Monday, April 6, 2026

Weekend Wrap - Masters Week Edition

It's the best week of the golf year, one I'll try to not have ruined by dental surgery this afternoon....  No pimiento-cheese for this dude, at least until the ceremonial opening tee shots in the gloaming on Thursday.

As for the weekend reference in the header, not gonna even worry about paying that off.  What happens in San Antonio stays in San Antonio.

Shall we lede with this rather good forecast?

I wouldn't object to a bit more wind than the 6 mph they're showing for Friday-Sunday, but the course should be as firm as they want it.

The Venue - Geoff has been posting up a storm, and even limited to that which is before his paywall leaves much to discuss.  Shall we grab some of his "by the numbers" data?

By The Numbers
  • Augusta National Golf Club: Founded in 1932, opened in January 1933
  • Original Architects: Alister MacKenzie, Bobby Jones (1933)
  • Other architects known to have made adjustments: Perry Maxwell, Robert Trent Jones, George Cobb, Joe Lee/Byron Nelson, Bob Cupp, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Fazio, Beau Welling
  • Yardage: 7,565 yards (up ten yards in 2026)
  • Par: 72
  • Yards of Walking Between Tournament Tees: 1,236
  • Slope and Course Rating: 148, 76.2 (unofficial)
  • Course Record: 63 (Nick Price, 1986 third round; Greg Norman, 1996 first round)
  • Holes with hazards in play: 7 (2nd, 5th, 8th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 15th, 16th)
  • Elevation Change: 145 feet from the highest spot (10th tee) to the 11th green (lowest).
  • Elevation Rise: 59 feet from the tee to the 18th green
The 7th fairway.

There will be a quiz in the morning...

 And a separate set of agronomic bullets:

  • Fairways: Ryegrass overseed cut toward tees at .375”
  • Acres of Fairway: 79
  • Average Green Size: 6,486 sq. ft.
  • Greens: Bentgrass, cut at .125”
  • First: Set of bentgrass greens PGA Tour regulars have played in 2026
  • Bunkers: 44
  • Largest Bunker: 8th fairway, 6,107 square feet and 100 tons of sand
  • Holes With “Penalty Areas” In Play: 2, 5, 8, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16
  • Second Cut: Ryegrass overseed trimmed at 1.375”
  • Acres of “Second Cut”: 35
  • Collars: Bentgrass .250”
  • Approaches: Ryegrass overseed .312”
  • Tees: Ryegrass overseed .312”
  • Number of Course Maintenance Employees: 60
  • Number of Tournament Volunteers: 113
  • Senior Director of Agronomy: Brent Seyer, GCSAA (16th year, second as director)
  • Other Key Personnel: Director of Agronomy, Scott Waddell, Asst. Superintendent, Connor Castor, Asst. Superintendents Kurt Eller, Justin Henderson, Irrigation Senior Manager, Fred Hartenstein, Equipment Manager, PGA professionals J.J. Weaver, Ryan Sharp

I think the biggest surprise might be how few bunkers there are.  They do seem to always be in the right spot, no?

And this might be of interest to see the relative difficulty on a hole-by-hole basis:

What always jumps out to this observer is that start to the back nine.  

Almost no changes to be conscious of:

“The course isn’t real different,” Rory McIlroy said after a visit to Augusta National early in the year.

🚜 Architectural Changes Since Last Time: The quietest off-season in recent memory saw only one official change: the front of the 17th tee has been reduced by 12 yards, with the tee plate relocated to increase the official yardage by ten, to 450 yards.

😢 Notable trees return: Trees behind the 11th and 15th lost to hurricane Helene have returned, as noted by The Quad in February and confirmed by the official map and hole renderings.

And, in a bit of a digression, Geoff talks about last year's tribute pin on No. 16:

How Did The Tribute Play?

Last year’s final round moved away from the traditional and iconic hole location at the par-3 16th.

The upper back right placement was used on Sunday to celebrate Jack Nicklaus’ winning putt from 1975. The tribute coincided with a fairly elaborate rollout by CBS and Masters social media, even though there were complicating factors in re-creating some of the ‘75 magic:
  • The green is rolling at least three feet faster on the Stimpmeter compared to 1975.
  • The art of landing and keeping the ball on the upper shelf has become a greater challenge with modern speeds.
  • The tee was moved up about 20 yards for the final round. Rory McIlroy hit an 8-iron. Nicklaus hit 5-iron in 1975.
The 16th green was “new” after needing to be re-grassed in October, 2024 after a tall pine fell onto the surface during Helene.

The 16th still played to a 3.019 average for Sunday’s final round with 10 birdies and 83% of the field hitting the green. This was in line with recent years, including 2024 when 11 birdies were made in the final round (nine in 2023).

Rory McIlroy parred the 16th after hitting a brilliant shot to ten feet above the hole, setting up one of the scariest downhill putts on the course. He has since said the shot was one of the best from his wild final round.

“After I missed the putt for the eagle on 15,” McIlroy said, “I stepped up and made another really good swing with an 8-iron on 16 and I didn’t make that putt, either. But that was a hole that I wouldn’t say I was worried about it all day, but it was always in the back of my mind because it wasn’t the traditional Sunday hole location.”

Verdict? Nice tribute. And please Lords, don’t ever do it again.

It's a great memory of perhaps the greatest Masters ever (Geoff has another post on an alternative candidate for that title), but a truly horrible pin position.  In fact, heresy alert, it's a pretty bad green in your humble blogger's opinion, with only the one position that works.  But Jack also hit 5-iron there in Geoff's other tribute....

Before moving on, let me just make you aware of a deep dive Geoff has done into ANGC's second hole.  I'll allow him to explain:

The Quad’s annual deep dive into an Augusta National hole continues with the 585-yard par-5 second hole. The selection process is at the whim of the Chief-Senior-Writer-At-Large, who, this year, selfishly decided to dig deep into the history behind one of his favorite greens in all of golf.

(Last year’s deep dive was a two-parter on the third hole: here and here).

So why dig into the easiest hole (statistically) that was always a bit of an afterthought until television coverage expanded to 18 holes?
  • No. 2 remains one of the few multi-dimensional par-5’s left in championship golf, depending on where the hole is cut, and elicits a fascinating range of emotions from
    players.
  • The second is often cited as one of the least-changed holes on the course. By Augusta National standards, that’s a bit like being the Kardashian family member who's made the fewest visits to Dr. Wecantightenthatup. On a scale of One to Bruce Caitlyn Jenner? No. 2’s a strong Seven.

 Geez, can't remember Jack saying anything that controversial, not least about Augusta.

There's a lot here (and it's a two-part post), including the origins of this old-time bit:

✈️ Origin of the Delta Counter story: The nightmare awaiting balls going into the left trees was dubbed the “Delta Counter” by pro golfer Gardner Dickinson. The 12-time Masters participant suggested players who drove left here should be ready to change their plane tickets since they wouldn’t be making the cut. (Yes, kids, golfers once flew commercial.)

 There's a name I haven't heard in decades, but it's be funnier if he had used Eastern or TWA, no?

And great old-time photos:

No 2 under construction (left) and the finished product, missing the greenside bunker that was in place by opening day (right)

Dive in if you're interested,.

I Saw It On TV - Geoff did a separate media preview, including this focus on our Prime Imperative:

The breadth and width of Prime’s year-one launch for only four hours of weekday coverage has been surprisingly…bold. At least by Masters media partner standards, where promotional pieces are studied as closely as the actual coverage.

Ads for Prime’s debut have been running everywhere. From local and national cable outlets to NBC’s coverage of PGA Tour events (including a surprising live read from Dan Hicks returning from two Texas Children’s Houston Open commercial breaks).

With Augusta National allowing Amazon to sell how the tournament “Now Begins on Prime” looks, smells, and really, really, really seems like a less-than-subtle warning shot at primary weekday coverage rightsholder, ESPN.

Prime’s first moves are exciting from a pure golf and Masters fanboy perspective. There are legitimate indications that Prime’s new pact with Augusta National will be more than just a way to bring in a new partner and cash a check to pay for the next tee extension.

Amazon’s streaming service commenced with a documentary produced in conjunction with Rory McIlroy’s Firethorn Productions. There will be a new Amen Corner feed focusing on stats and other on-screen goodies (even if it sounds as if they’ll be relying on the latest gizmos CBS has developed and leaves out of the shows in deference to the club’s longtime preference for minimizing screen clutter).

He takes the obvious shots at ESPN, which I quite agree adds little to the week:

Prime’s Thursday and Friday windows will be hosted by Terry Gannon, who will guide two hours of coverage featuring “interviews with current stars and special guests, including six-time Masters champion Jack Nicklaus.” Throw in Prime’s Rory doc, and it’s in stark contrast to ESPN’s often weird approach that screams obligation more than excitement. Under executive Mike McQuade’s watch, the worldwide leader has maintained a stabilizing presence with Scott Van Pelt and Curtis Strange on air, along with Andy North reporting. But ESPN’s inconsistency surrounding the Masters and sometimes unusual attempts at broadening the shows to reach a general audience come off as a lack of full buy-in. They’ve been almost apologetic at times for talking about something other than the NBA as the playoffs approached.

This apathy may explain why golf fans still consistently turn to Golf Channel for pre- and post-round coverage in big numbers, even as ESPN has the right to pop in for things like the Honorary Starters or some early birdie runs. ESPN’s approach generally suggests The Masters is more obligation than honor to cover. (Which is in contrast to its Wimbledon approach, where they generally exude a vibe suggesting it’s a privilege to be there.)

I know, but Golf Channel has guys that actually know golf, whereas ESPN shoves randos down our throats.  And by randos I mean....

News this week of retired Eagles center Jason Kelce handling interviews during the Par 3 Contest has been met with overwhelming derision online. Kelce’s hiring was undoubtedly approved by Augusta National as part of the ongoing and successful effort to make the Par 3 broadcast unwatchable. But the move accidentally revealed another annoyance for Augusta National: ESPN’s propensity for its internal drama to spill out publicly. This time with the Masters getting a mention.

“The Internet goes on to say ‘we don’t need Jason Kelce at the Masters,’” the odious Pat McAfee said on his simulcasted ESPN show. “And that’s probably a valid point if I had to guess. I’m only saying that strictly because we have attempted to be a part of the Wednesday coverage of the Masters at the par-3 thing for three consecutive years now. For the people that are mad about Jason Kelce being a part of the Masters, I have a good piece of news for you: They told us to go to hell.”

I think it's great that we have expanded Thursday-Friday coverage, but the channel-flipping involved is getting way old.

On The Come - Shall we riff on the Tour Confidential panel's musings?  Yeah, that's rhetorical:

Welcome to Masters week, where we won’t see Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson but have a bunch of other storylines ready to unfold at Augusta National. What’s one you’re watching for?

Zephyr Melton: Is Scottie Scheffler’s slump for real? Or has his (relatively) poor play been a
simple case of early-season malaise. If he struggles to find his form at Augusta — where he’s had a boatload of success — it might be time to start ringing the alarm bells.

Jack Hirsh: That’s a good one Zephyr, I really like zoning in on Justin Rose this week. He’s in his mid-40s now, but yet, he comes into this week as the 7th-ranked player in the world and the most recent runner-up at Augusta. It’s incredible to think he’s now lost two playoffs at the Masters. He rebounded from a lull after his win at Torrey Pines with a T13 at the Players. Is this the week he gets a Green Jacket?

Josh Schrock: I second both of the above. Rose would be my top storyline, but I am curious to see what Brooks Koepka has in the bag next week. His major record has been poor since his 2023 PGA Championship win, but he said he fixed a putting issue that has plagued him for two years and was playing good golf until the MC in Houston. Is this the major where Brooks Koepka emerges as a threat?

I have no clue what was up with Scottie, but Meredith and he just had their second child, so not sure this sets up great for him.  But you'll not find Brooks on my bingo card, not that my bingo card has anything to recommend it.

Which big-name player’s recent form has them either trending or fading as the first major of the year approaches?

Melton: I’m buying Ludvig Aberg’s stock heading into Augusta. He’s been in excellent form of late, with three top 10s over his last three starts, and he’s got a great track record in the Masters, albeit in a small sample size. I like Ludvig to be a factor this week.

Hirsh: Tommy Fleetwood is my pick for this week and I think his game fits perfectly for Augusta National. As for his trends? He’s finished in the top-10 in three of his five starts this season, and while he didn’t this weekend in Texas, he was in the mix going into the weekend. I think this is his week.

Schrock: I’m buying Xander Schauffele returning as a major threat. After winning two majors in 2024, he got sidetracked by the rib injury to start last year and never seemed to get his swing right. He has been playing well of late, with the irons leading the way. I think Rose wins but I expect Xander to be a factor come Sunday.

Lots of love for Rosie, and he'd be an awfully popular winner.  But how likely is that storybook ending?

Bryson DeChambeau won both of his LIV Golf starts prior to the Masters, and he’s finished in the top six in each of the last two years. Are you more bullish on Bryson than ever before? And is he your top pick this week among LIV players?

Melton: With Rory and Scottie having a slow start to their seasons, I’d say this is the most wide-open the race for the green jacket has been in several years — so why not Bryson? Hard not to like how he’s trending. It’ll all come down to how well he can control his distance with the irons.

Hirsh: Yawnnnnn, no. A LIV victory just doesn’t have much credibility to me. It was a good sign for Brooks a couple of years ago when he lost to Rahm, but I just don’t see Bryson winning at Augusta. Will he contend again? Probably, but I just don’t see him winning.

Schrock: I agree with Jack. I have a hard time seeing it all come together for Bryson at Augusta. He seems to have figured things out since his MCs in 2022 and 2023, but he contended last year while being mostly unable to control the distance with his irons and he’s been talking about trying to “dial in” his wedges. I think Jon Rahm, not Bryson, is the LIV player who is in the mix at Augusta this week.

Yeah, I still think the Gods of Augusta will not let go of that Par-67 dis....

Are you taking a combination of Scottie and Rory, or the field? And why?

Melton: The field. Neither of the two top dogs have shown enough consistency so far this year for me to back them versus the rest of the field. Does that mean they won’t win? Not necessarily, but the odds favor the field.

Hirsh: The field. Not because I don’t think Scottie and Rory won’t contend, but I’m not convinced Scheffler is comfortable with his driver based on when we saw him last (although it’s been three weeks) and that’s a pretty important club to win the Masters. Rory I expect a little more out of right now, but I don’t think either is in the world beating form they have been in the last couple years.

Schrock: I’ll take the field. Between Scottie’s un-Scottie-like iron play and Rory’s back issue, I think it’s more than likely that someone outside of the top two takes home the green jacket. I am interested to see how Rory plays now that he has finally submitted the mountain at Augusta. I think he contends, but repeating is a monumental task. I’m really not sure what to make of where Scottie’s game is right now and if the iron play is in Augusta shape.

I don't especially like either of those two this week.  

Last year, we asked who needed a Masters win the most, with our panel agreeing it was McIlroy. Well, now that he’s won it, who’s next on your list?

Melton: Justin Rose. He’s had one arm in the green jacket twice, yet couldn’t quite get it done. Father time may catch up soon, and his chances are running out. A green Jacket for Rose may be more meaningful than for any other player in the field. (Plus, a swing that sweet deserves more than one major on the resume.)

Hirsh: Tommy Fleetwood. He was the best player in the world at the end of the year last season and he’s still in great form in 2026. Time to get that major.

Schrock: Agree with Zephyr. It’s Rose. He has held the lead or co-lead at the Masters nine times after Round 1, 2 and 3. That’s third all-time after Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus. He’s -18 under par in the last 10 Masters, which ranks seventh. Five of the six players ahead of him have won jackets during that period. It’s time.

Between those two, it's pretty clear who will have the fewer chances going forward.   There's only two guys that have lost two Masters playoffs, Rosie and a guy named Hogan....

What’s your final, parting Masters thought?

Melton: I think we’ll see a hole-in-one on No. 16 Sunday with the traditional funnel pin.

Hirsh: I think this is the year our Alan Bastable wins the media lottery. Ever since Brooks Koepka asked him in a press conference if he had played the course, I’ve been dying to see that come true.

Melton: I second this motion.

Schrock: Ten years after his collapse at No. 12, I think Jordan Spieth holds the 54-hole lead this year and we’ll have another memorable Sunday on our hands at Augusta National.

Geoff has a post up about an ace on No. 12, which would be a far rarer occurrence.

The Greatest Masters Evah? - Another Geoff post celebrates the 40th anniversary of THAT Masters:

All sorts of great bits, first about that putter:

The putter. Nicklaus’s ridiculous-looking Response ZT MacGregor putter was scaled up 32% from the Ping Pal model it was mimicking. An initial prototype was rejected by the USGA, and Nicklaus asked designer Clay Long if it was “some kind of joke.” But after hitting putts with it, Nicklas couldn’t write it off entirely. MacGregor sent two black painted versions to Nicklaus, who put it in the bag while the company ramped up production for the public. But a Honda Classic mishap with the super lightweight putter nearly saw it get benched. During a pre-tournament scouting trip playing with Augusta Chronicle chairman William Morris (yes, the five-time champion needed to be hosted by a member), Nicklaus putted beautifully with the Response yet gave one of the two versions to Morris.

It just looked so damn big....

For me, the strangest moment involving Seve at ANGC was Clifford Roberts asking his height in a typically awkward Butler Cabin moment.  But see what you think of this bizarre exchange from '86:

Seve. Ballesteros was somewhat of a villainous character because of his ongoing, multi-year spat with Deane Beman over membership issues. The language barrier and overall tension surrounding those pesky foreigners, led to this epic story, as relayed in Boyette’s book when longtime sports columnist Furman Bisher asked a question about Ballesteros’ round.

“Seve, you played like you were on a crusade today. Are you trying to prove something to the PGA Tour?”

“Did Deane Beman pay you to ask that question?” Seve said.

“No, it’s a legitimate question,” Bisher said. “Are you on a crusade?”

“You talk too sophisticated for me,” said Seve. “I don’t understand.”

“You ought to know what a crusade is, Bisher said. ‘They started in Spain.”

Dan Jenkins later wrote of the exchange, “Seve didn’t have a kicker line because, like most everybody else in the press building, he’d never learned that the Crusades had actually started in Rome.”

And that ends today's history lesson....

Wither Tiger -  I have a literal answer to the question:

I had heard reports that he got a judge to allow him to travel overseas for treatment, which seems totally on-brand for the guy.  Remember his cos-play therapy for sex addiction?   

Mike Bamberger, who let us know recently that everyone in golf knew Tiger is an addict, is back with an optimistic take that falls way flat (at least to this observer):

The great tragedy of modern life is that everything has turned into a product. Golf is a product, per PGA Tour brass. Journalism is a product. Clicks are monetized. It’s deadening. Hogan,
Palmer, Nicklaus and Watson were dominating golfers and unique personalities who captured our imaginations. But they weren’t products. Tiger Woods has been packaged and sold since he was 3. Woods knows his state of mind that morning in February 2021, when he was pulled out of another wrecked car. Cry for help is a hoary cliché but that crash had to be a cry for help. In the end, not a very loud one. His crash last week, a mile or so from his South Florida home may prove to be a louder one.

This time, his hand was forced, just as it was after his 2017 DUI arrest by police in Jupiter, Fla. In golf’s various and cloistered circles — on Golf Channel, on websites and in newsletters, in a release from the CEO of the PGA Tour — Woods’s statement on Monday was met with relief and admiration. He said he was “stepping away for a period of time to seek treatment and focus on my health.” You hope, of course, he can get the treatment he, by his own admission, needs. But there’s more going on here.

As this second DUI charge in Florida goes down its jurisprudence road, prosecutors were going to require that Woods seek treatment. Woods is trying to avoid a jail sentence here, of any length. He’s trying to avoid the spectacle of a public trial. There’s nothing for him to fight here. There are lawyers and advisors deep in his life. Signing up for treatment, on a voluntary basis, was a smart and necessary first step in an effort to keep a bad situation from getting worse.

Nicklaus wasn't a product?  Maybe, Mike, it's not that Tiger is product, it's that he never developed into a man like Jack or Tom Watson before becoming commoditized.... 

Mike even throws this in:

Woods has been down the treatment road before. In early 2010, some weeks after running over a fire hydrant in the middle of the night outside his home in the Isleworth development near Orlando, Woods reportedly went to a residential treatment facility in Mississippi to deal with addiction issues. His 2017 plea required counseling as well. A statement is a statement. Last year, when Woods turned to X to announce his relationship with Vanessa Trump, he wrote, “Love is in the air and life is better with you by my side!” Please insert air quotes around wrote. Does that sound like Tiger Woods to you? Monday’s sober announcement has a completely different tone, of course. We don’t know anything about Tiger’s state of mind, and he doesn’t owe us that — or really anything.

To me, Mike falls into the rather obvious trap of assuming that going for therapy is the same as taking the therapy seriously.  I assume that Tiger is doing what he needs to avoid prison, but is this, in fact, a wake up call, or just another crisis to be manages.

I'm going to leave you with this from Geoff's media preview post:

I’ve been at this golf writing thing a while now and have seen “stuff” that I’d classify as surreal-adjacent. And a few things I’d classify as downright surreal.

Yet nothing prepares even the most tired eyes for the extended cut of the Tiger Woods arrest body cam videos. Coppola didn’t capture this much footage for Godfather II. And at least Francis used a long lens to not be so damn raw, up-close, and absolutely devastatingly brutal to see.


It’s all just a little much with the Golf’s High Holy Days upon us.

Yeah, I've seen this movie before.  But for those keeping a scorecard at home, this is at least the fourth time that Tiger is "getting the help that he needs", yet folks seem completely credulous that Tiger is, in fact, looking to change.  

Have a great week.  As is typical, I've no concrete plans for my blogging schedule, so check back early and often. 

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Monday, March 30, 2026

Weekend Wrap - Groundhog Day Edition

We've got the two obvious stories to blog today.  There's the upbeat testament to a man's ability to survive the unimaginable, even more remarkable when that man seems to be one of the best-liked guys out there.

Then there's a matter of more prurient interest, one that also includes a not insignificant measure of personal vindication.  Because, as regular readers know, I have never been a card-carrying member of Tiger's cult of personality.  In fact, even before this latest Eff-Up, I've had several people acknowledge my consistency.  Comments tended to be along the lines of, "You've been telling me for years that he's a Dick.  I didn't see it initially, but now I do."

To this observer, Tiger's absence from Rome and Bethpage should tell golf fans all they need to know.  To wit, he can't even be bothered showing up....

Tigergate, A Continuing Series - Have we seen this movie before?  You know Hollywood and their tentpoles, they'll keep rolling out the sequels....  Someone better at the digital stuff than I needs to do a mash-up of all four mug shots, no?

The hard part for a blogger is simple, what is there to add to this Greek tragedy?  The first thing to note is the media reaction seems, well, familiar.  Whether it's Harvey Weinstein, Me-Too or any of the mirror image awakenings, we find something notable in the reactions.  See if you can suss it out from this fine example of the genre from Mike Bamberger

Tiger Woods’s latest car accident leads back to same difficult conclusion

It has been an open secret in the tight circle around Tiger Woods for years: If you want to have a serious conversation with Woods — about his charity and architecture work; about the future of

the PGA Tour; about his 15 wins in Grand Slam events — you do it in the morning. Woods, famously, is a poor sleeper and an early riser. The broad picture you get, from people in position to know, is that if you’re in the circle, you can get him early. As his days wear on, Woods becomes less available and less predictable. This is not idle, mean-spirited speculation. More like observations borne in care, if not worry.

If this all sounds depressingly familiar, it’s because it is. In 2017, Woods was arrested by Jupiter Police department in South Florida at about 3 in the morning on a DUI charge. He was found asleep and incoherent on the side of four-lane road, about 10 miles south of the scene of his Friday crash. He spent that night in the Palm Beach County Jail. A breath test that night revealed that Woods had not been drinking but a blood test revealed he had five prescription drugs in his bloodstream.

In 2021, about 22 months after his stirring win in the 2019 Masters, early on a dry weekday morning in Southern California, Woods drove off a rural road, over a median, across two lanes and down a ravine. His vehicle was stopped by a tree, pirouetted and flipped. Woods’s injuries were extensive and his golfing life was permanently compromised. Asked once in a press conference to explain the incident, Woods said tersely, “It’s all in the police report.” But police reports revealed nothing about Woods’s state of mind in the single-vehicle crash. A report did indicate that, per the car’s black-box recording device, Woods had the gas pedal virtually floored through the incident, driving well over 80 miles an hour in a 45-mph zone. Los Angeles County police officials did not test Woods for drugs or alcohol and no arrest was made.

I've been known to refer to Mike Bamberger as the conscience of the game, but see how we like him right now.  Like with the scandals above, they all knew....  the only issue they're forced to deal with now if that the wider public has been let in on it.  So Mike, why exactly did you help cover this up?

Just to reinforce, the man is a sundowner before hitting age 50, but we're putting the future of the game in his hands?  And all of the so-called adults have been covering up his addiction?

Geoff isn't having any of it:

Tiger

Once again.

In the most pitiful form of deja vu all over again, Tiger Woods embarrassed himself, his family, his “team”, his enablers, his foundation, his pride, and the game he loves. For the fourth time.

It’d be swell if his latest car accident served as a wake-up call for Woods and his addiction issues. But we know better. The world of golf should slap him around if it would like to see him turn gray, bald, and generate a 125 ball speed in the Honorary Starters Ceremony.

But if you’ve been around golf long enough, you know this is the same sport that’ll tear a rotator cuff to pat itself on the back for its nobility. So golf will once again scold, scoff, lecture, shake heads, and then, because he’s a once-in-a-lifetime gravy train, write off the latest could-have-been-so-much-worse car accident where good lawyers will get him out of another DUI.

While Woods is entirely responsible for his latest embarrassment, the sport he’s given so much to is once again in a position to send him a signal. Unfortunately, profit and cult-of-personality worship have a funny way of benching principled stances in a sport that can’t wait to tell the world how it plays by the rules.

Unfortunately, I don't think his lawyers will have to do all that much of anything..... these crimes are all misdemeanors.  Shall we allow Geoff to rant on?  Yeah, again that was rhetorical:

While the latest crash has been blamed on enablers, the media, and everyone but Woods, golf has also never really put its foot down when it comes to his accidents. Sponsorships have continued. Partnerships with elite institutions were started after car incidents two, three, and four. Then again, this is the same sport that essentially doxxed a police officer because another No. 1 player was late for his pre-round physio session and acted like a jagoff when there were flashing lights everywhere. So are we really surprised that Tiger’s struggle with addiction has been allowed to fester?

For a change, it’d be really nice if those in power would step up in the name of helping the man face his issues. If nothing else, maybe they would do it in the name of other drivers on Beach Road?

Golf’s leadership does not even have to preach the way Masters Chairman Billy Payne once did. Or go out of its way to embarrass an obviously flawed man who has turned to painkillers after making a mess of his body in pursuit of excellence (and one last major). Nor is a punishment pile-on the right course for someone who hasn’t been the same since the loss of his dear mother, Tida.

So, Geoff asks a lot of golf's governing structures and people, as they're not therapists and/or health care professionals.  But we're told by Mike Bamberger that it's an open secret that Tiger can't function as the day goes on, so by all means let's give him the keys!  They've told us for the last few years that our game will be saved by a low-functioning addict.  

Now I think back to all of the unexplained stuff that's gone down.  The biggest one is, of course, Tiger refusing to captain last year's Ryder Cup team, explained away by his intensive involvement in negotiations with the Saudis.  We've been told those discussions were going nowhere because the Saudis had lost interest....  Maybe, but is it possible that the return phone calls from His Excellency came in after to Vicodin kicked in?  Similarly, did Tiger beg off because he couldn't stay awake for the afternoon fourballs?

How about Presidents Cup Saturday in Australia, when Tiger suddenly couldn't play.  Was it the back, or was he on a painkiller bender?  

Tiger should not be at The Masters next week. Nor should he be allowed to attend the opening of The Loop par-3 course at The Patch. The Lords of Augusta National meant well by bringing one of his foundation’s learning labs to the town, while adding a fun pitch-and-putt designed by Woods. But they should ask him to stay home. Because other than Payne’s lecture in 2010, they’ve accommodated Woods as a five-time winner. They have the power to stop him from being a five-time rollover specialist who has miraculously not killed anyone.

Woods has also been allowed to sully special moments of others, and that needs to stop. Gary Woodland just won a Tour event in one of the great comebacks in golf history. Rory McIlroy will be returning the Green Jacket to a very special Masters, where an incredible dinner is planned among golf greats. As nice as it would be to have all of the living career Grand Slam winners there to toast McIlroy, Woods would diminish the proceedings after his latest incident.

The PGA of America needs to move on to Plan B for its 2027 Ryder Cup captaincy. A decision was due from Woods soon for a gig he has shown an odd ambivalence toward.

The PGA Tour needs to drop Woods from the committee making major decisions about the future until he shows he’s understood how—can’t believe I’m typing this—it’s a privilege to get in a car and go to Medalist to hit balls without risking the lives of others.

In the spirit of vintage values and retro responsibility, it’d be nice to see the sport set aside phony optics plays, dreams of huge ratings, and profit concerns to send Tiger a message. One that will inspire him to ask for assistance from professionals who can help him find ways to manage whatever pains him.

Doug Ferguson adds some interesting timing issues to the mix:

Woods had said earlier in the week he was trying to get in shape for the Masters on April 9-12,
though that was looking unlikely. He turned 50 at the end of last year. “This body, it doesn’t recover like it did when it was 24, 25,” Woods said earlier this week.

He also was days away from a decision on whether to be the next U.S. Ryder Cup captain for the 2027 matches in Ireland. Two officials from the PGA of America did not immediately return phone calls from The Associated Press seeking comment.

And on April 5, he is scheduled to be in Augusta, Georgia, with Masters chairman Fred Ridley to celebrate a project at “The Patch,” the nickname of a municipal golf course where Woods’ design team created a short course to go along with a major upgrade to the public course.

Woods also is the central figure as chairman of the Future Competition Committee that is reshaping the PGA Tour model of tournaments. Tour CEO Brian Rolapp predicted meaningful progress this summer.

Geez.  How could they possibly trust him with the Ryder Cup captaincy at this point?

Am I the only one amused that the photo of Tiger above includes a...wait for it, fire hydrant?

This might be the funniest bit to be found, though maybe it's sadder than funny:

Perhaps the most high-profile example is that of Barstool Sports personality Sam Bozoian, widely known as simply “Riggs” in the golf community. Just over an hour after Marin County Sheriff John Budensiek announced Woods’ charges at a press conference on Friday evening, Riggs, who, along with his cadre of Fore Play buddies, has grown close to Woods in recent years, posted a video admitting he had informed Barstool’s digital team not to post about the DUI charge and then absolved Woods of any wrongdoing.

“You think I told our team to not post about Tiger Woods’ DUI to protect him? You’re goddamn right I did,” a smirking Riggs said. “You want me on that wall. You need me on that wall. We’ll protect Tiger Woods until we f*cking die.”

The video seemingly came in response to an earlier social media post from Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, who posted a text message from an anonymous employee that read, “Riggs told me not to post Tiger DUI fyi if anyone wondering why we haven’t yet.”

When they tell you their job is to protect Tiger, I'd recommend that you believe them.  The real question is why, knowing that, you'd ever read them.

The Tour Confidential panel has long been notoriously sycophantic about Tiger, so this was always going to be a tough morning for them.  They don't exactly duck it, but their flailing also doesn't get much traction:

Tour Confidential: Tiger Woods’ arrest raises thorny questions about past, future

Tiger Woods was arrested on suspicion of DUI on Friday after he was involved in a two-car accident near his Jupiter Island, Fla., home. Police said Woods’ vehicle clipped the back of a trailer, which caused his SUV to flip on its side; neither Woods nor the driver of the truck pulling the trailer were injured. Woods blew 0.0 on a breathalyzer test, but investigators on the scene said Woods showed signs of impairment. He was arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor DUI with property damage and refusal to submit to a lawful (urine) test. So many questions, but let’s start with your first impressions. What was your immediate reaction when the news broke?

Alan Bastable: I wish I could say shock but that would be disingenuous. I think I quickly shifted from a feeling of “not again” to “how did this happen again?” Why is Woods yet again behind the
wheel in an allegedly impaired state, endangering both his own life and the lives of others? How frequently has he been doing this? Who, if anyone, is enabling him to do so? If he’s sick and needs help, has he received that help? Received it and worked at it? Received it and shirked it? If he’s sick and needs help, how has he been managing his many duties, in particular his stewardship of the PGA Tour? How much has his poor decision-making been driven by his litany of injuries and surgeries, of his inability to be the player he once was, of the pressure, generally, of being Tiger Woods? There are so many unanswered questions, many of which we may never get answered. From the outside looking in, this latest chapter stirs up all kinds of emotions — sadness, sympathy, anger, disappointment, bafflement, curiosity, disinterest. The public is entitled to feel all of these emotions. Or none of them.

Sean Zak: My gut was to believe (out of optimism) that this was just a bad-luck incident. But as the details came in, it was a reminder of what we’ve been through before. With such a private person, it will be impossible to know. But when these incidents happen, it gets a lot easier to connect the dots about what we’ve seen from Woods in less-severe moments in the past. His TV broadcast appearances, which haven’t always felt lucid. His Ryder Cup press conference in 2018, at which he basically fell asleep. It’s easy to forget these things when nothing bad happens. It’s really easy to remember them when bad things happen.

Josh Sens. A mix of emotions. Part sympathy for a guy who has never struck me as especially happy; part relief that no one was injured; and part anger at the combination of arrogance/selfishness it takes to get behind the wheel when — as it appears based on the initial reports — you simply don’t belong there.

Yes, please give us your first reaction to his fourth such incident.  Just spitballin' here, but maybe if you guys had reacted to the first three incidents...

I don't much remember that 2018 presser, though the whole week was very weird.  Here's an AI take on it:

Yes, at the end of the post-match news conference following the U.S. team's loss at the 2018 Ryder Cup, Tiger Woods appeared to be falling asleep or was extremely exhausted.
  • GOLF.com +1Circumstances: After losing his match to Jon Rahm on Sunday, Woods appeared at the team press conference looking visibly tired and dejected.
  • Cause: Woods attributed his exhaustion to an intense schedule, having played seven out of nine weeks leading up to the tournament, which included the Open Championship, WGC, playoffs, and the Ryder Cup.
  • Performance: The fatigue contributed to a poor tournament performance where Woods went 0-4 and later cited extreme exhaustion from the long season.
While some reports described it as "sleeping" during the presser, it was widely acknowledged to be extreme fatigue following his comeback year.

Back to the TC gang: 

Woods has an alarming track record of car incidents and accidents. In 2017, he was arrested by Jupiter police on a DUI charge after he was found asleep and incoherent in his vehicle on the side of the road; a blood test revealed he had five prescription drugs in his system. Four years later, in Southern California, Woods was badly injured when, driving well over 80 mph in a 45-mph zone, he swerved off a road and struck a tree; L.A. police did not test Woods for drugs or alcohol and no arrest was made. Does this latest accident change how you look at the framing of what happened in 2021 and ’17?

Bastable: Of course. How can’t it? It’s hard to look back at that L.A. accident and not be mystified by why police declined to blood-test Woods for drugs or alcohol — for many reasons but especially given the high speed at which Woods was traveling and the fact that, according to police, he didn’t apply the brakes before impact. We’ll probably never know the full picture of Woods’ mental or physical state on that morning but, yes, this latest episode absolutely raises more questions about what went down.

Zak: Similar to my answer above — it becomes really easy to connect the dots of these instances. It feels responsible to do so. I imagine a judge will feel similarly.

Sens: I’m not sure it changed how I look at those past incidents, particularly the L.A. crash. It seemed pretty clear that Woods got preferential treatment in that case.

And he'll get preferential treatment in this one as well.... I do think the LA cops treatment was egregiously lax, and at least in the prior Florida incident we got some details.

As of this writing, neither Woods nor his representation have issued any public comments about the accident. How much, if any, transparency does Woods owe the public in terms of exactly what happened Friday?

Bastable: This is Tiger Woods we’re talking about; transparency isn’t among his strong suits, and I don’t expect that to change in the wake of this latest arrest. Also, presumably he and his team are walking a legal tight rope in terms of what Woods can/can’t say or should/shouldn’t say. You’d like to hear ownership for putting lives at risk. You’d like to hear an explanation for how he wound up behind the wheel in his alleged impaired state. And you’d like to hear contrition. We shall see.

Zak: Yeah, I don’t expect any transparency that Woods isn’t forced into offering in court. But it comes at an interesting moment: with a Ryder Cup captaincy in the balance, the PGA Tour’s future partly in Woods’ hands, and a tournament in Georgia he so badly wants to play just a couple of weeks away.

Sens: The idea that Woods “owes” the public anything doesn’t sit well with me. It seems part of the same dysfunctional relationship we have with celebrities that does no one much good. What he owes is an honest account in court.

I don't know what point Josh Sens is trying to make, but the judicial system isn't designed to help golf writers deal with their hero worship.  Yes, I think the LA officials cut him way too much slack, as our society seems determined to not use shame for positive reinforcement.

But the bigger issue we'll find is with the leaders and other participants in our little golf fishbowl.  Think back to everything you've heard about Tiger's role in the game since Jay Monahan put him up to be our savior, all the while they all knew he was a drug addict....  which is a fine segue into their last bit:

Woods’ last official PGA Tour start came at the 2024 Open Championship but he still wears many important hats on Tour. He is a player director on the Tour’s Policy Board; chairman of the Future Competitions Committee; and vice chairman of PGA Tour Enterprises. What does or should this latest arrest mean, if anything, for his involvement in Tour leadership?

Bastable: Tiger Woods is still Tiger Woods, and the PGA Tour is still the PGA Tour; it’s hard to imagine the Tour taking any disciplinary action. Big picture, all of the posts Woods holds now seem so inconsequential, as does any prospect of Woods playing competitively again anytime soon. Stating the obvious but his sole mission in the coming weeks, months and years should be getting better, in whatever ways that is necessary.

Zak: I’m not sure it’s going to mean anything for his place in Tour leadership. He’s too deep in it, and the Tour is too far down the road on establishing its future that it would feel drastic for him to be any less involved. It’s one of the few things Woods feels so strongly about — that involvement.

Sens: I don’t see the arrest in itself as relevant to his role in Tour leadership. The real question is whether Woods has deeper problems that might prevent him from fulfilling his role to the best of his abilities, and — more important — whether he might be better off focusing on his personal health and well-being rather than spending time on the Policy Board.

 Wow, did I tell you guys are dead-enders, or what?

I think that Alan Bastable answer might need to be kept near at hand, because it's pitch perfect.  Tiger Woods is still Tiger Woods, though I'm hard-pressed to understand why Bastable thinks that's more of a feature than a bug.  He's a national disgrace, putting the public at risk of his God complex, but the PGA Tour has no path forward without him, Alan?  Hard to see how we got here, huh?

Tiger has turned himself into a national fisgrace, and we all helped him by normalizing his dickishness.  He's not just an addict, but he's an addict with a God complex that thinks the rules of society don't apply to him.  The first question Rolapp and everyone else needs to answer is, why would we expect that this won't keep happening?

What needs to happen is that Tiger needs to resign from everything and take himself out of the Ryder Cup captaincy discussion.  I have no problem with Rolapp allowing it to be Tiger's decision, he obviously needs to focus on his own issues and I'm not opposed to that indulgence.  But Tiger needs to be out of any leadership roles in the Tour sooner rather than later because, had Tiger injured or killed a civilian, the Tour would find itself with a lot of explaining to do.

I have one more item for you, then I'm going to get on with my day.  See if you spot anything interesting here:



The scales tip toward punishment over treatment for repeat DUI offenders


Wow, given Tiger's sexual history, am I the only one rolling on the floor at that byline? Just Google his name with the word "Zoom", and your memory will quickly be refreshed. Which you'll likely not thank me for, but some of you might be amused.

Toobin is a bit of a blowhard, although I probably should pass on the use of the word "hard" in his presence. But see if he isn't setting a bit of a low bar for a fellow miscreant:

At the same time, the law—and the judges who determine the consequences of violations—have come to recognize that driving while impaired is often different from other crimes, like, say, bank robbery. Alcoholism and drug addiction are, or can be, forms of disease, not fully under the control of those who suffer from them. Treatments, not just punishment, are often seen as the appropriate remedy.

It’s tempting to see Woods in this light. For all the blessings in his life, he has also been burdened with an almost unimaginable series of orthopedic horrors, all of which have caused him great pain. He didn’t choose to live that way, and like anyone whose body has suffered so many insults, he’s turned to medication to get through his days.

Great moments in the use of the passive voice.....  Can you see how Toobin characterizes all those "orthopedic horrors" as just thngs that happened to Tiger.  Tiger is simultaneously God but also has zero agency over his life... Gee, Jeffrey, most of his pain right now seems to come from that accident in LA.  Was that just something that he couldn't control, or did he maybe eff up?

I will regrettably leave you here, the regret being my failure to note Gary Woodland's win yesterday in Houston.  I did mean to get to it, though it's admittedly less a golf story than one of human endurance and grit.  Woodland seems to be one of the most-liked players out there, so it's easy to take pleasure in his well-earned success.  

Have a great week and I'll get back to the keyboard as I can.  Although the calendar will have its challenges there for me.

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Monday, March 23, 2026

Weekend Wrap - Redemption Song Edition

Who doesn't love a comeback story?  I did watch a little golf amid the college basketball frenzy....

I do apologize for skipping the back end of last week.  I got hit with a bug that's only now lifting, so need to not wear myself down in the Masters glide path.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it...

Good Things Come... - I'm not saying the Valspar is a like-kind replacement for The Players, but we like this sort of thing:

A week after heartbreak, Matt Fitzpatrick roars to Valspar victory

Roars?  A one-shot win over David Lipsky and we're trotting out leonine references?

A week after he bogeyed the 72nd hole to lose the Players Championship by a single shot, Matthew Fitzpatrick flipped the script with a fist-pumping final-hole birdie to win the Valspar Championship by one.

Fitzpatrick — who’d never birdied No. 18 at Innisbrook’s Copperhead Course in 11 previous tries — found the fairway at the finisher and hit his approach to 13 feet, setting up a look at 3. He poured that putt in the center of the hole, punctuating the moment with an emphatic uppercut that electrified the surrounding crowd.

When David Lipsky’s birdie try finished just below the hole some 10 minutes later, Fitzpatrick’s win was official.

“I think the big thing was I felt like I was playing well,” Fitzpatrick said of his Players Championship bounceback. “I was playing well going into this week, obviously wanted to continue that and I felt like I had confidence in myself to do so. Then obviously to do that over four rounds was special this week.”

To me, this is Karma in non-bitch mode.

Not sure you caught it, but after his devastating loss last Sunday, Fitzpatrick went out of his way to speak with Cam Young's family and congratulate them on his huge win.  It's that gesture that was top of my mind yesterday, and makes me happy for his success.

Now, right on cue, commence the over-interpretation of this win, in this instance from the Tour Confidential panel:

One week after he lost the Players Championship on the 72nd hole at TPC Sawgrass, Matt Fitzpatrick bounced back to win the Valspar on Sunday. While he’s won 10 times on the DP World Tour, this was just his third PGA Tour title. Has Fitzpatrick’s last two weeks proven he’s ready to go on a heater this summer? Or just a couple of good weeks?

Melton: As the cliche goes, you want to get hot at the right time — and Fitz seems like he’s peaking right when you want to. It’ll be hard to maintain this form all summer, but as far as maximizing his Masters chances go, he’s put himself in a great spot.

Dethier: The most encouraging thing about Fitzpatrick’s surge is his stellar approach play — that travels anywhere. I’d expect him to be a factor in multiple majors.

Berhow: Now he needs the major success. Sure, he won the U.S. Open at Brookline in 2022 but he’s still had just six major top 10s in 42 starts. But he was T4 and T8, respectively, in The Open and PGA last year, so maybe it’s coming. He’ll be a popular sleeper-ish pick come Masters week.

You see how this goes?  he contends for two straight weeks and suddenly we're putting him in the final group at Shinnecock....

The other thing I'll credit him for was surviving an epic PGA Tour pace of play fail.  Though Golfweek seemed to bury the lede in its header:

Winner Matt Fitzpatrick complains about 'glacial' slow play at Valspar

Whereas Golfweek seems far more on point:

Matt Fitzpatrick won Valspar but was still miffed at his playing partner’s ‘glacial’ pace of play

But to this observer the Tour just quite obviously is making it up as they go along:

Fitzpatrick, a 31-year-old Englishman, was paired with Adrien Dumont de Chassart, and complained to a PGA Tour rules official about the pace of play of the 26-year-old Belgian.

“It is glacial, to be kind,” said NBC’s John Wood.

Wood added Fitzpatrick hit his approach to the 11th green first, even though he was closer, and walked up to the green, where he waited several minutes before Dumont de Chassart hit his approach. Rules official Orlando Pope confirmed Fitzpatrick expressed his dismay with the pace, and the Tour decided to give Dumont de Chassart an official warning after timing him unofficially since Fitzpatrick’s request.

"That was really frustrating. It was slow today. I felt like there was a lot of stop-start. Yeah, just, you know, just not ready. When you're not ready to play a golf shot it gets frustrating after awhile. Particularly when you playing well yourself or you're in contention or whatever it is," Fitzpatrick said. "It definitely knocks you out of your rhythm. Because you hit, you walk to it, you kind of think about it, you hit again, and you go. There in particular that hole then you're around a stretch there that can get a little bit quirky with different shots and stuff, so you have to be on it." It was been a trying day for the Belgian, who hit his opening tee shot out of bounds and made two triple bogeys on par 5s. He shot 3-over 74 on Sunday. But Dumont de Chassart never was penalized, extending the Tour's streak of not handing out a penalty shot for pace of play yet another week.

Next time you find yourself wondering how Patrick Cantlay is never penalized for his glacial pace of play, remind yourself that the Tour protects Adrien Dumont de Chassart.

LIV South Africa - Gee, begs the question of which is the bigger trainwreck, the LIV Tour or South African self-governance?  Too soon?

Geoff has an amusing take on things:

Bryson DeChambeau defeated Jon Rahm on the first hole of sudden death to win LIV Golf South Africa. The 26-under-par win marked DeChambeau’s second straight victory.

Rahm closed with a 63 to DeChambeau’s 66. But on the first crack at the 18th in sudden-death, DeChambeau received relief from mud off the fairway, then struck an incredible 3-wood from 285 yards to 12 feet, setting up the win after Rahm missed a 15-footer for birdie.

DeChambeau’s strong final round allowed his Soul Crushers to hold off the home country Security Guards for the team title.

“I'm super proud of the guys,” DeChambeau said. “I can't tell you how excited I am to have these guys a part of the team. I think that's nine team wins now. This is my fifth LIV individual win. I'm still pulling that dang driver. I've got to fix that.”

DeChambeau hit just 35 of 56 fairways in winning at the pillowish Jack Nicklaus-designed Club at Steyn City.

That security guard bit will piss some folks off.... though I'm pretty sure that "pillowish Jack Nicklaus design" is redundant.

Shall we cue another recency-bias infused over-reaction?

Bryson DeChambeau beat Jon Rahm in a playoff to win LIV Golf South Africa and claim
his second straight LIV victory in what was the league’s final tune-up before the first major of the year. With the way DeChambeau has played the last two weeks, has he taken away the title as Masters favorite? Or does that still belong to Scottie or Rory?

Zephyr Melton: Considering Scottie’s early-season slump and Rory’s uncertain health, I think it’s fair to say that Bryson is the early favorite at Augusta. However, if he doesn’t control his distances with his irons well (which has plagued him in recent years at the Masters), I fear his chances to claim a green jacket are slim.

Dylan Dethier: It’s gotta be Scottie still; his demise is greatly exaggerated. But the fact that DeChambeau is in the middle of this conversation now is significant — and fun. Add in a few other stars ramping up with top-tier golf (Xander, Rahm, Fitz) and there should be plenty to talk about pre-Augusta.

Josh Berhow: Vegas won’t call anyone but Scottie the favorite, and as Dylan says, Scheffler’s “slump” has consisted of three top-25 finishes that followed two top-fives and a win. Scheffler is also playing this coming week in Texas before he heads to Augusta, so he’s got one more chance to fine-tune some things. Bryson playing like this adds mega juice to any major. Few players energize a venue like him. I hope he plays well at Augusta.

Bryson is a great player and deserves to be on the short list, which makes it unfortunate that he doesn't play golf in public any longer....  Not sure why he thought that was such a good idea.

But how do three allegedly professional golfers answer this question without citing this Karmic Konundrum?

Before the 2020 Masters, Bryson DeChambeau infamously claimed he viewed Augusta National as a par 67 rather than par 72, arguing his immense driving distance allowed him to reach all four par-5s in two shots, effectively turning them into par-4s. While intended to highlight his strategy, the comment was seen as disrespectful by many, and he has since expressed regret and walked back the statement

I would argue that the key bit is the 67.  Had he called it a Par-68, I think it would be long forgotten.  But the enhanced hubris of calling that third hole a Par-3 has angered the gods of Augusta, and they're not terribly interested in his walk-back.

I do think Bryson's play at Augusta is one of the more interesting sub-plots of the event, but I think he needs to prove that he can manage his way around the place.

Otherwise, the premise of the question isn't of much interest.  We know the issues with Scottie and Rory.  In the modern world we're supposed to be interested in such issues being adjudicated by DraftKings and the like.  I'm old school, I'll wait for it to resolve on the golf course...

And this inevitable dreary Q&A.  Really, they can quit him at any time:

Last month at the Genesis Invitational, Tiger Woods offered a promising Masters update. But on Tuesday during TGL Woods said he’s “working on it,” adding, “the body doesn’t quite heal like it was when I was 24. Doesn’t quite bounce back. So I have good days when I can pretty much do anything, and other days where it’s hard to just move around.” Has this changed your opinion on if Woods will play the Masters?

Melton: Not at all. I’m just waiting for his WD to become official so we can put this silliness to bed.

Dethier: Meh, I’d still bet he plays. But it’s clear getting to that point is anything but easy. As long as we approach his start with a proper lack of expectations (unlikely, given it’s Tiger at Augusta) we should be fine. It’s all bonus.

Berhow: I wish I was as optimistic as Dylan. I’m moving his percentage chance of playing down to about 40 percent, although he probably truly doesn’t know until the week of with how things change so quickly with his body.

Wouldn't it be more interesting to speculate how many holes he might actually play before that WD?  The only saving grace is that in this major, his egocentrism doesn't cost another player a slot.

Rahm In Full -  Who is this man and what have you done with Jon Rahm?  From Geoff:

According to Golf.com’s Sean Zak, Jon Rahm dropped his appeal of DP World Tour’s fines he’d been contesting since leaving for LIV Golf. But he also won’t be paying the fines that LIV is reportedly on the hook for. The move means no DP World Tour appearances in the near future and leaves his 2027 Ryder Cup status in serious doubt.

Zak notes that Rahm has not resigned his membership and remains hopeful of playing the Spanish Open this fall, even as he will rack up more fines playing LIV events throughout the 2026 season.

Rahm dropped the appeal on March 10 and would have to pay a tab over $3 million to play a DP World Tour event now that the appeal has been dropped.

A winner of 10.5 points in four Ryder Cup appearances dating to 2018, Rahm insists he would comply with settlement terms accepted by eight other players as long as the DP World Tour reduced the number of mandatory appearances from six to four (two of the Tour’s choosing).

“I did tell them, funny enough, lower that to four events, like the minimum says, and I’ll sign tonight,” Rahm said in Hong Kong. “They haven’t agreed to that. I just refuse to play six events. I don’t want to, and that’s not what the rules say.”

So he'll be racking up more fines for each LIV event?  There's no way he won't be at Adare Manor, he just seems committed to ensuring that we have no remaining respect for him.  Works for me.

Food For Thought - Ewan Murray, the long time voice of Sky Sports is retiring, but for all the wrong reasons:

Ewen Murray recently marked his 35th anniversary as one of the defining voices of Sky Sports' golf coverage, a tenure that has spanned generations of the game's biggest moments.

Now, the former professional — winner of the 1977 Northern Open at Royal Dornoch — is beginning to wind down his broadcasting career. With only a handful of events remaining, Murray is preparing to step away from the microphone for good.

The moment that finally nudged the legendary commentator toward retirement came at the 2025 Ryder Cup.

 Really, what bothered him?

Speaking on a compelling episode of the Sliced podcast, alongside musician/golf superfan (and fantastic social media follow) Sam Harrop as well as British journalist Ben Coley, Murray explained that his resolve hardened after hearing the nature of the abuse directed at Rory McIlroy and others — comments shouted from the gallery that crossed a line he could no longer ignore.

Murray’s shift that Saturday began late in the day, giving him time to linger near the turn at Bethpage Black as players passed through. What he heard there stayed with him — and ultimately clarified a decision that had been quietly forming.

“I heard stuff in that half-hour that I can’t repeat to you, it’s that bad. Not fired at Rory but at Rory’s family. I walked back and I thought, ‘Do you really need to be part of this anymore?’ That’s when I decided to finish commentary. By the time I got on the plane on a Monday, I looked out over New York and thought it's been a fantastic journey, but if that’s our future, I really don’t want any part of it.”

The personal attacks on Saturday were directed at McIlroy’s marriage and Lowry’s figure, with one American fan approaching Gerry McIlroy, Rory’s father, who was walking inside the ropes and apologizing for the classless behavior of fans shouting F-you and much worse.

Though these are the comments drawing the most reactions:

Murray noticed, and he saved his most scathing criticism for the PGA of America and Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley.

“I just thought, what a terrible organization," Murray said of the PGA of America. "And I shouldn't say that because my father was the captain of the PGA in Scotland in the mid-70s, so it was very much part of my growing up.

"I don't think they did themselves any favors at all. I also feel with the woman who was swearing behind the tee, shouting at Rory in a horrible manner, if Keegan Bradley, who came and supported it and waved his hands to get the crowd to get louder, if he spent as much time looking at his pairings, Keegan Bradley may well have been a winning Ryder Cup captain. I think they spent way too much energy on something that was disgusting and really had no place in our game.”

Well, they are a pretty bad organization....  just ask any of its members.

I'm very much on the fence about Keegan, though he was a victim in all this as well.  But the first question we should ask ourselves is, why did they want to go the Bethpage?   They'll try to defend themselves by saying they wanted a wild, passionate crowd, but in no way condoned the over-the-top stuff....  Right.  You'll notice that they also didn't do anything to stop it.  They knew they were playing with fire, but how funny is it that all the accomplished was another "L".  These guys are good!

Is Tom Watson available for Adare Manor?  

I shall leave you nice folks here and hopefully catch you later in the week, not that you didn't heard that from me last week.

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