Weekend Wrap

A hot, steamy weekend for most of us.  Were I not relegated to a cart by virtue of the increasingly annoying shin splint, the heat and humidity would have necessitated it...

Muirfield Mishegoss - Wow, a great week of challenging golf ends on a bizarre note.  Before we segue to the penalty, let's give the man his due:

DUBLIN, Ohio – Jon Rahm was cruising to an authoritative victory in the Memorial on Sunday – and the world’s top ranking for the first time – when he ran into turbulence shortly after storms arrived and delayed play.

After a 50-minute stoppage, Rahm returned to the ninth hole at Muirfield Village Golf Club with an 8-shot lead. But a bogey on 10, a double-bogey on 11 and another bogey on 14, coupled with a birdie by Ryan Palmer on the 12th, cut Rahm’s lead to three shots. 

Then matters got dicey when Rahm chipped in from behind the 16th green for birdie to up his advantage to four. But as he soled his club right before the chip, the ball moved and didn’t return to its original spot before Rahm hit his shot. 

Rahm was later penalized two shots for the infraction.

It's a plotline we see often, as players struggle after staking themselves to a big lead.  But by the time of the penalty on No. 16 he had effectively put away the field, so that became an afterthought.  Or something.

And to be fair, he was playing beautifully until the weather hit:

Jon Rahm hung on, and that’s all that matters

First, we should point out just how good Rahm’s front nine on Sunday was. Coming off a Saturday 68 that he called “one of the rounds of my life,” he backed it up with a front-nine 34 that all but closed the door on everyone. Yes, he quickly gave a few back on 10 and 11, and seemed to begin running a little hot, as he tends to do. But he managed to play the final seven holes in even par (before the two-shot penalty). He hung on, which was all he needed to do to ascend to the World No. 1 ranking, which he absolutely deserves.

That 34 under the windy, firm conditions that resented was really exceptional, but then he had fifty minutes for dark thoughts to enter his mind... I'll get to that last bit below, but Rahm handled the challenging conditions better than anyone else, and is a worthy champion.

Still, about that penalty....

The shot in question was his second from the rough just off the green at the par-3 16th. As Rahm was at address, the ball moved slightly. Rahm then holed the shot, but slow-motion replays showed the label on the ball moving slightly. 

“I didn’t see it,” Rahm said. “You know, I promised open honestly and I’m a loyal person and I don’t want to win by cheating. … The ball did move. It’s as simple as that.” 

Rahm was first asked about the potential of a penalty during his post-round interview with CBS prior to reaching the scoring area. Slugger White, PGA TOUR Vice President of Rules & Competition, then showed the replay to Rahm and the penalty was assessed prior to signing his scorecard.

I have no doubt that Rahm had no idea the ball moved, though he'll not evade responsibility quite that easily.  But before we get to that issue, can we not all agree that having Amanda Balionis break the news to him is sub-optimal?  

I have a simple question for Jay Monahan, the PGA our and its players... What is up with the clubhead on the turf/grass behind the ball before playing the shot?  I know that to a man you'll tell me that you're not trying to improve your lies... the CBS crew played along and attested to the fact that the lie had not been improved, but can someone please explain this to me:

This is a hard image to find...  Everyone has the video and everyone has seen the ball move, but no one wants to talk about the clubhead on the grass behind the ball.  It's self-evidently pushing grass down and improving the path to the ball, but none dare call it what it is.

This is not the last mention of the practice we'll have today, nor I suspect in the future.  We talk often of the integrity of the players and, as critical as I can be at times, I do believe that most of them are straight shooters.  But somehow we have to head this off, or we'll have no way of knowing when great shots from bad lies are legitimate.

For what it's worth, Shack had a similar take:

Here is shot and a closer look at the ball move. As I discuss on this week’s Shack Show, the practice of so aggressively grounding the club was apparently all week at Muirfield Village and it nearly cost the winner the outright victory he’s enjoying.

 Shall we cover other subjects of interest from the week?  First, this take on the venue and conditions:

Was Jack Nicklaus sending a message this week?

This seems to be a theory among many of Golf Twitter’s most-trusted voices: That the Golden Bear cranked up the pain-meter at Muirfield Village this week to counteract the way tournament golf is tilting these days. The question is, does Jack have that much say in the setup, which is handled by the PGA Tour? One would think he has a little given it’s his golf course. It certainly seemed that way, what with how Muirfield Village played like the U.S. Opens of old this week. And by U.S. Opens of old, we mean the ones where the course went all the way to, or just over, the proverbial edge.

I think I speak for many when I say I enjoyed it, especially after the barrage of birdie fests over the previous few weeks since the PGA Tour resumed play. Carnage is often entertaining, except when it borderline unfair carnage (see: Shinnecock (twice), Merion, Oakmont, etc.). Then you wonder if it’s really testing the best players or does it become a clown show? It was still more the former than the latter this week in Ohio, although seeing Phil Mickelson use a putter from the fairway 78 yards from the hole hints that things got close.

Considering Nicklaus’ comments earlier the week on a ball roll back, however, you do have to wonder if the Golden Bear was making a point, too. Is letting the rough grow knee deep, narrowing the fairways, hoping the wind blows like crazy and making the greens more slippery than a freshly zamboni’d hockey rink the only way to make it tough on these guys now? Sure starting to feel that way.

Sort of, but it way overstates the case.

To me, as much as Jack's architecture career has left me cold, his approach to setting up the golf course for this event has always made sense.  His intention has always been to present a #firmandfast test of golf, though weather conditions often frustrate those efforts.  This event has long been notorious for its bad weather, and when that happens Jack accepts that the guys will shoot the lights out.

This year they got lucky, with almost no rain during tournament week.  Coupled with just enough wind, that challenged the guys to an extent that we haven't seen recently, and provided quite a contrast with play the prior week.  Contributing as well (I suspect) was the fact that they are tearing up the greens as we speak, in fact CBS caught them tearing up a front-nine green while play was ongoing on the back nine...  Much easier for them to burn the greens out when they have no need to make them playable for the members the following week.

To me the takeaway is that the only defense against the elite players are such firm and fast conditions, the problem being that we don't and won't get such conditions very often.  The traveling circus that is the Tour necessarily drops anchor where it always has, and we can identify spots where we might see the guys challenged, but it's hit or miss from year to year.  We should enjoy it when it presents, but it's more the exception than the rule.

I do think that Muirfield Village is mostly a fair test under such conditions, with the exception of that 16th hole.  At times the best players in the world were unable to hold the green, so they can't rip u that hole quickly enough for this observer.

As you heard ad nauseum, Mr. Rahm is now the No. 1 ranked player in the world, which just leaves me bemused.  Here's our first visit with the Tour Confidential panel:

1. Jon Rahm blew away the field at the Memorial, winning by three shots (five shots before he was assessed a two-stroke penalty after his round). The victory, his fourth on the PGA Tour, paired with sixth internationally, elevated the 25-year-old Spaniard to No. 1 in the world. Does Rahm have the staying power to hold down the top spot for an extended run?

Sean Zak: Undoubtedly! Look at that penultimate sentence: “25-year-old Spaniard to No. 1 in the world.” Aka, he’s been elite from Day 1 and he’ll play all over the world, beating up on both tours. Even if he holds it only for a little this first time, I’d expect him to have a 20-week run at some point in his career.

Josh Sens: Nice use of “penultimate,” Sean. No doubt he’s got the skills. Gotta figure his staying power up top will have a lot to do with how well he balances that knife’s edge between intensity and hot-headedness. There were a couple of moments on the back nine Sunday when he lost his cool. But he righted himself. Maybe working with that sports shrink we heard about during the broadcast is paying off.

Michael Bamberger: I’d be surprised. I don’t think golf is that important to him. Also, when a swing is that short and fast there’s a lot that can go wrong. A longer, slower swing is actually easier to correct and have long-term consistency with.

Dylan Dethier: What’s funny about Rahm is that his golf game is generally so relentless; he’s somewhat like Justin Thomas in that sense – he just keeps coming at you. The mental game is the last piece to click, and that has to do with letting off some steam without blowing a gasket. On a hard golf course, or an easy golf course, he’s a good bet. I think he holds his spot and plays well at the PGA, too, to pick up some big points.

This isn't quite up there with Lee Westwood or Luke Donald topping the OWGR, though it's of the same genre.  At least in the Spaniard's case he's a young, rising talent that might well claim that top spot legitimately in the near future, but this is quite self-evidently too early.  he has all of four PGA Tour wins, the most significant of which came yesterday:

His record in the majors?  Nothing special:

Best player in the world?  The guy he displaced has won four majors and a Players Championship, though it's staggering to think how long ago the former were (August 2014 being the most recent, that PGA at Valhalla).  What the OWGR formula is telling us is that there is no clear-cut No. 1 player in the world, but rather a deep bench of contenders.

Wither Tiger?

2. Tiger Woods made his return to the PGA Tour, playing his first tournament since mid-February due to ailment and the Tour’s three-month coronavirus hiatus. (Woods barely made the cut and shot 71-76-71-76 to tie for 40th.) What, if anything, can we read into Tiger’s shaky performance?

Zak: That he’s kinda sorta where he left off: Back tightness comes and goes. The right swing on the right day, and he can make a number of birdies, but any looseness off the tee is going to make it a grind for him. Also, the rough isn’t his friend, so good luck at Harding Park and Winged Foot.

Sens: Agreed. Luckily, another thing that hasn’t changed is his ability to grind. Conditions were brutal, his back was bugging him, and he still closed Friday with just enough to make the weekend.

Bamberger: Tiger Woods is the kindest, greatest and most determined golf champion I have had the privilege to watch in this millennium. His play was outstanding. He is a golf god. Except for a few balky shots and a sometimes balky body.

Dethier: Hah, big “except” there, Michael! I think it was a good showing, definitely not a great showing, and Woods displayed both his otherworldly shotmaking and the power of Father Time. I think he’s got Augusta National circled on the calendar, as he should.

Kindest?  Abraham Ancer would beg to differ....

In terms of his golf, this was Geoff's header after that Thursday 71:

Woods Looks Solid In Return After Five Month Break

But then Friday he could barely take the club back.... 

Worst of all, at least to this observer, was his post-round interview Sunday, when he was asked by Amanda Balionis when we would see him next.  You know he's not playing until Harding Park and I know he's not playing until Harding Park, but he just played dumb...  The act is getting awfully old and tiresome, and it might be nice if he could occasionally level with us...

In terms of handicapping this year's majors, this might actually be the more significant factor:

Brooks Koepka’s game is not where he wants it. Since his three-win campaign last

season, the 30-year-old just hasn’t been himself. He’s recorded just one top 10 during this abbreviated season — a solo seventh at the RBC Heritage — and he’s missed as many cuts (three) this year as he did during the previous two seasons combined. 

Lots of these struggles can be directly linked to a nagging knee injury that has plagued him for the past 16 months. Koepka had a procedure done on the knee shortly after last year’s Tour Championship and revealed that he’d been playing through pain for the better part of the year. He reinjured the same knee in Korea last October and was sidelined until 2020. But even when he return 

“It was a lot worse than we let on,” Koepka said at the time. “I’m nowhere near 100%; I don’t know if my knee will ever be 100%. It’s one of those things where I’m just trying every day.”

I thought he looked much better at Colonial and Harbor Town, but since the WD from Hartford he has quite obviously not been right.

As an aside, today is a sad day here, as we were originally scheduled to fly to Scotland tonight.  Maybe Phil was just trying to make me feel better, or perhaps he agrees with my assessment of that 16th hole, but he presented this very Scotland image yesterday:

A 78-yard putt is very Scottish, but admittedly it looks nothing like the auld sod.  Here's the deal:

Phil Mickelson hit a bomb with his driver.

He hit one with his putter, too.

On the 447-yard, par-4 13th hole at Muirfield Village Golf Club, Mickelson mashed a 364-yard drive. It carried 298 yards. It rolled another 66.

The ball kept rolling.

Muirfield was playing fast Sunday during the fourth round of the Memorial. Fast fairways. Fast greens. To at least Mickelson, it was hard to see where one stopped and the other began.

From 78 yards out, or 234 feet out, Mickelson pulled out the putter. A wedge wouldn’t work. It wouldn’t stick. A putter might work. It might just stop.

Perhaps stranger still was how he played that 16th hole:

On the 173-yard, par-3 16th, Mickelson purposely laid up short of the green, then putted from 43 yards off, or 129 feet. Over the previous three rounds, Mickelson went par-double bogey-double-bogey on the hole. He wanted a 4 on Sunday.

He got it. His putt got within 15 feet. He two-putted from there. Or three-putted the hole.

“So yeah, 16 is a hard hole,” Mickelson said. “I played it eight days. I’m 10-over. So I improved my score .2 today by playing for a 4, and I’ve made four or five doubles on the hole, and it just is a hard golf hole for me. Obviously you can’t go left in the water, and when I go right, usually it’s a hotter shot – like I pull it or it draws and it’s always on the downslope of the bunker, and I just can’t stop it oftentimes on the green.

“So I just laid up to where I have an angle to putt it up the green, so I took a 5 out of play and I was trying to make a 3 and had a 12-footer for it.”

I suspect he agrees with me about this hole...  God knows what he might have done had this been an USGA event...

And for what it's worth, the bigger issue with Phil's putting would likely be this.

That Tiger header above is far from the only one that didn't age well.  There was this after 36 holes:

Memorial Weekend: Will Finau's "Inspired By Bryson" Approach Work?

As I understand the math, he walked off the 11th green on Saturday four shots clear of Rahm, yet finished ten strokes behind the winner.  Yowser, these guys are good, except when they're not...

Now we get to the 'roid rage portion of our programming, in which we wonder when Bryson's head might explode on national TV.  Everyone has I'm sure heard of his ten on No.15 on Friday, but for anyone living in a bubble there's this summary:

Here’s how it went down, shot by shot.

1. Tee shot 279 yards left into a water hazard.
2. Penalty stroke.
3. Attempting to reach the green, he hit a fairway wood out of bounds, on the wrong side of a boundary fence down the right side of the hole.
4. Penalty stroke.
5. Attempting to reach the green again, he hit a fairway wood out of bounds in the same vicinity as the previous shot.
6. Penalty stroke.
7. Attempting to reach the green a third time, he hit a fairway wood well right near the previously noted fence. It bounced off the cart path multiple times and settled just short of a water hazard.
8. Pitch onto green, leaving him 29 feet from the hole.
9. Lag putt to three feet.
10. In the hole.

The drama was all the more compelling because, before DeChambeau hit his eighth shot he asked for a ruling when he discovered that his first OB shot left his ball directly under the fence. He believed it might be in play, and when the first rules official told him it was out, he asked for a second ruling. The second official arrived, and DeChambeau said he wanted to "hop the fence and hit it from the other side." The official delivered the same bad news.

Total time to play the hole: 24 minutes.

 Shack is not amused, and it's hard to disagree as he lays out the multi-count indictment.  He links to Jay Rigdon at Awful Announcing, and we'll let Jay describe his interaction with the rules officials:

DeChambeau struggled to a 73 yesterday at the Memorial despite gaining an absurd number of strokes off the tee relative to the field. Today wasn’t going much better in tough conditions, but Bryson was still very much in contention to make the cut when he stepped onto the tee at the par 5 15th hole. After hooking his drive into a hazard, Bryson dropped and attempted to go for the green anyway, powering his shot out of bounds.

Dropping again, he did the same thing. And then he almost did it again a third time, though it stayed in bounds. (He also may not have dropped legally, either.)

I tuned in with the ball under the fence, so saw none of how it got there.  Though it did seem that his provisional was awfully close to also going OB, which amused me.  But please continue, Jay:

Bryson then went full Bryson, arguing with a rules official that because his first ball was touching the metal boundary fence (though on the opposite side, in what looked like someone’s yard), that it was actually in bounds. After the first official told him no, he said he didn’t believe him.

PGA Tour Live got even more of that exchange, with Bryson suggesting that being told his ball (which was out of bounds) was out of bounds would amount to a “garbage ruling like usual”:

All credit to Golf Channel for going back for that moment, too, even though it may not be great for Bryson’s brand.

That's a good one, Jay...  Though, as I noted after Detroit, the guy damaging Bryson's brand just happens to be named Bryson, which is quite the coincidence.

But Jay has more, including this bit from the 16th tee:

Obviously this is a big moment, and a player that heated coming off a horrible score is very compelling, especially when it’s a character like DeChambeau. 

After he teed off on 16, though, his caddie immediately rushed over to prevent Golf Channel from filming DeChambeau as he headed up the fairway:

That’s incredible! As with everything he said a few weeks ago, this makes him look so much worse than if viewers were allowed to see him walk with an angry expression on his face for a few seconds, or whatever he was doing. Instead he comes across as spoiled at best. Though the more this happens, the more it’s apparent why Bryson needs networks, rules officials, his caddie, and everyone else to look out for his brand and image: he’s not capable of doing it himself.

At best...  We saw Jon Rahm running very hot yesterday, and it's admittedly not the prettiest picture in the moment.  But it's a natural reaction and we're willing, or at least I am, to cut them some slack given the pressure under which they work.   Here is Geoff's full rant:

While the second conversation with Ken Tackett would never match an Earl Weaver meltdown, DeChambeau’s disrespect and disdain for the official was evident (video on the Rigdon link). Tackett is a pretty stellar official and individual, as profiled here by Karen Crouse.

Then, after teeing off at the 16th, DeChambeau caddie Tim Tucker went out of his way to block a CBS cameraman from recording images of his player as they walked off the tee. (Rigdon has the video here.) 

We all get that golf is infuriating and leads people to do strange things. And the pro sport needs drama at times. DeChambeau is a character and brings much-needed intrigue. But there is one huge problem that has come with his body transformation: he’s openly rude on national television to people who are just doing their job. And in the case of reduced television crews who are working long days in hot weather and in a pandemic, players should be thanking them, not encouraging their caddies to approach them in hostile fashion. 

The Friday incidents came just two weeks after DeChambeau’s ridiculous berating of a CBS cameraman at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. And remember, he subsequently asserted that his brand was not protected.

Now with a second episode under his belt in only two weeks, Team DeChambeau is not doing the PGA Tour any favors. (His increasingly angry ways have, however, done wonders for those campaigning to roll back distance, so there’s that!) 

Fines will not do the trick if a player and caddie so openly feel free to berate or threaten television crews. Time off to think about who pays for the this playing-golf-for-money business might do wonders.

He seems blissfully unaware of what funds this golf ecosystem....  But this is equally Tour-abetted, because any penalties for this behavior will not be publicly disclosed.   

But that's not even what troubles me most.... buried in Shack's account is this little nugget:

Three elements were particularly troubling, starting with Dechambeau’s patting down of rough before and after taking a drop. While this dreadful practice continues to be commonplace way too often, this is just not a good look:

WTF?  Not only did we see Rahm with the same move above, but remember that video of Patrick Reed from the Barclays a few years ago that Peter Kostis reminded us of?  There is no reason to touch the grass with your clubhead, unless your lie is not to your liking.  

Here's the TC gang's take, which I do think misses the point:

3. Bryson DeChambeau blew up during Friday’s second round, taking penalties on three consecutive shots and arguing with two rules officials over one of the penalties before taking a 10 on the par-5 15th at Muirfield Village and missing the cut. DeChambeau’s physicality has been the talk of the Tour over the past month. Does his sometimes fiery demeanor give you any pause about how he might perform in big moments?

Zak: His demeanor is concerning, to the point that I could definitely see him unravel in crunch time, but I’m not going to get too wrapped up in one bad round during one abnormal event. His personality doesn’t lend to listening to others tell him what’s right, like the rules officials did, so it’s not too surprising. But remember, when the cameraman bothered him in Detroit, he turned around and blitzed the field on Sunday.

Sens: For sure, but that’s part of what makes him good theater. For better and worse, he’s been the most compelling player to watch in golf’s return. That he’s emerging as something of a villain in some eyes is all that better. Every good drama needs one. 

Bamberger: Bryson has more energy and brilliance than he knows what to do with! A man with such skills must be given some room to roam, and roam he did! 

Dethier: In the heat of the moment, getting a ruling that effectively torpedos your chances at being a part of a massive tournament would be a lot to deal with. In that way, I think we should cut Bryson some slack. But he should also bear in mind that rules officials are just doing their jobs — nobody is out to get him. It felt relatable and immature, and maybe those two things are the same.

I don't need these guys to be perfect, in fact it's far more interesting when they're not.  But a reminder that after getting in the face of that cameraman in Detroit, he doubled down on his "protect my brand" nonsense all the following week.  I think we all understand what a maddening game we play, and I suspect we've all lost it at one point or another.  But he's less a villain than just a jerk, the irony being that the brand he keeps talking about is now characterized by his abuse of those merely preforming their jobs.  Good work, Bryson.

I'll leave you here but I'm unsure when we'll next chat.  For sure not tomorrow, when I have that rescheduled Governor's Cup match.  I also have golf Wednesday morning, though not quite as early.  Expect me when you see me, and have a good week.