Tuesday, August 2, 2022

Tuesday Tidbits - Departure Day Edition

Preparations are seemingly under control, with boarding passes hot off the printer and all flights showing on-time.  Yeah, I'm sure British Airways has a few surprises in store, but that will just make for good blogging, right?  So, what shall we talk about?

Cool Hand Luke - Stop me if you've heard this one before, but the Euros have announced their Ryder Cup captain:

There isn’t much suspense involved—none actually, given that the identity of Europe’s next Ryder Cup captain was widely publicized a few days ago—but now it’s official. Following the recent
removal of LIV-bound Henrik Stenson, Luke Donald will lead the Old World when the century-old contest with the United States takes place at the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in Rome nearly 14 months from now.

And yes, he has signed a contract with Ryder Cup Europe. And yes, he intends to see the job through to completion.

I the first casualty of war is the truth, the second would have to be contracts.... Because your humble blogger is old enough to remember when a certain Swede would be unable to jump to the upstart league because he had signed a contract that precluded said move.  Also, because he said he wouldn't, which goes back to that first casualty thing....

He certainly sounded like a grown-up:

“I’m giving everyone my word that I’ll be here for the next 14 months,” Donald said on Monday. “I’m excited about this opportunity. The Ryder Cup means so much to me. So I’m not going to take this lightly. I’ll see everyone in Rome.”

Of course, that only sets aside briefly the wide range of unresolved issues:

Other questions are also on Donald’s “to be determined” list. When exactly will qualifying begin? Will the previous “World” and “European” lists stay in place? If so, how many spots will be allocated to each? Or will another system be put in place? Could, for example, Donald decide to follow the lead of the International team skipper in the Presidents Cup and take the bulk of his side straight from the World Ranking list?

The term poisoned chalice comes to mind, but it's hard to envision what that Euro team might look like, given it's apparent historic weakness.  Sure, Rory, Rahm and Viktor, but after that it's a bunch of randos to be named later.  Of course, someone better have Jon Rahm sequestered in a safe house, because his preexisting relationships with Phil and Steve Loy make him suspect for sure.

But what to make of Henrik, other than what were they thinking in giving him the gig?  These comments after the denouement speak to early-onset dementia, no?

“I don’t feel like I’ve given it up. I made every arrangement possible here to be able to fulfill my captain’s duties, and I’ve had great help here from LIV to be able to do that. And still, the decision was made that I was to be removed.

“I’m obviously disappointed over the situation. But it is what it is, and yeah, we move on from there now.”

Gee, Henrik, I totally get your frustration, notwithstanding the fact that you were informed that you wouldn't allowed to do both and signed a contract pledging to no defect as a condition of employment.  So horribly unfair, for sure.  But, hey, your check cleared and isn't that what's most important?

But this was a bit weird, no?

‘I guess we can agree I played like a captain’ – Henrik Stenson makes Ryder Cup jibe after £3.6m LIV Golf debut win

I can't even pretend to know what that means, given that the job description of a captain doesn't typically include the playing thing....

More importantly, Henrik has developed a reputation as a bit of a wit, though here he seems to have gone out of his way to leave a rather obvious retort.  I'll give the great Tweeter Alliss the honors:

They seem to be banking on some court protecting their membership in the Euro Tour and, who knows, we've seen courts do some really strange things ion recent years.  But we're all reassessing our opinions of these guys on a daily basis, and Henrik has fallen hardest because of his acceptance of that captaincy.

Of course, while we're talking LIV, there was also this:

Greg Norman: Tiger Woods turned down LIV Golf’s $700 million-$800 million offer

No disrespect to Tiger intended, but the man can't actually play high-level golf....  So, remind me again, what's their product?

Ladies Day - A couple of notes about the distaff set, the second of which involves LIV.  First is this Beth Ann Nichols piece from 2020:

Opinion: Why Muirfield matters so much to the women's game

Does it?  Color me skeptical, but let's let Beth Ann make her case:

It was only last year that Muirfield invited its first women members in 275 years. Now the club’s membership will complete the 180-degree change of heart by crowning a female major champion
in two short years. She will join a list of 16 men who have won an Open at Muirfield, including the likes of Harry Vardon, Walter Hagen, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino, Tom Watson, Nick Faldo, Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson.

“Muirfield is possibly one of the purest tests of golf in the world,” said Catriona Matthew, a former Women’s British Open winner who lives four miles down the road at North Berwick.

I get it as a matter of respect, but I'm also amused by that 275 years of history.  So, riddle me this Batman, if the Saudis hosting a golf tournament is considered Sportswashing, what is Muirfield hosting a Women's Open Championship?  Admittedly, I've never heard an allegation of bonecutters found at the Honourable Company, but still...

A preview:


It is deserving of its reputation, with some of the most penal bunkering to be found, with an imaginative Harry Colt routing.  Well worth a look, especially since it's almost a decade since we've seen the joint.  Though your humble blogger is unlikely to see much of it.

More importantly, this was the state of play at the time of Bet Ann's piece:

To me, the two most interesting venues on that list are Walton Heath and Royal Porthcawl, for the simple reason that we don't get to see those places otherwise.   We've seen the same reaction with U.S. Opens, though I actually think they do better in establishing themselves at venues of their own, Pine Needles being an example for the U.S. Open.  But I love that the ladies go to places like Sunningdale and Walton heath, despite my links obsession.

But the ladies are acting very needy, though kind of unrealistic as well:

While it might have shocked many to hear LPGA commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan say
she’d talk to LIV Golf, Annika Sorenstam thought it was the right call. As did Juli Inkster.

These LPGA legends understand one crucial point: If Greg Norman and LIV Golf aim to create a rival tour that’s anything like what they’ve done in the men’s game, it would wreck the LPGA, the longest continuous-running professional women’s sports organization in the United States.

“I think if Norman does do this,” said Inkster, “it’s going to totally ruin the LPGA, because I think most of the girls would go, just because the money is a game-changer.”

Girl, they haven't made a single offer yet, so how do you know you're getting Phil money?

While there have been calls to conduct talks with LIV officials, it’s not clear exactly what the talking points might be – there are many ways this all could shake out. An independent rival tour that poached dozens of top players would cripple the LPGA. Instead, a series of Saudi-backed official LPGA events is one possible way the two could work together, much like the Aramco Team Series on the LET. It’s impossible to know what LIV wants, of course, without having a conversation.

What seems most unlikely, however, is that top players will band together to stiff-arm the Saudis on principle.

“I think you have a handful that feel the same way as me,” said Lewis. “I think you have a majority that would ask, ‘What’s the number?’

Did Greg say he was going to call?  Because when men tell women that they'll call..... well, it's pretty much like when they say it isn't about the money:

Marcoux Samaan told Golfweek last week that she has not yet had a conversation with LIV, and that it’s too early to speculate on potential outcomes or options.

“We’ve been breaking down barriers for a long time,” Marcoux Samaan said. “I think we always fall back on our values and our goals before making any decision.”

I do think that Greg wants to hear all about your values, as does MBS.

Saudi activist Omaima Al Najjar said there’s no denying the fact that conditions have improved for women in recent years, though she maintains that the right to drive and the right to travel are basic fundamental rights and not a sign of substantial progress.

“It’s important to remind the women who are participating in this tour,” said Al Najjar, “that the Saudi women activists who made those changes happen are still on trial, being prosecuted, banned from activism and banned from traveling.”

Al Najjar, now a surgical doctor living in Ireland, was a prominent blogger who took part in the right to drive campaign in Saudi and fled when she felt the risks were too great. It’s still too dangerous for her to return now.

Improved, but not sufficiently for her to practice medicine in the Kingdom.... But I do hope she'll be avoiding any Saudi embassies....yanno, just in case.

It's a funny one, no?  I do look forward to Lexi telling us it's absolutely not about the money.

I'm actually far more sympathetic than my snark might imply, as I quite well understand their financial struggles.  but they lose me with their sill holy grail:

Imagine if the Saudis – a country that’s widely reported to have a gender pay gap of 49 percent – became the first to pay elite male and female professional golfers equally. Or even came close.

I'm going to give you a minute to clean up your spit take, because how funny is that 49%.  Women can't leave their homes without a male relative, but we have a precise calculation of the gender gap.  My problem is that their demand for equal pay is based on victimhood, as they don't want to have to earn their viewership and therefore their purses.  Unfortunately, the rules of life are conservative, so get out there and give us a reason to tune in.

Some Things Are Just Wrong - The beleaguered Euro Tour held an event at the Fairmount St. Andrews, and the winner ended up celebrating at the famed Dunvegan, where the bride and I will no doubt tip back a pint or two in the coming weeks.  That's great, but examine this more closely:


That, my friends, is a Corona.... Ordering a Corona in the Dunvegan should be grounds for immediate deportation, at least in a fair and just world.

Strange Daze - Dylan Dethier's Monday Finish column is usually worth perusing, and he ledes this version with a longish bit on the political implications, which are just truly weird.  I'm just going to excerpt it at length:

FIRST OFF THE TEE

Golf has entered America’s Great Culture War.

If there is an enduring image from this week’s LIV Golf event at Trump Bedminster, it’s an assembled crowd of spectators chanting “Let’s Go Brandon” as former President Trump basked
in their adulation, flanked by his son Eric, Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene and Fox News political commentator Tucker Carlson.

For the uninitiated, the chant had nothing to do with Branden Grace (although, to his credit, the South African is the unofficial leader of LIV’s money list, earning nearly $7 million through three events). Instead “Let’s Go Brandon” has become code for “F— Joe Biden,” and, well, you can read more about that backstory here.

That was hardly the only example of the weekend’s buzziest tournament turning into something of a political rally. LIV Commissioner Greg Norman egged on chants of “Four more years!” on at least one tee box. Trump was in constant contact with LIV players; he hosted 20 or so for dinner on Tuesday night, chatted them up at the pro-am party Wednesday, shook hands on the driving range, was a constant presence throughout the weekend and even greeted winner Henrik Stenson post-round.

It’s not just that it was a pro-Trump crowd. It was also, in part, an anti-PGA Tour crowd. Trump’s son Donald, Jr. underscored that sentiment when he tweeted a video of Stenson holing his winning putt.

“The greatest F/U in the history of Golf just happened,” he wrote. Stenson “liked” the tweet.

What a strange place we find ourselves! Nobody would have ever accused the PGA Tour, nor golf more broadly, of occupying any space in the left wing of America’s political spectrum. But Trump’s south Florida course was dropped by the PGA Tour in 2016 in the midst of a contentious presidential campaign. And in 2020, Trump’s New Jersey course was dropped by the PGA of America as PGA Championship host after the storming of the U.S. Capitol. Trump, who had always relished golf’s role in his life, felt scorned by its institutions. He had that in common with Norman, who had a decades-old bone to pick with the PGA Tour. The two were natural allies. Perhaps their union isn’t such a surprising development after all.

Getting Trump on board has brought additional attention to LIV, too. He’s popular with many professional golfers and with many of LIV’s early crop of defectors, including Bryson DeChambeau and Dustin Johnson, his pro-am playing partners on Thursday. And Trump’s endorsement of the breakaway circuit signaled to his followers that they, too, could turn on the PGA Tour. The way LIV has positioned itself even has some similarities to Trump’s own campaign. Traditionalists can’t believe its success. It’s been written off several times, only to survive. There’s no doubt LIV is still gaining momentum. And there’s an anti-establishment bent to the whole thing.

There are strange contradictions at play, of course. Here was the “America First” president hosting a Saudi-backed upstart tour that is threatening the future of the U.S.-based PGA Tour, drawing ethical ire for using the presidential seal in the process. Early LIVers who crowed about how they weren’t politicians were taking part in one of the more explicitly political sporting events in recent history. And while everybody likes talking about LIV, and those who have attended seem pleased with their experience, it’s still unproven how many people are or will be interested in watching it; YouTube viewership is averaging under 100,000 and declined from Portland to Bedminster, per one study. But the checks definitely keep clearing (more on that later) and the names will keep coming, too (more on that much later).

What’s the point? Golf is now a sport divided. Trump has aligned himself with the LIV tour. The “establishment” is aligned with the PGA Tour. To be clear, you don’t have to subscribe to one side of the divide or the other. You can like the PGA Tour and LIV. You can like President Trump and the PGA Tour. You can dislike President Trump and dislike LIV, too! I will leave all options available to you. But the battle lines seem to be hardening. And this was hardly a one-off — LIV’s team finale will go down at Trump Doral this October, just weeks before the U.S. votes in midterm elections.

Like Dylan, i don't actually know what to make of this all.  On the amusing side, I'm old enough to remember when the only PGA Tour player that voted Democratic was my namesake, but obviously Trump has been nursing a grievance against the PGA Tour for some time now, and I'll remind all that the last LIV event of 2022 is at Doral in October, smack dab in the midst of our midterms.

Does this work politically for Trump in terms of a potential 2024 run?  It doesn't seem especially helpful, as millionaire elderly golfers are a pretty minute demographic, but a wild ride seems likely to only get wilder....

Trip Preview - It's getting real, as we're approaching twelve hors to take-off.  Are you up for some more Pittenweem photos?


Still a working fishing village, so we'll see if that's of interest.  Not sure what this is all about:


Lots of rocks to venture out on when the tide is out:


And there might be lobster:


The house on the far right is the famous House on the Rocks, available for rental but at quite a dear price.  Our house is just to the left, obscured by that row of buildings on the shore.  Should be a matter of seconds to access the coastal path, but also sufficiently near the water that we should be able to hear it with a window cracked.

I haven't previewed Crail for you, where we will be playing the bulk of our golf.  It's just a weird year, so we're very happy to have impulsively joined in 2019, but I'll necessarily be blogging Crail in great detail while there.

But I was unaware that Crail had received the Cookie Jar treatment, so this will be our home away from home:


The location is just to die for, enhanced by the dramatic elevation changes .  The original course, The Balcomie, has North Sea views, whereas the Gil Hanse-designed Craighead Links feature Firth of Forth frontage.  

Come along for the ride as it should be grand.  See you on the other side (and, if you wouldn't mind, a prayer to the gods of air travel would be a[appreciated).
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