Being Bryson And Other Thoughts on Tour Governance

An unexpectedly crazy week for your humble blogger, so I will do some rare Wednesday afternoon blogging on a set of related issues that have me increasingly disaffected with the Ponte Vedra Beach cabal.

Whether you like the guy or not, I assume that each of us wants him to be able to play his game and let the chips fall where they may.  We've covered many instances of Bryson behaving in ways that I found unprofessional or unbecoming, not least when he indicated that a Golf Channel cameraman has a responsibility to protect Bryson's brand.  But the Brooks manspat has been unbecoming and tedious, but it's also hit a nerve out there.

As you know, I try to focus on the important stuff, and nothing is more important than the style book.  Can we not find common ground that it's "Brooksie" as opposed to "Brooksy"?  I shudder in disgust when I se it spelled with the "Y", as all right-minded folks should.  OK, glad we were able to clear that up....

First up, Rory had some typically thoughtful and sympathetic comments on the general subject of fan behavior and on that guy specifically:

Q. Do you feel that fan behavior has become less respectful and if so what do you attribute it to?

RORY MCILROY: Yeah, I do, a little bit. I think I sort of know what you're getting at on the back of last week and some things that were said over the past few weeks, I guess. Yeah, a little bit. I think it's different. As golfers, there's a very thin rope that separates us from the fans, and then you hit a shot off line, and you have to go into the fans to hit it. So we get a little closer to them than some other sports.

Yeah, I think some of it crosses the line. I think there's a certain, I think certain other sports culture has fed into our game and fed into the fan base that's definitely affected it, and people will make the argument that, well, it happens in every other sport. But I would say that we're not any other sport and I think golf should hold itself to a higher standard. I mean, the players are certainly held to a higher standard than other sports, so why wouldn't our fan base.

Ironically, last night the bride and I watched this documentary that deals with thuggish behavior on the part of both players and fans in another game.  Clearly both golf players and fans clear that absurdly low bar.

Q. Everybody seems to be on Bryson's case at the moment. Do you feel any sympathy for him or do you think he brought it on himself?

RORY MCILROY: I certainly feel some sympathy for him because I certainly, I don't think that you should be ostracized or criticized for being different, and I think we have all known from the start that Bryson is different and he is not going to conform to the way people want him to be. He is his own person. He thinks his own thoughts and everyone has a right to do that.

There are certainly things that he has done in the past that have brought some of this stuff on himself. I'm not saying that he's completely blameless in this. But at the same time, I think he has been getting a pretty rough go of it of late and it's actually pretty sad to see because he, deep down, I think, is a nice person and all he wants to do is try to be the best golfer he can be. And it just seems like every week something else happens and I would say it's pretty tough to be Bryson DeChambeau right now.

And I don't know if anyone else on TOUR has spoken up for him, but I definitely, I definitely he feel for him a little bit. And I agree, I don't think he's completely blameless in all this, but at the same time, I think he's trying to become better and he's trying to learn from his mistakes and I think everyone should give him a chance to try to do that.

Geoff introduces Rory's comments this incoherent rant:

I’m not sure what to make of Rory McIlroy’s pre-Tour Championship remarks on Bryson DeChambeau and fan behavior, but suggesting professional golfers are held to a higher standard than other athletes suggests he’s a bit out of touch with the present day realities. One where other leagues have testing protocols for COVID-19 and stricter rules for those choosing not to be vaccinated, while pro golfers now have to deal with neither in the face of both COVID and now, bilateral pneumonia.

Are we talking about Covid?  Because I don't think that the subject under discussion, and I can't even venture a guess as to what triggered the mention of Patrick Reed's diagnosis.

Patrick Cantlay, the man in the arena with Bryson last weekend, went way long with his answer, so feel free to speed read:

Q. Rory mentioned that he was talking, I asked a little bit about Bryson and he said he felt sympathy for him. Having been, having played alongside him last week, just wondering what you feel.

PATRICK CANTLAY: I think it's a tough situation. I think, naturally, of course there is some sympathy because you don't want to see anybody have a bunch of people be against you or even be heckled. I think anybody that watches sports and sees someone being heckled, they don't like that inherently because if you imagine yourself as that person, it wouldn't feel good.

I think, unfortunately, it might be a symptom of a larger problem, which is social media driven and which is potentially Player Impact Program derived. I think when you have people that go for attention-seeking maneuvers, you leave yourself potentially open to having the wrong type of attention, and I think maybe that's where we're at it and it may be a symptom of going for too much attention.

But it can be awesome too because if you succeed and you act perfect all the time and you do the perfect things all the time, and then you also go for the right attention-seeking moves, you get like double bonus points because everyone loves you and you're on the perfect side of it. I think it's just a very live by the sword, die by the sword type of deal. And when you leave it to a jury, you don't know what's going to happen. So it's hard to get all 12 people on a jury on your side.

And if you're playing professional golf on the stage that you're playing on and 98 percent of the people are pulling for you and there are 10,000 people on the green, I don't know, what does that leave, 20 people that don't like you, even if 98 percent of the people like you? And if those 20 people have had enough to drink or feel emboldened enough to say something because they want to impress the girl they're standing next to, then, yeah, like, you're in trouble. Like, people are going to say bad things.

Golf, unfortunately, doesn't and probably shouldn't tolerate that. I think there's a respect level in golf and there's intimacy that the fans can get so, so close to you, and you're also all by yourself, and you don't have the armor of putting on Yankee pinstripes, and you don't have the armor of having, knowing that if you're on the Yankees and people hate you and you're playing in Boston, you can tolerate it for three hours in right field. But you only tolerate it because you know next week or on Friday you're going to show up and you're going to be in Yankee Stadium and no matter what you do, even if you fall on your face, you're going to have the pinstripe armor on and people are going to love you.

So golf is different in that respect, that if you only have 2 percent of the people that are very against you because you're polarizing and because you're attention-seeking, then you're kind of dead because those people are going to be loud, and they're going to want to say something to get under your skin.

And I think golf shouldn't let that happen. I think the Masters is a great example of a place that doesn't let that happen, and it's the greatest place to watch and play professional golf because of the atmosphere they create. I think if you look at the history of the game and you look at the respect that underlies the entirety of the history of the game, we shouldn't tolerate it, and we shouldn't celebrate that. We should celebrate the fan that is respectful and pulls for their side.

So it's a tough situation. It's a tough topic, but that would be my take on it and I'm sure it's not perfect, but after thinking about it a little bit, it's the best I can come up with.

The whole thought process is interesting, but it's that mention of the PIP Program in the first graph that had me intrigued.  We'll get back to that below, so just keep in the back of your mind.

This back and forth was amusing:

Q. I thought you were reading from a script there. You actually made that up off the top of your head?

PATRICK CANTLAY: I'm looking around here. I don't see any prompters.

Kind of a dick question, no?

As a digression, Cantlay seems to speak his mind, which has me seeing him in a new light:

Q. It sounded from the very start of your comments that your focus is on playing good golf and shooting a good score and all that stuff. But I'm curious about something Rahm said a couple weeks ago that when they make the analogy of, Patriots can go 18-0 and still not win the Super Bowl, his answer was, Yeah, but they still finish second. And I'm curious what you still think of that and is there any part of you that is still annoyed about what happened two years ago?

PATRICK CANTLAY: I think, frankly, it's not a good format. I think it's obvious why they went to the format because the previous format was confusing. I think this format is less confusing. But I don't think it's a good format. I dislike the fact that we no longer have a TOUR Champion. So I dislike the fact that no one knows, when they look at the leaderboard, who shot the lowest round this week. I think the fact that Xander didn't get a tournament win for beating the field by two or three shots is absolutely criminal, not just because he's my friend, but I think that if that happened to anybody that would be criminal. And there has to be a better solution. I am not a mastermind on golf formats and there are lots of moving parts, so I'm not saying that I have the answer, there are lots of smart people and I guarantee you there must be an option for a better format out there than the current one we are playing in.

With that said, I am going to do the best possible job I can at winning in this format because that's all I can do. And in no way will that take, impact my ability to perform in this format. I think if you play the best golf this week, you're going to be in a great spot by the end of the week.

He's being charitable here.  It's the Hindenburg of formats.

One last fun bit:

Q. What's your PIP rating by the way? Do you know? Do you guys have access to look at it?

PATRICK CANTLAY: I don't know.

Q. Do they tell you?

PATRICK CANTLAY: I don't know. I got to be honest, I doubt I'm doing very well in that category. If I were to win any portion of the 10, I would let you know that I win in that 10 and I would be compelled to give all that money back to the fans that made it possible, because there's no way a person like me should be able to get into the top 10 of the PIP if not for people out there deciding that they want me to be in the top 10 and to try to get some of that PIP money for themselves. Because I, if I win PIP money, I am going to give it back to the people that made it possible in some way, shape or form. I won't take any of the PIP money. I think it's kind of ridiculous and I think it's, when I said there's a symptom of a larger problem, I think that's exactly what I'm talking about.

Now I'm regretting my early use of the Hindenburg bit....

Now we get to the big guy and his rather blinkered view of reality.  Shack has the entirety of his comments here, which touch on increases in purses and the like, plus a righteous Fisking that's peak Shack.  I'll just cherry pick those bits that are on point for todays' topic, beginning with these thoughts:

Before I open it up, Laura, to questions, I just, I wanted to take a minute to address a topic that's been top of mind lately for our players, fans, and of course, for those of you in the media. I'm talking about fan behavior and the interaction with our athletes, when that behavior crosses the line and what we should all be doing to address it when it does.

It's been a long season, yes, but it's been a fantastic season. 50 events, THE PLAYERS Championship, six majors, the Olympics, these four consecutive playoffs, two to start the FedExCup playoffs and here we are at the TOUR Championship. It's been historic and compelling at every single turn.

That might just be Peak Jay.  Not only can't he raise the subject of fan behavior without a full recitation of the Tour's C.V., but in doing so he completely bolixes the term playoff, tripping over sudden-death playoffs that end events with the, you know, FedEx Cup Playoffs.  If he want to prove Patrick Cantlay's argument about the format, what would he do differently?

All of that on the heels of a lot of pent up demand with people stuck at home separated from their favorite sports and athletes like never before due to COVID and the various and necessary health and safety protocols in place to ensure we can get back to playing. It's been frustrating at times for all of us and then we get the opportunity to finally engage with our favorite sports or teams or players.

Well, I think we can all agree that we have seen issues as of late across the sports landscape where that pent up demand plays out in an ugly way. Golf is not immune from unfortunate and disruptive behavior, although I would say that we do have the very best fans in the world. This is about just a few bad actors. And for the record, this isn't about any one particular player or one particular incident, but in some situations it's apparent that we have gotten away from the very civility and respect that are hallmarks to our great game.

Jay is technically correct because it seems to be about two players....

We began working on an updated fan code of conduct program in 2020, but put it aside last summer when we were playing without spectators and needed our focus to be on implementing the complicated yet necessary health and safety plan.

Once we began returning to normal capacity, we made it the highest of priorities to reinforce an environment at PGA TOUR events that allows for everyone to enjoy in a safe environment, and that is spectators players, volunteers, literally everybody.

We have to be intentional about our expectations for fan behavior and I believe our fan code of conduct does that.

Intentional? Kubla Jay has 150 Vice Presidents but apparently nary a dictionary....

By coming to a PGA TOUR event, you're expected to contribute to a welcoming and safe environment by refraining from and reporting any unsafe, disruptive, or harassing behavior. Comments or gestures that undermine the inclusive and welcoming nature of the game will not be tolerated, nor will any harassment of players, caddies, volunteers, officials, staff, or other spectators.

Fans who breach our code of conduct are subject to expulsion from the tournament and loss of their credential or ticket.

What about cameramen?  Never mind, I'll know better once I do my stint in the reeducation camp.

Now, I would ask our fans, again, the very best fans in the world, to take a moment and think about what it means to be a golf fan and to enjoy a PGA TOUR tournament. We're going to be leaders in this space. We're going to show everyone how easy it is to enjoy yourself at an event while also respecting the athletes in the field of play and the fans around you, many of whom are families with young kids who have a chance to be lifetime fans of the game themselves.

Quite honestly, we should expect nothing less from each other, whether we're at a golf tournament or elsewhere in life.

When you strip away the puffery and the trite safe space nonsense, it's all pretty much reasonable, except... But then come the questions:

Q. If I can just follow up on your last as it applies to the very real world situation with Bryson, would "Brooksie," would that qualify as [harassing] behavior?

JAY MONAHAN: I'm sorry, you broke up there.

Q. Sorry. Would "Brooksie" classify as harassing behavior when it's said to Bryson on a golf course?

JAY MONAHAN: Yes, and the reason I say yes is, you know, the barometer that we are all using is the word "respect," and to me, when you hear "Brooksie" yelled or you hear any expression yelled, the question is, is that respectful or disrespectful? That has been going on for an extended period of time. To me, at this point, it's disrespectful, and that's kind of behavior that we're not going to tolerate going forward.

Hmmm, but "Mashed potatoes" is OK?  You've never had a problem with fans yelling pretty much anything, but Brooksie (and props for the use of the correct spelling) is beyond the pale?  You see the issue, as we're selectively outlawing terms that are not de facto objectionable because we can.

Let me just throw in this one further excerpt:

And, listen, I think that as it relates to general fan behavior and any individual's role in it, I take it, I take that on as an organizational responsibility. We have had challenges in the past. We'll have challenges as we continue to go forward. And so long as we build the right systems, we effectively communicate with every one of our tournaments, we are planning and preplanning effectively, the marketplace knows the expectation when we're on-site, I think that we're going to, you know, we're going to get back to, we're going to get back to a great environment. We have a great environment. We'll continue to improve our environment at our tournaments going forward.

Do you notice a couple of subjects that have been avoided like the plague?  First and foremost, the now seemingly discarded Live Under Par™ program encouraged, nay demanded, this specific kind of behavior.  here's Shack's take:

Given that Monahan ushered in the PGA Tour’s relentless Live Under Par campaign early into his tenure—come out, get drunk, be a young demographic we’re desperate to court, express your inner douchey bro, make yourself part of the event by being loud, and share it all on social—I expected a trace of remorse. Not even a hint of responsibility accepted for deteriorating fan behavior.

But you don’t make $9 million a year taking blame or even acknowledging anything is actually wrong.

Shack is spot on, that this is exactly the behavior the Tour has actively encouraged.  If you go back and look at those silly promos, respect wasn't a big issue.

But the other great initiative of the Monahan era is his passionate embrace of sports betting or, perhaps more accurately, his passionate embrace of the vig he'll collect from legalized sports betting.  And isn't the intersection of Live Under Par™ and betting a scary place?  

Just a very few 'graphs above we had a mini-debate over whether golfers are held to higher standards than other athletes.  Your humble blogger thinks so, though Jay seems to want to correct that misperception.  Before I get to his specific comments, let's remember that Brooks Koepka has actively egged on those heckling Bryson, at one point offering free beer for services rendered.  Do we think Brooksie has been reprimanded for this?  Yeah, that's a good one...

Before we move on, lest you think that the crowd situation is being over-stated:

Double PIP points for a homicide, I assume.

But get a load of this mollycoddling:

Q. What are your concerns about having a player in Bryson, who very well could win this thing and who is one of the biggest stars on TOUR, not, not communicating with the media now, and what are his responsibilities in addressing some of the issues that you've addressed as far as fan conduct or anything else that comes up over the course of a tournament?

JAY MONAHAN: Yeah, listen, I think that as it relates to Bryson, listen, Bryson is a star. He has fascinated golf and sport fans around the world since our return to golf. He's also a young man that's growing and evolving, not just on the golf course, but off the golf course.

And I would just say to you that I look at this as a point in time. I don't think this is the way things are going to be for a long period of time. I'm hopeful that we'll get back to a steady cadence of communication that he'll have with the media.

Steady cadence of communication?  Seriously, the guy is throwing hissy fits, and you have no problem with him failing to fulfill the most basic obligation of a player.  Sheesh, you wion, I completely withdraw my prior comment about golfers being held to a higher standard, or any standard at all.

Amazingly, Jay just rambles on:

Q. Have you ever considered, as they do in tennis, any type of a fine for players not fulfilling media obligations if they are indeed media obligations?

JAY MONAHAN: I would just say to you, in any instance, we're always going to focus on the player, the relationship with the player, understanding the player, trying to work with them to get to the right place and try and understand what's going through their heads.

And so a fine, I'm not sure what that is going to do for us in the long run.

Ultimately we want the player presenting his best self when he's in front of the media, when he's in front of fans, and that's ultimately the goal for any player that's in a situation like that.

Gee, I don't know, Jay, "Don't speak to the media and pay a fine" seems a fairly simple incentive system.  But good to know that it's not just Golf Channel cameramen in charge of Bryson's brand...

Here's where I pay off that PIP marker above, as Jay gets asked about it:

Q. It's my understanding that the player impact program will run through the end of the year, that it won't be a seasonal thing. I'm curious, without giving a specific example of a player, but I'm sure you've seen the list, can you give me an example of maybe content or an engagement that counts as added value when it comes to the metrics that you're using?

JAY MONAHAN: Well, we're using five different criteria, to all of which are equally weighted. And you look at Nielsen, your Saturday and Sunday time on television, to Google Search to Meltwater, to MVP Index, and to, bear with me here, it's at the back of my head, I'll come up with it. But each of these areas lead up to a player's ranking. And the bottom --

Q. Q Rating.

JAY MONAHAN: Sorry?

Q. I believe Q Rating was the one you were thinking of.

JAY MONAHAN: Q Rating, yes.

The bottom line is when you look at any of those metrics, it's all about, for us, it's all about getting our players to engage in our game, help grow our TOUR, and help grow their own respective brands. And if you look at what drives engagement, it's on-course performance, and that's, that is part of the basis for the way the Player Impact Program was developed. You've seen how everybody's performed this year, and I think as we look at it and you think about the way that fans and the major story lines on the way fans have engaged, players have engaged fans through those channels, I think it's fairly intuitive.

The point I would make is that we're up, you know, this year we're up 41 percent when you look at cross-channel consumption. We're up across every metric.

Cross-channel consumption, eh?  Well now I see the complexity of your worldview... 

But see what you think of this:

Q. Could you confirm what Rex said, that the PIP is going to be through the end of the year? I'm not sure you really answered that part when he brought that up. And also, is the quote/unquote winner of this or the people that are in the money, so to speak, is that ever going to be made public?

JAY MONAHAN: It is through the end of the year, and we don't have any intention on publicizing it.

Thud!

Q. Why is that?

JAY MONAHAN: To us, it's a program that we created, was created by our players, with our players, for our players, and that's, that's what we decided that we were going to do when we created it.

Oh, he'll flatter you when he needs you to buy a ticket, but don't be fooled by that.  he holds you in contempt and feels no obligation to be transparent about the Tour's operations.  It's clearly his slush fund to keep any disaffected campers on the reservation.  We, the plebes, have no right to know what behavior is being rewarded and at what levels.  How do you feel now?

Here's one reaction:

Oh, no, Alan, I don't think they've come close to peaking yet.

Two quick reactions:

1. This weekend I will be watching the Solheim Cup in lieu of the soulless cash grab in Atlanta;
2. Tell me more about the Premiere Golf League, I'm all ears.