"To outsiders this might seem like an esoteric point"

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Lawrence Donegan follows up on a story quietly emerging as a major headache for the PGA Tour, which already has enough problems to worry about. Regarding Phil Mickelson (oh and Vijay too...not that anyone cares) considering playing more in Europe, Donegan explains how this could play out after talking to Dubai Director of Golf Tourism and European Tour head George O'Grady:

In this instance O'Grady's reticence is understandable because there is one more hurdle to be negotiated before any American superstar will commit to playing more events under the European Tour banner. Mickelson aside, there are believed to be other members of US Ryder Cup team contemplating such a move, as well as the likes of Australians Geoff Ogilvy, the 2006 US Open champion, and Robert Allenby. But all are waiting for the outcome of next week's meeting in St Andrews of the European Tour's players committee, headed by Thomas Bjorn, in which a decision will be reached over the minimum number of tournaments required to gain Tour membership.

To outsiders this might seem like an esoteric point, but within the European Tour it is of historic significance. Currently, a player must compete in 11 events to qualify for membership but there is a strong push from the committee's members to have the minimum number of events increased to 13 in order to protect the interests of the rank and file, who play all of their golf under the banner of the European Tour.

Such self-interest is understandable but it threatens the Tour's prospects of attracting the likes of Mickelson and Vijay Singh, another who has expressed an interested in adding European Tour membership to his membership of the PGA Tour in the States.
Something to ponder here: the FedEx Cup has been a mess as a playoff but with the right adjustments could still work.  However, beyond points permutation debates, we're going to see more stories about its timing and the shortened season. No one seems to see an improvement in ending the PGA Tour season when the NFL and college football are just starting out. But more than that, the well-intentioned big fall opening to get golf off the radar screen seems to have strengthened the European Tour's prospects of drawing some of the marquee players listed above.

So in other words, the FedEx Cup concept may be viewed in upcoming media coverage as a failure all around, and a colossal one if it leads to even fewer PGA Tour appearances by name players. Of course, this is what the big names wanted and the Commissioner gave it to them. But at the expense of the PGA Tour's standing as the premier tour in the world?

Phil To Join Euro Tour? Allenby Fleeing To Get Away From PGA Tour Rough

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Lewine Mair (here) and Lawrence Donegan (here) play up the likelihood of Phil Mickelson becoming a European Tour member, and the chances of many more players playing less in the U.S.

The best part came from this Robert Allenby comment in both pieces, but elaborated on more in Donegan's piece:

But among those who have said they will play more on the European tour next year is Vijay Singh, and the Australian golfer Robert Allenby, ranked 33rd in the world, said yesterday that he was increasingly disillusioned with life on the PGA tour in the States.

"You'd be stupid not to join [the European tour]," he said. "Some tournaments over here get a bit monotonous, with the thick rough. I miss the fairway by two feet and I'm screwed. My body hasn't been handling it very well, particularly my tennis elbow. The other thing is to freshen my mind up."
And...
Allenby may be motivated in part by personal issues but he, like others, is responding to what is widely perceived to be a shift in the balance of power in golf from the PGA tour in the States towards the European tour.
And...
With the credit crunch affecting many American financial institutions the long-term prospects for sponsorship of golf in the US are gloomy, in stark contrast to the opportunities enjoyed by the European tour. The latter has a long tradition of staging events in the Middle East and Asia, where next year will see the start of the European tour's "Road to Dubai" series which culminates in an end-of-season tournament in the Emirates where the players will be competing for a $20m prize fund - the biggest in the history of the game.

Well there's one easy way for Tim Finchem to stop the bleeding pretty quickly here. Cut some rough!

"I always like, when we talk about changing things, drawing an analogy to Donald Ross and building Pinehurst No. 2."

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You know I always sensed Tim Finchem didn't have much of a feel for golf architecture, but when I finally got through his rambling press session from earlier this week, I have a new appreciation for his bizarre take on things.

On the state of the FedEx Cup:
I think it's important to recognize that we view the FedExCup competition as a big part of our future. We are committed to it; it's a long-term proposition. We're not going to get hung up at the start if we have to make a few changes the first few years. Who knows how many years we'll have to make changes until we're at a point where we're very, very comfortable.
I always like, when we talk about changing things, drawing an analogy to Donald Ross and building Pinehurst No. 2. He moved there, and I think he made 213 or 220 changes in the first 12 years of its existence. Sometimes to get perfection you have to keep working at it, and we intend to do that.
I've never known that someone was keeping track of Ross's changes! Maybe the contractor tracking change orders? Or perhaps someone knew it'd make for a killer FedEx Cup metaphor some day?
Before I throw it open to questions, let me briefly comment on five other items.
Okay...
First of all, I've been getting a lot of questions over the past months, and certainly in the last few weeks, on the economy. We are impacted by the economy and the economic challenges like everybody else. We have a lot of customers and sponsors in economic sectors that are impacted negatively by the volatility in the economy.
Thus far, we have not suffered any major damage. But clearly, if the instability were to continue for a sustained period of time, we will have real challenges. We are encouraged by the steps that are being taken, and we'll do everything we can to continue to drive value and communicate that invest in our sport with the hopes that we can get through this with very little damage.
The PGA Tour supports the bailout! If Congress only knew...

After a bunch of stuff on drug testing, this made no sense and I presume it's a transcription error.
Television ratings are awfully good this year.
Awfully, yes.
We attribute that largely to two things: missing our No. 1 player for two big chunks of the season, number one problem; number two problem, the Olympics during three weeks got higher ratings than normal. Tough competition and took away from our ratings a little bit.
Darn Olympics...yet another reason that...oh wait...
Next year our assumptions are based on, A, all of our players are going to be back, including our No. 1 player; and number two, we get to wait three more years for the Olympics.
You're getting your number one player for 15 events, maybe.
The other long-term issue on the Olympics is that of course if we are successful in having golf added as an Olympic sport or schedule tournaments around the Olympics, including some golf competition in the Olympics, which will change that dynamic somewhat.
See, if you add golf to the Olympics it can't hurt the ratings starting in 2016.

Seems the questioners are playing to the cameras. Or the transcripts?
Q. I don't know about everybody else, but I followed this as closely as anybody, and I couldn't follow the points system this year. I'm not sure Henry Paulson could have. I'm just curious if that's something that has been up for discussion, and is it going to be simpler or are we still going to be looking at Camilo Villegas trying to make a six-footer to try to get somebody else in the field?
COMMISSIONER FINCHEM: Well, I have a great answer for you. We have a book coming out, and it's called, FedExCup Points For Dummies (laughter).
Banging fist on desk here.
But the reality is the model we looked at -- seriously, the model we looked at was NASCAR. You know, some people say, You know, you can make it simpler by going back to the Money List.
Well, the Money List isn't any more simple than points, because you still have to analyze why one tournament generates this many points versus another tournament. The difference between money is you have a lot more fluctuation in dollars than you had points, so points we can control and focus on the Cup.
We like the points system. We're not sure many fans really care how many points a guy has. They want to see what relationship -- our research tells us in focus groups and polls is that fans want to see how -- you, know, what kind of lead Vijay has on Phil Mickelson. What's the spread? How can he win it back? What's at stake this week? That's most of it.
The PGA Tour ran the FedEx Cup by focus groups and this is what they came up with? Shocking.
Q. Two questions, please: One player just told me that this tournament has the wrong name. It's not the TOUR Championship, it's the FedEx Final, and that its name should be changed. Is that something you might consider?

COMMISSIONER FINCHEM: Yeah, I've heard that from a couple people over the last few months. We're going to -- we'll consider everything. I mean, to this gentleman's question, tying the branding and the nomenclature of what's happening in the playoffs to what the competition really is important. So we'll be looking at all avenues to get to a desired goal.
Isn't there a VP of Brand and Nomenclature Suturing to figure this out? The FedEx Cup Final Brought To You By Coca-Cola. Works for me. I'll just call it The Crosby anyway.
Q. Just one short follow-up. In the short-term what you're seeing cropping up in various places such as Atlanta, some problems with gas availability, I imagine that hurts on-site attendance and other ancillary services that you have going on.
COMMISSIONER FINCHEM: Yeah, we've noticed some softness in attendance.
Well that's why Cial...sorry, I promised no more erectile dysfunction jokes. Continue...
Even in markets where ticket sales are up, a little softness in the people that are coming out.
That's rude!
There's no science to this.
That's why they created Cial...
We don't have a lot of metrics. Anecdotally our tournaments are telling us that some people are buying a week pass, they usually come out three days and they're coming out one or two days and it's because of gas. People are just driving less.
It hasn't really been that noticeable. And like I said, it's not huge on admissions at this point. But we have noticed that in some markets. It's an interesting phenomenon. I don't know where that goes in the long-term, but it's not a good thing, gas prices.

You know, I think that's the least of the PGA Tour's concerns.

"Basically, if your commercials air during golf tournaments, you're done."

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I admire Jim Gorant's optimism about the financial meltdown's impact on pro golf, but it seems a little early to say how this will play out.

Amy Poehler finished up a routine about the Wall Street meltdown on last week's Saturday Night Live by saying, "Basically, if your commercials air during golf tournaments, you're done." Funny, and seemingly true, since 26 banks, brokerage houses and insurance companies have their names attached to PGA, Champions and Nationwide tour events, and even more advertise during tournaments. The list includes AIG, Merrill Lynch, which was acquired by Bank of America (also a sponsor), and the troubled banks Northern Trust and Wachovia, the latter of which considered a merger with the Memorial's presenting sponsor, Morgan Stanley.
But not all is necessarily as it appears. "Competitors of those troubled giants like AIG and Merrill Lynch have every reason to pump up ad spending to steal away customers," Media Life magazine reported last week. "And of course the new owners of these institutions will want to up spending to repair what damage they can." To that point, Golf Channel president Page Thompson says, "At this time we have not seen any negative impact on either this year's sales or on future advertising plans."

"We have had a continual dialogue with the Tour for around six months."

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Garry Smits gets the impression that a new PGA Tour event on Sea Island is almost a done deal.

Eric Schneider, Sea Island director of golf, told the Times-Union on Tuesday that the resort is in discussions with the Tour to add the event as a replacement for the Valero Texas Open, which will move to the spring next year.

This year's Texas Open is scheduled for Oct. 9-12.

Schneider said an announcement could be made "as early as two weeks from now."

"It's under consideration," Schneider said. "We have had a continual dialogue with the Tour for around six months."

"He is sending the tour a letter formally requesting the use of a golf cart, as Casey Martin did."

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Jim Moriarty in the new Golf World files a must read profile on Erik Compton and his amazing story. Though I was surprised this was buried near the end, because it seems like we're headed for a controversy if the PGA Tour is as stubborn as it was with Casey Martin:

He is even thinking about the first stage of PGA Tour Qualifying School. "I know when I return to golf, it's not going to be the same as it was. People are going to be looking at me like I'm some kind of bionic guy," he says. Now, the first week of September, not even a full year after his near-fatal heart attack, Compton is already practicing, trying to recover his game. He has sent his application for Q school. Fortunately for him, the first stage is in Florida.

"You have to do something good again to get back into the game," he says. "Nobody's going to hand me anything. I'm going to have to go out and work and get good again, get my body in shape, and that's going to take some time, for sure."

At this point Compton doesn't know what his limitations will be. While his golf swing has returned, his stamina hasn't. At the suggestion of his doctors, he is sending the tour a letter formally requesting the use of a golf cart, as Casey Martin did. And, of course, passing one of the tour's new drug tests would be an utter impossibility. So much remains unknowable.

"We've got the best product with a world presence, but we can make it better instead of waiting for it to be fixed."

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Jim McCabe offers this from Deutsche Bank CEO Seth Waugh:

Waugh's assessment of what the economic climate means for the PGA Tour and the FedEx Cup in particular: "The good news is, the deals for four- to six-years are signed. I'm a little more optimistic that we'll get through this, but if the contracts were not signed and were up, you'd lose a lot of folks. We've got the best product with a world presence, but we can make it better instead of waiting for it to be fixed."

Considering he's a student of the game and a shrewd guy, wouldn't you love to know what exactly he'd like to see fixed?

"That's approximately 40 percent of the primary-event sponsors."

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Thanks to reader Steven T. for Bill Huffman's look at the struggles of FBR, title sponsor for the PGA Tour's Scottsdale stop. Huffman leads with this:

With America's financial sector struggling mightily, it is significant to note that 15 of 37 PGA Tour regular-season events - major championships and fall season excluded - are sponsored by banks or investment firms.
That's approximately 40 percent of the primary-event sponsors. 

And this is not good for an overpaid VP who wants to be the next severely overpaid Commish:

Rick George, the executive vice president and chief of operations for the PGA Tour, responded: "We're planning to have another great FBR Open again next year."
Asked if the PGA Tour was aware of FBR's financial struggles, George, who took over his new duties just a few months ago, said: "No, I'm not in tune with that."

"Athletes screening their urine for steroids are more than likely doing so to monitor their use of steroids."

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Thanks to reader Tony for this Andy Martino story from the New York Daily News that takes a much tougher look at the PGA Tour's testing procedure than any I've read.

A couple of highlights, starting with this from the PGA Tour's Ty Votaw.

Asked why golfers would be less prone to temptation than athletes in other sports, Votaw cites etiquette. "We think the culture of our sport is such that if a rule exists it is adhered to," he says. "It is a culture that has served us very well - athletes who call penalties on themselves, etc. Other sports don't have that same sort of cultural value system."
And that's why the product delivers such value. A core values and skill set mention would have been nice Ty.

Okay, here's the part that's going to ruffle some feathers.
While some players are applying for exemptions, one big name seems eager to prove he is clean. Tiger Woods said Monday that he had himself tested twice in the last six months to make sure that his nutritional supplements were free of banned substances. Woods did not say when or in what lab the testing took place. But BALCO founder Victor Conte is skeptical that an athlete would feel concerned enough about his or her nutritional program to conduct a self-test.

Hey, the man does know a thing or two about cheating! Sorry, continue...

"Most nutritional supplements have a two-year expiration date," says Conte, who says he has no knowledge of Woods' nutritional program or his self-tests and is speaking in general terms, "so there are far less contaminated supplements on the market at this time. It seems that it is now more likely that athletes screening their urine samples for steroids ... would be doing so to confirm that the steroids they previously used had cleared their system. Athletes screening their urine for steroids are more than likely doing so to monitor their use of steroids."

And there's this from Dr. Gary Wadler of the WADA:

For example, the drug salbutamol, found in asthma inhalers, is anabolic and can build muscle. Salbutamol is banned in the Olympics, but allowed in golf. Also, though human growth hormone is prohibited, neither tour administers the blood tests that would possibly detect it. All 33 WADA labs worldwide test for HGH, although the efficacy of the tests are in question.

Wadler also takes issue with the language used to describe the testing process. The PGA Tour manual says: "Once notified, you should report to the designated testing area as soon as possible. The collector may allow you to delay reporting ... however, you may be monitored."

"What do you mean, 'should' and 'may?'" asks Wadler. "These things have to be required. What if the player goes to the bathroom after being told to report? That's no good."

The soft language continues in the manual's section on penalties. The PGA Tour policy states: "Sanctions may include disqualification, forfeiture of prize money/points and other awards, ineligibility, and fines. Sanctions for drugs of abuse (marijuana, cocaine, etc.) ... may include rehabilitation or medical treatment."

In other words, the word "may" - rather than the more definitive "will" - opens a window for Finchem to exercise his own judgment about sanctions if a player tests positive. The policy later defines specific penalties for first, second and third violations, though once again under the heading "sanctions on the players may include."

Hey, just looking out for the product!

In terms of public disclosure, the policy states that "the PGA Tour will, at a minimum, publish the name of the player, the anti-doping rule violation, and the sanction imposed" - a statement that is contingent on Finchem having sanctioned a player in the first place. Clearly, if a star player were to test positive for steroids, that player "may" face a punishment and public embarrassment - or he may not. Wadler also points out that amphetamines, commonly used as performance enhancers, are classified under the tour's policy as drugs of abuse, meaning that players, if caught using these PEDs, could be quietly sent to rehab. All of these shortcomings, Wadler says, could be cleared up if both professional golf tours would cede control of their programs to WADA.

"I want our golf tournament to be there for perpetuity"

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I don't! And I suspect a number of players with more discerning taste would agree. From Doug Ferguson's weekly notes:

The board of directors at Congressional Country Club has recommended a three-year contract to host the AT&T National starting in 2012, with an option for three more years that will take it to 2017, The Washington Post reported.

It still requires approval from the full membership, but tournament host Tiger Woods liked the development.

"I want our golf tournament to be there for perpetuity," Woods said. "It is an unbelievable golf course, and in our nation's capitol, on our nation's birthday. The stars couldn't get aligned even more than what it is. Hopefully, we can keep it there."

"Tax Exemptions of Charities Face New Challenges"

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The New York Times led Monday's edition with this Stephanie Strom story on tax-exempt non-profits facing greater scrutiny all over the country. There was no mention of the USGA or PGA Tour, but I suspect they noticed the story in Far Hills and Ponte Vedra.

Authorities from the local tax assessor to members of Congress are increasingly challenging the tax-exempt status of nonprofit institutions — ranging from small group homes to wealthy universities — questioning whether they deserve special treatment.

One issue is the growing confusion over what constitutes a charity at a time when nonprofit groups look more like businesses, charging fees and selling products and services to raise money, and state and local governments are under financial pressure because of lower tax revenues.

 

"TPC Potomac At Avenel Farms" Update

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PH2008052602274.jpgLeonard Shapiro pens an update on the rebranded, rebuilt and re-something'd TPC Potomac at Avenel Farms.

PGA Tour officials say they are putting no pressure on Woods to hold his tournament at their golf course, which is scheduled to reopen in November with a new look as well as a new name, TPC Potomac at Avenel Farms. But after investing so much in the renovation, the tour clearly has high-level tournament golf very much in mind.

According to sources granted anonymity because no plans have been set, the tour also is exploring the possibility of conducting the Senior Players Championship, one of four majors on the Champions Tour, at the newly configured course.

Hey, aren't there five senior majors? Or is it six?

That tournament, usually scheduled in the fall, has a contract to play at Baltimore Country Club/Five Farms in Timonium, Md., through 2010, about the same time TPC Potomac should have matured enough for tournament play. But the tour knows a senior major championship in the nation's capital likely would draw bigger crowds and more media coverage.
Massive crowds! 
David Pillsbury, president of PGA Tour Golf Properties, said that neither he nor the tour is focused on the possibility of Woods's tournament, or any other event, being played at the newly upgraded course.

"We know we're not the ones who will say this is now an 'A' facility," Pillsbury said. "It's not for us to say. It's the players who will tell us. We've tried to take this piece of land and make the best possible golf course we can build and let the golfers decide and tell us how we did. At the end of the day, we'll let the course speak for itself."

I'm disappointed David, I had my MBA bingo board ready to go.

The tour officially will announce the facility's name change this week, emphasizing a new beginning for a previously maligned venue.

Oh good, a press release explaining the rebranding of a once-hated TPC. That's a doublespeak special. I spoke too soon.