Weekend Wrap

Hope everyone enjoyed the weekend...  Glorious weather here in the Northeast, almost enough to take our minds off the headlines.  I've got a gazillion browser tabs open, so we better get to the business at hand....

The Euro Beat - I've been mostly ignoring the travails of Keith Pelley & Co., so let's give them pride of place this morning.  News broke last week of their comeback plans, unfortunately including venues we had mistakenly assumed were plowed over:

Following the suspension of the season on March 8 due to the global Coronavirus pandemic, the European Tour will return to action initially behind closed doors in July

and run through until December. All tournaments will be subject to stringent safety and testing protocols set out in the Tour’s comprehensive Health Strategy which will continue to evolve, aligned with international Government guidance and health guidelines.

The first tournament in the ‘UK Swing’ is the Betfred British Masters hosted by Lee Westwood, which will be played at Close House, near Newcastle in the north east of England, from Wednesday July 22 to Saturday July 25 – a week earlier than originally scheduled. 

It will be followed by the English Open at the Marriott Forest of Arden and the English Championship at Marriott Hanbury Manor, before The Celtic Manor Resort in Newport hosts back-to-back European Tour tournaments – the Celtic Classic and the Wales Open.

It is a timely return to the south Wales resort as this year also marks the tenth anniversary of Europe’s dramatic victory against the United States in The 2010 Ryder Cup at the same venue. 

The UK Swing will then conclude with the UK Championship at The Belfry, another venue rich in Ryder Cup history, having played host to four contests with Europe triumphing in two (1985 and 2002), the US having won in 1993, with the 1989 match ending in a 14-14 tie.

Golf for Good, eh?  Kinda catchy, but before you fall in love with that slogan, Pelley has an alternative down below.

They've announced new dates for their Rolex series as well, including the Scottish Open (though not, it seems, the Irish).  Of course they're in a world of hurt, as they shouldn't anticipate any Americans coming over for the Scottish, when the R&A can't be bothered with holding that other UK-based event.

More troubling still might be the many reaction of the marquee Euro Tour members based in the U.S.  Will they feel sufficiently comfortable to travel to Europe?  If not, will they get a pass on their Euro Tour membership requirements and be permitted to play in the Ryder Cup in September?

Unlike their U.S. counterparts, they've opted for a cluster of events, to minimize the travel requirements.  Though back-to-back stroke play events at Celtic Manor violates many provisions of the Geneva Convention, though presumably they'll at least have better rain gear....  Anyone remember that fiasco?

There is, though, still this little matter to be addressed:

The tournaments depend on a lifting of government quarantine measures affecting travellers coming into the UK. There is confidence this will not prove a barrier to the tour, which has seen no play since early March. 

"In terms of the UK we are very encouraged and very optimistic that the hotels will be operational by the time we play at the end of July and that we will be able to get some dispensation for our players in terms of quarantine," Pelley added.

"And that is absolutely critical for us."

I led with the Euro's mostly because of this bit:

European Tour players set to wear microphones during 'UK Swing'

Viewers will hear conversations with caddies and fellow players, and European Tour

chief executive Keith Pelley believes it will become "the way of life" at future events. 

"Covid-19 allows you permission to try things a little bit differently," Pelley told BBC Sport. "I think you have to be as creative as you possibly can when you are playing behind closed doors. 

"It really comes down to how open you are, how creative you are and how your players want to embrace change. This is the time for us to do some things completely differently."

Let me just lay a marker down here, that this will be way less interesting than folks seem to think.  I'm a big fan of audio capture during events, but the vast majority of it is banal drivel.  

When this guy is the voice of reason, one needs to take careful notes:

Days after peeling back the curtain during a charity exhibition match, Phil Mickelson shared that he is open to wearing a microphone to give TV viewers additional insight during regular PGA Tour competition.

Speaking on the Dan Patrick Show, Mickelson admitted that he didn't expect the same level of banter during a typical Tour event with a seven-figure prize on the line, but he'd nonetheless be willing to broadcast his inside-the-ropes dialogue.

"I would be open to the idea because of how it's being received, and some of the insight and so forth," Mickelson said. "But you don't have the play between individuals. I had a partner, and Tom and I could talk back and forth. And maybe you could get some of that with the caddie, but having a partner is much more intimate and you have much better conversation."

Even Phil understates the disconnect.  He didn't just have a partner, he had an amateur partner (though I've been reliably informed that Mr. Brady has accomplishments in an unrelated field) in an event that Phil actually had reason to want to win (quite different from a Wednesday Pro-Am).

You'll capture some interesting player-caddie discussions, but there's no way this works with open microphones.  The audio will need to be carefully curated, and I'm unclear how much more will be picked up than is now available from the networks' microphones.

I'll have just a bit more on this later, when we get to Ponte Vedra Beach.  In our last bit, Pelley spent some time with The Scotsman's Martin Dempster, in which he reveals his Tour's new marketing slogan:

Keith Pelley, the European Tour chief executive, shot down talk of the coronavirus leaving the circuit on the brink of bankruptcy as he unveiled a new six-event UK Swing behind closed doors to restart a season that still aims to deliver 24 more tournaments.

“I think some of you might want to ask the question, is the European Tour bankrupt or running out of money, and I would say, absolutely not,” said Pelley as he broke his silence in a media teleconference on matters relating to the circuit apart from the Ryder Cup.

Not Bankrupt Yet™ is every bit as good as Live Under Par™...OK, I lied, obe more bit from Mr. Pelley:

Asked if he was confident about the UK Government’s 14-day quarantine for visitors to the UK being lifted in time for the scheduled restart, Pelley said: “I’m certainly encouraged and I’m certainly optimistic. We wouldn’t be announcing these events without having had significant dialogue with the UK government. They know all about the announcements. They are working feverishly with us.”

Feverishly?  Are you sure that's what you should go with right now?  I assume those government officials will immediately self-quarantine....

Deere Me -  All systems are go for a June 11th launch at Colonial, or so it seems from the brave talk out of Fortress Ponte Vedra Beach.  But a superficial scan of the horizon finds storm clouds aplenty:

Golfweek has learned that the PGA Tour’s John Deere Classic will not be held this year. 

The tournament was scheduled for July 9-12 at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Illinois, and would have been the fifth event played in the Tour’s revamped schedule. The first four events, beginning May 21 at the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas, will not be allowing fans.

This was to be the first event with fans, held in a location less affected by the Chinese Virus than major metropolitan areas.

“We’ll probably do $10 million in charitable impact in a year that more than any I can remember will be critically important,” said Peterson, who added that the JDC gave $13.8 million to 543 charities last year. 

Financial considerations were part of the decision. The loss of pro-am income amounts to over $1 million, Peterson said, and all of the tournament’s corporate hospitality sponsors respectfully have said they didn’t feel comfortable participating this year. 

“We had one sponsor say that 90 percent of the guests they surveyed said they wouldn’t even come if they were invited,” Peterson said. “So, all that income is gone.”

Living Under Par isn't what it used to be™... Other reasons from a Bob Harig item:

"We have a small clubhouse, small parking lot. It's very difficult to get everything established from a social distancing standpoint, including locker rooms and everything else. Our title sponsor (John Deere) has been incredibly supportive, and during this pandemic they have been very cautious with their employees. So when all those things come into play, whatever version of the tournament we put on, we wouldn't be able to pull off with fans part of it. And that's a a money losing proposition. How much money can we afford to lose? How does our reserve fund look?"

Yeah, OK, if you throw that much at the wall, something will stick...  But perhaps this might be closer to the real issue?

Last month, John Deere announced it was laying off more than 260 employees from its Dubuque facility with 159 employees being placed on indefinite layoff beginning June 1.

Yeah, though I'm not sure that's Deere's sponsorship commitments would have survived much scrutiny during the good times.  Jay would be wise to not take their 2021 sponsorship for granted, nor any of the others as well.

So, what might they do with that open week?

The PGA Tour is trying to replace the John Deere for this year only and there is some consideration to having an event at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, which is at tour headquarters.

 So we could finish that Players' Championship?  Hideki is quite excited...

I've got really good news on that front as well.  I've checked The Chainsmokers tour schedule, and they seem wide open on that date.

The Tour Confidential panel takes on this issue, though the answers are comically unilluminating:

1. The PGA Tour’s first scheduled event that was to allow fans, the John Deere Classic, was canceled for this year. According to Golfweek, sources indicated that the title sponsor of the event didn’t want to risk having fans at the event in order to minimize the risk of a coronavirus outbreak. This follows news that the revised schedule of the European Tour will not allow fans for at least its first six events. Given the challenging economics around fan-less events, do you expect other tournaments will follow suit and pull the plug?

Josh Sens: I don’t think many will. Not all events make hay the same way. Some draw larger revenue streams from TV ratings and corporate sponsors and are less dependent on 

community turnout. The John Deere has more of the older school community event feel. The Tour’s other Illinois event – the BMW – is a different animal, and I think would be less likely to cancel under the same circumstances. That’s just a guess. I don’t know the numbers. But I’m not expecting a rash of cancellations due to a no-fans requirement. As for whether we might see other cancellations down the road due to health and safety concerns, that’s another question.

Sean Zak: I think the first four events will have such a great showing from players that events should be happy enough with the TV ratings alone. The fields are HUGE for the first two events, at least. Remember, we’ve got a major scheduled for basically two months from now. There will be a fun, valuable run-up to that even if there are no fans on the course.

Josh Berhow: I don’t think it will become a trend. The John Deere was in a tough spot. By being one of the first big-time sporting events to allow fans — if not the first — it was creating a model for everyone else in the sports world, not just the golf world. The whole event would be under a microscope, as commissioners and organizers would be watching like hawks to try to gain any learnings from what worked and what didn’t and how they could incorporate that into their own plans. That’s tremendous pressure. But why I don’t think this will continue as a trend is because we’re learning more and more each day about how to be safer and best practices. That’s going to evolve even more, and this period of learning will be crucial for others on the schedule to get their plans in place. 

Dylan Dethier: I think the three of you have it covered. In essence: Having fans on site soon is still optimistic, but possible — but non-Deere events will probably go on regardless.

I make fun of these guys for your amusement, but it's a stretch to expect them to know what will happen tomorrow....  To be fair, their answers aren't any worse than that which we've gotten from the CDC.  In fact, we should ask this panel abut the efficacy of face masks... Would be just as useful as what we're getting from our alleged experts.

But Josh ignores the issue of which event will now go first.  If that Deere week remains golf-less, that tees up The Memorial to break the ice.  As of last week, Ohio was still banning any gatherings of more than 100 people, and event organizers were skeptical that the event would go forward without fans. 

The guys also kicked around this thought of mic'ing players up:

4. Charles Barkley, one of the announcers for The Match: Champions for Charity, said this week on The Dan Patrick Show that should fans not be allowed to attend PGA Tour events, players should be mic’d up. Nice idea, but would players allow it?

Sens: Some wouldn’t. But I think enough would that viewers would end up getting the occasional interesting earful. I’m bullish on Barkley’s idea. 

Zak: I think most players wouldn’t. At least not on the weekend. It’s all good and fun until things get serious, and these players often put brand and clean-cut self over personality. That’s proven tough to change!

Berhow: I won’t say it’s never going to work, but it’s going to be really hard for it to work. If it’s every player, then it will be easier to make it happen. But I think the trouble comes with just making it a few players. Is it fair to guys like Rory and JT and Tiger, whom fans would love to be mic’d up, when a random Tour pro ranked somewhere in the 60s isn’t mic’d up and doesn’t have to worry about what he says and can just go out and play his game under the radar? Or if you do it with, say, the final pairing on a Sunday, to me that’s an unfair ask of a player who isn’t used to being in that situation in the first place. Winning is hard enough. Worrying about what you are saying — filtering your emotions while also being conscious of the fact that people want you to be entertaining — is not something these guys want to think about. 

Dethier: I think it could work the way it works in the NFL’s “Mic’d up” which, as I understand it, allows someone from the league office veto power in order to preserve player reputations, etc. So it wouldn’t be live mic’d up, but the broadcast could toss to some sound from earlier, which would be awesome.

Wow, see what happens when you ask an unfocused question?  They seem to think that 156 players will be wired and we'll get a live feed from every one.  Obviously this would take a vast production effort to screen the audio feeds, at the very time the networks have to minimize their footprint.  Yeah, it could be done remotely, but this is modestly interesting at best.  

Eamon Lynch plays the adult in the room, throwing cold water on this prospect:

The absence of mic’d competitors in tournaments isn’t because producers don’t want greater access. For all their garrulousness on social media, even younger Tour players maintain an old school mentality passed down from generations of Curtis Stranges and Raymond Floyds, who were as about as approachable as a piranha with toothache when they were working between the ropes. There is also a cost attached. “The Match II” was carefully stage-managed, with players held up along the way to ensure they were live at the right times. That won’t happen in tournaments with 156 guys in the field. Sure, you can stream a single group wired for sound, but for network broadcasts you’ll add the expense of a production staffer to monitor all the chatter for gems and a tape operator to cue it up (and armchair critics will still bemoan that it’s tape-delayed). 

Such costs are relatively small, but tell that to those held hostage to budgets. In return for player audio, a camera here or there might have to be sacrificed. And what is shunted aside to make way for this intimate new content? Live shots of actual play? Network commercials that pay for the rights fee? PGA Tour promos? Pedestrian interviews with check-signing CEOs sponsoring matters? Many of these elements chafe viewers — with good reason — but they hint at the many constituencies who would need to align to make this happen.

Hardly a make or break issue, as boring as these guys invariably are.

Shippy In Full -  In which we draft on Alan's mailbag feature, first on our theme of the day:

I know he’s almost essential for these TV events but has there ever been a reputed expert trash-talker that talks less trash than Tiger? -@FakePoulter 

This is similar to how folks tend to overrate exclusive courses because they’re caught up in the euphoria of finally getting to play them. The players who rave about Tiger’s needle are just so utterly thrilled that the great man deigned to throw some shade their way, 

No reporting on how uncomfortable the equipment is in the heat. 

however corny it may have been. The line about marking his ball with U.S. Open medals was funny, but why do I get the feeling Steinberg hired a team of writers to come up with it and Tiger spent a week practicing it in front of a mirror? 

As for wearing a mic in a TV spectacle, Tiger is clearly uncomfortable with the whole concept, and can you blame him? In the best of times he was an introvert and a grinder. Then he lived through the worst public shaming of the Internet age, and he later had both his mugshot and his private parts beamed around the world. His inner-self is a well-guarded fortress and he’s not willing to give that up just for a televised hit-and-giggle.

I actually think Alan is being charitable about that Ball-marking story, which was self-evidently pre-scripted...  Now, had he thrown an actual U.S. Open medal down and waited for Phil to react, we mighta had something there...But he's a boring guy, which I've been reliably informed is not actually a crime...

What’s more compelling from a viewing standpoint: The PGA Tour going to similar venues or the European Tour visiting places they haven’t been to in a long time? -@NDHickman 

It’s a win either way. I love when tournaments travel to new venues, even if they sometimes turn out to be less than ideal. Hey, at least we got to explore a new course in forensic detail. Kudos to the European Tour for cobbling together a compelling schedule under very difficult circumstances. But I’m also a sucker for history and tradition so it’s always satisfying to return to places like Colonial and Harbour Town.

Depends on the venue...  Most of us still sport psychological scars from The Belfry.

Does this year’s USGA tourney count as a major? If so, does this mean that

Hogan’s Hale American win will finally be recognized as a major win? -@bigredsbigworld 

I know we’re all sad about the lack of qualifying, but this year’s U.S. Sorta-Open is likely to have a stronger field than previous Opens, and it will certainly be better than the Masters field. Along with Oakmont, Winged Foot is the quintessential U.S. Open venue. So, no asterisk needed.

Funny enough, I just filed a big story for GOLF Magazine about how the game carried on during WWII, so I’m more versed in the Hale American Open than I’ve ever been. The tournament was cosponsored by the USGA, PGA of America and Chicago District Golf Association with the expressed purpose of raising money for the USO and Navy Relief Society. Bob Hope and Bing Crosby were given exemptions, as was the great Bobby Jones, 12 years after his retirement from competition. There was no 36-hole cut but there was a long-drive contest and a trick-shot exhibition. Hogan torched the defenseless Ridgemoor Country Club, in Chicago, with rounds of 72-62-69-68 to win by three; his four- round total of 271 bettered the existing U.S. Open record by ten shots. So, it doesn’t exactly sound like Hale America was an august national championship. But a record 1,528 men went through the qualifying process – Hope and Crosby both wound up declining their exemptions – and in victory Hogan was awarded the USGA gold medal traditionally given to U.S. Open champs. (His $1,000 winner’s check was paid in war bonds.) The Hale America was one of the biggest tournaments of the war-torn 1942 golf schedule…but I, personally, can’t consider it a real U.S. Open.

Qualifying is a lovely process, but barely matters in terms of the actual competition.  But amusing to see the concern over field strength, given the pass that Augusta gets.  Not to mention that 1860 Open Championship, which had an alarmingly weak field.

Alan, what’s the chance that in the next five years Phil ends up in the booth as a color commentator instead of playing tournaments full-time on a Champions Tour? He’s a natural and the networks would line up to sign him. Thanks. -@forearmshivers 

I’ve asked Phil about this directly and this is my take: he would *love* a platform and captive audience to demonstrate that he is the smartest guy in the room but has no appetite for committing to a full schedule of commentating, with all the travel, hotel rooms and staff meetings that entails. If you told the 55-year-old Phil he could commandeer the mic at a couple of majors and a few of other big-time events, he would do it in a heartbeat. But who wants to have to slog through a dozen or more B-list Tour events? Certainly not Mickelson. And, for the record, I don’t think he’ll ever play a full schedule on the Senior Tour, either.

Sounds right, though you can't know how Phil would hold up over the long term.... Stranger still, there are writers that would say the same about Tiger, most notably Alan's good buddy Mike Bamberger.

Tiger/Faldo vs Phil/Norman….at Medalist. Intriguing? Mic’d up and for charity, of course. -@BobbyTeeItUp 

This actually would be fascinating since Norman has so much beef with Tiger and a twisted history with Faldo. Given his need to hog the spotlight, I would expect Shark to chirp a ton and otherwise drive the competition crazy. Meanwhile, a mic’d Faldo would surely be mumbling all kinds of good material. Sign me up.

Good material?  How come none of that makes it over the CBS airwaves?  Was Sergio and Stephen Ames unavailable?

What 1960’s version of The Match would you like to see with Palmer and Nicklaus as the two pros? -@AirPallotti 

That’s easy: just add Bob Hope and Bing Crosby. Both were consummate entertainers and very good players.

You see how this hypothetical thing can quickly spin out of control.  If you had Hope and der Bingle, you'd be silly to allow Tiger and that other guy to bog things down.

What are you hearing, or what is your gut telling you, about the PGA at Harding Park? Is there any chance of fans? -@drwmrcs_gmcck

Over the last two weeks I’ve talked to folks at both Harding and the PGA of America. No one wants to go on record because the situation is still so fluid, but based on what I’ve been told, I now think the PGA will be played at Harding Park as scheduled but having fans on-site is doubtful to very doubtful. Sigh.

To me, Seth made a bad bet.  he could have had this event in late September, but got greedy and tried to salvage both his events.  he'll look especially short-sighted if The Memorial is played with spectators, but a few weeks later the PGA is played in a bubble.

Can you rank your favorite courses on the Monterey Peninsula? Also include Santa Cruz so Pasatiempo is included. -@DrewCecil 

I feel like I’ve done this a few times before but it’s always a fun exercise, and feelings can change over time, so: 

Pebble

CPC

Shore

Pasa

Dunes

Spy

P.G Muni

Preserve

Poppy

Black Horse

Bayo

Monterey Pines

  Fair enough, though Pebble over Cypress is a minority view...

Who are all the hangers-on at PGA and LPGA events (on the range, putting greens, etc.), and will the pros miss them when social distancing is in effect? -@David_Troyan 

Agents, swing coaches, short-game coaches, equipment reps, trainers, personal assistants, nannies. Some players (cough, cough Bryson) will be lost without the large entourages, others are going to revel in the new peacefulness of the range and practice green. It’s certainly going to be different.

A herd that's needed a culling for quite some time...

What happened to Nick Watney? Keegan Bradley? -@theblackwhip 

Golf is hard.

True that.  And you know what's even harder than golf?  Putting.

Why wouldn’t a mid-level guy on the PGA want to be mic’d up to raise his profile and get more TV time? Maybe a Rory wouldn’t want it, but those guys between 30-100 on the OWGR should be eager to get in the mix. It would highlight new guys and give us inside-the-ropes coverage. -@fancyfeet4 

Totally agree. Pre-Covid, I saw a tweet that I still think about: some random golf fan said he was heading to his first Tour event and he was more excited to follow Joel Dahmen and Max Homa than any of the superstars because he felt like he knew and was more invested in Max and Joel through of the magic of Twitter. Same principle applies here ⁠— mic’ing players, so we can better understand how they play the game as well as who they are, is a fabulous way for players to connect with fans (and build their brand). The average Tour player would be crazy to pass up the opportunity.

I feel better already, knowing that I live in a world where Joel Dahmen has groupies.

Lastly, Alan has good, sound advice for this reader:

I just moved into a new house on the 4th hole of a golf course is it wrong for me to tee it up 1st day while my girlfriend moves all the furniture? -@theBrixtonSaint 

This is a very, very delicate situation. I would recommend you play no more than 36 holes.

Still More Alan -  A smarter man than I would save this for later, but Shipnuck has an epic rant that you'll enjoy:

Wuss Happening: Today’s game has gone soft in many ways

Do tell:

I hate to be the one to break it to you, but golf is going soft. Quite literally, as my plush FootJoy socks now come emblazoned with an L and an R, lest I can’t figure it out on my own. The evidence is elsewhere in my golfing life: hybrids instead of long-irons; a laser to gauge yardages so I no longer have to schlep to a sprinkler head; balls that fly forever but refuse to be scuffed, no matter how thin I catch my 9-iron; performance fabrics to spare me my own sweat. An 18-hole slog from the tips was the old standard, carrying my bag every step of the way. Now even the ruling bodies are encouraging me to tee it forward and just play nine.

Anything else?

Given how soft players have become, it’s surprising that Charmin isn’t the official sponsor of the PGA Tour. At this year’s Wells Fargo Championship, Bob Estes withdrew

due to allergies. I like Estes and don’t want to minimize his suffering, but Ray Floyd would’ve cut off his nose with a 1-iron before W/D’ing due to the sniffles. Similarly, do you think Ben F’ing Hogan would’ve worn shorts during practice rounds? Hubert Green won the 1977 U.S. Open playing through a death threat, and Jack Nicklaus spent years being heckled as Fat Jack by Arnie’s Army, but now every noisy fan is in danger of getting tossed by a touchy-feely Tour pro. They are even bigger snowflakes on Twitter: Billy Horschel and Ian Poulter each has more blocks than Patrick Ewing.

But wait, this is gonna leave a mark, on Rickie of course:

Warriors from the days of yore were masters of gamesmanship who often played in stony silence. Now, the players vacation together and post cutesy photos about it on social media. Nick Faldo won the Claret Jug three times but refused to take so much as one drink out of it, so deep was his reverence. There isn’t an important trophy Rickie Fowler hasn’t imbibed from, even if none of them are his. The chumminess plays out between the ropes: there is currently an epidemic on Tour of “backstopping,” whereby players don’t mark their ball on the green if it’s in a spot that might help slow down a competitor’s ensuing, misplayed shot. I’m stymied by the very thought of it.

Didn't you hear, Alan?  Shack says the ladies solved the backstopping thing for us...  Yeah, I don't buy it, either.

Good fun, and you can see I went a little crazy with the excerpting....

Ever Gracious - Here's how Shack frames this inevitable walk-back:

Korn Ferry WD: Vijay Reads The Room

In the end, Vijay Singh drew heat for entering an event he will not play.

A month after signing up for the Korn Ferry Tour’s season reopening tournament, Singh has withdrawn from field, the PGA Tour confirmed to Golf Digest Sunday.

Maybe Geoff, but caring what others think hasn't been in Vijay's bag all this time, so I think it's far more likely that the Tour advised him that his presence was not helpful.

Or, yanno, he did the math:

Though Singh did pull out voluntarily, there was a chance, according to the KFT priority rankings, he wouldn’t have ultimately qualified for the event, which begins on June 11 at TPC Sawgrass’ Dye’s Valley Course in Ponte Vedra Beach.

I'm guessing voluntarily in the same manner in which DJ voluntarily had a jet-ski accident.... But thanks for going away, Veej.  Can we make this a permanent thing?

I'll leave you on that grace note, and we'll catch up down the road.  Lots of browser tabs still open, so don't be a stranger.