Friday, February 18, 2022

Late Week Lamentations

So, anything going on in the golf world?  We've got that one guy trying to burn down the house and, alas, we've got a house burned to ruins.  Coincidence?  We don't believe in those...

But, bear with me as I lede with more pleasant bits...  even some actual golf, perhaps.

Dispatches From Unplayable Lies World Headquarters - As I found my way to the keyboard this morning, I found my intern already at work:

That's First Consul Napoleon, although around the house we just refer to him as the Emperor....  But if the insights seem especially trenchant this morning, again there's that coincidence thing.

Scenes From The Riv - I don't actually love that nickname for the joint, but it is as historic a venue as the guys play regularly, and it seems to be especially fast this week, notwithstanding some bizarre early week weather as detailed by Geoff:

Greetings from hail-pummeled Riviera!

This is the first time I remember cumulonimbus clouds dropping pellets of frozen rain and daring to drop them on George Thomas's masterwork. I’ve been coming here for just over three decades and thought I’d seen it all here weather-wise.

The Quadrilateral editorial team had planed to send a heavy-on-photos-newsletter about the 10th hole to whet your appetite for this major-ish field and vibe.

Including this photo of the iconic 10th hole:


Joaquin Niemann shot an unreal 63 and leads an appealing chase pack, none of which we need to linger over.  It promises to be a great weekend of golf, before we head East for the architectural splendor of the Bear Trap and Bay Hill.  But there are two points I want to make sure to cover.  First, with one obvious but not lamented exception, everyone is here:

Days removed from hosting a thrilling Super Bowl, Los Angeles is the site of another star-studded competition this week at The Riviera Country Club. For the first time in the history of The Genesis Invitational, the top 10 players in the Official World Golf Ranking will tee it up. It’s the first time since last year’s TOUR Championship that all 10 in the OWGR will compete in the same PGA TOUR event.

With Ian Faith in mind, they actually have the top eleven.  Which is, as we all know, one higher than ten....If you don't get that reference, it's your loss.

The other item I want to cover here might more logically belong below, but there it would be buried within a laundry list of personal invective.  As you all know, Max Homa is the defender this week, having won his hometown event last year in an extremely popular win.  Homa is, of course, about as popular and anyone out there, those Netflix cameras are following him for a good reason.

In his presser he was asked about the Saudi league and, shockingly, he seems to be the only professional golfer not party to an NDA.  But he made some comments in answer that everyone should read:

That’s not to say Homa doesn’t consider this sort of thing; he thinks about it constantly. No Tour pro can ignore it. But his counterargument was the best defense of the PGA Tour I’ve heard.
There’s value in familiar courses and familiar events and familiar prizes. There’s significance to Riviera the way there’s significance to Wrigley Field. Now that Homa owns a familiar title at a familiar course, the status quo seems even more appealing.

“We think about it a lot, talk about it a lot,” he said. “It’s an interesting dynamic we’ve got going. I love the PGA Tour. Driving up to this golf course with memories of winning a golf tournament that Tiger Woods handed me a trophy? They don’t have that in a breakaway league.

“That’s not the part that I remember. That’s my take on it. I’m not saying that these leagues couldn’t be great, and things may change. My point is everything from this golf tournament that has made me get the chills as I talk about it and get the chills as I drive up [to Riviera] and think, “What the hell?” when I see my picture on things out on the golf course that I grew up to love, I would not be getting that anywhere else. That’s my allegiance, I guess.”

If you've been reading my rants, you know that the PGA Tour has been pretty damn spendthrift with their own history, so I have a nomination for a successor to Jay.   It should be a fun week, so do watch it and root for Max.

Shall we get to the incendiary stuff?

Burn Down the House, Figurative Edition - The man of the hour is Alan Shipnuck, late of Golf Magazine and now reading his mail for The Firepit Collective.  As you may or may not be aware, this is about to drop:


Scheduled to be released May 17th, you'd think they'd be accelerating the release date to the extent possible.

Alan has now dropped this item, recounting a November conversation he had with the man, and by the second 'graph it has me muttering, WTF:

Mickelson told me he had enlisted three other “top players” he declined to name and that they
paid for attorneys to write the SGL’s operating agreement, codifying that the players would have control of all the details. He didn’t pretend to be excited about hitching his fortunes to Saudi Arabia, admitting the SGL was nothing more than what he called “sportswashing” by a brutally repressive regime. “They’re scary motherfuckers to get involved with,” he said. “We know they killed [Washington Post reporter and U.S. resident Jamal] Khashoggi and have a horrible record on human rights. They execute people over there for being gay. Knowing all of this, why would I even consider it? Because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reshape how the PGA Tour operates. They’ve been able to get by with manipulative, coercive, strong-arm tactics because we, the players, had no recourse. As nice a guy as [PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan] comes across as, unless you have leverage, he won’t do what’s right. And the Saudi money has finally given us that leverage. I’m not sure I even want [the SGL] to succeed, but just the idea of it is allowing us to get things done with the [PGA] Tour.”

Phil likes to live life on the edge, but using the bonecutters to , err, cut a better deal with the PGA Tour seems, well, unwise?  Phil, just a pro tip, if they invite you to the Istanbul embassy for a meeting, consider taking a pass.  

But there's a lot to parse, starting with the identity of those three other players, though of course Bryson springs immediately to mind.  To the extent that there are two other guys, my guess is we're looking among the has-beens and only Phil would call Westy or Poults a top player.  But do we believe that they wrote the operating agreement?  That sounds like typical Phil bluster, but how profoundly silly to think an "operating agreement" matters with guys that outfit their embassies with bonecutters....

Of course it's Phil, which means that the usual "How much money is enough?" rules don't quite apply:

But are his grievances fueled by money or principle? With Mickelson, you can never be sure. Given the massive scale of his gambling losses—detailed elsewhere in the book, which, as it happens, can be preordered here—the Saudi seduction might be born of necessity. Mickelson, whose $94 million in career PGA Tour earnings is second only to that of Tiger Woods, raised eyebrows when he sold his Gulfstream in 2019. “He loved that plane so much it was like his fourth child,” says someone very close to Mickelson. “I was absolutely shocked that he sold it. The only reason I could possibly imagine him doing that was him feeling serious financial pressure.” Phil and his wife, Amy, have purchased land on Jupiter Island, in Florida, and have been interviewing architects; Phil may yet get the haven from state income tax he has long lusted after. “I was interviewing him one time,” says writer John Feinstein, “and he said, apropos of nothing, ‘You always think of me as a right-winger, but I’m actually pretty liberal on social issues like abortion.’ I said, ‘But your number one issue is taxes.’ He said, ‘No, no, no, my number one, two, three, four, and five issues are taxes.’”

Shame on you, Alan, for trying to tax-shame him.  Perhaps, instead, you could ask him why he doesn't pay his gambling losses?

 And because manipulative, coercive and strong-armed aren't sufficient to feed the pyre, Phil has more:

But Mickelson’s second outstanding issue with the Tour has nothing to do with money. It’s about control. “The Tour likes to pretend it’s a democracy, but it’s really a dictatorship,” he told me. “They divide and conquer. The concerns of the top players are very different from the guys who are lower down on the money list, but there’s a lot more of them. They use the top guys to make their own situation better, but the top guys don’t have a say.” Players are a minority on the all-powerful PGA Tour Policy Board, holding only four of the nine seats, with the other five being filled by luminaries of the business world who, by age and experience, have more in common with the commissioner than the jocks. Mickelson’s idea for governance is, he says, based on the U.S. Congress: The Tour’s vast middle class would be like the House, voting on ideas that would then be rejected or tweaked and ultimately ratified by a much smaller Senate-like body composed of the game’s biggest stars. “That way nothing will get done without the approval of both sides,” Mickelson says. It is an idealistic vision.

Because the U.S. Congress has been humming along like a finely-tuned Swiss watch?  

But, as I read those comments, it seems like Phil is really picking a fight with the Tour rabbits, so he's punching down.   Gonna be a little frosty in the locker room, no?

Shippy has one more contribution to make to the circus:

So that prediction of mine that the week of the Saudi event would be lit wasn't so much wrong as early.

But, who could those twenty be?  Because the reaction to those comments of Phil was universally harsh.  Let's see, there's Rory:

“Not so Super League,” McIlroy said when a question about the league was being asked during his news conference ahead of the 2022 Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club north of Los Angeles.

“Oh, I’m so sick of it.”

“I guess I’m intrigued who would (join). Certainly for the younger guys, like it just seems a massive risk,” McIlroy said. “I can maybe make sense of it for the guys that are getting to the latter stages of their career, for sure. I don’t think that’s what a rival golf league is really; that’s not what they’re going to want, is it?

And Collin with two "l's":

“I’m all for the PGA Tour,” he said. “Has it opened up things for us as professional golfers to open up things for the PGA Tour to look at what to do better? Absolutely. We’ve seen a lot of
changes, some good, some bad, some that are still going to be amended I’m sure as time goes on.

“Right now you look at the best players that I see and they’re all sticking with the PGA Tour and that’s where I kind of stay and that’s where I belong.”


That Tiger guy:

“I’ve decided for myself that I’m supporting the PGA Tour. That’s where my legacy is,” Woods said. “I’ve been fortunate enough to have won 82 events on this tour and 15 major championships, and been a part of the World Golf Championships, the start of them and the end of them.”

Rahmbo as well, though he used a curious word

“I wanted to take this time to say that this is my official, my one and only time to talk about this, where I am officially declaring my fealty to the PGA Tour,” he said. “I’m a PAC [Player Advisory
Council] member and I have a lot of belief in Jay Monahan and the product.

“There’s been a lot of talk and speculation on the Saudi league and it’s just not something that I believe is best for me and my future in golf and I think the best legacy I can accomplish is on the PGA Tour.”

“Everybody’s free to make their own choice, it’s as simple as that. All I can say is from somebody young like myself who has his entire future ahead of him, it doesn’t seem like a smart thing. Again, the only appeal I see is monetary, right?

 I'm not alone in reacting to a single word:

Ya think?


Of course it's the wrong concept entirely, as these guys should be questioning the Tour and their bloated organization that's made quite the hash of things.  But we'll give Jon a pass because, as you have heard, English wasn't  his first language.

Now Phil was a little personal in his criticisms of the Tour and Jay, specifically, so goose, gander:

“Shocking, never would have guessed,” he said, a verbal eye-roll. When a reporter explained the
gist of the article, Thomas let it fly.

“Seems like a bit of a pretty, you know, egotistical statement,” he added. “I don’t know, it’s like, he’s done a lot of great things for the PGA Tour, he’s a big reason it is where it is, but him and others that are very adamant about that [league], if they’re that passionate, go ahead. I don’t think anybody’s stopping them.”

Asked if it was time for players to pick a side and move on, Thomas said he was well past that point.

“I’ve heard way too much talk about a lot of players that are ‘so done with everything,’ but they keep hanging around, so clearly they’re not too done.”

Phil egotistical?  Boy, I never saw that one coming....  Just a reminder, I've been trashing Mickelson regularly since, oh, September 2014.  But does JT's looper have anything he'd like to add?

Lastly, Pat Perez, who isn't a wilting flower:

Let’s begin. Question one: Was Perez comfortable with Mickelson “speaking out?” “And it seems like he’s speaking for a lot of players,” the reporter added.

Buckle up.

“I asked the question this morning to another player — why didn’t he play Phoenix [last week’s event], and why is he not playing here,” Perez began. “He’s never missed these. I’m surprised he didn’t play.

“I don’t know, I don’t know what Phil’s doing. I know Phil’s got a lot of stress in life right now, and I don’t know what he’s doing. I know he’s not speaking for me, and, you know, I actually really don’t care what he has to say about anything because I just don’t. He doesn’t speak for me. He’s had an amazing career. He obviously thinks there’s something else on the other side for him going down the line. If he gets it, great. He’s made $800 million on the Tour, I don’t know what could be so bad about the Tour. So I don’t know, I don’t know.

C'mon, Pat, tell us what you really think.

“I think the way Tiger’s approaching it is phenomenal. [Woods has said he’s sticking with the Tour.] I think he understands where he made all his money. I think these young kids, I think that’s great that they’re backing Tiger. But Tiger, Tiger’s our guy. Tiger and I are three months apart. I idolized him my whole life even though we’re the same age. What he says is pretty much gold. You know, I would follow his lead more than anything. If he doesn’t want to do it, Rory [McIlroy] doesn’t want to do it, and if you don’t have the top kids doing it, I just don’t know how much water it’s going to hold anyway. I don’t know how long it’s going to take.

“They’re not going to follow Phil; they’re not going to follow [Bryson] DeChambeau unfortunately. You need the young crew right now to go do this thing. I don’t know exactly what Phil, why he’s got so much hate towards the Tour. I mean, he’s damn near 52 now. I know he won a major last year. It’s incredible what he did, it really is, but I don’t know, you know.

Shack has a Phil-centric Quad post up, which finishes thusly:

The short term brinkmanship may deliver a few royalties from that 21st Century equivalent of a Franklin Mint doll. Heck, those NFT royalties might even help pay for the house in Jupiter he’ll someday be building to dodge taxes he loathes paying.

As for every other house Mickelson’s built? Burning like, gulp, too soon, too soon.

How can Mickelson ever turn up at a PGA Tour event without it evolving into an uncomfortable circus?

Does the PGA of America even want to have a media day for their defending champion?

And what blue chip brands will want to be seen on his hat and shirt sleeves? (Callaway gave him a lifetime contract and may be stuck with him.) Other entities hoping to be associated with various “brand values” have too many other stress-free options.

There is also zero chance any respectable network will pay him the Romo money he believes he deserves. Mickelson might have to pay them to get on the air.

And finally, what about that long expected Ryder Cup captaincy in 2025 where the Bethpage crazies will scream and yell in support of their favorite golfer?

One prominent Ryder Cupper on the way to Riviera’s locker room was asked if he’d heard about Mickelson’s latest comments. Without even asking what was said, he mumbled in disgust, “What a &^%$&@ clown.”

Shipnuck, along with Geoff above, credits Phil with some positive results from his use of the Saudi leverage, which seems both inevitable but also speculative.  This is a subject we will likely revisit often, but I see two immediate issues.  First, the existential threat hit just as the new media rights contracts were starting, so purses were already set to increase, and it's arguable whether the Saudi threat has pushed Jay to move those numbers higher than they would have in isolation.

Second, and I think more important, it's resulted in the Tour changing how it delivers the cash to its members, most notably in the PIP program.  If you were, say, concerned that the tour was dictatorial or obnoxiously greedy, shouldn't you worry about Jay having a $50 million slush fund with which to but the loyalty of his faves?  

So, Alan tells us that the bonecutters will release a list of twenty signed contracts the week of March 7th, so what might that list look like?  There's guys whose thoughts haven't been shared, names like Hovland Scheffler and Matsuyama.  DJ has gone to pains to keep his options open, but I see a very real possibility that they're twenty wouldn't include a single top ten player (for those keeping a scorecard at home, Bryson is currently No. 12).  But why would you release such a list?  

I'd like to focus more on substance in future posts, because I do think Alister Tait is onto something here:

Now, Mr. Tait doesn't get it all right:

For years the PGA Tour and European Tour, now the DP World Tour, have measured success in dollars and cents. FedEx Cup money, Race to Dubai money, the Player Impact Program, bonus pools, Rolex Series events, World Golf Championships, where the main hype has been how much money each new “initiative” is throwing at players, how there are more tournaments with bigger prize funds – “north of $200 million" European Tour Chief Executive Keith Pelley proudly said when he announced the 2022 DP World Tour schedule – then can they really complain when others come along and offer to trump them with even more money? Even if it comes from a country with scant regard for human rights like Saudi Arabia?

Weird, given that the PGA Tour has done little but try to measure success in FedEx Cup points, which has hardly been an improvement.  So, it might be the money, but there's no other metric that actually makes any sense...

Tait excerpts these Lee Westwood comments that are indeed thought-provoking:

“The other tours see the Asian Tour as a threat now, don't they, because of the huge investment? It's kind of like a game of poker really where the European Tour and the PGA Tour have had the biggest hand, and now there's somebody else come to the table with more chips, so everybody is on their guard and very defensive and are clearly seeing the Asian Tour as a threat. Nobody can deny that. There wouldn't have been all this trouble with releases and things like that if that wasn't the case.

“Yeah, I can see why they feel threatened, but at the same time, the PGA Tour and the European Tour have gone into areas I suppose in the Asian Tour's path over the years and never had any problem playing tournaments all over Asia and the Middle East, which I think has probably cost Asia, as well. Now that the Asian Tour has this backing, it appears to me like they're just doing what the PGA Tour and the European Tour have been doing the last 25 years.”

Obviously the Asian Tour is just the Saudi's beard, but the irony, she burns.

But here I think he gest it completely wrong:

There’s the rub: the European Tour hasn’t given a minute’s thought to staging events in Asia over the years. Yet is unhappy when the Asian Tour announces a tournament in England, as I reported on here. The PGA Tour hasn’t stopped to ponder that it has lured all the world’s top stars to its circuit and enfeebled the Asian, Sunshine, Australasian and European Tours as a result. To be fair, the PGA Tour didn’t set out to weaken other tours. It’s just been a by product of success. For years the American circuit has lived by the golden rule: we have all the gold, we make the rules.

Oh, I do think the Tour wanted to weaken those other tours, there's no other explanation for 52 weeks of mind-numbing events than the desire to leave no oxygen available for anyone else in the golf ecosystem.   They've substantially diminished the Australian season in December, and otherwise monopolized the calendar to the exclusion of any other entity.  

There's a lot more out there that we'll get to in the coming days.  There were some trial balloons floated on what to do with the Fall schedule, and this whole issue of digital rights deserves much more attention.

For now I'll head for the exit but post a couple of interesting tweets:

The King might have been the indispensable one in ushering golf into the modern media world, but he got a few things wrong for sure.  But other than the revolution, I don't see a lot of lessons to be learned.  The touring pros were governed by an organization allegedly devoted to teaching professionals, so the logic of a separate organization made sense (though the irony is the horrible deal they struck, leaving the PGA and Ryder Cup with the sweater folders.  

But this one points out a disconnect that I haven't exactly sorted through to my satisfaction:

As I listen to Tiger and other players swearing fealty to the PGA Tour, I get the sense that were eliding an important distinction, one that's not helpful to the folks in Ponte Vedra Beach.  I think what those guys are supporting is the current golf ecosystem, one that's made them famous and wealthy beyond their dreams.  But is that ecosystem were a deck of playing cards, then we have to acknowledge that Jay Monahan's hand includes few face cards, maybe a lone jack (which would be The Players Championship).

Everything Jay does is from a position of weakness, a point I've made since starting this blog.  The whole FedEx Cup hot mess is best understood as a cry for relevance.  We think of the PGA Tour as the premiere tour in golf, which it is, but Jay and the Saudis are actually fighting over the last seat at the adults' table.  The aces and kings are all held by Augusta National, the R&A and the USGA.  But, as Alan notes, the Saudis seem have seized on a clever opportunity to guarantee access to those events that matter, at least as things currently stand.  We'll watch this space, but Geoff and others are correct to note that the Ryder Cup is an interesting flash point in this mess.

I'm done, but have one last, completely unrelated tweet that made me laugh:

In a world where our political and sports leadership are working overtime to drive us apart, it's comforting that we can all come together in our contempt for Ress Jones architecture.  See, Rees is a uniter...

Have a great weekend.

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Wednesday, February 16, 2022

Midweek Musings

Your call....would you like to start in Phoenix. LA or Jeddah?  Doesn't much matter, it all seems to be the same story....

The Ash Heap of History - Well, the enduring image of the week in Scottsdale was a heap of something, mostly beer cans and bottles.  You wouldn't be human if you weren't at least a little troubled by the weekend scene at No. 16.  First, in his Monday Finish feature, Dylan Dethier takes a a logical path, first with this acknowledgement that, in the words of Stephen Stills, there's something happening there:

Mayhem at No. 16

You’ve seen the highlights by now. Aces. Chip-ins. Shirtless dancing men. Not every hole should be like No. 16 at Waste Management, but as a cathedral for a particular type of gluttonous, no-holds-barred, excessive spectating experience, this hole’s tough to beat.

Not exactly clear, though how could it be through the haze of potables consumed...

But he does draw a line in the sand a bit later:

Beers as projectiles

There’s a bunch of hand-wringing about how far is “too far” when it comes to the debauchery at the WMPO. Well, I’m here to draw the exact line: It’s all good until a player gets pegged with an
actual beer. And it sounds like we were bumping up against that line over the weekend. Justin Thomas said “the beer-throwing gets a little dicey sometimes.” And Carlos Ortiz, whose hole-in-one inspired plenty of celebration on Sunday, said he was dodging beers left and right.

“A lot of people cheering for you and then you start trying to watch out for your head because I got actually nailed pretty hard on the back with a beer can, and then after that I was just trying to just avoid all the cans I could.”

Call me old-fashioned, but I want my golfers to complete their rounds un-concussed. Beyond that, play on!

C;mon, Dylan, the only thing missing from No. 16 is a medical tent and the invocation of the concussion protocol....

Good luck to Dylan in poking the eye of the pro-beer-can-as-projectile lobby, but I see issue sin squaring that circle, as per Dylan earlier in his feature:

The PGA Tour’s product

Last week, Phil Mickelson came after the Tour, citing its “obnoxious greed,” alleging restrictive media rights and generally portraying the folks in Ponte Vedra as the Evil Empire. This week, Charley Hoffman turned a gripe with the Rules of Golf into an all-out tirade against the Tour, citing the incident as evidence why it soon might cease to exist. All of this comes in the context of massive reported sums offered to high-profile pros to jump ship to a new breakaway tour.

In other words, it was high time for the PGA Tour to showcase its best product. But on the weekend in Arizona, reports of the PGA Tour’s demise felt greatly exaggerated; the WM Phoenix Open was a wild, wonderful week filled with aces, beer showers and hundreds of thousands of delighted fans. Sunday presented a host of U.S. Ryder Cuppers doing battle with a young, lovable underdog, 54-hole leader Sahith Theegala, making just his 11th PGA Tour start. Paying players a boatload of money is easy. Creating the atmosphere at TPC Scottsdale? Not so much.

Sorry, I just can't take any pleasure in that when Charley Hoffman was treated so rudely...

Joking aside, this is an event that has always been on the edge, but Saturday and Sunday was just too much, too often.  I was almost willing to abide the reaction to Ryder's Saturday ace because it was so unexpected.  But by Sunday the reaction was expected (even encouraged), and accompanied run-of-the-mill chip-ins as well, so welcome to our future at No. 16.

Martin Dempster, writing from the home of golf, is not an "on the one hand..." kind of guy:

It’s a disgrace that the tournament organisers have not come out and condemned such behaviour
at a golf event and don’t give me that nonsense about “golf had a brief glimpse of a crowd and players having fun”.

“Refine rather than reject” was the suggestion from another person to comment on the hot topic and that just about hits the nail on the head.

Bottles and cans should be instantly banned at next year’s event and plastic cups be used instead for that consumption of alcohol, which is clearly part of why so many people want to be around that green in the first place.

Refine rather than reject seems to be the new Mend It, Don't End it. Dempster makes a case I've not heard elsewhere, that the eruption affected play above and beyond the effects of the delays:  

According to him, there was “no material damage to the green”, but that wasn’t the case after we witnessed the same reaction to Mexican Carlos Ortiz making a hole-in-one there in the closing circuit.

Sharing the lead at the time, Patrick Cantlay’s birdie putt was tracking nicely until it bobbled badly and ended up a couple of feet short of the hole. His ball had hit a dent on the green left by a can or bottle.

Given the loss in the playoff, he's basically making the case that this cost him the win.  Seems like cosmic karma adjusting for the cheap win he got at The Memorial, no?

My prediction is that the build-out of No. 16 next year will mirror modern baseball stadia, with netting around the whole structure.

I blog without fear or favor, but I actually was more outraged by that accompanying picture above than the tossed beer cans, notwithstanding the involvement of two of my favorite players.  While ask.com is unable to tell me how to un-see the images, we have his word that it's a one-off:

ZM: Did you expect all your fellow players to be talking about your little celebration so much?

HH: Yeah, definitely. There’s a lot of regret in what I did for that exact reason. But I can use it as a motivating factor. If I play good golf this week and the next few weeks, people will hopefully forget — I know they won’t, but hopefully they will.

ZM: So, safe to say never again with that celebration?

HH: That will never ever happen again. It shouldn’t have happened in the first place, but it certainly will never happen again.

He got that right...eventually.   But my biggest gripe is that he was talking about it all week, so it scores low on spontaneity.  That said, this did make me laugh because it was from such an unexpected party:

The 30-year-old spent much of a blustery day at Riv’ grinding on the range in preparation for his second career start here, but he waded through plenty of interruptions. Everyone from swing instructors to gear reps approached Higgs to chat about his antics in the desert. And even some fellow pros got in on the action.

As defending Masters champ Hideki Matsuyama readied to hit balls next to Higgs, he turned and lifted his shirt in jest.

“You know it’s bad when Hideki comes up to you on the range and lifts his shirt,” Higgs said. It was that kind of day at the course for the hefty cult hero, but as we found out, Higgs’ celebration is bound to be a one and done.

I for one did not have Hideki shirtless on my bingo card.

Lastly, Shack seconds my prediction:

Oh it’s here to stay. Just with chicken wire around the grandstands next year and really good WiFi so you can gamble on the madness. Live Under Par lives, baby!

I don't think it can be said enough, this was Jay's image for the Tour as per the Live Under Par promos.

You think I mentioned Charley just by happenstance?

Don't be giving our Jay any ideas...

Today In Saudi Hijinks - Lots of moving parts, so we'll just pick a few to sort through.  Jay had to love this, though I found it a tad more equivocal than most did:

The Champion Golfer of the Year did, however, make his feelings more clear than ever on the
potential for a Saudi Golf League.

“I'm all for the PGA Tour,” he said. “I've been a pro for two and a half years. My entire life I've thought about the PGA Tour, I've thought about playing against Tiger, beating his records, whatever, something that might not even be breakable, but I've never had another thought of what's out there, right? I've never thought about anything else, it's always been the PGA Tour.”

“Right now you look at the best players that I see and they're all sticking with the PGA Tour and that's where I kind of stay and that's where I belong. I'm very happy to be here. I've played I think three events this year, feels like I've played nothing and part of that was designed in the fall to only play two events. But after missing a lot of the West Coast Swing, I decided to go over there and play on the DP World Tour. I miss being out on the PGA Tour. I miss seeing these guys, I miss playing out here and I just want to compete against the best in the world and right now that's where it is. I'm very happy, I'm very thrilled to be here.”

The problem is that there seemed to be a "For now" left dangling at the end of every sentence.  Of course, isn't that the case, whether or not it's said out loud.  The other quite part said out loud was that there isn't anything concrete to which he could respond, but Jay would be wise to not take too much comfort there.

So, no granular proposals to Collin, so is it possible that the Saudi's are copying Harvard's admission policies?  Because this was awfully granular, though the source might result in a spit take:

PGA Tour player ____________ claims that 17 players have signed on to the proposed Super Golf League.

_____, speaking Tuesday on the Stripe Show podcast, did not identify any specifically by name. However, _____ alluded to the group not being short on star power.

"You’re going to see a lot of big names jump over there. I think there’s already been 17 guys that have jumped over, and I can’t say who they are, but there’s going to be some big names going over there," ____ said on the Stripe Show podcast. "Look, I mean, from what I’ve heard the money’s very, very appealing. You’re only gonna have 12-14 events. Those events are gonna have purses. You’re not going to have to deal with missing a cut anymore; there’s only going to be 40 players. And 10 of those 14 events will be in the States. Signing bonuses, huge, huge purses—it’s going to be very appealing for some of these guys. Yeah you’ll see some big names for sure.

”While _____ asserted his belief that tour players should be receiving a bigger slice of the tour’s profits, he went on to say that those jumping to the SGL are “money hungry.”

So, that's a first, I've elided the name of the player making the claim, because i want you think about who might be close enough to things to be counting heads and the like (and I'm guessing you won't suss it out from the photo).  I'll even give you a clue that his parents seem to be Seinfeld fans...

Anyone?  Bueller?  It's none other than former PGA Tour Canada player of the year, Kramer Hickok.  Who would have first-hand knowledge of Saudi offers and acceptance how?  

I guess if we're rumor central, this would be the point to segue to those other rumors:

The lightning rod that is Bryson DeChambeau continues to be struck by rumors. The latest comes
from the “No Laying Up” podcast, which speculated Monday that DeChambeau is absent from this week’s Genesis Invitational because he has quit the PGA Tour. The podcast also suggested that DeChambeau may merely be out with an injury.

"In Saudi, [DeChambeau] said he is no longer playing on the PGA Tour,” the podcast said. “He told players that. That's what he said. I don't think all of the decisions have been made, so you can't, like, report on anything like that. But the information as I know it from very reputable sources that's where things stand as of now."
 
DeChambeau and his management were quick to refute the report. He said on Twitter that he’s missing the Genesis because he’s rehabbing injuries to his hand and hip that he either suffered or aggravated at the Saudi International.

Amusingly, it remains unclear as to whether he's quitting the Tour because of injury or to accept the Saudi's $135 million offer, or both.  Whatever might be going on with his hips, back and wrists, one assumes he maintains enough physical strength to endorse checks....

I was actually more interested on Morikawa's (and Cantlay's) comments on another subject):

Collin Morikawa reportedly finished 11th in the PIP. He made clear he is not a fan of the PGA Tour’s incentive appropriations based on tossing Meltwater Mentions in the air and seeing what sticks.

This is what happens when you get Haas grads on the Tour who lose out on $3 million and ask them about upping the social media focused pool to $50 million.

“I think we're getting paid $50,000 for the year if we play 15 tournaments, I mean, that's $10 million right there,” he said. “When you're out here on the PGA Tour, you have 200 members or so, you have a million employees, you have a million people trying to do better for the Tour and everyone has their own opinion, but what is really best for the Tour?

“Are those two things, the PIP and the cuts made, or not cuts made, whatever we call it, 15 tournaments played? I don't think that's the best use of $60 million, but I don't have an answer for that. I probably should start thinking about this because I am in a position now to where I can help out and voice my opinion and hopefully be heard.”

.  And from Patrick:

2021 FedExCup champion Patrick Cantlay was asked about the PGA Tour’s Player Impact Program. Always thoughtful with his answers, Cantlay had little problem explaining what he loathes about the social-media driven bonus pool.

“I think I'm old school in the respect that I would like the money to be doled out relative to play and I don't think the PIP does that,” last week’s runner-up said. “It may be the first departure that the Tour has had from rewarding good play to rewarding social media or popularity presence, so I don't like that departure.

“People are going to promote themselves on social media anyway and we've definitely seen that. The question is whether the Tour should also be incentivizing that.”

Finally, a couple who get what a radical departure this is.  As Patrick notes, the social media plays would still happen and would presumably be rewarded with sponsorships and the like.  But this is the Tour rewarding its faves, and that way lies trouble.

Eamon Lynch, who I imagine could work a bone-cutter with the best of them, has thoughts on how the PGA and DP should react (although he spends a fair number of pixels trashing Charley Hoffman, leaving little for the circling vultures):

It is time for the Tour to remind those players that there’s no barbed wire impeding the exit and to instead focus on stars who refuse to shake the Crown Prince’s pompoms as cheerleaders for Saudi
ambitions in golf, men who are driven by history, legacy and the plentiful rewards already available. That is a considerably more impressive roster.

Tiger Woods is out.

Jon Rahm? He’s out too.

Rory McIlroy. Ditto.

Brooks Koepka? Justin Thomas? Jordan Spieth? Out, out, out.

These are the players upon whom the future of the PGA Tour and the broader professional game will be sustained. Not Mickelson, and not the coterie of cash-poor, washed-up veterans eager for the Saudi’s insidious embrace.

For several years, Monahan’s response to this issue has been remarkably measured, an approach that lays bare the problem inherent in member-led organizations, where every hollering halfwit with a gripe must be treated like the chairman of the board. But excessive deliberation can become debilitating. A day must come—and soon—when the PGA Tour decides it will no longer be held hostage by a handful of players desperate for Saudi graft.

Let them go, if they really have the stomach for the gamble. The Tour will be no poorer for their departure.

Charley and Phil, for sure...

By the way, except for his amen to Charley's whine, have you noticed that Phil has gone quiet?  He's allegedly off in Montana skiing, but he amusingly seems to have adequate Wi-Fi:

Since sounding off from a country where they do much worse than block people they don’t like, Mickelson’s comments have been analyzed from all corners. And the reaction to his Saudi-leaning ways has not been positive. Nor has he received much sympathy for his perceived lost revenues at the hands of the PGA Tour.

So while on a long-planned skiing trip in Montana, Mickelson took time out from his va-cay to go on a blocking binge. He reacted to various media members from outlets of all shapes and sizes, but also blocked every day fans, fun-loving influencers like Sam Harrop, and even one of more thoughtful young players, Meghan McLaren, who sounded very rational about Mickelson’s diatribe in the land of beheadings:

 

 

Brave Sir Phillip!  Anyone know how Meltwater Mentions treats blocking others on social media?

But, say it ain't so, Phil, you blocked Big Randy at No Laying Up?


As for that Harrop guy, he quite obviously had it coming:


Think he can anticipate a block from Charley as well....

That's all for today, gang.  See you on Friday?
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Monday, February 14, 2022

Weekend Wrap

It's Monday, so golf first and BS after....  Quite the shame, 'cause I'm itching for my own piece of Charley, not that the vultures haven't already picked that carcass clean.

Clean-Up On Aisle 16 - I've always taken a "Let Phoenix Be Phoenix" position, though it seems to have been more Phoenix than ever this year, so I do hope that the name change hasn't deterred the locals from calling it The Wasted.  Your winner:

The wait is over for Scottie Scheffler.

The 25-year-old Texan sank a 26-foot birdie putt on the third extra hole to defeat Patrick Cantlay at the WM Phoenix Open and claim his first PGA Tour victory.

“I think the first one is probably always the hardest and I definitely made it pretty difficult on myself today,” Scheffler said.

To hear former Tour pro turned CBS broadcaster Colt Knost tell it, he always knew Scheffler was destined for greatness. He remembers when the rangy Scheffler was knee-high to him, a kid who couldn’t get enough of practicing at Royal Oaks Golf Club in Dallas, where Tour winners such as Justin Leonard, Hunter Mahan and Harrison Frazar were regulars.

“He just followed us all around like a little puppy dog,” Knost recalled.

For us as well, the wait that is... Kind of a perfect PGA Tour leaderboard, two kids (though the winner is hardly a newbie) looking for their first surrounded by wall-to-wall studs.  That linked item has all sorts of background on Scheffler's precocious talent, not that any who saw him dismember Jon Rahm at Whistling Straits needs the 411.

This Golf Digest item gets it about right:


Sahith Theegala’s eyes bulged as he trailed his ball screaming through the thin desert air. He’d
escaped the cauldron of adrenaline and beer-throwing at TPC Scottsdale’s madhouse 16th hole with a dry shirt and a par, his focus now solely on winning a truly hectic golf tournament.

The drivable par-4 17th has a habit of deciding the WM Phoenix Open—Brooks Koepka’s chip-in eagle last year catapulted him to the title—and Theegala thought he’d struck the decisive blow. His flushed hybrid was peeling left-to-right toward the slim runway up the center of the green. A perfect line. It would run up the center, he’d two-putt for birdie, par the last, win his first PGA Tour event in front of his parents, five uncles, six aunts and four cousins.

“I thought I hit a great shot,” he said. “It was cutting.”


Until, that is, that damn ball did the one thing it couldn’t do: It kicked left. Hard left, and trickled into the water hazard lurking left of the green. A cruel reminder that golf is played on imperfect surfaces.

“I still have no idea what that bounce was,” his caddie, Carl Smith, said with a shell-shocked expression on his face.

You did and it was cutting, it's just that kind of hole.... 

Theegala, a distinctly un-jaded 24-year-old rookie with an easy smile and a hall-of-fame strut, failed to get up and down and failed to get himself into a playoff with Scottie Scheffler and Patrick Cantlay. He succeeded, however, in capturing the adoration of the 800,000-ish fans who made their way to party this week and the millions more watching on television. (At least until the playoff bled into the Super Bowl.) He slept on the lead three nights in a row and refused to cede his place on a star-studded leader board, even holding a three-shot lead for a brief period on the front nine.

Here's the real reason you should root for the kid.  After serving as the lynchpin of the Pepperdine Golf Team for several years, they won a national championship the year after he graduated.  I feel like he's owed one...

But your humble blogger is old enough to remember when the PGA Tour was sufficiently astute to avoid direct competition with the NFL juggernaut, so I have a modest proposal.  Given that this event is timed to conclude just as a coin is airborne, can we agree to settle any ties via a match of cards?   

Our typical Monday visit with the Tour Confidential panel begins at Query No. 5, so you know it's that kind of week:

5. We’re told there was also golf played at TPC Scottsdale, with Scottie Scheffler winning in a playoff over Patrick Cantlay. Putting the revelry aside, what other storyline most captured your attention at the WMPO?

Sens: We’d seen glimpses already, but this week felt like the full-blown coming out party for Sahith Theegala, free-swinging, expressive, humble and brimming with game. Someone to root for.

Piastowski: Agree, Josh. And speaking of coming-out parties, Scheffler has finally cracked through and won. He wins again this year. And let’s have fun and say he wins the U.S. Open.

Dethier: These guys are right. I’ll just add this: Xander Schauffele came damn close to another win. And he came up just short. His PGA Tour drought grows, even as his sparkling ball-striking continues to dazzle.

Bamberger: I would only add to that there are a bunch of players coming up that are ready, or close to ready, to giving Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy a run for their money. PIP money, too — for those who care about it.

Ummm, Mike, a little pro tip for you.  Those guys you listed we know, your job is actually to identify those you think will break through... I'd especially be interested in that second category, those close to being ready.

So, anything interesting happen on No. 16 this week?  As you know, I've maintained a strict laissez-faire attitude to the event and The Loudest Hole in Golf™, happy to let them have their frat party, a reasonably good fit for a weekend when eyes are necessarily elsewhere.  But the Saturday ace by Sam Ryder was a shock, seeing as how anyone in that zip code would be smelling of beer for the remainder of the day.

Then, this was the scene after Carlos Ortiz jarred it:

OK, fortunately the sponsor is in the waste hauling business.... though most of that seemingly goes with the recycling.

Actually, the crowd is due accolades for their improved behavior, because this was the comparable scene after the Ryder ace:

Ryder's was a bit later in the day and Saturday is actually peak insanity, so I hope Carlos wasn't too terribly let down.

But if there's a scene on No. 16 that I'd like to un-see, it's a different one.  Yanno how I've been trashing that PIP program?  Nothing to see here....

Which in these PIPilicious times inevitably leads to this:


Harry, you're a genuinely funny guy, one that can actually make us laugh with your shirt on.  he was building to this all week, I just can't see why.... Then again, I always tell you I'm deep into the "get off my lawn" stage of life, which seems entirely appropriate for such circumstance.

4. Just when you thought the 16th hole at the WM Phoenix Open couldn’t get any wilder, a couple of aces — one by Sam Ryder on Saturday followed by another by Carloz Ortiz on Sunday — resulted in beer-throwing pandemonium unlike the game has never seen. Also on Sunday, we got a strip tease at 16, with playing partners Harry Higgs and Joel Dahmen baring their chests on the green. It’s a perennial question, but given the exceptionally wild atmosphere at 16 this year and the attention it generated, one that needs to be asked again: Should the Tour strive to create more stadium experiences?

No.  Actually, upon further review, Hell No!

Dethier: I think we can celebrate the spectacular atmosphere of TPC Scottsdale without wishing that more Tour events were exactly this way. So yes to stadium atmospheres, meh to constant beer showers. To put it another way: It was spectacular to see Harry Higgs in all his majesty on Sunday, but if he and Joel Dahmen started getting shirtless week in, week out, the bit might get old quickly.

Sens: You know how our scientific capability to clone a lot of things creeps some people out? Cloning the 16th would be scarier than anything taking place in a lab. Cool setting. One is plenty.

Piastowski: Agreed! Overkill wouldn’t make it unique anymore. It’s something to look forward to.

Bamberger: One is all right. One is plenty.

On the one hand, it's an obvious answer if you know and care about golf.   On the other hand, how else can one interpret the Tour's seemingly abandoned Live Under Par™ campaign as anything other than an attempt to Phoenixize the rest of the Tour.  Dodged that bullet, at least I think we did, but I shouldn't get cocky.

Before moving on, did you catch how Ortiz followed up his ace?  Is there a PEFU or PAFU?  Not yesterday:

But then Ortiz’s round got even better. He stepped up to the drivable par-4 17th and ripped driver 336, leaving himself with a 13-footer for eagle. He buried it.

He went 1-2, which very rarely hurts you....

One last item and then we'll go full-Charley.  Remember last week we had that bit about Jon Rahm being unable to wear his Pat Tillman jersey because of his clothing sponsor?  JT was rocking some kind of Alabama jersey, though he may actually still be without a clothing sponsor ever since Faggot-gate.  But then there's Max Homa paying off a baseball bet:

Being forced to wear the jersey of the sports team your buddy roots for that took down your favorite sports team has become a cliché tried-and-true bet among PGA Tour pros. For as often as it happens, there remains a level of amusement to the whole proceeding that keeps us looking regardless.

The latest example played out Friday at the WM Phoenix Open: Max Homa (die-hard Los Angeles Dodgers fan) and J.T. Poston (die-hard Atlanta Braves fan) had a wager still to be settled after the Braves beat the Dodgers in the National League Championship series last October. It was decided that it would happen in a very public place: the 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale.

 Poston did have some fun with it:

I like that #famous vs. #play better bit, but unbelievably the Tour did just what he asked.  That about wraps up the portion of our programming in which PGA Tour players act in ways that make us like and want to watch them.  Yup, buckle in, it's Charley time.

Charley Hustle - How do you feel about Charley Hoffman?  For me, he's never been good enough to make me care much, but there have been a couple of curious swipes at the USGA where he seemed to be a bit of a jerk.  Most recently on the subject of distance, in which he rejected any further governance but without, yanno, bothering to think through where it all heads.  That doesn't make him different than most Tour pros, though for reasons we'll get into below, he does actually bear some responsibility.

Does everyone know what actually happened? Basically, the same thing that happened to Rickie a few years back at this same event:

Hoffman’s frustrations stemmed from a double bogey he carded on the par-5 13th hole earlier in the day. On the hole, Hoffman hit his ball into the water off the tee, took a penalty stroke and placed his ball back in play. However, after the ball was deemed in play, it rolled back into the water, forcing Hoffman to take another penalty stroke.

Let's agree that that sucks, and yet I know that Rickie handled it much better, because he's Rickie and Charlie is Charlie.

FWIW, a PGA Tour rules official explains:

On Saturday, the PGA Tour explained the ruling and defended themselves against Hoffman’s criticisms.

“Because the ball was at rest after he placed it, the ball was in play,” said PGA Tour Chief Referee Ken Tackett in an interview with Golf Channel. “It was moved by natural forces, therefore, it was a new situation and he had to proceed under the penalty rule again.”

The rule Tackett alluded to was Rule 17, which covers penalty areas. Tackett noted that Hoffman had options after his ball entered the penalty area, including relief within two club-lengths of where the ball entered the penalty area, back-on-the-line relief and stroke-and-distance relief. However, Hoffman elected to take relief within two clubs-lengths of where the ball entered the penalty area, which led to the drama.

There's no shortage of folks that think this is wrong, as it obviously feels unjust.  That said, I'm not sure what the actual solution might be, since once the ball is live, what happens happens.

I haven't yet seen any video, but Geoff seems to think he had options for the drop:

Just to be clear, Hoffman had more than one option, chose to drop in the difficult location and is now whining because his ball moved after he placed it. The rules were there to help him in multiple ways, as were the first and second opinions he called in. (The rules staff responded as detailed here.)

So, Charley was pissed, and Charley, as you're well aware, is special and has no need to just sit there and absorb the indignity, so here's his unexpurgated contribution to humanity:

Your humble blogger is hardly the appropriate social media tour guide, but notice that he actually tagged the Saudis in his post.   

When last Charley crossed my path, he was also playing that tune about the pros being ruled by amateurs, which is just a really curious whine.  The PGA Tour is under no obligation to play under the USGAs rules, they do so for their own benefit.  You know who should be aware of that?  Anyone serving on the Player's Advisory Counsel, as Charley himself does.

You'll also notice that he's unfamiliar with the actual rule involved, always a good look for a professional.  Admittedly, it doesn't matter all that much unless you're a successful professional, so no worries, Charley.

But isn't the bigger issue his left breast (who says we don't tackle the big issues here?)?


Charley is not only sponsored by Waste Management, he was playing this week on a sponsor's exemption.  Well played, Charley, you just pissed on your Tour, your Commish and your sponsor.  Quite the trifecta...

You don't need me to point out the entitlement of which this reeks, but Geoff got off a good rant (at least the tease before the paywall):

When we look back on the Tour Wars of 2022, Charley Hoffman’s post-round tirade will either,

(A) mark the day when the PGA Tour realized they’d let the lunatics run the asylum, or,

(B) Allowed a fatal grievance-culture mindset to define the image of professional golf, or,

(C) Both of the above.

The “athletes”, as the brass call them down at the Global Home, have come to believe they are bigger than the game. Some players are still grounded in reality, but plenty more let their negotiating leverage and years of sweet perks go to their heads. A disturbing number of PGA Tour golfers seem to believe they brought on the Saudi opportunity because of their sheer amazingness. It couldn’t have anything to do with Tiger Woods or an evil entity needing to refresh its image via sports sponsorship. Nope!

Today’s super-humans play courses manicured in almost unfathomably idyllic ways and live in a time when they can walk up to their ball, mash the grass down behind, and do something we might have called cheating just a decade or so ago. No one tells them to stop it.

Throw in gobs of money, a ball that flies super straight and “the product” believes it is entitled to whatever they want. This, even though at least 50% of today’s top 125 will be off the tour in five years and all but a handful of logo-clads could walk down most city streets, never to be recognized.

So it should be no surprise to read Charley Hoffman’s embarrassing post-round Instagram meltdown even when he’s serving as a “brand ambassador” for sponsor Waste Management. Irrational post-round whining is nothing new for Hoffman, long a proponent of the Tour making rules free from the USGA and R&A. But he’s also blissfully unaware of things you never hear at a PGA Tour event:
  • What hole is Charley Hoffman on?
  • What time does Charley Hoffman tee off?
  • Have you seen that Charley Hoffman? Goosebumps!

I would argue that the clean-up had just as many howlers as the Instagram malfunction:

Q. Things often get sort of lost on social media, so I just wanted to ask what you really meant with the Instagram last night.

CHARLEY HOFFMAN: What I meant and what I said, I mean I think I explained it fairly well, but obviously not a huge fan of the USGA and how they govern us all the time.

We pointed oubt above that the PGA plays under USGA rules at their pleasure, obviously happy to hide behind another authority.   But Charley, as you helpfully pointed out, we saw this with Rickie?  How come there no Tour local rule in play?  I know you've been busy playing yourself out of professional golf, but you're taking up space on that PAC.

I was under the, or, under the impression that the rule had changed. And I was frustrated when the rule hadn't changed, why it hadn't changed and I think there's some sort of -- I mean obviously we have a PGA TOUR liaison that helps with the USGA and helps in figuring out what the rules should and shouldn't be.

Charley's such a class act.  having received mondo pushback after throwing the USGA and Jay under the bus, he reacts by throwing Jason Gore under the bus.  Not sure what the busses ground clerarance is, so Charley himself might not actually fit...

And it just, it didn't make any sense at that point in time why that rule hadn't changed, especially this exact tournament when it happened to Rickie Fowler, he ended up winning the golf tournament, but it could have cost him the golf tournament.

But as -- and as I told the rules officials last night it's like, everybody says, We're going to change it for the better, we're going to do this and that, we're close or whatever but nothing seems to get done.

Really?  If only you knew someone in a position of authority...

Q. You wrote that you wonder why guys are looking to join another tour. Do you feel like a lack of accountability or a rules issue are why guys --

CHARLEY HOFFMAN: I think it's a whole, a whole -- everything. You got to look at yourself as a policy board member and look at your self in the face, as I said, what can I do better as a player director, what can the executive committee do, executive directors do better to make sure that we are the best tour in the world.

And if it's -- the PGA TOUR's rewarding us by using social media in their platforms now, but they don't like it when you don't say something that may not be up to their standard. But you're rewarded on it.

Charley, I don't recommend looking yourself in the face.  we've done just that, and it's not a pretty picture.  But those that can and should do better are somehow always in the third person...  But you'll appreciate this clarification:

I'm by no means trying to win the Player Impact Program, but I wanted to get my point across that there's rules out there in the game of golf that should be changed.

Yeah, big guy, I'm not losing any sleep over the thought of you winning anything... But, it wasn't important to change this rule when it was happening to other players, so I think we understand you.

How do we think this portion of the damage control is playing?

Q. And Jay Monahan's name too?

CHARLEY HOFFMAN: And Jay, yeah, it was "Sorry, Jay", that I was doing this, because I have a great relationship with Jay and I have nothing for admiration about what Jay does for this TOUR and how hard he works.

So it was a "Sorry, Jay" because I know he's going -- this isn't an easy time for the PGA TOUR. So that's why that "Sorry, Jay" that that's why I said we need to do better, we as player directors, as executive directors, commissioners, everybody, we need to do better to make sure we keep everybody here in the U.S.

 I'm sure that's exactly how he took it...

So, why bring up the Saudis?  Well, yeah:

Q. You're one of the few players on the policy board. Is the system in place not working?

CHARLEY HOFFMAN: I think it works really good, but we have, we have a threat. I mean, that's real. I mean, you can't hide under a rock and say it's not.

And I, there's no way that I, it's ever crossed my mind to go over and play for a competitor and -- ever -- and it was never -- if it came across in that Instagram post that I have been reached by them, I have not been reached by them, it came across wrong. I added that so the media would catch it, so I would prove my point on the rules side.

Not just overly entitled, but also not very bright.  The man just literally shat all over his sponsor's event.  And he's not very good at the golf thing, so hopefully he will get a juicy offer from the Saudis...

We'll give last word to this gent:

Hoping he's wrong about the early part....

Gonna leave you hear and prepare for my day.  Have a great week and we'll have Riviera to discuss later in the week.  Did you catch all those references to the best drivable Par-4?  I'm guessing there will be more of that this week....

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