And a fine weekend it was. Not only did our course dry out substantially between Thursday and Saturday, but a well-worn Lincoln began its inevitable eight-month commute between Bobby D.'s wallet and my own...
Billy Ho. Ascendant - God, I love this event, just not, yanno, on account of the Sundays... No, the event is best appreciated for the Wednesday-Friday. But let's give the winner his due:
By the time Sunday afternoon rolled around, Horschel and Scheffler weren’t at their best, and though neither would admit it outright, it looked like a classic case of mental and physical fatigue as the sun set on a long week.“I think it wasn’t pretty,” Horschel said afterward. “I feel sorry for the fans watching the coverage because they didn’t see any great golf shots or very few of them at that. They saw a lot of sloppiness. They saw a lot of pars win holes and I think I made a birdie and I’m not sure if Scottie made a birdie.”Scheffler, the 2018 University of Texas grad who the crowds were mostly pulling for did actually have one, and it came because Horschel bombed out of the second hole and conceded it.Nevertheless, for fans of this unique event, the quality of the final is never the headline. To win the trophy, a player must handle playing seven matches in five days, and that requires three basic elements: Skill, luck and endurance. That latter includes surviving missed opportunities and the occasional bout of bad play, all while marching through the picturesque but very steep hills of Austin C.C. Sure, Horschel could have closed out Scheffler earlier, and adrenaline led him to overcook a pair of approaches after Scheffler found the water on 12 and the dreaded “native area” on 16, resulting in a pair of frustrating halved holes. But Horschel, 34 and an 11-year PGA Tour veteran, held on through those blunders, played intelligent tactical golf even when certain shots deserted him, and Scheffler helped him at the right moment with a critical missed four-foot birdie try on 14.Endurance, followed by luck, and a deserved victory.
The format virtually ensures an anticlimactic Sunday, though this year came with a twist, colder and windier conditions that ensured a demolition derby final day. Of course, the combination of recency bias with a tendency to over-interpret the match-play chops of those surviving until Sunday, leads to arguments such as this:
A victory which comes with more than a few implications. It’s difficult in any match-playcompetition not to think about the Ryder Cup, and though there are six months and plenty of drama between then and now, both players profited from their performance in Austin. That’s according to U.S. captain Steve Stricker, who was tuned in for the duration of the event.“Good to see three Americans in the final four and looks like taking the top three spots,” he texted as the action wound down on Sunday. “Also very excited to see Scheffler take down two of their top players.”
Yeah, not so quick. I'll posit that, of the four semi-finalists, the only one I actually can see at Whistling Straits would be Victor Perez, the guy that went 0-2 on Sunday. Horschel has moved from No. 34 to No. 17 based upon this win, making him now the 11th-ranked American. It's possible and they'll be an edge for having won this very event, but water continues to find its own level...There's a reason it's been four years since Billy was handed any hardware...
Then again, if it's all about match-play props, where does that leave Tony Finau? I would further argue, somewhat just to be contrarian, that if you're looking for someone whose stock rose from this week you could do worse than think about Brian Karman, who I was actually touting over Finau before Alas, per Furyk made his Captain's picks. I think you take the best player without over-thinking the match-play aspect (because none of them have much experience at fourballs), and after taking the best player one takes the best putter...
The Tour Confidential gang had some thoughts on the event:
The WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play concluded Sunday, with Billy Horschel beating Scottie Scheffler 2 and 1 in the final. The event’s format, as ever, delivered all kinds of drama and intrigue. What was the biggest insight or surprise you gleaned from watching the world’s best players squaring off in five days of head-to-head matches?
That Rory might not make the Euro team? That Kevin Na most certainly won't make the American team. Yeah, that second one is now a mortal lock.
Sean Zak: That Sergio is getting dialed. He may not have advanced to the final four, but he played a lot of clutch golf, and he’s starting to peak ahead of Augusta. Who else is peaking rightnow? It’s hard to look around and pick out more than a couple guys who are really looking great. The Masters starts in 11 days.
Josh Sens: You mean, aside from the fact that Matt Kuchar is going to win the Masters? It was a reminder that for all the effort organizers put into trying to produce desired results, the quirks and unpredictability of match play make that impossible. And that’s the beauty of it. Best to just sit back and enjoy.
OK, two old guys that have been off their feed found a little form. At least Josh can pretend that his tongue was firmly in his cheek. But reality can be a harsh mistress, but Sergio has already won his Masters and Kooch, well he doesn't have a Masters, nor will he.
Dylan Dethier: This week was a terrific reminder that match play is a delightful crapshoot. Most of the top seeds didn’t make it through match play. The final four was comprised of the 30, 31, 32 and 52 seeds. That’s like a bunch of eight seeds and a 13 making it to the finale of March Madness. These guys are [all] good!
An 18-hole match among players at this elite level is a coin flip.
James Colgan: My goodness, I miss the Ryder Cup. If the DJ-Na dust-up wasn’t enough to stir your imagination toward similar match play drama at Whistling in September, you might not have a pulse. (P.S. — this Scottie Scheffler fellow might make for an interesting addition to Steve Stricker’s team come September.)
The biggest issue for this event, methinks, is that people hear "match-play" and expect the Ryder Cup. There's match-play and then there's team match-play combined with a dollop of bad blood, and the two have little in common.
They do revisit this issue, one I previewed last week:
2. Ian Poulter was among several players who said he’d rather see a single-elimination format in the first round of the Match Play, as opposed to the round-robin group format the tournament has used since 2015. (The Tour moved to groups to prevent superstars from being eliminated after one match.) Poulter said it’s a bit “annoying” that you can beat the eventual winner in a first-round match, as Poulter did in 2019, when he beat eventual champ Kevin Kisner in the first round. Poulter also said “there’s a couple of scenarios that can happen in these group matches which, if you’re in a position where you can’t advance, are you really trying really hard? Not really sure.” Is there a format solution that would address both Poulter’s and the Tour’s concerns?
There's good arguments to be made for both positions, though it would be harder to return to the uber-Darwinian single-elimination with the event two weeks before Augusta. But let's see what the lads think:
Zak: I’m probably in the minority, but I think the current format is great. You wanna advance, play better! Don’t lose the match you need to win. I guess a hybrid model that allows for a wild card or two advancing without winning their group might make sense. But Billy Horschel and Scottie Scheffler played upwards of 115 holes this week. Do we need to add more to that?
OK, logic is hard... This isn't really Sean's fault, as the question makes a hash of the players' concerns. Yes, the annoying Mr. Poulter mused about the vagaries of group play, but that's a circus side show. The bigger issue for the players is that we still have to ensure that they show up for the event... Think I'm kidding? Anyone remember when they tried to take this event to Australia (under the old single-elimination format)?
Sens: As with the golf swing, it’s easy to start over-thinking this one. You can’t always legislate for desired outcomes, which was part of the motivation for moving away from single elimination in the first place: trying to protect the biggest stars from being knocked out early by fluke losses. I’m with Poulter here. Keep it simple. Make it single elimination. More excitement throughout.
I think Josh is just as muddled as Sean was... I don't think they assumed the outcomes would correlate any better to world rankings. It just serves the purpose of ensure the guys that they'd play at least three matches, a not insignificant consideration wen the event is a Masters tune-up.
Dethier: I like the current format because Wednesday through Saturday are all immensely fun golf-watching days (Sunday’s finale really relies on compelling characters to make it great). I understand the players’ gripes, because it can feel like you have to win three matches just to make it out of pool play — but as a viewer, I’m starved for more professional match play golf. Why limit that?!
Fair enough, Dylan, but at a lower intensity level. Tat's the trade-off.
Colgan: Ah yes, I’ve always enjoyed the NFL’s group-stage playoff format. Sudden death is such a sudden way for one’s tournament hopes to die — which is precisely why we’ve all filled out our brackets for the round-robin NCAA tournament, in which the 16 seeds play the one seeds four times each to determine supremacy. In all seriousness, let’s stop overthinking this one. Leave pool play to soccer and give the fans what they want: drama.
Picture Tiger all-square (never tied, but more on tat later) wit, just to pick a player at random, Nick O'Hern, on the 17th or 18th hole on Wednesday. Now that match has an entirely different feel under a single elimination format, as opposed to the current Group play format. I know that I prefer the primal, mano-a-mano feel of the original format, but that comes at the risk of losing Nick O'Hern for the remainder of the week.... But we don't often have the opportunity to see Tiger fighting for his life, though his life needs to actually be at risk for it to hold our interest....
Let me just add one thought, in direct response to the Right Honourable Mr. Poulter, specifically his logical concern about having guys out there on Friday with no chance to advance. While the concern seems appropriate, we should admit that such a situation might tell us interesting things about a player. For instance, below I'll dive into the Kevin Na-DJ concession issue from Friday, but with a reminder that Na had to chance to advance when he teed it up for that round. Still, he demonstrated something to us in taking on DJ, and that in itself can be interesting.
Similarly, the Best Match Ever™ in this event was a Friday tie between two players that lost both their first two matches and had no hope of making it to Saturday. I allude of course to that epic match from 2015, the first year of Group play but the last at the dreadful Dove Mountain:
Contesting a dead-rubber, having both already been eliminated, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Keegan Bradley went toe-to-toe - and very nearly nose-to-nose after a heated exchange on thefinal hole of their match.
After taking relief from a temporary immovable obstruction, Bradley still didn’t have a clear swing and so had to re-drop.
At this point, Jimenez decided to intervene, much to the annoyance of Bradley and his caddie, Steve “Pepsi” Hale.
Jimenez, who had been leading one-up at the time, went on to win the hole to seal a two-up victory.
Afterwards, he described it as “a little discussion but it is done”.
Bradley was much more forthcoming.
"I felt like he was being very disrespectful to me – not only me, but my caddie," the 2011 US PGA champion said. "I felt like I had to stand up for my boy here. Me and Pepsi have been through a lot.
Not enough, apparently. Bradley later said he got played by Miggy's gamesmanship, though I never actually thought Miggy cared until Keegan lost it. Best part is that the scene ends with Keegan taking shelter from the storm in his courtesy car, with his girlfriend's dog in his lap for comfort. Good times.
Shall we dive into the Na-DJ cage match? Not that I have all that much to say about it:
At least one question remained unanswered, at least publicly, in the aftermath of the Dustin Johnson-Kevin Na concession controversy at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play: Why was Na permitted to retroactively concede Johnson a putt, when such an action is prohibited under the rules?
A quick refresher: In his Friday match against Na, Johnson lipped out an eight-footer for birdie on the 11th green, leaving himself a kick-in, which presumably Na would have conceded. But before Na gave any indication that the putt was good, Johnson scooped up the ball and began walking off the green, only for Na to summon him back.
“I know it’s this [close], but you still have to wait,” Na told Johnson, using his hands to demonstrate the length of the putt. Johnson didn’t say much in response, and what he did say wasn’t picked up by microphones. On the way off the green, Na said he wasn’t claiming the hole; he was just making a point.
There seems little doubt that DJ got sloppy/lazy and that Na was within his rights to call him out. But it's also a case where it's not clear what exactly Na was after, because the time-space continuum has not been repealed:
After the round, Na told reporters, “Obviously it’s good, but I hadn’t said anything, and he whacked it.” Na was facing a three-footer of his own, too.
“I called him over and said, ‘Hey, I’m not going to take the hole from you, but I just want to let you know before I said something you whacked the ball,’” Na said. “But I’m going to give that putt to you so we’ll call it a halve and go to the next hole.”
But that wasn’t the whole story. It couldn’t be, because under the rules of match play, a player may not retroactively concede a putt. Players also are not permitted to waive enforcement of a rule.
The term of art is stare decisis, a legal concept under which precedent guides our outcomes. In this case, the legal precedents are Kuchar v. Garcia and Pettersen v. Lee, both of which make this outcome highly suspect. Here's the slender reed on which they ruled:
Because Johnson said there was miscommunication, Young said, he would have been allowed to replace his ball without penalty according to Rule 3.2 b (2). But because Na said he was going to concede the putt, Young said, “we’re not going to make them place it back and then Kevin concede it.”
If Johnson had told the rules committee he had not heard Na, and the two had said, “Well, I’m just going to overlook it, I conceded that putt — well then, it would have been disqualification for both competitors,” Young said.
I see no difference in the fact pattern between this and the Kooch-Sergio incident. What is different is that an official was on the scene immediately in the earlier incident, whereas these conversations excerpted above didn't take place until the match was over. Given that the 11th hole outcome was finalized once the two men walked off the 11th green, having a rules official get involved two hours later is nothing short of malpractice. As you can see, at that point the only option would be to DQ both players, and that would make the next round a tad awkward...
3. In a classic bit of match-play awkwardness at the WGC, Dustin Johnson picked up a short putt in his match against Kevin Na before Na had conceded it; Johnson said he thought he’d heard Na give him the putt, but Na hadn’t. Na ultimately gave Johnson the putt anyway but was only permitted to do so because of what Johnson thought he had heard. In situations like this one — when a player’s opponent agrees that he/she would have conceded a putt — should the rules allow for retroactive concessions?
Look, the ruling is a mess, but Na kind of caused that. I understand what he was trying to do, but I think he ultimately made quite a hash of it by opening his mouth in the moment. Had there been a rules official with the group, and when you're trying to get 32 matches around a golf course there really should be, then under his recitation of the facts the hole would have been awarded to him, which is something he says he didn't want.
Zak: Oh, yeah. Why not? We ran into this silly issue with Sergio Garcia and Matt Kuchar a couple years ago and the awkward application of the Rules eventually found them delivering an apology explanation together. One galaxy brain take (first heard from the gang at No Laying Up) is that each cup should have a circle spray-painted around it. You get it inside 24 inches, it’s good. Move on.
Sens: What Sean said, exactly. Except for the 24-inch spray-paint circle idea, which is obviously ridiculous.
Dethier: Yeah, I like having some common sense apply here. Kevin Na has caught plenty of grief for calling out DJ, but it’s clear from talking to other golfers that his objection was well-founded — it was just the manner in which their conversation occurred that made the entire thing uncomfortable. One of the weird joys of match play, though.
I think Na's better option was to wait until a quiet moment to talk to DJ without a microphone present, but also after they had walked to the next tee, so that there was no issue of the outcome of that hole still being in doubt. he could do this on the course or after the rounded ended, depending upon whether he felt compelled to head off future repetitions.
I had a very similar incident years back in a match at Willow Ridge. On the first green, my opponent was fidgeting with lining up the line on his ball, but without the ball having been marked. On the walk up to the second tee, we had approximately this conversation:
Scott: Joe (not is real name), you inadvertently broke a rule there. When you align the mark on your ball, just make sure to still have the ball marked on the green.
Joe: Oh, well you know I wasn't trying to gain any advantage there?
Scott: Yes, I saw that, which is why this conversation is a helpful suggestion as opposed to calling a penalty back on the green.
The boys do go on this tangent, though with disappointing results:
4. The Pete Dye design at Austin Country Club has established itself as a stellar match-play venue with a mix of risk-reward holes that require players to strategize. What other course would you like to see the Match Play visit?
Zak: Whistling Straits 😉 ACC is truly a great match play course, all the way up to the final hole. Let’s not ruin a good thing, but if we must, we shall get bold. Gimme the annual Match Play at Chambers Bay.
Sens: Hard to find a better do-or-die course than another Dye design: Kiawah is tailor-made for match play. And we don’t get to see nearly enough of that place.
Dethier: I obviously agree with Zak’s Chambers take. Bandon Dunes was also a terrific U.S. Am host and would be a blast to watch the pros play. But if we’re talking about a match play host, why not head to Georgia to Ohoopee Match Club? That’s the entire point of the place, after all: Risk-reward match play heaven.
Colgan: Ohoopee is the right answer, I think — how does one choose against a course literally built for match play? But for argument’s sake, how about National? Shinnecock’s sister course hosted Justin Thomas and Matt Fitzpatrick at the Walker Cup in 2013, so we know it’s possible. Playability, difficulty, history, excitement, secrecy — National has it ALL.
Honestly, I have no clue what these guys are thinking. Kiawah and Whistling Straits are good match-play venues? We'll see about the latter, but they actually seem to this observer more logical as stern, medal play venues. Just because one can see water from the course doesn't necessarily make it a strategic venue...
Kudos for the reference to Gil Hanse's Ohoppee Match Club, but James lost me after that. James, I love the venue for any event, but it is most certainly not be referred to as "National". It is "The National" and I would suggest you adjust your style book accordingly.
But to me there's two obvious places to take match play events, TPCs Sawgrass and Scottsdale. Those courses are a thrill a minute, and that finish at Sawgrass seems to have been built for just that purpose. Of course my mind wanders and I think of Hale Irwin and Bernhard Langer gagging their way through that finishing stretch had the '91 Cup been at Sawgrass instead. and except for the fact that they might still be out there, how crazy would that have been?
Now, the astute observer will immediately intuit that the the Ryder Cup is a PGA of America event, and that one of the Five Families is unlikely to see the logic in promoting the asset of a competitive family, though I'll remind you that the USGA did take a U.S. Amateur to Sawgrass (think Tiger Woods in Slugger White's hat). Not exactly on point, but in the general neighborhood for sure. But what really shocks me is that neither Nurse Ratched nor Kubla Jay has taken a Presidents Cup, an ecent desperate for buzz, to one of those two courses.
There was another rules issue that arose this week, one that had me mumbling "WTF":
Nick Faldo said he’d never known the rule in his 40-plus years as a professional golfer. Then it happened on back-to-back holes.An obscure match-play rule came up twice during the Sunday’s semifinals match between Matt Kuchar and Scottie Scheffler at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play. The first instance happened on Austin Country Club’s par-5 12th, where water guards the left side of the putting surface. Scheffler played first from the fairway and pulled his approach left into the drink, meaning he’d have to drop where his ball entered the hazard before playing his fourth.
Stumping Sir Nick is a low bar, for sure. But we had both Faldo and Zinger stumped, and those two have a combined eternity of match-play experience. here's the citation:
The answer lies in Rule 6.4b(1), which details the order of play when a player has a choice to play the ball as it lies or take relief. Scheffler technically fell into this camp, despite his ball lying at the bottom of lake. Theoretically he could play his ball—as opposed to his ball being out of bounds, where he would be forbidden from playing it—or take relief from the hazard, which of course was the obvious choice.
The rule states, “the player’s order of play is based on the spot where the original ball lies [which if not known must be estimated].” So, where Scheffler’s ball lied after his drop is irrelevant to the order of play. Only the position of the original ball. Both players determined that Scheffler’s ball, although being at the bottom of the lake, was actually closer to the hole than Kuchar’s ball on the very front of the putting surface.
Of course, it takes some pretty wacky architecture for this to ensue, just some really wacky architecture that makes this possible on back-to-back holes.
Just one last bit, an area in which I'm bitterly clinging to....well, my bitterness:
The aspect I think I find most annoying is the rigid conformity of the TV commentators. Like these Twitterers, I cringe each time I hear "Penalty Area" and "Tied". As I understand their logic, the geniuses at the USGA and R&A convinced themselves that millennials couldn't possibly de drawn to our game with its arcane and confusing terminology such as "All-Square". That strikes me as demonstrating a profound lack of confidence in the timeless appeal of our ancient game, as well as a pretty screwed up understanding of the nature of how these terms evolved organically. And to not understand the appeal of a crazy term like "Dormie" is really just out of touch...
The good news? Soon they'll be banning terms like "Gamesmanship" because, well you know, "man"...
Inbee-mania - Ya gotta love the girl, no?
The first round of the Kia Classic was cold, wet and windy, and Inbee Park, playing her first competitive round in three months, cruised to a bogey-free 66. Park played her best golf of the week on the toughest day, and it set the tone for the rest of the week.
Lydia Ko loved what Park had to say after that first round: “I’m just warming up.”
“I was like ‘Oh yeah, she’s back,’ ” Ko said, laughing.
Park led by as many as seven strokes at the Kia, ultimately topping the field by five at 14-under 272. Americans Amy Olson and Lexi Thompson finished tied for second at 9 under. World No. 1 Jin Young Ko placed solo fourth, six strokes back.
I just love watching her tempo, and to have her in form heading to the Dinah is just perfect. And, not for nothing, she kind of dusted those other girls...
This game story focuses on Inbee's issues making the Olympics, which is far from a lock. Let's first and foremost acknowledge that Inbee was the fourth ranked woman golfer in the world even before this result, so as of now would be on the South Korean team (two of the three ranked above her are fellow South Koreans, the other being Danielle Kang). But isn't the fact that she could be excluded a rather significant indictment of Olympic golf? Just sayin'...
The TC panel had this bit about the coming week:
5. One of the most exciting weeks of the tournament season is upon us, with not only the first women’s major of the year, the ANA Inspiration, on deck but also the Augusta National Women’s Amateur; the first two rounds of the ANWA will be at Champions Retreat (Wednesday and Thursday) followed by the third and final round at Augusta National (Saturday). Which story line from those two events most has your attention?
Zak: I’m just hyped for major championship golf. And holy cow, Inbee Park smacking around the LPGA Tour this weekend was impressive. She’s suddenly the favorite (of some kind) for the first major of the year. She continues to amaze.
Sens: One of the many reasons watching the women at Augusta is so great is that we get to see the course played as it once did in the days before the back-nine par-5s played driver, mid-iron. It brings more of the drama and strategy back into the mix.
Dethier: All of it. I’m excited to watch the women battle down the stretch at the ANWA on Saturday afternoon, with the ANA finale coming the next day, college hoops’ national championships right after that and then Masters Week to follow. It’s an embarrassment of sports riches and we should soak up every moment. The story I’m most invested in is whether Nelly Korda can get into contention and ultimately close out her first major championship.
Colgan: Rose Zhang won one of the most heart-thumping amateur titles in recent memory at the 2020 Women’s Am, a tournament that just happened to conclude as the leaders made the turn on Sunday at the PGA Championship in August. She enters the ANWA the No. 1 amateur in the world and presumptive favorite. Can she write a historic second chapter in her amateur career? I’m stoked to find out.
Interestingly, they ignore that which seems the obvious issue, why are two premiere women's events competing with each other for an audience? It's even more important when you realize that the ANA is the Masters of the women's golf world, specifically that it invite the top women's amateur players.
So, why are the top women amateurs forced to choose between ANGC and a major? Because the Gods of Augusta can be some of the biggest a*****s found in the wild.. They're both great events and they both deserve an audience, but the ANA owned that date and Billy Payne should have been asked why he hates women.
Three University of Texas players have now withdrawn from the Augusta National Women’s Amateur after testing positive for COVID-19. Hailee Cooper was the latest to withdraw, announcing the news Sunday on Instagram. She joins Kaitlyn Papp and Agathe Laisne as Longhorns who won’t make the trip to Augusta.
.Nah! The only ones affected are the three young ladies...
Dahmenmania - File this one under, "Sung Kang hardest hit":
‘Open up the tab’: Joel Dahmen nabs long-awaited first Tour victory
He looks happy:
Hard to get excited about an off-field event, but this is one of Tour's good guys, and also one of its more amusing members as well.
Good Luck With This - We are besieged by Karens these days, all touting their view of the world. But I think you'll agree that these folks are barking up the wrong tree:
The National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC) is calling on the PGA Tour and Masters Tournament to pull the upcoming event from Augusta National Golf Club in reaction to the recent passing of Georgia’s voter bill, SB 202.
The NBJC is also urging professional golfers to boycott playing in Georgia until the bill is repealed.
So, this is laugh-out-loud funny on a number of levels, including the obvious bit about asking the "Masters" to pull the event from Augusta National, seemingly oblivious to any understanding that this isn't just some venue rented by the tournament organizers.
The piece also serves as a synechdode for all that is wrong with contemporary journalism, presenting the claims of partisans as if they were some sort of independently verified truthiness. It deserves scorn and laughter, so have at it.
Cheap Shots - Just a couple of quick hits from Twitter that made me laugh. Couldn't agree more about this, though you'd really have to work in a reference to Jordan rearranging his rapidly-receding hairline to fill out the picture:
Hahah, my bad. https://t.co/VjgvubiPba
— Alan Shipnuck (@AlanShipnuck) March 26, 2021
Ick, cooties! It's really disgusting, and I wouldn't shake a guys hand that does this. Can't we just agree to leave our hats on?
I like this as well, because golf would be way too boring without a few naughty boys"
One of us pic.twitter.com/Sj6ZXCtpVl
— Peter Finch (@PeterFinchGolf) March 25, 2021
I do understand their concern, though I sense that most of these reactions are a bit much. I mean, if uninterrupted stoicism is our expectation, the game will quickly bore us to death.
But the better work from Tyrell was earlier in the week, this slow-mo video that I can't get out of my mind. I've been unable to embed that video, so do click through if you missed it.
But, seems like a senior flex shaft, no?
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