For the purist, this was two world-class golfers going at it virtually one-on-one down the stretch in the final round of a great tournament, what was the 34th Hero Dubai Desert Classic.For others given to wider context, the same battle was a contest between the best of the DP World Tour and the upstart LIV Golf League.And for those of a more cynical bent, tongues only slightly in cheeks, this was the white knight taking on his black-clad counterpart. Hero versus anti-hero, if you will.Take your pick.But whatever the final choice might be, it should not detract from what was epic stuff, a truly titanic struggle between Rory McIlroy and Patrick Reed (who else?) for the spoils of the day, ownership of the giant trophy and the first-place check of $1.53 million. Not forgetting, of course, the satisfaction that would come from beating the other half of a seemingly fractured relationship that has been the on-going narrative/controversy/talking point of an extra long week in the United Arab Emirates.
Patrick hasn't been a world class golfer for a while, but he certainly created the kind of environment in which he typically flourishes, the kind that leaves us relived to not have to endure his presence.
This was the key take from the winner, which will leave some lingering doubts in many of us:
Reed began the day four shots behind McIlroy but got in the mix thanks to five birdies and aneagle over his first 13 holes. The American made a costly bogey on the par-4 16th but birdied the last to tie McIlroy, who was slow to start, at 18 under. McIlroy made par on his opening eight holes before adding birdies on Nos. 9, 10 and 13. The world No. 1’s lone blemish of the day came on No. 15, but McIlroy rebounded with two clutch birdies on his final two holes to secure the one-shot win at 19 under.“I think mentally today was probably one of the toughest rounds I’ve ever had to play because it would be really easy to let your emotions get in the way and I just had to really concentrate on focusing on myself,” said McIlroy, who praised his mental strength. “Forget who was up there on the leaderboard, and I did that really, really well.”
How about playing better because of who is on the leaderboard? You see the issue? It comes through in this post-round comment from Rory as well:
More McIlroy: “I'm going to enjoy this. This is probably sweeter than it should be or needs to be but I feel like I've still got some stuff to work on. It's a great start to the year and a really good foundation to work from.”
It has to be, more than anything, a huge relief, because after rolling over and playing dead for Cam Smith at the Old Course, he needed to step up for the old guard. Which he did, but just barely.
So, what do we make of Treegate? Geoff seems a bit more credulous that one might expect in a rare Monday Quad freebie:
For those lamenting the Chiefs-Bengals officiating, a few things to consider:
- The Lakers were hosed in far worse fashion against the Celtics. I know the refs would like to get to Logan alive, but come on it’s not even the same Garden!
- Patrick Reed confidently identified his ball in a palm tree using binoculars and what he spotted was confirmed by an on-site referee.
- Reed then took an unplayable lie during round three of the Dubai Desert Classic and ended up finishing second by a stroke to McIlroy.
- Reed’s ball finished in a different tree than the one he was told had gobbled up his Titleist feauting a modified arrow marking.
- He likely received bad intel from marshals. It happens more than you think. Not that we don’t love the volunteers!
That second bullet is a bit of a howler, but for our benefit Patrick conducted a Master Class on how to abuse the rules of golf. That rules official, alas, did his job, but all he confirmed was that the player said he positively identified his ball... The good news? Patrick wouldn't lie to us, would he?
Here's the crux of the matter per Geoff:
Here’s the issue: Reed was “100% sure” he spotted his ball through binoculars that looked somewhat like something Prince Philip employed to watch races at Royal Ascot. In the 1960s. But in identifying his ball, he was able to take an unplayable lie instead of a lost ball and subsequent need to re-tee.“I would have gone back to the tee if I wasn't 100%,” Reed said after his round. “I got lucky that we were able to look through the binoculars and you have to make sure it's your ball, and how I mark my golf balls is I always put an arrow on the end of my line, because the Pro VI, the arrow on the end stop before it, so you can see the arrow.”🤔“And you could definitely see and identify the line with the arrow on the end, and the rules official, luckily, was there to reconfirm and check it to make sure it was mine as well.”
Who ya gonna believe, me or your lyin' eyes?
In a way, you have to respect the tradecraft. He looks us in the eye and tells us that he was "100%" sure that he had identified his ball, while we're watching those replays that confirm that he was looking in the wrong tree.... Peak Patrick, no?
Maybe I'm more cynical than the average bear, but in listening quasi-live (by that I mean I caught a replay on Golf Channel and was listening to Patrick describe his markings without knowing about the video or the outcome of the ruling) to his description of his markings, and my BS Detector went into the red zone. Without even knowing they were looking at the wrong tree I knew what Patrick was doing and how it could turn out.
As did Brandel Chamblee, and Geoff has similar thought s to my won there (but also news):
Reviewing the incident on Golf Channel, Brandel Chamblee took viewers through a replay of the ball’s flight. I know what your thinking: isn’t Reed still trying to sue Chamblee and others for calling him a cheater? (The $820 million case was thrown out in late November but Reed’s attorney promised on December 17th, 2022 to file an amendment. He has not done so as this Quad goes to press.)Either way, it’s somewhat surprising that NBC/Golf Channel allowed Chamblee to review the tape given the litigious ways of Reed and his attorney, who subpoenaed Rory McIlroy on Christmas Eve. But these are different times, so Chamblee gently laid out the devastating case for Reed having identified a ball that was in a different tree than the one his tee shot found:
An amendment? As I recall, the original suit was filed in the Northern District of California, and was to be re-filed in Florida, a personally curated jurisdiction where Reed's attorney is not technically disbarred. But I wasn't aware that it hasn't been refiled, so that's somewhat interesting....
We've been a little off-cycle with our usual Tour Confidential panel, but they take on both teegate and treegate, so let's keep the flow and lede with the latter:
3. Speaking of Reed, he found himself at the center of a controversy a few days after his incident with McIlroy, when he took an unplayable on the 17th hole of the Dubai tournament when his ball was stuck in a tree. Reed identified his ball by specific markings in the tree, so he wasn’t forced to re-tee. The shot circulated on social media, and some thought his ball appeared to get stuck in a different tree than the one he dropped near. According to the Guardian, “a further layer of complexity was added by the fact umpteen golf balls sat in the branches of the tree being inspected.” Let’s clear this up: any controversy here, or nothing to see?Sens: There were rules officials on hand. Let’s trust their judgment over jury-by-social media. The problem for Reed is the boy-who-cried-wolf thing. Past conduct matters, and Reed has a muddy enough track record that almost any ruling he’s involved in is going to raise some suspicions. In this case, I think we can be comfortable that things were played fair and square.Colgan: Reed’s argument was backed up by a crew of two rules officials and “several marshals.” Unless new information comes to light, I think we should take that crew at their word.Melton: Social media loves to get out the pitchforks for Reed, but this seems to be a nonstory. Those on the ground had a better look than any of us, and if they think it’s kosher, then I’m inclined to believe them.Piastowski: Was it handled by the book? Yes. Could TV replay have helped point everyone involved in the right direction, no pun intended? Also yes. (And Golf Digest has reported that’s coming to the PGA Tour for rules situations.) I’ll leave it at that.
Wow, talk about the soft bigotry of low expectations! A player identifies as his own a ball that almost certainly wasn't his ball, and these guys think that the rules official makes it all peachy keen.
We certainly know who Patrick is, so why the pulled punches?
On teegate:
2. We had drama in Dubai, as Rory McIlroy ignored Patrick Reed’s attempt to say hello on the driving range, leading to Reed playfully tossing a tee in McIlroy’s direction. We learned afterward that Reed’s lawyer had subpoenaed McIlroy on Christmas Eve. “I’m living in reality; I don’t know where he’s living,” McIlroy said. “If I were in his shoes, I wouldn’t expect a hello or a handshake.” Reed told the Daily Mail that McIlroy acted like an “immature little child.” What’s your take on Teegate?Sens: Junior high school at the driving range – a clueless dude and a cold shoulder. McIlroy is not wrong, though. Reed obviously can’t read a room. And he’s calling Rory a child?Colgan: Other than the abject hilariousness of it all, I thought it was interesting that Reed pumped oxygen into a story that was almost dead with that “immature little child” comment. Maybe these LIVers have a little bit more of a chip on their shoulder than they’re letting on publicly!Melton: Reed projecting the “child” behavior onto McIlroy would be funny if it weren’t so sad. The lack of self awareness from Reed never ceases to amaze me.Piastowski: (Incredulous facial expression.)
To me, it's not so much a chip, more the reek of entitlement. The LIVsters seems to think they can grab those large checks while impairing the organizations and ecosystem that made them fabulously wealthy, and everyone will just continue to cheer them on. Good luck with that, guys!
I Saw It On TV - In that Quad post, Geoff has a shockingly favorable review of CBS's broadcast:
Despite the Farmers not carrying “designated” status where telecast upgrades have been teased,CBS offered a far more robust production compared to NBC/Golf Channel’s first three efforts. A tight leaderboard and fantastic fan energy on Saturday certainly helped. But producer Sellers Shy took full advantage of a robust production to rarely linger too long on one camera shot unless the announce team was setting up a shot. He ordered up quick cuts between ground views, close-ups and aerials to give the proceedings a sense of urgency so rarely present in a golf broadcast. While the commercial load was heavy until the final hour (when they took just two big breaks), the combination of sound, aerials and information-heavy graphics made the Farmers feel big.
Again breaking news, I didn't realize that the elevated events were to also receive a more robust TV production, which one might suppose would piss off all those other sponsors.
Geoff has more of those bullet points for us:
- Thanks to an increase in the number of Sony depth-of-field cameras helmed by aggressive operators, viewers enjoyed some fantastic close-ups and sound to give us a genuine inside-
the-ropes sensibility. CBS was also not afraid to use the “Venice” camera for showing shots. While we lost the tracer effect, the depth of field looks beautiful.
- The graphics style refreshed a couple of years ago continues to look more modern and seems filled with more useful information than we get with the NBC productions.
- A new Shotlink-fueled hole detail popped up from the translucent scoreboard and still needs tweaking or more time to be useful. But solid intent is there and with time, it could become a nice add-on.
- Trevor Immelman’s start as lead analyst got off to a good start despite a tricky setting with Jim Nantz doing play-by-play from Kansas City. Immelman delivers his points cleanly and without any indecipherable filler, though he did go full Faldo by letting us know how he saw Sam Ryder in the gym that morning.
I'll try to pay more attention to those depth-of-field cameras on Sunday from Pebble. You'll be amused to know that I'm flying home on Saturday, principally to ensure that I won't be tempted to watch the most painful day in televised golf. Though I do hope you'll enjoy that enhanced depth of field of Ray Romano....
As for Trevor, it's a shame I used that soft bigotry line above, as he gest a pass by virtue of not being his predecessor....
I found this cringe-worthy, though your mileage may vary:
You got his mother to get way ahead of herself on national TV, when we all knew the collar was going to tighten on her son. Are you proud of yourselves? Sheesh, leave the poor woman alone.5. The first CBS golf broadcast of 2023 debuted at the Farmers with some noticeable changes. Obviously Trevor Immelman replacing Nick Faldo was the biggest, but we also saw new camera angles, a walk-and-talk with a player, and even an in-round interview with a contender’s mom. What were your thoughts on some of the changes?Sens: Like the Tour itself, the CBS broadcast has often felt tired and complacent in recent years. These changes are welcome. A mic’d up Homa was especially good. The more these telecasts can showcase personalities while sharing actual insights, the better. If some of it feels gimmicky, so be it. These telecasts are ripe for a shakeup.Colgan: I was encouraged. The product was faster, smarter, and worked a little bit harder for the viewer. There are still too many commercials, but then again, the Tour’s gotta pay for those new tournament purses somehow!Melton: It was an encouraging step, but there’s still a lot of room for improvement. The golf broadcast product has been so stale for so long that any innovation is a welcome one — but let’s not get complacent. The TV product has a long ways to go before I’m ready to declare anything “fixed.”Piastowski: It was a change for the better. Take that for what you will. But I’m going to flip the question around, to the readers, and ask this: What would make a good broadcast? I’m seriously not being sarcastic or anything here; just really curious. I hear a lot of, ‘Oh, golf TV is so very bad,’ but I rarely hear solutions other than, ‘Less commercials for my network golf’ and ‘More story-telling during a live tournament.’ So I wanna hear it. Email me at nick.piastowski@golf.com or send a Twitter DM @nickpia.
I thought the Homa walk-and-talk was fine, but the reaction seems quite over the top. A nice change of pace, though the lingering question is whether other players will similarly participate. They picked a good hole on which to do it, then caught quite the break with that bad shot and the resulting lie, leading to that oh-so-timely Reed slam, which presaged treegate in quite the eerie fashion.
Joggergate - Lots of fun reactions to Phil's fashion commentary, the first of which we had on Sunday. Fortunately, Geoff has curated additional entries for us:
And as relates to his system of weights and measures:
Since he volunteered his opinion on joggers being worn this week on the PGA Tour, I wonder if Phil Mickelson will also speak out on dress codes at the tournament he’s actually playing next week in Saudi Arabia. pic.twitter.com/Oqxdm4h0ce
— Eamon Lynch (@eamonlynch) January 29, 2023
An unforced error at best....
Phil has bene out and about, giving an interview to Sports Illustrated, the gist of which can be found in the header:
Phil Mickelson at peace with never playing in Ryder Cup or on PGA Tour again, thinks he can still win ‘one or two more’ majors
It's curious for sure, as he was never going to play in another Ryder Cup. It's the captaincy at Bethpage in 2025 that he's given up, and he seems to go out of his way to avoid that subject.
But it is common ground, he's at peace with being in a black hole, and coincidently your humble blogger is similarly at peace with his absence.
Though I can't let this one pass without a rebuttal:
Ever the optimist, Mickelson anticipates in five to ten years we’ll look back at the contentious last year as a minor bump in the road.“It’s a short-term disruption for a long-term gain,” said Mickelson. “That’s all.”
Yeah, you might have noticed that the gains are all his.... and the bumps are all ours. Glad that worked out for him....
I shall release you here. I've got a gaggle of open browser tabs, so we will be blogging up a storm as the week unfolds.
No comments:
Post a Comment