Weekend Wrap

I hope you wished everyone in your life a Happy May Day.  Now that that's behind us, perhaps it might actually warm up...

Mexicali Blues - When the Tour's season kicked off in January (pay no attention to that nonsense in the Fall), my biggest question was whether Jon Rahm could separate himself from the pack.  My second question is whether the native Spanish speaker new the English word "fealty", but that's now been resolved.  The answer for four months was a resounding "No", though perhaps I was just early:

Let’s not bury the lead here: Jon Rahm won the Mexico Open at Vidanta by staying “positive.”

Read on for the details, but the crux of the story on Sunday can be neatly encapsulated by the fact that the occasionally volatile Spaniard—OK, it can be more than occasionally—didn’t have his

Mariano Rivera-level stuff in trying to close out his seventh career PGA Tour title, but he remained composed and departed Vallarta, Mexico, unscathed. A final-round two-under 69 proved just enough for a one-stroke victory.

“I’ve won in a few styles already, but this was a pretty stressful weekend all the way to the end,” Rahm, 27, said after posting 17-under 267 and winning for the first time since the U.S. Open last June. “I stayed positive. I let my frustrations out a few times out there, but I always stay positive and I always stay hopeful.

“It wasn’t my best putting weekend. It was great the first two days, but after that it wasn’t great. But I stayed aggressive. … I was confident in what I was doing, and I had faith in every part of my game. And it showed.”

Ummm, in this context, I'm pretty sure it's lede...

He's been putting dreadfully (132nd in SG: Putting coming into the week), and not driving it much better.   He certainly didn't look all that in control in the portion I saw yesterday, but there's no such thing as a bad win, right?  Well, excluding the Ben Curtis exception, that is...

Plus, who doesn't like the celebration of a happy young family?

I'd speculate that the ratings will be calculated in parts-per-million, but a win is a win, right?

Unlike last week, our regular Tour Confidential panel did allocate at least a single question to this event, though it took them some time to get there:

5. Jon Rahm was the heavy favorite at the Mexico Open, led wire to wire and shot 69 in the final round to win by one, making it the second time in seven tries he’s converted a 54-hole lead or co-lead. Rahm didn’t have his best on Sunday, but still hung on to win. For top-tier pros like him, are final rounds like this, when you’re the marquee name and big-time betting favorite, more difficult to win than stronger-field events since you are expected to come out on top?

Colgan: I’d think it’s easier to beat Brandon Wu and Kurt Kitayama as a heavy favorite than Collin Morikawa and Scottie Scheffler as a slight underdog.

Piastowski: I actually wrote a little about this in the story on Rahm’s win. Is it easier against a “lesser” field? Sure. But the expectations grow a bit. And players hate that thought. For what it’s worth, I loved Rahm’s quote on CBS after his round: “I don’t look at bets or anything like that. I like to think every time I tee it up I’m the favorite because I’m out there to win and I’ve been playing pretty good the last few years.” So I guess he always thinks he should win.

Sens: You don’t get to where Rahm is in the game without being more than mentally tough enough to handle the pressure of expectations. Was this an easier event to win than a lot of others? Absolutely. But scores of guys had a chance, and only Rahm pulled it off.

Zak: The difference between Morikawa and Scheffler and Wu and Kitayama is so razor thin some days, and so gigantic other days. I think when you win on Sunday on the Tour after leading through 54 holes, it’s a helluva accomplishment, no matter what time of year.

I feel strongly both ways.  It is hard to win when you're expected to do so, and the hardest shot to hit (at least for this observer) is the shot after your opponent screws up, because it's all downside.

Still, we're not trying to argue that field strength doesn't matter, are we Sean?  

The Tour is off to an old/new venue this coming week.  With the Prez Cup at Quail Hollow, the Wells Fargo is moved this year to place we used to know as TPC Avenel, which your humble blogger humbled on the original PGA Tour Golf video game.  Seriously, I owned it....

Practice Is Proscribed - We did a little planespotting last week, which revealed that Tiger dropped into Southern Hills on a scouting expedition, and of course that broke the Internet.  Accounts have SH head professional Gary Cozby caddying for Tiger, which struck this observer as a little weird in the sense that I'd bet dollars to donuts that Tiger was in a buggy.  But still, Cozby had some interesting observations, including this about what it's like being Tiger:

“It’s amazing what he has to deal with on a daily basis,” a wide-eyed Cary Cozby told SiriusXM Friday, a day after caddying for Woods. “He came through the gate. He didn’t even come to the clubhouse because he knew what he’d have to deal with and went straight to the range. They sent a text said, ‘Hey, we’re on the practice tee. I’ll meet you on the first tee.’”

A modern day Walter Hagen

More substantive were these comments on his game and preparation:

“Everything is so smooth with him now,” Cozby told Golf Oklahoma’s Ken MacLeod (who also posted images and a few videos). “His rhythm is great, he hit it straight and plenty far, he pitched and putted it great. I know guys can hit it past him now, but watching him work was amazing. He’s so meticulous, detailed and immersed in what he’s doing. He was very inquisitive on lines and the best angles.”

Yeah, not much new.  We know he can hit the shots but still can't know whether he can hold up while walking the course for four days.

That Tour Confidential panel was Tiger -obsessed when he was sitting at home in Jupiter, so you can ell imagine the frenzy with his plane in Tulsa:

1. Last week, the field for the 2022 PGA Championship got a bit more clear, as Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson both officially entered the event, which is May 19-22 at Southern Hills in Tulsa, Okla. But we still have questions, and let’s start with Tiger. Not only has he registered, but he also played a highly publicized practice round there on Thursday. At this point, would it be more surprising if Woods didn’t play the PGA? And how would Southern Hills set up for him?

Leading with Tiger?  Gawd, who could have seen that coming? 

James Colgan: At this point, yeah, it’d be pretty surprising if he didn’t play. As for performance, Tiger took time at the Masters to emphasize the importance of staying out of the rough given his

current health. Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner’s 2018 restoration at Southern Hills dramatically opened the course, and while I’d bet there’s plenty of thick bermuda come tournament week, I think those tweaks would benefit his game.

Nick Piastowski: Yeah, Tiger’s playing. Of course, we’re not doctors — we just play them online — but by all accounts, he looked good on Thursday, and he looked fine during his Tiger Jam event in Vegas. As for Southern Hills, it’s different from what he saw when he won in 2007, but it’s familiar, and that has to be comforting as he picks and chooses his events.

Josh Sens: He’s playing. We don’t always get PGA Championships at truly world-class designs like Southern Hills. As challenging as it is, I would say the subtleties of the architecture will work in his favor. This is not a bomb-and-gouge course. It takes imagination, creative shot-making, a wizardly short game. No one has more of those three than Tiger.

Sean Zak: It would be surprising if he didn’t tee it at Southern Hills, but I refuse to believe that the course will set up well for him. It can’t. He’s seen it, which is great, but he’ll know it about as well as the rest of the field knows it. And they won’t be 46-going-on-60. Doses of reality about Tiger are rarely met with anything but vitriol online, but I just don’t see it going well if only a couple weeks ago he was polishing off a 78-78 weekend at the Masters.

Of course he's playing, with us at least.  That whole post-Masters bit of committing to St. Andrews but seemingly opting out of Tulsa and Brookline was weird enough, but then announcing a commitment to play in a corporate outing?

And that Irish Pro-Am is itself a little strange.  It was presented as being "on the way to Scotland", which I'll guess was to diffuse the pushback.  But it's on the Monday-Tuesday of the prior week (the week of the Scottish Open), so where do we think he'll head when he finished that Tuesday?  Not East, I'll bet he flies home to Jupiter...

I'm not sure I'd have bothered to blog Tiger's scouting mission were it not for this last bit from Geoff's Quad newsletter.  But it's been some time since we've featured the Official Twitter Burner Account of Unplayable Lies, too long I fear, and today we have a selfless tweet that attempts to ensure a level playing field for all:

I wonder what it’s like to have the Director of Golf at Southern Hills give you ALL the course notes you need for the upcoming @PGAChampionship Do all players get this treatment @PGA? For @TigerWoods this is just embarrassing that @PGA posted this photo & it’s very telling. pic.twitter.com/TAf3siYsHO

— GolfFACTS (@useGolfFACTS) May 1, 2022

This is real, believe it or not.  For those not keeping a scorecard at home, this is a burner account controlled by Patrick Reed or those in his camp, Justine being a prime suspect.  Curiously, this is Team Reed writing about his golfing hero, the guy he "honored" by wearing red and black on Sundays. Although no weirder than being pissed at his pairing with Tiger in the 2018 Ryder Cup.  All i can say is that Patrick need not stay near his phone awaiting a call about a captain's pick for any future team events, or perhaps that's just wishful thinking on my part.

Of course the local pros have long done this for the top Tour players.  I specifically remember Baltusrol's Doug Steffen doing even more with Phil before the 2005 PGA.  Oh, right, are we allowed to mention Phil?

Did Someone Mention Phil? - What's going on with those kooky Saudis, I hear you asking?  Before we get to them, the TC panel has a couple of stupid Phil Q&A's:

2. As for Mickelson, his agent, Steve Loy, sent out a statement saying Phil had registered for both the PGA and U.S. Open, but — perhaps most newsworthy — also requested a PGA Tour release for the first LIV Golf Invitational Series event in London in June. However, there was a careful caveat. “Phil currently has no concrete plans on when and where he will play,” Loy said. “Any actions taken are in no way a reflection of a final decision made, but rather to keep all options open.” Mickelson obviously hasn’t played since he announced he was taking some time away from the game after his controversial comments made earlier this year, and it’s the first we’ve heard from Mickelson or his camp in months. How likely is it that Mickelson defends his PGA title, and if you were advising his return, what would you tell him?

Colgan: It would be a truly dramatic step if the PGA of America barred Phil from playing, which is what I think it’d take for him NOT to play later this month. For Phil, I think it makes a ton of sense to come back at the PGA, where he’s likely to find a congenial audience. For the PGA? Well, that’s the (multi) million dollar question, isn’t it?

Piastowski: I’ll say this: Phil playing is less likely than Tiger playing. That being said, let’s put the number at 75 percent that Lefty plays. How can he not defend? And should he, I think it’s a matter of doing the press conference and then moving on. But as for Phil’s future after that? Whew, only he knows.

Sens: He defends. He’s got to be dying to. Like James, I don’t see him being barred. Advice for him? He said some ill-considered things and then compounded them with some truly lame blame-the-media mealy mouthed talk. I’d remind him to be forthright in his answers, not try to deflect responsibility. And move on. If some people can’t forgive him, so be it. He can’t control that. As he said himself, he wants to do better. Move ahead with that in mind.

Let me just intrude here and note how Josh is parroting Phil's line about using inappropriate language.  That's certainly true enough, but below I'll deal with that misguided talking point. 

Zak: Like Tiger, I think it would be shocking if Mickelson doesn’t tee it at the PGA. If I was his publicist for one week, I would tell him to act exactly like he acted at Kiawah Island: short, to the point, rushing away from journalists as the sun fell to get more swings in on the range. The less words, the better. The less questions, the better.

Phil was short and to the point at Kiawah?  I might need to review the tapes on that one.  This is mostly right, it just ignores the larger picture of what Phil really wants at this point, the obvious omission being that in all the announcements there's none that relates to a PGA Tour event.

3. While it’s not completely surprising Mickelson is keeping his options open for some upcoming majors, were you at all shocked to see he’s taking the proper steps to play in the first LIV Golf Invitational Series event, given what’s transpired over the past few months? The statement from Loy came on the same day Sports Illustrated reported 15 players in the world top 100 had requested releases for the first tournament. Despite what happened earlier this year, can and will Mickelson’s presence still lure other potential big-name players?

Not completely surprising?  Ya think?  I've been trying to make the point (many others, such as Mike Bamberger, have made it as well) that Phil offered no apologies for his actions and only apologized to the bonencutters.  Many (we've had Mark Cannizzaro and Jon Rahm among others) have made impassioned pleas to welcome Phil back into the brotherhood of man, not seeming to consider whether Phil himself wanted that).

But the real problem here is that the question ignores James Corrigan's reporting that Phil is now a made man, that he's been paid handsomely to commit to all eight LIV events.  I understand that that reporting may not have been confirmed but, if true, it's a completely different level of infamy.

Colgan: Strikes me as following the tried-and-true public relations playbook of laying low for a while before returning to doing exactly what you were doing. Though I’d bet Phil is a closed book about LIV Golf’s financiers and the PGA Tour headed forward.

Piastowski: No, I don’t think Mickelson’s presence will draw other players. At this point, it might even deter folks. But the story around the tour hasn’t changed — money will bring in players. Lots and lots of money.

Sens: I’m with Nick. I don’t see his presence drawing more players. But it will draw more eyeballs, which might have the ripple effect of attracting more players later on.

Zak: Big-name players? No. Lesser players? Yes! There’s going to be an event in London that the Tour will surely grant releases for. And some player outside the top 50 will maybe win more money than Jordan Spieth does all year. It’s only plausible, but it IS plausible. And that will catch some interesting reactions.

Sean isn't the first to speculate that the releases will be issued, though I'm unclear as to why they take that for granted.  

As I teased above, I've had several folks as me what Phil is guilty of, and there's a reaction when I answer "treason".  Yeah, there's some intentional hyperbola in that word choice, but only a smidgeon.  He can call anyone nasty names, or at least I think the First Amendment is still the law of the land.  But his admission that he/they wrote the operating agreement for LIV is treason, in that while a member of the PGA Tour he has actively conspired to destroy it.   If you think that overblown, the business plan of LIV is to steal the PGA Tour's top talent and commit those players to some fifteen events, ensuring at best their limited participation in any PGA Tour events.  On what planet is that not treason?

Obviously the PGA Tour was formed by players and should be run for the benefit of said players, though it would be far from the first organization captured by its bureaucracy.  As a member, Phil obviously has the right to try to affect change, but he simultaneously has an obligation to do so through appropriate channels.  This could have been an interesting process if he had a group of members advocating for similar changes, but he made it easy for us all by ending up with no constituency among his fellow players.

I obviously have no clue where Jay stands on the waivers for the London event, but it would seem to me that Phil's waiver request could logically be treated differently than the others.  For instance, give that James Corrigan reporting, why couldn't the Tour request from Phil's representatives details on Phil's agreements with LIV?  Or ask his intentions about future LIV events, because obviously no Tour member gets eight waivers per year.  I would imagine it would be easy enough to deny the waiver because Phil wasn't forthcoming, while graciously allowing Robert Garrigus to play in London.

Stay tuned, because it will get interesting.

Eamon Lynch is in the building and ready to entertain, but first he fills us in on the calendar:

The Saudi event in Britain is really just a distraction. Precedent exists for overseas money grabs so the PGA Tour will probably grant the necessary releases (perhaps with conditions attached) for members who want to compete, as it did for the Saudi International in February. Commissioner Jay Monahan’s decision must be rendered by May 10.

Yeah, it's reasonably clever because such waivers have historically been issued, though Keith Pelley might look at this differently, although he's a bit player at this juncture.  But it should come hard and fast after that:

The first shots in the real war will be fired one week later.

Tuesday, May 17, falls during the week of the PGA Championship and is the deadline by which PGA Tour members must apply for waivers to compete in the second Saudi event, scheduled for July 1-3 at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in Portland, Oregon. Monahan’s decision on those asks must come no less than 30 days before the first round, or by Wednesday, June 1, but could be delivered at 5:01 p.m. on May 17. It will be a no.

Yes and, ironically, May 17th is also the date that the Alan Shipnuck bio drops.  Of course, I'm pretty sure that Jay has gotten an advance copy to review.  Who knows, maybe he'll even be blurbed on the jacket?

PGA Tour rules do not allow releases for tournaments held in North America against its own schedule. Players know this—all of them signed up for the policies governing membership—so those who request an okay for Portland will be suspected of either stupidity or sedition. By May 17, the Tour will know who wants to play for Saudi cash in the U.S., a list that will probably include the names of some who intend to compete even without a release. And that’s where Monahan’s red line will be drawn, a belief emphasized in messages I’ve received in recent days from a number of his members.

 Hmmm, I went with treason, but sedition is good as well.  So, that tease about Eamon amusing us?

Two scenarios then emerge: a player defies the Tour, triggering disciplinary action and potential litigation; or, the Saudis—under the innocuous-sounding moniker of LIV Golf—sue over the Tour’s refusal to grant releases, which would at least be an improvement on how the Crown Prince’s operatives usually handle disputes.

Well, I've been reliably informed that they're scary mofo's....

Eamon's basic premise is that this kerfuffle will dominate the news during the three remining majors.  The effect on Tulsa is obvious, so here's his case for the two Opens:

So Mike Whan’s U.S. Open will take place one week after the Saudi’s U.K. event and amid the fallout from waivers being denied for Portland. The toppling dominoes then reach the office of Martin Slumbers, whose Open Championship begins 11 days after Portland concludes. It’s feasible that by then Monahan may have issued suspensions. Will the R&A allow PGA Tour members not in good standing to compete at St. Andrews?

But as Eamon goes to the trouble of noting, golf's governing organizations' distrust of the Saudis is a bit late to the party:

The 58 days from May 17 to July 14 will reveal the extent to which golf’s bodies view Saudi sportswashing as a shared challenge. Absent from that fight will be Alexandra Armas. The CEO of the Ladies European Tour is continuing her ghastly flattery of the Saudi regime, to whom she bartered her circuit in exchange for sponsorship of five events. “To many of our members, these events feel like majors,” she gushed this week.

The LET runs on fumes—purses in non-Saudi tournaments are typically around $300,000—which is why Armas has put members in the position of choosing between abetting Saudi sportswashing or not making a living. It’s easier to understand her rationale than that of men on lucrative tours who make an individual choice to take Saudi money, but the decisions made by either are worthy of derision.

Yeah, but they get a pass....  Of course, it's hard to criticize the men for taking the filthy Saudi lucre when the women, whose outrage should exceed the men's, do as well.

But while Eamon works himself into a tizzy, at least he's willing to admit the conundrum by using the C-word:

If the attempted Saudi hijacking of golf is ultimately repelled—an outcome far from certain—there ought to follow a proper reckoning on where and with whom professional tours do business. However much the tours view this as a matter of commerce and competition, there also exists a moral imperative to ensure golf is not used to normalize authoritarian states. The LET won’t lack company in the dock. The Asian Tour sold itself wholesale to the Saudis. The DP World Tour has long been compromised by visiting undemocratic provinces. So too has the PGA Tour with its presence in China.

Obviously everyone is compromised by a connection to tainted countries.  Though it also needs to be said that they're a substantial difference in magnitude between holding events in these countries and allowing them to control the world's dominant tour.

I shall leave you at this juncture with the promise that we'll pick up as news develops.