Rory Effect? 2013 WGC Match Play Ratings Down

The Nielsen overnights show a 17% decline Saturday and 24% slide Sunday.

               2013       2012
Sat          1.4/3      1.7/4
Sun         1.9/4      2.5/5

2012 included Rory McIlroy beating Lee Westwood in one Sunday semi, and Hunter Mahan besting Mark Wilson in the other semi.

Finchem: Anchoring Ban not "in the best interest of golf or the PGA Tour."

To the transcript!

TIM FINCHEM:  Thank you, Laura.  Good afternoon, everyone.  This is the coldest microphone I've ever felt. Thanks for coming over for a few minutes.  I hate to take your attention away from the competition, but it seemed like this was the most ‑‑ best opportunity to answer your questions about this anchoring issue that have boiling around for the last several months.

Was it really? I'm thinking Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday would have all been happy days, but go on...

The USGA and the R&A notified us several months ago about their intention to put forward a proposal to change ‑‑ essentially change the rule as it relates to what a stroke is by further defining it as something where you can't ground your club and anchor your club.  In addition to the historical limitations on what a stroke is of scraping the ball or scooping the ball or pushing the ball.

We then undertook to go through a process to determine our position on that because they had a commentary that ends next week.  We brought that to a conclusion last week.  You're all aware of that because of the comments that have been made by folks who were involved in that process.  Our Player Advisory Council looked at it twice.  We had the USGA come in and make a presentation to a player meeting in San Diego, USGA made a presentation to our Board.

We researched and looked at it and articulated our position at the end of last week to the USGA and shared that thinking also with the R&A.

Essentially where the PGA TOUR came down was that they did not think that banning anchoring was in the best interest of golf or the PGA TOUR. 

Key point there. Not only for the game, but not in the tour's best interest. In other words, we have star players who anchor and it would be bad for us if they could no longer do that. Quite a precedent.

I would note that the PGA of America came to the same conclusion after consultation with their membership.  Golf Course Owners Association came to the same conclusion, as well.

So nice that the Commish cares what those two organizations think!

I think there are a number of factors here, a number of details, a number of issues, but I think the essential thread that went through the thinking of the players and our board of directors and others that looked at this was that in the absence of data or any basis to conclude that there is a competitive advantage to be gained by using anchoring, and given the amount of time that anchoring has been in the game, that there was no overriding reason to go down that road.

Absense of data. Hmmm...bring on the data USGA and R&A. If you have it.

Recognizing a couple of things:  One, that an awful lot of amateurs today use anchoring;

I wonder if the Commissioner could provide data on that?

and two, that a number of players on the PGA TOUR who have grown up with a focus on perfecting the anchoring method, if you will, did so after the USGA on multiple occasions approved the method years ago, and that for us to join in supporting a ban we think as a direction is unfair to both groups of individuals.  So those were the overriding reasons.

I'd be happy to answer your questions in just a second, but I would like to add to that because I've read some things that would suggest that this is kind of a donnybrook between the PGA of America and the PGA TOUR on one side and the USGA on the other, and that's not really, I think, correct.  You know, the USGA did on multiple occasions look at this and come to one conclusion; 25 or 30 years later now they've come to another conclusion, at least tentatively.  They've asked us to give our comments.  All we're doing at this point is saying this is our opinion.

On the Sunday of the WGC Accenture Match Play. No Friday news dump there.

We hold the USGA in the highest regard as a key part of the game of golf.  We don't attempt to denigrate that position in any way whatsoever.  It's just on this issue we think if they were to move forward, they would be making a mistake.

I'm just going to do it on national television while one of our signature events is playing out!

Q.  Do you accept your anchoring stance puts the R&A's and USGA's position under threat?

TIM FINCHEM:  Well, we're in favor of the current rule‑making system, and we're delighted that that system is open to the kind of input and suggestion that it's open to right now.  I think that's very healthy.  You know, bifurcation is kind of a different issue as to whether you could have different rules in certain areas, and I think that's still open to discussion.  I think in a perfect world, we'd all like to see the rules be exactly the same.  They're not exactly the same functionally now anyway, and in certain cases I could see where bifurcation might be an appropriate way to go.  But maybe, and I think we continue to believe that if possible we should keep the rules, the structure of the rules the same, and if possible, without bifurcation.  And I think that's doable.

Right, if they drop this anchoring ban! And here most of us thought bifurcation would introduce more restrictions to restore skill, and we're doing the opposite.

Here comes the more tortured language:

I do think, however, that, as I said earlier, transparency, openness, discussion, input involving people across the spectrum in terms of rule‑making, particularly as it relates to equipment rules, is very, very important.  Now, this particular rule has been put in a non‑equipment bucket, but functionally it's kind of a quasi‑equipment rule, non‑equipment rule, just because it's a method of play, a method of play that's been endorsed by the governing bodies for a generation.  And the struggle here is that after all of that, to be able to come in and say without an overwhelming reason to do so, without a powerful reason to do so, is a struggle for a lot of people.  And that's the struggle we have.

It's a struggle!

Q.  Could you see a day where the USGA and R&A outlaw anchoring and yet it's allowed on TOUR golf?

TIM FINCHEM:  You know, I haven't really ‑‑ I haven't spent much time worrying about that.  That would be speculation, and I haven't really thought about it.  I've thought more about some areas of bifurcation, whether it would work or not. 

The ball!

But I think that the focus here ought to be, if possible, to go down the same road, everybody go down the same road on anchoring, and that's certainly where we are right now.  We just hope they take our view on it.  We'll see.

Yes we will.

Q.  I'm sure this is a distraction having to do this on Sunday, not the best‑case scenario.  Why did you feel compelled to come out and make this announcement?

TIM FINCHEM:  Well, only because the elements of where we were have been reported at different levels.  That was one reason. 

It's the media's fault!

But the bigger reason is I've seen some stuff on line, some stuff has been said that's been suggestive of this donnybrook kind of approach, that this is kind of a war developing, and I felt like it was important to speak to that and make sure that we understood that this is part of a process at this point.  There's no reason to assume that everybody is going to go down different paths.  I just want to try to calm that sense down.  I think that's ‑‑ we ought to be able to have a discussion about this and come to conclusions without negativity.

Doesn't this only open the door to negativity?

Good question here:

Q.  When the USGA invited comments, they said they didn't think there was anything they hadn't thought about.  Do you feel confident that you are putting factors forward that they wouldn't have thought of?

TIM FINCHEM:  Well, I don't know.  I think that we have a variety of reasons why we're either troubled by the rule itself.  We also have reasons why we feel like the reasons put forward to do this are not compelling, and that's all we can do.  We can give them our thoughts.

Honestly, if you think about it, this is a very subjective area.  It's very subjective. 

Actually, this is true, and most opinions have suggested it's a competitive advange and not a stroke. But go on... 

Everybody has an opinion about it, and we certainly respect everybody's opinion.  A large number of our players ‑‑ our players are split on this issue in different ways, but I think if there are ‑‑ there are a good number of players that if you had asked them in 1980 or 1975, should we have long putters, should they be anchored, you would have got an answer.  And those players today will tell you, if this was then I'd be of the same opinion.  But it's not then.  It's after two times it was reviewed and specifically approved by the USGA; it's after thousands of people have gravitated to this method; it's after decades of having the method and no way to determine ‑‑ an inability, even with data, to know whether it provides an advantage.  So the PGA of America has concluded that it will hurt the game with certain numbers of amateurs.  You can't figure out how many.  And in our case, we agree with that, but we also think as a matter of fairness, unless you can pinpoint some negative ‑‑ one thing we know for sure on the professional side is the professional game globally is stronger than it's ever been today, and that on the heels of having anchoring fas part of it for the last 30 or 40 years.  It certainly hasn't been a negative.  You can't point to one negative impact of anchoring.

Now, some people might say I don't think you should anchor or I don't think you should do that or I don't think you should do that, but it hasn't translated into a negative thing for the sport.  And that's why we're having trouble with it.

When Joe Dye and P.J. Boatwright and these people at the PGA were asked about it, they said it seemed like it was consistent with the definition of a stroke.

I think we could understand it if for some reason or another or a set of reasons it had negative results for the game of golf.  But actually more people ‑‑ some more people are playing the game because of it than would be without it, and competitively on the PGA TOUR, we look at this stuff all the time, we just don't see the negative aspects of it.

So it's just a personal view.  And I respect ‑‑ if a player says I just think you ought to have to swing the club differently when you're putting, everybody is entitled to their opinion.  We have to look at it from the standpoint of is it good, bad or indifferent for the game as a whole, professional level, amateur level, and we conclude that it's not.

Update on 2013-02-25 15:16 by Geoff

**More from Finchem's appearance on the NBC telecast. From the transcript:

Q.  We've got the commissioner of the PGA TOUR, Tim Finchem, with us.  And Tim, not a slow news day on the PGA TOUR by any means.  You've got a big championship match going on here as well as a consolation match.

But I know you were talking with the assembled media there, and you were making a statement as far as the PGA TOUR's stance is concerned against the USGA's proposal to ban anchoring.  And you made it clear that it was expected that you were against that proposal, at least for now.

TIM FINCHEM:  Well, we were just trying to clarify a couple of things.  One, we did give the USGA our position last week and our Board and our Player Advisory Council concluded that we should be opposed to it, which we articulated.  But also I've read some things that would indicate that we're kind of at war with the USGA over this thing, and I just wanted to clarify that we're very supportive of the USGA.  We hold them in high regard.  We were asked for our opinion, and we feel strongly that going down that road would be a mistake.

You know, this is a very subjective thing.  25 to 30 years ago you look at anchoring, long putters, everybody has an opinion, the USGA approved it twice.  Our view is ‑‑ I think if there's one thing that would prevail across a lot of players and a lot of board members is that it's been around for a generation, and the game of golf has done quite well.  So unless you have a compelling reason to change it, you shouldn't, and the USGA has indicated there is no performance advantage to using anchoring.  So on that basis, and given the fallout that occurs with amateurs and the fallout that occurs with players like Webb and Keegan and others who have grown up with the process, there are negatives.

Fill in Spencer and Pat instead of Webb and Keegan and what do you get?

Our players from day one have sort of said ‑‑ and we have players that want to see the ban, too, but again, it's a subjective decision.  But most players are saying, listen, without a significant upside and no competitive advantage, let's don't do it.

But we submitted our opinion.  The PGA of America has come out against it, as well.  And we'll see what they decide.  But we're just doing what we were asked to do.

Not sure if the comment period necessitated a national television appearance to air your views, but I'm sure Accenture was thrilled!

Q.  So the big question remains that the USGA remains staunch in this position, what would the PGA TOUR do as far as running its own tournaments and making its own rules perhaps?  Would you go against a governing body that has been in this position for more than a century?  It could get a little chaotic.

TIM FINCHEM:  Well, maybe.  But first of all, our rules say we're going to follow the USGA rules, provided that we maintain the right to differ.  This is one rule.  We're not interested in getting in the rule‑making business.  We like the structure for rules.  We're delighted it's gotten as transparent as it has, that everybody is invited to give their opinion, whether it's an equipment matter or not.  That's good.

 But...

JOHNNY MILLER:  Normally you don't hear that out of the USGA, right, when they make a decision?  But was the impetus for making this decision on your part and the Players Council part, was it just a majority of the players or was it your input or was it just the players voted and said we just do not want this, we do not want this?

TIM FINCHEM:  Well, I think it's interesting, going back three or four months, there certainly has been a fairly significant shift in players who originally, when just put to the question, would you get rid of anchoring, sure.  But when they got more into looking at the impact it has on players learning about the thinking, being why you would change it, understanding the impact on amateurs, it shifted.  So we get to the Player Advisory Council last week, and 12, 13 out of 15 guys are against the ban.  Now, a number of those guys are guys who are saying, look, if I was asked in 1975 or '80, I think the general thing of learning that there's no competitive advantage, it's been out there a long time, and the history of why it was out there.  It didn't just happen.  The USGA looked at it and said it's okay, looked at it again and said it's okay, and so I think players like Davis Love and others have said, you know, if there's no upside and there's some down side, why are we doing it?  So that's led to a movement.

A movement! Activist golfers!

Q.  The competitive advantage that you alluded to, maybe statistics not showing what anchored putting does, but there are some players out there today like Adam Scott and guys who have just rejuvenated their career.

JOHNNY MILLER:  There are some advantages only for the sort of injured player.  And you've had some pressure from the Champions Tour.

TIM FINCHEM:  Twenty percent of amateurs using according to some data.  We looked at that. 

Tim Finchem says 20% of amateur golfers anchor. Wouldn't we all love to see that data?

So thousands of people have gravitated to the method.  What the data shows is there isn't an anchoring putter on the PGA TOUR that's in the top quartile in putting stats.

JOHNNY MILLER:  I'm not saying a good putter is not going to use it, but it sure helps the ‑‑

TIM FINCHEM:  Again, it's a subjective thing.  I think, though, when it came out 30 years ago, that's where it was viewed at.  If you had the yips, go to anchoring.  But Keegan Bradley and Webb Simpson don't have the yips.  They grew up with that method.  And one out of every five, or a little less than one out of every five plays it.  Everybody on the PGA TOUR has tried it.  For some guys it works, for some guys it doesn't.

One out of five pros or amateurs?

I don't have a problem with a guy that says, I think the swing rule should be such that you don't anchor, and had the USGA made that decision in 1975, it would have been a no‑brainer.  But the reality is it's become part of the game, a significant part of the game, and it has had no negative effect on the game.  And here we are.  So that's the debate, and it'll be interesting to see how it concludes.

Well to the players who have lost to those using anchoring, it's been a negative. And if it was once a no-brainer, how can it not be banned now? Wow.

I would also point out that the PGA announced that 65 percent of its membership,

63

these are the guys that are teaching the game locally, they're worried about the amateurs, think that the ban is a bad idea.  So I think you've got to pay attention to that.

So nice to see the Commish worrying about the thoughts of the local club pro! 

Golf Channel Showing Finchem's 3 ET Sunday Scrum

If you want to turn over from NBC's telecast of the Mahan-Kuchar final, Golf Channel will be showing highlights of Commissioner Tim Finchem's 3 p.m. ET "scrum" with the scribblers before his annual appearance in the booth with Johnny and Dan.

You know, considering Commish I Hate Controversy goes positively bonkers when his players take attention away from a golf tournament and/or the sponsor...oh I'll shut up before he speaks.

Update on 2013-02-24 19:18 by Geoff

**The timing could be more like 3:15 ET...

PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem will be available to speak with media today at 1:15 p.m. MT in the press room at the Accenture Match Play Championship.  This will not be a formal press conference, but rather a gathering near the registration area.  Please contact Laura Hill with any questions.

A gathering near the registration area! Because I hear the walk to the interview room is quite arduous.

Update on 2013-02-24 19:24 by Geoff

**Sure enough, now Golf Channel is saying they will not be cutting in live, but with a report soon after his remarks. I'm guessing someone at the tour wised up. Just adding more fun to weirdness that is Dove Mountain.

Video: Scott Piercy's 228-Yard Eagle Hole-Out

I'm not sure what's most shocking about Scotty Piercy holing out a 228-yard eagle approach shot on the par-4 5th hole during his WGC Accenture match against Luke Donald.

That a PGA Tour player had that distance into a par-4 or that Dove Mountain has a par-4 measuing 536 yards. I know, I know, altitude. 

Either way, a pretty nifty shot:

Update on 2013-02-23 01:32 by Geoff

**Piercy defeated Luke Donald, reports Doug Ferguson on all of the Friday play.

Proof Golf Gods Listen: Laying-Up Pays Off At Riviera's 10th!

There's a lot to love about John Merrick's Northern Trust Open win, mostly because the Long Beach-born and still-residing 30-year old is a former UCLA golfer and the closest thing to a native son to ever win the tournament (he passes Oxnard's Corey Pavin by 20 miles and is the first LA County born winner).

John Merrick birdies the par-4 10th in regulation play (click to enlarge)But also because after years of stinking up the 10th hole, Merrick figured out that laying up--a preferred approach to the hole of this website--actually works.

And after a birdie in regulation play and a winning-par on the second hole of this year's Northern Trust Open, Merrick's conservative approach paid off. So did his respect for the hole.

The Golf Gods do work in mysterious ways.

Check out Merrick's post round comments.

Q.  10?

JOHN MERRICK:  10, yeah, I just butchered that hole my rookie year, and a couple years after that, hitting driver and hitting 3‑wood in the traps and finally just laid up.  I actually hit 3‑wood yesterday to the front left flag and made par.  But yeah, I've just been laying up on that hole and I know with a wedge in your hand from the middle of the fairway, I think it's better than hitting wood off that tee, and it paid off.

So I hit 3‑iron and then I had 90 yards and just hit a full lob‑wedge.  I thought it was going to be a little bit closer and just kind of checked left.  I had a straight putt that I thought was going to break left but I kind of just laid it out to the right.

Yeah, and then Charlie hit driver, and it's a tough hole.  It's just from the tee box, you're sitting there and it looks like ‑‑ it looks so easy, looks like you are going to hit it up left of the green and chip on, but it's one of the great, short par 4s that we play on TOUR.

Q.  Charlie had pretty negative feelings about 10 being a playoff hole, just because of the way the hole plays, and I don't think he felt like it's a fairway ‑‑

JOHN MERRICK:  That's what he said?

Q.  He said they should put a windmill on it.

JOHN MERRICK:  (Laughs).

Q.  Thinking about 10, were you confident going into it?

John Merrick's textbook approach in regulation, via ShotLink (click to enlarge)JOHN MERRICK:  Yeah.

Q.  And was that because you had come to peace with what you wanted to do on that hole.

JOHN MERRICK:  Yeah.

Q.  And did you think your shot had cleared the bunker off the club?

JOHN MERRICK:  Yeah, you know, maybe ‑‑ I think the way I played the 10th hole, maybe that's just a microcosm of how I approach this course and kind of my experience on the TOUR so far.

I think it's one of the great par 4s that we play, short par 4s.  Because when you look at it from the tee, it looks like the most benign hole.  You don't see all the slopes up on the left and everything.  It's so hard to hit a wood and be in great position there.  I mean, there's this little window like a little ten‑yard window where you have to put it to get up‑and‑down.  I think it's one of the great holes.

That 3‑iron I hit, it was kind of cooling off and it was kind of getting a little cold and it was 195 to clear the trap and I hit 3‑iron.  I knew I had plenty of club, but it was just a little further right than I wanted.  I wanted it further left to have a better angle.  I had a better angle in regulation.  But yeah, it just a 3‑iron and you've got a full lob‑wedge where you can take a full swing and put spin on the ball.

Yeah, I think that's the way to play that hole.

Q.  So total confidence on your part?

JOHN MERRICK:  Absolutely.  I knew for sure with that back right flag ‑‑ yeah, total confidence.  Why are you laughing, Doug?

I knew ‑‑ no, I wasn't going to hit wood.  I wanted a full wedge in my hand from the fairway.

How hard was that?

Apparently, too complicated for runner-up Charlie Beljan. I know it's hard to believe that someone so respectful of his President and who doesn't eat for 20 hours at a time during the most important competition of their life might not be the sharpest knife in the set, but if he wants to win at Riviera, Beljan might want to remember the old "attitude is a decision" mantra before he arrives at No. 10 next year.

Charlie Beljan (click to enlarge)Bobby Joe Grooves, the mic is yours...

CHARLIE BELJAN:  The 10th hole, it's been birdie or bogey all week for me.  I've laid up, I've made birdie; I've laid up, I've made bogey.  I've gone for it twice now and made two bogeys.  But the 10th hole, it's a tough golf hole.

I don't really have anything good to say about the 10th hole.  I think it's a funky golf hole.  Obviously that's what Riviera, they are kind of known for the 10th hole.  It is a great, short par 4.  The green just needs to be a little more receptive.  I'm glad that hole is not at TPC Scottsdale around the stadium where you see people making a big‑time fool of themselves.

Q.  Merrick puts himself in really good position off the tee on 10, and you took a while to think about it.  What were you thinking about and what happened on the swing itself?

CHARLIE BELJAN:  I wasn't that upset with the drive I hit.  I just knew I had to keep it left because he hit it right; I didn't think Merrick was in good position off the tee.  I don't think there is a good position on No. 10.  The only good position you're at is yesterday when I hit 2‑iron onto the front edge of the green and I got to 2‑putt for birdie.

Other than that, I don't think there is a good position on 10.  Anything could happen.  He hit a beautiful shot in there.  It carried the bunker by a foot and it barely stopped from going in the other bunker.

So that's how it goes.  My caddie and I was thinking about going for it, but to hit it in that little spot, there wasn't much chance.  I hit a tough chip out of there.  I hit a beautiful putt up there, and then I hit a good 4‑footer that when it left the face, I thought we were going to the next hole and it just broke more than I thought.

Q.  They talk about local knowledge being so key here.  Was there one shot or stroke in the playoff where you feel not having played here before made a difference?

CHARLIE BELJAN:  No, not at all.  I think you could play here 10,000 times and still not know how to play No. 10.

18 is a great golf hole.  You know, I just find it tough that we go to No. 10.  To play a playoff hole, I think it's a great hole, don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking it, but it's just a tough hole to have a playoff on.  We might as well go and put a windmill out there and hit some putts.

Shocking he lost the playoff, isn't it?

Nice work Golf Gods, nice work.

Two Calls For Vijay Singh To Step Away

ESPN.com's Bob Harig asks, "How is it that Singh is even playing?"

He's referring to admitted doping policy violator Vijay Singh, who is in the field this week at Riviera for the Northern Trust Open as some feel his situation becomes a distraction for the tour each week he plays.

Because his status is under review, Singh is permitted to play, although there is a possibility that any official earnings or world ranking points could be rescinded, depending on the outcome of Finchem's investigation.

This much is clear: If Singh took a banned substance, knowingly or not, he has to be penalized by the tour's own rules. Ignorance is not a defense, nor is the argument that deer spray or IGF-1 is ineffective; it has been on the tour's banned substance list since the drug testing program began in 2008. Players were warned in 2011 about deer-antler spray in literature and emails widely circulated.

Doug Ferguson also submits a commentary suggesting that Singh should take a leave of absense until his situation is resolved.

Under the anti-doping policy, the Tour is required to disclose the name, confirm the violation and declare the penalty.

So far, there has been silence.

This is not a call for the Tour to rush to judgment. Singh's case is muddled. Yes, a player who admits to using a banned substance is the same as a player testing positive. But is there evidence that IGF-1 was in the spray that Singh was using? More than one doctor has said it's impossible for IGF-1 to enter the blood system through a spray. And the Tour does not have a blood test, anyway.

Plus, players have the right to appeal, and the policy says a hearing must take place within 45 days.

Singh brought this mess on himself, and now is the time for him to give back to the game that has provided him with so much. Singh could eliminate this distraction by taking a leave of absence until the Tour sorts this out. The sooner the better.

Update on 2013-02-13 01:07 by Geoff

**James Corrigan in the Telegraph sees it the other way, responding to much of the criticism in Europe, though this discounts the doping violation language which does not require a positive test. An admission of attempting to take a banned substance is enough.

The Tour will also know by now that minute quantities of IGF-1 may be found in milk and beef and many other products it would not think to outlaw. It will have heard the generally held view of the experts that it is impossible to absorb IGF-1 in the body if it is not injected.

Indeed, it may well prove the case that Singh was actually less ignorant than the authorities.

The lynch mob are loudly baying for Singh’s sporting life. They would presumably be satisfied with the potential scenario of a man being banished from his profession for unknowingly doing nothing wrong?

This absurdity is where hysteria has taken sport and the vigilantes’ demand for action is set to become more shrill with the revelations of widespread doping in Australia. The temptation is to declare that here is a simple case of good against evil. But it is not necessarily black and white. The Singh affair shows it can be a mess of grey.

Snedeker Sidelined By "Sore Ribs"

Now before you go wondering how someone can play like Brandt Snedeker has with "sore ribs" do remember that he has rib issues before, including playing with a cracked rib last year.

Rex Hoggard reports on Snedeker's WD from next week's WGC Match Play:

Snedeker’s Sea Island (Ga.)-based trainer Randy Myers told GolfChannel.com that he strained the rib during a practice round at the Humana Challenge and re-aggravated the injury on Thursday at Pebble Beach. Snedeker had an X-ray on Monday in California and is awaiting the results of that test. He plans to return to Nashville, Tenn., later this week to meet with his doctor, Dr. James Elrod.

“He felt like he was playing well enough after the Humana he wanted to keep playing,” Myers said. “His biggest concern is he worked so hard to become a No. 1 seed (for the Match Play) and he’s played well there, (but) this is just preventative.”

The reigning FedEx Cup champion could return in time for the WGC-Cadillac Championship in March.

Snedeker sustained a cracked rib at last year’s RBC Heritage and missed the better part of the next three months recovering.