Midweek Musings - Departure Edition

We're off at zero-dark-thirty tomorrow morning, so the musings will be brief today, as I'm sure you'll understand.  Still a game time decision whether the laptop makes the trip, so we'll make it up as we go along.  I mean it's not like there's a major golf event this week or anything...

Dateline: Brookline, MA - Jon Rahm gave the most impassioned defense of the status-quo-ante, a must-listen, though this piece frames it curiously:

Count Jon Rahm among those leading the charge for Team PGA Tour. He pledged his allegiance to the Tour back in February at the Genesis Invitational, and on Tuesday at the U.S. Open, he furthered his fealty to those in Ponte Vedra.

Not exactly.  In February Rahm pledged his fealty to Fortress Ponte Vedra Beach, a far more interesting word choice for several reasons.  First, just the oddity of a native Spanish speaker knowing the word (several Americans with whom I've spoken on this subject did not know it), virtually ensuring that it came from someone that has presumably passed the LSATs.  But, perhaps more importantly, it's a more nuanced concept, as per this Google result:

Is fealty same as loyalty?

Loyalty is the most perfect form of mutual respect. It is a bond that goes two ways, and that is why it endures. Fealty, on the other hand, must be endured. It is based on power, and ends the moment the one who commands it no longer has a grip on the one who is shackled by it.

So, don't get cocky Jay, as that loss of grip sounds like Jay's bad week....

But his words are encouraging:

“The PGA Tour has done an amazing job giving us the best platform for us to perform,” Rahm said. “I want to play against the best in the world in a format that’s been going on for hundreds of years. That’s what I want to see.”

So a format designed by dead white guys?  Doesn't sound promising...That's actually a direct rebuke of Mr. FIGJAM, so hold that thought.

Yeah, money is great, but when Kelley and I -- this first thing happened, we started talking about it, and we're like, will our lifestyle change if I got $400 million? No, it will not change one bit.

Truth be told, I could retire right now with what I've made and live a very happy life and not play golf again. So I've never really played the game of golf for monetary reasons.

I play for the love of the game, and I want to play against the best in the world. I've always been interested in history and legacy, and right now the PGA TOUR has that.

There's meaning when you win the Memorial Championship. There's meaning when you win Arnold Palmer's event at Bay Hill. There's a meaning when you win, LA, Torrey, some of the historic venues. That to me matters a lot.

I'm going to need a moment to get over the concept of Torrey Pines having historic significance, but whatev.  

More directly, when asked to justify their grow-the-game nonsense, all Phil could come up with was the progressive format.  Over to you, Jon:

To be honest, part of the format is not really appealing to me. Shotgun three days to me is not a golf tournament, no cut. It's that simple. I want to play against the best in the world in a format that's been going on for hundreds of years. That's what I want to see.

Geez, Jon, what do you have against Member-Guests?  But his point is clear, what Phil considers needed change would devolve professional golf to the competitive level of your average Thursday night league.

But here he centers his shot dispersion:

“For a lot of people, I’m not going to lie, those next three, four years are worth basically their retirement plan they’re giving them,” Rahm said. “It’s a very nice compensation to then retire and sail off into the sunset. If that’s what you want, that’s fine.”

That is exactly what they want, though I'd characterize it as far from fine...

A couple of words of caution here, as the Pat Perez one-eighty is still in my frontal lobe.  First, I had Rahm pegged as one of the likely three players that helped Phil write the operating agreement for LIV, mostly because he shares Steve Loy as an agent (more accurately, because Mike Bamberger made that connection and it seemed apt).  Secondly, he left the press center and played a practice round with, wait for it, Phil.

So, trust but verify....

So, who jumps next?  I'm not saying it's this guy, but in the category of Players That Came Across Worse Than Phil In Their Pressers, here's a nominee:

Brooks Koepka had no interest in the topic du jour.

He might have thought he’s be spared from commenting on Tuesday at the U.S. Open in

Brookline, Mass., but his take on all things Saudi golf league wasn’t getting past question No. 11. His brother, Chase, played in the first LIV Golf Invitational Series, a reporter pointed out, and what were his thoughts on the current landscape of professional golf?

“Obviously, LIV is trying to make a big push for golf,” Koepka said. “Look, I mean, I love my brother. I support him in anything he does. It’s family. I’ll always love and support him. Whatever he does, I’m cheering for him.”

Pressed on the issue, Koepka wasn’t interested in discussing it much further. He also accused the media (twice) of putting a “black cloud” over the U.S. Open by using player press conferences to ask them about the new Saudi-backed golf league, which completed its first event on Saturday in England.

“I’m here. I’m here at the U.S. Open,” said Koepka, who won the national championship twice. “I’m ready to play U.S. Open, and I think it kind of sucks, too, you are all throwing this black cloud over the U.S. Open. It’s one of my favorite events. I don’t know why you guys keep doing that. The more legs you give it, the more you keep talking about it.” (Collin Morikawa, who met with the media after Koepka, also called the LIV chatter a distraction.)

Coulda been worse, as they might have asked about the state of your game....

Just a strange pricklines sin his reaction, but what did he expect with his brother and old buddy Peter Uihlein in the field.  he's not wrong, it just seems his attribution is misplaced.  As Eamon Lynch noted, this is the second major (and not sure why he excluded The Masters) over which Phil, et. al. have cast a pall.

Amusingly, the biggest impediment to him jumping might be that they grabbed his bête noire first.  With a small field and shotgun start it gets harder to avoid the guy...

On more pleasant subjects, Luke Kerr-Dineen does a deep dive on the greens at TCC:

BROOKLINE, Mass. — It took me about five minutes of being on the ground at The Country Club to fall in love with the place. The course isn’t built for U.S. Opens, it’s the epitome of them. The fairways are tight, the rough is up, the shots required to navigate the terrain are awkward, and the greens are absolutely dastardly — but in the most brilliant kind of way.

It’s not just that literal size of the greens are small — 4,388 sq. ft. on average, which for reference is almost 1,000 sq. ft. smaller on average than Southern Hills. It’s that the greens themselves are wickedly undulating. Each has a series of falls fronts, funnels, and drop-offs which, combined, make the actual pinnacle surface of the greens truly tiny.

And on one green specifically:

The 11th hole — a par-3 that maxes-out at just over 130 yards — is perhaps the best example. The hole’s only defense is its green — and it’s a good one. Analyzing the 3D data of the green from Golf Logix (an affiliate company of GOLF.com and GOLF Magazine) reveals its challenge: There’s literally not a flat spot anywhere on the surface, with the entire green sloping back-to-front and guarded by a false front.

“I think every golf course should have a short, little hole that’s got a diabolical green,” Thomas said of the 11th. “You can make two or four in a heartbeat.”

Should be fun watching them deal with them, especially when they miss greens and have to chip across these contours.

A Palate Cleanser - Another St. Andrews dispatch from Sean Zak is just the thing for this moment, obviating the need for a shower.  Amusingly, I'm finding his misses more charming than damning.  But, first, his set-up:

Players are being asked about ‘legacy’. You can find it in St. Andrews

The most popular word emanating from the golf world this week is … legacy. And boy is it a complicated one.

Rory McIlroy says he’s still adding to his legacy. Jon Rahm believes the PGA Tour has the strongest legacy. Phil Mickelson’s legacy, well, he says he’s done all he can do. Someone should tell h—you know what, never mind.

Legacies these days, are clearly fluid. Which is why it was cathartic to get back to St. Andrews and The Old Course...

Perhaps that might have something to do with getting back to St. Andrews from that LIV event outside London.  But you might have noticed that ellipsis, because Sean throws in a clunker:

...where even Tom Morris’ 469-year-old masterpiece has a legacy that’s fluid.

Ummm, Sean, it's not Old Tom's course, and that's a distinction that has great importance to many of us.   here's a Google response to the question of who designed the Old Course:

The course evolved without the help of any one architect for many years, though notable contributions to its design were made by Daw Anderson in the 1850s and Old Tom Morris (1865–1908), who designed the 1st and 18th holes. Originally, it was played over the same set of fairways out and back to the same holes.

Alternative attributions include God and a bunch of sheep....  I'm sure in July we'll speak more on this subject and Daw Anderson is his own interesting figure in the game, the Keeper of the Green before Old Tom.  Also, purveyor of ginger beer and the harder stuff... 

As for that 469?  That's a bit off as well, tied to this event:

In 1552, Archbishop John Hamilton gave the townspeople of St Andrews the right to play on the links.

But golf on these links clearly predates that by more than a century:

The Old Course at St Andrews is considered by many to be the "home of golf" because the sport was first played on the Links at St Andrews in the early 15th century Golf was becoming increasingly popular in Scotland until James II of Scotland banned the game in 1457 because he felt that young men were playing too much golf instead of practicing their archery. The ban was upheld by James III, and remained in force until 1502, when James IV became a golfer himself and removed the ban.

Sean will hopefully learn the error of his ways, but we can still enjoy his process of discovery, including this on getting around the Auld Grey Toon:

St. Andrews Thing I’m Now Obsessed With: The pathways across town

Normally, getting lost is an unnerving feeling, particularly in a foreign country. But getting lost in

St. Andrews is such a delight, partly because of the tiny lanes and back-alleys you find, some of them runneth over by vines.

Outside the immediate bubble of the Old Course are your three main streets — North, South, and Market — without many cross streets. Getting through town in an efficient manner requires an understanding of those walkways — like Lade Braes or Louden’s Close, which weave between buildings and beneath apartments to connect the town in ways that tourists could never memorize.

 Surely some less-sober tourists have become trapped in these quarters before. They’re tempting — charming even, in the daylight — as the quickest route somewhere always is. Hopefully you’re going the right way.

For the record, that's Louden's Close, which we might need to find in August.

Sean also hits on this rather fierce looking club from the R&A Museum:

It’ll take just a handful of steps from the 1st tee to cross Golf Place and descend into golf history at the R&A World Golf Museum. What used to be the British Golf Museum has been refurbished in recent years to blend the storied history of the game into a modern and dynamic presentation. You want the details on how club equipment has changed? Here’s the hybrid that saved Spieth at Birkdale, not far from the 1904 Higgs Deliver Rake Iron that promised to save you from long grass, sand and water. (It’s no longer being manufactured.) When you’re done with that, try putting with with a hickory flat stick.

After a wet day on the links, I can see the benefit of its dual purpose as a comb....

That's all for now, folks.  I'll see you from the other side, just uncertain as to when.  Enjoy the Open.