Poll: Is The Shorts Barrier About To Be Broken?

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Alistair Tait reports on the European Tour now allowing players to wear shorts two weeks in a row after petitioning from Ryder Cup captain Darren Clarke.

Even though he's a purveyor of some very stylish pants, Ian Poulter wants to see shorts as the next fashion barrier to be broken.

“It makes perfect sense to me,” Poulter said. “There shouldn’t be a problem with us wearing shorts to practice,” Poulter said. “So I’ll be baring my legs tomorrow. In fact, I really don’t see a problem with wearing shorts during tournaments. I mean it is 2016.”

While this is a First Team, All Conference First World Problem, there is an underlying sense that pants only makes golf seem uncool.

Personally, I'm old fashioned when it comes to pro golfers. They should be in pants and definitely not looking at rangefinders down the stretch. I even agree with Commissioner Kiehl's on the beard issue (sorry Old Tom).

There is good news, too. This will probably turn into one more thing European Tour Chief Keith Pelley and Tim Finchem will bicker over!

I'm curious if you think for the sake of golf's long term image, should pro golfers be allowed to wear shorts?

Vote!

Should pro golfers be allowed to wear shorts?
 
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Forward Press: PGA West Stadium And Johnny's Return

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In this week's Forward Press, I naturally touch upon the much anticipated European Tour stop in Abu Dhabi featuring Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth. But there are a number of interesting elements to the Bob Hope Classic's latest reboot into the CareerBuilder Challenge, starting with the return of PGA West Stadium after its not-so-triumphant one-year stint 29 years ago.

As the column notes, this is an opportunity to see just how much the game has changed. While there won't be ShotLink comparisons to make, those of us old enough to remember how difficult the Stadium once was will get to see today's players light the place up.

Mentioned in the column also is the 2016 debut of Dan Hicks and Johnny Miller and producer Tommy Roy. Since filing the column I was reminded that this is where Johnny made his debut as an analyst in 1990 where he wheeled out his first of many “choke” references when talking about the possibility of Hope Classic contender Peter Jacobsen blowing a 72nd hole shot. Jacobsen pulled off the shot and won, but I'm sure we'll relive that and Lee Trevino's Skins Game ace.

Happy reading!

The Donald To Lose Scottish Open To Dundonald?

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The contract was never signed for one or three Scottish Opens at Trump International, but there is little question that at least one event was headed to the Aberdeen course by 2017. Then the presidential campaign got hot and heavy and Donald Trump's remarks about Mexican immigrants led to a postponement.

Now it appears the European Tour has moved on and Bunkered's Michael McEwan (thanks reader Bobby) says they are circling Dundonald Links in Ayrshire, a modern Kyle Phillips design owned by the Loch Lomond folks and host to the 2015 Ladies Scottish Open.

With Castle Stuart, Royal Aberdeen and Gullane having welcomed the event to the Highlands, North East and Lothians since it visited Loch Lomond Golf Club for the last time in 2010, speculation has been mounting over a possible home in Ayrshire or the south west of Scotland for the tournament.

A high-ranking source has told bunkered.co.uk that Dundonald Links looks likely to get that nod, with negotiations reportedly at ‘a very advanced stage’.

"How Christy O’Connor Jr became Europe's hero at the 1989 Ryder Cup"

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The Guardian's Steve Pye used the unexpected and way-too-early passing of Christy O'Connor Jr to remember his fascinating life in golf through the 1989 Ryder Cup.

O'Connor was a captain's pick of Tony Jacklin after Sandy Lyle withdrew due to a floundering game. A Jose Rivero mention makes it way into the piece, but in the big scheme of things it's a pleasurable way to learn about the sudden passing of a real character and also to learn that wild Ryder Cup dynamics are not solely a product of the 21st century.

A sampler from Pye's piece:

Unfortunately for O’Connor, things were about to turn pear-shaped. A missed cut left him vulnerable to a late attack, and when José María Cañizares sneaked in at the last minute, O’Connor now had to rely on a captain’s pick from Tony Jacklin. Two of Jacklin’s choices were apparently set in stone – Ken Brown and Nick Faldo, despite the latter struggling for form after remodelling his swing – and it was seen as a straight fight between O’Connor, Mark James and Gordon Brand Jr for the final selection.

To the general amazement of everyone, Jacklin chose José Rivero instead. “I am disgusted and totally shattered,” said a furious O’Connor, understandably so after he missed out on his second Ryder Cup by just £115.89. O’Connor’s ire would run and run; according to Jacklin, the only time O’Connor spoke to him in the next four years was to offer his condolences when Jacklin’s wife Vivien passed away.


O’Connor was probably happy to see the back of 1985. At the end of the year his father died after suffering a heart attack, and over the next few seasons O’Connor seemed unable to reproduce the form that had taken him so near to joining Europe’s party. Having hovered around the top 20 during the next three years, few expected his 1989 campaign to be any different. But a fine run of displays saw O’Connor finish fifth at the Volvo Open, fourth at the Volvo PGA, third at the Dunhill British Masters, and seventh at the English Open (played at The Belfry). To top it all, O’Connor won the Jersey Open, his first individual win on the Tour since his Ryder Cup debut.

'15: PGA Tour Drums Euro Tour In Average World Ranking Points

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It's about the least interesting topic imaginable to a golf fan, but to insiders, players and their agents, world ranking points rank right there with Wheels Up credits and free courtesy cars.

Doug Ferguson reports that the PGA Tour widened the gap between their tour and the European Tour in 2015 average World Ranking points to tournaments.

The gap continues to widen in the average ranking points for PGA Tour events compared with Europe - up an average of one point this year, two points from 2012.

Including the four majors and the four World Golf Championships, the PGA Tour averaged 56.4 points for the winner compared with 42.2 points for the European Tour. That's a difference of 14.2 points, up from 13.3 points a year ago.

Ryder Cup To Italy: About The Money In Many Ways

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Good to see Iain Carter taking a hard but optimistic look at Italy landing the 2022 Ryder Cup with the most lucrative bid for a golf course that doesn't look very compelling. Ultimately he concludes this was a Keith Pelley play to piggyback off the model set forth by George O'Grady with the French Open: add a huge purse for the Italian Open and bolster a late season run of events in an effort to keep more Europeans playing their home tour.

I know that's not comforting when we'll be watching golf played under power lines, but a strong European Tour is a good thing for golf.

The Italian Open currently provides a modest 1.5m euro prize fund. That pot is set to double and from 2017 the tournament will be worth 7m euros for the next 11 years.

Where the money is coming from remains to be seen. It is a mammoth commitment that will propel an event that has been in existence since 1925 to a new level.

"We have exciting plans for the development of the European Tour," Pelley stated. "Italy shares this ambition.
"Their commitment to the Italian Open will provide an inspiring benchmark."

These are the sort of prize purses that Pelley wants to have on offer week in, week out. He clearly hopes a more lucrative Italian Open will provide an example for other national championships to follow.

Awkward Photo Op Fun: Keith Pelley Mows Fairways Edition

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Nothing screams natural more than a Commissioner refusing to shed his navy blazer to drive around on a Toro mower. That's what European Tour Chief Keith Pelley did during the recent Dubai event.

Take this, George O'Grady!

Keith Pelley, Chief Executive of the European Tour, said “Having our golf courses prepared and presented to the highest standard is an essential part of providing the best possible playing experience for our members, which is one of our key priorities. Toro’s products and equipment play a vital role in us achieving this, so we are delighted to extend our long-standing relationship with them to help ensure these high standards continue to be met.”

A Little Bit Of Valhalla Outside Of Rome!

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Secret Tour Pro Tweeted these images of 2022 Ryder Cup host Marco Simone Golf Club, which is slated to undergo a redo. Let's hope one that involves forklifts moving large electrical wire towers.

Yikes...

Che Bello! Italy Lands 2022 Ryder Cup

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Marco Simone Golf Club will be totally reconstructed and the Italian Open will see a big purse bump as the course outside of Rome continues the trend of European Ryder Cups near big cities. In this case, the venue will see a total redesign.

The full press release at RyderCup.com includes this:

To that end, the Bid Evaluation Committee judged the candidates on five specific criteria: (i) Demonstrable Government, Political, Institutional and Golfing Community support; (ii) Commitment to the development of a world-class golf facility (new or existing) to host The 2022 Ryder Cup; (iii) Provision of ancillary facilities, suitable access and infrastructure commensurate with the staging of an international sporting event, including proximity to a major international city; (iv) Commercial opportunities available to The Ryder Cup; and (v) Contribution of the Bid Country to the development of golf in terms of Legacy, Contribution to the professional game, Integration of golf within tourism and business communities, Development of levels of golf participation, Professional tournament golf at all levels, and contribution to The Ryder Cup: eg Player eligibility and participation.

Money, money, money! Architecture, not so much.

Constantino Rocca, get fit for an IFB now!

The awarding of The 2022 Ryder Cup will continue Italy’s legacy in the contest which began when Costantino Rocca became the first Italian golfer to play in the match at The Belfry in England in 1993. The United States won on that occasion but Rocca tasted victory on his next two outings – at Oak Hill Country Club in 1995 and at Valderrama in 1997 where he famously beat Tiger Woods 4 and 2 in the final day singles.

Casey Explains: "I've been in too many hotel rooms wondering why I was there"

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The decision to pass on extra travel days just to make himself Ryder Cup eligible is no doubt still leaving Team Europe perplexed, but Paul Casey explains his thinking and remains consistent in his reasoning.
Even if it doesn't it well with most of Europe or perhaps entirely tell the full story of his 2010 snub.

From Bob Harig's ESPN.com report:

"I've been in too many hotel rooms wondering why I was there,'' Casey said. "I felt many times like I was going through the motions, going to play to get a number. That is so against what it is to be a competitor.''

On the European Tour side, Casey needs five European starts. One would be the Ryder Cup itself. The Olympics, if he qualities, also counts. He could play the BMW PGA Championship and British Masters in his home country of England and be one tournament away, perhaps the Scottish Open or one of the Final Series events.

Casey said he's heard some of the rumblings concerning why he'd want to forego the Ryder Cup, but said his decision was not about that event.

"It's an unfortunate by-product of the decision I've made,'' he said. "It's purely about my family and spending quality time. The Ryder Cup is what's talked about, but this is not what this is about."

 

Euro Tour Commish Pelley: "This is theatre."

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I hate to encourage a man who owns more than one pair of blue-framed glasses, but it's hard not to get excited reading John Hopkins' Global Golf Post Q&A with new European Tour Chief Keith Pelley.

Why?

He's punching all of the buttons that Tim Finchem covers with duct tape, belly-flopping if he has to: faster play, golfers as entertainers first, a global tour, etc...

I'm too lazy to transcribe, so please hit the link and give GGP some hits. But for the sake of archiving, Pelley's take on golf tournaments as an entertainment vehicle differs in noteworthy fashion from the PGA Tour's view that tournaments are a playing opportunity first and formost, a form of entertainment a distant second.

Pelley's take on golf tournaments as a form of entertainment, first:

Foreign Secretary Plans To Intervene At Wentworth!

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Robert Mendick, Chief Reporter for the Telegraph, says Foreign Secretary Phillip Hammond has signaled an interest in trying to solve the row between members of Wentworth and its new owner, Reignwood Group.

Take that, John Kerry!

Mendick writes of Britain's most important foreign relations representative coming to the defense of Wentworth's members and includes a letter from Hammond outlining how he can help. There was also this:

Relations between Reignwood Group, which bought the club last year for £135 million, and its membership have sunk to an all-time low.

In a growing escalation in tensions, Wentworth’s Chinese owners are being accused of a lack of respect after the St George’s flag was lowered to half mast for victims of the Paris atrocity while the Chinese flag that also now stands outside the clubhouse was not.

Reignwood has countered with new membership categories.

In a statement, Wentworth Club has announced it plans to invest £20 million over the next two years “to significantly enhance and improve its three championship courses, facilities and service quality”.

It also insisted it was listening to members’ concerns and had “introduced two new [membership] categories with discounted rates as a result”.

It went on: “We lowered the St George’s flag at the entrance to the Club, along with the Union Flag on the roof of the club, as a mark of respect following the devastating terror attacks in Paris earlier this month.

“The inference that there was any disrespect as a result of the Chinese flag not being lowered is deeply upsetting. We are extremely disappointed to think that any of our members would construe this to be the case.”

New European Tour chief Keith Pelley also recently balked at the idea of Wentworth as host of the European Tour's "flagship" event while expressing reserved optimism for the upcoming changes.

New Euro Tour Chief Vows To Crack Down On Slow Play

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In contrast to Commissioner-Slow-Play-Penalties-Give-Me-The-Willies, new European Tour chief Keith Pelley has sought to differentiate himself by voicing his disdain for slow play. You may recall that Tim Finchem has openly suggested that actual enforcement of the rules (and leading to penalties) bugs him and he's also questioned the desire to play faster, citing in epic out-of-touch fashion how you don't want to play fast around Cypress, Augusta and Pine Valley. But Pelley? He's declaring a "personal war."

The Golf Paper's Adam Ellis reports.

Ironically, his announcement in Dubai yesterday came just 48 hours after an incident in the final hour of the BMW Masters in Shanghai, where Spain’s Sergio Garcia was involved in a 15-minute discussion with a referee over where he should drop his ball after hitting it into the lake beside the 18th green at Lake Malaren.

“Slow play drives me mad,” said Pelley.

“I have had the chance to talk to a number of players at all levels – the elite, the medium and low-ranked players – and one of the things that keeps coming up, and which we are going to address, is slow play.
“We are going to be the leaders in dealing with slow play.

“I cannot tell you what that means from a concrete perspective right now, but I have had significant dialogue with Martin Slumbers from The R&A, and they are in violent agreement that it is something we need to deal with.

Violent agreement! I guess that means you haven't brought up how the ball going too far leads to deadly backups.

There is a conference call next week with The R&A. We will participate in it and do this in cooperation.

“I can tell you that when we sit here next year we will have a completely different philosophy on slow play. Slow play is a critical part of our game and we will address it.”

Good luck with that, especially judging by the quotes of Martin Slumbers, new R&A head man, talking about the release of the R&A's report discussed in St. Andrews this week. From a report by Phil Goodlad & John Barnes, Slumbers talking:

"Maybe we need some marshals out on the course to help find balls," he added. "Maybe we need to play over shorter formats, nine-hole golf; playing off tees that are further forward, not cutting the rough as thick and deep as possible.

Not cutting the rough as thick and deep as possible? I don't even know where to begin with that, but I suspect explaining to him that rough is a product of offsetting modern distances might be lost on the R&A's head man?

"But the key thing is getting people aware and recognising that playing reasonably quickly and getting a move on isn't just good for their game but fair to everybody out on the course."

Enforce those time pars!

CEO Of Rory McIlroy: No More Mistakes, Next Decade Mine

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Rory McIlroy, CEO and Chairman of Rory McIlroy, Inc, reiterated after winning the Race To Dubai that he won't be making the same mistake with his empire going forward.

The fighting words have to be music to the ears of tour commissioners and fans who have suspected the CEO wasn't taking the job as seriously as he should have been. But a focused, no-more-kickabouterering McIlroy should put fear in his opponents.

Iain Carter reporting after McIlroy's win Sunday capped off a strange year marred ultimately by his soccer-injury prior to The Open.

"I had a big lead in the world rankings and you see Jordan and Jason play the way they did. Fields are so deep, you can't let up at all.

"Tagging along with that, you know, this is my time to capitalise on my career. The next 10, 15 years is my time.

"I really can't be doing silly things like playing football in the middle of the season to jeopardise even six months of my career. It's a big chunk where I could make some hay and win a major or two.

"I won't be making those mistakes again next year."

Someone learned his lesson! Look out world...

The European Tour posted this video from the week of Rory's pre-round approach.