I know it's been awhile, but every now and again I need to go away so you'll realize how much you need me.
I'm pleased to report that I survived the Black. We took the prudent option and played from their front tees (they have three sets of tees, none of which are red), though even at a "mere" 6,300 yards it's still very much a beast. The most interesting shot of the day was one I hit with Billy Baum's M6 6-hybrid.... He's not sure if they actually make a men's model, but it launched into low-Earth orbit and landed as softly as a bird with a broken leg....Wow!
The other interesting factoid is that there is apparently discussion of changing the routing for the 2024 Ryder Cup, starting on the difficult Par-3 17th to use the expansive area around the 16th green as the finisher.... John Handley of the PGA of America was asked a question about crowd control, which he ducked completely, though he did throw in that they limited alcohol sales at Oakland Hills back in the day.
They plan on having in excess of 50,000 people on the course each day, which is a scary number. Scarey, because of how little golf is there to be seen.... Keep in mind that on the first two days there's a maximum of four groups on the golf course at any time. Think they'll move some beer?
I've got a full pot of coffee made, so let's get to everything we missed....
A Captain America Sighting - Yep, one of golf's bad boys is very much back:
JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Much like a super hero, Patrick Reed has a knack for showing up at the right time. Perhaps his duties as Captain America are not limited to just team events.
Reed, winless in his last 35 PGA Tour starts and no lock to make this year’s U.S. Presidents Cup team, rolled into Liberty National and saved his season, shooting rounds of 66, 66, 67 and Sunday’s two-under 69 to earn the seventh career PGA Tour victory.
Three years ago, in this same tournament (then known as the Barclays at Bethpage Black), Reed entered the week having not won in 48 events and was similarly no sure thing to make the 2016 Ryder Cup team (despite his performance in the previous Ryder Cup at Gleneagles). With the pressure on, Reed won, also securing a spot at Hazeltine National and snapping a lengthy winless streak.
I saw none of it, though my understanding is that, barring a win at Medinah, Patrick will still require a captain's pick. Those won't be announced until early November, but one assumes this punches his ticket. We'll take a deep dive into it after Medinah,
Shack found the whole thing off-kilter, though I'll skip his bullet points related to The Striped One and The Professor:
Patrick Reed won in an oddly flat final round despite a great leaderboard. The shockinglylukewarm applause after Reed’s final putt summed up the flat finish.
Reed jumped from 50th to 2nd in the FedExCup points, a silly leap if we are to believe claims of season long points and rewarding early season play mattering.The CBS team sounded giddiest talking about their final broadcast of 2019 and Saturday night goodbye party.But hey there’s time and a new, wacky format awaiting at East Lake—Patrick Reed, one win and four top 10’s, would be only two strokes back of Brooks Koepka if the Tour Championship started today, even though Koepka won three times and went T2-1-2-T4 in the majors.The whole 2019 playoff thing could work out well and get way better. It better.
And that doesn't even touch on that strange trophy... To me, though, the leaderboard was just OK. Abraham Ancer is a nice little story, though he hardly moves the needle.
Wither Tiger? - Bob Harig sums up the summer of our discontent:
Tiger Woods looks like a guy who hasn't played much golf. Not tournament golf, which has been widely documented. Any golf.
And that's not good.
After a summer of indifference that included just four tournaments, two missed cuts, a lengthy overseas vacation and some lingering back issues, Woods figured to be ready to go for a three-week sprint in the FedEx Cup playoffs.
Instead, he could not have looked less sharp on Thursday during the opening round of the Northern Trust at Liberty National. Good thing spectators were not allowed onto the grounds early in the morning, because there was certainly nothing to witness with Woods, who shot 4-over-par 75 and appears headed for another weekend off.
Harig wrote this before the Friday morning WD, but he broke this interesting factoid:
There is another curious development that has seemingly had more impact of late. For several years, Woods had a physical trainer who traveled with him, a South Florida-based therapist who had been on site at a majority of tournaments, and presumably worked with Woods at home. He stopped traveling with the golfer last year and hasn't been out with him at all in 2019. Could there be any correlation?
Curious. he finishes with this conundrum that has us all puzzled:
Playing in the heat and humidity of the New York area was supposed to help. So was the notion that he'd be playing consecutive weeks for the first time in six months with the BMW Championship at Medinah coming up.
Is being unable to stand over a ball and make the proper motion worse than just going through the motions? It's difficult to tell at the moment.
I've mostly given up wondering.... He won't share anything that relates to his back, and therefore he appears to be a guy that's lost interest in the grind.
The Tour Confidential panel continues it's All-Tiger, All the Time policy, devoting two questions to him:
3. Tiger Woods battled back stiffness and poor ball-striking before opening The Northern Trust with a 75 and then withdrawing before the second round. His status for this week’s BMW Championship is uncertain, but he’ll need a good performance to get into the following week’s season-ending Tour Championship. Even before The Northern Trust, Woods said he was “concerned” of how his body might react to three straight weeks of competition. Should he even consider the BMW or just shut it down until the fall?
Zak: He should shut it down. I doubt he will, though. He only played one round of competitive golf. If he felt he could play last week, I imagine he feels like he can play this week. And to him, this could be his last start before the Zozo. If he’s still trying to learn things about his body/game, he’s gotta he inclined to play.
Dethier: To Zak’s point, he’ll play if he can. He wants that Tour Championship start, if he can get it. And there were moments where he looked plenty healthy this week — but not enough to force it on Friday.
Bamberger: When Tiger left Portrush he said, “I just want to go home.”
Sens: No way he doesn’t at least consider it. But we shouldn’t be surprised when he comes right to the brink of his tee time and decides that it just isn’t worth it. He’s learned too many painful lessons before.
Don't they know we're in the middle of an exciting playoff run....
Here's the maddening part...I'm pretty sure he'll be good to go for the Zozo and his Japanese skins game. The priorities seem a bit off, no?
4. The eight auto qualifiers for the U.S. Presidents Cup team will be finalized after the BMW, and there’s been much discussion about whether Capt. Woods would pick himself as one of his four wildcard picks, which won’t be revealed until later. “I think this week kind of put an end to that [conversation],” CBS on-course reporter Peter Kostis said on Saturday. Do you agree?
Zak: I do. Tiger hasn’t played very well in the last three months. He also hasn’t played MUCH. Other, younger players are better suited to win points in the Presidents Cup. Yes, even Chez Reavie.
Dethier: Definitely not. There’s plenty of pressure, public and private, for Tiger to be a competitor in Melbourne. If there’s a way to justify that pick, it’ll happen. He’s still the No. 6 player in the world, by the way.
Zak: [peeks around corner] The only thing keeping him at No. 6 is the lack of events he’s playing.
Bamberger: The Presidents Cup is a TV show, and also a golf competition. So there will be pressure on him to play. But I doubt he will. This captaincy is good training for where the rest of his life can go. The statesman golfer, etc.
Sens: What Michael said. His game is not in a great place, and neither is his body. And he clearly knows that. I think he’ll be satisfied to have his contribution be in the captain’s role.
Does it, Peter? Because this is an event desperately seeking relevance and buzz, and I would think there's pressure on the man to play as well. I'd rather focus on more relevant issues, such as who will volunteer to play with Patrick? C'mon, guys, isn't there one volunteer? remember, this event gets so little coverage, especially being in Australia this time, that it won't be worth Patrick's time to throw you under the bus...
A Quick Update on Slow Play - OK, I lied, this will be anything but quick.... but I've made you wait long enough for the juicy stuff.... We'll try to recreate the sequence of events chronologically, finishing with what Shack dubbed Walkback Monday.
On Friday, Bryson DeChambeau seized control of the event, though not in the usual way. First, a quick digression.... Slow play is typically not discernible on TV, because the broadcasters know the players' habits, and are smart enough to cut back only when the player is truly in go-mode. The rare instances where we see it, and the best example of this was the iconic JB Holmes incident at Torrey Pines, occur only because his was the only group left on the golf course.
I mention this because that option is not available in many of the streaming packages the Tour offers, which might be the only reason that such incidents come to our attention. If you want people to pony up for such service, the product needs to be watchable. The irony, she burns....
For those, like your humble blogger, in a bubble this weekend, this ESPN piece describes that which folks endured:
One came Friday on the par-4 16th hole where a wayward drive into a spectator area left him 70 yards from the hole. DeChambeau took his time walking off the distance from the ball to the hole, walked back to his ball, then began a lengthy pre-shot routine -- beforefinally telling playing partner Tommy Fleetwood to hit.
On another example came on the eighth green, where DeChambeau had an 8-foot putt for birdie. DeChambeau stalked the putt from all angles, checked his green-reading book a few times, and then finally, after more than two minutes, hit the putt. A shot is not supposed to take more than 40 seconds, per PGA Tour rules, but penalties are never applied without a group first being out of position and then a warning system.
The resulting Twitterstorm was immediate and harsh, most notably from other players. I'll share a few samples:
Click on the ESPN link if you want to see the embedded videos, but just a warning that they, you know, drag....
I'm always a bit uncomfortable when Poults is the voice of reason, but that effect on playing partners is a significant point.
And Eddie Pepperell brings his unique stylings to the matter:
He's a treasure, for sure....
So, how does our hero respond to this opprobrium? The young man might get this rocket science stuff, but with fellow human beings he could do with a PR tutorial:
“It’s more than just me,” said DeChambeau on Saturday. “There’s a lot going on out
Bryson, walking faster than the average bear. here.
“I play a different way out there. I take my 40 seconds that’s been allotted, sometimes over, absolutely. Totally agree. It’s maybe 5 percent of the time. But I’ll tell you that it’s really kind of unfortunate the way it’s perceived because there’s a lot of other guys that take a lot of time. They don’t talk about this matter, and for me personally, it is an attack. … People don’t realize the harm they are doing to the individuals.
“There’s a deeper issue here, and I’m somehow being singled out.”
Oh, the inhumanity! But perhaps he's forgetting that golf is an individual sport, in which we single out guys every week.
Back in January folks were similarly aghast at his lengthy pre-shot routine, he had this justification:
“It’s actually quite impressive that we’re able to get all that stuff done in 45 seconds. People don’t realise that it’s very difficult to do everything we do in 45 seconds. I think that anybody that has an issue with it, I understand, but we’re playing for our livelihoods out here, and this is what we want to do. If we want to provide the best entertainment for you, it’s part of our process. It’s part of my process, at least.”
We've established that, Bryson. It's just that your process is in violation of the rules, yet you seem to believe that it's the rules that should conform... Stipulating to Brysom's own estimate, that means he does it at least three times a round (amusing, last Friday would be a good day for him, with only two recorded instances). How about a compromise? Suppose we let you maintain your process, and we just add three penalty strokes to your score each round? Are we good?
The middle act in our drama occurred Sunday morning:
Brooks and Bryson have impromptu slow-play discussion
According to Golfweek’s Eamon Lynch, “a visibly irritated DeChambeau” approachedBrooks Koepka’s caddie Ricky Elliott on the practice putting green Sunday telling Elliot that Koepka—who has not been shy on his thoughts on slow play—should direct any comments about slow play “to my face.” (No word if the irony of telling someone to tell another to “say it to my face” was lost on those involved.)
The message was delivered, as Koepka approached DeChambeau on the range. Though the discussion was civil—Kopeka said it was “fine” after the round—the optics of golf’s best player squaring off against its most polarizing proved the nadir of the ongoing slow-play debate, and the PGA Tour responded in kind.
Self-entitled much? That irony is rich, for sure, but I think Brooks would have been justified to deck the smug guy. He was perfectly happy to deliver his messages through the press and social media, at least until it all blew up on him... But others should say it to his face? We can only hope that he got an earful from Brooksie....
So far, everyone seems to be playing their assigned roles, most notably our defiant, misunderstood protagonist. But the Tour apparently found it awkward to have its rousing finale undermined by a social media storm over slow play... Glad to have your attention, guys, welcome to our world. The Tour issued an interesting reaction credited to a staff writer at PGATour.com:
The TOUR’s current pace-of-play policy only addresses players whose groups have fallen out of position. The TOUR is now exploring whether to expand its policy to also address players whose groups are in position, but who take an excessive amount of time to hit a shot.
“We know that the individual habits of players when they are preparing to hit a shot can quickly become a focal point in today’s world, and our players and fans are very passionate about this issue,” said Tyler Dennis, the PGA TOUR’s Chief of Operations. “We have leveraged our ShotLink technology to provide every player with a pace of play report that they can access which breaks down the varying parts of their game and gives feedback on the amount of time on average that the player takes to hit a particular shot.
“We are currently in the process of reviewing this aspect of pace of play and asking ourselves, ‘Is there a better way to do it?’ We think technology definitely plays a key role in all of this and we are thinking about new and innovative ways to use it to address these situations.”
That attribution is curious for sure, as the more logical route would have been to issue a press release. But this is the most serious statement the Tour has made on the subject in at least a decade, so we at least have that going for us... Given the extent to which they've had their heads in the sand, this represents progress.... Still only words, but those words are necessary, though hardly sufficient, to tackling the problem.
The more interesting aspect is the involvement of ShotLink, which offers a potential enforcement regimen that avoids putting entire groups on the clock. I'm sure you're tired of my saying this, but we simply cannot achieve anything significant on slow play under the current protocol, and we're capturing far too many innocents in that process.
Are you ready for some walkbacks? I mean, that one from the Tour above was pretty interesting, but I'm speaking of in their individual capacity.
Batting leadoff, the great Eddie Pepperell:
I give Eddie high marks for this effort. Unlike the typical "I'm sorry if anyone was offended" non-apology apology, he provides specific clarity as to the scope of his malfeasance and associated apology. This would be a fine template for others similarly situated, as he makes it perfectly clear that his thoughts on the underlying subject are not subject to further review.
Next up comes Bryson, himself, and he better hope folks are grading on a curve:
Who are you and what have you done with Bryson? The only mystery is which of the 115 VP's in Ponte Vedra Beach wrote this....
A pretty ignominious walkback, its obvious insincerity aside. Obviously Bryson and the Tour are feeling a bit of heat, and for the first time are talking the talk. As for the walking of the walk, well, Bryson tells us he's good at this walking thing....
Do I trust the Tour to follow through? Heh, that's a good one... How could anyone? But the message is that heat can be brought to bear and change behavior. Whether enough heat can be brought to bear to change deeply-entrenched behavior of course remains unclear...
The TC gang took this on as well, though likely before the walkbacks noted above:
1. Bryson DeChambeau faced heavy criticism on social media and from fellow pros when a lengthy putting routine at The Northern Trust went viral. DeChambeau defended himself in what was just the latest of many slow-play debates on Tour, many of which we’ve discussed ad nauseam in this forum. This incident was unique,however, given how many pros publicly called out DeChambeau. Does this feel like a seminal moment for the Tour’s pace-of-play problem — i.e., one that will affect real change — or will this be just another blip on the slow-play radar?
Sean Zak: It does feel like a seminal moment, if only because there’s a receipt now. The Tour has actually said something. And pointed to ShotLink as a source, from which we can (hopefully) expect data to be shared in the future. It’s all overdue, sure, but it’s something. The most seminal thing about this, though, is what seems to be a clear reaction from the Tour to discourse that begins in the public space, on Twitter dot com. LOVE that.
Dylan Dethier,: The last couple of days have felt distinctly different, what with public social media call-outs and a reported Brooks-Bryson putting green showdown. But as Tiger said Wednesday, this is an issue the Tour has had its eye on since the start of his career. The next step, not this one, will ensure it’s more of a seminal moment.
Michael Bamberger: This is an issue the Tour had its eye on before Tiger’s father was born. This is just about the biggest issue facing golf, the pace at which it is played. It’s so sluggish, and it turns off so many people, both as potential spectators and as players.
Josh Sens: It does feel a bit like last year’s pass interference non-call in the Saints-Rams playoff game: the moment that outrages enough people that something finally has to give. How much will give is another matter. Maybe next week, DeChambeau will only take 1 minute and 59 seconds on a tricky putt. I think we’ll start to see individual players modify their behavior (somewhat), much in the way that Keegan Bradley changed his pre-shot routine a few years ago after being called out for all the twitching and such. But the overall game we see on TV won’t change significantly until the Tour starts slapping big-name players with slow-play penalties, and I’m not holding my breath for that.
Why so cynical, guys? Oh, right, you watch golf....
And this about Bryson's speed-walking:
2. DeChambeau said one issue with slow play is that, as a player who walks quickly, he is unfairly scrutinized because if he hits it farther than a player, he still has to wait for them to get to their ball, dissect their shot and then hit before he can get closer to his ball and figure out his play. He said if he gets up closer to his ball while others are hitting, he’s in their line of sight and that’s not proper etiquette. (DeChambeau first mentioned this at the Masters and reiterated it this week.) Fair point?
Zak: Ahh, etiquette. Glad Bryson has introduced that grey area for further debate. Of course that exists, but that waiting period can still be a data-collecting period, a la reading your putt while someone else is putting. But then again, one yard and three mph’s of wind in difference is going to freak someone like Bryson out. You and me? Nope.
Dethier: Fair-ish, but if he’s really saving that much time walking, his group won’t be on the clock to begin with. One spot where he does have a point: some shots are going to take more than 40 seconds, and that’s OK. But that has turned into it being okay for EVERY shot to go over 40, which is a slippery-slope argument that actually checks out.
Bamberger: No, American golf has never done this correctly. You should advance to your ball at all times, being aware of where other players are, and be preparing your shot all the while.
Sens: The man took more than two minutes to strike a putt. There is no excuse for that, no matter how much agonizing time he spends giving a testy, defensive rationale. You walk fast? Good for you. Now hit it when it’s your turn without putting everyone through all the agony. This was a case of DeChambeau deflecting with a ‘what about-ism.’ Yeah, OK, Bryson, you aren’t the only one. But at this particular moment, we’re talking about you and what you might do differently.
Nice try.... Funny, though, that that nonsense coincided with this latest Brooks-Brandel Twitterspat.
I'm exhausted...shall we move on?
Gabriela's Time - To that list of young female talent (Kupcho, Fassi, Talley, et al.) add Gabriela Ruffels and Albane Valenzuela:
After surviving a late-match caddie changeand six lead changes, Gabriela Ruffels became the first Australian to win the U.S. Women’s Amateur championship.
Ruffels won 1 up over Albane Valenzuela of Switzerland with a birdie on the 36th hole at Old Waverly Golf Club in West Point, Miss., on Sunday.
“To be honest I didn’t think that last part on 18 was going in but seeing that just dripping is probably the best feeling of my life,” Ruffels said moments after her win.
She had taken the lead for only the second time during the match with a birdie putt on the par-3 35th hole after a nearly perfect tee shot.
Quite the thrilling conclusion:
Good stuff, I only wish I had tuned in.
The men go this week from Pinehurst.
But riddle me this, Batman, how does the USGA not take heat fro this?
While only Ruffels, who becomes USC’s fourth U.S. Women’s Amateur champ, takes home the Robert Cox Trophy for the next year, both semifinalists qualify for the 2020 U.S. Women’s Open at Champions Golf Club in Houston, although Valenzuela must remain an amateur to play there. Both are also eligible for the next 10 U.S. Women’s Amateur events, should they maintain their status.
Ummm...the U.S. Women's Amateur Trophy is named for a....man? Martha Burke, call your office!
Tour Championship Disaster Scenarios - The lead time has been surprising, but folks seem to finally be waking up to the bizarre format for the Tour Championship. Jason Sobel posits the most popular disaster possibility:
On the eve of the FedEx Cup playoffs, as we’re about to be inundated by myriad scenarios regarding specific players advancing or being eliminated, let’s discuss one scenario the PGA Tour doesn’t even want to consider.
The worst-case scenario.
One year ago, Tiger Woods posted rounds of 65-68-65-71 to win the Tour Championship, his first victory in more than a half-decade, a triumph celebrated by the thousands of fans who stalked him in Pied Piper fashion on the final hole and millions more watching worldwide. It was as storybook a finish to the season finale as any Ponte Vedra Beach exec could’ve blueprinted.
This year, there’s a very real possibility that Woods, currently 28th on the points list, again reaches the field at East Lake Golf Club. And sure, there’s a possibility that the magic returns and he again posts the best four-day score.
This would, of course, be cause for more celebration, as he’d finally tie Sam Snead’s all-time PGA Tour victory record of 82.
Except, maybe he wouldn’t.
Well, Jason, on that Tiger scenario, I've got good news for you... he might shoot the best scores of the week, but it seems unlikely that they'll be shot at East Lake. But it does beg the question, if a tree falls in the forest and Tiger doesn't hear it....
Jason used a tried and true technique there, nothing he should be ashamed of. But it's the same disaster though, if it happens to Chez Reavie....
Wither Jordan? - Geez, folks were excited when he got himself into the final pairing for Saturday. But Saturday's have been tough on the young man, perhaps we could work out a flex schedule for him? Anyway, those TC panelists took on this hot mess:
5. In one of the most confounding developments of the season, Jordan Spieth again worked his way into contention but struggled on Saturday at The Northern Trust. Spieth entered the week ranked fourth in 36-hole scoring average on Tour, but on the weekend ranks 172nd on Saturdays and 195th (out of 196) on Sundays. The trend was mostly true this week. Spieth was in contention after 36 holes but dropped down with a 74 on Saturday, although he did rebound with a 67 on Sunday and tied for 6th. Any brilliant theories on Spieth’s weekend woes?
Zak: I’d normally chalk it up to weird luck, but when it consistently happens on the same days, and those days come after the tournament has decided who is “contending,” it points to some scary nerves! Really, I think it’s just nerves plus an imperfect golf swing.
Dethier: I’ve mused on this plenty, but my main thought is this: it was very good for Spieth, 195th out of 196 in Sunday scoring, to rebound with a 67.
Bamberger: My only theory is this: once it was easy for him, and now it is not. Because life becomes more complicated as one gets older, at least for a while. By the way, all through this, he remains one of the most likable and real people in golf, along with F. Molinari and T. Fleetwood.
Sens: Not a brilliant theory; just an obvious one. Golf’s pesky little gremlins have done what they do best and wormed their way into Jordan’s head. It has happened to the greatest of all time. Why should he be immune to it? Watching a top-flight player like Spieth battle those demons is part of what makes golf at this level so compelling.
Wow, Dylan, that's some scary rationalizing.... Having shot himself out of contention on Saturday, playing a bit better when there are no real consequences seems like small beer.
I've said it before, but I'm never too shocked when shorter hitters fall out of the top tier. Jordan is more of an average length guy, but he's always been a suspect ball striker, one who hits some seriously crooked shots. The math of the power game is such that consistently hitting 2-3 clubs more into every green has to catch up to a fellow over time.
Does that make up for my extended absence? I thought so.... We'll see what the rest of the week brings. I'd like to do a trip preview post, but I'd like to do many things in this life. Check back early and often.
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