We've got ten inches reported (and still snowing) and it's calling your humble blogger's name. Will it be more of the dreaded dust on crust? Inevitably, because it's 2022 and that's how we now roll....
Players' Championship Stuff - Another sign of Spring presents, as golf's championship[ season begins. This event typically delivers the goods, so where shall we start? Well, they're always touting the strength of the field, so perhaps that's where we should drop in. Specifically with who's not here:
First, the artist formerly known as Lefty:
The PGA Tour released the official field for its flagship event on Friday afternoon and Mickelson
was not listed. The six-time major champion has been dealing with blowback from a November interview that went public in February. In that interview, he told golf writer Alan Shipnuck that he recruited lawyers to draft up the rumored Saudi-backed golf league as a leverage play against the PGA Tour, which he referred to as a "dictatorship." He also acknowledged the Saudi government are “scary mother****ers."
Scary Mofo's will have legs, but let's not forget that he accused the PGA Tour, the folks running this little tourney, of "obnoxious greed." More on that awkwardness below....
So, when will we see Phil? Simply has to be The Masters, no? Poor Hideki, as his Champions' Dinner moment in the sun will be over-shadowed by Phil's coming out party.
Also MIA:
Bryson DeChambeau has withdrawn from the Players Championship, the PGA Tour released onSunday night shortly after the finish at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.No reason was given, but this is the second straight week in which DeChambeau had initially registered to compete on the PGA Tour only to then drop out of the tournament. DeChambeau was the defending champion at the API, but last Monday released a video on social media in which he stated that he was “just not ready yet.”DeChambeau has been dealing with hip and hand injuries throughout much of 2022. He withdrew before the start of the Sony Open in January and withdrew after the first round of the Saudi International last month. He was also visible hobbled during the second round of the Farmers Insurance Open, a tournament in which he missed the cut by one shot.
Not getting a good vibe here, gang. There's the seemingly obvious correlation of bulking up with chronic injuries, or am I just trafficking in fake news?
But it's equally true that Bryson's commitment to the Tour seemed tepid compared to, say, Jon Rahm swearing fealty to Kubla Jay. Hold that thought as we'll circle back down below.
Golf Digest has this interesting take on the venue, with which I only partially agree:
Despite the lore and the gore of the Players Championship, the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass is not the toughest layout played on the PGA Tour. It’s only ranked in the top 15 once in the last decade, and it often trails other theoretically less fearsome Florida Swing venues like PGA National, Bay Hill and even Innisbrook.But those are just numbers. The Stadium Course’s true ferocity lies in a place that statistics do not always adequately measure. It is in that dry mouth or accelerated heart rate, the deep breaths that fail to find calm or the deeper sighs of soul-crushing despair. The Stadium Course is the worst kind of torture chamber, the one that exists in your mind.What’s truly beautiful about the menacing Stadium Course is that as a public venue that sees about 50,000 rounds a year, average golfers pay (mightily, at $600 per, not including caddie) for the privilege to be embarrassed 18 separate times. Moreover, what the average tour pro feels and experiences so, too, does the average Joe.
Here's the skinny on the average Joes:
While the Stadium Course routinely plays over par for the Players Championship, it also brings out the worst in average golfers. That’s what the statistics say from the researchers at Arccos Golf, whose GPS sensors track every swing in a typical round. According to Arccos, the average score for players in the 5- to 15-handicap range is 89. That number is more than confirmed by those who’ve seen it in the flesh. Brandon Barfield is a 12-year veteran caddie at TPC Sawgrass and currently the assistant caddie master. He’s seen scores as high as 202 by a paying customer at the Stadium Course, and only once in over a thousand loops has a player shot even par.“Most people who come out here, if they’re a 5- or 10-handicap, they’re going to score more like a 10- to 20-handicapper,” he said. “The course just plays 5-10 strokes harder. That might just be from their mentality coming out and knowing what they’re about to go through.
True enough, but I found the track surprisingly playable.
Dye is a master of visual deception, and one aspect unaddressed is that some large percentage are playing the course for the first time. There used to be a tiny, little pond short of the green on No. 8 that seems to have disappeared at some point, making it the only hole without water (though, ironically the hardest of the Par-3's).
But landing areas are generous and there's always a path to a comfortable bogey, with perhaps No. 17 being an exception. Although, even there, it's a gigantic green and even the 20-handicappper will have a very short club in his or her hand. Let me add that they also feature one of the best set of hybrid tees I've seen, eliminating forced carries for the shorter hitters.
I think you're gonna make some big number your first few times around, and with all the water it's hard to completely avoid it. But there are pars to be had for any level of golfer that can avoid being intimidated and, most importantly, the player will likely enjoy the shots he's presented. I enjoyed it much more than I expected to (I played it a total of six times on two trips), and I think we should give Mr. Dye credit for that.
Tour Stuff - Mr. Monahan is in the building and the gloves have come off. From his presser, leading with his opening statement:
Before I make some additional comments on THE PLAYERS Championship, I wanted to take a moment to address all of the news, discourse and conjecture lately about the world of professional golf.I'd like to emphatically reiterate what I told our players at our mandatory player meeting two weeks ago at the Honda Classic.The PGA TOUR is moving on. We have too much momentum and too much to accomplish to be consistently distracted by rumors of other golf leagues and their attempts to disrupt our players, our partners, and most importantly our fans from enjoying the TOUR and the game we all love so much.I am grateful for the strong support our top players have shown recently and publicly, and I'm extremely proud that we've turned the conversation around to focus on what we do best: Delivering world-class golf tournaments with the best players to the best fans, all while positively impacting the communities in which we play. We are and we always will be focused on legacy, not leverage.You saw it a few weeks back with Joaquin Neimann winning the Genesis Invitational, a historic venue in Riviera Country Club, huge crowds following his every move and Joaquin receiving the trophy from tournament host Tiger Woods, the player who literally inspired him to take up the game. Those are personal moments that cannot be replicated at any price.History shows that the PGA TOUR is bigger than any one player. Arnold and Jack both expressed that thought throughout their careers, and Tiger echoed that very sentiment in December and at the Genesis Invitational when he said, the PGA TOUR will always be his home.So there is no better place than at the home of the PGA TOUR to reiterate our focus and promise to our fans and our players. Let's move on.
OK, I think what he was going for here was that we should move on....What a shame that moveon.org was taken.
Here Jay gives us a predictable non-answer answer:
Q. When that player and investor group approached you in the fall about a streamlined team type series that essentially would have nixed the Saudi threat or infringement orwhatever you want to call it, what were your impressions of that idea, and why did the TOUR nix it? And just as a follow, do you see down the line the TOUR incorporating some team events into your schedule?JAY MONAHAN: I always act in the best interests of the PGA TOUR, and in that instance and in many instances there are proposals that come our way that just don't make sense. That was one of them.As it relates to how we move forward and whether or not we're going to incorporate team events, we have a team event in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. The two greatest franchises in team events are Ryder Cup and the Presidents Cup. And as an organization, we're going to continue to challenge ourselves to make certain that we're evolving and developing our product to the benefit of our players, our fans and all of our constituents.
This was the proposal in which the Tour would have an interest, but not control. It's maybe the single most curious word used in this matter, but when a non-native speaker of English uses a word like "fealty", the cynic in me suspects that he was informed of that specific requirement.
You'll be anxious for the juicy stuff by now:
Q. Jay, you spoke in your opening remarks about wanting to move on from the controversy that no player is bigger than the TOUR. Could you at least -- from Phil's perspective, can you give me your take on how long you think this is going to last? Will this quickly be moved aside? Obviously it's going to be incumbent on Phil to bring the forgiveness that's necessary so that you can truly move on?JAY MONAHAN: Yeah, I think that as it relates to Phil, you said it; the ball is in his court. He has said that he's stepping away and he wants time for reflection. That's something that I and we are going to respect and honor.When he's ready to come back to the PGA TOUR, we're going to have that conversation. That's a conversation I look forward to.
I take him at his word that he's looking forward to it. I'm just not sure that what he envisions meets the conventional definition of a conversation.
Q. Jay, have you spoken to Phil since all of this came out, and when he does return, does he need to do something first? Does he need to speak to you, or can he just show up at a tournament and tee it up again?JAY MONAHAN: I have not talked to Phil since he made his comments and since he said that he was stepping away.Like I said, I think the ball is in his court. I would welcome a phone call from him. But it's hard for me to talk about the different scenarios that could play out.Listen, he's a player that's won 45 times on the PGA TOUR. He's had a Hall of Fame career. He's won here at THE PLAYERS Championship. He's inspired a lot of people and helped grow this Tour, his Tour.So as difficult as it is to read some of the things that were said, ultimately a conversation will be had when he's ready to have it, and I will be ready to have it, as well.
How ridiculous is it that we don't know if he's been suspended?
I'm a bit tough on Rory's golf game for sure, but he's a first class young man. Credit to him for these comments that Jay is ducking:
Q. To follow up, Rory was just in here and said one of the things he'd like to see improved is transparency and he said specifically as it applied to disciplinary matters or even suspensions. Would you consider that, beyond the communication you have with players, would you consider making those things public?JAY MONAHAN: He just said that?Q. I can read you the quote, but one of the things -- he was asked to give you a report card, which was very good, by the way --JAY MONAHAN: I would just say effective immediately, Rory McIlroy is suspended. (Laughter.)No, listen, Rory is a member of our policy board. He's a player director. That's something that has been raised in the past, and if that's something that a member of our board feels strongly about, rest assured it's a conversation we'll have with our Player Advisory Council and ultimately our board. That's the way the system works.It's a criticism that has been lobbied against the PGA TOUR through the years, and I think we always have to be open to evolving. That's something that we are open to.
Open to? Gotta admit, the man has chutzpah!
Let me interject a related point here. Geoff has been blogging up a storm about the Tour embrace of legalized betting, though the good stuff is behind his Quad paywall. But he picked up this bit in a Golf Channel piece that struck me as well, the common theme being an incredible lack of transparency:
Regarding disclosure, Gambuzza was asked by Rich Lerner in the post-feature discussion if player injury reports will be optional. It’s a good question given that other sports provide various ways for gamblers to have some sense who might be at less than 100% or even doubtful for a game. Golf is going to leave such information up to the players.This is problematic since there are others (caddies, club reps, agents, range pickers) who have access to inside information that can be used to profit. As soon as gamblers know they were kept in the dark and it becomes the “product” lacks transparency, unwanted controversies are all but guaranteed.Here is the feature under the title of “Golf betting emerging from shadows of sport”. Lerner voices what is said to look at “the impact sports gambling has had on professional leagues around the world and how that translates to golf,” but really is just a messy attempt to rationalize the hard push to capitalize on betting.
Yeah, gamblers love losing to those with better information.... I just don't see how this policy can be maintained, but why are they so locked down on it? Unless, of course, they want to continue using faux Jet-ski accidents to cover suspensions....
Back to Jay:
JAY MONAHAN: Listen, I'm not going to comment -- we don't comment on disciplinary matters, and Phil has asked for some time to step away, and I'm not going to comment any further on that.Q. From the time Phil's comments were published until five days later when he put out his statement saying he's going to take time away, did you ever feel like the ball would have been in your court to reach out to him?JAY MONAHAN: No, I didn't.Q. Why not?JAY MONAHAN: I've had a lot of conversations with Phil, and my conversations with Phil will stay between the two of us. But I know the man well enough, and I've had enough conversations with him where that's not something that I thought at that point in time I should or needed to do. Certainly had my phone on.
Which leads to his rousing coda:
Q. As much as you talk about moving forward, do you still consider this to be a threat, and is there any part of you that still looks over your shoulder?JAY MONAHAN: I think I've said this before. I wake up every day assuming someone is trying to take my lunch. That's the way I operate. That's the way we operate as a team.But we're here at THE PLAYERS Championship. The best players in the world have told you how they feel. I mentioned our partners firmly behind this Tour. I see the possibilities for what we are going to become and how we're going to evolve. I see the incredible working relationship we have with our players.So long as we focus on the things that we control, which is what I've always tried to do and what we've always tried to do as a team, I think we're going to win, we're going to grow, and I'm not looking over my shoulder, I'm looking forward. I'm excited about what's ahead of me and what's ahead of this organization, and if you're a young player and you're aspiring to play on the PGA TOUR, what's in store for you in the future.
Do guys running non-profits all worry about their lunch being eaten?
Those excerpts were courtesy of Shack, though somehow this bit (in a piece speculating on whether or not Phil was suspended) got lost in the shuffle:
1. Discipline is still on the table but hasn’t yet been imposed.Re-read Monahan’s choice of words: “We don’t comment on disciplinary matters, potential matters or actual matters. But every player is accountable for their actions out here.” That suggests that discipline is at least being considered. There are plenty of questions that Mickelson will face in order to return to the Tour. Is he still intending to leave and play the Saudi-backed breakaway league? Monahan has made it clear that players who leave won’t be welcomed back. So Mickelson might need a healthy dose of contrition and a little newfound loyalty, too, if he’s going to contend for title No. 46.
That's really rich. Refusing to disclose disciplinary actions, even conspiring with players to create fictitious injuries as an alibi, is the opposite of accountability. More importantly, I think t's counter-productive, as we have little choice but to assume that what they're hiding from us is really bad...
Though, if it would help Jay, I'd be prepared to offer up a short list of players due some of that accountability, hopefully the hot kind. But it would be a short list, which to me is the whole point. You're using the attractive nature of the players as a whole to protect those least deserving of it.
Fame, Another Diminished Commodity - Hall of Fames are dreary matters across the sports world, though our game's seems, how did that phrase go, lamer than most?
Anyway, this is the big news about tonight's induction ceremony:
After a stretch of memorable, golfy appearances alongside his son, Charlie, Tiger Woods is set to appear in the limelight alongside his daughter, Sam, Wednesday night: up on stage at the WorldGolf Hall of Fame induction.Sam Woods, 14, will unquestionably become the youngest speaker in WGHOF history when she introduces her 15-major winning father Wednesday evening in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
Tiger is among the four figures being inducted into the Hall of Fame, joined by former PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem, 74, and women’s golf legends Susie Maxwell Berning, 80, and the late Marion Hollins. Maxwell Berning will be introduced by Judy Rankin, while Finchem will be introduced by Davis Love III. Both Rankin and Love III are fellow HOF members.
Forgive my lack of excitement about Tiger's induction, which couldn't be more awkwardly timed. There's a reek of desperation in it, as he could well add to the numbers on the plaque. Obviously golfers don't retire in the sense that baseball or football players do, but wouldn't age 50 make far more sense?
The background is quite a bit off as well. For instance, when you see that commercial in which Gary Player tells you, "If You Love Golf, You Have to Go"? Don't dawdle:
Maybe it’s how embarrassing it is they aren’t hosting this at the World Golf Village in St. Augustine. The Hall’s home that’ll be abandoned when the lease is up in 2023. Jay Monahan could not hide that fact very well when asked in is pre-Players presser Tuesday.Lovers of golf history: please get to the St. Augustine facility before it becomes an Amazon warehouse.Why is it embarrassing if the World Golf Village isn’t working? Happens all the time.Maybe because the guy who pushed to put the Hall in a remote condo development also happens to be getting inducted this year. How truly bizarre for Finchem to going in the Hall he envisioned and billed to developers as another Robert Trent Jones Trail with IMAX, outlet malls and a PGA Tour store about to become a hipster church.
Well, I've been nursing (word choice intended) a chuckle over Tiger being forced to share the stage with....checking notes, Nurse Ratched. Of course, the good nurse's sidebars with his successor should be amusing, comparing notes on a certain topless Aussie.
But Geoff knows his history, and it's not one that makes me eager to watch his moment:
I shutter to think how much the World Golf Foundation and PGA Tour have pumped into making Finchem’s vision seem sustainable. The trajectory of the Hall looks like most things under his watch. Thankfully, the courses they built turned okay, the development is well done and seems like a really nice place to live. PGA Tour Entertainment is making use of the place for the time being. But few visitors stop through for the exhibits. Worse, current golfers and top players don’t seem to care that much about the Hall as a general concept. At least not enough to show up at the ceremonies.For the incredible 2015 event inside St Andrews’ historic Younger Hall, every effort was made to make it easy for players to attend. Arnold Palmer and Peter Thomson made the journey when they probably shouldn’t have at that stage of their lives. But it’s who they were and why they’re legends. Other top players already in town for The Open? So many passed, including Tiger opting to not see his buddy Mark O’Meara go in.
And that's how Tiger treats his buddies. If he can't be bothered, why should we?
Now, there is a reason to get excited, and that would be the two ladies involved, although there's something weird going on, per the press release:
World Golf Hall of Fame Announces Presenters for 2022 Inductee Class:2022 Inductee, Susie Maxwell Berning (Judy Rankin)2022 Inductee, Tim Finchem (Davis Love III)2022 Inductee, Tiger Woods (Sam Woods)Induction Ceremony to Air Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET (Live on Golf Channel) andFeature New Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Trophy Designed by Tiffany & Co.
Guys, aren't you missing someone? Yanno, her:
By virtue of being,, yanno, dead, she seems to be afforded second class status:
2022 inductee – Susie Maxwell Berning (Presenter: Judy Rankin, Hall of Fame member)2022 inductee – Tim Finchem (Presenter: Davis Love III, Hall of Fame member)2022 inductee – Tiger Woods (Presenter: Sam Woods, daughter)*Marion Hollins will be recognized posthumously as the fourth member of the 2022 class*.
Does that mean she doesn't get an introduction and hagiography like the other three?
Here's the blurb provided:
Marion Hollins (Contributor)A visionary golf course developer/architect, Marion Hollins became a pioneer of the sport. A standout golfer who won the 1921 U.S. Women’s Amateur, she would shift her attention by contributing to the development of the Monterey Peninsula into a golf mecca. She made significant contributions to Cypress Point Club, and then founded and oversaw the development of Pasatiempo Golf Club. Later – in collaboration with Bobby Jones and Alister Mackenzie – she provided her influence on the development of Augusta National Golf Club.
Took them long enough.... All you really need to know is the esteem in which she was held by Alister Mackenzie and Bobby Jones. Quite the diss, considering the nobodies enshrined before they remembered old Marion.
That's it for today, kids. Tomorrow is a travel day, and then we'll catch up on the other side.
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