Table, Set - Alan Shipnuck and Golf.com go for the dramatic:
Eerie quiet hangs over fan-less PGA Championship site as first major of 2020 creeps closer
Shall we see if they can deliver on that premise?
SAN FRANCISCO — A PGA Championship unlike any other is underway, and on Tuesday at Harding Park it was as quiet as church. With no fans on property — and only skeleton crews ofreporters, volunteers and player entourages — the competitors enjoyed peaceful, intimate practice rounds. Dustin Johnson, waiting to begin his stroll around Harding Park, spoke loudly into a cellphone. (He was requesting a “52”; presumably that’s the degrees on his gap wedge, not the size of his blazer.)
Standing on the rope line, it was so quiet you could eavesdrop on the conversations in the middle of the fairway. Danny Willett pured a 6-iron and his swing coach Sean Foley offered a one-word verdict: “Cheeky.” Foley later recommended some reading for these complicated times: Between the World and Me and The New Jim Crow. Phil Mickelson (who flexed in shorts on a foggy, blustery day so frigid Gary Woodland was wearing rainpants for extra warmth) dropped a trio of balls in the 10th fairway and feathered short-irons through the breeze, consulting a Bible-sized launch monitor after each swing. “It’s heavy,” he said of the coastal air.
Nothing spoils the mood quite like a look at Phil's calves, so thanks for that...
More significantly, golf has since their reboot mercifully spared us much self-indulgent virtue signalling, for which your humble blogger is most grateful. I'll just mention that that way lies penury:
Get woke, ratings choke? NBA, MLB slide after openers
I've been out of the consulting game for some time, so long it seems that I'm unable to grasp the brilliance of a strategy that pisses off half of their customer bases...
If you watched the Sunday golf from Memphis, the CBS crew made it clear that this week would indeed be, well, major:
Still, the players could have noticed some subtle differences about this tournament compared to the everyday Tour events that have preceded it, beginning with the towering media center tucked between the first and 10th fairways, a reminder that there is history to be written this week. (The press tent accommodates 50 folks in a social-distanced manner, maybe a fifth of the turnout at a PGA played without the specter of the coronavirus.)“Just for the sheer fact that we have way more infrastructure than we are used to every other week, it already feels a little bit different,” Jon Rahm said. “You know, major championship weeks, you don’t need anything special or [even] spectators to make us aware or make it known that it’s a major championship, right? It just feels like it. You’re aware of it. It’s as simple as that.”
It's a different vibe for sure and, as Jon Rahm notes, Sunday presents additional challenges:
Rahm added that the vibe will be most acutely different on Sunday afternoon. “The atmosphere will not be the same, and I can say from experience that when you’re coming down the stretch and you’re hitting some shots and you don’t know what’s going on, you don’t know what the people in front of you are doing and you’re hitting shots into the green and you don’t know how close they can be, it’s very odd down the stretch,” he says. “I think a major even more so when on the back nine on Sunday you can [usually] feel the roars and hear it and just tell what’s going on before they post it on the boards, right?”
More heat, but less information...
Toggling out to a wider perspective, this guy sees a new golden age:
But during CBS Sports‘ press conference ahead of the PGA Championship, Nantz took on a newrole — mic dropper.
The typically dialed-back broadcaster interrupted Tuesday’s presser to extend his proclamation about what this week truly signifies for golf.
“No other sport can say this right now except for us: We are about to enter the greatest stretch of golf in the history of the game,” Nantz said. “Starting on Thursday, in an 11-month stretch, we are going to have seven major championships. We are going to have the playoffs. That includes two Masters, two PGA Championships, the Players Championship”
If the number of majors determined greatness, wouldn't the LPGA rule the roost? Of course, including "The Playoffs" is quite the buzz kill, no?
Nancy-boy makes none of the arguments you'd expect, he just seems to think that if you air it they will come... Funny thing is that I mostly agree with him, largely because of the young talent on display. But, that said, it's still very much a niche sport with a small audience.
The Kraken, Released - Attributed to their Editors, Golf.com does a deep dive on our Bryson:
Bryson DeChambeau has transformed himself. But will he also transform the game?
We could argue that he already has.
This year began with a missed cut in Abu Dhabi before a T-8 finish in Dubai. His Tour season started with a T-52 at the Waste Management — despite leading the field in distance — but then DeChambeau registered three straight top-5 finishes, at Riviera, Mexico City and Bay Hill. Had he found something? It didn’t really matter. Covid-19 spread rapidly across the United States,shutting down the Tour in its wake.
With his hot streak silenced by the pandemic, DeChambeau joined Como in his newly-established “living room lab” in Dallas, outfitted with all kinds of body-tracking gizmos. Over the course of three months, they introduced low-risk variables into DeChambeau’s swing, all of them designed for added speed.
At first, they changed the direction of his swing so it moved more in-to-out as he chased optimal launch conditions: lower spin, higher launch, the classic Tour goal. The change gave his swing a slight across-the-line look at the top of the backswing. It was different, for sure, but Bryson didn’t care.
Como widened DeChambeau’s stance, too, for a sturdier base on which he could torque like never before and pull his arms through the downswing with even greater force. Using 3-D forceplate technology to measure the amount and distribution of pressure he was placing on the ground, DeChambeau would start his swing with a lower body trigger — a counter movement that used a quick bending and straightening of his lead leg to send his pressure over to his trail side.
Get a load of these side-by-side images, the top one from 2016:
As I've noted frequently about Tiger, that factory-installed body seemed just fine for golf, but all that muscle mass seems unwise. Of course, when it comes to the Kraken, I'm just guessing...
What has it done for Bryson, they ask... The answer is readily apparent from this graph:
If you ever see Bryson playing from a divot, we can safely assume that it's Cam Champ's...Or, you know, vice versa. Here's their handicapping of the week ahead:
BRYSON AT THE PGA CHAMPIONSHIP
This week, at TPC Harding Park, Wood handpicked three holes where DeChambeau’s length will play a significant role. Here’s is Wood’s scouting report:
The 4th hole is a long (607 yards), sweeping right to left par-5 that only the longest players in the field can reach in this heavy San Francisco air. Bryson is one of them, and with four cracks at it, he’s bound to get at least one eagle putt and three chips on for makable birdies.
On the short 7th, Bryson will likely go for the green from the tee. It’s just 320 yards or so to the front edge, from around which he’ll have likely eagle putts or short up-and-downs for birdie. Meanwhile, like on the 1st, many other players will be crunching the numbers on wind and lay-up locations. DeChambeau simply takes those discussions out of play.
Finally, the 18th, a 480-yard par-4. DeChambeau’s length takes those two fairway bunkers along the right side out of play. They’re simply not on his intended line. If he hits driver where he wants on this hole, the result is yet another wedge while others in the field will be looking at mid-irons and judging the wind into an elevated and heavily sloping green. If the driver is a straight club for DeChambeau this week, look out.
Got it.
The editors also attempt to anticipate Bryson's approach to the other two 2020 majors, most notably Augusta National. There was a story that circulated a week or so ago specifically about the Par-5 13th hole, where the beast intends to bomb it into the 14th fairway and play from there. They also note two other obvious holes, the 1st and 8th, where fairway bunkers are the major factor off the tee... or, at least, have been until now.
As has been noted by many, ANGC can always be protected, even if it requires the club to purchase the entire metropolitan area. For the Tour, it's a tougher challenge:
The victory in Detroit is particularly relevant as it was a classic PGA Tour setup: 7,300 yards, few hazards and only light rough. The winning score of 23 under was unsurprising. DeChambeau playfully jabbed the setup during his pre-tournament press conference. “I think there’s a lot of bunkers that are around like 290,” he said, “so hopefully I’ll be able to clear those and take those out of play. So, sorry, Mr. [Donald] Ross, but, you know, it is what it is.”As a result of DeChambeau finding new landing zones, Detroit Golf Club is already looking at creating a different setup for next year’s event. Superintendent Alex Mendoza says the club has already identified tee boxes it intends to move back so current bunkering falls within modern landing zones. The club is considering adding fairway bunkers or even cross bunkers to the 19th-century design. “When the landing zone is quickly expanding from — you know, we planned for 275 to 325 and now it’s inching out to the 340 range, it just makes it a little bit more challenging [to set up a course],” Mendoza said.
Modern Landing Zones? Trouble is, 2020's Modern Landing Zone was appreciably different from the 2019 version.... Good luck, guys.
Now, there is one thing that will keep Bryson's driving distance under control, and it's in residence this week.
On Tuesday at Harding Park, it was sweater-vests and gloves. Beanies and hand warmers. The sun didn’t even consider showing itself. Temperatures hovered in the mid-50s. The ocean breeze made it feel 10 degrees colder. The ground was wet to the touch. The infamous marine layer, present and accounted for.
And the ball went nowhere.
Nowhere being very much a relative concept:
“I was anywhere from 10 to 13 yards shorter with a very similar swing and ball speed with the
Reminds me of a North Sea Haar. irons,” Jordan Spieth said. “And the driver is up to 20 yards shorter in carry, and that’s normalized on the TrackMan. Yeah, it’s very different.”
Such will be the case virtually all week at TPC Harding Park, which measures only 7,200-odd yards on the scorecard but will play closer to 8,000. It’s not just that the ball goes less far in the thick air—the body moves slower. Last week in Memphis, where he won the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational to become world No. 1, Justin Thomas could crank his clubhead speed up to 123-124 mph. This week, he’s topping out at 116.5, and the ball is going up to 30 yards less far. Without heat and humidity to lubricate motion, every movement requires more effort.
Dare I suggest that this week might be a trial run for a rolled-back golf ball? Of course they'll still be playing low-spin balls, so not fully retro...
One last bit about the beast, this amusing bit:
Did Bryson DeChambeau really hit the paint off his golf ball? Its manufacturer says no
Apparently not, though only due to a technicality:
As DeChambeau’s 5.5-degree Cobra SpeedZone driver connects with Bridgestone’s Tour B X ball, debris can be seen exploding off the face just after impact. Many were quick to assume thedebris was likely paint coming off the cover. With DeChambeau’s speed, it seemed feasible.
As Elliot Mellow, Bridgestone’s golf ball marketing manager, confirmed to GOLF.com, there’s one problem with the initial hypothesis: the Reactiv cover encasing the Tour B core lacks a layer of paint. The proprietary white urethane cover is injection molded, allowing it to skip the paint step during the production process.
Ummm...debris? This might be the funniest part:
Hoping to replicate the shot at headquarters, Mellow and the team at Bridgestone started looking at new and old high-speed footage (5,000 frames per second) to recreate the exact launch situation. For the moment, they still haven’t been able to find anything that looks remotely close to the high-speed footage in question. But they’re certain it’s not paint.“Based on what I know right now, we would have to chalk it up to dust or some debris on either the ball or club,” Mellow said. “We are still searching as we always do. It’s definitely an interesting video clip. [We] haven’t heard anything negative from Bryson regarding durability so I don’t think he saw anything on course regarding that.”
There's something flying off the golf ball and they have no idea what it is.... Kids, you can't make this stuff up...
Here's a look at that forecast:
Can't be great for anyone with a bad back....Like, yanno, this guy...
Wither Tiger - Just another of those effortless segues you've come to expect. We'll lead with Tiger himself explaining how the cold weather affects him:
“I think that for me, when it’s cooler like this, it’s just make sure that my core stays warm, layering up properly,” Woods said. He wore a star-spangled mask as a neck-warmer, drivinghome the point. “I know I won’t have the same range of motion as I would back home in Florida, where it’s 95 every day. That’s just the way it is.”
Harding Park and Woods’ home course, Medalist Golf Club, are each basically at sea level. But it’s tough to simulate the Bay Area’s fog and chill from steamy Hobe Sound. Woods said he was hardly the only one adjusting to the elements.
"Talking to some of the guys yesterday, they were laughing at their TrackMan [a measuring device] numbers already. They don't have the swing speed or ball speed they did last week. It's just the way it is. It's going to be playing longer. It's heavy air weather and whether the wind blows or not, it's still going to be heavy. The ball doesn't fly very far here."
No it doesn't, though cause and effect are not linear:
But it’s not quite that simple. For one thing, we haven’t seen enough of Woods in 2020 — just three tournaments — to know much of anything for sure. And while he did talk about struggling to warm up in golf’s two most recent majors, the U.S. Open (T21) and Open Championship (MC), Woods was also sweater-vested for most of his Zozo Championship win in Japan last fall. He was sweatered up and in contention at the Farmers Insurance Open this January, too. And despite the heat at Muirfield Village two weeks ago, Woods didn’t quite find his form at Memorial.
Tiger should logically enjoy his pairing with JT and Rory, and he may just find himself on the right side of the draw:
One of Woods’ best chances of staying warm will come from his proximity to playing partner Justin Thomas, who’s hot off a win in Memphis this past Sunday. Thomas, Woods and Rory McIlroy got good news Tuesday: They’ll tee off at 8:33 a.m. local time Thursday. That means missing what’s forecasted to be a challenging Thursday afternoon wind. And it means a little extra time for Woods to rest, recover and warm back up after his first major championship round in over a year.
I think getting the inevitable early time out of the way on Thursday has to be for the best, especially since the reports on his swing and demeanor have been over the moon.
Old Trusty does appear to be getting the week off:
Tiger Woods and his Scotty Cameron Newport 2 GSS (affectionately known as the “Elder Wand”) go together like peanut butter and jelly. Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. Macaroni and cheese. You get the idea.I mention all of this because images of Woods using a new Scotty Cameron Newport on Tuesday at TPC Harding Park could be much ado about nothing. Then again, any change Tiger makes — even those that occur during a practice session — is news in the world of gear. And this right here, friends, is certainly news.
So what do we now about Woods’ new wand? Not much. Woods didn’t comment on it during his Tuesday press conference and likely won’t have much to say unless it goes in the bag. Based on photos taken during a practice session, it appears to be the same Cameron putter Woods tested during the 2019 Open Championship. During the week at Portrush, Woods was seen using two putters — his usual Newport 2 (with lead tape caked in the cavity) and a nearly identical Newport 2 Timeless prototype featuring adjustable heel-toe weights.
This logically relates to green speeds, and we've seen him struggle occasionally with his speed on those slower greens.
There's also this piece, though it fails to deliver on its intriguing header:
Tiger is ‘very enthusiastic’ about his new secret swing breakthrough
Get back to me when you can put a little meat on that bone...
Who Ya Got? - First, those same Gold.com writers and their Magic 8-Ball:
The most popular pick among the GOLF.com staff?
Xander Schauffele, at +1,800. Four of our staffers chose him.
“X has too much talent to not have a major on his resume,” our Jonathan Wall wrote. “He’s come close several times in the past few years, but I think the dam breaks this week in his home state. Schauffele is used to the coastal conditions and how it can affect yardages. This should feel like a home game for him. I LOVE his chances this week.”
Each staffer's picks are then disclosed, each with a Winner, Top Ten and Prop Bet. Let's just sample a few, first from Jessica Marksbury:
To-win: Collin Morikawa, +3,500. Not only is Morikawa having a killer season (a win, five top 10s), he also went to school at UC-Berkeley and has played the course before, which gives him a significant advantage over a lot of the players this week. Put it all together, and I think it could be a breakthrough week into the *super* big leagues for the 23-year-old.
A good young player for sure, though to this observer it seems an early call. His time will undoubtedly come, but I'm guessing not just now.
From Tim Reilly:
To-win: Brooks Koepka, +1,100. I’ve been going up and down the odds page trying to find a name other than Brooks to pick, and I just can’t do it. In his words, he’s “peaking” at the right time once again. The way Brooks came up short to JT, who is the favorite, should leave exactly the right sour taste he needs to use as motivation. I’m already looking forward to the Nike three-peat ad.
I still don't get the purpose of picking Top Tens, but I like this one only to the extent that half the field misses their tee time:
Top 10: Phil Mickelson, +750. Coming off a WGC T2 finish, Phil is proving age is just a number. Lefty is going to keep the good times rolling in his home state.
Which good times are those? I really don't expect Phil to be a factor.... Remember, he himself noted that it's only on course yielding birdie fests that he seems to feel he can compete on, and this ain't one of those.
Josh Berhow ($4,038)
To-win: Rory McIlroy, +1,500. I know, I know. He was my pick to win last week. But I had Rory and JT circled for Harding Park all summer long, and now that it’s here, I somehow decided to NOT pick the guy who is coming off a win and instead go with the guy who won here the last time the Tour was in town. This will be cold and windy and have Open Championship-like conditions in a year where we won’t even have an Open Championship. McIlroy grew up playing golf in the cold and wind and rain. He’s my guy. Again. (Don’t let me down, Rory.)
I've been reliably informed that Rory grew up in Northern Ireland and its cold, windy conditions. Had I not been so informed, it would impossible to determine that from watching Rory play in such conditions.
This from Sean zak won't endear him to many, but it just might be a smart play:
Prop: To make the cut, Tiger Woods, no, +250. It’s been a long time since he played great golf. Going to put my money on that.
The last time he played passably well was Torrey Pines... I know folks love what they've seen from him this week, but that should just improve the odds on this prop bet.
Zephyr Melton takes credit for this bold play:
Top 10: Tony Finau, +450. Finau cooled off a bit last week, but I still like where his game is at heading into the first major of the year. If he can drop a few putts, he’ll be a good bet to sneak into the top 10.
Next up, Zephyr places a prop bet on the sun rising in the East.
This also might be a good play:
Luke Kerr-Dineen ($1,850)
To-win: Webb Simpson, +3,300. TPC Harding Park is a fairly short, tight, San Francisco-area track with hefty rough and narrow, well-guarded greens. You know who once won a U.S. Open at a fairly short, tight, San Francisco-area track with hefty rough and narrow, well-guarded greens? Webb Simpson, who is one of the most consistent players on Tour and is putting together a career year.
God, I love the Webber, though I couldn't possibly pick him. He's already so over-achieved, how does one pick him to over-achieve further?
Lastly from this group is young punk Dylan Dethier, who will get some heat for these:
Dylan Dethier ($1,600)
To-win: Bryson DeChambeau, +1,500. Sorry, Bryson. Up until I made this pick, I think you had a better chance to win than anyone!
Top 10: Tiger Woods, +335. We could get off-Tiger, in which case he’ll miss the cut or never become a factor. But if we get on-Tiger, which I hope we do, I’d expect him to get into contention and stay there.
Prop: Top five American player, Jordan Spieth, +750. Big-game hunter showing signs of life. If Spieth finds the fairway, he just might work his way onto the leaderboard.
If Tiger is on, a Top Ten seems an unsatisfying result, no? As for his prop bet, I wouldn't even put a shekel on Jordan being in the top five Texans.
The ESPN gang does the same here, though they're asked only for a winner, but also to justify that choice. Lots of love to be found for this guy:
David Bearman, ESPN Betting
Winner: Brooks Koepka
Why he'll win: A week ago, I was very concerned about Koepka's knee and recent results. He put that to rest with the 62 on Thursday and his late run on Sunday. If not for a bad drive on the 72nd hole, he very well could've won in Memphis. If he's healthy, there's no reason to pick against the two-time defending champion and a guy who has four wins, two runner-ups, a T4 and a T6 in his past 10 majors.
Michael Collins, ESPN.com
Winner: Brooks Koepka
Why he'll win: Last week we witnessed Brooks doing what he always seems to do around majors -- ramping up. Also note, the only water that's in play at TPC Harding Park is in coolers on tee boxes. Koepka wants the three-peat, and what Brooks wants ...
From these two sources, we've seen occasional support for Morikawa, Hovland, Webb and Tiger, but the action is in this short list of names:
ThomasRahmScahuffeleCantlayMcIlroyKoepka
Which no doubt means the winner will be... Ryan Moore? Not literally Ryan Moore, because he couldn't be bothered showing up, but you'll take my point...
But in case you were questioning the existence of God:
John Daly, Vijay Singh withdraw from PGA Championship
The former offered this compelling rationale:
“People keep asking why I (withdrew) from PGA??? California now #1 in cases/deaths, I had knee surgery, I’m a diabetic (and) I don’t feel comfortable flying. Being too close proximity to even small crowds & risk exposure with my health not worth it! God Bess & y’all be safe!”
John, we understand completely. In fact, just from an abundance of caution, we think you should continue the self-quarantine until further notice. Stay put, and I'll get beck to you when it's safe to come out.
Udder Stuff - here's a new term for you kids:
What you can learn from how Justin Thomas manages wedge ‘groove decay’
There's not much there there, though you might be amused at how specific their wedge lofts are:
If you’ve never heard the term “groove decay” before, it’s another way to describe the gradualwearing down of the grooves due to regular use. As the grooves begin to wear down, the spin rate decreases as well, which can affect how certain shots react around the green.Thomas has learned over the years that spin is an important alley on the course with specific wedges. It’s one of the reasons why he’s more prone to change out his 57-degree Vokey SM8 and 60.5-degree Vokey WedgeWorks sand and lob wedges on a frequent basis. (According to Vokey Tour rep Aaron Dill, Thomas changes out the lob wedge every six weeks.)
The item itself reads like a Vokey advertisement, I just liked the new term of art.
Laz Versalles is a new name at Golf.com, though he quite obviously is attempting to undermine the business model of golfballs.com:
Why marking your ball with an alignment line should be prohibited
Talk about burying your lede... Obviously we've solved every other problem in our game, freeing us to worry about this. So, whatcha got, Laz?
One wrong that should be made right: prohibit players from marking their balls with a line that may be used an alignment aid.Why? Because it’s not legal. To be fair, it’s not illegal, either. In fact, the act of applying a line to your ball with the intent of it helping with alignment isn’t specifically addressed anywhere in the rules (it was before 2019, but no longer). But it feels unfair — at least it does to this golfer! — and that should mean something.
So we're now going to change the rules of golf because of how they make Laz feel? Doesn't that sum up the current generation to a t?
He does, to his credit, actually address what the rules say, noting this conflict:
The Rules of Golf are clear on objects used for alignment. From Rule 10-2b (2): “The player orcaddie must not set an object down anywhere on or off the putting green to show the line of play.” When a player sets down an object — like a line on a ball — to show the line of play, that, in effect, violates Rule 10-2b, or at the very least the spirit of Rule 10-2b. (The rules-makers will tell you that they don’t believe a marking is an object, even if that credo is not explicitly spelled out in the rule book. Therefore, they contend, aligning a ball with either a Sharpie line or manufacturer’s logo isn’t a breach of 10.2b (2).)
What complicates the matter is Rule 6-3a, which, as stated in the Rules of Equipment, “encourages the player to put an identification mark on his or her ball to help ensure that he or she plays their own ball throughout the round. There are no regulations to limit what or how many markings can be applied to the ball by the player, provided its original markings can be discerned.”
Seems to me clear call for bifurcation.... Just kidding.
There's actually a point to be made here, though I frankly doubt Laz will find anyone willing to go to the barricades with him. And the appeal to the rules gets necessarily convoluted:
But wait! There’s more contradiction in 14.2c/1, which reads, “the ball may be aligned in any way when being replaced (such as by lining up the trademark) so long as the ball’s vertical distance to the ground remains the same.” Listen, people have been lining up the trademark for decades but that’s not the same as drawing an object to serve as an alignment aid on your ball.
How about if I have golfballs.com draw the object for me? Different still?
But, pray tell, how exactly would I place my ball back on the green and not have the vertical distance to the ground be the same?
Lastly, before we exit gracefully, Will Knights at The Fried Egg takes on Bryson's recent behavior, and makes the case against a member-run organization such as the Tour. After reviewing his recent behavioral issues, Will has this take on matters:
Yes, Bryson DeChambeau is an outlier in many ways. But his sense of entitlement isn’t unusual among players. In fact, the PGA Tour actively encourages the perception that its members are in charge and can do no wrong. When players behave poorly, the Tour tends to sweep it under the rug as quickly as possible.A few examples come to mind. Remember Jon Rahm’s hissy fit on the 11th hole at the 2019 Players Championship? Good luck finding it on the internet. After TV cameras caught Patrick Reed cheating at the Hero World Challenge last year, Slugger White said he “could not have been more of a gentleman” when informed of the penalty. And who could forget Dustin Johnson announcing he was taking a “voluntary leave of absence” in 2014, even as reports circulated that he had been popped for a third failed drug test? The Tour saves its public slaps on the wrist for lesser-known players like Robert Garrigus and Matt Every, both of whom were suspended for legally prescribed medical marijuana.It’s not surprising that the PGA Tour would want to avoid pissing off its highest-profile members. But if the Tour continues to side with players against media outlets that just want to tell the real story, golf coverage will become even more bland than it currently is. Imagine a future filled with puff pieces about players’ charitable efforts and trips to the Columbus Zoo. Sometimes that’s what the Tour seems to want, and it’s weirdly self-destructive.
Another interesting take, but is the PGA Tour member run? That I think is a harder question than Will lets on.
That said, I completely agree with him that the Tour's attempt to whitewash (that's gotta be a racist term these days) the players is counter-productive. We all know that DJ couldn't spell jet-ski, yet the Tour continues to characterize his absence as a voluntary leave of absence.
All that accomplishes is to make us question everything we're told. But never do they seem a so out of touch as when they take down social media content. I remember a few years back, Henrik Stenson hit a cold shank and was laughing at himself later on social media, whereas the Tour came after anyone posting that video. The point Will is making, and it's one with which I agree, is that Henrik has the far better approach, instinctively understand that a shank makes him that much more relatable. If only Nurse Ratched and successor could understand that rather simple point.
Enjoy your day and we'll talk more later.
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