Thursday Threads - Masters Letdown Edition

Not much in the tank, so we'll be in heavy copy-and-paste mode....

Masters Leftovers - Geoff has evolved his post-major analysis protocol from a simplistic Winners and Loser to a far more nuanced Winners, Cut-Makers and Point Missers, so shall we sample?  First, those Ws:

Jon Rahm. It’s not easy to be a tournament favorite and deliver in resounding fashion. Rahm appeared focused during practice rounds and continued his early season success despite a virus

setback at The Players. Hitting 85% of fairways, 72.2% of greens and gaining 14.2 strokes tee-to-green on the field means if he’d putted a tad better and landed on the better side of the weather draw he likely authors an even greater runaway win. The opening day four-putt was included statistically in his three-putt tally of five, an unheard of number for a Masters winner. Beyond the lack of his infamous temper, perhaps most impressive of all was his command of so many details and the shrewd ways he processes information to his advantage. A worthy and satisfying champion.

Also pretty good at the golf thing....

Later on in his post Geoff gives props to some unsung heroes, but also to the Spaniard:

Course Maintenance Crew. You received a thank you from Jon Rahm to start off his Green Jacket outdoor ceremony speech. In this day of player obliviousness to what goes into setting up and maintaining a course, his recognition spoke volumes about those crazy hours worked and the difficult task of making ANGC playable after almost 1.5 inches of rain Saturday.

We like this kind of thing, but see less and less of it.

I can't argue otherwise, though I am skeptical that it will have legs:

Phil Mickelson. Another legend down on his luck was transformed by the drive down Magnolia

Lane. In finishing second as a 52-year-old, it’s arguably the greatest Masters performance by an AARP-adjacent golfer, surpassing weeks by Jimmy Demaret and Sam Snead. Though there was also 58-year-old Jack Nicklaus’s 6th place in 1998. It delivered greater roars and awe among peers, including Tiger Woods who brought the week up during a recent sitdown TV special airing last Saturday. All last week Mickelson stuck to bland answers in a bid to reduce unnecessary drama. Karma points were earned even if everyone missed the old Phil press conferences. And he did reveal his weight loss came from not eating, the lone and concerning deep insight for the week. But great to see Amy made it and is looking well! Rest up Lefty, you and the High Flying Liars have trips to Oklahoma, Australia, Singapore and D.C. surrounding your return to the PGA Championship.

If everything is so great for him why does he look so morose?

A couple on that certain golf club:

Augusta National initiatives. The ANWA and DCP provide ideal lead-ins and make the sport better. Adding an NCAA Champion exemption was a no brainer and might even keep some players from turning pro too soon. This year’s unofficial first NCAA-exemptee and reigning DI men’s champ Gordon Sargent being one of them. He could use more seasoning based on his short game struggles. Don’t underestimate this side effect in the decision to offer the NCAA Champion invite by a chairman who was once a buddy amateur that, like many of us, is struggling to grasp the state of amateur golf or the rush for players to turn pro. We also learned that Chairman Fred Ridley and the club intend to refurbish the local muni and develop a job training component for the community and golf industry. His intent is to keep the green fee affordable and inspire more muni replenishing in a country full of them. Augusta National members please remember one thing: what you believe to be an affordable price to play a round is a tad different than what the rest of us think is a fair price.

Fred Ridley - Wednesday’s press conference was the loosest and most authentic to date, with several frank answers and even a charming cave-in to the first question about the club’s stance on distance. He did have trouble hearing a few questions but that was due to a combination of lousy scribbler enunciation and the press conference room’s design. It causes even young ears to misunderstand questions. Ridley’s shrewdest move of the week: opening the hotly anticipated Champions Dinner with a surprise wee nip to loosen everyone up. The brand he selected turned out not to be the synergistic Patrón, but instead, the club’s preferred Casamigos. Either way, bold and wise move Mr. Chairman.

Mostly good stuff, but his comments on distance make that end game clearer.

Wasn't Geoff one of the guys doing that over-reacting?

13th tee. Player over-reaction and general ignorance led to end times declarations even after players had tested out the 545-yard tee. We were told it would be a lay-up extravaganza, only to have the once-risky hole play just as it had for decades prior to the greatest athletes in sports history arriving on the scene. With normal weather Thursday more than half the field went for the green. (This, in a limited field tournament with older past champions who have no chance to get home.) Scoring-wise the hole averaged 4.736 to rank 15th. The 13th gave up 8 eagles, 108 birdies, 122 pars, 30 bogeys, 7 doubles and 2 others. In 2022 when 35 yards shorter, the 13th saw 6 eagles, 91 birdies, 139 pars, 37 bogeys, 6 doubles and 4 others. The cumulative scoring average coming into 2023 was 4.775. As for the big decision to go for it? Golf Channel’s Live From shared these numbers Sunday evening:

I don't think any of us need apologize for concern that the failure to control distance might ruin one of the most iconic holes in golf....

Viewers. Augusta National and CBS took advantage of the new 13th tee to install multiple cameras and other technology. The improved setting and healthier turf allowed for a new close-up shot of player footwork and reaction shots. Combined with all of the other recent innovations, limited commercials and streaming options, and the Masters remains the best viewing experience in all of sports.

In all of sports?  Wow, given ANGC's longstanding role in precluding innovation, that seems wildly over-stated.  We didn't even get shot-tracer on that 13th tee (the single most logical application of that technology) until about an hour-and-a-half ago...

 But these same folks show up in the Points-Misser category as well:

Programming Decision-Makers. There is always frustration with the late weekend start times at The Masters compared to other majors. The conundrum is usually offset by the generous live streaming options for those who can’t get enough golf before leaders arrive at the first tee. Yet with round three’s early restart in groupings of three and leaders going out at 1:06 p.m. EDT, CBS stuck with 90 minutes of pre-telecast programming. The network did no join the live golf until leaders were on the 7th hole and rains were about to halt play. In hindsight those pre-taped shows easily could have been shown once the round ended. Matters were made worse by online Featured Group coverage avoiding the leading group. Saturday ratings suffered as a result of the decision. The viewers spoke with their remotes.

Yeah, that was a great look, waiting until 3:00 to come on the air and having the horn sound at 3:15.

But was it CBS's call or Fred's?

I'll skip the inevitable ode to that Georgia Peach Ice Cream Sandwich, and get into the more nuanced Cut-Makers. beginning with his guy:

Cutmakers

Brooks Koepka. His vaunted major mojo resurfaced and reminded the world how, when healthy,

he’s a Hall of Fame-level talent on the grandest stages. Koepka lost the tournament over the final 36 when he hit ten fewer greens compared to the first two rounds in more idyllic conditions. Karma was also bound to kick in after Thursday’s 15th fairway content collab with Gary Woodland. It had plenty of people wondering why Koepka and caddie Ricky Elliott were so eager to share the club used. Maybe a life of LIV has softened the four-time major champ and one-time rugged individualist? Or was he returning a favor from earlier in the round? Either way, a lousy look. The tournament wrecking vibes were inevitable.

Most folks would had Brooks in the Winner category, but I do agree he belongs here, not least because that alleged major mojo now seems to feature Sunday fades.  

Geoff does take the Rules Committee to task for that, but he's asking some good questions about that exchange with Woodland.  

But on what planet does this belong in the Cut-Maker category?

Rory McIlroy. The concerted effort to play Augusta National in advance and in practice rounds appeared smart. As did flying in Bob Rotella for fireside chats. But after a missed cut and WD from the Heritage this week for unspecified reasons, maybe next year you should try a late Monday arrival with limited practice? Worth a try?

Gee, I don't know Geoff, call me an insufferable purists, but I'm thinking the guys in your Cut-Maker category should have, yanno, made the cut.  This was a devastating week for Rory, one in  which the planets aligned to offer him one of his best opportunities for the tourney he needs most, and he throws up another huge clunker?  I'm not seeing anything good in that week for Rory.

LIV. A dreamy public relations week since none of your players said anything obnoxious and the Crown Prince didn’t order any mass beheadings. Greg Norman was prevented from making matters worse, a gift from the Chairman who proudly acknowledged putting a kibosh on the Shark’s invite. Though there were some cringeworthy admissions for LIV’s cred: Koepka suggested his decision to jump to the league would have been tougher if he’d been healthy last year and Cameron Smith said LIV’s not as deep competitively, hardly an endorsement when there are only 48 players teeing it up. Nonetheless, there was some stellar play from three who always get up for majors. But they now must hit Adelaide, Singapore, Tulsa and, the week after the PGA Championship, Trump D.C. Also, having Sebastian Munoz admit that he approached a putt in Orlando differently than had it been an individual tournament may have ramifications for obtaining world ranking certification and future Masters visits.

I had not heard that bit from Munoz, but it is significant...

I could have lived (pun intended) with having them in the Winner category, but I just don't see where the great week moves the ball for them, especially since they'll mostly be invisible in Australia and Singapore.

 Are you ready for the fun part?

(Point) Missers

Player and Caddie Wisdom Into Anything Beyond Themselves. If there was any doubt how little weight should be given to the opinions of professional golfers and their luggage handlers, last week reinforced a propensity to take bad information and issue absurd proclamations. The 13th tee? Terrible and no longer reachable! The distance issue? A travesty worthy of attempts at disdainful sarcasm or nonsense about ROI’s while never declaring financial conflicts of interest. One company has rollback language in their deals that’s driving players to contradict their shallow points within a matter of seconds. We get it, you’re all about the money. But maybe consider asking Tiger, Jack or Fred Ridley a few questions about these weighty matters before recklessly opining? Oh right, what do they know?

The combination of LIV and the rollback pretty much ensure that we will come to hate each and every member of the professional golf world before this is over.  In fact, some of us already do...

This is a bit of a shotgun (yeah, pun once again intended) approach:

PGA Tour. The stars dictating so much of your future as the Commish hits the slopes of Steamboat ended up missing the cut or undergoing back surgery. Rory WD’d from this week’s Heritage while Jordan Spieth said he’s gassed from playing a heavy schedule. On the course, four normally sluggish PGA Tour players held up the leaders because they live in a coddled bubble where slow play penalties never happen. Chatter on the grounds repeatedly turned to the Tour’s questionable kneejerk response to LIV via an unsustainable model featuring lackluster no-cut formats. And another headscratcher that loosened up more than its share of dandruff last week: little sign of meaningful coordination with the DP World Tour. Couple that with Fred Ridley making it known where he stands on distance, a PGA Tour threatening to play by different rules will continue to reinforce that you’re a non-profit organization obsessed with individual profit over the greater good. Quite a strategy to fend off the Saudis.

A little to much to pick at, though mostly on target.

Are you in the mood for some architectural geekiness?

5th Hole. Re-imagined in 2019, the par-4 is failing to capture the essence of its inspiration: the Road hole. The players are supposed to be enticed to take on the fairway bunkers to gain an advantage with a shorter shot into the difficult green. Bobby Jones wrote in 1960: “The proper line here is as closely as possible past the bunker on the left side of the fairway.” Since the hole was revamped in 2019, only a few players ever get past the bunkers and no one takes them on intentionally because the left fairway over the bunker leaves them a weird stance blocked by trees. This one needs work.

17th Hole. Players finishing on the left side of the fairway and playing to the left side of the green must play over trees. It’s a problematic gift of the Hootie Johnson era when the 17th began to drift from the original design philosophy emphasizing width. The field’s green-in-regulation number for the week was 41% from a 62% fairway hit percentage. That’s just strange. Especially since the masterful green complex can protect itself from incoming shots no matter how short the iron. The same could be said for the 7th where similar tree work needs to happen.

And on one of our Unplayable Lies piñatas:

Sergio Garcia. While most of the LIV crowd brought their A games in the attitude department and on course, you took a simple warm-up question and turned it into a petulant exchange. But at least your good buddy Jon Rahm won. Jose Andres might help craft another Champions Dinner. That should cheer you up! Oh right, you’re Sergio!

Yeah, what a guy!  You get through a week and he hasn't spit in a cup or destroyed a bunker, and you could almost think he should be in Geoff's Winner category.

Tour Stuff - Just to clean up a few browser tabs, first this entry in the "Who could have seen this coming" genre:

The plan was well intended. Increase the purses, get the top golfers playing together more often and the PGA Tour could ward off the threat of LIV Golf. That was last August, when commissioner Jay Monahan revealed the schedule of 12 designated events worth $20 million. But the result, through last week’s Masters, was that the top players have played maybe too often.

Last week, Rory McIlroy missed the cut at Augusta National after shooting 72-77. Then he withdrew from this week’s RBC Heritage at Harbour Town, opting out of a designated event for the second time this year. He had played in six tournaments worldwide before the Masters, the same lead-in to Augusta as last year. But the difference is the intensity of those tournaments. McIlroy played in four designated events, against the world’s best golfers, and the Players Championship. By the time he drove down Magnolia Lane, he was fried.

Are we auditioning this for Rory's excuse for his Masters flameout?  The irony is schadenfreudaliscious, that the guys that foisted this monstrosity of a schedule on the tour was fried by it.... 

Him too?

Jordan Spieth, the 2015 Masters champion, fared much better than McIlroy at Augusta; he shot a final-round 66 to tie for fourth place. But the three-time major winner was left to wonder what could’ve been if he wasn’t gassed. Spieth played nine events before the Masters, which is only one more than last year. Again, those nine tournaments packed more punch; five were designated. He wasn’t even that thrilled about his share of fourth.

“I played way too much golf into this,” Spieth said Sunday at the Masters. “I came in mentally fatigued.”

So, for the two guys that think all golf needs is more FedEx Cup nonsense, we've got you covered:

The PGA Tour revealed on Wednesday its plan for a re-imagined fall season that includes seven events already familiar to players/fans and will determine who keeps their PGA Tour cards for the following year.

Beginning this year, only the top 70 players off the FedEx Cup points list at the end of the regular season in August qualify for the PGA Tour FedEx Cup Playoffs (and guarantee their full playing status for the following season). The top 50 players on the points list after the first playoff event advance to the second event and are exempt into 2024’s "designated" events, a series of eight still-to-be determined tournaments with limited fields, no cuts and $20 million prize money payouts.

Those who finish outside the top 70 in the FedEx Cup points list will retain their points from the regular season as they compete in the autumn and try to stay inside the top 125 at the end of the newly named “FedEx Cup Fall” or play their way into the top 125 if they weren't inside at the end of the regular season. The seven events will offer a full allotment of FedEx Cup points with more than $56 million in prize money available as players try to lock in their status for the 2024 season.

This is somewhat reminiscent of the old Fall Finish.  On the one hand, we might have payers fighting for status, and that can actually be quite compelling.  But no one will watch, so maintaining the sponsorships would seem to be the primary challenge.

Closing Time -  I'm heading to the exit, but this one bit amused me:

For most of the Masters weekend, Brooks Koepka looked like he was on his way to winning his first-ever green jacket.

Entering the final round, Koepka had a two-stroke lead on eventual champion Jon Rahm. Instead of cementing the victory, Koepka collapsed. He shot a final-round 75 and opened the door for a commanding victory for Rahm.

One bettor seemed to see the forest for the trees with Koepka’s Masters’ chances. That or this person was just really lucky.

As part of a $60,000 parlay, a bettor cashed out $15,000 on Koepka winning the Masters when he still held the lead at the end of the third round. Given the subsequent events, it was truly impeccable timing.

Phil?

I'll catch you down the road...