged him as a key player before the event, because of the team's exposure to foursomes on an extremely tight venue. He wasn't very good, and he benefited from a lack of airtime...
Romine also throws out names for your consideration:
Xander Schauffele: Was probably the first man out of this year’s team, but his ability to play well in big events could land him on the squad in two years.
Patrick Cantlay: Strong ballstriker who was quietly risen to 22nd in the Official World Golf Ranking. Doesn’t have many relationships with the top American players, but he may be too talented to not make the team automatically or not be picked.
Beau Hossler: With so many Americans being strong ballstrikers and streaky putters, the U.S. team could use Hossler’s steady flatstick. He knows how to win in match play, too, even winning a match for Texas in the NCAA Championship with a torn labrum in his left shoulder. He had a strong rookie season in 2017-18 and should only continue to get better.Sam Burns: He’s the most promising young American golfer right now and will play his first full season on the PGA Tour beginning this fall. The LSU product has all the tools to win golf tournaments on Tour – even major championships – and he’ll be 24 years old if he tees it up at Whistling Straits. He also has a bit of a chip on his shoulder after being snubbed from the U.S. Walker Cup team in 2017. He did play in the 2014 Junior Ryder Cup.
I've always like Burns especially, but since we have two full seasons of play before that team identifies itself, this seems unproductive.
Are You Ready For a Little Golf - Jason Sobel states the obvious, though he does so in amusing fashion:
Three days, 23 hours and 9 minutes.
That’s the amount of time between the Ryder Cup being clinched on Sunday to the first tee time of the 2018-19 season this Thursday morning.
Hope you enjoyed the offseason.
Know what I did during all that downtime? I wrote this column.
I don't know about you, but to me it just flew by.... Now this is the point of it, though I think they're going about it the wrong way:
Years ago, before he became commissioner, Jay Monahan explained to me that the No. 1 goal of the PGA’s mission statement is to provide playing opportunities for the membership.
It’s already difficult enough for a player who received his playing privileges through the Web.com top 25 or Web Finals to receive these opportunities from January through August, so the fall schedule gives these players a chance to earn points and money before most of the big guns get into the full swing of their schedules.
I’d still like to see the fall events as their own separate small schedule. Tournament wins still count, the money still spends and players can qualify for bigger events next year, but everything could recalibrate when the calendar turns over.
One of the biggest problems with the year-round schedule, though, has little to do with fan interest and TV ratings and everything to do with some of the game’s issues persisting without getting fixed.
That Jay is concerned with playing opportunities strikes me as good news. Because they haven't delivered them as promised, and I keep awaiting that class action lawsuit.
Like Jason I preferred the minimalist Fall Finish days, where the youngsters and has-beens competed among themselves for enhanced status, but with no need for the show ponies to, you know, show....
On a similar line, can anyone explain to me why Phil has pegged it this week? Seriously, what is he thinking? I can't find any reporting on his post round presser but he admitted to being exhausted and said outright that he thought he would only be around for two days. The exhaustion is predictable, so why do you play under circumstances where you expect to miss the cut?
Josh Sens is going ga-ga over the forthcoming PGA Tour season, though many of his points have little to do with the PGA Tour:
The Major Venues
Talk about a Murderer’s Row. Starting with the MacDaddy of Augusta, the majors will unfold at an epic line up of historic courses. We’re talking Bethpage Black, that magnificent Long Island municipal, for the PGA Championship, followed by the U.S. Open at—ho-hum—Pebble Beach, which happens to be marking its centennial this season. To cap things off, the British Open will return to Northern Ireland for the first time in 68 years. The hosting duties go to Royal Portrush, a majestic links that last staged the event in 1951. If that doesn’t get you pumped, nothing will.
It is a good selection for sure, and you know that I'm especially excited about Portrush. But is Josh aware that the PGA Tour has nothing to with these events, or am I being overly literal?
But as far as what Patrick has wrought... Yeah, those pairings could be good fun:
The Bad Blood Brewing?
You’ve got to hand it to contentiousness. It sells better than collegiality. And the good news is, the latter is no longer a problem on the PGA Tour. On the very same circuit where everyone used to seem a bit too chummy —sharing private jets, exchanging Twitter shout outs, playing tipsy shirtless rounds together in the tropics — we now have gripping signs of friction and dysfunction. For instance: Patrick Reed. Apparently not content to merely play the role of surly loner, Mr. Congeniality sharpened the edges of his reputation by venting his post-Ryder Cup frustration not only with Captain Furyk but with Jordan Spieth, a move about as popular as kicking a puppy. For fans who need a villain to brighten their days, Reed should suffice in the year ahead. As if that weren’t enough, we also have the prospect of escalating tensions between Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka, erstwhile buddies who reportedly nearly came to blows at a Paris afterparty. (Koepka denies it ever happened.) Adding to the titillation is word that their girlfriends were involved. Where the truth lies, we may never know. But it stands to make for good copy and conversation as 2019 gets underway. Better, anyway, than social media accounts of yet another cheerful spring break getaway.
I think we've all got the Austin match play circled on our calendars..... But perhaps some early season Thursday-Friday pairings of Reed and Spieth are called for? Yanno, just to keep it fresh...
The two major golf mags go head-to-head in picking breakout stars of 2018-19, with predictable overlap. Sam Burns, Sungjae Im and Cameron Davis show up on both lists, but Kramer Hickok and Anders Albertson were new to this observer.
But the name on everyone's lips is Cameron Champ, because the young man sends it. Here's Golf Mag's take:
3. Cameron ChampHometown: Sacramento CaliforniaCollege: Texas A&MAge: 23Cuts: 16/21Top 10’s: 5Top 25’s: 10Wins: 1
PGA Tour Experience (2016-Current): 1/5 cuts made; 73rd at the Valero Texas Open.Web.Com Tour Final Results: 30/16/33/CUT
Other Notes: Champ dominates golf courses with his elite driving ability, which will rival the best of the best on the PGA Tour. He led the Web Tour last year ranking in driving distance while also performing well in accuracy (37th). Not surprisingly, that added up to a lot of birdie chances, and he ranked 7th in BOB%. Not only is he great off the tee, he’s also steady with his irons, ranking 5th in GIR and second in ball striking. Add it up, and it all led to 4th in the all-around ranking. Champ has superb talent, and just needs to get acclimating to life at the next level. Watch out.
And Golf Digest's:
Cameron ChampWhat a name, what a talent. Able to produce ball speeds of more than 190 miles per hour, Champ arguably will be the longest hitter on the PGA Tour as a rookie. But he's not just a bomber. While averaging 391 yards (Yes, 391 yards) off the tee during the Web.com Tour's Utah Championship, Champ, 23, also hit two-thirds of the fairways on his way to picking up his first pro win. Previously, this Sean Foley student drew notoriety as an amateur when he was T-8 through two rounds at the 2017 U.S. Open. With his jaw-dropping power, Champ should be an instant fan favorite on the PGA Tour.
I assume that Utah event was at altitude, but the lad averaged 343.1 yards off the tee for his Web.com season.... But I've been reliably informed that the increases in distance are not significant.
Sad News - Pulitzer Prize winning sports writer Dave Anderson has passed away. here's a tribute from a contemporary:
I'm taking this personally, because my first Met. Golf Writers outing was at Knickerbocker Country Club, where Dave was a longstanding member. Dave spoke eloquently that day about the club, but also about his life a a golf writer. Most memorable were his discussions of The Masters, his least favorite major because of the lack of access provided to reporters.
And here's a favorite photo of mine (not a great photo, for sure)
That's Employee No. 2 handing Dave an Unplayable Lies business card at the 2015 Met. Golf Writers Awards Dinner. Do we think he ever gave me a pageview?
R.I.P.
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