Unplayable Lies

Monday, November 20, 2023

Weekend Wrap - See You In Albany Edition

Shockingly, attention must be paid to the actual golf this weekend.... Didn't see that one coming.

Sea Island Breakthrough - How does one know that a young phenom is the real deal? Well, and you heard it here first, winning early and often is our first clue:

A month before this year's Ryder Cup, the name "Ludvig Aberg" was like the faint howl of a distant wind in the golf world—if you noticed it at all, you barely paid attention, and there were only a few
people warning us that the whisper might turn into a roar...and much sooner than anyone thought. The 23-year-old Swede, winner of the Ben Hogan Award at Texas Tech, had turned down a massive LIV deal last year, turned pro this summer, finished top five at the John Deere, and strung together a few solid results in Europe. Then, a day before Luke Donald had to make some tough choices for his captain's picks, Aberg won his first professional event at the Omega European Masters. Donald's decision became a lot easier, Aberg made the team, and posted a 2-2 record as Europe slaughtered the Americans in Rome. He was no longer anonymous, and his career as he turned 24 on Halloween began to resemble a person bounding up a set of stairs with startling speed.

Sunday, at the RSM Classic, Aberg climbed to the next step: He is now a PGA Tour winner. With a final round 61 to match the same score on Saturday, Aberg finished at 28 under, three clear of Mackenzie Hughes, who kept it interesting with a 63 of his own. The most notable vanquished foe, however, wasn't Hughes, but Eric Cole—the 35-year-old who came into the week as the apparent frontrunner in the Rookie of the Year race. With a deeper resume than Aberg's, nothing but a win from the Swedish phenom could have changed the outcome, but win is exactly what he did, and it now appears overwhelmingly likely that Aberg—the only rookie to score a win this PGA Tour season, not counting opposite field events—will take home the Arnold Palmer Award.

I caught the last 4-5 holes, and the kid seemed preternaturally calm, as if he was in complete control of all aspects of his game. The funny aspect to me is that because of this aura of serenity, he kept taking me by surprise with how quickly he pulled the trigger.

It reminds very much of a certain Cablinasian player that burst onto the scene in 1996, also with two quick wins in a cameo appearance (I'm including Ludvig's win on the Euro Tour that got him his passage to Rome). For what it's worth, he also had a better first Ryder Cup than that other guy...

Props to Golfweek for tackling the obvious issue Aberg's rise brings to the fore:

Ludvig Aberg answers the question what language does he curse in on the course — Swedish or English — among 5 things to know after Round 3 at the RSM Classic

Sanskrit? This is obviously one of those where the fun is in the question:

Not long after Aberg watched his highlight reel hole-out at 14, he settled the debate by saying that he curses his rare misfired shots in Swedish. Did he drop any explicit words during Saturday’s scintillating 61, which lifted him to a 54-hole total of 20-under 192?

Of course, silly question to pose when the guy's throwing up a 61....

The Tour Confidential panel has become quite the laughingstock, and you'll have guessed their opening question for this week's installment, almost justified this time. But here's the only question they allocate to this event, half-cocked at best:

3. The RSM Classic, won by Ludvig Aberg, capped the PGA Tour’s inaugural seven-event Fall series. So, did the new format work? Or did the drama of finishing inside or outside the top 125 fall flat compared to previous years?

Bastable: No doubt the new framework injects some drama, though 126-150 still maintain conditional status for 2024, so it’s not like the guys who just missed the mark are totally kicked to the curb. I’m more excited about the reintroduction of Q-School this year, by which five Tour cards will be doled out next month. There may be no more democratic — or cutthroat — system in all of sports.

Wall: I spent the early part of the week in Sea Island and can confirm the new format certainly did the trick. There was a ton of nervous energy on the range that was non-existent last year when RSM wassimply the last event before the end of the year. Drama late in the year is never a bad thing, even if everyone still had their eyes fixed on the football.

I think the issue of what the Tour should do with the Fall is quite worthy, the more so since they don't have a clue themselves. Getting a TV-worthy audience to follow the gyrations around a random three-digit number is a big ask, though, espe3cially when the guys involved may have already finished their rounds when the coverage window begins.

But you wouldn't want to ask your staff writers for their impressions or career projections after the breakthrough Tour win of a young stud, would you? That risks actually being interesting and, Lord knows, we can't have that.

Tiger In Winter - No doubt you've heard that Tiger was able to convince the sponsor of the Hero World to allocate a precious sponsor's exemption on, checking notes, Tiger Woods. It's a surprise to me just because of the calendar, but obviously the Tour Confidential panel couldn't resist:

1. Tiger Woods announced he’ll play his Hero World Challenge in two weeks in the Bahamas, which will be his first start since he withdrew from the 2023 Masters and had a procedure on his ankle. We already know a ‘win’ for Woods would be four healthy rounds. But what’s a ‘win’ for him in 2024? More good health? Contending? What’s your 2024 Tiger forecast?

Alan Bastable: Tiger’s Hero commitment was a pleasant surprise — I assumed we wouldn’t see
him until the cart-friendly PNC — and an indicator that his ailing body is back to a place where he feels confident that he can walk 7,200 yards for at least four consecutive days. How Woods actually feels, looks and sounds come Friday (or Sunday!) evening in the Bahamas should give us more insight into his 2024 prospects. A “win” for ’24? Staying off the operating-room table, playing at least half the majors and delighting TGL fans with his short-game wizardry. Whether or not Woods is competitive next year, merely having him in and around the game, in any capacity, is a “win” for all.

Zephyr Melton: More good health. There’s no doubt Tiger still has the ability to compete, but the wear and tear of four rounds — let alone a full season — is what will hold him back. It would be a massive victory if he can make it through 2024 without any major health setbacks.

Jonathan Wall: Health. It’s the realistic win at the moment until we see he can handle four rounds of competitive golf — walking. I still don’t believe we’ll see him more than a few times next year, outside of the TGL dome. Tiger’s enjoying his time watching Charlie flourish on the course; I just can’t see him grinding away at regular Tour events. He doesn’t have anything left to prove. After all he’s been through, the simple fact Tiger is teeing it up again is a miracle.

We'll know quite a bit more when we see how he's able to walk, but anyone curious as to who will have the bag? Less so here than, say, in LA, where one assumes the hatless wonder will be pegging it as well....

But, while everyone is understandably focused on Tiger playing, this bit seems to be far under the radar:

Along with Woods, it was also announced that Justin Rose and Lucas Glover had been given tournament exemptions, with the Englishman and American joining Woods in completing the 20-
man field.

The two players in question that Rose and Glover replaced turned out to be Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele, with the American duo now not listed in the Hero World Challenge field.

Currently, it is unclear as to why Cantlay has withdrawn from the event, but Schauffele did reveal a week or so ago that he had withdrawn from the tournament at Albany Golf Club, stating that he wanted some time off from golf to allow him to unwind for the first time since the pandemic.

Color me cynical, but if either of them drops out citing that they want to spend more time with their family, fine. But for those two to drop out simultaneously? The reader is free to draw his or her own conclusions, but those seem like they'll be some delightfully awkward PAC meetings, even without Rory involved.

The Tour In Winter - Just a few loose ends worth musing upon, first the TC take on Rory's stage-left exit:

4. Rory McIlroy abruptly resigned from the PGA Tour board, leaving a vacant spot and raising questions about why McIlroy left before his three-year term was over. McIlroy said simply “something had to give” with everything he had going on in his life. Does his resignation have any significant meaning to Tour pros? Or to fans?

Bastable: Yes, the move has much meaning! In the LIV era, McIlroy established himself as the most ardent supporter of the PGA Tour and the voice of his peers. He could have quietly ridden out the remainder of his term and began curtailing the time and energy he invested into PAC matters, but instead he pulled the plug entirely. If you take McIlroy at his word, his decision was driven by his overtaxed schedule. No doubt that was a factor, but surely so too was his rightful disgruntlement over the Tour’s secret dealings with the Saudis. That degree of betrayal can’t be easy to get over. Curious minds might also wonder if McIlroy’s deteriorating relationship with fellow board member Patrick Cantlay played a role. In a recent interview, McIlroy described his relationship with Cantlay as “average at best,” adding, “We don’t have a ton in common and see the world quite differently.” It’s useful to have a variety of opinions in the board room but only if the sources of those opinions respect one another.

Melton: It absolutely has meaning. Rory has been the voice of the establishment in the LIV-PGA Tour war, and to see him abruptly step down is not a great sign. As AB notes above, the secret dealing with LIV likely left Rory with a sour taste in his mouth. Once you lose someone’s trust, it’s hard to get it back. Jay Monahan and Co. almost certainly lost Rory’s trust this summer, and it doesn’t appear they’ve done much to earn it back.

Wall: Of course! Rory was the voice of his peers — or at least a large majority of them — when LIV was trying to poach the Tour’s top talent. You can’t go from being right in the middle of the action to tapping out and not have people question the motive behind the decision. Sure, Rory was spreading himself too thin, but if the Tour wasn’t seriously considering a framework with PIF, I’m pretty sure he would’ve stayed on board in some capacity — even if he throttled back in ‘24. Simply put, the very thing he fought to protect burned him. Many would’ve done the exact same thing if they were in his position.

Jay must have confused Rory with a sponsor to have treated him in that manner, no?

It continues to amaze me that a guy like Jonathan Wall continues to speak of the players as some unified mass with identical objectives. What Wall seems to have missed is that Rory took the leadership roll in advocating for a huge money grab on the part of the elite players, justifying it by the need to battle LIV. When the Tour pulled the rug out from under him that left him exposed, because he'd sold out the interests of most of those guys. Hence the Grayson Murray confrontation in Canada, but he's unwelcome among those he screwed.

Of course, this guy's frustration communicates clearly, although his arguments could be far more cogent:

One man who believes these changes have only benefitted the circuit's elite group of players is Griffin. The American is currently battling for his 2024 playing rights in the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup fall standings, and opened up on his grievances that he had taken to McIlroy prior to his resignation.

"If he wants $20 million purses and $100 million PIP money, take it. We don’t give a s***. I told Rory this. I said, ‘Beginning of the year, what’s your goal? Win the FedEx Cup, win majors, win three, four times? Do you know what 70 percent of the guys out here, their main goal is? To keep their job.’ He said, ‘Fair enough.’ We care about money – that comes with good play – but we’re more worried about keeping our job."

Yes, Lanto is right to worry about keeping his job, but he seems strangely willing for Rory & Co. to keep that $20 million for themselves, which you'd think he'd prefer be spread around. He does have some faint praise for Rory and, even better, names names as a contrast:

While he questioned the the circuit's policy during McIlroy's tenure on the board, Griffin did praise the four-time major champion for his approachability, but hit out two of the Tour's biggest names in Justin Thomas and Collin Morikawa. There are certain guys out here among the top players who won’t give you the time of day and then there are guys like Rory who will," Griffin commented.

"I talked to him for about 30 minutes at [The] Players and then again in Canada, which is really nice of him, and he listens. There are some guys out here who wouldn’t do it. Justin Thomas wouldn’t do it. Collin Morikawa wouldn’t. I feel like there is an elitist group. Rory feels like he can listen in and understand where we’re coming from, too."

Errr, Lanto, have you had any reason to meet Patrick? I think you'll perhaps reassess your view of JT and Collin after meeting that penis....

My working theory is that Rory's likeability made him a particularly useful idiot to Jay, and perhaps to Tiger as well. That's perhaps why I was surprised by the Cantlay-X-Man withdrawal from the Hero, because it sure seems that Cantlay and Tiger are reading from the same hymnal, no?

Not sure I'm completely on board, but we always give Eamon a hearing on these subjects:

Lynch: The PGA Tour’s winter of discontent is upon us, and a thaw isn’t coming soon

As the most tumultuous year in the Tour’s history draws to a close (if not a resolution), the
portico principles that supported decades of the organization’s marketing are quickly crumbling. Like the ideals of comity and charity, for so long neatly packaged in a mantra — ‘These Guys Are Good’ — that was repeated with a fervor worthy of the Beijing politburo. Comity has been undermined by griping — about fellow players, about executives at HQ, about the media — while the unrelenting chatter about money encourages a perception that too many Tour members think charity ends where it should begin: at home.

The most enduring and ruinous narrative peddled by the Tour was that every event mattered equally, as did every man in a member-led organization. It was a sustainable storyline only as long as everyone on the boat was aligned to row in the same direction. To the extent that they ever were, they are no longer. A clear caste system now exists on the tournament schedule and the voices carrying most weight belong to a distinct minority of the membership.

But I had been reliably informed by Jonathan Wall that a majority of the players were behind Rory....

Eamon takes on the more personal of Lanto's comments as well:

As the Tour moves to fundamentally reshape how it does business, the divide has never been more glaring. Consider Lanto Griffin’s comments earlier this week when Rory McIlroy resigned from the Policy Board. “Rory was great because he was approachable by everybody, but at the same time he was bought by the Tour,” Griffin said. “The head of the board has the same sponsors as the Tour and the Players, there’s influence there — I’m talking Workday, I can’t remember all of them, Golfpass. The guy who’s running the board is being paid by all the title sponsors, it’s a little sketchy to me.”

The errors of fact in Griffin’s statement rival the frequency of bogeys on his scorecards, but what’s noteworthy here is that McIlroy’s success and marketability has been weaponized against him as cause for suspicion, as evidence that he’s compromised. It won’t be the last time we hear this specious claim leveled against a prominent star. A consequence of players taking control of board decisions is that they are now deemed blameworthy by any of the Tour’s steerage passengers who think those on the upper deck are leaning on the tiller for selfish reasons. That divisiveness is likely to increase since the time is nearing for decisions that will upset many who feel their concerns are being ignored, their grievances not redressed, their future employment not assured.

I don't think Lanto helps himself here, because I've never felt that Rory specifically was motivated by personal wealth, though I won't say the same about Tiger and the others. But the reality is therefore more depressing, because of how easily Rory allowed himself to be duped.

But Eamon to speak of Rory's success being weaponized is equally disingenuous to this observer. It's not the existence of $20 million events that's so repugnant, it's the existence of $20 million exhibition matches, because of the ridiculously small field sizes. Patrick and Rory simply don't want Lanto and the others to have a shot at these massive purses, and it's quite the obvious money grab. Your best events should have the strongest fields, but look at the bill of goods being sold... In the name of saving the Tour.

here's Eamon's inconclusive coda:

About the only thing uniting locker room factions is a mutual distrust of Tour leadership. Much of that owes to June 6, when Jay Monahan squandered every atom of trust and goodwill he had accumulated over six years as commissioner. It is exacerbated by the slow pace of progress with the Framework Agreement negotiations — “deliberate,” to use Monahan’s word in a memo to players — and the absence of concrete detail. There may be progress soon on the private equity component — to the inevitable disgruntlement of some — but any Saudi involvement faces potential regulatory scrutiny, a time-consuming process. And whatever the future landscape of the Tour and the broader men’s professional game, the steps to get there will be painstaking. The Tour has roughly $6 billion in media rights revenue guaranteed through 2030, and any substantive alterations to the product it delivers before then could imperil that cash. Which leaves plenty of time for grievances to fester.

This painful reckoning for the PGA Tour has been a long time coming, a winter of discontent with many seasons yet to run. It’s all enough to make one give thanks to Woods (perè et fils) for the promise of a few days in which to appreciate things on the other side of the ropes.

So, Eamon. Tiger is gonna save us? Yowzwer, where do I place a bet on Tiger selling us further down the river?

Zing! Went The Strings of My Heart - Yup, that Ryder Cup weekend being the final nail in the coffin, methinks:

Paul Azinger’s time as the lead analyst for NBC Golf is over.

NBC has elected not to re-sign Azinger, ending a four-year stint as the lead voice of the network’s professional golf coverage. The Associated Press‘ Doug Ferguson first reported the news, which was subsequently confirmed by Azinger himself.

He joined NBC as the successor to legendary golf analyst Johnny Miller, who retired upon the completion of the 2018 season after 29 years in the lead chair. At the time, Azinger’s hiring was largely lauded in the sport, and he was viewed as a safe bet to carry the torch forward for the network.

Zinger struck me as a guy that believed his early press clippings, but his reactions became increasingly disjointed and untethered to the action on the screen, never more so than in Rome:

At the time, it seemed Azinger was on a path to becoming the preeminent analyst in golf, succeeding Miller’s legacy. But as it would turn out, those good feelings were short-lived. As time wore on, public opinion turned against Azinger’s folksy, often instinct-driven analysis. On more than a handful of occasions, sharp viewers pointed out that his analysis was, in fact, at odds with easily accessible statistics or information. In critical moments, audiences grew frustrated with his tendency to overgeneralize using quips and aphorisms rather than information.

As the criticism mounted, Azinger appeared to go on the defensive, frequently deriding and dismissing the “media” during NBC’s coverage — a curious decision considering his role as arguably golf media’s preeminent voice. The situation came to a head at the Ryder Cup, where Azinger entered himself into the story surrounding Patrick Cantlay’s purported hatless protest by ripping the report as “clickbait garbage,” an allegation that subsequent reporting proved untrue.

Never trust content from Patrick Cantlay! The funny thing about interjecting himself into that mess is that the damming quote was made to Steve Sands, Zinger's NBC colleague..... He didn't need to do much work to know that was quicksand, but I don't think work was a big priority for the man.

2. Paul Azinger is out as NBC golf analyst after his five-year contract was not renewed. Are you surprised NBC is moving in a different direction, and why might it have decided to do so?

I'm gonna go with, because he sucked....

Bastable: My jaw didn’t drop, no, considering NBC has already been moving in a different direction. When late last year the network decided to move on from two of its stalwarts, in Roger Maltbie and Gary Koch, and bring in a relatively unproven talent in Smylie Kaufman (along with Brad Faxon), it was a clear signal that the Peacock was thinking about the future. Zinger generally was unafraid to speak his mind, but ultimately you also got the sense that he too frequently relied on his gut and didn’t do his homework. With so many analytics now available in the pro game — not to mention an army of media-watchers tweeting every misstep — lead analysts need to bring to the chair a combination of fearlessness and statistical acumen. Makes you wonder … is it finally Brandel’s time?

Melton: I’m not necessarily surprised NBC is going in a new direction, but the move did seem to come out of nowhere. There was not much indication a move like this was coming … and then the news dropped and here we are. Azinger wasn’t incompetent in the booth, but in an age when golf is trying to become more young and hip, he didn’t exactly fit the profile.

Wall: Somewhat. I thought Zing did an admirable job filling Johnny Miller’s shoes with his off-the-cuff takes and insights. I’ll agree with Alan that Brandel would be a logical call for NBC’s brass. I’m not sure anyone else out there would bring the juice at the moment.

Golf Digest does a deep dive that I'll leave you to, just these two assessments that most align with my own reactions:

Sorry Dave, but he sounded unprepared to me. There’s a reason he was routinely a punching bag on Golf Twitter. Replacing a legend is never easy, but he didn’t do a good job. And rarely do so many fans agree on something. —Alex Myers

Much like the loveable uncle who trots out the same lines and stories during the Thanksgiving NFL games, I really didn’t mind Azinger and his clichés all that much. The problem? Usually, you only deal with that uncle in small doses. Once or twice a year, tops. Zinger, meanwhile, is on our TV screens every other Sunday, often calling the biggest events. I can see how the 19th retelling of the time Phil Mickelson was scarfing down waffles while sitting on the 54-hole lead at whatever tournament would begin to wear on the viewers. I personally found it hilarious, in addition to the “straighter than train smoke” line and “players choke over two things: prayshure or prestige” line, but again, I get why others had had enough. —Christopher Powers

There were others more favorably disposed, so click through if you're of that mind.

As for a replacement, I'll assume that Brandel is sufficiently intelligent to take a hard pass on that grueling gig. So, who do these writers like in the chair?

Geoff Ogilvy would be a home-run hire. Knowledgeable on so many fronts yet can distill that knowledge in ways the average fan can digest. I would also like to see Jim “Bones” Mackay given a chance. We already have proof of concept that he can get the job done. —J.B.

Matt Every. Unfiltered as hell and he’s a young voice that might connect with younger viewers. Novel concept. But what the hell do I know. —C.P.

My first thought was Geoff Ogilvy, too. Very well spoken. Opinionated. Knowledgeable as a major winner and competitor as well as a course designer. He has a lot to bring to the table. —D.S.

Ogilvy would be great because he’d be much better at bridging the old school (“Pressure!”) with modern stats. Plus he still plays some so he’s more plugged in. Brandel Chamblee wouldn’t have the same relationships with current players, but at least he would always know what he’s talking about. Unfortunately, Phil Mickelson has probably burned too many bridges, and Tiger Woods isn’t ready to retire or they’d be fantastic. —A.M.

Give all the money to Paul McGinley and let him roll. —S.R.

Give Bones a gracious way to dump JT's disappointing bag?

I like Ogilvy a ton, although his interests might not align all that well with the audience they think they're after ( not that golf broadcasters have ever properly understood their own audiences).

McGinley is an interesting thought, although it's a bit of a thankless job. I suspect they'll go smaller ball... Smylie, anyone? Seriously, I don't actually think Comcast will pay what they'd need to for a name brand.

I shall release you sat this juncture and wish you a wonderful holiday week. The blogging schedule will be mad eup as we progress through said holiday week, so check back early and often.

Thursday, November 16, 2023

Thursday Threads - Rory In Winter Edition

It seems the gods are angry, so should be some good fun in that....

Idiots, Post-Usefulness - I'm only surprised that this didn't happen sooner, though it's as if this reporter knew what was coming:

Rory McIlroy faced the press on Tuesday in Dubai, taking questions ahead of the DP World Tour’s Tour Championship. One query proved particularly prescient.

Are you enjoying having a seat at that particular table?

The table in question was the PGA Tour’s policy board. And McIlroy’s answer was blunt.

“Not particularly, no,” he said. “Not what I signed for whenever I went on the board. But, yeah, the game of professional golf has been in flux for the last two years.”

Those comments teased at news that would come out later Tuesday evening in the form of an email from PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan: McIlroy had resigned from his position.

You didn't enjoy all that quality time with Patrick?

The email, first posted by Monday Q Info on Twitter, said that McIlroy had sent a resignation letter to the rest of the board on Tuesday afternoon, calling it a “difficult decision” made “due to professional and personal commitments.”

So he's using the old, "It's not you, it's me" bit....Although I find this far less of a mystery than the author apparently does:

Until McIlroy comments on the resignation there’s no telling what combination of factors led to his decision, leaving questions about his motive, about the board’s future and about what leadership role he does or does not want to play. But in his Tuesday press conference, even as he trumpeted the financial strength of the professional game, he hinted at the questions it’s facing, too.

Quite obviously he timed it so that he wouldn't have to address it, his reputation for being a straight talker always overestimated. Alan Shipnuck, like your humble blogger, seems to understand the root causes:

This was inevitable. Jay Monahan and Jimmy Dunne tore open Rory’s chest cavity, ripped out his heart and stomped on it in Softspikes. https://t.co/y9nOJ2MNVh
— Alan Shipnuck (@AlanShipnuck) November 15, 2023

Softspikes? Rory should only ne so fortunate, as I'm pretty sure Jay had retro nails in his shoes.... They used him to put his name and reputation behind changes that suited them, then they pulled the rug out from under him rathe publicly. Not clear to me why he would even be on speaking terms with those two guys.

Geoff has some on the news cycle, mostly of an unfiltered ilk. Here he has praise for Rory, praise with which I mostly agree, though this requires an all-caps BUT to follow:

For two years Rory McIlroy has served as the PGA Tour’s de facto spokesman all while playing
the best golf of his career.

Why has he taken on the burden at the potential expense of his game?

Because McIlroy cares. He’s also not terrified of a microphone the way his $15 million-a-year Commish appears to be whenever confronted by those soft, fuzzy sticks held by friendly faces who usually pitch prepared questions.

You see, unlike a majority of narcissistic pro golfers, McIlroy is generally able to think big picture and far beyond his self interests. And even when he’s offered curious takes on key topics in the sport—notably on the distance issue—he’s had little problem changing his mind when confronted with facts and time to process his prior stance. He’s also able to set his pocketbook aside when declaring a position. It’s why so many respect him and why one-dimensional dimwits clinging to LIV as a remedy for their life deficiencies so openly loathe a genuine article like McIlroy.

Look, I think Rory is a good guy, but he's been a minnow swimming among sharks. At best, he has allowed himself to be used to move the Tour in Patrick's direction, whereas he's the one guy (two, with Tiger) that could have stopped the limited field money grab. For those of us that hate the direction he took the Tour, we for a while could console ourselves with the rationale that we were heading off something worse. But Rory got rather publicly played, so forgive for withholding any plaudits.....

But then Shack makes quite the leap of logic, to wit, that Rory has sacrificed his results to fight that which we're to assume was the good fight:

Throughout this remarkable stretch of his career, one where he’s amassed millions but no majors since 2014, McIlroy’s carried way too much water for overpaid executives. He’s nice that way. And he’s fronted the sport at a time his game is clearly better than it’s ever been.

He’s not even close to the player of 2010-14. He’s way better.

In every facet of the game. Remember, if it was firm and fast, 2013 Rory had no chance. Now he can handle any course in any condition.

Through the saga of trying to compete and double as Chief PGA Tour Spokesman since the Commissioner and his revolving door of lieutenants can’t speak without tripping up, McIlroy’s still done incredible things in the majors he covets. I remain unable to fathom how he played as well as he did at the Old Course in 2022 or LA North in 2023 without taking winner’s trophies home. But the Golf Gods work in mysterious ways I’ll never understand.

Really? Geoff makes some very valid and good points, specifically about that crazy run of soft venues and I'll even buy that Rory is a better player today than back in 2011-14. That said, there remain major weaknesses in his game the he appear incapable or unwilling to remedy, and how about comparison with his current bête noire, Patrick Cantlay. The latter just hired Joe LaCava, a grizzled veteran of the looping game. Who does Rory keep on his bag? His childhood best friend, an obvious case of comfort over perhaps being challenged a little more....

In other news, on Monday we showed those Player Directors, noting that the term of everyone's favorite male sexual organ was expiring.... Not so quick there:

And it announced that Patrick Cantlay, who’d been serving in a one-year capacity, had been reappointed by the Player Directors to serve a three-year term from 2024-26. That formalized his place on the board alongside Charley Hoffman, Peter Malnati and Webb Simpson as well as Tiger Woods, who joined the board in August, and McIlroy.

So the man who split that Ryder Cup team room apart is one of five player directors?

In related news, the camera-shy Jay Monahan actually communicated with his members this week:

Despite rumors that the framework agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is in
jeopardy, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan asserted to tour membership that conversations remain ongoing.

In a memo sent to players Tuesday (first reported by Golf Channel), Monahan reiterated that his focus remains working “toward a definitive agreement with PIF and the DP World Tour as our priority.”

“Progress has been deliberate given the complex nature of the potential agreement, and we will keep you apprised of the progress, with continued input and direction from your player directors and player advisor Colin Neville,” Monahan wrote.

Deliberate? That's a useful euphemism, but fortunately we know that Jay wouldn't lie to us.... I can only hope that bi doesn't send Jay into another bout of depression, because emotional frailty is certainly the first attribute I look for in selecting an agent to negotiate a complex deal...

But Jay now has two distinct audiences, that heaving mass of tour rabbits and those whose calls get taken. See if you can suss out which of those two he's speaking to here:

On Tuesday, Monahan outlined to tour members that the review of these bids remains ongoing following a Monday policy board meeting. Entities in the bidding process include the Fenway Sports Group (which owns the Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh Penguins and the Premier League team Liverpool F.C.), Acorn Growth, Eldridge Industries and the investment firm KKR & Co. Executives from Endeavor—the parent company the WWE, the UFC, and sports agency IMG—said last month its bid was rejected.

Tuesday’s memo, which came after the PGA Tour Policy Board held a meeting on Monday, also noted that the tour has designed a program that would allow direct equity ownership for players in the new for-profit entity.

Well, gee, that sounds great, although I'm old enough to remember when the players owned everything.... Now just a few players will be cut in.

Today In Omens - An idiom is a figure of speech as follows:

An idiom is a phrase or expression that usually presents a figurative, non-literal meaning attached to the phrase.

You're a smart crowd, so of course you knew that, but perhaps an example will be helpful:

the roof falls in

he situation collapses; everything goes wrong. Typically used in the past tense. I was living paycheck to paycheck and getting by OK, but then the roof fell in. I lost my job, then my car and house. Our sales have been in a slump for months, and now with all these legal issues cropping up, it just feels like the roof is falling in on our company.

Got it, the roof falling in being a metaphor for things goin g pear-shaped. I only mention this because:

🚨😦❌ #NEW: The dome structure has collapsed at the SoFi Stadium where TGL matches are slated to be played early next year. Unclear how this will affect preparations for the league. (📸: @luckiestgolfer via @flushingitgolf) pic.twitter.com/I4APp249PU
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) November 15, 2023

Have you stopped laughing yet?

Udder Stuff - Just a few things to throw at the wall, starting with Geoff's rather harsh (but amusing) take on yet another ill-conceived chase for the microscopic golf audience:

Rough week for game growers. The TGL bubble burst. Already.

The collapse of SoNotFi Stadium GC Of Greater Palm Beach happened after a power outage put the “tech-forward” show in jeopardy of starting on time. The upstart league is backed by top players and ownership groups hoping to lure under 40-year-olds to bet like crazy responsibly and buy team-logoed hoodies.

The news landed a day after the worst thing ever put on golf television—at least since Shotmakers on Golf Channel—aired as “The Netflix Cup.” If you missed this precursor to the Saturday night F1 race in Las Vegas, (A) consider yourself the luckiest person on Earth, and, (B) if you must know more, just imagine your longest golf course nightmare infused by some wickedly strong magic mushrooms, a schlocky Wynn-infused Fazio, a giant synergistic Squid Games doll, all while experiencing a piercing case of hemorrhoids exacerbated by gruesome announcing, microphones open galore, and random B-listers (Steve Aoki!?). Oh, and there was the giant smiling Sphere (which did look amazing!) displaying shameless plugs for Netflix megahits that are in little need of help to juice their already massive audiences sizes.

Both of these grow-the-game debacles share a common thread: they are co-produced ventures from Excel Sports, the agents of several top players who suddenly seem determined to embarrass their clients in new and cutting edge ways. But at least the Excel team has yet to hit profound lows the way Golf Digest did in unveiling its “How To Cheat At Golf” package, a standout chapter in desperation phase seeking the same elusive demo of under-29, too-stupid-for-Barstool parolees-with-subscriptions that Netflix mysteriously hunted after with its painful knock-off of The Match. But in the latter case, at least the esteemed, trusted and incredible streamer will only take a brief hit as opposed to a fatal blow in proudly selling dishonesty.

So sorry I missed it.... Could it possibly have been worse than a LIV event?

Regrets, he's had a few, though I'll allow the reader to sort through the smoke being blown:

In a press conference in which more than a half dozen of the questions were focused on the Ryder
Cup, what went wrong, second-guessing, what happens next and more, Johnson did highlight one regret, which is a term he tip-toed around that night in Rome.

Johnson, on Tuesday, talked about compartmentalizing. How the best athletes — especially golfers — can do that well. Tiger Woods, he said, was one of the best at it.

“What I’m saying about compartmentalization is I think when it comes down to it, I look at things, every piece of my job is just that. Even within that compartment, there’s compartments. So I try to treat the Ryder Cup in that manner. I’m not one to tell them what to do or how to play, obviously I’m not their coach, but I am trying to put these guys in a position to play their best golf. That’s what compartmentalizing is,” Johnson said. “So I looked at every aspect of the Ryder Cup before and the week of and tried to diagnose it and study it and figure it out, like what’s the most efficient way to tackle each and every item. The common denominator that I go back to that I wish I could have changed, or not changed, I wish it would have dawned on me earlier is just the pure commodity of time and understanding that it’s precious. … If I could have put more value into time management, I could have put my guys in a better position to play golf at a better rate early on. I’m not suggesting that would have changed the outcome, not at all. I can’t determine that, that’s sports, right? I’m just saying I think in my seat I didn’t see what needed to be seen until after the fact. Now, it’s been seen and it’s been voiced by me and probably a couple others but specifically myself, so hopefully next time around there’s a better template put into place so these guys can go play golf.”

Should I wait for the English translation before commenting? I think it's great that we have this Task Force that allows captains to see their f**k-ups with clarity three months after the conclusion of the event...

But clearly Zach is focused like a laser on these issues....Yeah, NOT:

While Johnson didn’t provide examples when what exactly he meant regarding time management, if he was alluding to the pre-tournament preparation, that was one key storyline that was hit on often. Former European Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley touched on it often during the week, as did others. Only nine of the 12 American players made it over for the scouting trip a few weeks earlier, and the majority of the team hadn’t played competitively since the Tour Championship, which ended five weeks earlier. Europe, meanwhile, had all 12 of its players compete in the BMW PGA Championship two weeks before the Ryder Cup. Seven finished in the top 10.

Asked about it on Tuesday, Johnson said “there could be some truth in that” angle, and said it’s already been talked about, hoping the PGA Tour, PGA of America, DP World Tour and Ryder Cup Europe collaborate moving forward.

“Ideally you want to have some fresh guys. I don’t know if it’s the captain’s role to say, ‘Hey, you guys got to go play.’ I don’t know if that’s the proper way to approach it,” Johnson said. “Bottom line is the FedExCup takes a lot of time, energy and they need to rest, too.”

Yes, they are so very good at the talking thing.... The doing thing?

And remind me, Zach, why did only nine players go on the scouting trip? And when that hatless guy started roiling the team room over money, how exactly did you handle that? I know how Jay handled it, he gave the a*****e a three-year term as director. So, quite the incentive system, no? Good luck getting any of these guys to Adare Manor before the 2027 installment.

I shall leave you here and I suspect we'll next visit on Monday. Have a great weekend.

Monday, November 13, 2023

Weekend Wrap - Miss Congeniality Edition

Not even sure I'll get to any golf, as I'm old enough to remember when the hate was limited to those taking the bonecutters' money.... Wow, gonna be just a wee bit awkward.

Let's Call The Whole Thing Off - Way back when, Alan Shipnuck, in his recurring mailbag feature, asked a source what Patrick Cantlay was like in these closed-door meetings. I've been milking that answer ever since, which dubbed the hatless wonder a "terrific penis". We like a memorable turn of phrase as much as the next guy, although sometimes one just needs to say things in plain English....

You might have thought that LaCavaGate was dead and buried, but scores are still being settle, though I'm agnostic at best as to the wisdom of this:

The revelations come via a lengthy interview with the Irish Independent’s Paul Kimmage published Sunday. Kimmage has talked previously with McIlroy in such fashion, and in the latest story, he also interviewed Shane Lowry, who was also heavily involved in the skirmishes that embroiled last month’s Ryder Cup.

It’s here, then, where you should click over here to give the full 5,500-plus word story a read (and that’s just part one; next week, a follow-up is coming). Go, go, go. We’ll wait.

That's some amateurish journalism there, providing a link and offering to wait, without warning that, as worthy as the piece might be, it's also quite buried behind a paywall. But I did want to get that tease in for Part II, because we're pretty bored this time of year.

After recounting the events of that Ryder Cup Saturday, it immediately gets interesting:

He also revealed what angered him to start.

“My relationship with Cantlay is average at best,” McIlroy told Kimmage. “We don’t have a ton in common and see the world quite differently. But when I saw he was getting stick on the 17th and 18th greens, I tried to quieten the crowd for him. And I don’t think Fitz and I were afforded the same opportunity to try and hole those putts to halve the match.”

“I shook Joe’s hand and Patrick’s hand,” McIlroy added. “Those three putts he made on 16, 17 and 18 were fantastic, and under that pressure, to give your team a glimmer of hope going into Sunday was big ba**s. So all respect to him. There was a bit of argy-bargy at the back of the 18th green with Fred Couples and Thomas Bjorn — and that’s fine — but as I’m walking back to the locker room, I can feel this red mist coming over me: ‘No! That wasn’t right.’”

Average? next thing you know he'll be telling us that Patty is a good dancer and makes all his own clothes....

Perhaps it might have ended there (to our entertainment deficit), except for this guy going off:

Soon after, McIlroy, Lowry and the Europeans reached their team base. In the interview with Kimmage, Lowry and McIlroy revealed that Lowry “started roaring and shouting.”

Is that surprising? No. These things happen, especially in Ryder Cups. But we love to hear stories of fire.

Said Lowry to Kimmage: “I was fuming. Fuming. Completely lost the plot. To be honest, I don’t want to talk about it, because nobody has talked about it.”

Said McIlroy: “I think Shane has spent a lot of time around Peter O’Mahony and some of those Irish rugby boys, because he went on a rant in the locker room that was just unbelievable.”

Said Lowry: “It just came out of me. I can’t even remember what I said — a halftime in the dressing room kind of thing: ‘We’re five points clear. … We’re in the driving seat. … Do what we have to do tomorrow and it’s game over.’ I talked about not just wanting to beat them, but to annihilate them. I wanted to get one back for Paddy [Pádraig Harrington] and beat them by more than they beat us at Whistling Straits. I think it went down pretty well.”

Of course, Shane was at least still sufficiently under control to head this off:

Said McIlroy: “Everyone loved it, he was unreal, but as he was talking, I was getting more and more riled up: ‘That was wrong. I was wronged.’ And as we’re getting up to leave, I’m like, ‘I’m going into their locker room now to sort this out.’ And Shane was like, ‘No, Rory. Bad idea.’”

As for Bones, Rory had this contrition:

So why did Mackay, generally regarded as one of the nicer people in golf, get heat from McIlroy? It had been curious.

In the interview with Kimmage, McIlroy said Mackay was trying to settle things — “but he’s wearing an American top, and I know he’s friends with Joe, and I just tripped. Complete rage.

“I felt bad about it afterwards because Bones’ wife was standing beside him, and I used a lot of swear words. So not my finest moment. Then Shane bundled me into the car.”

Notably, Lowry told Kimmage that they didn’t know a camera had caught the incident — and that they watched it on the car ride.

But there's a reason your humble blogger is amused:

Mackay wasn’t the only member of the American contingent that McIlroy got into it with.

In the interview with Kimmage, McIlroy said Ricky Elliott, Brooks Koepka’s caddie, and Claude Harmon III, Koepka’s swing coach, tried to calm him. No luck.

“But I start having a go at them,“ McIlroy said told Kimmage.

What did McIlroy say?

“‘Joe LaCava used to be a nice guy when he was caddying for Tiger, and now he’s caddying for that d**k, he’s turned into a …’ I still wasn’t in a great headspace.”

Said Lowry: “So I grabbed him: ‘Right! Plunge pool! We’ll go down and chill out.’”

Now you understand the Ira Gershwin-infused header? You say penis, I say dick, let's call the whole thing off.

This to me is just deliciously schadenfreudalicious, because as much as I instinctively think Patrick Cantlay is a, what's the word for it, a dick, I'm not very high on The Ulsterman these days either. But it's more than a little ironic that Rory spent the last two years upending the Tour to put more money in Patrick's pocket (a lot more, by the way), and now he's treated to first-hand evidence of Patrick's overly-developed sense of entitlement.

There are more revelations:

In the interview with Kimmage, McIlroy said the European captain walked into the team locker room late, sat down and was quiet. He then looked over at McIlroy.

“And I’m thinking, ‘I could be in trouble here,’” McIlroy told Kimmage. “But he goes, ‘Rory! I f**king loved that!” And all the boys started banging the table. It was brilliant. It had been a really deflating finish, but it galvanized the team.”

Said Lowry: “Jon Rahm said to me: ‘Rory is some teammate, isn’t he? He’s the best.’”

These guys seize on these micro-aggressions and milk them unmercifully....And, where they don't exist, they invent them.... If you haven't seen The Last Dance, that's pretty much every episode.

And this guy who I guess was actually watching:

At that point, McIlroy said he went to his room. In the interview with Kimmage, McIlroy said he had gotten a text from LaCava, but he didn’t reply.

There were other messages, though.

Woods, whom LaCava once caddied for, had reached out. Multiple times.

“There was also three texts and two missed calls from Tiger, because they’re obviously still close,” McIlroy told Kimmage.

“I sent him a quick message: ‘It will be fine … long day … just want to go to bed.’”

With that Tiger-sighting, you'll know that the Tour Confidential panel couldn't let this one pass:

1. In an interview with Paul Kimmage of the Irish Independent, Rory McIlroy laid out more details surrounding the Ryder Cup dust-up with Joe LaCava and McIlroy’s parking-lot tirade. “Joe LaCava used to be a nice guy when he was caddying for Tiger, and now he’s caddying for that d—,” said McIlroy, referring to Patrick Cantlay, who McIlroy added his relationship with is average at best. What’s your take on McIlroy’s candid remarks, and where does this story go from here?

Nick Dimengo: It’s interesting to see Rory reignite this beef after seemingly moving on and focusing on some little project of his called TGL. For someone elite like him to pull a move like this only adds more drama to an already tense golf scene – and I’m here for it!

Josh Sens: The pearl-clutching take would be to act surprised at McIlroy’s gloves-off bluntness, and to lament the (imaginary) time when golf was more of a ‘gentleman’s game.’ But the better take is: at least Rory’s honest. Inevitably, Cantlay will get asked about it, giving him the chance to spice things up further, but my guess any comments he might serve up would be pretty mild.

Dylan Dethier: One of the things that made this dust-up so interesting is the way Rory and Cantlay represent such a contrast in styles — the way they play, the way they carry themselves, the ways in which they see the world. An oversimplified version of that dichotomy would be that McIlroy follows his heart while Cantlay follows his (capped or uncapped) head. What’s intriguing about this story going forward? Both Cantlay and McIlroy will have a hand in shaping the PGA Tour’s future.

Oh, is that what Patrick is following, or did you confuse it with what he would bare to further his aims, because anything he follows seems to have a dollar sign affixed.

I have two follow-ups, the first of which Dylan hinted at. Kids, this is your current PGA Tour Player Advisory Council, Player Directors, and the word to which I'm clinging is "awkward":

I guess Charley and Peter Malnati will be playing peacemaker, but oh to be a fly on the wall....Though it seems that Cantlay's term might be expiring shortly, so we'll see how that plays out.

Secondly, Cantlay is one of the many Tour players that live in Jupiter, FL. Given the roll-out of the TGL and further given that the franchise based in Jupiter has announced only its captain, a guy who released his looper to go work for the dick, I'd certainly expect him to be on one of the six teams, if not Tiger's.....

As for the verdict on our Patrick, just one more individual that feels compelled to offer his assessment:

Just reading Rory McIlroy’s less than flattering description of Patrick Cantlay. For what it’s worth my own limited interaction with Cantlay left me thinking the same as Rory 😃
— John Huggan (@johnhuggan) November 12, 2023

Yeah, seems to be an unspoken consensus.....

TGL Bits - Nothing much here:

2. More TGL news dropped last week, as we found out which team Tiger Woods will play for: his own. Woods will be among the ownership group of the last of the six teams announced, Jupiter Links Golf Club. Anything we can glean, about the league or its future, with Woods taking an ownership stake in his squad?

Sens: I take it as a sign that he either really believes in the concept. Or that he believes his participation is critical to its success. Probably a little bit of both. It’s an entertainment industry fact. More people watch things when Tiger is involved. Imagine if he someday gets good at live banter. He’ll be unstoppable.

Dimengo: Like Sens said, I think it shows his belief in the idea; which makes sense. After all, his name is attached, and it’d almost feel like it would be missing something without Tiger there.

Dethier: It establishes that Tiger Woods’ squad will be playing home games every week. It reminds us that that probably doesn’t mean much — to start with, at least. It reminds us that Jupiter, FL is the international golfing capital of the world.

He's been attached to the endeavor from Day One and is also a part owner, so it didn't tell us anything we didn't already know.

But I had an interesting discussion on the subject with Friend-of-the-Blog Bobby D., who is far more optimistic about its prospects than your humble blogger. It's not for this morning, but it's triggered further thoughts of my own as to how it will be received, and I'll try to work through those in the coming weeks.

But I've had some further thoughts about the schedule, specifically playing this in Florida on Monday nights during the West Coast Swing. It seems to this observer just another example of the Tour pursuing its own interests to the detriment of its sponsors. One assumes that they guys don't want to get on a redeye after holing out on Sunday at the AMEX, Farmers', AT&T, so I assume this can't help but weaken those early season fields, especially since many haven't been "elevated" or "designated." Sponsors keep showing up, and your humbler blogger keeps questioning why.....

Wither LIV - I've no clue where this all goes over the longer term, but I did note quickly that there was no way LIV wouldn't play a 2024 schedule. It seemed quite obvious that the deal couldn't be finalized by year-end, and obviously those guys need a place to peg it.

They've rolled out the early part of their schedule, which most notably includes a return to their most successful venue:

LIV Golf announces return to Australia as first part of 2024 schedule release

Loads of fans, a party hole with a DJ, a close team competition down the stretch and Patrick Reed
drinking from a shoe made LIV Golf Adelaide 2023 the upstart circuit’s quintessential event.

Commissioner and CEO Greg Norman and South Australia Premier Peter Malinauskas announced on Friday the league is hoping to rekindle that atmosphere by returning to the Grange Golf Club, April 26-28, 2024. LIV Golf Adelaide is the first event on the 2024 schedule to be announced and will be held the same week as the PGA Tour’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

“That’s what LIV should be, in its heart and its DNA, I think that’s what it can be every single week, and will be when people start understanding what the real deal is here,” said DeChambeau of league’s Aussie debut back in April. When it came to fanfare and entertainment, Adelaide was by far LIV’s best event of 2023.

LIV did something very smart here, going to a widely-underserved and golf-mad part of Australia. In general, their overseas events have been more buzz-worthy and those U.S.-based, but Adelaide was a one-off for sure.

Bob Harig has more on the full schedule:

LIV Golf has yet to announce its 2024 schedule but a few things are coming into focus, although nothing is official. It appears LIV will open at Mayakoba in Mexico Feb. 2-4, then head to Las
Vegas the following week, which is also the week of the Super Bowl … being played in Las Vegas.

The international locations appear set: Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Australia, Singapore, England, Spain and South Korea.

Events in Saudi Arabia and Hong Kong would be consecutive weeks in early March. Australia and Singapore would be consecutive in late April as they were this year. And South Korea would likely be in September as the final individual event.

Phoenix has long made that weekend work, though Saturday is their Sunday, if you follow my thought. LIV has to compete with the NFL AND Phoenix, so not sure how they see that playing out. But perhaps I'm wrong and both of their loyal CW viewers will tune in regardless...

Rory described LIV as being in a sort of limbo, and that seems an apt description. Their format hasn't broken through, to say the least, and it seems a difficult time for them to solve their field issue. Although perhaps Patrick might take their call, though I don't think we have that kind of luck.

But changes are afoot, I'm just not sure anyone will notice. But James Colgan is all over it:

5 changes coming to LIV

1. The play-in tournament

Yes, LIV is landing a play-in tournament. From December 8-10 in Abu Dhabi, golfers will compete in “LIV Golf Promotions,” a 36-hole tournament with a $1.5 million purse and three coveted exemptions into next year’s LIV season.

The tournament won’t do much to fight against the OWGR’s contention that LIV doesn’t have enough opportunities for promotion and relegation, but it will provide some golfers with the opportunity to join the big tour straight off the street.

Oddly, Colgan fails to mention the oddest part of this, which is that Jay is allowing PGA Tour rabbits to play, although we've little insight as to who would actually make the trip. perhaps the most curious bit is that it's only 36-holes, as if they themselves know how bogus it all is.

2. The re-sign period

At the end of each season, LIV will stratify its players on expiring contracts into three “zones”: The “lock zone,” the “open zone” and the “drop zone.”

You can think of those in the “lock zone” — given only to the league’s top 24 finishers — as restricted free agents. These players are guaranteed a contract extension offer from their current franchise, and can choose whether to re-sign or to reject that offer and enter free agency.

Each year, LIV’s free agency will begin with a negotiation period where members of the “lock zone” are permitted only to speak with their own franchise.

Those who finish 45th and worse find themselves in the “drop zone,” for players who have been relegated from the league. This group is given an automatic bid into the play-in tournament, but is not a guarantee to have any future with LIV.

That Drop Zone we'll call the Matthew Wolff zone, but I'm sure this will knock the Shohei Ohtani free agency off the sports pages...

But wait, it gets even more exciting:

3. Free Agency

After the re-sign period ends, it’s open season for LIV Golf.

Unsigned members of the “lock zone” and members of the “open zone” — who finish from 25-44 — now become unrestricted free agents. These players are free to sign with whichever team they wish.

Notably, these rules leave open the possibility that LIV will sign additional pros from other pro golf tours, like the PGA Tour. Such signings would result in members of the “open zone” losing out on their roster spots in the league.

Should none of those signings happen, however, the only material difference between the “open zone” and the “lock zone” is an assured re-sign bid.

All, I should add, in the service of their team competition which, with the exception of Brooks going medieval on Wolff, was like the tree that fell in the forest. Really, except for the Range Goats, name three LIV teams!

4. Trades

LIV will now allow in-season trading, opening a window in which teams will be permitted to trade players and negotiate contract extensions.

This window arrives in the wake of Brooks Koepka and teammate Matthew Wolff’s very public falling out during the course of the 2023 season. Under the new rules, Koepka would be able to trade Wolff to a different franchise before the season ended.

5. The draft

It won’t be quite as high-profile as LIV’s franchise-forming draft way back at LIV London 2022, but LIV will now host a draft in which the top-3 finishers in the play-in tournament and the winner of the Asian Tour’s International Series Order of Merit will find themselves plucked by LIV franchises for the season ahead.

Notice what's missing? Anything anyone cares about...

I'll need to leave you there. Blogging will be on an as-warranted basis in the near term. Have a great week.

Friday, November 10, 2023

Your Friday Frisson - TGL v. LIV Edition

Seven days until Opening Day at Park City Mountain Resort. Not to worry, I'm not rushing out there until there's actual snow to be found. They are blowing and will have something open by then, what we call the white ribbons of death.

Shall we pick up where we left off?

This was quite the shocker, no?

TGL announces Tiger Woods as owner and player for tech league's sixth team, Jupiter Links

Who coulda seen that one coming?

Tiger Woods is now the owner of a professional sports team for which he will compete in a league he helped create.

TGL announced Tuesday that Woods’ TGR ventures has partnered with pro sports mega owner David Blitzer in the formation of Jupiter Links Golf Club, the sixth and final TGL team in the new tech-based golf league developed by Woods’ and Rory McIlroy’s TMRW Sports Group. Furthermore, Woods, a 15-time major winner who has not competed since withdrawing from the Masters and undergoing surgery on his lower right leg, is the first of four players to be assigned to the Jupiter Links roster.

Terms of the investment and the ownership percentages in Jupiter Links were not disclosed, consistent with the announcements for the other five ownership groups.

“Through its use of technology, TGL is a modern twist of traditional golf and ultimately will make the sport I love more accessible,” Woods, 47, said in a statement. “Having the opportunity to not only compete, but also own a team to represent Jupiter is an exciting next chapter for me. I expect Jupiter Links GC to showcase the golf culture of my hometown as we compete against the best players in the world.”

One question: Jupiter? It's like one of those standardize tests we took back in our school days, Boston, Atlanta, New York and Jupiter.... Which of the above does not belong?

We could have some fun with the list of players who WON'T be offered a spot on the JGC..... Start with Sergio, but also Stephen Ames, Phil and, well, the reader can add his own from Tiger's many little spats over the years.

Mike McCarley is the guy behind all this, and here he seems to be channeling his inner Stefan Schauffele:

TGL co-founder Mike McCarley confirms new league's lucrative first-place prize: 'It's legit competition'

Because, of course, we can't be interested unless these guys are making bank.

"They're playing for $21 million, the purse is $9 million to the winning team, so it's legit competition," McCarley said on the pod. "And these guys are some of the most competitive guys on the planet."

With four players on each team, that comes out to $2.25 million per player on the winning team. That's a decent chunk of change for a handful of two-hour Monday night matches played in a gigantic simulator. Remember, these aren't four-day, 72-hole marathons like PGA Tour events.

Hats, Mike? Have you got the hat issue nailed down? Because you know our terrific peni....

What I'd love an enterprising reporter (yeah, who am I kidding?) is to accumulate the riches that have been thrown at an elite player over the last two years in the name of keeping us safe from Wahhabism, including:

The PIP program
The TGL
The dramatic increase in purses to designated events, combined with the field-size limitation.

Ari Emanuel's recent cameo is amusingly ironic, given the extent to which Tiger and Rory have channeled his brother's famous admonition. They certainly haven't let the crisis go to waste, using it to dramatically increase the take of their buddies, to the severe detriment of, well, everyone else. Simply stated, it's quite the money grab perpetrated in broad daylight, so no shortage of chutzpah.

You'll not be shocked that Tiger has been involved with a new venture that fits his unique needs. If golf is, as Mark Twain put it, a good walk spoiled, the TGL is a good walk avoided. This observer has long since lost interest in Tiger's recovery, for the simple reason that he refuses to share anything of t with us (not to mention burying any understanding of the bizarre auto accident that caused it). Here's the latest cryptic non-update from the man:

“My ankle is fine. Where they fused my ankle, I have absolutely zero issue whatsoever,” Woods said Tuesday in an interview with the Associated Press. “That pain is completely gone.

“… But all the surrounding areas is where I had all my problems and I still do,” he said. “So, you fix one, others have to become more hypermobile to get around it, and it can lead to some issues.”

Woods did not elaborate on the nature of those other issues.

There's lots of silly speculation about when he might peg it, including this:

If Woods isn’t ready to play in the Hero World Challenge, set for Nov. 30-Dec. 3 in the Bahamas with a star-packed field of 20, the PNC Challenge (Dec. 14-17) is a distinct possibility for him. Despite his physical limitations and helped by the use of a cart, the event has been a circle-on-the-calendar occasion for Tiger and Charlie Woods. They have competed in the Orlando event three times, making their debut in 2020, when Charlie was 11. They finished seventh that year, were second in '21 and and last year Team Woods tied for eighth.

Distinct possibility? Is that anything like a mortal lock, which is more likely the case....

I saw another piece speculating about the Hero, then wondering whether he might have his eye on Augusta.... That's some next-gen analysis there, Augusta being pretty much all he cares about....

I get the speculation on The Hero, which is more about taking care of a sponsor than about the golf. It's just that I see no discernable value in him absorbing the pain this far out from any meaningful golf. His biggest issue is competitive reps, but getting them in December is pretty worthless methinks. Riviera, on the other hand,, seems more promising..... Not that I really care.

This Wired.com piece has lots of interesting background on the endeavor's origin, including this Cameron Young demo:

CAMERON YOUNG SLIDES a driver from his bag. He stares at a hole referred to as Texas Hill Country. It’s new to him—a par 4 with sand hazards and rough to avoid. The 26-year-old is in the
top 20 in the Official World Golf Ranking, but he’s not sure how to proceed. He turns to his companion, former pro Roberto Castro. “What’s going on here?” Young asks.

Young makes clean contact. The ball lofts skyward.

But there’s no sky above him. On this steamy day in late October, Young is in an air-conditioned soundstage on the back lot of Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. The building once hosted Nickelodeon TV shows. The “caddie” Castro consulted is virtual—it lives on a 15-inch tablet. The tee is on a patch of natural grass the width of a large mattress. It sits atop wooden pallets on a concrete floor.

As someone said earlier in the week, they'll have to avoid this being tagged as merely simulator golf, at least if they want to be take seriously:

Young’s golf ball hits a billboard-sized screen 35 yards away. The dimpled sphere falls meekly to
the ground, while up on the giant display its virtual successor continues its flight. A phalanx of supersensitive radar trackers and hi-res cameras sends data to a bank of computer servers that calculate velocity and spin to show how the ball will bounce and where it will ultimately settle on the vista of the screen.

Young’s ball lands in the digital rough. He walks over to a tray of 2-inch-high Bermuda grass mixed with rye. The screen now shows him closer to his goal, an 8-iron away. He swings, the ball thuds against the display again, and seconds later his virtual ball lands just outside the green. For his next shot, Young ambles to the back of the soundstage, where an artificial putting surface and fringe awaits him. An official places a ball precisely on the ground. Young successfully chips over a rise to land within 5 feet of the cup. Not good enough. Castro has already sunk his third shot and wins the hole.

The difficulty is that is simulator golf, admittedly with some intriguing bells and whistles, not least that they'll play off real grass, including rough as per the picture above.

As for the technology:

McCarley was still pondering how to condense a course’s 200 acres and 18 holes down to a single arena when, in January 2020, he attended a big golf industry trade event. One evening he sat down with Ryan Dotters, CEO of Full Swing, a maker of golf simulators. Full Swing had bought a company that made interactive, customizable indoor putting greens. “We were the only ones who had a green that could come alive,” Dotters says. On an old-school cocktail napkin, they sketched out plans to make a hybrid game of golf—one foot each in the digital and physical worlds.