It's begun per Shack, the slow drip of recriminations....
The Xander Shuffle - Didn't think I could like these guys any less, but come along for this ride. Apparently it has nothing to do with hats:
Remaining true to recent American Ryder Cup losses, Monday kicked off with a reveal suggesting all was not sweet panna cotta and smooth cappuccinos in the under-decorated USA team room. (Maybe the match outcome would have been different if there’d been European style mood lighting and an empty locker tribute to Abe Mitchell.)In a Times story released Monday, reporter Tom Kershaw quotes Stefan Schauffele at length over a recent Ryder Cup business dispute featuring his son and Patrick Cantlay.The sire of Xander explained the likely cause for Saturday’s disputed report implying USA team dissension. The Tweet thread by Sky Sports’ Jamie Weir suggested demands for player pay had prompted a hatless protest by Cantlay, who denied this or that he’d engaged in play-for-pay discussions during the week.However, Papa Schauffele tells the Times that the trouble started in July when his son and good buddy Cantlay demanded a “player participation and benefit agreement” from USA’s overlords at the PGA of America. While both players were in good shape points-wise at the time, the team would not be finalized for another two months. Schauffele ended up as the last player to make the roster on points.
Granted an agreement by a PGA of America lawyer, the duo asked for changes, including an amendment regarding Netflix documentary access to the American team room. The demands were ignored for a considerable period and based on Stefan Schauffele’s recounting of the timeline, appear to have influenced his son and Cantlay’s decision to pass up last month’s team practice trip to Rome.“The PGA of America were not willing to even talk to us about [the three amendments]," Stefan Schauffele told The Times. “It was very late in the schedule right before the team came here [to Rome| to practice because they had moved the deadline and they said, 'If you don't sign it by then, you're off the team', but they never gave us the contact information of their legal counsel.”Ah, the old lost the phone number bit.
I'd have gone with the dog ate my homework, but weren't we just reliably informed that the first season of that Netflix series is responsible for the current bubble in golf participation?
But our two team leaders were apparently prepared to forego their slots on the team to keep Netflix out, and used their no-show on the scouting trip as negotiating leverage..... That's our leadership, folks, taking care of their own personal brands above anything else. Did you see Xander's play this week? Yeah, not like he could have used a few more reps on those greens....
I know I'm not the typical audience, but does Papa Schauffele think he's helping his son's reputation?
Daddy Stefan says it was not until the “head of the PGA of America got wind of this” over Labor Day weekend that they were put in touch with council. Father Schauffele curiously suggests his son’s status on the team was in doubt until the issues were resolved quickly.“Then I received a message that Xander was back on the team,” he told The Times. “That you can quote. That's the extent of this and I think it's shameful."
Over Netflix? Gee, I have a follow up question.... what might have been going on in that team room that required a media blackout? Perhaps talk of, just spitballin' here, money....
Just a reminder that Cantlay is denying the Saturday story of him splitting the team by making a play for pay, and then there's this equally dubious denial:
El Pater Schauffele denied that player pay came up last week as was suggested, telling the Times “it’s the wrong venue and time.”This, as he was discussing the topic at Marco Simone with a reporter from one of the more influential newspapers in the world.
But it's totally OK to hold the event hostage to your son's demands? Noted.
But I checked my notes, which indicate that when they say it's not about the money.....
Schauffele also suggested a “meaningful conversation” needs to take place regarding player pay and disclosure of revenues. And the chef’s kiss? This discussion needs to happen in the name of “product” improvement.“This is a long game, maybe in two or three Ryder Cups when the parties have decided to come to the table, instead of leaving the elephant standing around in the middle of the golf course,” he said. “It's all about improving this product, instead of being secretive and non-communicative.”
What a remarkable coincidence.... Just like the only way to save the PGA Tour was to pay his son more, it seems the only way to save the Ryder Cup is to pay his son more. Who coulda seen that one coming?
But the funniest bit remains that he apparently thinks he's helping his son.... or maybe it's just damage control.
But it seems the money grabs of 2022 were just the warm-up act:
The Ryder Cup funnels significant profits to the PGA Tour pension where Xander Schauffele is a future beneficiary (and without ever having to put his own earned dollars into the fund). Yet daddy Stefan’s beef seems to be with the PGA of America and the European Tour Group, operators of the event in Europe.“They are using players' intellectual properties to make money and the American players don't get paid,” Schauffele said. “More importantly, this would become a non-issue if all proceeds, net proceeds, from the Ryder Cup were to be donated to common charitable causes.”Notably, Schauffele pivoted from product improvement and abuse of individual player rights to speaking out in the name of finding “common” charitable causes.“The PGA (of America] uses this money, and the PGA Tour gets 20 per cent that goes into the retirement of every member. The 12 players supposedly need to eat it and their intellectual property gets abused for the benefit of 200 other people. That's not right.”There are more than 200 players benefiting from the pension.
Their intellectual property gest abused? Wow, Pops, I see that the class struggle is real, but those poor players don't control the means of production and, damn, I can't remember enough of my Marxist dialectical materialism to give poor Xander his due, although I'm guessing the Ryder Cup (really last year's Prez Cup) contributed to his $5 million PIP bonus, but they'll lose sight of that one, won't they?
But wait, Pops isn't the only member of that family that should have kept his pie hole shut. I didn't think I'm over-stating it when I say there's a sickness in their worldview. This is from an interview Xander gave to No Laying Up's Kevin Van Valkenburg:
If nothing else, Stefan Schauffele said, it’s time to have a conversation about Ryder Cup compensation that doesn’t result in questioning someone’s patriotism.“I think it’s absolutely non-controversial,” Schauffele said. “Imagine if the winners got $2 million and the losers get nothing. How good of a competition would we have now? I think it could be made so much better because of that. I don’t see a negative there. I think we need to talk about it without bringing up the issue of patriotism, which I think is a really, really cheap shot. Because they’re so wrong, especially these [PGA of America members] are not owning any mirrors in their houses because they’re the ones that are not patriotic. Hopefully the conversation, in seriousness, leads to talks about it that make sense. And then everyone can be happy.”
See, they actually think that the money is what we care about. Maybe, and I'm just spitballin' here, that's because it's all that they care about?
But the real evil is that nasty patriotism.... We don't want Netflix seeing any of that in the team room... But this is a damn fine catch, given that these two are allegedly joined at the hip:
It reminds of nothing so much as that awkward Tiger-Phil body language when paired by Hal Sutton.
I'll leave this kerfuffle with this from a brand-spanking new Ask Alan, just to show that the subject of player compensation isn't completely verboten:
Seeing the corporate structures surround San Marco, I thought, Surely the players should get a cut of the largesse? @OTownPaulyAnd don’t forget the oppressive commercial load of the telecasts! Everyone makes money hand over fist at the Ryder Cup—the TV networks, PGA of America, European Tour, ticket brokers, the vendors and hotels and tour guides. Incredibly, the only folks who aren’t getting a slice of the pie are the players. Of course they’re bothered by this, and have been going back at least as far as the O’Meara-Duval-Mickelson rebellion of 1999. It is a perfectly understandable position…but there are 153 weeks between Ryder Cups to address it. Once you don the red, white and blue it is tacky to be talking about or thinking about the money.
The golf ecosystem is its own hot mess, the involvement of the PGA Of America being a major complication. But the event is the only thing, other than Jay's transfer payments, keeping the Euro Tour afloat.
The argument has always been about the one week supporting the rest of the schedule, during which they make pretty damn good bank. And I think PIP has made that argument stronger, because they're racking up the social media activity that converts into cold, hard cash.... Of course, these two guys will be generating all sorts of negative coverage, but they will get paid for sure.
But what I want to leave you with is the memory that these two guys were willing to put their positions on the team at risk over Netflix or other such nonsense. They're telling us the team was unified, but that bit about the two guys having their own space in that team room kinda rings true, no?
Hatgate - I'm still trying to process this one, but Dylan Dethier informs us that the genesis is the same, that Saturday morning story about divisiveness in the U.S. team room:
It might seem silly to think that Cantlay could finish one match and start another without learning why he had suddenly become the event’s main character. But afternoon pairings were released ashe played the 16th hole and by the time Cantlay’s morning match finished, the afternoon session was about to begin. Cantlay is hardly a guy to reflexively check Twitter during a few minutes’ break, either; he doesn’t even have social media on his phone. So as he walked through the tunnel and onto the first tee alongside new partner Wyndham Clark, he faced a mob of fans armed with new ammo — and more than eager to put it to use.In understanding what happened at day’s end it’s important understand the vitriol that followed Cantlay throughout his afternoon round. That’s not a critique of the European fans; the madness and meaning of the Ryder Cup comes from the passion of its spectators, and for all the creative cruelty of the home crowd, they’re respectful of maintaining silence in the moments before a player hits. But everything else is fair game, which makes the area inside the ropes is a pressure cooker. And it was relentless for Cantlay.
But....
What happened next has been detailed extensively elsewhere but, as someone looking on from beside the green, struck me as something I’d never quite seen in this job. There were Cantlay’s American teammates, hats above their heads, reclaiming the European fans’ celebration. There was LaCava, Cantlay’s caddie, no doubt experiencing a moment of extra release after a full day’s mistreatment, holding the celebration one beat too long, then another beat too long and then — wait, what was that?The actual confrontation between LaCava and McIlroy happened quickly. The Northern Irishman didn’t take kindly to LaCava’s celebratory presence beside his line and eventually made that clear. LaCava didn’t take kindly to his removal; he barked at McIlroy and then at McIlroy’s caddie Harry Diamond and then at Shane Lowry, who was incensed on his buddy’s behalf from the rear of the green. When McIlroy’s putt wandered by and Fitzpatrick’s did, too, the match was over, 1 up. Europe’s lead still shoot at five points, 10.5-5.5, a comfy home-team margin. But the entire tenor of the tournament had changed.
That helps, but Dylan ignores that ugly confrontation with Bones later.
I don't really understand the extent of Rory's reaction, but pretty easy to see that this is just wrong on Joe's part:
Man, he is out there for a LONG time.pic.twitter.com/Tqlj2eNucG
— Kyle Porter (@KylePorterCBS) October 1, 2023
I get that it has been a long, frustrating day, but you waive your hat for a second and then you let the guys get back to business. But that bit with Bones later?
McIlroy took issue with LaCava’s antics, and his frustrations boiled over in the parking lot when he had to be restrained while talking to caddie Jim “Bones” Mackay. The Northern Irishman texted Mackay Sunday morning and apologized. Shane Lowry was the one who stepped in to pull McIlroy away and get him inside a courtesy car.“He was the first American I saw after I got out of the locker room,” said McIlroy, “so he was the one that took the brunt of it. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”When asked if he was much of a car-park scrapper, McIlroy said “No, but if I need to … ”
Where's Ernie when you need him?
Am I the only one that finds something more than a little unhinged in Rory's over-reaction? Especially after having a little time to calm down. Of course, not remotely close to as unhinged as this:
OK, right. Ummm, Rors, care to make it interesting?
Alan To The Rescue - There's way more to discuss but time is becoming quite short, so let's riff on Alan's return:
Can we please get rid of the boys club and pick players that actually want to be there?! We need guys with heart and passion. Europe has that and consistently beats our higher-ranked players.@MoggerMMYeah, for all the talk about points lists and strokes gained stats, there is far too little attention paid to the players’ personalities. You know who would be awesome Ryder Cuppers, stats be damned? Billy Horschel, Talor Gooch, Kevin Kisner, Keegan Bradley, Sahith Theegala…dawgs. Or a passionate character like Bryson DeChambeau. Instead of a two-year qualifying criteria, maybe the U.S. team should be picked strictly by Meyers-Briggs results. Having lost 10 of the last 14 Ryder Cups, the Americans need to ditch analytics and start making picks based on anatomical parts that don’t necessarily translate to a launch monitor: heart, guts, balls.
Talor Gooch? Yeah, pretty sure that isn't the answer.... Kevin Kisner hasn't been a Tour-level player since the Carter administration, and where do I go to lose my memories of Bryson in Paris?
I hate everything about the task force, not least that buddy system referenced. But, and this is key, I'm not sure that gest you to a better roster or result. For all the sturm und drang of the JT pick, wasn't it the non-controversial Spieth pick that laid the egg, and he's a guy that actually wanted to be there.
But isn't the bigger issue the task force itself? This is a typical Euro take on pairings:
"There's a really strong culture on the European team," England's Justin Rose said. "A good pairing on the European team doesn't mean playing with your best mate. You know, it means about representing something bigger than yourself, and I feel like that's, for me, what being a European Ryder Cup player is all about."
The other issue is that our task force is populated by mental midgets. Whether it's pairing Phil and Bryson in foursomes or allowing the guys to show up without having played in months, they're not very good that this.
Alan reinforces his rep as a LIV dead-ender:
Alan, Zach is getting blasted for his picks. Don’t you think the assistant captains were quite influential with the picks. using the buddy system and, let’s face it, they were very anti-LIV. Zach fell in line. @Marie11581Yes, Johnson’s kitchen cabinet was basically Davis Love, Freddy Couples and Tiger Woods. They all *hate* LIV, and are much bigger presences in the game Zach. And then you had the not-so-subtle pressure from above, from Jay Monahan and PGA of America czar Seth Waugh, who has openly disparaged LIV. Was Zach Johnson, a nice, god-fearing Iowa boy, really going to stand up to all of big personalities and put his neck on the chopping block to pick LIV guys? Of course not. The pressures were too great, and almost anybody else in Johnson’s position would have done the same thing.
Because Brooks played so well? Those guys went to a non-competitive tour and did nothing in the four majors, so hard to see where Zach had any real options.
Watching these matches in Europe the past 30 years, is it just me, or are these Americans the softest group of pros you’ve ever seen? Things get tough, it’s over. I imagine Ray Floyd telling these guys, a la the Saturday Night Live Sinatra, “Toughen up—I’ve got chunks of guys like you in my stool!” @fakePOULTERHave you ever been to an AJGA event? They make the Masters look underfunded. U.S college golf teams have palatial practice facilities and travel by private jet. Many/most Tour player grew up at private country clubs. They’ve been coddled since an early age, so how tough can these guys be expected to be?
They both miss the point entirely. Patrick and Xander are as tough as nails, but only on those issue they actually care about.... Typically those that follow a dollar sign.
Did Cantlay build his brand this week as a (somewhat) more likable Patrick Reed? @OTownPaulyI don’t know, Reed was wildly entertaining at the Ryder Cup, with his on-course antics and short-game mastery. Cantlay is still hard to watch, with his constipated expression and numbingly efficient game. But, yes, this Ryder Cup did wonders for his brand, because prior to Rome very few golf fans had ever given him much thought. And Cantlay still has another role to play, as the most activist member of the PGA Tour’s board of directors. If the framework agreement blows up, Cantlay’s fingerprints will be all over that, furthering his new position as one of golf’s most polarizing figures.
Likeable? Alan is quite right that our hatless wonder is one of the key guys in our next act, but that black Goldman Sachs hat seems just about right...
Where does ZJ fall on the scale of best-to-worst U.S. Ryder Cup skippers and why is it “worst ever”? @WillotheGlenThe 2014 Tom Watson would like a word. So would Corey Pavin, Hal Sutton and Jim Furyk. It says a lot about the U.S.’s ineptitude that there is so much stiff competition! Zach might have done okay on U.S. soil, during a less overheated moment than the first Ryder Cup of the LIV era. But on the road, the U.S. team needs a commanding, leader-of-men type. Tiger Woods was the obvious choice but deferred. Put him down for 2027…and ’25 if he wants it. If not, the choice has to be Phil Mickelson. Time to bring in the alphas.
I think Zach will take far too much of the blame for this.... All you need to know about Zach is who he owed for the gig...
I think Alan is out in the ozone on his captains, as Tiger was never taking a road game (and Phil had his grubby paws on Bethpage). But isn't it still an open issue as to whether Phil will ever return to polite society? he's told us he doesn't want back and most of us don't want him, so by all means he'll be at Bethpage...
Do you remember my final words before the start of the event?
Is this the death of the idea of a U.S. dynasty? They will never have a depth advantage greater than the last three Cups…they won one. @martinayersgolfIt’s not about depth as much as the guys at the top. The best Americans have rarely delivered over the last three decades. Tiger, Phil and Jim Furyk were the backbone of numerous U.S. teams; Wood’s Ryder Cup record is disappointing and Mickelson’s and Furyk’s downright abysmal. Meanwhile, Europe’s keynote players have a long history of dominating: Seve, Olley, Faldo, Sergio, Westy, etc. Coming out of the 2021 Ryder Cup, Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth were expected to be U.S. cornerstones but they all looked woebegone in Italy, while world number one Scottie Scheffler appeared to be overwhelmed. Meanwhile, Europe’s big three of Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Viktor Hovland delivered copious amounts of points, leadership and duende. They were so dominant all the other Euros just had to contribute here and there and that was enough. The U.S. did indeed have a big demographic advantage over the last three Cups, with tons of young talent coming up just as many of Europe’s key players were getting long in the tooth. But now Europe has reloaded (Aberg!). Unless the top Americans can go back to the future and play like their old selves, it’s hard to imagine the U.S. winning an overseas Ryder Cup anytime soon.
Nobody is dominating on the road these days, that's the actual trend line.
But those Thursday words were to the effect of, if not now, when? The answer sure feels like never, because it's hard to imagine weaker Euro teams than in 2018 and 2023.
I didn't actually see this:
Should Rickie be banned for life for giving a three foot birdie putt to concede the Cup? @VeryAvgDadI’d say longer! Charitably, you could call Fowler’s concession an act of sportsmanship. The more I think about it, it feels like capitulation, or maybe self-preservation. If Tommy Fleetwood missed that putt and Rickie made his, Fowler and the U.S. team was still alive. Barely. Everything would have had to break their way for the Americans to pull off a miracle but, the point is, up until the concession they still had a chance. I think in Fowler’s heart of hearts he didn’t want to hand the Europeans the Ryder Cup by missing his 6-footer, so better to take what could be considered the the high road. But, man, I feel like to win the Ryder Cup a dude should have to hole a putt.
Sounds plausible, but I'm still waiting to understand why Rickie was benched on Saturday. This is the closest I've seen:
“It was a situation where our matchups felt it was best to go this direction,” Johnson said. “Rickie is the consummate professional and team player. We had an embrace that I’ll never forget and a smile afterward. And you know what, it’s hard. I want to play all 12 guys every match — every session, excuse me. That goes without saying. So it was nothing more than that. He is a dear, dear, dear friend. And knowing him, it’s probably motivational.”
So, Zach said "it's not you, it's me".
How's this for a Happy Trails exit?
Can we now go back to talking about LIV/PIF, the framework agreement, money, etc.? @MichaelSFuchsHonestly, that stuff is more interesting than yet another Ryder Cup blowout! Watch this space, as the first excerpt from LIV and Let Die is dropping imminently…
Good Times!
Sorry, kids, but I am just flat out of time. Golf tomorrow, but perhaps we'll see each other on Thursday?
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