Midweek Musings

With the Wednesday Game™ moved to the afternoon, we've got all sorts of time.  Not all sorts of content, so bottoms will be scraped...

On Rory - OK, folks, I'll stipulate that he's a nice young man man with a lovely family, but isn't the Mother Theresa treatment jumping the shark these days?  First, Sean Zak with this open-mouth kiss, the lede for which is quite the sad tale:

In a world where seemingly everything deemed important is posted, analyzed and streamed through cameras, two pivotal moments of Rory McIlroy’s dominant 2022 are left strictly to the imagination.

No one saw the first.

It came in San Antonio, at the Valero Texas Open, where McIlroy played for the first time in nine years. He missed the cut by two and struck it so questionably that he changed his golf ball the next week. An average if not solid (by his standards) season had culminated there, one week before the Masters. He was desperate to get out of town. Only he couldn’t get out of town. For travel reasons left unclear, the man worth more than a hundred million dollars — who literally pays to nullify the carbon footprint of his private flight habits — had to spend an extra night in the JW Marriott.

“Got back up to my hotel room and went to order room service and they said it will be a two-and-a-half-hour wait,” McIlroy said Sunday night. “So I basically missed the cut, went to bed on an empty stomach and I was like, let’s just wake up tomorrow and start again.”

OK, I'll take virtue signaling for $1,000, Art.... Seriously, yanno, Sean Zak links back to an old item penned by, checking notes, Sean Zak, in which he ununcritically accepted this blather:

What does Carbon Neutral actually mean? It means simply neutralizing the harmful output. Pulling greenhouse gasses out of the atmosphere at the same rate you put them into the atmosphere. McIlroy does it by spending extra money — 150,000 pounds this year, according to Golf Digest — so that on New Year’s Eve, he’s treated the environment in a neutral way. Or at least in a non-negative way. McIlroy didn’t expound upon where his 150,000 pounds goes.

Of course he doesn't, none of them do, because it's one of modern life's more obvious scams... But did Rory "not expound" or did the brain-dead journalist not ask?  These questions never get asked, because how exactly do you pull those greenhouse gasses out of the environment?  

Sorry for the early rant, but I'm not the only one that thinks this way:

Carbon offsetting is truly a scammer’s dream scheme.

It’s a bookkeeping trick intended to obscure climate wrecking-emissions. It’s tree planting window dressing aimed at distracting from ecosystem destruction.

It is the next big thing in greenwashing — and we must not be fooled.

And when Greenpeace is the voice of sanity..... But greenwashing, I love it.

As for the golf portion of the programming, here begins Sean's hagiography:

As he takes a step away from all those cameras for the majority of the next three months, it’s worth noting just how much McIlroy delivered as a pro golfer in 2022. He gave fans a healthy dose of everything we really want. And what is it we want? Firstly, we want to see success. McIlroy literally has played statistically the best golf of his life the last few months. His golf since that fateful, hungry Friday night in San Antonio has been consistently better than his previous peaks (2014, 2020).

We want to hear from our golf heroes, and we haven’t heard from any pro more than we’ve heard from McIlroy. He declared LIV Golf “dead in the water” back in February and ate his words months later. He dunked on Greg Norman when he won in Canada, reciting how his career win total was now one better than Norman’s. During the summer of pro golfers actually sharing what they really think, McIlroy shined. He gave us his true thoughts a lot of the time. He made a point to seek out reporters and tell his truth while plenty cowered away from contentious topics.

Fair enough, but has Sean considered the point on the calendar in which Rory showed his best golf?  

We heard from McIlroy so much that he inspired vitriol from LIV Golf supporters. We like seeing that, too: confidence in what you believe. McIlroy accepted the bullseye on his back, speaking at length and endlessly about the civil war within the game. He’s never flipped his core position, like so many pros have done this year. McIlroy has publicly stiff-armed the Saudi money for years now, dating back to March 2020. But he hasn’t shied away from admitting where compromise should take place. He’s not bipartisan by any means, but on the spectrum of some debate topics — see world ranking points — he can be pulled toward the center. An inspiration for us all this time of year.

He did express concern over the source of the money form the get-go, and has been the most stalwart defender of golf's status quo.  And, of course, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.... So, the high marks are justified, although Jay must be cringing at some of what comes out of the young man's mouth.  There was this from September:

Rory McIlroy said he believes the time might be near for the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to speak because the “game is ripping itself apart.’’

Really?  What would they speak about?  The terms of surrender of the PGA TOur HQ in Ponte Vedra Beach?  Can't imagine Jay liked this one either:

“If Dustin Johnson is somehow 100th in the world it’s not an accurate reflection of where he is in the game,’’ McIlroy told reporters at the Dunhill Links Championship, a DP World Tour event which takes place this week across three courses in Scotland—the Old Course, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns.

 If it's the moral equivalent of war, didn't he just give aid and comfort to the enemy?

Even these more recent comments seem, well, unhelpful to the cause:

"I think it is the first time in my life that I have felt betrayal, in a way," McIlroy added. "You build bonds with these people through Ryder Cups and other things. Them knowing that what they are about to do is going to jeopardise them from being a part of that ever again?

"I would like to think the Ryder Cup means as much to them as it does to me. Maybe it does. But knowing what the consequences could be, I just could never make that decision."

You're telling them that they're getting to you....  I've consulted my Sun Tzu and that stratagem is nowhere to be found....

Everyone and their brother want to see a deal struck between the warring factions, but should FDR have negotiated with Tojo on December 8, 1941?  Perhaps a slightly melodramatic analogy, but LIV's business model called clearly for the destruction of the PGA Tour, and one ignores that at one's own peril.

I think Rory complaining about the fracture in golf is providing succor to the LIVsters, and he really should be shutting his piehole on that subject.  The operative position should be that the world of golf continues to move forward unaffected by the absence of certain players mostly near the end of their useful life.

Alan Shipnuck has a new Ask Alan up for our delectation, and he goes quite a different direction on Rory's run of success:

Has LIV (to the detriment of fellow PGA Tour players) lit a fire under Rory where we may see what we expected all these years? @TBromfman

It certainly feels that way. Remember a few years ago, when McIlroy was underachieving on the golf course but professing to be content because he was in love and enjoying a nice life? That was a healthy perspective, but it also felt a little bit like a copout. The golf gods bestow talent like Rory’s only once or twice a generation, if that. For him to just coast along would have been a little sad—not just for the fans but especially for McIlroy, who deep down knows what he is capable of. It seemed then that Rory lacked purpose as a golfer, and he has certainly found it in this ongoing battle for golf’s soul. It’s a bummer that the Masters is still six months away, but this doesn’t feel like a hot streak; rather, McIlroy has found the secret sauce, with his driver, in his wedge game and his overall approach to preparing and competing. This run feels sustainable for a good long while, and it will be a thrill to watch.

A secret sauce with his wedge game?  Sustainable?  Gee, Alan, haven't you watched this golf thing for a while now?  Apparently, Rory playing his worst golf in the most important events is just some rando piece of bad luck.  Good to know.

Readers of these pages will recall that I've been ranting about Rory's wedge play (distance control, especially) and putting since at least 2014.  His distance control with the wedges has seemed better recently, although there are the usual sample size issues at play.  Will that secret sauce still be in evidence the second weekend in April?  I for one accept Alan's contention that it's sustainable, though I think we should go ahead and play the event just to, yanno, be sure.

Has Rory's role in fighting LIV contributed to this run of strong play?  The golfer's mind is the ultimate black hole, so it's possible that there is some cause-and-effect in play, although that theory struggles to explain Sunday in St. Andrews, no?

As long as we have Rory under the strobe lights, there was also this Q&A (in which Alan at least mentions that other guy):

Doesn’t Rory’s World No. 1 designation need an asterisk? Because the communist (maybe elitist? or even fascist?) UNofficial World Golf Ranking have yet to assign points to my annual Spooky $70 Halloween Weekend Chip-off? And I’ve already mowed, so I need some good press… @ANTIFAldo

Rory himself noted the OWGR is in danger of becoming meaningless with the exclusion of so many accomplished players, though he inexplicably failed to mention the competitors in the Halloween Chip-off. But his place at the mountaintop is unimpeachable because for the last six months he has been by far the game’s most dominant force week in and week out; being No. 1 is really about consistent excellence, not a couple of triumphs mixed with a bunch of middling results. Obviously, McIlroy’s failure to win a major championship weakens his case, particularly when he got blitzed at the Open by Cam Smith, who is the clear world No. 2 no matter what the computers say. There is very little meaningful golf left this year, so we can all exhale and then rekindle the debate next spring.

Is there anything in our game less significant and less interesting than changes at the top of the OWGR?  Seriously, why is this even a thing?  OK, Rory just passed Scottie Scheffler, but the latter hasn't even looked like a top ten player since his five-putt on the 18th green at Augusta.  So, yeah, points are awarded and roll off week-to-week, but if it changes your assessment of these guys, you're really easily distracted by shiny objects.

Twelve Is The New Eighteen - Everything old is new again....  Remember when Bryson and Brooks played their cage match?  Did you happen to recall how many holes they played?  Did you perhaps find that number random?

Shack does a deep dive on a wonderful homage in Ayrshire:

Jealous!

On Sunday evening Prestwick Golf Club finished two weeks of play around its original 12-hole

design. The decision to put the course back to the original Open Championship layout by Tom Morris took years of planning, trained marshals, modern mowers, LED lights, and a risk that all of the effort might backfire. But as a special year of 150th Open celebratory events wraps up, the Scottish club recognized a rare chance to commemorate the first professional golf championship.

Prestwick’s original 12 had been somewhat re-created in 2005 when a noble-but-compromised effort did the job. But to give golfers a chance to enjoy the 12-hole version played between The Opens of 1860 and 1881, the club secured additional details about the original layout, decided to re-install key greens and pieced together many necessary pieces. They even sought local council approval where, remarkably, some residents complained about limited coastal access points for what would be a two-week celebration.

Led by club secretary Ken Goodwin, keeper of the green Dave Edmondson, and professional David Fleming, Prestwick embarked two years ago assuming the 150th Open was to take place in 2021. While pushed back a year by the pandemic, the club always knew the purpose of such a return should be done right.

Care for a history lesson?

Before we get to that coverage, a few facts regarding the original 12-hole course:

• The Open was born at Prestwick 162 years ago on October 17th, 1860 as a tribute event to Allan Robertson (who died in 1859).

• The Open carried on 24 more times at the Tom Morris-designed links.

• The first 12 Opens were played on the 12-hole version (1860 to 1872).

• No championship was contested in 1871 after Tommy Morris won three straight Open’s, giving him permanent retention of the “belt” and a lot of head-scratching about what to do next.

• Young Tom’s three-peat led to a year-off before the clubs at Prestwick, St Andrews (Royal and Ancient) and Musselburgh (Honourable Company) each put up £10 to create a new trophy.

• Young Tom won again in 1872 at Prestwick. Sadly, the Claret Jug was not yet ready and he never got to hoist it due to his passing in 1875

• Old Tom captured four Opens on his Prestwick design.

• Young Tom also won all four of his Open Championships at Prestwiick. 

• Willie Park Sr. won four times on the 12-hole version, while Andrew Strath (1865), Jamie Anderson (1878) and Bob Ferguson (1881) each captured one.

• The 12-hole was home to the first recorded hole-in-one and par-5 “eagle.” Young Tom Morris was responsible for each.

• The course record of 47 by Young Tom came in the 1870 Open. He was also the first to shoot 50 on Old Tom’s design and was first to break 50 there.

• Six of the original greens from the 12-hole course were retained by Old Tom in his redesign and are still used today (the 2nd, 3rd, 13th, 15th 16th and 17th).

I might just have to excerpt it all:

About the course? Based on the accounts of those who played the last two weeks, it could be somewhat confusing if you weren’t sure where you were going. But the 12-hole version was Old Tom’s idea of design before he had fully formed his understanding of what “golf architecture” might be.

The original Prestwick covered just under 35 acres. Morris used a narrow swath of extreme dunesland and played the holes over and through the most extreme terrain. He was not worried about moving a full field around or injury attorneys questioning the sanity of criss-crossing holes. (Morris became a width advocate as his design career continued and he became obsessed with gorse removal at St Andrews despite it being bad for his ball-making business.)

The original Prestwick presented golf in the wild. Morris made players of the day take on cruel carries with implements ill-suited to the task. But no one was turning in a score for vanity handicap purposes. They just tried to advance their unpredictable golf balls in fewer strokes than their competition.

I've long been fascinated by the two Old Tom holes at Lahinch, one of which features a blind shot over dunes that carries the 18th fairway, requiring a marshal to direct traffic from the top of those dunes.  Apparently, his original twelve here was even crazier:

To make 2022’s reboot work, the club instituted a fascinating marshal and LED-light system to ensure golfers knew when they could play the various blind shots without the rounds turning into antagonistic combat. The original Open was comprised of just 8-players and they likely moved around just fine. But as the fields grew larger? The need for such a system today suggests those early events must have been pretty zany affairs. FORE!

 Including one hole with a cutesie nickname:

Cookie Jar Golf’s Tom Mills was one of those who couldn’t stop talking about the 6th hole, dubbed the “killing zone” by Secretary Goodwin.

“The only hole it doesn’t interact with is the 8th,” Mills said. “It either plays over, around or touches the other 10 holes. Mental stuff.”

Thanks to the team of marshals for the full two-week tee sheet, the club earned raves for the efficiency of getting around the bizarre course. Cooper also said the unusual routing highlighted another key way The Open has changed.

“Eight men played the entire Championship in less time than a single round took this year in St Andrews,” he said. “The evolution of our game is astonishing.”

The killing zone?   Not a term often associated with our genteel game....  Read the whole thing, it goes without saying.

Orange Is The New.... - I don't know nothing, but this showed up in my Twitter feed, typos and all:

Please don’t be true pic.twitter.com/dYSSAHbTTI

— PGA TUOR (@PGATUOR) October 24, 2022

On the one hand, he's old and bad enough to fit their profile perfectly, and the rumors have been out there forever.  On the other hand, why the wait?  I suspect this is fake news, but the rumor itself is of interest....

Alan, Asked - A little anaerobic blogging as I head for the exit:

#askalan What’s worse, LIV showing an entire tourney start to finish and few caring OR people caring about the CJ Cup but the PGA Tour doesn’t allow fans to watch it? @wesleywhamond

This is not a positive development for either tour, or golf in general. This whole season is a beta test for LIV Golf. I don’t think we will be able to fully assess the product until this time next year, when LIV will have had an offseason to tweak everything and then have played a “full” schedule with the roster and team elements more baked out. So we’ll see if LIV can get more fans to care. But the Tour’s pathetic TV presentation of a compelling tournament is inexcusable. Why is it so hard to give golf fans what they want? Especially right now, when the PGA Tour is in an existential battle for its survival, you would think the lords of Ponte Vedra Beach would be doing everything possible to display their product in a dynamic, innovative way, not blacking out coverage, as happened to chunks of time at the CJ Cup. It’s maddening.

I'm sorry, what's your problem with the LIV events being ignored?  Win-win, baby!

To be honest, Alan has been on this LIV beta test thread for quite a while, and I really don't know what wacky tobaccy he's been smoking.  I know they're planning some kind of tweaks to their team format but, otherwise, isn't what we (don't) see just about what we get?

But what does he mean about them blacking out coverage of the CJ Cup?  Unless being broadcast on Golf Channel is now the moral equivalent of being blacked out.... But isn't it useful to be reminded that, even with a deep field, no one is going to watch golf in October.

How awesome will Max Homa be as a dad? @procaddiecoach

This is such a cute, wholesome question. None of us are ever really prepared to be parents, you just gotta learn on the fly. I trust Homa will be an excellent dad because, in the way he relates to people and lives his life, he has already displayed much empathy and sensitivity and good cheer. These are key ingredients to being a good dad. Also, if the baby needs a cozy place to nap it can burrow into Homa’s arm hair.

Gee, maybe.  But I could also argue that his focus on social media could be a concern in that regard... Homa seems like a fun dude, though we should all probably stop assuming that we actually know the guy.

Really?

Does Phil ever win a tournament again? @DLP1968

Oof, good one. Getting banned from the senior tour certainly hurts his chances. But I’ve detected more pep in Phil’s step lately. He has too much pride and ego to be an afterthought; I think he’ll be more of a factor at LIV events next year. (Do LIV wins count?) And he’s still dangerous on a baked-out Augusta National or a fiery Open links. It seems like a lifetime ago, but Mickelson’s PGA Championship triumph was only 17 months ago. The guy has nine lives, so I’m never gonna say never when it comes to Phil doing the improbable.

Isn't the more pressing question, "is this the man Phil wanted to be?"  Because that's what he promised in his fauxpology, so seems like a reasonable follow up question, ignoring the fact that Phil avoids microphones these days like I avoid cockroaches.

But Alan's reaction to Phil, especially in light of his most recent tweet about scandals not in his book, remains puzzling to this observer.

When will Augusta National and other majors make their decision for LIV in the field ? #askalan @radiolimamatt

They don’t have to make a decision: The majors’ criteria is already set, and they can simply choose to do nothing. For 2023, that will knock out a handful of LIV golfers based on their slippage in the World Ranking, but for both the U.S. and British Opens these competitors are free to go through open qualifying and try to play their way into the field. If LIV doesn’t get World Ranking points throughout next season, the ’24 majors will suffer more attrition, but you have to figure some kind of compromise will be reached before then. Also, the governing body behind each major championship can independently decide its own criteria. Nothing is stopping Augusta National or the USGA from, say, creating an exemption category for the top 10 players on LIV’s individual money list. Or the majors can use each other as the yardstick for each other: If a player is top 15 or top 20 at the Masters, he is invited to the PGA Championship, and the top 15 or 20 at the PGA are exempt into the U.S. Open, etc. Lotsa ways to fill out the fields with LIV players independent of the World Ranking, if that’s what the minders of each major want.

Yeah, they can and probably will mostly just slow-play them on the OWGR front.  

This is a good one, though perhaps too inside baseball for many.  But Alan does name check quite a few worthies:

Can you disclose your writing muse, if any? @todgerstone

The newspaper writers I read growing up had a profound effect on me: Jim Murray’s syndicated columns, Mark Purdy in The Mercury News in San Jose, Ray Ratto in the San Francisco Chronicle. Murray was in a class by himself, but the others also had such distinctive voices. When I was around 12 I discovered SI and those writers blew my mind: DeFord, Nack, Kirkpatrick, Fimrite, Wolff, Reilly. Giants! I would reread the stories over and over to inculcate the rhythms of the language and the way the articles were structured. Among the authors I read in school, Vonnegut’s zaniness, Joseph Heller’s sardonic irreverence and Fitzgerald’s elegance made the biggest impression. When I was an intern at SI, at 20, I spent months doing nothing but reading old back issues and borrowing golf books from the library. That’s when I came to appreciate Jenkins, Wind, Darwin, Diaz, Bamberger, Garrity, Kindred and Callahan. I became interested in the New Journalism of the 1960s and ‘70s and devoured Talese, Wolfe, Breslin, Halberstam, Mailer, Hunter S. Thompson and sundry others. There was a time when I subscribed to around 20 magazines, and I was inspired by modern practitioners like Tom Junod, Gary Smith, Chris Jones, Wright Thompson, Scott Price, Lee Jenkins and Chris Ballard. But at some point you have to filter out all these influences and find your own style. That, to me, is the muse: When the ghost of every other writer leaves your head and all you can hear is your own voice.

Of course, the disconnect between the questioners use of the singular form of the noun and Alan listing every guy he ever read is pretty comical, no?  Pretty sure that Gay Talese has never come up in tis blog before...

I'll use one of Alan's recurring bits to exit.  Alan had famously never had a hole-in-one, and he's milked it amusingly in his writing.  Joy is at hand, as Alan is off the schneid, though with an asterisk the size of Texas:

How did it feel to finally dunk one? @ESPN_SwingCoach

Cathartic. In the moment I didn’t even feel that much joy, just utter disbelief mixed with relief. But for days afterward I was kind of floating along in a haze of bliss.

Did you buy a round of drinks for everyone in the clubhouse after the hole-in-one? @philengle21

There was already an open bar provided by Youth on Course for those of us partaking in the 100 Hole Hike. I highly recommend making an ace when free alcohol is readily available!

Are people really calling a hole-in-one on a par-3 course or a simulator a “Shipnuck.” I’m hearing murmurs. @fakePOULTER

Look, I fully understand that me holing a sawed-off lob wedge on a 61-yard hole I had already played eight times that day invites a little scrutiny. And, yes, it would be more majestic to make an ace with a 1-iron on a 242-yard hole over water. But after a lifetime of lip-outs and balls expiring just short and tee shots clanging off the pin, I ain’t apologizing for shit.

 Ya think?  Look, I'm happy for you, but about those three Phil scandals....

That's it for today, kids.  See you again on Friday.

Weekend Wrap

Quite a sports cornucopia yesterday afternoon, as I needed at least four screens to watch everything....  The golf, notwithstanding a reasonably interesting leaderboard, got lost in the shuffle, though a popular guy seems to have prevailed.

No. 1 With A Bullet - Better a bullet than a mullet, don't you agree?  I'll taking "Ironic Framing Devices for $1,000", Art:

Rory McIlroy’s climb back to the top of the golf world began with an empty stomach. Six months and three weeks prior to winning the CJ Cup on Sunday to take his place again as the No. 1 ranked

golfer in the world, the four-time major winner missed the cut at the Valero Texas Open in late March. That same Friday night, he also missed dinner. The tournament hotel was so busy McIlroy decided it was easier to skip food than wait hours for it.

“I guess there was some party on Friday night [in the hotel], and I was feeling pretty bad,” McIlroy recalled on Sunday at Congaree Golf Club. “I went to order room service and they said it would be a 2½-hour wait. I missed the cut and went to bed on an empty stomach, and I was like, let's just wake up tomorrow and start again.”

Ninth on the Official World Golf Ranking at the time—before the OWGR became the point of contention it is these days—McIlroy’s fasting session prompted a mid-year rebuild that culminated in Ridgeland, S.C., with the 34-year-old Northern Irishman winning his 31st professional tournament, his 23rd career PGA Tour title and his third of 2022. A final-round 67 included four birdies in a five-hole stretch on the back nine that allowed McIlroy to bogey the final two holes and still win by one over Kurt Kitayama with a 17-under 267 total. And it put him back as the best player in the world for the first time since July 2020.

So, you're saying he was hungry?  Got it...

He got a bit emotional, which seems a tad misplaced to this observer:

A minute later, Lewis wanted to know about meaning.

At “the golfing world,” it hit.

“Um, it uh.” HIs voice cracked.

McIlroy put his right arm behind his head.

“Means a lot. I’ve worked so hard over the last 12 months to get myself back to this place. I feel like I’m enjoying the game as much as I ever have. I absolutely love the game of golf and I think that when I go out there and I play with that joy, it’s definitely showed over these last 12 months.

“Yeah, it feels awesome. I’m looking forward to celebrating with my team tonight and the next couple of weeks because I think it’s a big achievement. I’m really proud of myself right now and I want to go and enjoy this.”

To me, being World No. 1 isn't an achievement in and of itself, it's the result of actual achievements, of which he's had a run.  But, and it's a big but, not the really important kind...

The Tour Confidential panel had these thoughts:

1. In an entertaining back-nine back-and-forth on Sunday, Rory McIlroy reclaimed World No. 1 and won the CJ Cup over Kurt Kitayama. For McIlroy, it marked another strong

finish — over his past five starts now, he’s won twice, tied for second, finished fourth and tied for fourth. How much do you suppose his role of de facto PGA Tour leader off the course has inspired his resurgent play on the course?

James Colgan: Cause and effect? I don’t think so. Rory was the best player on the PGA Tour before he became the de facto president of it. But the success has certainly affirmed that position. Golf has never needed a star of his stature more than right now. Good on him for delivering it.

Jack Hirsh: It’s interesting because up until the Canadian Open, there was kind of a feeling the responsibility was weighing McIlroy down a bit. Now he’s the hottest player in the sport. I think clearly he was motivated when the first LIV event teed off, as evidenced by his dig at Greg Norman when he won at St. George’s. Of all the players who could have won the FedEx Cup last season, the first when the Tour had a legitimate rival, McIlroy had to be the best-case scenario for the Tour. I guess what I’m saying is it’s clear he’s motivated to back up his words off the course in support of the Tour with his play on the course.

Claire Rogers: Like James said, I’m not sure they’re cause and effect. I do think they’re both a result of him growing up a lot both on and off the course. Call it maturing or perspective or whatever you want, but McIlroy has reached a new level of poise in front of the media. His thoughtful answer to Tom Kim’s question was the perfect example of it, and I think we’ll only see his role of de facto PGA Tour leader off the course grow as he continues to play well.

He is on a bit of a heater, which inconveniently comes at a time when we're still six months away for that one event of utmost importance....

Rory is a popular guy to begin with, and his éminence grise role ensures that his triumphs, especially that FedEx Cup win, are extremely popular.  But, that said, doesn't it also remind us that for the one that really mattered at St. Andrews, where it was the forces of good against the forces of evil, he let it slip through his fingers.... Frustrating because it seems that, the more he wants it, the worse he plays.

Before moving on, let's just note the implications of this event on future scheduling issues.  They turned up a surprisingly strong field in South Carolina, and perhaps we'd do well to understand why.  Remember, this event is actually supposed to be held in South Korea, but kind of exceeded expectations with its relocation.  Although, even with the strong field, I expect that the Golf Channel broadcasts will struggle to show even a recognizable viewership, going up against the NFL, NCAA Football and the baseball playoffs.

You Ko, Girl! - If a woman born in South Korea wins an event there broadcast in the dead of night, does it make a sound?

If there was any doubt before, there shouldn’t be now — Lydia Ko is officially back.

Ko, a former world No. 1 and teenage sensation, claimed her second victory of 2022 early Sunday morning as she ran away from the field in Korea for a four-shot victory at the BMW Ladies Championship. After going five years with just one victory between 2016 and 2021, the 25-year-old has now won three times over the past 18 months. The win also moves her into a tie for 30th on the LPGA all-time wins list.

“I think this is probably the best I’ve played,” Ko said. “I think when I was No. 1, I had just more wins in that season. [But] I don’t think I’ve had as many top tens and top ten percentage.”

She's still only 25, although that's AARP-qualified in the context of the LPGA Tour. 

This is a silly bit from the TC panel:

5. On the LPGA Tour, Lydia Ko won the BMW Ladies Championship for her 18th career victory, continuing a strong season. “This is probably the best I’ve played, the most consistently I’ve played,” Ko said. That being said, can Ko get to 25 victories?

Colgan: The LPGA gets younger and better every single week, but there’ll always be room for players with her short game to find wins. I think 25 is not just a possibility, but a probability.

Hirsh: *Checks Notes* Lydia Ko is my age (25)? I think there’s obviously a fear of burnout given she started her pro career at age 16 (when she had already won on the LPGA Tour). However, Ko has already gone through some ups and downs in her career and could just be entering her prime. She could choose to walk away at any time, of course, but I think the better question is whether she could win 25 times before she turns 30?

Rogers: I’ll be surprised if Lydia Ko doesn’t get to 25 victories. Her first win was a decade ago, she’s at the top of her game right now and she’s only 25. I could see her getting to 20 wins before the end of 2023.

Isn't the more pressing question whether (and when) she'll get to nineteen?

More substantively, where does her game fit into the younger and stronger fields of her Tour?  She's still a bit of a short-hitter, compensating with those impressive sort-game skills.  But she hasn't been much of a factor in their majors recently, so is she a top-level player, or just one that can pick off a win here and there?  I don't actually know the answer, but it's one reason to tune in.

Fauxpology Tour - Shockingly, this might well be the first time I'm quoting this particular source:

History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce.

Karl Marx

I only mention this because that TC panel took on the Majed Al Sourer walkback:

2. LIV Golf, along with the PGA Tour’s fight against the Saudi-backed series, was profiled in a lengthy story by the New Yorker. Among the newer revelations was a comment from Majed Al Sorour, the head of the Saudi Golf Federation and managing director for LIV Golf, who said: “If the majors decide not to have our players play? I will celebrate. I will create my own majors for my players.” Al Sorour, through a statement, later issued a statement in response, saying in part: “I had a casual conversation with a New Yorker reporter at LIV’s Boston event a few weeks ago, during which I expressed my frustration at the unfortunate blackballing of LIV Golf players by the PGA Tour. When it comes to the majors, tournaments that stand alone and are independent of LIV, I have the utmost respect for the majors.” Our question is simply this: What’s your takeaway here?

Colgan: My takeaway is, primarily, that the president of the Saudi Golf Federation should have a better grasp on his “casual” conversations, particularly when they’re with reporters from the New Yorker. Everything else struck me as pretty standard rich guy hyperbole.

Hirsh: Seems the go-to response for LIV execs and players when they don’t like the perception of a comment is to say the conversation was off the record (See Mickelson, Phil). Credit our colleague Sean Zak for this idea, but I’m not really sure who has “casual conversations” with New Yorker reporters. The way our profession works is everything is on the record until someone says otherwise, and it’s clear between the two parties. Important to note that Sorour never said he didn’t say what he was quoted as saying. I think he was intending to build up LIV further in the event its players are unable to compete in the majors, but obviously, it came off as a dig at the majors. It’s not a great look when the bodies that run the majors are the ones who will decide if LIV events get ranking points.

Rogers: There seems to be a lot of miscommunication when it comes to golf-related interviews lately. I think it’s safe to assume that if you are speaking to a journalist such as, say, Alan Shipnuck or someone from the New Yorker, unless something is “off the record,” it’s fair game. The “I’ll create my own majors” comment did make me laugh, though.

This is just a fun bit on so many levels.  There's the thuggish threat to Fred Ridley and others, that the stock-in-trade of the Saudis...  Should Fred receive an invitation to the Saudi embassy in Istanbul, I'd suggest that he send his regrets.

One of your humble bogger's recurring motifs on this subject has been that, whatever you think of the PGA Tour, the Saudis simply can't be the answer.  This I think makes that point well, because they're fully prepared to tear the golf ecosystem to the ground for their own purposes, so why would we allow that?  Of course, that begs the question Phil's nihilism as well...

But there's also an epic level of incompetence on display, the simple inability to handle the press without stepping into guano seems a bridge too far for these guys.  And that's just comedy gold, making us parse what's an interview and what might be a casual conversation with a reporter.  Yeah, I can see where you should run the golf world...

Schedule Musings - That TC panel and the estimable Eamon Lynch take on different aspects of the PGA Tour's scheduling conundrums, first the former:

3. On the PGA Tour, next year’s four additional elevated events were announced, with the Waste Management Phoenix Open, the RBC Heritage, the Wells Fargo and the Travelers joining the previously announced tournaments that will receive $20 million purses and the promise that the Tour’s top players will be in the field. With that portion of the schedule now set, who are the winners and losers?

Colgan: Winners: The WMPO, hotels in Scottsdale on Super Bowl weekend (where both the WMPO and Super Bowl will be played simultaneously) and … the RBC Heritage? Losers: The Canadian Open, the Farmers and the people paying for hotels in Scottsdale on Super Bowl weekend.

Hirsh: Obviously the winners are the elevated events and specifically the city of Phoenix. All of these tournaments will be getting the PGA Tour’s best 20 players, and Phoenix will be getting that and the two best NFL teams in the same weekend for the Super Bowl. Make your hotel bookings now. The losers will be the Honda Classics and other tournaments sandwiched in between elevated events. The Honda sits between back-to-back elevated events before and after, and what was once a rising Tour stop, given its proximity to many pros’ homes in South Florida, may not have many big names this season. We expect there will be four elevated events rotating around each season so we can only hope the tournaments that get the short end this year will get their turn in the elevated sun soon. Part of this issue also runs around the fact the Tour had to work with a schedule that was mostly set already. With a year to set up the schedule, we will likely see a radically different look in 2024.

Rogers: I’m not a football gal so I’ll let James and Jack cover the WMPO and Super Bowl overlap in Scottsdale and instead focus on the Travelers. Cromwell, Connecticut is winning big time here. I’ve been to the Travelers a handful of times, and it has some of the kindest, most engaging volunteers I’ve come across. It’s had a smaller-tournament feeling to it for as long as I can remember, so I’m excited for it to become one of the can’t-miss stops on the PGA Tour. The losers? Fan parking lots. Good luck, folks.

Wow, talk about avoiding the elephant in the corner....

To read both the question and responses, you'd think the Tour merely picked four lucky parties from among their candidates....  Do there writers understand that these are  transactional?  The four weren't chosen based on their worthiness, but rather because they were willing to fork over what's necessary to support the higher purses.

Is anyone asking whether they'll get enough value to support the higher payments?  This is a massive change to the Tour protocols, and really has the effect of screwing folks like Honda, which certainly isn't the terms and conditions that were in effect when the sponsorship deal was executed.  The Tour hasn't been a faithful partner even before the LIV threat, but the folks at Honda should know they're on their own....

Eamon takes a crack at the Black Hole of Calcutta:

Lynch: The PGA Tour is close to healing its self-inflicted wound — a fall schedule lacking stars and meaning

Are they?  

Winter comes early on the PGA Tour. Late August, usually. There’s an unseasonable interlude every couple of years thanks to a Ryder Cup, or a brief glimpse of sunshine from an elite field, like at this week’s CJ Cup, but this is a mostly desolate stretch for those among us who neither know nor care who is pitching for the Patriots against Auburn.

Which isn’t to say there’s no product. The CJ Cup is the fifth of nine PGA Tour events in the post-playoffs fall, all of which have provided fans worthy winners and ample entertainment while benefitting communities, sponsors and players alike. But that owes more to the happenstance of competition than because fall golf is considered appointment viewing.

Throughout the nine years in which the Tour has used a wraparound schedule, it has maintained a painfully democratic insistence that every tournament has equal stature, an understandable position to adopt when corporations are signing checks for the privilege. Fans know it’s not true though. Fall events have come to be defined by who chooses to work, or more often, not work. With 15 of the world’s top 20 golfers in action, this week’s CJ Cup is an outlier. Next week’s Butterfield Bermuda Championship feels like a Head Start program for journeymen and rookies by comparison.

The whole issue is the FedEx Cup, which has unintentionally calcified the Tour's scheduling options.  No one with secure playing privilege will show up if no FedEx Cup points are awarded, but hos do you rationalize some of these events getting such points with their weak fields?

Whatever slender prospects fall tournaments had of drawing stars to compete, they’ll have none at all with the coming reconfiguration of the calendar, which commits the Tour’s upper crust to 20 starts between the Sentry Tournament of Champions in January and the Tour Championship in August. Yet a by-product of that change may finally bestow a semblance of identity on this long-maligned portion of the schedule.

Beginning this season, just 70 players will qualify for the FedEx Cup playoffs and secure cards for the new calendar-year season of 2024, down from 125. The rest will join a shootout for ’24 status in the fall events, a Hunger Games-style scrap with a cast that includes up-and-coming talent and recognizable names searching for redemption. Under this new dispensation, the old dead zone from East Lake to New Years has life, and something meaningful at stake: future employment, earned via tournaments and the resurrected Q-School. The fall can finally be welcomed for what it offers rather than dismissed for what it lacks.

Does Eamon not remember that this is what the Fall Finish used to be, and it wasn't half bad?  You had actual golfers playing for their careers, and that can be compelling.   Caveat, it was actual golfers, but not the ones people know, so no one will watch.  There's nothing especially wrong with that, except for the minor bit about screwing your sponsors that signed up for something very different.

The irony of LIV threatening the organizations that run majors is that Nurse Ratched and the Tour have mostly been doing the same thing, just more cooperatively and less effectively.  It drives the PVB folks mad that they don't control the majors, and they've tried to "elevate" the Players and the FedEx Cup to "major" status, as per our old "Fifth of Four" bit.  

But it's not clear to me that Jay is jiggy with such a downgrading of the Fall, because that leaves quite the void for others to fill.  It's a difficult time, because there's no U.S. TV rights that will fund it, but those Saudis seem willing to fund just about anything....

I'll need to leave you here, Dear Reader, but we'll have more as the week unfolds.

Late-Week Lamentations

I had anticipated an earlier arrival at the keyboard.  So, shall we cover just a few bits out there, though I'll promise no baseball talk.

Cue the Walkback in 3,2,1.... - Kids say the darndest things, but how should we feel when those assuming the mantle of reform in our game have the IQ of a mollusk.  Or at least no ability to think through the impact of their words.  Because, assume for the moment that you're responsible for committing $2 billion to Greg Norman....  Yeah, I know, but they didn't ask me before that commitment.  

You find yourself needing to be able to offer world ranking points to your overly-entitled players, yet you're shocked that those whose sinecures you're trying to annihilate haven't capitulated, but there's one silver lining, the fact that the organizations running the majors have previously established qualification protocols.  Shockingly, your gambit to gain those world ranking points through an alliance with a defunct tour didn't work, but who could have seen that coming.  Bellicosity alone has also seemingly proved fruitless, so clearly this is a situation calling for further threats, right? Like this one:

In a feature story this week in the New Yorker about the Saudi-backed circuit, Majed Al Sorour, CEO of the Golf Saudi, discussed how his league would respond should LIV golfers not be able to

compete in the majors. Without LIV events getting Official World Golf Ranking accreditation, players could fall in the rankings and lose an avenue to qualify. Potentially, too, the groups that run the majors could outright prohibit LIV players from competing, as has the PGA Tour. From the piece:

There was speculation that the Masters might ban LIV players. “For now, the majors are siding with the Tour, and I don’t know why,” Sorour said. “If the majors decide not to have our players play? I will celebrate. I will create my own majors for my players.” He went on, “Honestly, I think all the tours are being run by guys who don’t understand business.”

Hmmm, perhaps.  But the man who threw $200 million large at Phil seems to have his own issues understanding commercial economics, no?   Of course, he's going to cash out by selling these franchises, so clearly your humble blogger is unable to understand the complexity of their worldview.

I've said it before and I'll likely have to say it another hundred times, but these guys don't seem specially bright, do they?  The response of the Tour, the absence of a TV partner and the importance of world ranking points all seem to have taken Mr. Norman and his Saudi paymasters as quite the surprise.  Yet, aren't these the kinds of things that were all obvious and should ahve been planned for, yanno, before you bombed Pearl Harbor....

Anyway, they really respect everyone:

“I had a casual conversation with a New Yorker reporter at LIV’s Boston event a few weeks ago, during which I expressed my frustration at the unfortunate blackballing of LIV Golf players by the PGA Tour,” Sorour said in a statement. “When it comes to the majors, tournaments that stand alone and are independent of LIV, I have the utmost respect for the majors. The majors are about history, heritage, true competition and honor.

“The story wrongfully expressed and misrepresented my views. The majors are indeed the best platform where LIV golfers and other tour golfers can compete, despite the PGA Tour’s suspension of our players. As a LIV Golf board member and managing director, I am here to accomplish our LIV Golf investment chairman and the board’s strategic direction by building a team, growing the game and defending player rights. That is my only interest.’’

It's not just honor, it's the utmost honor....Seriously, maybe English isn't his first language, but when you say, "nice little major you have there.  Sure would be a shame is something happened to it", it's just an outrage that such a statement could be understood as conveying anything other than the utmost respect.

And did you catch that "casual conversation" bit?  I did not have an interview with that man.... Gee, where have we heard that, recently? And blackballing?  Interesting term, which translated into English means enforcing the rules of its organization, which apparently took the boncutters by surprise.  

Of course, it's easy to conjure up the nightmare scenarios:

Try not to be silly https://t.co/vFZypCwBXy

— James Corrigan (no blue tick) (@jcorrigangolf) October 18, 2022

Silly?  For sure, since I've been reliably informed that the Wahabis are all about history, heritage, true competition and honor.  And nothing quite shouts true competition  quite like having PReed as your poster child.

Fred Ridley and others would be foolish to believe that they don't mean what they say.  

Doug Ferguson tackled this subject in a piece that seems to argue for the LIvsters, but my interest lies elsewhere.  First, his arguemnt:

The PGA Tour had 12 of the top 50 players in the world ranking competing last week in Las Vegas. LIV Golf also had 12 of the top 50 in the world playing in Bangkok.

The difference, aside from LIV Golf providing triple the prize money, is that only one of those circuits received credit from the Official World Golf Ranking.

That needs to change. The question is how quickly.

Gee, Doug, wasn't there another difference that should be noted?   You've already rigged your thoughts by focusing on Vegas, a silly season event with one of the weaker fields, but they at least had a 144-player field.  Do the same analysis for this week's field at the CJ Cup.

I think the argument he's making is that there's a concentration of talent at LIV that shouldn't, in a perfect world, be excluded from the world rankings.  And it's a strong argument, but again one of those things you might have wanted to, yanno, think about before committing $2 billion.  He does at least hit on my due diligence failure angle:

These guys knew what they were getting when they signed up: money. If they thought world ranking points would come easily — or even quickly — that would be the same misguided thinking as Norman texting Sergio Garcia in February that the PGA Tour couldn’t ban players “for one day let alone life.”

PGA Tour suspensions, backed preliminarily by a federal court, are in their fourth month.

Ugh!   Those suspensions were in no way "backed" by a federal court, it just refused to offer injunctive relief.  But, yeah, Harold Varner III was correct, this is what they signed up for.

Norman isn’t doing himself any favors with a not-so-clever attempt to expedite the process by aligning with the Mena Tour (an acronym for Middle East and North Africa). The Mena Tour entered the OWGR family in 2016 as a developmental tour with 54-hole events. It’s so far down the ladder that its leading players now have access to the Asian Development Tour.

But nothing screams legitimacy more than hiding behind a defunct tour...

That much is true. There could be as few as six LIV Golf players left in the top 50 by the end of the year, and the number will shrink when it starts up its 14-event schedule in 2023. Still to be determined is if LIV Golf will adjust its format (perhaps by introducing a cut).

Even then, the new formula is not favorable to smaller fields. The PGA Tour not only has most of the top players, it has depth. LIV Golf players will still be at a disadvantage when it gets world ranking points.

The only thing that will grow at a rapid rate is their bank accounts.

From the strength of field measures I've seen, I'm far from sure that he's correct on this point, though I'd feel better if he were.  

So, why spend so much time with Doug?  he gets a good one in against one of our favorite targets:

However, it’s worth noting that since 1983 — when the PGA Tour was able to keep complete records — players who had at least a share of the 54-hole lead went on to win 39% of the time. The same percentage applies to majors.

Norman, of all people, would not be surprised by that.

Heh!  Good one, Doug, though you might have thrown in Greg's own record in that regard, especially his record in those pesky majors.... Of course, Greg will be running his own majors soon enough...

Musings - A certain Ulsterman has become the éminence grise of the PGA Tour, so his recent comments on scheduling are of interest:

The Tour has officially reverted to a January through August regular season schedule with a

major injection of money, creating 13 “elevated” events in addition to major championships. After the season ends in August, though, there’s still some uncertainty. The Tour has clarified that the top 50 players in the FedEx Cup will qualify for a series of fall tournaments with no cut and huge purses as well, likely to be held overseas. The rest of the Tour is bound for a different fall series of events that commissioner Jay Monahan dubbed a “compelling, consequential final stretch” where players can improve their status entering the next season.

Much of it is…still quite murky. So Rory, while the Tour figures it all out, what should the fall season really look like?

“Football,” he said.

“I mean, it’s football season, right?”

So?  It so happens that Rory is arguing for a curtailed schedule, but is he a tree falling in the forest?

“I think we need to get to the place where it’s not oversaturated,” he continued. “I would love us to come back in January and people will have missed watching competitive golf. I don’t think that happens right now because there’s 47 events a year.”

What McIlroy is arguing for is not something anyone could have been prepared for years ago. When Tiger Woods burst onto the scene in the 90s, the PGA Tour couldn’t get enough events on TV. But a modern conundrum has manifested. It’s become difficult for golf fans to know which events are the most important beyond the majors.

“I think to get the most fan engagement that we possibly can, we have to let people miss it for a little bit,” McIlroy said. “I’m not comparing golf to football at all, but you think about the exclusivity of the NFL and they play 18 weeks a year. Then people are just so ready for football season to start again. I’m not saying that golf’s going to be that way, but you’ve got to let people miss it a little bit.”

You go, girl!  

But Rory, have you actually had this discussion with Jay?   Because, going back to the time of Nurse Ratched, it's been the policy of your organization to fill every nook and cranny on that 52-week calendar, with the lone exception of Thanksgiving and Christmas weeks.

With a bit of a qualifier:

“And I’m not saying we’re not going to play any golf in the fall,” McIlroy said, “but the fall is maybe more of an international flavor. It’s an opportunity for guys to travel the world a little bit, grow their brands in different countries, but the real competitive golf season is January to August. That’s where I see it.”

Yes, but I would have said that the Ponte Vedra folks should leave that to the other world tours, though that doesn't obviously square with the ambitions of those whose new crystal palace has been dubbed the "Global Home."

 Two of the Golf.com writers tackle these thorny scheduling issues with very mixed results:

Sean Zak: Hello, young James! Finally, the PGA Tour has settled most of its schedule moving forward. We’ve got 13 elevated events taking place next year featuring $20 million purses and the

top players in the world. The first one is just months away in Hawaii. Add the majors and that’s 17 times where the best players in the world are guaranteed to be playing together. The honor of being an “elevated event” will be permanent for all but four tournaments, which will change among the list of Tour events every year. This year, the WM Phoenix Open is elevated. In 2024, perhaps the Honda Classic will be. In 2025, maybe even the 3M Open! My first question for you: did they choose the right events to kick this off (Phoenix Open, RBC Heritage, Wells Fargo, Travelers Championship)?

James Colgan: If I were a teacher grading the elevated event selections, I think I’d give the PGA Tour half-credit for their efforts. I like the Phoenix Open and the Wells Fargo. Both of those events feel like bigger events each year, and it helps that I can name at least half of their recent winners. The RBC and Travelers, while fine Tour events, are pretty eh to me. I don’t get the feeling that making them worth $20 million is going to make me care very much about them, even if it helps to juice their respective field strengths a little bit. I’d much rather have seen the Farmers, Canadian Open, or Schwab in that same slot.

Are these guys like sixteen years old?  Did Jay pick the right events isn't exactly the right concept, as he shockingly picked the events whose sponsors were willing to pay up.  And they don't seem to have noticed that two of the four are the week after majors....including one with a five-hour flight time.

Also, no real concern about those events that remain unelevated.... I'm sure they'll be fine Korn Ferry fields.

Seriously, how naive are these two?

Sean: Well, I’m all in on watching Jon Rahm or Rory McIlroy play Harbour Town, but yeah, I tend to agree. If I can try and guess the theory there, it’s that the Tour can’t have the most perfect set of four elevated events every year. They really need to spread the love, because basically every event raised its hand and asked to become elevated.

Do you not recognize a pay-to-play scheme when you trip over it?

They at least recognize this point of vulnerability:

Sean: Can we pour out a pint of Tennent’s for the Scottish Open not being selected?

James: The DP World Tour must be furious at that development (not all strategic alliances can be as easy as ours!). I wonder if the cross-sanctioned nature of the event was its eventual undoing. If the Tour is shelling out $20 million for an event, it would make sense to me that they want to be damn sure that money is winding up in the pockets of its full-time members.

Fine, as long as Jay has the Euro Tour under lock and key.... It's not just that the Scottish isn't elevated, the players are required to play so many events that they would be hard-pressed to add the Scottish, even is they think it'll help their preparation for the Open.

There's some good stuff buried, but it's at the same time comically inept.  For instance, James Colgan makes an impassioned plea for improved venues, but the citations are just bat guano crazy:

James: LOL. Now you’re just getting a rise out of me. The biggest thing I’d change with the PGA Tour schedule is the quality of the venues utilized. Every year, the overwhelming majority of golf’s best courses go entirely unseen by the public. This never made sense to me. Imagine having an NFL season without a game at Lambeau Field — it’s weird! The Tour should be trying like hell to fit as many top golf destinations into its annual calendar. It’s how you educate your fanbase, and how you draw in the most enjoyable events. Pinehurst, Bandon, Chambers, Bethpage, Gamble Sands … and those are just the public tracks worth considering! If you’re going to go to Chicago, like you suggested, play Chicago G.C., Medinah, or Shoreacres.

Let's see, the compelling need to go to Pinehurst, which is hosting the 2024 U.S. Open, is what exactly?   

He checks off cool names he's familiar with, such as Bandon and Chicago Golf Club, without regard for whether those golf course are remotely suitable.  And remote?  How many fans would you guess you could get to Bandon, OR?  He's absolutely correct on the larger issue, that's a place the Tour could improve dramatically, but it takes a lot more thought.  Interestingly, the Tour did actually find an interesting venue this week, but the degree of difficulty is higher than James realizes.

They do try to discuss the larger of issue of what to do with the Fall, but they don't get very far with it.

Fully Committed - I'm just not a fan of this:

Los Angeles Country Club set to host 2032 U.S. Women's Open and 2039 U.S. Open

Geoff explains:

Anyway, this officially commits the U.S. Open to all but nine years between now and 2051, and unofficially through 2035 with the next openings in 2036, 2038 and 2040.

The U.S. Women’s Open is officially taken through 2032, with the next openings coming in 2033, 2036 and 2037.

As a minor quibble, you're hosting this year's U.S. Open at LACC, which I think will prove to be a wonderful venue, but doesn't it make more sense to see that Open before committing to additional events? 

More importantly, they've selected the site for the 2051 Open, which seems rather, well unnecessary.  It strikes this observer as hubris to think one could anticipate the state of game and the demands for a venue so far into the future.  Do tey have a Plan B in case Trump buys one or more of these entities?

They should be planning the next decade or so of events, but this business of committing forty years out is just nuts.

I'll wish you a great weekend and catch you on Monday.

Midweek Musings

The plan was to clear out some browser tabs, but then the boys in Ponte Vedra Beach dropped some actual news....

Elevate This - If LIV exists to make golf louder, then the PGA Tour seems to be responding by making golf...well, higher.  Of course, everything remains relative:

The PGA Tour is set to announce a further four tournaments with elevated status for 2023, Golfweek has learned. The additions will bring to 13 the total number of Tour events designated as

“elevated,” meaning the presence of the game’s biggest stars will be guaranteed as they compete for lucrative purses of at least $20 million. The Tour plans to communicate specifics on the events to players later this week.

In August, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan announced the first nine elevated events for the 2022-2023 season. Those were the Players Championship; three FedEx Cup playoff stops (FedEx St. Jude Championship, BMW Championship, Tour Championship); the three invitationals (Genesis, Arnold Palmer, Memorial); the WGC Dell Technologies Match Play; and the Sentry Tournament of Champions.

Don't want to make the trek to Hawaii right after New Years?   Don't fancy August in Memphis?  Suck it up, bucko, they were only kidding when they called you an independent contractor.

I thought they'd milk the drama longer, after all there's sponsors to be extorted:

The four additional tournaments to be elevated this season are the WM Phoenix Open, the RBC Heritage, the Wells Fargo Championship and the Travelers Championship, according to five sources familiar with the discussions. Several sources said the Tour is still in the process of finalizing negotiations with the events. A spokesperson for the PGA Tour declined to confirm the details or to comment on potential announcements.

While the nine previously-announced events will have elevated status every year, it’s expected that the four unveiled this week will rotate between tournaments each season, ensuring that every sponsor interested in paying for elevated status would be guaranteed the best possible field every few years.

All righty then, I guess the announcement will be withheld pending clearance of the checks.  But why exactly would you do business with the Tour?  You signed up with the expectation that you'd compete with other events for your field through amenities, the venue and the other soft factors that go into making a schedule, only to be told that the Tour is now a Pay-to-Play Ponzi scheme.  

You'll no doubt be unconsciously nodding your head and thinking these are worthy events, well, worthyish at the very least.  But it's quite bizarre in a number of ways, and Dylan Dethier does a credible job of identifying the winners and losers:

 

WINNER: SUPER BOWL WEEKEND

The WM Phoenix Open has been a behemoth of a frat party for decades. The 2023 edition was always going to be even more behemoth-y, given the Super Bowl is coming to the same city the same week. Now that it’s going to be an elevated event? Yowza. TPC Scottsdale’s about to be a tough ticket — never mind State Farm Stadium.

LOSER: CANADA

After an invigorating edition of the RBC Canadian Open this summer, there was plenty of positive chatter about the national open hosted by our brothers and sisters to the north. This year? Yikes. The Tour’s trek to Canada comes the week after the Memorial and the week before a back-to-back duo of the U.S. Open and Travelers Championship, both elevated events. Something’s gotta give, and this year that something is a trip to Oakdale Golf and Country Club.

But don’t fret, Canada. There will be a brighter 2024. The Presidents Cup is coming to Montreal, after all. And RBC is sponsoring the Tour’s elevated event at Hilton Head in 2023 — could it take that money north of the border in 2024…?

OK, as long as you promise that the scene in the upper-right hand quadrant is not repeated....

Most folks won't care about the diminishment of the Canadian Open, but isn't RBC expecting all its sponsored players to show up at its flagship event (which just happens to be their national open)?

The Texas guys get pimped pretty good:

LOSER: TEXAS

The Lone Star State isn’t getting shut out of the elevated events; the WGC-Match Play in Austin remains one of the most fun tournaments on the calendar. But the rest of its events are in a bit of a pickle. The Houston Open’s future is uncertain after this fall. The Valero Texas Open sits the week before the Masters-RBC back-to-back stretch. And playing both DFW-area events in the spring (Byron Nelson and Colonial) would require playing five events in a row (and seven of eight, including the U.S. Open-Travelers stretch). Jordan Spieth contemplated that dilemma on Tuesday:

“You know, if that’s the case, then that does put me and a few other people like Scottie, Zalatoris, some guys who like playing both the Dallas events in a situation where you’re looking at five in a row, which I’ve done once. I don’t particularly like doing more than four in a row, but I love my hometown events.”

Your humble blogger believes that folks think they know what they want, but are perhaps not accounting for all the factors involved.  This is a perfect example, where we fail to incorporate the importance of  home games.  Heck, I thought the Byron Nelson would die after its namesake did so, but it was sustained at least in part due to the loyalty of the Texas boys.  Guess what, if you wanted to kill those two events, this is how you'd do it.

No surprise then that I don't really agree here:

WINNER: FANS

It’s fun to pick through the minutiae, and there obviously is some collateral damage, but big-picture this is a really positive development for PGA Tour fans. Finally we have some clarity around which events *really* matter and we know when all the biggest names are going to show up. That’s a net gain; the big events will feel bigger, the fall “offseason” will get us revved up for the start of the next year and we’ll have a healthier balance of big-time golf in our lives. There will still be golf, like, every week, but it’ll be easier to make sense of it all.

In attempting to strengthen some weeks, you've inevitably weakened others, so it seems more of a push than a win.  Admittedly, the core problem is that there are simply way too many events, but at least wait until you see the fields at the non-elevated events before crowing.  

But here's where it goes off the tracks badly:

LOSER: POST-MAJOR WEEKS

I’ll be clear on this one: I hate the idea of having elevated events the week after a major. Hate it. If I was in charge, the Tour wouldn’t have any PGA Tour events the week after a major, much less an elevated event where you get the exact same group of fellas together. But this year we’ll do that twice, first from the Masters to the RBC Heritage (which at least makes geographic sense)

I cut Dylan's thought unceremoniously, because what comes next is beyond parody.  But even Harbor Town is profoundly silly.  It has always worked as a palate-cleanser after the Masters.  A dramatically different kind of venue, it offered a suitably low key week for those that wanted it.

While that one works, kinda, get a load of what Jay is making the lads do:

and then from the U.S. Open in Los Angeles to the Travelers in Connecticut (which makes less geographic sense).

Blergh. Let the gravity of what you’ve just done at the majors soak in! Every other sport builds up to its biggest competitions and then takes a break immediately thereafter. You’re not likely to see NFL teams suiting up the week after the Super Bowl, after all. I’d much prefer if there was a way to work in the elevated events the week before majors, to serve as a sort of tune-up. Otherwise we’re just resigning ourselves to weeks of anti-climax and this feels more like sponsor service than the best possible schedule for the Tour.

Yeah, I know, that Super Bowl reference is quite the category error, especially since confusing golf with football is pretty mush how we got the incoherent FedEx Cup in the first place.    

Imagine, you're in the final group on Sunday at LACC, and suffer a heartbreaking loss on the last hole.... You take a quick shower and ...get on a plane for Hartford?  I'll predict that the Tour sets a record for injury withdrawals in Hartford, so we got that going for us.

Of course, the next two Opens are at Pinehurst and Oakmont.  Wouldn't either have been the better year to elevate Hartford?

One last point that Dylan captures relates to that great strategic alliance, which got coal in their stocking.  Jay's Achilles heel might well prove to be headquartered at Wentworth:

LOSER: THE STRATEGIC ALLIANCE (FOR NOW)

Here’s hoping a sizable contingent still shows up to play the Genesis Scottish Open this coming year despite its lack of elevated status. And here’s hoping the Tour allows its cross-tour members (like Jon Rahm or Rory McIlroy) to count their DP World Tour starts towards their required three “non-elevated” starts on the PGA Tour. That would seem like an easy and logical nod to the Tour’s strategic partners across the pond. For now, though, the Euro Tour doesn’t seem overly present in the Tour’s immediate plans.

But I think “for now” is an important caveat here.

And Dylan has barely touched on the issue raised by Jon Rahm, that it's simply too much golf being demanded of those who also belong to the Euro Tour.

Even one of the "winners" can see where this leads:

In a story published this week by the Associated Press, the all-time major winner questioned the Tour’s recent move to give 12 events more lofty status, with purses between $15 million and $20 million, and the promise of having the circuit’s “top players.” Nicklaus’ concern centered on the Tour’s other tournaments.

“I’m not sure what to make of it yet,” Nicklaus told the Associated Press. “I think the Tour was going to get there, but the LIV thing pushed them. That’s pretty obvious. What it’s done is made the PGA Tour almost two tiers. All of a sudden the other tournaments become feeders.”

Jack is wrong only in the sense that it's always been thus, a few years back the divide was where Tiger played and where he didn't.  It's just that, with players free to make their own schedules, sponsors could market their events and attempt to draw enough talent to maintain interest.  Now the Tour is basically prohibiting elite players from playing in, say those Texas events, merely by requiring them to play in so many other places.  

I don't see anything good in this, especially since the vast majority of the top players were already participating in most of those elevated events.  All this does is calcify the status of the non-elevated events, and I just don't see why you'd want to play Jay's game.  

The Weekend - felt a little remorse at not blogging the actual golf, which was more interesting than a typical mid-October weekend delivers.  First, the battle of the has-beens (as per the Tour Confidential panel):

Keegan Bradley made a long birdie putt on the 71st hole to win the Zozo Championship on Sunday in Japan, beating Rickie Fowler and Andrew Putnam by one. It was Bradley’s fifth career PGA Tour victory and first since 2018. In the process he beat Fowler, the second- and third-round leader, who sits at five career victories and hasn’t had one since 2019. It was an emotional win for Bradley but another close call for Fowler. Who needed this victory more?

Berhow: Neither of their bank accounts really needed this latest check, and kudos to Keegan for pulling this off — you could see how much it meant to him afterward — but I think it would have been bigger for Rickie. He hasn’t played as well as Keegan the last few years and has staked his named to the PGA Tour in the battle vs. LIV. (Remember, Fowler was on that jet with Tiger that went to Hartford for that rallying cry.) Fowler’s still a huge name in the golf world and would have secured a pretty substantial contract to go to LIV, and winning on Tour now would have helped validate his decision. Regardless it was a good week for Rickie, who has turned in top 10s in two of his three starts this season. One last thing about Fowler — he’s long been criticized for having just five career Tour wins, but I was shocked today when I realized he’s had 15 (!) runner-up finishes. Man, coulda would shoulda, but turn a few of those into Ws and look at what it does for Fowler’s career.

Zak: Rickie needed the win more. Their droughts were virtually the same, but Rickie had become an average performer. Bradley was still elite tee-to-green, a la Adam Scott, just waiting for a great putting week. Fowler’s game has shown no elite aspects the last two years, and even if that might start changing with Butch Harmon back in tow, Fowler has plenty to prove.

I was surprised by how many people cared about an event in Japan in October, a reflection of the good will people have for Rickie.  Surprising, because I'm old enough to remember the days of Orange Man Bad....But if we're looking for a guy that could benefit from not taking the blood money, Rickie is well positioned there.

I know it's the round bellies, but respect is due:

There’s shooting your age, then there’s what Fred Couples did on Sunday.

The 63-year-old Couples finished with seven-straight birdies to beat his age by three and lap the field at the SAS Championship by six for his 14th PGA Tour Champions victory and first since 2017.

Couples career-low 60 featured 12 birdies, with the run of seven-in-a-row coming on the final seven holes of the par-72 Prestonwood Country Club. He put it on the par-5 17th in two, giving him a chance for a 59. He also had a run of five-straight birdies on the front nine.

“It’s easy to say because we’re standing here, but I think it’s the best round I’ve ever played,” Couples said. “I hit a few loose shots, got away from them, but I made so many putts. I don’t know what other rounds I’ve ever shot on the Champions Tour that are close to 60, so this would probably be my best round and lowest score by far.

Wow!  I don't care if it's mini-golf, it's just crazy low.

This isn't making our life any easier, but this one could get tricky:

Spain's Adrian Otaegui becomes first LIV golfer to win a DP World Tour event

Here's the background:

In June, Otaegui played in the inaugural LIV Golf Invitational in London, finishing tied for sixth, and made subsequent starts in Portland and Boston. After his initial LIV appearance, the DP

World Tour suspended Otaegui and the other tour members who competed on the rival tour for three events and fined them £100,000. Otaegui subsequently appealed those penalties to an arbiter, who quickly stayed the suspension.

With a full hearing scheduled in the U.K. for February to decide whether the DP World Tour can prohibit defectors from playing in its events, LIV golfers are still allowed to enter tour events. Otaegui was making his ninth start in a DP World event since June.

You see the range of issues for Jay?  In a perhaps far-fetched scenario, who's to say that a court would similarly reinstate Henrik Stenson's captaincy?

There are no shortage of Euro players that want Keith Pelley to accept a Saudi bailout, as they think their tour is being dissed by the evil Americans.  They might have a pint, although they seem to ignore the weakened state of the Euro Tour in their calculations.  Any thoughts as to what happens to the Ryder Cup under such a scenario?

More realistically (although I don't consider that farfetched in the slightest), what if Keith Pelley is permanently enjoined from suspending the LIV defectors?  Doesn't that mean that they can qualify for the Euro Ryder Cup team?  Stay tuned.

Today On Planet Phil - The Tour Confidential panel had some thoughts on Phil's Saudi bloviations and, while they're late and not especially profound, it makes for low-impact blogging:

Phil Mickelson, for the first time in what seemed like a very long time, riffed on a variety of

topics during his pre-tournament presser at LIV Golf’s Jeddah event, including his decision to join LIV. “I see LIV Golf trending upwards, I see the PGA Tour trending downwards, and I love the side that I’m on,” Mickelson said. Mickelson, of course, is biased, but is there any truth to his answer?

Zephyr Melton: Is LIV trending up? Yes. With each successful tournament and big-name star they sign, they gain even more momentum. But is the Tour trending down? Hardly. With the improvements they’re making to the schedule, I’d argue it’s on the upswing, too.

Josh Berhow: LIV can’t really begin to attract more fans until it gets a TV deal, and there’s obviously still confusion regarding when that’s going to happen. YouTube streams aren’t going to cut it. I don’t think the PGA Tour is in a bad place, though. They lost some big names but how many of them were playing at a high level lately? Just a few. It will be interesting to see how the Tour’s elevated events shake out in 2023. Will they feel bigger to the average fan?

Sean Zak: It’s campaign season folks! Mickelson is doing his best modern politicking — explaining things away quickly and simply when the truth is just far more complex. The PGA Tour is not trending downwards. Sorry, Phil.

I'm curious as to why Zephyr thinks LIV is trending up although perhaps that's a function of your start date.  I would say that since the Cam Smith/Joaquin Niemann signings it's been a rough go for the radicals, as no one seems to have much cared for their Bangkok and Saudi events.

More importantly, they still seem nowhere as far as a U.S. TV contract is concerned:

5 challenges LIV Golf faces in fight for TV rights

Only five?  Sounds low by a lot....

1. The ratings are down vs. earlier LIV events.

Ratings prognostication is a problem typically reserved for those with advertisers they’re scared of underwhelming, but for LIV Golf, it’s actually bigger than that. Ratings for the upstart tour have sagged significantly since relatively stronger performances at LIV Boston, Chicago and Bedminster.

After landing audiences of greater than 600,000 viewers for the final rounds of those three events, both of LIV’s international events (in Bangkok and Jeddah) struggled to reach 300,000 viewers, seeing declines of more than 50 percent off the summer’s high watermark. At LIV Bangkok, things were worse in terms of average audience, which was one-third the size of LIV Chicago and one-fifth the size of LIV Boston.

Of course, it should be noted that LIV Bangkok was contested in the middle of the night for many Americans, while LIV Jeddah was played in the early morning. Still, these dropoffs suggest that YouTube viewers — many of them likely Americans — aren’t following the league as it shifts to different timezones; a concern for broadcast partners who will find themselves at the mercy of LIV’s tournament schedule.

There is that, though there's a bigger issue left on the cutting room floor.   just like the actual tourneys sounded so much better on paper, the same applies to their broadcasts.  Nobody will tune in, because golf kinda sucks, boys.

Even if they got Masters-level ratings for every broadcast, they'd still lay a huge egg.

Last week was also the first time Mickelson’s been in Saudi Arabia since controversial comments he made last year led to him taking a leave of absence. There was a lot to unpack about Mickelson’s few minutes from the media, but what was your biggest takeaway from the most candid version of Phil we’ve seen for quite some time?

Melton: His claim that he “never did an interview with Alan Shipnuck” was a curious one considering he issued an apology after the fact back in the spring. I’d wager his attempt at revisionist history is likely a strategy we’ll see from many LIVers in the future.

Berhow: It sounds like his comments about speaking with Alan (or not speaking with him) were more related to it not being an “interview” since Phil still claims it was off the record. (Shipnuck says otherwise.) That said the guy was in a tricky spot, back in Saudi Arabia and having to touch on that topic. But I digress. I think the Phil we saw in that pre-tournament presser proved he’s settling in a little bit. He had to keep a low profile after his comments from February made worldwide news but now he’s getting a little more comfortable and letting it fly. How much of it is truthful and how much of it is a spin? That’s up to interpretation.

Zak: My biggest takeaway is I’d like Mickelson to step forward with some facts, context and nuance next time he wants to go deep. His public discussion of media rights in January? Littered with half-truths, as reported by GOLF.com’s James Colgan. His “I never did an interview with Alan Shipnuck” line this week reeked of Aaron Rodgers’ deceitful immunized/vaccinated storyline from last fall. For years, the treasure of Mickelson in front of a mic was not knowing what he’s going to say. Now he feels predictable and deceptive. It’s not a great look.

How do you know Phil is lying?  Relitigating that Shipnuck conversation while on Saudi soil just seems like an unforced error, but he's the FIGJAM and we're not.

But, did someone mention Alan Shipnuck?  because I've been trying to sort through my mixed feelings about him, mostly thinking that he's gone awfully easy on both Phil and LIV.  We've got two bits from Alan to mull, the second being a bit of a bombshell I think.

First, there's an Ask Alan that I ignored and is now mostly dated, though this Q&A is worth a moment:

If rumored LIV changes — 72 holes, a cut, a qualifier, etc. — come to fruition, is this another Monahan mistake? He’s forcing their hand but may end up giving them more legitimacy long-term with a widely accepted format that’s more difficult to ridicule. Thoughts? @kylelabat

We can blame Jay Monahan for a lot of things, but this is a bridge too far. LIV has said from the beginning that this year is a beta test and things will evolve. With the OWGR declining to bend the knee, it has become obvious that LIV will have to try harder to meet the established criteria. Going to 72 holes, having a cut and a more attainable qualifying system are the keys, and that template was established by the World Ranking bylaws, not Monahan.

Excuse me, is there a rumor of LIV changing to 72 holes?  Because that would be quite the admission against interest, no?  Not to mention the amusement to be ha at their name....

Jay is reaping the whirlwind of some bad decisions for sure, most notably awarding OWGR points to Tiger's hit-and-giggle event.  The strongest argument against the LIV events receiving OWGR points is the field size, not that there aren't other issues in their structure.  To me, a bigger issue that hasn't been focused on is that they'll be language in some of those contracts guaranteeing the player a spot in the field, thereby limiting the ability of other players to qualify in.  We'll likely find that Lee Westwood is guaranteed his spot until 2028, or some such nonsense.

Lastly, and it would be hard to come up with a better item on which to exit, than this thunderbolt from Shipnuck:

“The three most explosive things I know to be true about Phil Mickelson are not in the book and each of them would have been international news.”
- @alanshipnuck on his book, “Phil”

Full Fire Drill below 🔥
Watch - https://t.co/aaKfRe9r9q
Listen - https://t.co/NeYJT1rUeT pic.twitter.com/BgKOPyHmkJ

— Fire Pit Collective (@firepitstories) October 17, 2022

And so you're offering fools like myself who purchased your book a refund?

Seriously, what the f**k does this mean?  If he knows it to be true, why is not n his biography of the man?  And why is telling us this? Is it not an admission of malpractice?  

Does he think he can say that out loud and not come across with the goods?

I don't think you'll see me tomorrow, but we'll catch up on it all on Friday.