PGA Post Mortem

So, with an additional 24 hours to cogitate, what conclusions are being drawn about the exciting PGA?

The New Prince of Darkness

Like me, Shackelford continues to mull over that crazy, chaotic conclusion to the PGA on Sunday, mulling the implications of what could easily have been in this post.

Many have looked at this from the perspective of Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler. Neither

man looked particularly thrilled with the situation for any host of legitimate reasons—too dark, too chaotic, unfair by putting them on the spot, and worst of all, allowing McIlroy to avoid the 18th tee wait they endured. Rory did not have to stand on that imposing 18th tee for the same amount of time under the pressure of a major. And it's a tee shot where he had flirted with the lake multiple times, including that final tee shot. 

So instead of focusing on the peculiarity of the situation for Mickelson and Fowler, consider what would have happened if things had gone the other way: McIlroy gets the approval of PGA officials to hit and his tee shot lands in the water. He loses the PGA after playing a brilliant stretch on the back nine. Maybe afterwards he laments rushing the shot even though it was absurdly dark. He realizes in the chaos of the moment he was not set and cost himself a major. All of this was brought on by delays and a rushed finish precipitated in part by late starting times to get the best possible television rating.

As I noted yesterday, McIlroy's birdie on No. 17 took the whole lot of them off the hook.  My guess is that if Rory has only a one-shot lead on the 18th tee, meaning that he needs birdie on the ever-so-reachable Par-5  18th because surely either Rickie or Phil or both will birdie it, that he walks in and comes back the next morning to finish.  I'm less sure but might still guess that Phil and Rickie do the same, knowing they need eagle and will have freshly rolled greens.

Once Rory made his birdie on No. 17, it was for all intents and purposes over.  Phil thinks he can eagle anything, but he also knows that Rory can easily make birdie there.  And in all the concern about Phil and Rickie being thrown under the bus, did anybody think to ask whether they considered stopping play?

Shack does note that all golf events play with fire in this regard:

The PGA is not alone in this practice. The Masters, USGA and R&A all push the boundaries of sanity with late starts, but the R&A has now shown they are willing to budge to protect the integrity of their tournament. The others have emphasized the late television window and mostly have escaped a disaster.

No question in that regard, though the U.S. Open and PGA have a bit more latitude than the Masters folks, as daylight is short in April.  But no doubt that had Adam Scott missed his winning birdie putt last year, there wasn't enough light for another hole.  And earlier in the piece Shack gives props to the R&A for moving up tee times on Saturday at Hoylake, allowing that to be completed.

There's a bunch of thoughts I have here, not necessarily fully thought through.  First, why not at least move up the early starters to clear the logjam on the golf course?  I understand that an hour plus break in the action will be annoying, but when the course was finally ready for play to resume, there were ninety minutes of tee times before Rory.

Secondly, I certainly believe that the integrity of the competition, which we can all agree was sacrificed on the 18th hole Sunday, should take precedence over television contracts and ratings.  But I also acknowledge that everyone has a shared interest in maximizing the number of eyeballs.  If they moved tee times up an hour or ninety minutes, would it be such a travesty if the event was broadcast "plausibly live" to conclude at the stipulated 6:00 or 7:00 EDT?

I frequently Tivo tournaments and can attest to the occasional difficulty arriving home with no unwanted information (Colin King, I'm calling you out on that one).  But an hour is a different animal, as folks will be in their recliners before they know of the change in schedules.  Remember, in most cases the result won't be what we saw on Sunday, it will be a Monday finish as at Baltusrol in 2005.  And that hurts everyone, though perhaps Shack's counter-factual, i.e., Rory rinsing his tee shot, would have been still worse.

We'll move on, but I do hope that Ted Bishop, now known as the Prince of Darkness, takes this to heart and is more cautious in the future.

Nobody Told me There'd Be Math

So class, can anyone tell me how Rory won?  By that I mean where did he separate himself from the field and build his margin of victory?  It turns out that our old friend Mark Broadie has a piece at PGATour.com with the facts:

McIlroy led in strokes gained from the long game (shots starting outside of 100 yards from the hole), gaining nearly three strokes per round on the field. That represented 70 percent of his total gain of 4.1 strokes per round against the field. He was second in strokes gained-driving and fifth in stokes gained from approach shots, with each contributing a gain of 1.4 strokes per round. (About the only reason McIlroy wasn't first in strokes gained-driving was his tee shot on the fourth hole in the third round that led to a penalty stroke.)

Any guesses as to who was first in strokes gained-driving?  That would be mysterious Frenchman Victor Dubuisson.  Broadie continues:

Several of McIlroy's shots on the back nine were strokes gained standouts. From the fairway

Mark Broadie

on the par-5 10th hole, McIlroy gained 1.2 strokes with his 280-yard second shot, which left him a 7-footer for eagle. McIlroy said the "eagle to get back to one behind with eight holes to play was massive." On the par-4 13th hole, McIlroy gained 0.8 strokes with his shot from 91 yards that left him a 2-footer for birdie.

It's way cool that he can break it down on a shot-by-shot basis, and I'm guessing that when you gain 1.8 shots against the field with, you know, one shot, that's pretty meaningful.  It's a great piece with tables showing how the top finishers compared in each category, really first rate stuff.  Oh, and for you that can't get enough of train wrecks, Broadie answers a question in the comments with the data for one of the guys that didn't make the cut.  Quite frankly, the numbers are so bad that I'll assume it was one of the club pros:

Tiger Woods: Total -1.7 (73), Drive -0.6 (68), Approach -0.9 (72), Short 0.9 (12), Putt -1.1 (74). Ranks relative to 74 players who made the cut.

For those keeping a scorecard at home, that's 74th in putting as compared to the 74 players that hung around for the weekend.  Remind me why Tom Watson is staying in touch with this guy until September 2nd...

Ratings Rehash

Since we sold our soul to the television network, was anyone actually watching?  For once the answer is a resounding yes:

Ratings for Rory McIlroy's PGA Championship victory were up 36 percent from last year’s tournament, CBS Sports announced. 

According the network, the final round on Sunday averaged a 6.0 household share, compared to 4.4 in 2013 when Jason Dufner won the tournament. A ratings share is the percentage of televisions tuned into a program. 

Those are the biggest ratings since 2009, when Y.E. Yang won and Tiger Woods finished second. The last 30 minutes of the tournament produced an impressive 9.2 rating.

Yeah, Y.E. Yang has always been the gold standard in television ratings.  And lest we get too excited about that 9.2, let's remember we were deep into prime time by then.

From the Twitterverse
I am not now nor have I ever been on Twitter, but I'm told the kids love it.  The R & R boys had a good natured exchange in the hours after the PGA's conclusion:

From Rickie Fowler: Congrats to @McIlroyRory on some great golf as of late...let's keep having fun with it!

Response from Rory: @RickieFowlerPGA your day is coming... And very soon! Great fight out there, let's hope for many more battles in the future!

Back Atcha from Rickie:@McIlroyRory thanks man...many more battles for sure...at tourneys and home in Jup...enjoy the week off!

You do get the sense that the guys like and respect each other, which is a good thing for the game.

Rory vs. Jack
OK, it's way too soon for this sort of speculation, I'm sure we'll all agree.  he's a tremendous talent and this won't be his last but, as we learned from that Woods guy, there's way too many variables to assess to make the speculation meaningful.

Well, Benjamin Morris at the fivethirtyeight blog thinks otherwise.  For those unfamiliar with it, fivethirtyeight was the N.Y. Times blog started by über-statman Nate Silver that initially focused on politics but now has ventured further afield (538 is the number of electoral votes, in case you were wondering about the name).

Even a few days ago, I would have thought positing McIlroy as a greater threat to Nicklaus

than Woods was ridiculous, but this is where we stand: McIlroy has built up one of the best starts to a career in modern golf history, essentially matching the Golden Bear through age 25, and each day Woods moves farther away from his prime.

It may not look like much, but that four-major start by McIlroy is firmly in Woods and Nicklaus territory — they are the only players to have won four majors through age 25. Winning those four majors in a 15-tournament span is also a rare accomplishment. There have been a number of similarly meteoric rises in golf, but they usually come at a more mature age (see, for example: Nick Faldo, Arnold Palmer, Ben Hogan). And some early starts aren’t so meteoric (Seve Ballesteros).

Lots of good analysis there, and fun to see a different slant on things.  But mostly I'll enjoy watching the lad play. 

The Euro-Cup, Spilling Over

Unlike the American's, the Euros wait until August 31st to wrap up their points race.  I do believe this gives them a bit of an advantage as it accommodates players' form that much closer to the actual event.  

But let's see how things stand as of now, shall we?  As we've previously discussed, the Euros combine two points lists, the logic being to motivate those on the margin to play Euro Tour events.  This year it makes no difference, as those topping the Euro points list would as readily qualify on the World points list.  So their top nine automatic qualifiers are as follows:

1. Rory McIlroy
2. Henrik Stenson
3. Victor Dubuisson
4. Sergio Garcia
5. Justin Rose
6. Martin Kaymer
7. Thomas Bjorn
8. Jamie Donaldson
9. Graeme McDowell

Can you say stacked?  

The big change here is that McDowell has earned enough points since our last update to qualify automatically, freeing up another Captain's pick for Paul McGinley.  

If you're looking for weaknesses, the best you'll come up with are Bjorn and Donaldson, though those two can play.  Bjorn is a little suspect in closing out a stroke play event, but has enough Cup and match-play experience that we shouldn't expect too many gifts.  In fact, a Sunday singles pairing with Jim Furyk would be entirely appropriate, two grizzled vets who haven't won since the Carter Administration.  T'would be fun to see if either can get to the clubhouse with clean shoes.

Of course the fun is in the Captain's picks, and here are the next three on the World points list:

10.  Luke Donald

11.  Stephen Gallacher

12.  Ian Poulter

Poulter's play has been very disappointing, and he's done little in the last two years to warrant a selection.  But he's a mortal lock based upon what he did for their team in 2012, and Donald is probably only slightly less mortal in that sense.  

For his last pick Gallacher, a Scot, is very possible.  The other possibilities come next on the World list:

13.  The Most Interesting Man in Golf

14.  Francesco Molinari

15.  Joost Luiten

16.  Lee Westwood

Jiminez is the most interesting possibility, but is such a short hitter that I think it's dubious that he'll end up on the team.  Luiten played well early in the year, but seems to have cooled off a bit.  I'm guessing it's between Gallacher or Westwood, the former for his passport and the latter for his experience.

Our Cup Runneth...

The PGA Championship is the last event to county in the points race for both teams, so let's take a look at the current state of play.  As is traditional, we'll let the visitors bat first:

Team America - Here are the final point standings per a screen shot that Shackelford helpfully grabbed:

So, that leaves us with a bunch of question marks even amongst the nine that have qualified.  While Phil's recent form and Rickie's play in the majors constitutes good news, there's little else to cheer Captain Watson.  Limiting ourselves to the current nine-man squad, he has an injury issue with Kooch, though the back issue that forced him to WD from the PGA is reported to be minor.

But that leaves a team on which Bubba, Spieth Reed and Zach are in no way close to form, and that's a generous interpretation.  Jimmy Walker gets a pass because he got some Sunday airtime, though he was never really in the mix, and we know how cranky Bubba can get if the course doesn't suit his eye or it rains.  We're in Scotland, so the latter is obviously a longshot possibility...

I listened to Tom Watson's press conference this morning and he said exactly what you'd expect, meaning that he shed absolutely no light on his thinking.  His picks will be made September 2nd, which effectively means he'll get to see three more events, and I would assume that the bubble boys will be under a certain pressure to play in the Wyndham.  

But here's where Commissioner Ratched has made it complicated.  Everyone on that list has played the last two weeks, and after the Wyndham next week will play four straight weeks in the FedEx Playoffs finishing the weekend before the Ryder Cup.  That's a lot of golf, and if you knew, just as a for instance, that you were going to take Keegan Bradley, you really wouldn't want him playing seven straight weeks before he even gets to Gleneagles, would you?

So, where do we think the Captain stands on the Striped One.  His comments at the presser were delightfully opaque, nothing more than I'll be speaking to Tiger regularly.  He's shown no playing form, and has no intention of going out of his way to find a place to tee it up, so we're left with the operative conclusion that he will not be on the team.  What seems to be missing is Tiger stepping up and taking Tom off the hook, though those two are not the closest ever since Watson called Tiger out for his on-course behavior. 

You'll have read between the lines above and gathered that I expect Bradley to be on the team, which I consider almost a mortal lock at this point.  He was reasonably close to qualifying and played OK the last few weeks.  More importantly, he's got a competitive make-up that I assume Watson will find appealing for a road game in this notoriously intense event.  

For the other two picks, I would speculate that since no one seized the day the last few weeks, that Watson himself doesn't know at this point.  Snedeker was talked up over the weekend, and he'd be on my short list as well, but I'd also sit back and let his sticks talk to me.  I'm also intrigued by Ryan Moore, who was a match-play stud in his amateur days.

But is anyone feeling cocky at this point?  It's not a team that will strike fear into the Euro's hearts, but perhaps we can sneak up on them?

The home team will be next up.

Louisville Sluggers

Anybody besides me enjoy yesterday?  What a wild, wacky week of golf, with enough surreal details to keep everyone on their toes.  At the same time it answered perhaps the one lingering questions about the freckled lad from Holywood... We'd seen him lose the chase pack from his rear view mirror, but we hadn't seen him gut one out on a Sunday when he didn't appear to be firing on all cylinders...

Has anyone heard of the Homer in the Gloamin'?  This was the Four-ball in the Gloamin', as least for the last hole, as the PGA of America proves that you can lead Ted Bishop to water...oh heck, you know the rest.  I'm barely into my second 'graph and I've already hit double-digits on the metaphor count.

Here's Dave Kindred summing up things for us:

What they should have done, there in the gloaming, was load up the Wanamaker Trophy and

drive that beauty down the 18th fairway to Rory McIlroy. 

Why make the kid wait? 

We knew about his gifts. Now we know about his guts. 

The first three majors he won, he won walking in the sun. This one was a walk in the scary dark.

No doubt that 3-wood into No. 10 will be shown a few million times in our lifetimes...let's see what Kindred does with it:

Waiting down there, he'd done a hero's work already. He had answered every question on the

How To Become An Immortal test. Under siege by a legend and a phenomenon (Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler), with the world's best reaching for his throat (contenders from South Africa, Austria, Sweden, Australia and even France), with nine players once separated by only two shots, when a kid might have had trouble taking a breath let alone drawing back a 3-wood . . . 

Wait. That 3-wood. It is not nearly enough to speak of that shot as a 3-wood. On the 590-yard par-5 10th hole, it was the goodgawdalmightiest shot of McIlroy's young, happy, charmed life. It was a low, screaming, hard-running shot that traveled 281 yards and quit rolling only when it was 7 feet 4 inches from the flagstick. Make that putt, it's an eagle. Make that putt, he announces to Mickelson, Fowler and all with ears to hear that, suddenly, the game is on. 

He made the putt. Of course. Heroes do that sort of thing when it must be done.

Yeah, up until that point it felt like Rory was running low on petrol, unable to summon the magic of the last few weeks.  But when the putt went down it dispelled any linger doubts, at least for this viewer, of the ultimate outcome.  And let's remember that Rory was the only player to reach that green in two, and of course he did a little better than just reaching it...

We'll all likely agree that the sequence with the final two groups on No. 18 got quite surreal, and the PGA of America seems to have an issue in learning from experience.  We went through this at Baltusrol in 2005, with afternoon thunder storms in the forecast they refused to move up the tee times and were rewarded with the dreaded Monday finish.  Facing the same issue yesterday, they made the same decision and kinda, sorta got away with it, though I would argue that it was only Rory's birdie putt on No. 17 that took them off the hook.  If Rory only had a one-stroke lead and needed to birdie No. 18, I'm guessing that the peg doesn't meet the ground until this morning.

Bob Harig had this from the maelstrom:

"It changes things a little bit," Fowler said. "Obviously, there is no waiting. Phil and I waited on the tee for a good amount of time and had to hit tee shots. In a way, [McIlroy and Wiesberger]

never got out of rhythm as far as hitting the golf shots. I don't think it really changes it much. We were allowing them to hit the tee shots and we weren't expecting the approach shots to come."

Mickelson stopped short of criticizing the situation in a television interview afterward but was clearly agitated on the green. "It's not a big deal either way," he said. 

"The guys let us play up with our drives, and they didn't need to do that. They could have just left us on the tee box there and just play normally," McIlroy said. "But they showed a lot of class and a lot of sportsmanship doing that. I thanked Rickie and Phil in the scorer's area, and reiterated what I said in my speech out there on the 18th green. 

"It was a classy move by them, and if they had not done that, we might not have been able to get it all done because it was really getting dark out there."

So, This is Major™, except when it's, you know, Mickey Mouse.

And what of that driver off No. 18 for our hero?  Didn't that, you know, bring the water into play?  I found that quite Van de Veldian, but like the original the imitator got away with it....just barely.  Obviously their paths diverged on the second shots, but if you're gonna play for a par in the gloamin', isn't driver kinda, what's the word I'm grasping for, stupid?

Obviously you can't have a great weekend of golf without a supporting cast, and Phil, Rickie and Henrik all threw their best at Rory.  It presents a dilemma for those of us with strong golf course design opinions, because Valhalla is at best innocuous from a design perspective, but seems to be a canvas on which the great players can summon their best.  Throw out Mark Brooks-Kenny Perry if you will, but the combination of 2000, 2008 and 2014 is quite impressive, not just for the show ponies but for the actual shotmaking involved.

So, what else do we need to discuss?  First, there was a little moment that I particularly enjoyed, as the CBS producers allowed the camera to linger on Henrik Stenson on the fifteenth green.  Playing partner Mikko Ilonen had by then last contact with the leaders, but in the background his ball clearing the bunker lip was visible, and it ended up stiff.  Wouldn't want to show a great bunker shot, would we now?

And lots of other bizarre moments to review...  First up, we all saw Jason Day's all wotld par on the second hole on Saturday.  For anyone who missed it, here's a couple of GIF's of Captain Spaulding the African Explorer:

It was an amazing four, no doubt, but perhaps most amazing is that David Feherty took grief for helping Day find his golf  ball.  Sheesh, what's wrong with folks.... Here's how Feherty responded:

“I got some crap on social media about it, that I shouldn’t have been helping him,” Feherty said, shaking his head. “And then I caught some flak from the Northern Ireland people asking me why I should help Jason against Rory. The reason is because I would help anybody. That’s how we do this in this game. That’s the spirit of it.”

Not only is that the spirit of our game, but Feherty was the only other person available to help Jason search, and that includes his caddie.

How do you know that your trophy is too damn big (I know, they're compensating for something)?  Well, this might be the first clue:

Kick save and a beauty...

And this was kind of bizarre, in a twenty-first century kind of way:

As CBS went to a commercial during break late in the delay it showed a clip of McIlroy inside the clubhouse. At the very end McIlroy picked up his iPhone and tapped in his passcode. Within mere seconds Twitter was abuzz with the fact you could tell his passcode was 4589, which happens to be his birthday – May 4, 1989. (Note: Europeans record dates differently than Americans and list it by day, month, year.)

Rory tweeted before his round that the passcode had been changed and that he had some golf to play.

Of course Tiger and Bubba treated us to their own specific brand of nonsense earlier in the week.  Fresh off his disdain for the long drive contest, Bubba made it clear on an open mic that he's too delicate a flower to have to play in the rain.  I'm not going to give it too much credence, except to note that this is the third straight major where Bubba has been notably off his feed.  So, what could go wrong at Gleneagles, where it hardly ever rains?

As for Tiger, I'm willing to chalk the whole July-August death march up to the back surgery, I just don't understand why he was there?  Did he really think he could keep up with those guys, including the twenty club pros, given the state of his game?

Probably the most interesting development is from Shackelford's Monday Morning Drive appearance, in which he hinted that Mark Steinberg somehow reached out to Butch Harmon after Butch's comments that Tiger should not have been playing on Friday.  This will have the Twitterverse on Defcon 5, but riddle me this, Batman?  As we discussed a few months ago, Harmon sought the approval of his stable before taking on Brandt Snedeker.  If that's the protocol, wouldn't he need Phil's approval before re-engaging with Tiger, and how do we envision that conversation going?

I'll deal with the Ryder Cup implications in a future post.

Valhalla Vibes

I saw very little of the golf yesterday, and will see even less today.  That would limit a lesser blogger's ability to comment on the proceedings, but we here at Unplayable Lies treat reality as merely a starting point.  And we'll catch up on few items that, while dated, might still be worth a moment of your time...

We should probably lead with the Striped One, as we can't take for granted that he'll be with us through the weekend.  First, a couple of items we missed....Shackelford, in Loopster mode, gave us eight surreal moments from Wednesday.  My fave:

-- Tiger strolled to the range with a blue PGA-logoed bag in his hand. Presumably his free Valhalla golf shirt, free sleeve of PGA-logoed balls and other much-needed swag for finally checking in to the PGA Championship.

If he's like me, he'll have to exchange the shirt at the pro shop in the 12 minutes before they close.  But I'm not bitter...

Matthew Rudy consults with a number of teaching professionals as to how Tiger should fix his swing in light of his back issues:

The blue figures represent Tiger Woods' swing in 2000, the yellow show his current swing. Woods' hands are noticeably more forward at impact, leaning the shaft toward the target. Swing image by Michael Jacobs

"The most obvious thing to see is that he has a tremendous forward lean with the shaft down through impact now," says Jacobs, who was the 2012 Metropolitan New York PGA Teacher of the Year. "The more that angle between the lead arm and club is increased, the more you're going to hit down on the arc, and the more you're going to skew the path to the right. With the driver, it's even more pronounced. That's why you're seeing him have to aim so far to the left and make a violent contortion with his body to try to shove the ball out to the right."

Interesting stuff for sure, though of course he's not, you know, listening...

 And don't miss the fun Shack has with his presser in this post.  Spoiler alert, it's now all about the sequencing... who knew?  I was still laboring under the impression that it was about getting his resps so he could get his golf feels back...I'm so behind the curve.

And on that subject, boy did I step in it a couple of days ago... I referred to the PGA's catch phares "Glory's Last Shot" and Ryan Lavner takes me to the woodshed:

Glory’s Last Shot?

Not anymore.

The tag line for the PGA Championship is now much simpler: The Season’s Final Major.

PGA of America president Ted Bishop explained the change Wednesday at Oak Hill, saying it was a request from the PGA Tour. 

The PGA first asked the Tour to consider a schedule change in 2014 – the FedEx Cup playoffs to be played in four consecutive weeks, allowing a week off before the Ryder Cup in Scotland.

Gee, why am I not surprised to have Commissioner Ratched's fingerprints on this?  Turns out it's not glory's last shot, on account of all the glory to be had in the FedEx Cup playoffs, which I guess are gloryous.  Or something along those lines....

All I can say is thank God for Tivo sparing me this nonsense...

As for the golf, they were certainly making birdies out there... except for the American Ryder Cup hopefuls that withdrew due to injuries, including The Duf (neck) and Kooch (back).  

So what do I have to add to that which you already know?  Precious little, but if you've stuck with this post this far you might as well see it through.  Alex Miceli had this to say about Tiger's- 74 (+3):

Tom Watson effectively is off the hook. 

So the bartender asks, why the long face?

By any conceivable measure, Tiger Woods no longer should be under consideration by the U.S. captain for the 2014 Ryder Cup team. 

Perhaps that's not really a revelation, especially after his first-round 3-over 74 in the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club. But many observers still think that Woods, by some miracle, will morph back into his early-2000s form and save a reeling U.S. team.

 OK, he's off the hook for now, but how do we think folks will feel when that pick goes to Chris Kirk?  This afternoon's TNT coverage will likely be focused on Tiger's efforts to make the cut, as he's currently T109.  I wouldn't be shocked if he made up enough ground, as he seeems to have one decent round a week in him.

And do check out this spirited Brandel Chamblee-Frank Nobilo cage match on Golf Channel about the state of Tiger's swing.  It gets pretty technical, but is essentially a chicken/egg debate.  Frank basically thinks Tiger can't swing properly because he's injured, whereas Brandel thinks it's the swing causing the back problems.  I, on the other hand, now understand that it's just a sequencing issue... glad we cleared that up.

As for The Freckled One, I shut down as Rory went OB on No. 10 and was back to -1... imagine my surprise to see that he played the last eight holes in -4.  Jeff Babineau with the details:

Thursday afternoon at Valhalla, McIlroy took on the sharp corner of his opening round at the 96th PGA Championship with the skill of a Formula One racer. He was angered by a double bogey at the par-5 10th (where he’d driven it perfectly) and annoyed by a short par miss at the par-4 11th that flittered away another stroke. All that work he’d done on the front nine (3-under 32), and suddenly he was at level par, idling at a crossroads. 

So what did he do? The world’s hottest golfer stepped on the gas, that’s what. He ran off four consecutive birdies, and five in his final seven holes, a two-putt birdie at the last leaving him with a tidy 5-under 66 off the starting line. It’s early yet, sure, but already you get that feeling McIlroy is going to be sticking around deep in this one.

Nothing is ever for sure in this game, but you can bet every player in the field (except perhaps one) knows exactly where he is on the leaderboard.  And really, if it's going to take -20 to win, who do you like better to make a gazillion birdies?

And one last item about the delightfully wacky day experienced by Golf Channel analyst Steve Flesch.  Jason Sobel with the story:

Standing on the Valhalla driving range Thursday afternoon, Steve Flesch alternately laughed at the price sticker still attached to the driver in his hands (SALE: $300), the white towel he used

to wipe his face turning an ugly shade of orange from makeup residue, and the entire situation that had gotten him into this predicament in the first place. 

Flesch had started the week in 93rd place on the official alternate list for the 96thPGA Championship – not that he had any clue. Fresh off a T-21 finish at last week’s Barracuda Championship – his best result in just four starts this season – playing golf was far from his mind. Instead, his job here was to serve as an analyst for Golf Channel’s “Live From” coverage.

 So, how'd it get wacky?

Robert Garrigus was the next alternate on the list, but he wasn’t on site at the course. Then Justin Hicks, but he wasn’t, either. Haigh checked, but nobody else was at Valhalla who could take a spot in the field should there be another withdrawal.

Until he got all the way down to No. 93. 

It wasn’t an easy decision for Flesch. Just minutes removed from talking about the tournament on television, with remnants of makeup still caked to his face and – most importantly – his clubs at home an hour away, he wasn't sure if he wanted to put himself in that position. 

“The last thing I wanted to do was go out there with a rental set, drive it in the rough all day and shoot 85,” explained the Kentucky native. “But then I’m thinking, you never know. You go out there and scramble around, shoot even par, catch lightning in a bottle and then you can use your own stuff the rest of the week.”

 Good stuff, though ultimately there was no further withdrawal and presumably more makeup was required.

'Dis and 'Dat

A little of everything for you folks today...  ordinary course of business stuff around here.

PGA History in Slideshows - A couple of Golf.com slideshows on PGA's that might be worth your time.  This first one is of oddball incidents at PGA's, and is the better of the two since the incidents will be mostly

Johnny Farrell

unknown to the reader, but include stymies, non-conforming equipment and the demise of the match play format.

The second is allegedly the eleven greatest PGA Championships.  They had to exceed ten just to included David Toms' win in 2001 at Atlanta Athletic Club, for reasons that escape me.  No issue with Tiger-Bob May winning the gold, but John Daly at No. 2?  Geez, and we wonder why it's the fourth of four...

And deviating from the header, this E. Michael Johnson piece on PGA pratfalls, including Walter Hagen losing the Wannamaker Trophy, is more my cup of tea.

What Would I Shoot if Kent Drove For Me - I saw this piece at The Loop shortly before teeing it up last evening, then had a chance to reenact it:

Whatever your individual philosophies about golf, let's agree the game would be much easier if you could drive the ball 330 yards down the center of the fairway. That's true at the game's highest level, as was made apparent by Rory McIlroy's win in the Bridgestone Invitational with a 334-yard driving average. And it would be true at your course, wherever that is.

Golf Digest set out to answer these questions more than two decades ago, when writer Peter Andrews and tour veteran Mark O'Meara played together at Isleworth Country Club in Windermere, Fla., for a story in the May 1991 issue. Andrews was an 18-handicapper who was convinced he could be shooting in the 70s "with only a few measly extra yards off the tee, assuming 50 yards qualifies as measly." O'Meara was by then a PGA Tour star -- not yet a winner of two major titles, but already with six tour wins to his name. The concept was quite simple: playing from 6,279 yards, Andrews played O'Meara's tee ball in on every hole, and O'Meara played Andrews'.

You'll have to click through to see how that experiment turned out.  But on a second play of our tenth hole, I had a chance to try it for myself.  No. 10 at The Ridge is one of the few holes requiring an actual decision, to wit, how aggressive to play the second shot with water all the way up the left.  From the left rough I tried the aggressive route and hooked two balls into the water.  I then dropped a ball at Kent's drive, some 155 yards out on the 500-yard Par 5, and made a rather easy par.  Of course I should make a four from there, but all the same...

Has me wondering what I'd shoot off of Kent's tee shots?  Kent, you up for it?  Two issues you'd have to be comfortable with.  First, you'd have to play my tee ball and, second, you'd actually have to set foot on our front nine.

While this post was gestating, Kent signed on for the mad science project.  So, Dear Readers, where would you put the over/under for both Kent and your humble blogger?  Have at it in the comments.

Before There Was Kate Upton - Golf's first sex symbol was probably Jan Stephenson, who burst on the scene as a long-haired and even longer-legged Australian in 1973.  ESPN has made an 11 1/2 minute documentary about her truly bizarre career, which you can watch here.  Give it a look, and if you need any further incentive, here's the Sport Magazine cover that's discussed:

She actually asked them not to use this photo, but the powers that be felt otherwise, I'm guessing for two very specific reasons.

Rules Disputes, Corporal Edition - Who says golfers aren't athletes?  But if you're going to resolve rules disputes in this manner, please do waive through the group behind you:

State police say they're investigating a fight between two golfers who wound up in the emergency room after an argument over the rules on a southwestern Pennsylvania golf course.
Troopers from the Uniontown barracks aren't identifying the suspects, beyond saying that one is 42 years old and the other 63. 

According to a news release, the suspects were playing together at the Springdale Golf Course in South Union Township Sunday afternoon when "they became embroiled in a heated debate over the rules of golf, specifically regarding water, on the 5th hole." 

The golfers managed to finish that hole and another before the argument "reignited" on the 7th hole "similarly involving rules, or lack of understanding of said rules."

Such is the sad state of journalism today, that the AP can't be bothered to tell us whether the stakes were red or yellow?  But I'm inclined to believe the younger man, 'cause any 63 year-old that gives up 21 years in a fight isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer.

UPDATE:  Turns out the issue was casual water, as per this:

According to police, the two men, aged 63 and 42, got into an argument on the fifth hole on Sunday when they came across "casual water" on the green. It seems the younger man was unfamiliar with the rule, but asked his playing partners for help with a decision. 

On No. 6, the younger man apparently tried to use the rule himself for his ball in the fairway -- and the older man didn't like it.

"You didn't know the rule on 5, and suddenly you're an expert . . . when it benefits you," state trooper George Mrosko said, describing the conversation. "That was the gist of why it ignited and why it got heated up." 

Both men sustained minor injuries in the brawl that included the older man hitting the younger man with a golf club. Again, this is a true story.

Weaponizing a golf club, known to many as an "Elin", would certainly offset the age difference somewhat, unless the younger man also had clubs.  Alex Myers thoughtfully closes with this:

In case you want to brush up on Rule 25-1 -- which deals with "abnormal ground conditions" -- before your next round, click here. But don't worry, most people won't hit you with a golf club if you're not an expert on the subject.

True that, though if they don't like the ruling they may hit you with the shot.

 Another Copy of The Old Course - Tom Doak with a delightfully wacky idea, per Ron Whitten:

The buzz in course architecture this week has been about Tom Doak’s proposed reversible 18-

hole course for Forest Dunes Golf Club in Roscommon, Michigan. It’s being hailed as revolutionary and unique. One writer predicts it could be a"trendsetter in sustainable, affordable golf that helps grow the game." 

Doak is a talented and imaginative golf course designer, but he’s the first to admit the idea is as old as The Old Course at St. Andrews, which to this day remains fully playable both in a counterclockwise routing and in a less conventional clockwise one.

In addition to being an homage to The Old Course, this has been done more often than you'd guess, but you'll have to click through for the skinny on that, which includes yet another Walter Travis mention.  But here's where it gets really interesting:

The most intriguing aspect of Doak’s proposal is that he plans to determine the strategy of one of the routings while having his associate Brian Schneider plot the strategy for the reverse play. Which means golfers could encounter a slightly different thought-process when playing the course a second time.

It'll be fun to see how this comes off, especially if the members like Schneider's routing better than the boss's.

So That's What He Meant by Professional Help - Worried about DJ's rehab regimen?  I'm happy to report that he's doing great, though you'll need to remind me which of the twelve steps covers this:

According to sources, the 30-year-old Johnson has been spending the past few weeks with fiancee Paulina Gretzky at the high-end Gozzer Ranch Golf and Lake Club near Couer d'Alene, Idaho, where Paulina's father, hockey legend Wayne, had his first Gretzky Hockey School. The well-circulated photo of Johnson caddying for Paulina was during the club's Ladies Member-Guest. Johnson has been playing every day as well, shooting a 61 on the Tom Fazio-design that sources say was close to being a 59.

OK, to the best of my knowledge that's the first mention of either Gretzky in all the DJ coverage.  Glad to know that Paulina is standing by her man, though do we have any data on the success of this revolutionary treatment program?

I must admit that I was a tad skeptical that DJ would take his rehab seriously.  Glad to see that I can put those fears to bed.

Two Haigs in One - Mike Walker brings us his vote for the greatest golf photo of all time:

Here's another version that points out that which you can't see because I can't enlarge it sufficiently:

And here's the explanation from Mike:

Were there two Walter Hagens? That’s the question you might ask after looking at this photo from the 1924 PGA Championship at French Lick Springs Resort in French Lick, Ind. Fun-loving winner Walter Hagen took advantage of the rotating “cirkut” camera’s glacially show exposure time to run from one end of the shot to the other. Also in on the shenanigans, Jim Barnes, whom the Haig defeated in the match-play final.

 The funny part is that the Hagen on the left seems far taller than the one on the right.

These Guys Are Churlish

I loved the concept of the PGA of America's revival of the Long Drive Competition, though unfortunately the concept was better than the execution.  Let's let Shackelford explain why such a great, retro idea couldn't survive contact with today's oh-so-delicate professionals:

The PGA of America really, really tried to help make it as painless as possible. When it brought

back the Long Drive contest as a fun way to liven up an otherwise boring major championship Tuesday, the organization structured the event to be uber-convenient. 

PGA officials set up shop at the 10th hole so players would likely be warmed up. They picked a driver hole. They picked Tuesday, removed enough from the actual start of the championship so as not to interfere with any final practice preparations. They gave everyone just one shot, in order to not hold up play. They threw in a charitable component in lieu of prize money. And they didn't sell the rights to television, making this strictly a fun thing for fans and players.

Now, I admittedly had a completely different image in mind.  I pictured Bubba, DJ, Woodland the rest of the big knockers pounding drives on something that looked like a football field with yardage lines and the like.  Kind of like what they did at a Skins Game years ago with Tiger and JD.

Now that would be fun, wouldn't it, but we can also see the issues it entails.  Guys don't want to screw up their swings by going for the fences, kind of like how you never want a stud from your team in the Home Run Derby.

And then there's our Bubba, who somehow got a burr on his butt over the concept of hitting driver on a driver hole in his practice round.  Here's how he justified it in his presser:

Q. You chose to hit iron off the 10th tee. Your thoughts on why you did that and your thoughts about the long drive contest? 

BUBBA WATSON: My thoughts, I want to practice the game of golf. I want to learn this golf course. I haven't seen the 10th hole. I don't see that we should have a competition like that while we're playing a practice round and learning the golf course, trying to win a great championship. There's no reason to make something up in the middle of the practice round like that. That's just me. Like it or not, that's just who I am. That's just what I think.

So, you're gonna hit driver there all four days (though on recent form we should consider Bubba's weekend participation TBD), but purist that you are, the way to practice for that is to hit iron on Tuesday?  OK, got it.

Bubba, you might want to take notes here, but this is how you do it:

It comes as no shock that the fun-loving group of Rickie Fowler, Keegan Bradley, Phil

Mickelson and Brendan Steele embraced the challenge, playing to the fans, swinging out of their shoes and landing atop the standings midway through the day. Bradley went first and ripped a 326-yarder on the special Samsung-powered monitor letting fans know distances measured by the PGA Tour's Shotlink system, which makes its PGA Championship debut this week. Mickelson, egged on by Bradley, swung hard but just missed the landing area. 

Then Fowler got up, took a harder-than-normal swing and edged Bradley by two yards. Fowler played it cool until his leading 328-yard drive was posted, then gave the crowd a tasteful Muscle Beach pose. He led until Gary Woodland knocked one 330. 

Tom Watson's playing partners Brandt Snedeker, Russell Henley and Jimmy Walker each hit their drives, then started walking before their 64-year-old playing partner had hit. Watson looked incredulously at the crowd as if to say, "these kids have no respect." More fun for the folks on hand.

Or, you could watch Padraig "Happy Gilmore" it:

This is a guy willing to participate in the Golf Buys videos, but the long drive competition is somehow beyond the pale.

Jeff Rude comes to the same conclusion, but goes to the way-back machine to juxtapose Bubba quotes.  First this:

In fact, a couple of years ago, Watson said, “We've coined the phrase Bubba Golf, because it's just fun. I love the game of golf. I love goofin' around. I love shaping shots. I'm having a blast out there.”

As compared to this from yesterday:

“I was just trying to prove a point that nobody cared about,” he said.

Finally something on which Bubba and I can find common ground.