We've got a series of stories that we could go deep on, so we'll just start banging away at the keyboard and see where it all goes...After devoting a couple of minutes to those results from Japan.
On Hideki - The local favorite's defining feature as a golfer is his post-contact reactions and their low correlation to actual results. Often it's just a one-handed feature, but the guys seems to hate every one of his shots, even the good ones. Amusingly, that apparently crosses over to his pressers:
Zozo Championship: Masters champ Hideki Matsuyama says his game is currently a 1 out of 10 but proceeds to shoot 64
Hometown hero Hideki Matsuyama didn’t disappoint his faithful as the PGA Tour returned to his native Japan for the Zozo Championship.Matsuyama, who solidified his rock-star status at home by winning the Masters in April, surprised even himself with his flawless play in the opening round. He birdied two of his first three holes and fired a bogey-free 6-under 64 at Accordia Golf Narashino, located just east of Tokyo. That score was good enough to tie Chile’s Joaquin Niemann for the second-best score of the day and leave both players one stroke off the lead. On the eve of the tournament, Matsuyama downplayed his chances for success.“If my game scored 10 out of 10 at the Masters, now I would say it scores less than 1,” he said. “I will be struggling this week but I am here in Japan so I am motivated to be in contention.”
It's his signature move, which at least is preferable to the Brooks/Tiger strategy of manufacturing grievances to use as motivation. Perhaps he does that as well, but has the good sense not to share it with us.
Perhaps the biggest news from the ZoZo, where few top names made the arduous trek, is the announcing crew, which is weak even by the lowered standards of the subsistence level Golf Channel:
Golf Channel’s booth is a little light this week with the Zozo in Japan — George Savaricas is the announcer and Dom Boulet and Alison Whitaker are the analysts — and Savaricas teased on Twitter that players would be pitching in over the four rounds. First up, after his even-par 70, was Fowler, and his first live hole was the 17th.
Likely the names of those two analysts isn't ringing any bells, since their golf and announcing careers occurred mostly in Asia and Europe. The most notable aspect of Boulet's history was his representation of Hong Kong in international events, a wistful reminder that change isn't always for the better. How many years until we say the same about Taiwanese players?
Since it's obviously not the A-Team, Golf Channel has come up with a gimmick:
— George Savaricas (@GeorgeSavaricas) October 20, 2021
Nota bad gimmick, though there are precious few name-brands in the field, though you'd have to expect that the X-man would be on the list for sure. Amongst the subjects Rickie touched on, is that tendency of the Local Hero we noted above:
On Matsuyama’s penchant for overexaggerating bad shots.“Hideki and I have played a lot together. We’ve had some good battles. And he is one of the premier ball-strikers out here. It is impressive what he thinks is a little off and hits a pretty darn good shot. A lot of times you’re watching the ball and then you see him kind of one-hand finish and you’re like that doesn’t really match — you know, it’s 15 feet right. He has just such high expectations and always shooting for perfection.”
He's about to become a father, which he touches on as well. The second round is complete with Hideki in the lead, so the locals will be over the moon. Not much else to tell, as this one isn't for American audiences.
On Rory - We have a new Ask Alan mailbag feature to riff off of, and he leads with a couple related to the dominant player in the world (at least for the prior five days):
Do you believe Rory is Rory again? @ESPN_SwingCoachOne problem with this formulation: Who is Rory? Is he the cold-blooded killer who blew away thefield at major championships and out-alpha’d Phil at Valhalla? Is he the philosopher king who just wants to read self-help books and downplay the importance of winning? The player who was overwhelmed by the moment at Royal Portrush in 2019 and at Whistling Straits last month? The young maestro who joins Tiger, Jack, Arnie, Lord Byron and Tom Watson as the only players to win 20 tournaments including four majors before turning 33? The guy who shoots 76 seemingly every Masters Thursday or the one who shoots 61 to win at Quail Hollow? Turns out McIlroy is all of these things, which is what makes him so compelling and maddening. McIlroy is a very old 32. He has spent the last few years trying to figure out what he wants out of life and his career. Maybe the clarity that came between the Ryder and CJ Cups will change everything for him. Maybe it’s just another little diversion. I don’t think even Rory has a clue what the future holds for him. I do know this: We’ll all be riveted as he tries to figure it out.
I think Alan did a pretty reasonable job there with the Yin and Yang of our philosopher king. Though he cites Valhalla, he misses the kill shot of reminding folks that that was eight years ago (at least counting back from 2022, the soonest that Rory could add to his major total.
But I think this is the more interesting bit on the topic:
What of Rory’s quote of “If I play my best I’m the best in the world.” Surely a sustained run of victories and big ones is needed to justify it? @pth1974Objectively, yes. Jon Rahm is the best player in the world right now. When all of the top talents are at their peak, Dustin Johnson’s best is the best. Rory certainly needs to get it done at another major championship before he reenters the conversation. But I have zero confidence in his declaration. That’s exactly the kind of swagger Rory needs to reclaim if he is going to be a dominant force again.
Both the questioner and Alan approach nit from a results-based perspective, and there's nothing wrong with that.
My answer is a simple, "Hell No!" Rory's wedge game and putting are demonstrably below the standards of his peers, so it seems objectively clear to me that Rory cannot be the best player in the world as he frames that argument. More importantly, what is he doing to cure those deficiencies? Mostly talking about being the best player in the world, so that seems like a plan, no?
On Amateurs - The times, they are a changing... not necessarily for the better, though that may depend upon your perspective.
Back in August, you might recall that I jumped on the Rachel Heck bandwagon as the Women's U.S. Amateur came to my back yard. Those of you that took that prediction seriously are guilty of forgetting that I retain my position as the '62 Mets of fantasy golf, though that's not important now. It's just jarring to see notices such as this:
— excel sports (@excelsm) October 18, 2021
Just to clarify, NIL relates to Name, Image and Likeness, which college athletes now can exploit, although color me skeptical about the extent of the value. What makes this interesting is that her biggest competition for such riches might just be her new teammate, who has been on quite the heater:
It’s been 19 years since Lorena Ochoa had what many consider the most dominant single seasonin women’s college golf history. An Arizona Wildcat sophomore in 2001-02, Ochoa won her first seven tournaments starts before finishing second at Pac-10 Championship in April. She won the NCAA Regional for an eighth victory, then finished T-2 at the NCAA Championship. Less than 12 hours after nationals, she turned pro, having competed against in her two-year stint in Tucson 1,880 golfers and beated all but 15 of them.How much of that history Rose Zhang is aware of is unknown, but the 18-year-old Stanford freshman is likely to learn more of it in the coming week as she embarks on one of the more anticipated college debuts in recent memory—and starts to follow the legend of Ochoa.On Sunday at the Stanford Invitational, Zhang finished her third college start for the Cardinal with her third victory. She made just two bogeys over 54 holes en route to shooting a school-record-tying 16-under 197 at the Stanford Golf Club. In nine college rounds, the Irvine, Calif., native has shot par or better eight times, is a collective 23 under par and has an impressive stroke average of 69.11.
She's the No. 1 ranked amateur player in the world, so none of this comes as a complete surprise. But it is quite the run, and there seems little doubt which is the team to beat come May and the NCAA's.
It just so happens that Dr. Shipnuck answers a question on this young lady, and does so by analogizing interestingly:
What can one say about Rose Zhang that hasn’t already been said? Three college tourneys, three Ws. I know it’s still early, but would you hazard a comparison? @caia437Lydia Ko. Zhang (above) has the same silky touch and imagination and gift for scoring. She seems to radiate the same joy and retain the same humility even with her success. That Zhang is having a college experience and expanding her mind and circle of friends at a great university gives me hope that she can avoid the existential crisis that slowed Ko.
I'm not convinced that that alleged "existential crisis" was the issue with Lydia, as I still maintain that it all went bad when she ditched the eyeglasses. Joking aside, I actually think Ko's fall from form was attributable in some degree to her lack of length, though there no question that she's fired more swing coaches and caddies than the entire Korn Ferry Tour.
I'm not a fan of college athletes cashing in, especially the more so since the cash is limited to men's football and basketball, which have historically subsidized the balance of school's athletic programs. I'm far from convinced that this new status quo is sustainable, but that's something we can sit back and watch develop.
However, we also think that the college experience is good for these kids, mostly because of how the players talk of those years after the fact. So your humble blogger may not love the attempts to cash in from prepubescent teens, but if that keeps Rose and Rachel at Stanford, perhaps I'll have to make my peace with it.
On Brandel - Yesterday we had quite the fun poke at Chamblee from Eamon Lynch, one I wouldn't presume to better. But the timing is good, because Brandel is hawking a vanity project that's chock full of his usual brand of BS:
Picture a course that would double as a home for the finest women golfers in the world, a state-of-the-art facility that would be to the LPGA Tour what TPC Sawgrass is to the PGA Tour.Like Sawgrass, it would be open to the public for a high-end fee. It would also host a marquee annual event, a Players Championship, of sorts, that would showcase the talents of top female players in ways never seen before, because, for the first time, every inch of the grounds would be designed specifically with their games in mind.
Hard to argue with, right? Pull up an easy chair and watch me argue...
But did you catch that bit about a Women's Players Championship? Like most of what comes out of Brandel's mouth, it sounds pretty good, at least up until the moment you start to think about it. Why does the Players Championship exist? Because the PGA Tour doesn't own any of the men's majors, whereas the LPGA effectively controls all women's majors except the Women's U.S. Open. So sure, a Women's Players Championship would be cool, if only because I could call it the sixth of five...
But look at the whopper he's telling:
For the better part of a decade, in print, on air and in the Twittersphere, Chamblee has been vocal on the issue, calling out what he regards as problematic designs and setups for women.In nearly every respect — hole length, fairway width, rough height, bunker depth, and on — he believes the venues are poorly suited to their purpose. Far from bringing out the best in women’s games, they often place women at a disadvantage.As far back as 2012, Chamblee put a fine point on this perspective in a GOLF Magazine column that compared scoring averages on the LPGA and PGA tours; season after season, he wrote, with a litany of stats as backup, those scores were higher for the women. In Chamblee’s view, the discrepancy had nothing to do with ability (the women were every bit as skilled as their male counterparts; they just weren’t as strong) and everything to do with the courses they were playing.
Ya got that? They're every bit as skilled... Who ya gonna believe, Brandel or your lyin' eyes?
Brandel, here are the 100 meter results from Tokyo:
Men's: Winner: Lamont Marcell Jacobs - 9.80 seconds
Women's: Winner: Elaine Thompson-Herah - 10.61 seconds
Brandel, I assume you'll assert that they're equally skilled? Should we match them up and see who wins?
Now, who wants to tell Brandel that he's not helping himself with this example:
As a recent illustration of this theme, Chamblee points to the 2021 Augusta National Women’s Amateur, not an LPGA event but still an elite competition. On the 18th hole of the final day, two of the top three finishers, Karen Fredgaard and eventual winner Tsubasa Kajitani, found the first fairway bunker on the left off the tee. Fredgaard caught the lip on her approach and failed to reach the green, while Kajitani didn’t even try to get on in regulation. She laid up.Contrast that with an iconic moment from the Masters.“Most of us have little trouble conjuring the memory of Sandy Lyle flipping a 7-iron from that same bunker to 10 feet and making birdie to win the green jacket,” Chamblee says. “Is that because Sandy Lyle is more skilled than the best women players in the world? No. It’s because he’s stronger and can get the ball up higher and faster with a more lofted club.”
Hitting the ball high is a golf skill, Brandel, regardless of what you may think. But pointing out that the wolrds best women amateur players in 2021 didn't have the skills of a top professional man in 1988 seems rather an admission against interest.
He may have a point here, but barely:
Distance alone, though, is not the only issue. The crux of the problem, Chamblee says, is that courses are designed for men from the start, with after-thought adjustments to accommodate women. Pushing the tees forward is a standard tactic. But, Chamblee says, that’s not a real solution. If anything, it sets off a negative chain reaction, creating layouts with awkward landing areas, odd angles into greens, hazards placed in spots that dim strategic options. You get the gist.
Maybe. I should note that Chamblee repeats something we had a while back, an argument from Beth Ann Nichols that LPGA courses are set up needlessly difficult, and that the events would be more entertaining if the set-ups allowed for lower scoring.
What I find laugh-out-loud funny is the concept that a special, purpose-built field of play is needed for the women's game. At random I chose this years KPMG-LPGA event, for which the Olympic Club was set up at 6,486 yards. Do you know what course would be perfect for the ladies. Every single one built during the Golden Age of U.S. architecture.
As just one example, I Googled Merion and got this info:
While the scorecard yardage was 6,694 in 1950, it was in reality more like the 6,544 yards on the 1971 U.S. Open scorecard, the product of more accurate measuring. Even in 1950 that made Merion one of the shortest championship courses of its era.
Of course Merion has committed unnatural acts to extend the course to 7,000+ yards, but do we think there's anything wrong with the 6,500 yard course as originally designed and still played by its members?
Pro golf is approaching its own mental health reckoning
There's a couple of journalistic sleights-of-hand that bear exposing. While leading with Matthew Wolff, Daniel Rappaport then builds his case using poster children Naomi Osaka and Simone Biles, who have precious little to do with our game and have become to me entirely tiresome examples. Osaka especially, because at the 2019 U.S. Open she went out of her way to becomes a social justice warrior, then later decided she preferred to be Great Garbo....
“Let’s say a guy is on-site for seven hours,” says Sessinghaus, “and then he does a media thing, they go to their hotel, they see themselves—the reminders are constant that they are a golfer. When everything is viewed through that identity as a performer, then the only filtering that comes back is did I perform well or not? And if I did not, that bleeds into your identity as a person. Not just a golfer. Can I have a poor tournament, and still be happy with myself? That is a huge challenge. It’s so cause and effect. It’s, I’m the one who missed a cut. I didn’t make a check. I played so bad. When you use the word ‘I’ a lot, that becomes your identity.”Motivational structures become skewed. Parents might dream it, but no child picks up golf with fame and fortune in mind. A kid wants to whack that ball, to improve, to spend time with family. Experts call this intrinsic motivation. Then college scholarships enter the picture. Turning professional. Winning tournaments. Moving up the World Ranking. A private jet. Somewhere along the way, the motivation shifts to extrinsic. Golf morphs from a passion to a means to an end.“Doing it as a job or for a living—that's when the joy goes out of it and that's when you lose your innocence,” Rory McIlroy said at the Tour Championship. “There's a part of that that goes the further along you get in this professional career.”
I'm sorry, was this supposed to be easy? Does every young man or woman have an inalienable right bestowed by their creator to be a successful touring professional?
In our increasingly-therapeutic world, we seem able to accept that certain golfers don't have the physical capabilities to succeed at the top levels of the game. But why can't accept that certain individuals simply aren't cut out for the demands of professional golf, without it being a mental illness? Bobby Jones famously said, “Golf is a game that is played on a five-inch course – the distance between your ears,” isn't this issue what he meant by that?
But an equally appropriate aphorism, one I first heard applied to law firm compensation, is that "That which gets rewarded gets repeated." Our current therapeutic approach includes accommodating players who fail to perform portions of their obligations, most notably those who now refuse to speak to the hostile press. Bryson DeChambeau and Naomi Osaka, most notably should call their offices, but in reliving them of their responsibilities we will now encourage more players to do the same.
I have sympathy for the Matt Wolffs and other players cited, and will remind you of a previous discussion in these pages regarding Grayson Murray (who shows up in Rappaport's article). Murray, as you might recall, is one of those guys that's created nasty incidents at pretty much every stage of his golfing development, which he's now attributing to alcoholism. The point I made then and which still stands is that he seemed a young man unable to manage the stresses and rigors of elite sports. There's no shame in that, it simply takes physical and psychological outliers to succeed in that world. And, this being the important part, perhaps the best thing for such young people is to be guided away from that which they can't handle.
But the other aspect of our game might be to not rush these guys into the lonely world of the professional game, a subject we touched on in the prior post. This is why I've been so critical of the PGA Tour (and, to a lesser extent, the USGA) for those policies that have hurt the amateur game and incentivized the kids to turn professional earlier.
Otherwise, golf is hard and wouldn't be worth a damn if it wasn't.
Cheap Shots - A couple of more bits, some from that Shipnuck mailbag, and then we'll let you start your weekend. I could just as well have included this above with the lead item:
Did you see anything in Rickie’s play this week that says this can be sustained success, or does it feel like a flash in the pan?@VeryAvgDadThe answer Thursday through Saturday was his smile; he had his old lightness of being. On Sunday, Fowler looked puckered. Totally different visage as the strain began to show. He has been grinding so hard, and under such a big microscope, the Sunday scaries were probably inevitable. But if he can maintain that early-week jauntiness and palpable love of being back in the spotlight for all four rounds, I think another victory is coming.
The early returns aren't great, as Rickie is +1 (T35) after 36 holes at the ZoZo, against a pretty weak field.
This one would have belonged in our final item:
Do you think that on the strange, pressure-filled, perfectionist and contentious road Bryson has put himself on there is any chance of him having some kind of a breakdown or mental health issues in the near future? Or is he just too stubborn and iron-y for that to happen? @Dunk2604You can’t overpower mental health issues with big biceps or blinding clubhead speed. I’ve definitely shared your concerns about DeChambeau. Brooks Koepka’s bullying and the related hazing from the galleries certainly took a toll on Bryson this year, and the back-nine meltdown on Sunday at the U.S. Open was metaphysical. Not long after that he was snarling at fans. The Ryder Cup could be a game-changer for DeChambeau. It was the first time all season he truly felt the love from the crowd, and he reciprocated with excellent and wildly entertaining golf. If he can avoid saying anything dumb—admittedly, not his strong suit—perhaps there will be a different feeling in the air, which would certainly help Bryson. But he still has a childlike need for attention and validation, and that reveals something deeper and more complicated. The good news is that mental health has never been more of a priority in professional sports, and DeChambeau will have a lot of support and resources if he needs it.
Interesting test case, though the message we might want to emphasize (and the point I didn't make above) is that virtually every world class athlete suffers from mental health issues. If they were normal, they wouldn't be what they are...
And Alan's take on Phil and the USGA:
Is Phil’s out-spoken-ness against the USGA his last/best way of sticking it to the org? How many times has Mike Whan called him in the last 6 months? #AskAlan @EthanZimmanPhil has been at war with the USGA, off and on, since the 2004 U.S. Open at Shinnecock. That week he played some of the best golf of his life, but his bid to win the elusive Open was stymied by the out-of-control course setup (and, in fairness, Retief Goosen’s steely play). The USGA-inspired renovation of Torrey Pines ruined one of Mickelson’s favorite courses, at least in his mind. He busted his wrist in the absurd Oakmont rough in 2007. He barked at Mike Davis in the middle of the final round at Merion in 2013, not the best use of his mental energy while trying to win the national championship. And of course he perpetuated the ridiculous civil disobedience when there was another setup screwup at Shinnecock in 2018. So, yeah, Mickelson is never going to miss a chance to blast the USGA, especially if it’s taking away one of his favorite toys, the 47.5-inch driver. (Though it’s actually the PGA Tour that would be enacting the local rule, but never mind the nuance.) When Phil’s stridence intersects with his need to be the smartest guy in the room, he’s going to take some extreme positions. Clearly the modern power game is overwhelming golf’s ancient playing fields, and limiting driver length is a no-fuss way to tap the brakes. I don’t see what the big deal is, but unlike Phil, I don’t have a lifetime contract with Callaway.
Phil's been throwing hissy fits since at least 2004.... But the bigger story is how he's been coddled, and therefore the behavior is repeated. Nurse Ratched and his successor have allowed Phil to socialize with gamblers and criminals, to not satisfy his gambling debts and to conduct himself in a variety of ways that aren't consistent with the alleged values of the game. As someone once said, that which gets rewarded...
Finish this sentence: The Champions Tour broadcast exists because __________ . I’ll hang up and listen. @robmillertimeOtherwise we wouldn’t know that if your erection lasts for more than four hours you should contact a doctor immediately.
Yeah, it's hard to see the value there beyond Cialis' target demo.
You need to tiebreak an HOF induction: 2 players, each 1 U.S. Open , each brief stint as No. 1, each never really took off into the public awareness sphere. One has a Players Championship, one has an Evian championship — which one gets your nod from on high? #AskAlan @tallboy199Neither? It’s supposed to be the Hall of Fame, not the Hall of Very Good. The impoverished standards of the last decade or two have become a bummer. But the induction ceremony is now a glitzy TV show that demands warm bodies, so every borderline candidate is now guaranteed to get in. I would like the Hall to be more discerning.
And not just golf's version thereof. Bill James has long been all over the declining standards for the baseball version thereof, it's a similar process. It's not just the need for that ceremony, but the introduction of a marginal candidate (Can you say Monty? ) thereby lowers the standards for all future classes.
Have yourselves a great weekend. Unfortunately I will not be with you on Monday, as I will instead be being beaten up y Bethpage Black in conjunction with the Met. Golf Writers. I might also be getting a little wet, a tradition for our annual visits to Black. I'll see you on Tuesday for sure.
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