PGA Tour Joins Facebook!

It's great to see the PGA Tour trying to tap a younger audience since they typically resist such pandering (see Ty, I listen!).

Yet the gang in Ponte Vedra couldn't resist opening themselves up to the privacy-violating social network du jour, Facebook. And you can just see the kids swooning with an opening page self-explanation like this:

The mission of the PGA TOUR is to expand domestically and internationally to substantially increase player financial benefits while maintaining its commitment to the integrity of the game. In addition to providing competitive opportunities for its membership, PGA TOUR events also generate revenue for charitable causes in their communities.

That ought to have the friend requests coming in drives.

But you have to love the discreet use of Tiger's image on their homepage:

 

"We’re the electives. And there are lot more requirements now.”

Doug Ferguson looks at Tiger Woods' increasingly picky schedule and features this epic quote from Wachovia Championship tournament director Kym Hougham on the impact of Woods essentially locked in to the majors, three WGCs, three or four (!?) playoff events and The Players Championship The PLAYERS:

“It’s a dwindling opportunity because of the majors, the WGCs, and now the playoffs,” Hougham said. “It’s like in college, when you have requirements and electives. We’re the electives. And there are lot more requirements now.”

PGA Tour Finds Isenhour "Incident Regrettable and Unfortunate"

Not much grey area here...

Statement from Ty Votaw, PGA TOUR Executive Vice President

We  are aware of the incident involving Tripp Isenhour at the Grand Cypress Golf Club in Orlando  last December that resulted in the death of a protected migratory  hawk.  Obviously, any set of facts which involve an individual  hitting a golf ball at a living target is clearly inappropriate behavior.

Tripp has publicly apologized and has expressed remorse and regret about his actions. We find this entire incident regrettable and unfortunate.

"He won't even go over there and look at it. I don't think he wants to play there."

Leonard Shapiro says the folks at Congressional don't want to see Tiger's AT&T National anywhere near Washington in 2010 or 2011 so they can sell those corporate chalets for the US Open. Oh but Ponte Vedra thinks otherwise...

Another Congressional source indicated the PGA Tour still would like to persuade the Woods Foundation to play the event in 2010 and 2011 at newly renovated TPC Avenel, about a mile from Congressional. The club is owned by the tour and had been the site for Washington's annual tour event since 1987, when the course first opened for play. Avenel is undergoing a $24 million course and clubhouse renovation scheduled to be completed in November.

Something tells me the USGA was on the phone to the club after word got out they were using the 2009 AT&T to pay for the greens reconstruction. And you wonder why they went to Chambers Bay?

They're upbeat at Avenel:

"It's going to be a lot different golf course for the pros," said Mike Sullivan, Avenel's general manager. "It would be ideal for us to have the [Woods] tournament here; we'd love to have it. All we can do is prepare and be ready."

Another Congressional source said Woods, who has not played in a PGA Tour event at Avenel, has heard so many negative comments about the course, "he won't even go over there and look at it. I don't think he wants to play there."

Sullivan confirmed Woods has never visited Avenel but said: "Maybe once we get some grass on it, we can persuade him to take a ride around here. It might change his perception."

Key word: might. 

“We don’t need to grow for growth’s sake, only if it’s good for the portfolio and the brand.”

Gene Yasuda and Scott Hamilton look for an explanation about the recent TPC naming deal to the game's master of inane doublespeak (is that repetitive?), the PGA Tour's David Pillsbury:

“Every TPC we will do going forward is either built or operated with the idea that ultimately it’s going to host competitive golf on one of (our) three tours,” Pillsbury said. “That’s the core purpose of the brand.”

That's good to know what the core purpose is. 

The AT&T contract complements the Tour’s recent mission to upgrade its TPC network. According to Pillsbury, typical naming-rights deals will run for five to 10 years. The majority of the proceeds will be earmarked to improve the sponsor’s property, but some funds may be allocated to aid other facilities within the TPC network.

 Is that a nice way of saying to redo the other dogs in the network?

The Tour owns 17 TPC locations and is developing three others: San Antonio, TPC Treviso Bay in Naples, Fla., and TPC Cancun in Cancun, Mexico.

“We’re focused on growing with the right assets,” Pillsbury said. “We don’t need to grow for growth’s sake, only if it’s good for the portfolio and the brand.”

And don't forget the share price! 

The Demise Of The Florida Swing?

It's about to come out of the words of some writer any day now, because Lord knows they won't want to give the West Coast any credit.

Bob Harig got close in this story revealing a switch of dates again in 2009, with Bay Hill set to get the last spot for reasons unknown.

Florida has seen some dramatic change in recent years. From 1987 through 2006, the order of the four tournaments was exactly the same: The Doral event in Miami, followed by the Honda Classic in the Fort Lauderdale area, Bay Hill and then the Players Championship at PGA Tour headquarters in Ponte Vedra Beach.

For years, the Florida Swing was viewed by many as the unofficial start to the season. Many of the international players skipped the West Coast events and began their seasons at Doral, which gave them a month of warm-weather events to get ready for the Masters.

But the advent of the World Golf Championship events -- specifically the Match Play Championship -- a decade ago began a change in player habits. And when the tour revamped its entire schedule in 2007, moving the Players Championship from March to May, it created an opening in Florida and shuffling of tournaments.

Then again Alan Shipnuck, in reviewing the West Coast swing, says Tiger only making two appearances is devaluing its place.

True, but what would you rather watch or play (block out The Classic Club for a moment): Kapalua, TPC Scottsdale, Torrey Pines, Pebble Beach and Riviera, or PGA National, Innisbrook, Bay Hill and Doral?

In case you forgot how dreadful PGA National is, Daniel Wexler posts his weekly preview and aerial photo link. 

Policy Board Sides With "Under" Bettors On Cuts Policy, "Over" Takers On Playoff Points Fare Well Too

Strap in, here comes the spin...

PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem said, “As we have previously discussed, we feel that the FedExCup in its inaugural year was very successful, and we did not feel the need to make significant changes to its essential structure. But because of significant feedback from players and fans asking for more volatility and an increase in the number of players in the hunt at THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola, we are making two adjustments that we feel will result in an even higher level of fan excitement and interest as we move into and through the Playoffs.”

You'll be shocked to know they did not take my advice, but instead, are just adding to the points permutation tedium for another year:

A narrowing of the gap between players’ point totals at the reset going into the Playoffs.  For example, the gap between the 1st and 2nd ranked players was 1,000 points at the reset last year.  That gap has been reduced to 500 points this year, with similar reductions being made all the way down to 144th place. (See Attachment for specifics).

The number of FedExCup points available at Playoff events has been increased by 2,000 additional points per finish position.  For example, a 3rd place finish was worth 3,400 points in 2007; it is now worth 5,400 points.  In essence, players who play well will move up more dramatically than in 2007.  (See Atttachment for specifics. Note: For rounding purposes, the points increases at THE TOUR Championship will differ slightly from the first three Playoff events).

And this means?

The effect of these two changes will be some improvement in a player’s ability to make substantial gains in overall position based on excellent play in the Playoffs, while also increasing the number of players who will have a shot at winning the FedExCup.

If these two changes had been in place for the 2007 Playoffs, for example, the effect would have been to increase from six to 12 the number of players with a mathematical chance of winning the FedExCup, and instead of only four players with a realistic chance of winning, there would have been six.

Well, at least they confirmed that only four had a chance of winning last year.

And now for the new cut policy:

Under the amended regulation, the starting field will still be reduced to the lowest 70 professionals and ties after 36 holes.  However, should the 36-hole cut total more than 78 professionals, there will be a second cut to the lowest 70 professionals plus ties at the conclusion of 54 holes of tournament play.  Players not advancing to the final round of play will receive their appropriate share of the official prize money in accordance with their respective positions.  The change is effective immediately, beginning with this week’s Honda Classic.

In other news...

An increase in the field size at the Memorial Tournament from 105 players to 120, in keeping with the Board’s intent to stage all invitational events with a field size of no less than 120 players. The change is effective with the 2008 event.

And...

Following two additional years (2008 and 2009) at Grayhawk Golf Club’s Raptor Course, The Fry’s Electronics Open will move in 2010 to the Fry’s Electronics-owned course called The Institute, located near San Jose, California. Upon its move to The Institute, the event will be renamed The Institute Championship and will become an invitational event with a 120 player field.

And invitational in the fall? Hmmm...interesting.

And should someone decide to take out Stephen Ames if he dares to win again...

The LG Skins Game eligibility has been slightly modified to address a situation where the defending champion or leading money winner is unable to participate. Under the new regulation, a floor of 5th place on the prior year money list has been implemented, and if a player among the top 5 places on the money list is not available to complete the field, the field will then be completed with an additional player of the host organization’s choosing.

"The problem is with the Ping lawsuit, everybody is scared."

Craig Dolch looks at the demise of shotmaking and talks to players who offer several different takes, including this from Tom Pernice:

Purists believe that the USGA has dropped the ball, so to speak, and the only way for shotmaking to become the premium it should be is for the PGA Tour to implement its own set of rules in terms of grooves.

"I personally think the tour should step in, but Tim (Finchem, the PGA Tour commissioner) is never going to go that way," tour pro Tom Pernice Jr. said. "Tim is going to do everything to be as non-confrontational as possible as commissioner.

"That's just his personality. Is that good or bad? Who knows? But almost every other sports organization has their own set of rules instead of us. The problem is with the Ping lawsuit, everybody is scared."

Pernice is correct: Finchem, when asked at last month's Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines, made it clear he and the tour are not ready to implement its own set of rules. He says they will continue to monitor the situation, but believes the USGA and the R&A are the ones to make the rules - something he's been stressing for more than five years.

"There seems to be a slippage in recent years in that area," Finchem said of shotmaking. "You could interpret the data different ways. But we have taken the position that the USGA and the R&A should take the lead in that area and we should be in a supportive role."

I can't imagine why Finchem would want to stay out of the rule making business. It only lead to his predecessor's demise.

Close Encounter of the Congressional Kind?

Thanks tor reader Ari for the Leonard Shapiro Washington Post story on Congressional agreeing to host the 2009 AT&T National.

Congressional also is the site for the 2011 U.S. Open, and club and USGA officials plan a major restoration of the club's greens to make them suitable for Open play. The project will begin after Woods's tournament in 2009 and is expected to be completed by the spring of 2010.

The club plans to use the proceeds from the 2009 AT&T event to help pay for the restoration, estimated to cost about $2.5 million. The Tiger Woods Foundation also has pledged $500,000 toward the green restoration project.

Isn't that cutting it a bit close to the U.S. Open? Considering the problems they had with the greens last time, I'm amazed the USGA would sign off on such a short window between seeding greens and the tournament.

Shark: I Still Don't Like What Tim's Done With My Idea

Mark Lamport Stokes reports that like just about everyone else on the planet, Greg Norman isn't too wild about the direction the WGC events have headed.

"I am very disappointed with it," Australian Norman, 52, told reporters during preparations for Thursday's opening round at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

"I felt that the whole concept was a fair concept. It obviously was, or it wouldn't have been picked up and run with on another level.

"At the end of the day, my priority is the game of golf and hopefully we'll be able to get a true World Tour one day because then we can all share.

"Golf is a truly international game and we've been represented by great players on just about every continent on this planet," added Norman, who was a leading proponent of a global golf tour in the early 1990s.

"I always wanted to make sure that the general public and the other 24 million golfers had an opportunity to see the best players in certain locations around the world.

"We play all over the world, so it (a World Tour) does fit, it really does."

And hard to disagree with this as well... 

"There's a new direction on the European Tour where they actually start thinking about doing a global approach to the game to have an ultimate goal, which is the Road to Dubai."

"AT&T Oaks and AT&T Canyons Courses to Open with JW Marriott Resort in 2010"

To call this the tackiest thing the PGA Tour has ever done would not be a stretch...

AT&T TO BE NAMING RIGHTS SPONSOR OF TPC SAN ANTONIO GOLF COURSES

AT&T Oaks and AT&T Canyons Courses to Open with JW Marriott Resort in 2010

SAN ANTONIO, Feb. 4, 2008 — The PGA TOUR and AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) today announced that AT&T will be the naming rights sponsor of the two new TPC golf courses, which are located at the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort and Spa.

The long-term sponsorship agreement will incorporate AT&T into the names of the courses at TPC San Antonio. The courses will be known as the AT&T Oaks Course (designed by Greg Norman, with player consultant Sergio Garcia) and the AT&T Canyons Course (designed by Pete Dye, with player consultant Bruce Lietzke). The golf courses and the adjacent 1,002-room JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort and Spa are schedule to open in early 2010.

Let the quote pile-on begin...

“AT&T is pleased to associate our brand with these courses,” said Cathy Coughlin, AT&T Senior Executive Vice President and Global Marketing officer. “We also look forward to working with the PGA TOUR, TPC San Antonio and JW Marriott to assure that the golfers and resort guests enjoy access to the latest AT&T broadband, voice and video services.”

Yep, that's why you go to play a golf course. Good broadband connection.

The adjacent residential development, Cibolo Canyons, already is an AT&T Connected Community. Details of specific applications to be made available at the resort and golf facility will be available closer to opening.

Just as soon as we figure out what that means.

“AT&T, a long-standing partner of the PGA TOUR, has been a tremendous supporter of this exciting project and has played an important role in bringing the TOUR and TPC brand into the fold,” said David Pillsbury, President of PGA TOUR Golf Course Properties, which oversees the TOUR’s network of 25 TPCs. “Through its brand and technology, AT&T will very much be at the forefront of creating a unique, world-class golf experience at TPC San Antonio. We’re very excited to work with AT&T at TPC San Antonio.”

Nice, could have been a bit more succinct and dropped at least on platform, so we'll give you a 7 David.

"AT&T played an integral role in making the TPC development at Cibolo Canyons possible," said Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff. "We are grateful to be home to one of the world's most environmentally friendly golf course development projects, and we congratulate AT&T and the PGA TOUR on the naming rights announcement."

Wait, there's another...

"We are excited that AT&T and the PGATOUR created this sponsorship and we are pleased to have AT&T as a partner in this quality development," added Jim Miller, President of Miller Global Properties.  Miller Global is the developer of the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort and Spa, which will be owned by Miller Global in partnership with Principal Real Estate Partners.

TPC San Antonio will feature 36 holes of golf on 2,800 acres of contrasting topography.  Norman’s AT&T Oaks Course will feature rolling terrain and majestic native oak trees. Dye’s AT&T Canyons Course will showcase dramatic elevation changes with beautiful views of the surrounding AT&T Texas Hill Country.

Just slipped that last one in to see if you were still reading.

Finchem Gets Big Raise In '06

Jon Show in the Sports Business Journal manages to get ahold of the latest Form 990 showing PGA Tour salaries for 2006.

Tim Finchem earned $5.2 million in salary and bonuses in 2006 as commissioner of the PGA Tour, an increase of $1 million from the $4.2 million he earned in 2005.

Well, cost of living is going up in Jacksonville...and wherever else he's got a second home.

Show also gets into the PGA Tour "Holdings" racket structure.

Without commenting directly on Finchem’s compensation, Ron Price, CFO of the PGA Tour, said executive compensation tied to PGA Tour Holdings varies depending on responsibilities within the subsidiary. “We look at how individuals actually spend their time during the year and come up with an allocation to Holdings,” he said.

Both entities pay most top executives a salary, annual and long-term incentive bonuses, and benefits payable after retirement. Bonuses are based equally on the performance of the company and individual performance, such as whether an employee met both financial and nonfinancial goals.

Finchem’s $3.9 million income from PGA Tour Inc. consisted of $922,500 in salary and nearly $3 million in incentive bonuses. The organization paid him $3.16 million in 2005 and $3.05 million in 2004.

Another $1.3 million of Finchem’s pay in 2006 was paid by PGA Tour Holdings, including salary, incentive bonuses and deferred compensation. PGA Tour Holdings paid Finchem $1 million in each of the previous two years.

The piece also lists these salaries and benefits and benefits payable after retirement: 

Tim Finchem Commissioner $5,222,240   $38,635  $1,018,016
Charlie Zink EVP, co-COO $1,308,162   $28,869   $189,334
Ed Moorhouse  EVP, co-COO  $1,308,144  $22,266  $202,490
Ron Price EVP, CFO $908,554  $22,686 $55,948
Tom Wade  EVP, CMO  $899,795  $25,284  $25,000
Henry Hughes  EVP, chief of operations  $621,195  $24,018 $23,400
Richard George President, Champions Tour; EVP, champ. mngt. $531,050 $17,501 $11,000
Bill Calfee President, Nationwide Tour $527,098 $20,545 $18,806
Richard Anderson EVP, chief legal officer $508,395 $16,648 $11,000
Bob Combs* SVP, public relations and communications  $372,494 $15,674 $13,053
Ty Votaw**  EVP, communications and international affairs $266,346  $8,470   $11,000

I'm running to catch a plane, but if anyone bored with a calculator would like to tally up that sum, it would be nice to know! 

Ames, Ogilvie Blast Commissioner's Absence

Doug Ferguson reports on the only exciting thing to happen during day one of the Mercedes Championship.

"It's the opening of the year, this is important," Stephen Ames of Calgary said after completing the first round of the year at 1-under 72. "I think he should be here.

"He's here at the end. Is this any different? It should be the same."

Is that any way for a former Players Champion to treat a Commissioner?

Finchem doesn't travel to every tournament, and he isn't always at Kapalua for the first event of the year. PGA Tour spokesman Bob Combs said the commissioner was at the Mercedes the last two years and "will be attending again."

"It was a combination of business commitments and trying to manage a very challenging travel schedule over the course of a full season," Combs said of his absence.

Well that makes sen...oh wait.

More troubling to Joe Ogilvie, a member of the PGA Tour policy board, was not seeing any member of the tour's executive staff at Kapalua for the first shot, the first round, the first tournament.

"I'm pretty disappointed there's no senior staff from the PGA Tour here on opening day," Ogilvie said before adding a heavy dose of sarcasm. "Of course, when you shut down your offices from the 21st of December to the second of January . . . I don't know of a $1-billion company that does that. It's puzzling."

Well, it is a non-profit, Joe.

"I think it does (send the wrong message) when you've got four of the top 10 not here at a marquee event," Ogilvie said. "It seems to be common sense to me.

"The tour tells the players, you have to be there for the first tournament, but there's no senior staff. If I was commissioner, I'd be here."

"Woods either uses things as motivation to take his seemingly indestructible golf game to higher levels or simply blocks them out of his mind."*

Yahoo!'s Martin Rogers is the only scribe (golf.com's Michael Walker also weighed in*) to cover the odd events at Tiger's Tuesday press conference, but he draws a much different conclusion from the incident than I have.

Despite the intrusion of a rogue television crew from a British dating program that tried to embarrass the world's No. 1, there was not a crack in his professional demeanor or a flicker of annoyance.

"Hi Tiger, my boyfriend is a big fan of yours, but he often calls your name out during sex," squealed a pile of mascara and cleavage from the third row. "Do you think he might be gay?"

"That's a very interesting question," replied Woods.

The conversation continued, with the woman making a suggestive comment about a golf club – too lewd for this online publication – and Woods giving a neutral answer.

"I think I should dump him and get back with my ex," the woman said of her "boyfriend" toward the end of her routine.

"I guess you have to figure that out," Woods said.

"I think I should meet someone new. Do you think I should join a dating Web site?"

With that, the woman and her camera crew were ordered to leave by tournament staff.

Immediately, the event's PR crew started fretting as to how annoyed Woods would have been by the exchange and how it might affect him.

Somehow, I don't think they need to worry.

Woods either uses things as motivation to take his seemingly indestructible golf game to higher levels or simply blocks them out of his mind. If more than a decade's worth of the best golfers in the world have failed to shake him out of his stride it will take more than a Spice Girl wannabe and her misguided humor to throw him off.

After sleeping on it, I'm of the school that this incident needs to be examined by the PGA Tour quite carefully. The AP's Doug Ferguson has noted for some time that these meet-and-greet sessions with Tiger are out of control. If I'm Tiger or his agent, I would have to see Tuesday's incident as more than just an annoying little incident, but instead as a serious security issue.

He certainly can handle a heckler better than just about anyone. But what if one of these mysterious TV types that now get access to press conferences so that the PGA Tour can reach out to the coveted youth demo included someone who wanted to do physical harm?

"For some reason, the tour keeps eliminating Q-school spots."

Buried on page 4 of the designed-to-generate-page-views setup of Steve Elling's latest Knockdown Shots, was this  item:

News item: All precincts have reported and the toll at the polls can be tallied. A whopping 14 of the 25 Nationwide players who will receive promotions to the PGA Tour for 2008 have previously played in the major leagues. Conversely, of the 26 who navigated though Q-school to land their cards, 15 will qualify as big-league rookies.

Knockdown shot: For some reason, the tour keeps eliminating Q-school spots. This year the number of cards was pared from 30 to the low 25 and ties. Why, for heaven's sake? Players like Gainey (a former furniture mover and assembly-line worker), Yong-Eun Yang (who beat Woods in China last year), Cody Freeman (an insurance salesman) and Bob Sowards (a club pro) are interesting folks and represent the American ideal, even if Q-schoolers do often struggle to retain their cards. Note to Ponte Vedra: From a storytelling perspective, rookies trump retreads nearly every time.

I will never understand why our friends in Ponte Vedra continue to eliminate the chances for those potentially outstanding stories that make golf so unique. And not just on the PGA Tour, but also the Champions where I'd sure rather hear about a Jim Albus or Tom Wargo than some Tour player who was boring in his prime, is just as boring now and who doesn't need the money.