Late-Week Laments

Not much to report on the skiing front.  Maybe some fresh snow Monday, but that comes with some extremely cold weather....But thought you might enjoy a picture of the rather impressive stalactite currently featured on my terrace:

Scenes From the Wasted - I watched a bit of it, but not the part where this guy really got on a roll:

Wyndham Clark leads 

Twenty-six-year-old Wyndham Clark sits atop the leaderboard alone through one round, after firing a scorching round of 10-under-par 61. The 2017 University of Oregon grad’s perfect round included an incredible 10 birdies and zero bogeys. 

Clark is playing his second full season on the PGA Tour this year, and is still seeking his maiden victory, though he did have three top 10s last season, and made it to the BMW Championship in the FedEx Cup playoffs.

 There wasn't a lick of wind, and we know what these guys do in such benign conditions.  

Who else is in the hunt? 

Tour veterans Billy Horschel and J.B. Holmes also had excellent opening rounds on Thursday, firing an eight-under-par 63 and a seven-under-par 64, respectively.

Two of Holmes’ five career Tour titles were won at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, in 2006 and 2008. His most recent win was last year’s Genesis Open.

How did the big names play? 

Xander Schauffele, Jon Rahm, Hideki Matsuyama, Keegan Bradley and Zach Johnson had the best rounds of the recognizable-name set, with scores of four-under-par 67. 

Justin Thomas and Matt Kuchar shot three-under-par 68s while Bubba Watson and Tony Finau shot two-under-par 69s. 

Gary Woodland and Bryson DeChambeau are nine shots behind Clark’s lead after one-under-par 70s, and defending champ Rickie Fowler and Jordan Spieth have some work to do on Friday if they want to stick around for the weekend after opening with rounds of three-over-par 74.

Exit question:  When does Jordan cease to be a "big name"?  I'm going with March.

This guy had a pretty memorable day as well:

Holmes, 37, preferred the 175-yard, par-3 fourth hole to No. 16 Thursday. He cut a 7-iron that cleared the front bunker and trickled into the hole for his fourth ace on the PGA Tour and the first at the fourth since 2007. Despite the hole-in-one, Holmes was struggling along at even par for the round through eight holes when he caught fire. He drained a 47-foot birdie putt at 10 en route to shooting 30 on his second nine and shoot 7-under 64 to trail Clark by three strokes.

Holmes attribute his turnaround to the magic hands of his trainer, Marc Wahl, who massaged his right elbow as he walked from the ninth green to the 10th tee. “My arm stopped hurting as much,” said Holmes, who said he’s been bothered by tendinitis for six years.

Lots of Kobe tributes, including Max Homa:

And Justin Thomas:

 And Tony Finau:

All good, though let me just add my gratitude that Jon Rahm remembers this guy:

Eamon Lynch pens an ode to the gladiators that take on the 16th hole:

Somewhere in a quiet corner of the locker room at TPC Scottsdale there might be a player who doesn’t enjoy the famously boisterous atmosphere at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, who loathes the beer-fueled histrionics at the Birds Nest 16th hole, who would rather go about his craft in the more traditional, cathedral-like environments of the PGA Tour. 

But if such a player does in fact exist, he’s not about to admit it in public.

As Eamon himself notes in his next graph, such a player would seem more likely to vote with his feet.  Unlike the Premiere Golf League, players are not required to show up every week.

Count me as in tune with this guy:

Even the players who say they enjoy the atmosphere concede they’ll be happy to leave it behind come Sunday night. “It’s quite amazing. I think it’s good to have it at least once a year,” said Ben An. “But I wouldn’t take it every single week.”

I'd change that "At least" to "Not more than once", but otherwise he nailed it.

Scenes From Saudi - It's almost like he's auditioning for something:

Scores were low across the board on the opening day of the European Tour’s Saudi

International, but no one made more back-nine noise than Phil Mickelson, even if he didn’t end up with the lead by day’s end. 

Mickelson, playing the tournament for the first time after opting out of his usual Phoenix PGA Tour stop, strung together seven birdies plus a bogey coming home at Royal Greens G&CC in King Abdullah Economic City, Saudi Arabia. It left him with a 4-under 66, which was just two shots off the pace. 

Mickelson needed an explosive back nine considering that he double-bogeyed his second hole and followed each of two front-nine birdies with an immediate bogey.

If Phil's gonna make noise, I much prefer that he do it with his clubs....  And clearly this guy agrees with me:

Just a shame that Brendan was limited to only 280 characters, as I suspect he could have gone on at length.  

Tron Carter, another of the hew golf media guys, had this about the Euro Tour's choice of venue, though he uses that other tour's marketing tagline for his skewering:

I don't follow, Tron.  I had been reliably informed that it's merely another culture, one equally valid as our own.  

Sergio, The Reckoning - Yeah, if only...  He's back in Saudi on an appearance fee freebie, and attempting to atone for his behavior last year.  First, a rehash for those new to these pages:

Sergio Garcia has spoken at length of the shame he felt after being disqualified in the inaugural Saudi International for damaging greens, admitting: "It was something I'm not proud of". 

The Spaniard made the admission on his return to Royal Greens Golf & Country Club in King Abdullah Economic City for this week's $3.5 million event on the European Tour.

The Ryder Cup star was eliminated from the tournament 12 months ago after taking his frustrations out on a number of putting surfaces in the third round.

Players in the four groups immediately behind him all complained to rules officials about the state he'd left them, apparently having attacked the greens with his putter, with Garcia being disqualified under Rule 1.2a.

Not proud of?  I'm happy to see the word "Shame" employed, but you'll have noted that it only comes from Martin Dempster, the article's author.   

But eliminated, Martin?  I think "Disqualified" is the word for which you searched in vain....But it gets worse, as Sergio has just a wee bit of trouble with the concept of personal agency:

“It was tough and is something that you never want to be a part of, and it kind of catches you by surprise," said Garcia when asked about his last visit here. 

"It was just an unfortunate thing that happened. The only thing I can do is keep working on my own family and on my game, and try to do the best I can." 

Just an unfortunate thing that happened?  Notice the use of the passive construction.... It's not something that Sergio did, it's just something that happened.  Of course, while Sergio might have been surprised, the rest of us not so much....

And here he verges into an interesting subject, about which I'd be inclined to be sympathetic:

He added: "It’s just a learning experience of life. I think there is a lesson for all of us as we’ve all grown up around golf and it’s not an easy place to grow because there are so many eyes on you.

“You want to do the best you can personally but then again at the same time you want to do really well at your sport - and it’s a thin line between doing well or getting frustrated.

“It has happened to all of us, we are all human and things happen that we’re not proud of. But, when it does, you just try to learn and become better."

The pressure these guys are under must be intense, and the frustration when things go wrong must be off the charts.  And then bad things start happening....

But obviously, Sergio, you're not actually partaking of that "Learning experience" when you duck responsibility for your actions, and think of them as something that just happens to you.  You behaved like a spoiled 8-year old....  I mean, damaging greens?  Who does that?

Oh, and here's something else that happened to Sergio a few years ago:

 See the emotional growth and maturity?

Women and Children Hardest Hit - Hey, I'm half right:

The LPGA’s spring Asia swing will be one tournament short in 2020. The upcoming Blue Bay LPGA, held on China’s Hainan Island, has been canceled due to concerns over

the coronavirus outbreak, according to multiple people with direct knowledge of the situation, who spoke to Golfweek on the condition of anonymity before it was officially announced. 

The LPGA confirmed the cancellation on Thursday with the following statement: 

“Given the current health concerns and significant travel restrictions put in place due to the coronavirus in China, the LPGA along with our partners in China have made the decision to cancel the 2020 Blue Bay LPGA, which was scheduled to take place March 5-8 on Hainan Island. Any time you cancel an event, it is a difficult decision and we appreciate how hard our title partner (Blue Bay), IMG, the China LPGA and the China Golf Association have worked to host an incredible event. The health and safety of our players, fans and everyone working on the event is always our highest priority. While we are disappointed that the tournament won’t take place this season, we look forward to going back to Blue Bay in 2021 and for many years to come.”

Better safe than sorry, as the arc of this story is still to be determined.  But at least our media is focused on that which is of prime importance right now:

You mean the absence of Asians?  Yeah, I figured as much....

Furyk at Fifty - I love the homemade swing, and he seems like quite the nice guy...  But I'm not a fan of the premise of this John Feinstein paen:

How Jim Furyk carved his unique path to a Hall of Fame career

I think Jim has had himself a nice little career, I just don't think it should warrant a Hall pass.  John sums it up here:

• Won a U.S. Open.

• Won 17 times on the PGA Tour.

• Played on nine Ryder Cup teams.

• Captained a Ryder Cup team.

• Earned more than $71 million, ranking third on golf’s all-time money list.

• Broken 60 on tour twice (shooting 59 at the BMW Championship in 2013 and then becoming the first player to shoot 58 in a tournament, at the Travelers Championship in 2016).

Like I said, a nice little career.... I think the strongest of those data points is the seventeen wins....  a very respectable total in the age of Tiger.  Of course, it's not an overly impressive listing of events:

A little over-weighted towards Vegas, no?  

Making Ryder Cups is its own accomplishment, especially when you do so over a span approaching two decades.  That said, his 10-20-4 record seems kinda crappy, no?  A Ryder Cup captaincy is also quite a vote of confidence from your peers, though perhaps they weren't aware of his actual record....  But even there, how does one make the case that he was, you know, a good captain?  To me, playing Phil in foursomes is de facto evidence that he wasn't good at his assigned task.

To me, the hardest aspect of his record to weigh are the 58 and 59, mostly because he seems such an unlikely candidate for such pyrotechnics.  I'm professionally trained to consider any 18 holes of golf to be statistically insignificant yet, in Sergio's formulation, this keeps happening to Jim.  

I see it as a nice career, certainly one in which he over-achieved versus expectations, but one not suggesting, you know, immortality.  But standards have been reduced such that he'll be a shoo-in, but that only renders the Hall irrelevant.

Have a great weekend.

Thursday Themes

Good to be back in Utah, though we could use some of that white stuff....  Spare a prayer or two for us?

There Will Be Blood - We'll start with this shocker:

PGA Tour pros say viability of would-be rival tour hinges largely on one thing: money

Wow!  Who coulda seen that one coming?

Here's a quick guide for you folks.  When they say it's not about the money, it's about the money.  Counter-intuitively, when they say it's all about the money, it's all about the money...

Now Jay Monahan, the fourth commissioner of the PGA Tour, is facing the biggest challenge of his three years as commissioner: how to deal with an upstart group called 

A subtle graphic to drive home their point.

the Premier Golf League that wants to fund and run a world tour that would consist of 18 events, each featuring 48 players, where first-place prize money, according to one agent with knowledge of the proposal, would be a minimum of $5 million, and could be double that. 

Last week, when the Tour made its annual stop at Torrey Pines, Monahan met with members of the 16-man Player Advisory Council and gave them a clear message: Talk to whomever you want about anything you want, but (as they say on the Showtime Wall Street drama Billions) know this: Nobody will be a member of both the PGA Tour and the Premier Golf League.

It was the smartest thing the commissioner could possibly say, because if the PGL really happened, the PGA Tour would quickly become golf’s version of AAA baseball. It would be a feeder league.

Perhaps, but as obvious as it is smart.  No one actually says, "Go ahead and drink my milkshake"...  At least, not in my experience.  As for feeder leagues, hold that thought for a sec.

The modern PGA Tour in a nonprofit organization that raises millions for all manner of good causes but looks and operates much more like an international business, with highly paid executives, corporate jets, vast real-estate holdings and an enormous marketing and PR operation. It hasn’t been a mom-and-pop operation for well more than a half-century. You could make the case that its top players have been vastly underpaid, in comparison to what leading NBA players, NFL players and MLB players were making. That was true in the Norman-Nick Faldo-Nick Price era and it remains true in the Tiger Woods-Rory McIlroy-Justin Thomas era. That gives the PGL an open door to start a conversation with these top-48 players.

But, is that actually true?  The only logical basis on which to judge this would be as a percentage of the revenue stream generated, but we don't often think of these guys as impoverished.

 Here are the, errr...., money 'graphs:

But golf does not enjoy a deep list of brand-name players and that is an inherent problem. A multiple-time Tour winner said last week: “If you take Tiger out of the equation, how much do these other guys attract enough interest to get this off the ground? Tiger is the only one who moves the needle. You look around Torrey Pines this week and 75 percent of the fans are following him. What does that tell you? Rory is a wonderful player and certainly a drawcard, but he doesn’t have the magnetism Tiger does. Brooks is injured a lot. 

“The money will have to be massive because the risk of getting banned by the PGA Tour has to be an obvious concern. There’s also the issue of what this new tour’s retirement package is going to pay, compared to the PGA Tour. Some of these top players, their retirement packages are going to be astronomical. Unless they are matching that, I don’t know if it will ever work.” 

Upstart golf leagues have a long history of not working. In the end there is one thing that could make this one different: cold, hard cash. 

“It depends on the money,” said a fourth player, who also has multiple Tour wins. “There is such big earning potential on the PGA Tour. So, it would need to be a crapload of money to entice players to come across. I don’t know about everyone, but I know I’ve got a price.”

OK, Brooks needs to do a quick update of his grievance list....  But yeah, and a guaranteed crapload, at that...  

In theory, they would need to go and cut these deals with each and every one of the top 48 players, each of whom will tend towards the highly risk averse.  

Shack has very much been driving this train, though at one critical juncture the PGL pulled the rug out from under him in releasing their lengthy Q&A.  Today he's back with a subject that I too have mused about, the ebb and flow of players in and out of the top ranks.  Geoff leads his most recent post with this:

I recently mentioned on a podcast or two what I saw as one apparent gaping hole in the World Golf Group’s proposed Premier Golf League: where will the next stars come from? And where might players struggling in the league lland if they are not playing at an elite level? 

Turns out, the group addressed this too.

Wow, these guys think of everything....  It's even color-coded, so I'm sure it's resolved all your issues.

Of course, shouldn't that American Championship box be labelled "PGA Tour", since they assured us they were going to work together.  And who wants to break it them that golf is played elsewhere in the world as well, including that growing Saudi golf scene.

The key points: 

—Planned as a year-two concept following the establishment of the primary Premier Golf League. This means 2023, based on the current proposed timing. 

—The “tiered feeder structure” plays under a “Global Series” format, featuring three tiers defined by region: America, Europe and Asia.

—It will provide “enhanced earning opportunities for the “leading 264 touring professionals” to “cater for and enfranchise the next layer of professional golfers and generate a coherent, compelling and correlated, multi- layered seasonal narrative." B-speak translation: feeder tours taking on the PGA Tour/Korn Ferry/Asian Tour/European Tour.

—The three regions will each create a winner and provide “guaranteed, exclusive access to the Premier Golf League.” 

—The Premier Golf League intends to fill “any gap” in earnings compared to current standards on their respective tours, and offer this less-than-subtle jab: “although should such a situation arise it would suggest that the leading players are currently subsidizing the earnings of less well-known players on existing tours.” 

—The PGL will pay a “subsistence fee” to cover travel and accommodation costs.

But I'm most interested in an explanation of their plans for relegation, because that should have heads exploding.  So, best case scenario, the PGA Tour can pass muster as the PGL's American feeder tour, which I'm sure will satisfy Jay Monahan's career objectives.

Now comes an "Of all the gin joints" moment to savor....  First, Geoff just happened to have this as his header quote yesterday: 

Tour pros would rather go through an IRS audit than play in a pro-am. Publicly they say they love meeting interesting people and how great the pro-ams are. In truth, they loathe them. They're out there for six hours, see countless bad shots and hear the same stale jokes. TOM WEISKOPF

So, imagine your humble blogger's surprise at this item:

Five-time major winner Phil Mickelson played with some of the key figures in the move

to establish a Premier Golf League, involving just 48 players and also including a team format, in the pro-am at Royal Greens Golf Club in King Abdullah Economic City on the Red Sea coast.

In what was certainly no coincidence, the 49-year-old was the target of a sales pitch by a group that included Majed Al-Sorour, CEO of the Saudi Golf Federation, indicating that Saudi Arabian money is behind a billion dollar start-up investment.

Also trying to hammer home how they think the new circuit can give professional golf a shake up to make it more appealing to TV companies, sponsors and fans, were three other key stakeholders.

WTF?   So, Mr. Pelley, you're allowing the guys attempting to put you out of business to play in your nice little Pro-Am.  You're not very smart, are you?

Let me just add that a month or so ago we were wondering why Phil would pass on Phoenix, where he's considered a local, for the greener pastures of Saudi Arabia...  I think we have our answer... Despite early reports, he did not go for the waters...

But sit back and enjoy a laugh for a moment at their courting of Phil.  You're a BSD that can raise the billion large to take on the PGA, in a league that can't start until 2022 at the earliest.  Your mission statement is built on the premise of providing a forum for the best of the best to compete against each other, and your first target of opportunity is player unlikely to ever again sniff the top 50 in the world?  Good luck with that, guys.

JT In - One out of three is good in baseball:

As speculation ramps up about who will (or won’t) represent the U.S. at the Tokyo Olympics this summer, Justin Thomas left little doubt about his aspirations to represent his country. 

Thomas is currently ranked No. 4 in the world, with only world No. 1 Brooks Koepka ahead of him among American players. With the top four Americans at the June 22 cutoff expected to qualify, it puts him in great position to potentially make his Olympic debut in July. 

“There’s no scenario for me (to skip the Olympics if qualified),” Thomas said. “It’s just different. It’s once in every four years, and you have the opportunity to do it.”

I just want to make Olympic Golf great again...  The red hat is a good start.

Phoenix On My Mind - I've made my peace with this week's event, relieved that it remains a mostly amusing one-off.  One has to admit that the local community is all-in on the event, and not just that ditsy blonde that says she attends the Phoenix Open every night.  Here's a good backgrounder on the Thunderbirds:

Recognized around the Phoenix area as a brotherhood of softhearted movers and shakers, 

the all-volunteer Thunderbirds are known to golf fans across the country as the pooh­bahs behind the Waste Management Phoenix Open, the best-attended stop on the PGA Tour. 

Famed for its raucous atmosphere, the event is a week of orches­trated bedlam. But even in the madness, The Thunder­birds are impossible to miss. Dressed in their signature blue velvet tunics and silver concho belts, with their namesake Native American emblem — a thunderbird­ draped as a pendant around their necks — they fan out on the grounds, tending to a litany of logistics at a tourna­ment they spend the whole year planning. 

It’s no small task, with no small impact. In 2019 alone, the event raised $13.2 million for local charities, pushing the tournament’s all-time fundraising total to $147 million. 

“Over the years, they’ve turned their tournament into a premier golf event,” says Shannon Clancy, associate exec­utive director of St. Vincent de Paul, a nonprofit devoted to serving the poor that has received more than $1.2 mil­lion from The Thunderbirds. “But really what they’ve done is transform it into a tremendous force for good.”

But surely, in this day and age, those native American emblems must be viewed as a hate crime...  Just sayin'.  This event works, especially on Super Bowl weekend, and I begrudgingly agree with this as well:

Phoenix Open crowds would make for an epic Ryder Cup at TPC Scottsdale

Yes, but it's more than about the crowds, as they finally acknowledge:

Lehman also has been a long-time advocate of that move, largely because of the crowd factor, especially with the stadium-style design of the course, but also because of the

excitement the matches might generate over the risk-reward back nine. That has been seen repeatedly with dramatic finishes since the Open moved to the course in 1986. 

“I pushed really hard for a long time for them to use TPC Scottsdale as a venue,” Lehman said. “Number one, it’s a tremendous match-play golf course, especially over the last nine holes. The drama coming down the stretch is just phenomenal.

The obvious comparison is with Bethpage.  Not only do I trust the fans in Phoenix a little more than the New Yorkers, but the golf course seems purpose built for match play.  Bethpage, alas, is a dreary slog.....  Think about that as you watch the golf this week.

I feel no need to tune in for this, though:

David Feherty, Gary McCord reunite for comedy show in Phoenix

Well, Gary had no difficulty fitting this into his schedule.

More interesting, perhaps, is an assessment of Feherty's move to NBC.  On the one hand, they don't seem to know how to utilize him to best effect...  On the other, he might have avoided the fate of Kostis and McCord in jumping ship.

As Seen On Milk Cartons... -  I'm really unclear on what provoked this article from John Huggan:

The Hazeltine Six: Europe's 2016 Ryder Cup rookies still feel the pain of a disappointing loss

He's kidding, right?  How many can you name?  

Chris Wood. Rafa Cabrera-Bello. Matthew Fitzpatrick. Danny Willett. Andy Sullivan. Thomas Pieters. All were part of captain Darren Clarke’s team four years ago, one that went down, 17-11, to a powerful American team led by Davis Love III. But none of the six retained their places as Europe, under Thomas Bjorn’s captaincy, regained the trophy two years on. 

And don’t imagine any of them are not well aware of their collective place in Ryder Cup history. While making the 12-strong side is surely a pressing ambition for just about every European golfer, for Wood, Cabrera-Bello, Fitzpatrick, Willett, Sullivan and Pieters, a second appearance would bring with it the possibility of a fulfilling redemption. 

All six, no matter how many points they did or did not accumulate in Minnesota, admit to having unfinished business with the biennial battle. Not one, not even Pieters, who won four and lost only one of his five matches, looks back on his ultimate experience with anything other than a feeling of deflation. And within each man lurks a deep desire to heal a festering wound.

I don't know, John, I'm having trouble deciding why I would care.  It's a brutal game we play, but a Chris Wood or Andy Sullivan's festering wounds are hardly anyone else's concern.

It is of moderate interest to see the career paths of guys like Willett and Pieters, the latter being the biggest disappointment.  he looked to be quite the stud, yet it hasn't quite panned out that way.  Willett, of course, had that God-awful experience triggered by his brother, which was of moderate interest at the time.  While his game seems trending in the right direction, not to the extent of delivering on the promise created by his Masters win.

Huggan does make an interesting case about how such marginal players are used within the context of the event:

Pieters’ point about the role of most rookies is well made. Another thing the “Hazeltine Six” have in common—with the possible exception of Willett—is that they arrived as the bottom half of Clarke’s side. Not many were expected to play more than three times in the five series of matches. 

“It can be a bit of a shock to the system,” says Andrew Coltart, who played under Mark James’ captaincy in a losing European effort at Brookline in 1999. “You make your first Ryder Cup team by playing well. So you get there thinking you are going to play three games, maybe four. Then you end up being out there only twice. That’s a bit of a kick in the crotch. You play only once before the singles, just to make sure you get a game before Sunday. Maybe, like me, you play only in the singles. Whatever, you are very aware of your place in the scheme of things. It’s never said out loud, but you have a relatively minor role. And that can be a blow to your confidence going forward. Especially if you are part of what turns out to be a losing team.”

James did that to three players, which worked like a charm until it didn't.  

Of course, I have my own unique take on Huggan's piece.  This was quite obviously an historically weak Euro team, playing an away game.  So, that vaunted U.S. Ryder Cup Task Force?  It's one accomplishment has been to beat said historically weak team at home.  I can't help but think they promised us more....

Midweek Musings

An uneventful trip West yesterday, so let's catch up on anything we might have missed.

Premiere Stuff -  Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this ongoing story is the effectiveness of the blackout on the major golf websites.  The only chinks in the armor that I've noticed are references to Rory and Phil's reactions, but otherwise you'd hardly know that they've gone to the mattresses in Fortress Ponte Vedra Beach.  

So, a few more items for your consideration, including Jay Monahan hinting at the dark money behind this competing Tour:

Hmmmm... Saudi money and Jay is "Drawing a line in the sand."  I see what you've done there....

Of course, as a sophisticated consumer of golf news, you're thinking that this is an ironic week to be be dissing the Saudis.  Shack with the tip-in:

Presumably, Monahan is highlighting the likelihood that the loathsome Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is involved, and that players would essentially be taking a form of dirty money. Certainly a huge consideration in all of these machinations.

And yet, as the European Tour returns to Saudi Arabia this week, it should be noted that several top PGA Tour members are playing thanks to releases from the PGA Tour.

Without going too far into that cul de sac, we have Eammon Lynch on this subject:

Eamon's Corner: In Saudi Arabia, golfers claim to ‘grow the game’ while padding their bank accounts

The folks at Golfweek use this picture of the golfer we love to hate, though it's actually a far more nuanced situation:

I love bashing the guy as much as anyone, but a quick word in his defense.  Patrick is actually a member of the European Tour, which I think is great.  As a member, he has to play in the required number of Euro Tour events, and obviously has to make it work within his schedule.  Just saying that he's got slightly better reasons to be there than just the obvious appearance fee grab.

This Morning Read item trots out the S-word:

Top Americans competing in this week’s controversial Saudi International on the European Tour justify their participation as a contribution to “growing the game” worldwide. That’s nonsense. 

What they’re really doing, knowingly or not, is contributing to the “sportswashing” of Saudi Arabia. 

“Sportswashing” is a term used to describe efforts by a nation to disguise and divert attention from its unsavory reputation by hosting high-profile sports events. It’s a tactic commonly used by countries that violate human rights.

OK, I see your point.  So it's like taking the Olympics to Beijing?  That's different because, shut up.

But why is everyone so down on growing Golf in the Kingdom, as I think these numbers will surprise everyone:

GolfAdvisor.com lists 13 golf facilities, comprising 225 holes, in Saudi Arabia. At least five courses feature sand fairways and sand greens (known as “browns”). Roughly 5,000 players are registered with the Saudi Arabia Golf Federation.

Wonder what the browns stimp?  The good news?  They might be Sergio-proof....Win-win, baby!

Of course naming names is part of the fun:

The roster of Americans competing in Saudi Arabia includes Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson and Patrick Reed – the latter no doubt looking forward to a heckle-free week, expected since such disruptions would embarrass the hosts and be dealt with harshly. The first category of eligibility for the Saudi International includes the top 50 players in the Official World Golf Ranking, 14 of whom entered. (Tony Finau withdrew on Jan. 23, citing family reasons.)

Do Saudis heckle?  Isn't that a fun thought to ponder, as images of beheading snuff videos come to mind...  Of course, Bethpage could learn from their alcohol policies..... I think it's awfully silly to offload these issues onto professional athletes, especially when the sportswashing comes sanctioned by the European Tour.

Back to the PGL, in which our Shack envisions a touching scene between Nurse Ratched and protegee:

I’m picturing a quaint scene down in Ponte Vedra Beach. Former Commissioner Tim

Finchem, his reddish-brown-blond hair having turned grey in retirement, sitting in a wicker chair, sipping vino as his replacement Jay Monahan stops by one afternoon. The mentor knows what’s up: Monahan needs advice on how to handle the Premier Golf League.

“How’re your girls?” Finchem asks. 

“They’re smarter than I am,” Monahan says. “They would have seen that adding more and more tournaments, even if it meant begging Guy Boros to play despite being retired for ten years, was a terrible idea.” 

“What about this Premier Golf League business?” 

“I’ll handle it.” 

“I never wanted this for you,” Finchem says, weepy. Now remember, ''Whoever comes to you with this Premier Golf League meeting, he's the traitor, don't forget that.” 

If only the current predicament were so cinematic.

I think it's good fun...  Anything that exposes the hypocrisy of our leaders is why I get up in the morning.

But rubber, meet road:

The PGA Tour declined to publicly comment on reports of a potential new tour that is attempting to woo the game’s stars last week, but in a detailed letter sent to players on Monday Tour commissioner Jay Monahan outlined the circuit’s thoughts on the new tour.

In the letter, Monahan said the Tour has not been in contact with officials from the Team Golf Concept, which has been publicly identified as the Premier Golf League. The commissioner also made it clear that the league’s proposed 18-event schedule would be a direct conflict with the PGA Tour. 

“The schedule for the Team Golf Concept is designed to directly compete and conflict with the PGA Tour’s FedExCup schedule, and to not conflict with [and would be in addition to] the Masters, PGA Championship, U.S. Open and The Open Championship,” Monahan’s statement read. 

Players are limited to three conflicting event “releases” under the Tour’s current regulations and the letter references “strict enforcement of the Conflicting Event and Media Rights/Release rules.” The letter also warns players that under Tour regulations “a member cannot have a financial interest in another player,” which is one of the fundamental features of the Premier Golf League’s team ownership concept.

Lest there be any confusion, Jay makes the it quite clear:

At last week’s player meeting, Monahan outlined “significant increases in prize money and comprehensive earnings over the next decade [on the PGA Tour]” as a result of new media rights deals and other revenue streams. He also appeared to draw a tough line for any players who may be interested in the Premier Golf League. 

“If the Team Golf Concept or another iteration of this structure becomes a reality in 2022 or at any time before or after, our members will have to decide whether they want to continue to be a member of the PGA Tour or play on a new series,” Monahan wrote.

I don't know how they scale that wall....  They can't lock up sponsors without player commitments, buy players won't commit unless and until they see the money in the bank.  

But not only are they taking on the 800-pound gorilla, but let me point to that reference to the majors above.  The PGA Tour is already touchy on the subject, because they don't control any of the events that folks care about, an odd position for the must prestigious tour on the planet.  So, good luck drinking their milkshake.... 

Brian Wacker breaks the Golf Digest embargo (they've carried more stories than Golf Magazine or Golfweek), and has some hot takes:

Most players Golf Digest spoke to on Tuesday at the Waste Management Phoenix Open think it would be difficult for Team Golf Concept to get those commitments and that the league’s formation is a longshot at best. “It’ll never happen,” said one member of the tour’s player advisory council, citing the aforementioned reasons as well as skepticism surrounding its financial backing.

But here's the potential bombshell, buried deep in the piece:

And yet changes could be on the horizon. According to one source, Monahan had a conversation last week with McIlroy and Rickie Fowler about the potential new league, during which he expressed his concerns about the sustainability of the status quo for the PGA Tour in the long term.

As you know, that's been my mantra for decades now....  I'm a profound skeptic on the value of all these sponsorships,  but it's shocking to hear that come from Jay's mouth.  

I'll just add that we've all been wondering about the acceleration of the renewal schedule for the Tour's TV packages and streaming rights, and I'll speculate that this might be a factor as well.

Mission Tokyo - As you might be aware, the golf calendar is a bit crowded, so it comes as little surprise (at least to me) that players are considering their options.  For instance, this guy:

Dustin Johnson, the world’s fifth-ranked golfer, said he isn’t sure the Tokyo Olympics will fit well into his schedule, assuming he qualifies for what will be a very competitive U.S. team of four. 

“Obviously representing the United States in the Olympics is something that, you know, definitely be proud to do,” he said when asked if the Ryder Cup and the Olympics are goals this year. “But is it going to fit in the schedule properly? I’m not really sure about that, because there’s so many events that are right there and leading up to it. So you know, I’m still working with my team to figure out what’s the best thing for me to do.”

The schedule isn't quite as crazy as in 2016, when the John Deere was contested the same week as the Olympics.  But Tokyo isn't exactly around the corner, either.

But, admittedly off-topic, did this guy just break news:

Johnson did qualify for the Rio Olympics but withdrew a month before the Games, citing 

Zika virus concerns as other golfers did. 

“This was not an easy decision for me, but my concerns about the Zika virus cannot be ignored,” Johnson said in a statement at the time. “[Wife] Paulina and I plan to have more children in the near future, and I feel it would be irresponsible to put myself, her or our family at risk.”

To the best of my knowledge, DJ has never made an honest woman out of Paulina, so we'll just consider that more fake news.

Then there's his fellow Bash Bros.: 

“It just all kind of depends on how you feel, how your body feels,” Koepka told reporters. “To me, the four majors are definitely more important for me. The FedExCup, too. That’s a goal of mine. We’ll see where everything else falls.”

OK, I'll mark you down as a maybe....

Before leaving this topic, let me revisit an item I had you on Monday.  In this week's Tour Confidential, the guys were asked about that new golf tour, and Alan Shipnuck had this reaction:

Alan Shipnuck: This is the most boring idea I’ve ever heard. It’s basically 18 Hero World Challenges — except Tiger might not play in any of them, or only a few. There are already too many mediocre golf tournaments out there, we don’t need more!

Alan, you had me at hello.  But riddle me this, if the PGL's events, with the best 48 players on the planet is the Hero World what, pray tell, is Olympic Golf with no more than thirty world class players (and not even the top thirty)?  Alan, you may recall, is an Olympic golf fanboy, and I just don't get it.

Wasted Away - I've long ago made my peace with this event, which is just fine as long as it remains a one-off.  But there is one unappreciated aspect to the week, the rather strong field for the Monday qualifier.  This and the Honda usually are the toughest, because of how many tour pros live in the 'hood.

Adam Schupak interviews a number of the players on their feelings about No. 16, with mostly predictable results:

Chesson Hadley

“Is it up there with the Super Bowl and the Masters? No. But it should be.” 

Joel Dahmen

“If you have a friend with good tickets, yes, but it’s too hard to get in.” 

Harold Varner III

“It’s the greatest hole in golf. You have to experience it.” 

Adam Hadwin

“I’m Canadian so I usually go with a hockey reference. It’s like being in a hockey arena from end to end and then they’re right on top of you.” 

Patrick Rodgers

“It’s one of the rare occasions where you feel like a pro athlete.” 

Aaron Baddeley

“I read it was Top-10 bucket-list for people over 50 so it must be true.”

Peter Malnati

“The shot itself isn’t stressful. It’s the one place where we as players get to feel like we’re playing in an arena. It’s so stinking cool. Players feed off the energy of the crowd and vice-versa.” 

Bo Van Pelt

“You’ve got to see it once. It’s the closest thing in golf to what other athletes have to deal with every time they play.”

Of course, there's always a dissenter:

Marc Leishman 

“If you don’t mind being around a lot of drunk people and waiting in ridiculously long lines to get a drink, I guess so, but it’s not for me.”

So, why are you there?  You too could be in Saudi collecting a large appearance fee....

Alan, Asked -  They dropped the most recent Shipnuck mailbag feature during the day on Friday, which is really sub-optimal for our blogging schedule.  I really need it earlier in the week when things are slow, but do they care?

It's far from his best effort, though he does start strong:

Will beefed up Bryson be inside top 50 OWGR at the end of the season? #askalan – @ullijohns 

No, and, alas, he won’t be in top 50 in Fortnite, either.

Though getting "huge" might be more beneficial in Fornite than in his day job.... 

I'll beg to differ with him here:

What’s the right distance for 13 at Augusta? – @cpfolds 

Last year it played at 510 yards, which is obviously too short. There needs to be much more risk built into the second shot, which means longer clubs, not the 8-irons we’re increasingly seeing. But it has to remain tantalizingly in reach, tempting players with the chance at glory. So let’s err on the side of caution at move it to 550 yards, knowing Augusta National has more room to make it longer if need be.

I just don't know that they can clear the dogleg from 40 yards further back....  I'd actually rather play it as a Par-4, than tinker with one of the best and most dramatic holes in golf.  I would rather see longer irons in their hands, for sure, but it's a full 90-degree dogleg.

#AskAlan Is Tiger being overhyped going into ’20? I think he is. – @TheTexasSteve 

Of course he is! He’s Tiger F’ing Woods. He was overhyped in the mid-90s and has done nothing since that would diminish the hyperbole. At this point you can’t fight it: every time Tiger tees it up Fanboy Media will hyperventilate over every twitch and Old Man Media will closely scrutinize his play. To quote one of the great philosophers: it is what it is. But Woods’ play at the Presidents Cup was a reminder that he is still the best golfer in the world. If his body feels right and the course setup is favorable he can win anytime, anywhere. How can we not be excited about this wondrous final act to an incomparable career?

Ask me in August....  Pure stream of consciousness, but Tiger might be the most curious thing about the PGL (and I probably should have noted this above).  Tiger is a complete non-starter for these guys, because he'll never sign on for 18 non-major events.  So how do you get this thing off the ground without the only guy that moves the needle.

Which would you rather see…. Tiger win #83 at Torrey Pines where he’s had so much success and put on a legendary performance in the ’08 U.S. Open OR Tiger come full-circle and win #83 at Riviera where he made his PGA Tour debut at 16 years old? #AskAlan – @djlettieri 

I’ll take Riv, where it all began, and also because it’s such an iconic golf course and Tiger’s career will somehow feel incomplete if he never wins at Hogan’s Alley.

Apparently neither guy has actually seen Tiger play at The Riv, where he's ;lucky to make a cut.

Realize you were just a teen when Jack won his last major, but what is your favorite memory of him, on or off the course? – @rob4golf 

Watching the Masters telecast with him last year was a blast, and I’ve been lucky to have a few other long sit-down interviews with Jack, who is not only a good talker and great thinker but so generous in his appreciation for scribes; he ends most interviews by saying,”I hope you got what you need” — and he means it. But one moment I think about a lot is a quick exchange we had at the 2000 U.S. Open. He was talking about putting and I asked him if, during his heyday, when he faced a longish birdie putt he was trying to make it or just cozy it down for an easy two-putt. He looked at me incredulously and said,”I always tried to make it. I still do.” He went on to say that he has so much confidence in his short putting he was never afraid of the comebacker. Then he dropped this bomb: “I used to go the entire West Coast swing without a 3-putt.” Of course this is impossible on the soft, winter greens of the seaside courses and then the slick surfaces in the desert. But Jack meant it! In his mind he really never missed a putt. That insight has always stuck with me: the best players are so good in part because they think they’re infallible. 

As for a favorite on-course moment, it’s definitely the 1998 Masters. On Sunday, Big Jack started off with a birdie binge to improbably thrust himself into contention, at the age of 58. I was standing right behind the 7th green when he flagged his approach shot. It was one of the loudest roars I’ve ever heard on a golf course. Jack’s playing partner Ernie Els was just laughing and shaking his head. I had a perfect view when Nicklaus made the birdie putt … and winked at Ernie. What a legend.

Just some great memories of a class act.... But, you know, I don't doubt for a minute that he might have gone the entire West Coast without a 3-jack.

This is way too much attention to a Westy, but perhaps you'll pay it greater heed than I did:

Dear Alan, will you finally, finally admit that Lee Westwood was & still *IS* the BPNTWAM? Up to #29 in the world, two impressive wins in the last 14 months & a dark horse for Augusta… surely qualifies him as an ‘active player’ regardless of his age!? – @mocyling 

It’s an intriguing question. I have long maintained that a key criteria to being considered the Best Player Never To Have Won A Major is the sense that said player is on the verge of that tantalizing breakthrough. Otherwise, you’d have a few guys holding that title for years and years after their primes. In the last five years, Westwood has contended at only one major, the ’16 Masters, where a pitch-in for eagle on 15 on Sunday put him in the thick of things … and he promptly 3-willied the 16th hole to eject himself. Westy’s ball striking has always been world-class but an inability to hole the key putts (think of the 72nd hole 3-putt at Turnberry) has been killer at the majors. Given his recent play, and lack of consensus for who currently holds this dreaded title, Westwood now belongs in the BPNTHWAM discussion. But I can’t make him the only one because is there any reason to believe his breakthrough is coming now, as opposed to any of the previous three decades during which he won a tournament? 

Let’s give Westbrook some encouragement!!! Can he (finally) win The Open Championship??? (Reminds me of the excitement in seeing Darren Clarke’s win.) – @RLMGrandpa 

Well, this is the counterpoint: if Darren Clarke can rise from the abyss and win a major, literally any fortysomething of a certain standard has a chance. It’s kismet that the Open is returning to Royal St. George’s, the site of Clarke’s improbable victory. Given the longstanding friendship between Clarke and Westwood, the golf gods are certainly on notice. 

Hello friend, Lee Westwood has 44 professional wins … 2 of them on the PGA tour. IJP has 17 professional wins… and 1 on the PGA tour. Does this speak more to the level of talent on the PGA Tour, the European Tour, or something else??? Would these doods just have been good pros in the U.S.? – @FakePoulter 

And let us not forget Colin Montgomerie’s oh-fer-America in his, ahem, Hall of Fame career. Westwood is a particularly interesting case because he broke through with a win in New Orleans in 1998, when he was only 25, during a season in which he won six other times around the world. It was the perfect moment to commit to the PGA Tour and see how deep he could take it but Westwood never did, basically settling into a schedule in which he’d play the majors and WGCs and make a few other cameos Stateside. He is a very English lad and simply felt more comfortable being at home and enjoying the camaraderies of the European Tour. Marriage/kids kept him over there and it would be a dozen years until Westwood won again in the U.S., in Memphis. In the mid-aughts, as his marriage was ending, Westwood set up a homebase in South Florida for three seasons, coinciding with a long winless streak. He’s remains at two PGA Tour wins in 236 PGA Tour starts, though in fairness they’re heavily weighted to the best tournaments. There is zero doubt the fields on the PGA Tour are much deeper than in Europe, and they should be: the feeder systems include the KFT, LAT, Canadian Tour, PGA Tour China, NCAA and AJGA! If Westy and Monty had played full-time in the U.S. they both would have enjoyed very good careers … but they’d definitely have significantly fewer worldwide wins.

Westy is a better player than Darren Clarke, for sure, but not as good as Monty.... Ironic that the worst of three snagged a major, but so did Ben Curtis, Shaun Micheel and Andy North (twice).   

But Westy sure coughed up a few (Torrey as well as Turnberry), and who can forget Monty at Congressional and Winged Foot.  

Since Donald Trump was elected in 2016, Tiger has won the Tour Championship, The ZOZO Championship, The Masters, moved back into the top ten in the OWGR and also captained the winning Presidents Cup team. Will you be voting for President Trump in November? #MTGA – @BobEstesPGA 

A better question for all the die-hard Republicans on Tour: would you vote for Elizabeth Warren if it guaranteed Tiger would win four more majors, thus securing your long-term personal financial interests? I honestly don’t know how the Tour rank-and-file would vote on this.

There was a Make Tiger Great Again meme back then....  Alan may not know for whom the Tour players will vote, but I do.  If you'll just think back to Robert Conquest's First Law of Politics, the answer will become clear.

See you tomorrow?

Weekend Wrap

The Kobe story was quite the shock....  I've long been a Lakers fan, at least to the extent that I have any interest in the NBA.  But it's the daughter that I think cuts the deepest, no?

Unleish The Dogs - Well, January 26th is Australia Day....

Who won: Marc Leishman (seven-under 65, 273) 

How it happened: Rahm began the day with a one-stroke lead after a Saturday 65, but

Rahm couldn’t get off to the same Sunday start as Australian Marc Leishman, who opened birdie-birdie and was five under on the front nine. Leishman got to 13 under at the turn, which at the time put him ahead of seven others stuck at 10 under — McIlroy and Patrick Reed among them — and kept it up on the back nine. He birdied the 11th, and even when Brandt Snedeker eagled the 13th to the cut the lead to two, Leishman birdied 15 and Snedeker fell back with a bogey two holes later, making the deficit four strokes. Leishman gave away a stroke with a bogey on 17, but got it back with a birdie on 18. That last one proved crucial, as Rahm finished on a tear but came just short. Rahm was three over on the day through 12 holes, but he played the last six in five under. That included an eagle on 13 and birdie on 18. His tying-eagle attempt on the 72nd hole couldn’t fall to force a playoff. 

Why it matters: It’s the fifth PGA Tour win for the 36-year-old Leishman and fourth since 2017.

I was particularly impressed by the aggressive third shot on the finishing hole....  I'm sure he knew exactly where he stood, don't they all, though I didn't actually think he needed to be pin-hunting at that moment.  Can you say Kyle Stanley?  

Before the inevitable Tiger navel gazing, how about a moment for Jon Rahm....  Let me just cherry-pick this Alan Shipnuck comment from this week's Tour Confidential:

Shipnuck: That Jon Rahm is an absolute menace. He had a complete crack-up on the front nine today…and still nearly pulled out the win.

That was crazy impressive, especially as it happened on an extremely challenging set of holes.  That said, WTF?

Jon Rahm thought he was going to a playoff to decide the winner of the Farmers Insurance Open. And then he found out he wasn’t. 

Rahm, the 54-hole leader at Torrey Pines, stumbled early on Sunday but caught fire late. He played the first 12 holes in three over par — “I can’t really play much worse for the first 10 holes,” he said — but rebounded with an eagle on 13. He then made three birdies and a bogey over the next four holes and stepped to the 72nd tee, the par-5 18th, with the trophy still in sight. Kind of. 

“What people probably don’t know is that on 18, after I made that putt on 17, I never looked at the scoreboard, so as far as I was concerned I was one back,” he said. “So with a birdie, I was going to be in a playoff.” 

Problem was, Marc Leishman birdied the 18th two groups ahead of Rahm and was the clubhouse leader at 15 under. Rahm needed to eagle the 18th to get into a playoff.

Jim Nancy-Boy, Mumbles Faldo and the rest of us were all caught up in the fact that he was on the very same line he had in 2017, never realizing that he had lost situational awareness.  

As someone obsessed with golf history, I usually remind folks that the ability to know where one stands in a tournament is a relatively recent innovation.  heck, back in the day, they used to spread the leasers out intentionally...  Just ask Sam Snead, who came to the final hole of the 1939 U.S. Open sure that he needed a birdie, whereas a bogey would have won.  His eight wasn't helpful...

This, of course, was a terrifyingly fast putt that he no doubt would have been more aggressive with, had he only known where he stood.  It would seem to me that this is the job of one's manservant caddie, no? There's no shortage of cameramen and sound guys as one walks up the 18th, and they're all allowed to let you know where things stand, not to mention the ubiquitous scoreboards.

As for Tiger, a pretty good week methinks:

3. Tiger Woods made his first start aiming for a record 83 PGA Tour wins at the Farmers Insurance Open, and while he was never out of contention he never seriously threatened, either (thanks in part to an ugly second-round four-putt), closing with a 70 to finish six back of Marc Leishman, in a tie for 9th. How would you grade Tiger’s 2020 debut? 

Bamberger: Excellent. Bad weather, long rough, long days — he did much better than I thought he would in those conditions. 

Sens: Michael’s right. Cool air. Shaggy rough. Those have been Tiger’s Kryptonite in his comeback. It was a great showing. 

Dethier: Ditto to the above. Last year, it felt like Tiger had no chance if he was wearing a sweater. His Saturday front-nine charge teased us into thinking he might contend, and even when those chances fizzled he battled through all 72. Great start. 

Shipnuck: Solid B+. Maybe even an A-.

I think Mike nails it, for all the reasons he notes.  Cold fog, marine layers and the like?   

But am I the only one amazed that Tigers seems to have finally learned to control his tempo?  Since the mid-90's I've been wondering why he can't just swing at 80% with his driver, yet we'd see him so often coming out of his shoes....  Funny game.

I'm not going to rehash the timing of Joe LaCava letting Tiger know the sad news.  But Mike Bamberger ties the two alpha dogs together:

But here, in this nook of golf, let’s consider Tiger. In so many ways Tiger was Kobe and 

Together at The Forum in 1997.

Kobe was Tiger. The fact that both of them could travel the world on a mono-name basis is merely a starting point. Kobe followed his father, Joe “Jellybean” Bryant, into basketball. Tiger, of course, followed Earl into golf. Kobe was named for Japanese beef. Tiger was named for a South Vietnamese colonel who fought alongside Earl in the Vietnam War. Tiger is 44 and he grew up on the Los Angeles Lakers. Kobe played for the Lakers 20 seasons, his entire absurdly long career. They both turned pro in ’96, Kobe after graduating from Lower Merion High School near Philadelphia, Tiger after two years at Stanford University. At 18 years and 72 days old, Kobe became the youngest player to start an NBA game (a record that has since been broken). At 21 years, 3 months and 14 days old, Tiger became the youngest player to win the Masters (a record that still stands).

Although in the midst of this tragedy Mike adds this howler:

Tiger turned golf into basketball. It’s not. It’s a fussy old game that requires tremendous levels of precision in ways basketball does not. But Tiger’s swing, his winning margins, his gym work, all of it — golf was a game for players. Michael Jordan, Steph Curry, even Charles Barkley, moved effortlessly from the court to the course and back. Making free throws and making five-footers requires skill. Tony Finau looks like an NBA small forward. He was at Torrey Pines on Sunday, playing in the same event as Tiger.

I assume hes' the first to describe Charles Barkley's golf game as effortless.... Just profoundly sad.

Dubai Doings - Aussie Day for sure:

Lucas Herbert survived two playoff holes against Christiaan Bezuidenhout Sunday at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic to earn his first European Tour win. 

Herbert, along with Bezuidenhout, entered the final round six shots back of leader Ashun Wu at Emirates Golf Club. Wu finished Sunday with a 5-over 77 after he was 5 over on the back nine. He finished T-6 at 6 under. 

On the 18th hole before the playoff, Bezuidenhout found water, but saved his chances at victory by making a putt for bogey to match Herbert’s final-round 68 and sit at 9-under 279 to force the playoff. 

Herbert, who birded 18 the first time he played it Sunday, birdied the second playoff hole on No. 18 to seal the win.

There are a couple of notable aspects to this win, and I'm excluding his rather primal reaction here.  Hey, sometimes a fellow just needs a drink...we don't judge here... except, yanno, when we do.

First, at this very event last year, the winner was penalized under circumstances eerily similar to PReed at The Hero (alas, the video has been taken down, but get a load of this excerpt):

Herbert was attempting to utilize the new rule introduced this month that allows players

to ground their club and remove loose impediments in the sand. But a two-shot penalty remains in effect if players are deemed to have improved their lie or tested the surface of the sand, which Herbert was. After holding a share of the 36-hole lead, Herbert fell back with a third-round 72 that included the penalty but bounced back with a closing 69 to tie for seventh. 

While he remained quiet about the incident at the time, Herbert opted to share his side of the story in an interview this week with the Inside the Ropes podcast. According to Herbert, the move to swipe away loose impediments was "more of a visual thing" and, in his view, too far behind his ball to have affected the actual lie. 

"A bad brain fade, I guess," Herbert said. "In my heart of hearts, it didn't affect the actual golf shot. I went back and looked at the lie, even recreated a similar lie later on. It was still a horrible lie. I would have loved to have hit a different shot if the lie was a lot better. At the end of the day, it was still a horrible lie and it was still a long way away from the ball."

Bad camera angle?  Check.  Still a terrible lie?  Check.  

As Shack notes, quite the dodgy reaction, though it's aged reasonably well:

A year ago Lucas Herbert was trying to explain away his sand raking in Dubai, today’s he’s an Omega Dubai Desert Classic winner. What a world. 

Herbert’s explanation for last year’s penalty—”a bad brain fade, I guess”—looks downright confessional compared to Patrick Reed’s recent run-in with lie improvement. Though Herbert never really took full responsibility and suffered the rest of last season, the Golf Gods apparently sensed he’d suffered enough and the young Aussie has won his first European Tour event, taking the tournament in a playoff over Christiaan Bezuidenhout.

 It's just a funny old world, no?  

The other interesting note relates to another of our favorite pinatas, Bryson Dechambeau:

DeChambeau cruised to victory a year ago at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, where TV cameras caught him discussing air density calculations on the 72nd hole with his caddie, Tim Tucker. He started Sunday's final round two shots behind Ashun Wu as he sought to keep the trophy and had moved into a tie for the lead with four holes to go. 

But DeChambeau's pace of play again became an issue when he received a slow-play warning from a European Tour official on the 10th hole. He went on to make par, and cameras later documented a thorough club choice debate with Tucker on the 14th hole between a "10 o'clock" 8-iron and a "10:30" 9-iron.

The problem with Bryson remains that I need English subtitles.... I understand each individual word, yet have no idea what he's talking about.

But Will Gray avoids the best part of Bryson's Sunday....  We do love our awkward pairings:

Eddie Pepperell hinted that he is not expecting much in the way of conversation with Bryson DeChambeau as he prepares to play alongside the American in Dubai. 

Pepperell has been critical of DeChambeau on social media in recent months and created a stir when describing him as "a single-minded twit" in August last year as he hit out at DeChambeau's pace of play at The Northern Trust.

Well, sure, when you take "single-minded twit" out of context it's gonna sound harsh...

Bryson got his warning on No. 14, the proceeded to lose the plot:

DeChambeau's subsequent par on No. 14 kept him tied for the lead, but it proved to be his final par of the day. He closed his round with four straight bogeys from there, dropping from a share of the lead into a tie for eighth and four shots out of a playoff after signing for a 76.

But Eddie was kind:

Some saw a silver lining Sunday when it came to DeChambeau's overall pace. Eddie Pepperell has lobbed a few Twitter barbs in DeChambeau's direction in recent months over slow play, and the two were paired together for the final round in Dubai. 

"We actually got on quite well," Pepperell tweeted. "And to his credit, he's sped up."

If you say so...  But there was still that warning....because we know how slow you have to be to earn that warning.

We Are The World - A few new bits on the Tour de Farce efforts, including that they're determined to piss off just about everyone.  First, diversity is our strength:

While the questions will keep coming over the proposed series of 18 events and pro golf “league”, one question I’ve received from some: will they go after the women’s game as well? 

Documents I’ve seen do refer to a “women’s format” and an effort to “cooperate with the LPGA” to establish an identical format of individual events along with a team component.

The World Golf Group also intends to, “where appropriate, operate a complementary schedule enabling both formats to share and thereby reduce aggregate event and production costs.” 

Since those documents, the LPGA Tour has merged with the LET and Alistair Tait looks at the gamble Commissioner Mike Whan is taking. The European Tour is a partner and their efforts now figure to at some point potentially involve discussions about “The League” and how it might impact the women’s game.

To me, this just makes them sound less focused and, therefore, less credible.  So much for featuring only the best 48 players in the world....

This as well:

The Australian Open could be in for a major boost with organisers of a new global golf tour keen to include the 116-year-old championship in its mega-money plans. 

A quarter-century after Australian legend Greg Norman had his dreams of a similar world circuit squashed by the US PGA Tour, British-based World Golf Group have revealed their outline for a world tour they aim to launch in 2022. 

Ten of the PGL events would be held in the United States but the Australian Open has been earmarked as one of eight overseas fixtures. 

Sources have told AAP that the WGG recently held discussions with Australian Open organisers, given the British company wants to acquire some events rather than create 18 new tournaments. 

The Australian Open has been approached along with organisers of the Alfred Dunhill Championship in South Africa, the Dubai Desert Classic and the Singapore Open.

Interesting, and even logical, as they left the impression that they were conceiving new events.  But perhaps we should take a moment to acknowledge why the series of Australian events is in eclipse:

If successful, It would be a massive boon for the Australian Open, which has struggled to attract golf's biggest stars in the past few years due to a year-long US PGA Tour schedule.

Pretty much.  It'd be ironic, wouldn't it, if Nurse Ratched's bigfooting of the world's golf calendar created the opportunity for a new tour.....Schadenfreudalicious, even.

 But, doesn't this conflict with a number of aspects of the PGL's program.  The four month off-season and limitations on travel, most notably.

The Tour Confidentialistas state the obvious:

1. A new global golf tour, the Premier Golf League, might soon become a reality, as first reported by Geoff Shackelford. The league, of which there have been rumors for years, is aiming to create a circuit with 18 big-money worldwide events featuring the world’s best players, with a launch date of 2022 or 2023. While PGA and European tour brass have stayed relatively mum on the prospect of a new tour, the PGL released a statement saying: “We would like to say that it is our intention to work with, rather than challenge, existing tours for the betterment of golf as a sport, pastime and media property.” If the PGL actually takes flight, can you see a way the three tours could work together, or is this ultimately bad news for the PGA and European tours? 

Josh Sens: I don’t see them playing nicely together. There are a lot of ifs here, of course, one of the biggest ones being if fans really have a huge interest in seeing this come off. Maybe I’m out of touch, but isn’t there already an overabundance of limited-field events where the biggest names play for obscene purses? Do we really need more huge cash grabs at just-add-water (or should I say, just add money) events? I don’t think we do. 

Dylan Dethier: To Josh’s point, this hypothetical tour would be a better and more efficient way for the top players to cash in — but it’s not necessarily better for fans. Lacking any of tradition or identity of the established tours, this would lean heavily on star power to start new traditions. I think that can work, but I’m not positive it can. 

Michael Bamberger: There is no way they can work in harmony. The people who put up the PGL money are not going to play nice with anybody. What they are proposing is a direct threat to the other major tours. 

Alan Shipnuck: This is the most boring idea I’ve ever heard. It’s basically 18 Hero World Challenges — except Tiger might not play in any of them, or only a few. There are already too many mediocre golf tournaments out there, we don’t need more!

When someone threatens to drink your milkshake, one should take them at their word.

Like Josh and Dylan, I just don't see the market opportunity the way these folks do.  Although I'd feel better if a guy like Mike would acknowledge that any such opening is the result of our friends in Ponte Vedra Beach not playing well with others...  

I also keep coming back to the idea of no-cut tournaments, which I find one of the worst aspects of the WGCs.  They said, "You don't send the best players in the world home early", which seems superficially reasonable.  But one of my favorite aspects of our great game is the liberal dosages of humility it doles out, eventually to everyone.  Some weeks, the best players in the world aren't very good, and the deserve the ritual humiliation of leaving early.  We don'y always accept it as graciously as we should, but it makes us (well, them) so much more relatable.

I shall leave you there.  Tomorrow is a travel day, so we'll likely see each other next on Wednesday.