Kennemer To Save The Day!

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I turned on the European Tour Thursday to see a super looking golf course only to realize that those of us trying to come down off the Merion-Muirfield-Country Club-National high of the last few months still have a super H.S. Colt course to watch.

Ran Morrissett has a profile of the design with plenty of photos.

Jimenez opened with a 64, so there's that too.

Golf Channel has KLM Open coverage this weekend, all times ET:

Friday              12:30-2:30 p.m. (Tape Delay)
Sunday            2-6 a.m. (Tape Delay)
Monday           2:30-5 a.m. (Tape Delay)
 
Golf Channel Broadcast Team:
Steve Burkowski (Studio Host)
Warren Humphreys (Play by Play)
Julian Tutt (Analyst)
Jay Townsend (On Course)

European Tour Loses Another Event...

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Thanks to DTF For Amlan Chakraborty's Reuters story on the demise of India's Avantha Masters, a late March stop on the European Tour.

The event was four years old.

"Given the current economic conditions, the Avantha Group has concluded that this is not the appropriate moment to do so and has therefore not renewed its contract with the European Tour," the business conglomerate said in a statement.

Commish Welcomes FOX Sports & Their "Work In Progress" Coverage; Just Loves The European Tour

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Doug Ferguson reports that PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem welcomes the USGA bringing Fox Sports into the golf world because (A) they will now be forced to show and pay for golf highlights on their nightly new shows that no one watches, and (B) they will make CBS and NBC look super while stumbling through the inevitable hiccups that come with trying to launch a full golf telecast operation.

Finchem did not say if the tour was concerned about Fox's ability to handle golf because it had never televised the sport. Miller was particularly critical, saying that "you can't just fall out of a tree and do the U.S. Open."

"It's going to be a work in progress," Finchem said. "They've got to build a capability there, working with the USGA, and I'm sure they will. They're professionals. They do an excellent job in producing the other sports that they have. I'm sure they'll get the talent together to do a good job for the USGA, but it will be interesting to see what happens when that lines out. When they get certain people in certain positions, we'll find out."

Now, as a connoisseur of Finchemspeak, anything but a resoundingly positive statement means that when he learned of the announcement, he turned to Ty and mumbled, "what are they smoking back there in Far Hills?"

Finchem's comments Wednesday about the European Tour were much more interesting. It's becoming clear the PGA Tour would like to be in business or partnership with the struggling circuit and why not?

Jason Sobel reports on the cryptic language from the Commish, which included lots of praise, speculation, platform references, and this:

“You just don't do something and turnaround and do something else. So I think the timeframe is fine. And there's nothing urgent about any of this. I think professional golf has made a lot of strides in the last five years, not just here, but around the globe, and continues to do so. And if there's a way we can do it better together then that's good.

“But if it's 10 years or 15 years, I think we're still headed in the right direction. So I don't feel like this is a situation where we have to fix anything. Things are moving very well.”

Right!

Finchem Shoots Down Euro Tour Takeover Story

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Doug Ferguson talks to PGA Tour Commish Tim Finchem about two British newspaper reports of a bid to take over the European Tour and the richest redhead in golf says, not true. Well, not entirely.

Finchem said three years ago that men's professional golf might one day have a world tour, though he did not say how that would take shape or when. He says the International Federation of PGA Tours has worked together to create the World Golf Championships and to help get golf back into the Olympics.

He says the tours continue to explore "collaborative efforts."

Euro Tour COO: PGA Tour Bidding To Buy Us "Incorrect"

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BBC's Iain Carter quotes European Tour COO Keith Waters responding to newspaper reports that the PGA Tour was launching some sort of bid/hostile takeover of the European Tour.

Scottish Open Scores A 1.3 Final Round Overnight Rating

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Nice numbers from the experimental (not anymore!) 2013 Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open, which aired on Golf Channel and for the first time, NBC (see Mike McCarley Q&A here).

A few of the "overnight" numbers are below, with one rating point generally equating to 1.14 million viewers. The final numbers won’t be available until Wednesday for Golf Channel but it appears the Scottish easily outdrew the U.S. Senior Open. Phil Mickelson obviously gets a huge "assist" in this. But still, mighty impressive:

· Golf Channel’s coverage of the final round of the European Tour’s Scottish Open (9:30A-12P), leading into NBC’s coverage, delivered a 0.28 in the overnights, up 27% vs. Golf Channel’s Final Round coverage last year (8A-12:45P, 0.22). NBC’s continuing coverage of the Scottish Open final round (12-2:45P) received a 1.3 (first time for event on NBC, no comparison available).
 
Also note that US Senior Open was up YOY – which can be attributed in part to lead-in of Scottish Open.
 
· NBC’s coverage of the U.S. Senior Open final round (2:45-6P) posted a 0.99, up 29% YOY (3-6P, 0.77).

Trump International Unlikely To Join Scottish Open Rota

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At the end of Tom English's piece talking to First Minister Alex Salmond about attending an Open at male-only membership Royal St. George's, there is this...

The First Minister also said that it was unlikely that Donald Trump’s golf course in Aberdeen will be chosen to host the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open when it begins a new rota system starting next year at Royal Aberdeen. “In fairness to all areas of Scotland, the likelihood is that the other two course [in a three-year rota] will be in east central and west central Scotland on some of the great links courses there.”

Busy Day In Golf Final Round Open Comment Thread

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Mickelson tries to catch Stenson in the Scottish Open.

Geezer Michael Allen tries to hold off Perry and Funk the U.S. Senior Open.

Daniel Summerhays leads the John Deere Classic.

Hee Young Park leads the LPGA Manulife Financial Classic with Inbee trailing by 7.

I'll be stopping in at Muirfield for a look around and then making sure that North Berwick is as good as I remember it. Ta-ta!

Els Grateful For Castle Stuart's Width

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Nice little zinger from Ernie Els to Graeme McDowell about the supposed ease of Scottish Open host Castle Stuart, as reported by Alex Miceli.

“Been to Muirfield a couple of times now so I kind of know what I need to do,” Els said Wednesday in a press conference before the pro-am. “I’m trying out two new drivers from Callaway and thank goodness, according to Graeme (McDowell), we have a lot of width in the fairways.”