I got my first eighteen holes in on Wednesday, though it was two loops on our front nine. Given my exhaustion, it was just as well to forego the mountain pass that is our 15th hole.... I feel for those whose clubs are closed, as it's the furthest I've gotten away from the darkness of our current mood.
Open and Shut - This story broke yesterday:
The R&A is expected to cancel the 2020 Open Championship, multiple sources tell Golf Digest. The sources spoke on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak about the cancellation publicly.
The decision, which could be announced as early as this week, comes after the All England Club canceled the Wimbledon tennis tournament (scheduled for June 29) on Wednesday. Sources told Golf Digest last week the R&A was awaiting the decision on Wimbledon before proceeding.
The big takeaway is, of course, the use of the "C-word" as opposed to the more popular "P-word". Really, Martin, we can't interest you in a September date? Why might that be?
However, sources reiterated to Golf Digest that it is anticipated the tournament will ultimately be canceled.
The Open was set to be contested starting July 16 at Royal St. George's Golf Club inEngland, which would have hosted its 15th Open and first since 2011. The last time the Open wasn't played was in 1945 because of World War II.
Part of the reason the championship is being canceled rather than postponed like the Masters and PGA Championship has to do with insurance, a source says. Similar to Wimbledon, the R&A has a policy that shields against a global pandemic, and a source indicated the Open would have to cancel by a certain date in order to collect on its insurance premium.
“The R&A is the most [insured] of all the tournaments,” a source said. “They have complete cancellation insurance. I just don’t see any golf [being played] before August.”
Yowser! And I thought that Chainsmokers concert was a bad look... I had mused over this minor-not minor detail just the other day:
The R&A is still weighing whether to return to Royal St. George's for the Open in 2021, or to stick to its previously announced future dates. The Old Course at St. Andrews is slated to host the Open in 2021, with Royal Liverpool on the docket for 2022 and Royal Troon in 2023. The 2021 Open at St. Andrews was supposed to be the 150th playing of the Open, but a cancellation would impact that and perhaps cause the R&A to shift all venues back a year.
It's not like any of us were counting on the event to be played as scheduled in July, but note the inconsistency herein:
Earlier on Wednesday, the USGA and R&A formally announced that the 41st Curtis Cup, set to be held at Conwy Golf Club in Wales, will be pushed back to summer of 2021. The R&A also pushed back the British Amateur and British Women's Amateur from June to August.
So, the two Amateurs were moved to a later date, but their marque championship? To be fair, Martin Slumbers is singing a different tune for now:
In a press release issued Thursday, Slumbers said “we are continuing to work through our options for The Open this year, including postponement.”
“Due to a range of external factors, that process is taking some time to resolve,” he continued. “We are well aware of the importance of being able to give clear guidance to fans, players and everyone involved and are working to resolve this as soon as we can. We will give a further update as soon as we are in a position to do so and thank everyone for their support and understanding in this challenging situation.”
Not sure what's going on here, especially in light of the original Golf Digest attribution to "multiple" sources...
But this aggressive Ewan Murray column seems...well, he might want to do a Zoom session with a therapist over his anger issues:
We have been left to guess what, precisely, the Royal & Ancient is limping towards. Thishuge golfing institution, presiding over one of the staples of the British sporting summer, felt compelled to react to a report claiming the 149th Open is set for cancellation. The missive from the office of Martin Slumbers didn’t actually mention the c-word at all.
Being kind, this could be labelled a holding statement. If “external factors” are key, one is left to ponder how much control the R&A has of its golden goose. It was reported days earlier that postponement of the tournament, scheduled for Royal St George’s in mid-July, was borderline inevitable. Forensic detective work was hardly required to deduce that much. The suggestion of cancellation, somewhat curiously, rattled Slumbers or those close to him sufficiently to deliver an example of words that say nothing at all.
Ponder? Let me make this easy on you, Ewan, Martin Slumbers has no control over anything in the present moment. But he continues to pound on this drum:
If the R&A doesn’t know precisely what to do about this year’s Open, something is seriously amiss. Sport has been paralysed by coronavirus, with events and seasons dropping from billboards one by one. It is fanciful to suggest the Kent coast can – or should, in respect of public services – host 200,000 visitors and global competitors in a golf event in little over three months’ time. The R&A, for its many faults, cannot be ignorant over a pandemic.
Is it inconceivable that the event could be held in July? Probably, at least with spectators... Of course sports officials are paralyzed... Is that the least bit surprising given that society is paralyzed?
At the very least, if not providing a full explanation of contingency, the R&A should have put a public line through Sandwich in its standard slot long before now; spectators alone deserve that much. Augusta National is still to issue detail of a 2020 Masters alternative but it was swift in postponing when coronavirus took hold. That the United States Golf Association hasn’t ditched plans for the US Open in New York in June catapults golf into territory beyond Clubhouse Cuckoo Land. They and the R&A set the rules for this game, you know.
Ewan, I'm thinking that the fans don't much care right now, as they've got bigger issues on their plates. But the argument about the Master is profoundly silly, given that the Open is three months later on the calendar. And Ewan doesn't distinguish himself in failing to note the March 27th postponement of the U.S, Open in an item dated April 2nd....
It's just a weird worldview, attacking the R&A for its mendacity in not knowing what to do about the Open, then acknowledging all the complications in picking an alternative date:
Which isn’t, of course, to suggest complications don’t exist. The R&A is just glacial in dealing with them. In professional golf, not uniquely, key deliberations relate to a word starting with “m” and rhyming with honey.
There has been speculation regarding the R&A’s insurance provision, say, which may ensure a fiscal gulf between cancellation or postponement. The new date window itself is small; September is realistically the latest month in which the Open could be held, with even that subject to daylight restrictions either curtailing the field or triggering two-tee starts.
With every body in professional golf – the R&A, USGA, PGA of America, Augusta National, PGA Tour and European Tour – fighting to play their tournaments, negotiations will be inevitably messy. Television companies, bereft of material yet heavy investors in golf, will have a seat at the table.
It's just pure invectum completely unburdened by fact... To the extent that the R&A cancels the event for the purpose of cashing in its business interruption insurance policy, then I'll be the first to pile on. But Murray's gripe is about their pace of movement, and it's just still unclear that that is in fact what's happening. As for them keeping their powder dry and calmly assessing whether they can make a Fall date work, isn't that what we want them to do?
As for this...
The R&A has a weird obsession with anniversaries; St Andrews was to stage the 150th playing of the Open, with 2023 marking 100 years since Troon’s first one. The calendar can of course be shuffled around but it’s messy, including in respect of Hoylake, where vast ticket sales send the R&A’s bean counters into a state of delirium.
The 150th Open Championship, an event that been held since 1860, is now just a weird obsession? Ewan, maybe you'd be happier in another line of work.
We can all agree that the 150th Open Championship is hardly the most important issue of the day. Which is likely why the R&A has been quietly allowing events to unfold before making an announcement. But to chastise them for their prior work in promoting their marque championship is to argue that the world will never get back to normal.... And that might be the most depressing message of all.
All Things Augusta - We all have way too many hours to fill, but this may help in that regard:
There’s been an interesting dance behind the curtain of the networks that cover professional golf. No doubt dozens of phone calls and emails have been traded betweenexecutives and Augusta National Golf Club trying to solve this riddle: In the absence of the Masters in the second week of April, postponed because of the COVID-19 epidemic, how do you satisfy the public’s desire to get lost in the beauty of Amen Corner or experience even modest green-jacket goosebumps?
It’s taken weeks to work out the logistics between the broadcast partners, but they finally came up with a solution.
CBS will show the final rounds of two memorable Masters on Saturday, April 11, and Sunday, April 12, and this isn’t much of a shock: It’s Tiger and Phil.
The Saturday broadcast, from 2:30 p.m. to 6 p.m., Eastern time, will feature the 2004 Masters victory by Phil Mickelson—his first major win and an otherwise highly entertaining final round. Then on Sunday (12:30 p.m.-6 p.m. EDT), it’s Tiger Woods day. CBS had four wins to choose from, and it picked last year’s improbable triumph that ended a nearly 11-year drought in majors for Woods.
Here's a bit more, including one that I will certainly tape:
Kicking off Saturday’s coverage on CBS, from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. EDT will be a look back at the 1975 Masters, with Jack Nicklaus outdueling Johnny Miller and Tom Weiskopf.
With much more time to fill, ESPN, starting on Wednesday, will take care of a couple other Woods’ victories (1997, 2005), as well as arguably the greatest Masters final round of all time—Jack Nicklaus’ 1986 win at the age of 46. Other final rounds that ESPN will show: Bubba Watson’s playoff win over Louis Ooosthuizen in 2012 and Adam Scott’s 2013 victory in a playoff over Angel Cabrera.
To me, and Jack is my golf God, '75 is even more interesting than '86. The latter was the more emotional and improbable, given Jack's age, but '75 features the three best players in the game all at the peak of their powers. But also a young Tom Watson in a critical cameo on the 16th hole...
We'll be back for more, but in this excerpt the great man agrees with your humble blogger:
If CBS replayed a Masters from years past next week, what tournament would you want to watch? -@JasonKrump
I think 1975, because I’ve never seen more than the highlights. Or maybe 2011 — that was one of the nuttiest Sundays ever and I couldn’t fully enjoy it because I was too stressed out about the story I had to write. But honestly I’d watch any of them… except 2008. That was a snooze.
This is well worth your time as well:
The 7 chairmen of Augusta National are as interesting as the club itselfRaymond Floyd has known all seven Augusta National chairmen. Not many can say that. When Floyd won the Masters in 1976, Cliff Roberts, the club’s first chairman, still heldthe reins. Fred Ridley, the current chairman, was in the field that year, as the U.S. Amateur champion. The next year, Roberts was found dead by Eisenhower Pond, on the club’s Par-3 course.
Roberts built and loved that Par-3 course. Floyd loves it, too. “We used to go straight from 18 to the Par-3 course to settle our bets,” Floyd said the other day, glee in his voice. Roberts and friends got a kick out of a standing wager among Floyd and friends. Each man would put $10 in a pot. Hit all nine greens, take the pot. “Nobody ever did it,” Floyd said. “Somebody would hit eight greens, but one ball would roll two inches off a green.”
Nothing defines Floyd’s professional life more than his Masters win, and at the pumping heart of his Augusta experience is his relationships with the various chairmen. “Arnold introduced me to Cliff,” Floyd said. That was in 1965, in a practice round, coming off the 10th tee. “He was in Bobby Jones’s cart, with the three wheels.” It’s funny, the things you remember. “Roberts was a pussycat,” Floyd said. Maybe you’ve heard otherwise. “He sat with Maria at my winner’s dinner and absolutely charmed her.” Maria Floyd, Raymond’s late wife.
Clifford Roberts a pussycat? If you've never read this, now might be as good a time as any. If you're not familiar with the history of the club and the tournament, you'll be surprised by much of it. And Roberts is, as per David Owen's subtitle, the driving force and most interesting personage.
Today's Long Read - Exhumed from the Golf Digest vault, this David Owen (the same writer as linked above, and also the source of that New Yorker treatise on the "Y-word", to which I recently linked) feature on the legendary Moe Norman. It's lede is this great anecdote:
Sam Snead played an exhibition match with Ed (Porky) Oliver and Moe Norman in Toronto in 1960. On one par-4 hole, a creek crossed the fairway about 240 yards from the tee. Norman, a Canadian pro who lived in the area, reached for his driver.
“This is a lay-up hole, Moe,” Snead warned him. “You can’t clear the creek with a driver.”
“Not trying to,” Norman said. “I’m playing for the bridge.”
Snead’s and Oliver’s tee shots ended up safely on the near side of the water. Norman’s drive landed short—and rolled over the bridge to the other side.
Every golfer hits a lucky shot from time to time. But Norman, who recently turned 66, has hit so many lucky shots during the last half-century that you begin to search for a different adjective.
A great character in the hands of a skilled writer. What's not to like?
Flops Don't Get Sequels - Except, you know, when they do....Michael Bamberger seems to think this is a good idea:
Match II is a real thing. That is, various parties are coming together — Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, their people, Turner — to try to make it happen, according to a source familiar with the plans. Should it materialize, when would this 18-hole match be played? Two weeks before any major league gets back to business.
Let’s say the NBA resumes its season on June 1, which is a wild guess. Then Match II would be played in mid-May.
It will have none of the baggage of Tiger v. Phil, in Las Vegas, Thanksgiving weekend, 2018. That was a gaudy winner-takes-all event with $9 million on the line. This event would not be a cash-grab for either pro. It would be a fundraiser for people who have suffered through the Covid-19 pandemic.
You can't make me watch this.... though perhaps boredom can:
The 2018 match was a pay-per-view show beset by technical problems. The 2020 match would be shown on Turner as regular programming. Advertisers would buy spots as theynormally do. That money would become the charitable arm of this venture, coupled with Phil and Tiger’s efforts to turn the event into a telethon. “We are the World” meets the old Jerry Lewis telethons.
The 2018 match was mano-a-mano. Match II would be a team affair, with Tom Brady playing with one of the golfers and Peyton Manning playing with the other. By personality type, you would think that Manning and Mickelson would be a natural pairing, as they are both talkative extroverts. But Woods has played with Manning before, including the pro-am round at last year’s Memorial tournament. There is a comfort level between them.
The match would be played at a Florida course. There would be no spectators. The players would keep six feet from one another, in accordance with CDC guidelines.
All I want is a Fall Masters, yet the only thing in my stocking is this lump of coal....As for Florida courses, unless its Seminole you're boring me.
Shippy had these thoughts as well:
If the Tiger/Phil rematch happens, at which course would you enjoy seeing them play? -@CTcard44
For sure, the course is an important part of the show. That was part of the problem with the first Match: Shadow Creek had a lot of mystique but turned out to be kind of tacky and outdated. Phil has a lot of friends at Cypress Point, and in these troubled times an otherwise cloistered club might open their doors knowing how much we all need a break from the gloom and doom. That would be my first choice but Pine Valley, National, or Fishers would be quite swell, too.
Gee, a Fazio course built for high-rollers turned out to tacky? Who coulda seen that one coming?
Now Cypress Point? That could make me tune in....What's the over-under for water balls on No.16 from this foursome? What clubs would Tiger and Phil hit?
But no, I'm sure they'll pick something far more exciting, like Palm Beach Gardens.... Of course, Doral would be fun, but for completely different reasons.
Important Matters - Adam Schupak and Brentley Romine has the item for our age, a six-page dissertation on great caddie nicknames. Git time for some faves?
Tommy Bennett
Nickname: Burnt Biscuits.
Augusta National caddie burned his leg as a kid trying to steal his grandma’s freshly baked biscuits.
Great nickname, though a bit of a complicated back story...
Of course you'd want to know the origin of this one:
Mike Cowan
Nickname: Fluff.
Longtime caddie for Peter Jacobsen and Jim Furyk as well as Tiger Woods’ first caddie when he turned pro, Cowan earned his nickname not so much for his fluffy mustache as for his resemblance to pro Steve Melnyk, who had the nickname Fluff in college.
Haven't heard Melyk's name in an eternity....
Another good one, though no explanation is required:
Steven Hale
Nickname: Pepsi.
Known for drinking several Pepsis during a round – and hiding cans around the course.
You'd think a carbonated beverage in a golf bag would be an issue...but these guys are good.
I like this interplay between Raymundo and Maris:
Dolphus Hall
Nickname: Golf ball
Hall worked for several prominent players, most notablyRaymond Floyd, who reportedly fired Hull six times, only to watch his wife, Maria Floyd, hire him back each time. The nickname stems from his round eyes, which bulged, especially when he got mad, as big as golf balls.
This is good as well:
Lee Lynch
Nickname: Two Shot.
Al Geiberger famously said, “Having him on your bag was like being penalized two shots.” But in 1977, Lynch was on the bag for Geiberger’s historic round of 59. Does that mean Mr. 59 really would have shot 57 that day?
Heh.
You've probably heard of Paul Casey's man:
John McLaren
Nickname: Johnny Long Socks.
It’d be hard to find another caddie with a better sock game than Paul Casey’s guy.
best story of these two was in Mexico (I think) where Johnny Long Socks mistakenly pulled the pin sheet from the Tour's off-field event, which they used for the first few holes before realizing the error. It says something about the partnership that Casey laughed it off.
This might be the best back story of all:
Willie Poteat
Nickname: Cemetery
He served as President Dwight Eisenhower’s caddie at Augusta National during his presidency and beyond. As the story goes, Poteat woke up in the morgue after surviving a knife fight in which his throat was slashed by a jealous rival.
Some stories are simply too good to fact check.
This guy played a bit on Tour before his looping career:
Lance Ten Broeck
Nickname: Last Call.
Former PGA Tour pro turned caddie was famous for closing the bar. At the 2009 Valero Texas Open, he famously played and caddied in the same tournament, beating boss Jesper Parnevik by two strokes after enjoying eight happy-hour special orders of a 22-ounce beer and a jug of sake for $6.50.
Lots of fun, making it perfect for this moment.
More Alan - This lead query draws quite the thoughtful response:
The ‘Ronapocalypse is upon us. You’re filling the time capsule to ensure golf survives. Books. Film. Footage. Equipment. Course drawings. What are you passing down to ensure the game’s survival on the other side of disaster? -@1beardedgolfer
Man, so much pressure!
Books: Down the Fairway. Golf In The Kingdom. To The Linksland. Golf Dreams. The Bogey Man. The Spirit of St. Andrews. The Story of American Golf. The Confidential Guide. Jenkins At The Majors. Bud, Sweat & Tees. Alister MacKenzie’s Cypress Point. The Golf Courses of the British Isles. A Good Walk Spoiled. The Golf Omnibus. Tiger Woods. Arnie.
Film: Tin Cup. Caddyshack. Follow The Sun.
Footage: 1986 Masters. 1997 Masters. 1953 Open Championship. 1935 Masters. 1977 Open Championship. 1960 Masters. 1975 Masters. 2000 U.S. Open. 1960 U.S. Open. 2019 Masters. 2006 Open Championship. 2000 PGA. 1984 Open Championship. 1996 Masters. 1930 Open Championship.
Course Drawings: Cruden Bay. Old Course. North Berwick. Lahinch. Ballybunion. Pine Valley. Pebble Beach. Cypress Point. National Golf Links. Pinehurst #2. Tobacco Road. Sand Hills. Royal Melbourne. New South Wales. Cape Wickham.
Equipment: Calamity Jane. Little Ben. Sarazen’s sand wedge. Tom Kite’s 60-degree wedge. Phil’s 64-degree wedge. Hogan’s 1-iron. Nicklaus’s MacGregor driver. Ping Eye2s. The first TaylorMade metal woods. Big Bertha. Pro-V1s.
We've tread this turf previously, though the last couple of categories are fun additions. Though I beg to differ with Alan on Golf in the Kingdom...
If you were a touring pro, who would be your staff bag sponsor? -@WallDwarf
See’s Candy.
And yours? I think mine would have to involve bacon...
I could have included this with his bit on The Match II:
If you had to choose the most perfect hole to hit that highly unlikely hole-in-one, where would it be? Then, please name your dream fourball? PS: sorry if some ofthese were answered before – not sure! -@TiaanEllis
I’m sure I have but these are evergreen. Given my roots at Pebble Beach — I was a cart boy there for three summers — number 7 or 17 would be quite sentimental. The 12th at Augusta would be utterly cool because of its place in golf mythology. Same with #5 at Royal Melbourne. But I think I have to go straight chalk and take the 16th at Cypress Point, probably the most epic hole on the planet. Dream fourball: the 1930 Bobby Jones, 1960 Arnold Palmer and 2000 Tiger Woods.
Can't you find a spot for Marion Hollins in that fourball?
We coverd this on Wednesday, though not in the highly personalized manner of this questioner:
If you flushed your tee shot at Pebble’s 7th to a raised COVID-countering cup and your ball went past the pin then screwed back to be resting against the plastic/ noodle, would you count it as a hole-in-one? -@GeorgeBooth73
It’d be a helluva story but I couldn’t count it as my first. The magic of the ace, or so I presume, is the delicious anticipation as the ball tracks toward the hole and then finally disappears, setting off all manner of delirium. In this case you wouldn’t even know it was an ace until standing over the ball. Now, if I’d already made one I might add this to the tally, but even that is kind of weird.
I assume everyone will revert to the upside down cup, so we'll be spared this drama...
What are you looking forward to the most in golf? -@JayRevell
Playing with my friends. I miss spending time with them! That’s what golf is all about for me. I’ve been invited by strangers to play some pretty sparkly courses but I have zero interest in that. The game to me is mostly about who you’re with, and that’s the void I’m feeling now.
We all are, Alan. We're lucky to have our course open at the moment, and I hope others will soon as well.
You just won five free lessons with the teacher of your choice. Congrats! Will it be Cameron, Butch, or Brandel? -@BobbyTeeItUp
I love George Gankas’s vibe and his philosophies. I’m friends with Tony Ruggiero and I’ve profiled Joseph Mayo. All would be great choices… but I’d probably choose Butch. I’ve seen him give lessons to amateurs and he keeps it simple, which I need. But more than that, he’s one of the great storytellers on the planet. I would mostly want to pick his brain about the players he’s taught, though I would need him to dispense a few swing thoughts along the way.
An easy call.
This stuff is not ageing well:
Ship, just get the feeling that with all the time off, a healthy TW may have his best chance to snag a couple quick majors if they get played in relatively short time and if he’s playing well. If he’s on 17 going in the next 2-3 years, watch out Golden Bear. -@cavedoc
The only problem with this theory is that all the majors could be clustered in the fall, and it could be chilly weather all the way through; when the temperatures fall so do Tiger’s chances of winning, given the creakiness of his back. Just today Toronto banned public gatherings through the end of June — there are various loopholes in the edict but it is a bellwether for where we are all heading, especially in the U.S., which is in much worse shape than Canada. I think the play-by dates are going to creep further and further off into the distance and late-autumn will become our only chance to cram in a bunch of majors in 2020. If it happens, you’re right that a player can go on a heater and forever alter his legacy… but I don’t think Woods will be that guy.
I just can't get interested in the prospects for him when we don't even know if he can swing the club. or, you know, whether there will be any majors in 2020.
If the coronavirus was a major championship layout which one would it be? ’99 Carnoustie? ’02 Bethpage? -@MidwesternGator
’74 Winged Foot.
Le Massacre...nailed it.
Hearing rumors that they may postpone the Ryder Cup. How do you balance the“fair qualification process” argument vs “pro golf is entertainment and we are going to NEED the RC come September”? -@mjcostel27
The balance tips heavily in favor of playing it any way we can. I’m totally fine with each captain being allowed to fill out his team with 12 picks. Deep down, Harrington and Stricker already know who they want on their squad. Sure, the lack of a lengthy, transparent qualifying system hurts younger players who don’t have as much of a body of work, but, to quote one of our great thinkers, it is what it is.
I don't know that this heavily partisan event fits the moment all that well. Plus, while folks will have to pry the name "Wuhan virus" from my cold, dead hands, the exclusion of Asian players seems problematic to me.
Alan exits on this heartfelt story of rejection:
What’s the one golf shot you play over in your mind the most? -@ThomasMantz
Panama City, Fla., April 1994. I’m an intern at SI sent out to write my first big story, about the scene on the Nike tour. I was utterly stressed-out by the magnitude of the opportunity, to say nothing of the complications of trying to figure out a crappy loaner laptop. I wound up staying in a weird condo complex redeemed only by the fun, funky par-3 course on the grounds. There was a mish-mash set of janky clubs in the garage so one evening I walked out to play a few holes to clear my minds. I know this sounds like a setup ripped from the pages of Penthouse Forum but just as I arrived on the tee box of the hole closest to my condo — number four, I believe — a very attractive young woman in short-shorts arrived, playing with her mom, whom, it must be said, was also kind of a babe. They invited me to join.
After a practice swing or two I teed up a 7-iron. I don’t recall the brand but this club was at least 20 years old. Somehow I found the sweet spot, which was the size of this period: . It was the purest strike of my life and all these years later I can still summon the sensation of it radiating through my body. The ball traced a majestic arc toward the heavens and then landed about a yard right of the flag, on a little slope. My ball trickled ever closer and the gals I was playing with started hooting and hollering. I thought for sure I was gonna make an ace but it lipped out. That wasn’t my only heartbreak, as at round’s end I got the Heisman from both mother and daughter. Still, I’ll never forget that shot.
Probably about time to move on, Alan.... But you had me going with the mother-daughter daily double.
Have a good weekend, though I'm no longer certain that weekends are still a thing.
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