Marsh at Mid-Am

Former Pepperdine golfer Kevin Marsh has reached the U.S. Mid-Am final. Marsh was the assistant coach of the 1997 NCAA title team that included Jason Gore. Marsh filled in for coach John Geiberger, who was in Chicago but stuck in a hotel room with chicken pox.

Struggling Champions

Golfweek's Jeff Rude looks at the struggles of recent U.S. Amateur champions and talks to Ricky Barnes.

Ferguson on the U.S. Amateur's Lost Luster

AP’s Doug Ferguson writes, “Somewhere along the way, the U.S. Amateur seems to have lost its status, if not some luster.”

He tries to determine “when the U.S. Amateur lost its status as a major is as unclear as when the Masters and PGA Championship took over.”

And he concludes, “Golf at the highest level is now about professionals. So are the majors.”

But well beyond record book quibbling, it seems that now is a good time to ask what is causing the Amateur’s recent slide in stature, separate of the pro vs. amateur major debate? 

• Date played. It's played the first week of school for many college golfers after a summer of competitive play. Not an ideal time to bring out the best in players. But the other options have problems too.

• Qualification standard. Reader Blue Blazer came out of hibernation to point out that the Amateur could give quite a few exemptions to say, the Western Amateur final 16 (since qualifying is usually held right after the Western). And of course, winners of other prestigious events like the Pacific Coast, Northeastern, Porter Cup, etc... A reasonable group of exemptions from the summer's best events would still barely put a dent in the 312-player field.
  
  
• Amateur Status. This is the most difficult area to measure, but at some point the virtual end of amateur status seems to have taken some of the life out of the U.S. Amateur. Whether it’s players (especially from big Division I programs) getting free equipment, or a significant number of former pros in the amateur ranks, the concept of an amateur has lost its luster a bit. Perhaps that's also hurting the USGA's premier amateur event?
  
  
• Big Money. Consider Michael Putnam’s decision to take a sponsor’s exemption instead of playing the Amateur at Merion (where he would have been one of the favorites). What’s the point when his career can be kick started? Granted most players don't do what he did. But after his performance, the minor gamble has turned into a potentially enormous career boost and one that many more players will look to as an excuse to turn pro ASAP.
  
  
  

Million Dollar Baby?

Thomas Bonk writes that Michelle Wie is close to signing with the William Morris Agency.

Merion 14 Redux**

Courtesy of reader Richard:

The 14th hole in 1930 (left) and an aerial of today's hole, with an overlay in green showing the 1930 fairway width over today's setup (minus the wood chip nursery left, or whatever that gray area visible on TV is). Note how the risk/reward element of flirting with the road left is eliminated in an attempt to put a longer approach iron in the player's hands.

**On closer inspection, and with the help of TiVo, the block of stuff between the road and left rough appears to be a dead fescue farm. Or maybe it's Featherbed Bent? Either way, it used to be fairway in the old days before the guys started working out so much, forcing people to create strange fairway contouring.

Amateur Status Changes

From their press release:

The R&A, golf’s world governing body and organiser of The Open Championship, today announced revisions to the Rules of Amateur Status that provide amateur golfers with the opportunity to receive payment for giving golf instruction and reduce the waiting time of those who have breached the Rules, but who wish to return to amateur status. The changes to the Rules and their interpretations come into effect from 1 January 2006.

A new Instruction Rule provides that an amateur golfer may be paid for coaching golf for the first time as part of an "approved programme". Under the new Rules on reinstatement, the time amateur golfers in breach of the Rules have to wait before they regain their amateur status is reduced. The new guideline of 1-2 years brings these waiting periods in line with those for professional golfers returning to the amateur game.

Seems they decided that after the gender reassignment rule change (requiring just two years between sex change surger to be Women's Open eligible...no I'm not joking) the three year wait on amateur status statement seemed a bit much. The release says the governing bodies of golf are closer than ever on their amateur "code." Except...

The two codes diverge on only one matter – hole-in-one prizes. In the new R&A Code acceptance of an excessive prize remains a breach of the Rules but carries a much reduced period awaiting reinstatement. The new USGA Code will allow amateur golfers to accept hole-in-one prizes of any value.

We'll call this the Mike Freeman rule, which if you have read The Future of Golf (p. 106-107), you know is a product of the excessive penalty paid by an Orlando amateur after spontaneously participating in the Tiger pops out of the Woods ad.

Dave Seanor at Golfweek details the USGA side of these changes. The expenses issue for amateurs will become official, and he explains how the rules will work for golfers who seemk expense reimbursement.

Sampson on Jones

Curt Sampson in the new Golf World writes about the toll the Grand Slam took on Bobby Jones. I'm currently reading Sampson's The Slam, from which I believe this article is excerpted. The book is quite good.

Walker Cup Summary

The Walker Cup transcripts for the winning U.S. team. The Walker Cup summary. And none of it does justice to the event.

What fun to watch golf on such a classy old layout.

Just a shame it was up against the PGA (way to go USGA!). Congrats to the both teams for such great play and sportsmanship.  I'll never forget running in between rooms (TiVo people will understand) to watch the PGA and the Walker Cup unfolding!

**Update: Golfweek's Alistair Tait writes about the Walker Cup and recounts the key moments.

Walker Cup Sunday

Here's the AP story on the U.S. and its 1-point lead in the Walker Cup. And the official site also has news, notes and Sunday times.

I hate to be picky, but if you are going to go to the trouble to send four NBC announcers and a large crew to Chicago, maybe we can get more than 90 minutes of golf coverage? Especially when you're scheduled for two hours!?

Some helicopter flyovers would be nice too. Nonetheless, the course looks neat.

Oh, and according to someone on site, Fred Ridley talked about C.B. Macdonald's design during the opening ceremony. Again, not to be picky, but the course they are playing this week is Raynor redesign of Macdonald's. 

Walker Cup Is Here

The Chicago Tribune's Joel Boyd wonders if college coaches, by recruiting so many foreign players, have hurt the the U.S. in Walker Cup play: "It's no coincidence that at the same time U.S. colleges started to recruit top foreign amateurs en masse, the tables turned in the Walker Cup."

Or maybe foreign players are more complete because they haven't grown up playing only the American way?

Ben Voelker has posted some great Chicago Golf Club photos on Golf Club Atlas as the Raynor-Macdonald course is set up for the Walker Cup.  And here's a March Golfdom story by editor Larry Aylward on Jon Jennings, Chicago's superintendent and one of the true class-acts in golf.

This will take you to the Golf Channel Walker Cup page.  TV Times: Saturday 8/13 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM ET TGC, Sunday 8/14 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM ET TGC.