R.I.P. Ken Venturi

Ron Kroichick from Venturi's hometown paper reports the news of the 82-year-old former U.S. Open champion and Hall of Famer's passing.

Update on Friday, May 17, 2013 at 07:11 PM by Geoff

**A heartfelt statement from CBS's Jim Nantz:

“He was one of the finest gentlemen the world will ever know and one of the greatest friends you could ever have.  He was a deeply principled man with a dynamic presence. He just exuded class.  Through his competitive days and unequalled broadcasting career, Kenny became a human bridge connecting everyone from Sarazen, Nelson and Hogan to the greatest players of today's generation.  Kenny faced many adversities in his life and always found a way to win.  When I hear Frank Sinatra's "My Way," I will always believe that Ol’ Blue Eyes was singing that song for his close pal, Kenny Venturi. It makes me think of him every time.  On his farewell broadcast in 2002 I told him, ‘You will be, always by my side.'   Five years later I wrote a book about my Dad and father figures in my life. I named the book after that very moment.  I'm so happy he lived to know he was going to be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. I will cherish my 17 years working with him.  But more than that, I will treasure the rich, personal, deep friendship that we shared for nearly 30 years.” – CBS Sports’ Jim Nantz

World Golf Hall of Fame statement regarding Venturi:

On behalf of the Members, staff and volunteers of the World Golf Hall of Fame & Museum, we are saddened to learn of the passing of Ken Venturi. He was one of golf's iconic figures, and our thoughts and prayers go out to Ken's family.

Ken made an unforgettable imprint on the game we love. He was a fantastic player, and captivated the nation with his thrilling victory in the 1964 U.S. Open. For 35 years in the broadcast booth at CBS, he was the warm, friendly voice millions invited into their homes to share his unique insights.

To honor him, the United States flag at the Hall of Fame will be lowered to half-mast and a special tribute will be created in the Museum. When Ken learned he would be a part of the Class of 2013, he said, "The greatest reward in life is to be remembered." The Hall of Fame and golf fans everywhere will never forget the impact Ken had on the game.
-- Jack Peter, Chief Operating Officer, World Golf Hall of Fame & Museum

Friday Sensitive News Dump Files: No. Ireland Not In World Cup

With the 2013 World Cup headed to Royal Melbourne, players are looking at putting on their schedule and the potential for a Northern Ireland team was potentially enticing Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy.

But now we learn that is not the case. Doug Ferguson reports.

The PGA Tour issued a statement late Friday afternoon that only England, Scotland and Wales will have separate teams for the World Cup. That's how it has always been for the World Cup. Players from Northern Ireland and Ireland will continue to compete as one team under the Irish flag.

The status quo likely will keep Rory McIlroy away from Royal Melbourne.

McIlroy, from Northern Ireland, had said he would not be playing in the World Cup. When told last week that Northern Ireland would have its own teams, McIlroy said, "That might change things a little bit."

But hey, they're still headed to Royal Melbourne.

Rory Making Another Agent Change?

Karl MacGinty breaks the surprising news that even fresh off signing huge endorsement deals with Nike, Bose and Omega, Rory McIlroy wants out of his deal with Horizon Sports. Horizon had taken over for Chubby Chandler's ISM at the end of 2011 after McIlroy fired the agent in an airport lounge.

From MacGinty's Irish Independent story:

McIlroy's father Gerry is expected to play a prominent role in the new operation. Just over 18 months ago, McIlroy, one of world sport's hottest properties, stunned golf by quitting the giant International Sports Management, run by Chubby Chandler, and joining Horizon, a Dublin firm with global ambitions.

Brian Keogh analyzes what apparently has been rumored for weeks and suggests that McIlroy has become more isolated in recent months.

What is clear is that McIlroy has always been regarded as headstrong by those who have worked closely with him since he burst on the scene in 2007.

As Ridge told The New York Times’s Karen Krouse earlier this year, in a piece headlined “The Branding of Rory McIlroy”, “he’s the boss.”

McIlroy’s comments in the media have generated plenty of controversy and his stance on who he might represent in the 2016 Olympic Games has arguably reduced his fanbase in the Republic of Ireland.

Close friends contacted by me recently confirmed that they have not been in touch with McIlroy for weeks, “unfortunately”, said one.

Proposed Anchoring Ban Decision Coming May 21

And you'll get to watch it live.

Interesting that this is a USGA-only affair, when the announcement of the proposed rule change was made, the R&A's Peter Dawson was present.

LIVE SATELLITE FEED, WEBCAST AVAILABLE OF USGA NEWS CONFERENCE

WHAT:                
On Tuesday, May 21, 2013, the United States Golf Association (USGA) will host a news conference to announce final action on proposed changes to the Rules of Golf. The news conference will be televised live on the Golf Channel, and will feature several USGA leaders.

WHO:                      
Glen D. Nager, President, USGA
Mark Newell, Chairman, USGA Rules of Golf Committee
Mike Davis, Executive Director, USGA

 
WHEN:
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
8:00 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. (EST)

Update on Friday, May 17, 2013 at 11:10 AM by Geoff

**The R&A is reportedly hosting their own media event at the BMW Championship next week at Wentworth, similar timing.

USGA's Davis: "Before Ted Bishop, trust me, there was a different mindset with the PGA of America."

Cameron Morfit has a lively Golf Magazine exchange with USGA Executive Director Mike Davis on a variety of pre-U.S. Open topics, including the financial potential of Merion and the anchoring ban.

This shed a little light on the state of USGA-PGA of America relations:

To what extent did you coalition-build with the PGA and the PGA Tour?

We went to the different key groups, whether it's the state and regional golf associations or the LPGA Tour, or the PGA of America, the PGA Tour. It wasn't as if the key leaders in the game weren't aware of this. Sometimes key leaders change their mind. Before Ted Bishop, trust me, there was a different mindset with the PGA of America. But listen, the PGA of America and Ted Bishop, and the PGA Tour and Tim Finchem, have done exactly what we asked them to do. We had a 90-day comment period for the rule, and it's a divisive rule. But they've never specifically said they're not going to follow this rule. People want to think we're at war with the PGA of America and the PGA Tour and it's just not the case. We work with them all the time and this happens to be one issue where we differ, but we asked for their opinion. You should know, too, that we've gotten a lot of input from others who have been incredibly supportive.

Cal Men Set School Record With 23-Under Day

This is just getting silly with Cal's men's team, winners of 10 of 12 2013 events.

Now they've opened up the NCAA Men's regionals by firing a school record 23-under day in Pullman with two rounds to go.

Sean Martin reports.

Cal's round set the school record for lowest 18-hole team score and lowest team round in relation to par. "Any time you set a school record, it feels pretty good," head coach Steve Desimone said. "I guess it should be no surprise it was this team that did it."

Rocco On Tiger Signing His Photo: "That's just the way he conducts things. That's not him."

I finally got around to watching Rocco Mediate's appearance on Feherty and it was as much fun as you'd expect when you put two maniacs in a room in front of cameras.

Thankfully this clip of Mediate talking about asking Tiger to personalize a photo and pin sheet was posted online.

There's also a seven-minute outtake online where Rocco talks about the state of the game, the First Tee (genius but "where do they go"?), growing up on muni's and the worst rule in golf.

Bandon Muni Land Swap Looks Promising...

Since he was sounding borderline discouraged early in the week about what figures to be a pretty incredible project (and not just because Gil Hanse is designing), it sounds like Bandon Muni is closer to reality based on multiple reports suggesting Mike Keiser is going to get the necessary land swap to make the project possible.

Brad Klein on the news out of Oregon:

Final terms have yet to be announced, but Keiser is seeking access to a sliver of land that’s now part of Bandon State Natural Area – this in exchange for other parcels that he owns in adjoining areas. Although the details of any such arrangement still must be completed, the May 15th meeting had the potential to be a deal-killer. Instead, it produced evidence of a common ground that had not existed.

One More Addendum To SergioTigerMarshalgate

I didn't see the update to Michael Bamberger's original story on the Tiger-Sergio dustup, where one of the marshals is now suggesting an earpiece might have prevented him from hearing Tiger ask for clearance to play. Thanks to reader Andrew who told me about this latest twist which should now prompt the PGA Tour to reconsider the use of ear pieces!

I'm so confused at this point that maybe we need the Warren Commission to sort out a saga summed up in a general story by AP's Doug Ferguson.

And the update to Bamberger's story:

In a follow-up interview Wednesday morning, North said that, with an earpiece in one ear, it was possible that other officials had an exchange with Woods that he did not hear. He said he was beside Woods's ball as he prepared to play his shot but was as much as 20 feet away when Woods actually swung. He said his statement about "character" was based on his understanding that no marshal had said anything to Woods.

Cholla Attack: Golf Course Workers Save Coyote Pup

An uplifting story from the Arizona Republic's Cecilia Chan on Pebblebrook Golf Course workers saving a coyote pup covered by chollas as its terrified mom looked on.

From Chan's account:

The pup apparently ran headfirst into a cactus Tuesday and was stumbling around in pain when Jose Soto, a Pebblebrook Golf Course maintenance worker, and Assistant Superintendent Shawn Bordine came to the rescue.

Cactus spines pierced at least a quarter of an inch into the pup, its face entirely hidden by the prickly plant, a hand-sized cholla joint clinging to its tail.

“I was shocked to see this little one tumbling over and over and over, covered head to foot with these little chunks of cholla,” resident Gwen Maxwell said Wednesday. “On my goodness, it put me in shock it was so horrible to see.”

A gallery of Ms. Maxwell's photos accompany the story.

Painful viewing yes, but a testament to the surgery by Pebblebrook's finest.

LOL: Steiny Lectures Media On Accuracy, "Misplaced Conclusions"

Ron Sirak has the laugh-out-loud sermonizing from agent Mark Steinberg--who had the audacity to suggest he knew nothing of his client's indiscretions yet somehow managed to negotiate a deal to cover them up--on the topic of Michael Bamberger's story from the Players. You may recall Bamberger quoted marshals who never green-lit Tiger to play, a point disputed by a follow up from Garry Smits of the Florida Times-Union who spoke to different "marshals".

"The comments from the marshals in today's story definitively show that Tiger was telling the truth about being told Sergio had hit," Tiger's agent, Mark Steinberg, told GolfDigest.com. "I hope this demonstrates to some reporters the importance of accuracy and not jumping to misplaced conclusions."

Does Steiny really want the press to ask more questions of the "marshal" exonerating his client, who, according to Smits' story, was part of the Tiger security detail and not a marshal?

Or ask why he was calling Hank Haney a liar because the instructor was revealing things that had to make Steiny's negotiations all but impossible?

Speaking of those negotiations, Steiny suggested to his OB Keeler that blue chip companies were after Tiger. Since then, Steinberg hasn't inked any deals of late, which was highlighted when SI pointed out yesterday that Tiger had lost $20 million in endorsement income last year, dropping him from the top spot in SI's ranking of leading athlete revenue earners.

"In the annals of golfing jurisprudence, Singh vs. the PGA Tour could be the most significant case ever brought."

It is Michael Bamberger's assertion that Vijay's case could "dwarf the old Ping grooves suit" though only in the sense that it has the potential to humiliate some peers, whereas the PING case was about equipment rulemaking.

He reveals that Doug Barron is now fully retired from golf and writing a "faith based" book that might reveal more about his case and settlement over a positive drug test. Barron was also instrumental in hooking Singh up with the attorney who thinks the PGA Championship is a PGA Tour run event.

Earlier this year, Horne offered an interesting insight into Barron's case. Horne said the Tour and Barron settled because, during the suit's discovery phrase, Barron was asking for every failed drug test the Tour had ever received, and the Tour "really didn't want to give that up."

Of course, there may or may not be failed tests. The lawyer representing the Tour in the Singh case, Rich Young of Colorado Springs, did not respond to an e-mail or a phone message. Young represented the Tour in Barron's suit as well.

Singh said in his suit he has been "humiliated, ashamed, ridiculed, scorned and [rendered] emotionally distraught" by the Tour. How he can be made whole by way of a lawsuit is not easy to imagine. It would seem unlikely that payment is his goal here.

If Singh's true goal is to force the Tour to release embarrassing information (that it may or may not even have), then the era of lawyers showing up on Golf Channel is only just beginning.

"Europe's Pebble Beach" Hosts This Week's World Match Play

With an intriguing round-robin format, the 24-player Volvo World Match Play heads to Bulgaria and the stunning setting for the Gary Player-designed Thracian Cliffs.

From a Euro Tour story:

Just as Jack Neville attempted to take as many holes to the rocky Pacific coastline as possible at Pebble, the Black Sea borders eight of the holes at this year’s World Match Play Championship, meaning that wind speed and direction will certainly be a major factor for the 24 players to contend with this week.

Opened just two years ago in 2011, you could say that Thracian Cliffs was always destined to become a World Match Play venue.

Thanks to reader Phil for noticing the eye-opening quote from head pro Vesselin Savoia:

“We obviously have the signature holes of the eighth and the ninth, but there is also the third hole, which is almost 700 yards long, too. But I think one of the most challenging things about playing this course for the first time is concentrating on playing golf because the golf course is so beautiful and so spectacular that everyone spends almost six hours a round. Taking pictures on every tee box, where there are amazing views everywhere. Sometimes people come back having lost six or ten golf balls in their round and yet they are still happy.”

Golf Channel Airtimes (Eastern):

Thursday         7-11 a.m. (Live)

Friday              7-11 a.m. (Live)

Saturday          6-11 a.m. (Live)

Sunday            5-11 a.m. (Live) / 12:30-3 a.m. (Replay)

Official: Coore & Crenshaw Course To Begin Hosting Nelson in '19

Bill Nichols with the worst kept secret in golf: the yet-to-be-built Trinity Forest course will take over the HP Bryon Nelson Championship hosting duties in 2019 when it will be an AT&T sponsored event.

The Coore and Crenshaw design is expected to start construction in the next year. The folks in Irving, Texas, haven't been too thrilled with all of the news surrounding Trinity Forest.

Irving Mayor Beth Van Duyne said in a statement that the tournament “is and always has been a regional event. The tournament is bigger than any one city and benefits every community in North Texas.”

Irving Convention and Visitors Bureau director Maura Gast said she knew several weeks ago that the signing was imminent, though she found its announcement during opening ceremonies “incredibly tacky.”

“We understand this comes back to the title sponsorship and the power of the tournament,” she said. “This is not a surprise.”

"Caddies outnumbered Tour pros."

In this week's Golfweek, Adam Schupak offers some solid solutions that gets more former World Golf Hall of Fame inductees present at the ceremony than current tour caddies. Let's hope the folks involved read this and are not discouraged to move the date based on the attendance. The date--Players week--is perfect.

Dottie Goes To ESPN...

In Ron Sirak's story on Dottie Pepper there was some indication that we might be hearing Pepper announce again soon and it turns out ESPN is her destination. Nice get for their team.

For Immediate Release:

Dottie Pepper Joins ESPN’s Golf Coverage Team
 
Dottie Pepper, a major championship-winning golfer as well as a respected television commentator and author, has joined ESPN’s golf coverage team and will make her on-air debut at next month’s U.S. Open.
 
Pepper, a 17-time winner on the LPGA Tour during her career, will serve multiple roles on ESPN’s multiplatform golf coverage including analyst, on-course reporter and anchor during live play. She also will be an analyst on ESPN’s signature news and information program SportsCenter and will write for ESPN.com.
 
"Joining the ESPN golf team offers me the chance to cover the greatest golf events in the world,” said Pepper. “It's a team of passionate and proven winners, dedicated to making the events they cover the best in the game."
 
Pepper, who retired from the LPGA in 2004, worked for the past eight years as a golf commentator for NBC Sports and The Golf Channel and also was a contributing columnist for Sports Illustrated. She announced at the end of the 2012 season that she would be joining the PGA of America Board of Directors to work on developing junior golf in the United States.
 
ESPN’s championship golf schedule for 2013 includes the Masters, U.S. Open and The Open Championship; the U.S. Women’s Open and Women’s British Open; and the U.S. Senior Open and Senior Open Championship.
 
“ESPN’s golf schedule is perfect for me,” said Pepper. “I love working in television and this schedule allows me to do that but also gives me time to continue my work with the PGA of America and junior golf. It’s an ideal situation.”
 
A three-time NCAA All-American golfer at Furman University, Pepper turned pro in 1987 and her 17 victories on the LPGA Tour included two of women’s golf’s major championships. She was LPGA Player of the Year in 1992, a six-time Solheim Cup team member and won more than $6.8 million during her career.
 
In addition to her work on television, Pepper also is co-author of the Bogey Tees Off and Bogey Ballton’s Night Before Christmas children’s books. 
 
"We're very pleased to have the opportunity for Dottie to join our team,” said Mike McQuade, ESPN vice president, production. “Her knowledge, experience and professionalism will bring another layer of strength to our golf coverage."

Cuban's Golf World Cover Shot: Tiger At The Players

The May 20, 2013 Golf World has arrived and besides looking sleak, features a classic J.D. Cuban shot of Tiger doing the post shot twirl.

The cover image and then, below it, the the full image viewable in full screen on Tumblr.

And the full image. Funny that Tiger is posing and Joe LaCava is pointing right:

Other Marshals: Tiger DID Speak To Us

Some marshals say Tiger never said a peep when trying to figure out when it was his turn to hit, but now Garry Smits talks to Brian Nedrich of Fleming Island and Lance Paczkowski of St. Augustine, who contradict the stories in Michael Bamberger's piece.

“It is not true and definitely unfair to Tiger,” said Nedrich, who was a marshal at the second hole. “That’s because I was the one Tiger heard say that Sergio had hit.”

Paczkowski, who walked with Woods all 18 holes with a team of escorts, said he even asked Woods if he needed any more fans moved.

“He said, ‘No ... I'm good,’” Paczkowski said. “We talk to players all the time, if we need to in regards to their needs and crowd control.”

The claim that Woods didn’t ask marshals whether Garcia had hit or not also is misleading because Woods never said he asked for help — only that he was told Garcia had hit.

Forbes: Finchem Leaps Tall Buildings In Single A Bound!

Monte Burke looks at how Tim Finchem--all by himself!--saved the tour from ruin as the markets crashed and a fire hydrant jumped in front of Tiger's Escalade.

Thanks to all who sent what, despite the focus on Finchem with little mention of some of his hard-working lieutenants, lays out the business model for the PGA Tour in often impre$$ive detail. If the PGA Tour was a Jewish Tea Party group, the IRS would have a field day!

A few noteworthy parts in the interest of being able to hyperlink these in the future (the story is in the May 27 Forbes).

Under Finchem the tour has been able to stockpile investment assets that are now almost precisely $1 billion. *(Some $675 million of that money is in player retirement funds, which the tour lists as both an asset and a liability. Another $73 million is in cash.)

So when the perfect storm appeared, Finchem was negotiating from strength. He was able to assure nervous broadcasters that the game would be a risk-free investment. In a worst-case scenario the tour could use that money to fund its tournaments and keep the game on TV. “Even in the worst of the recession, we never missed a beat financially with the guarantees the tour gave us,” says CBS’s McManus.

The model stuff...

Here’s the model that continues to this day: A corporation–say, AT&T–signs up with the tour as a title sponsor of a tournament, usually paying between $8 million and $13 million for the honor (events that are televised only on the Golf Channel and do not have the final two rounds on either CBS or NBC pay a little less; a handful of sponsors pay more). Nearly half of that money goes directly to the event’s broadcaster, in the form of presold ads. The tour guarantees that between 60% and 65% of the broadcaster’s ads will be accounted for and traditionally delivers up to 85%. The remaining ad time is easy enough to fill: Unlike other sports, many viewers of tour events actually play the game, which gives endemic advertisers–like ball, clothing and club manufacturers–strong incentive to buy spots.

The rest of the title sponsorship money goes to a local tournament organizer, which is a nonprofit entity (the tour itself runs 16 events). These local groups use that money to put on the tournament–mainly with volunteers–and pay a share of the purse (the tour chips in as well). Revenues are generated through ticket sales, hospitality and local advertising. Any leftover money, after expenses, is donated to local charities.

Love this from the Shark...who is also quoted wanting to audit the tour in a sidebar for the story.

In 1999 the tour, along with four of the world’s other large professional golf tours, started what’s known as the World Golf Championships, a series of now four tournaments for only the top players in the world, with purses of close to $9 million. It was basically Norman’s idea. “It still irritates me, big time,” says Norman. “He cast me as a guy who was trying to ruin the game of golf, then he does this.”

And it seems Tim will be taking retirement in 2016...

Finchem expects to retire that year, and the Olympic debut provides him with a closing chapter. “My team here is mature and ready,” he says. His retirement challenge, he says, will be hiking to the summit of the 50-plus 14,000-foot mountains in Colorado. “I’ve done 16 so far,” says a man who knows a thing or two about peaks and valleys.

CSI: Tigerdrop Sawgrass '13 Winners!

Cork Gaines wins for the best forensic of Tiger's tee shot, noting the angle of splash and how it doesn't match the hard hook angle that would be necessary for the drop spot to have worked.

And there should be some sort of award for use of Photoshop.


And this "angle of view" importance breakdown is also quite impressive: