Compliment Rescinded: Liberty National Is Back!
/For Immediate Locker Room Grumbling...
Read MoreWhen you come to think of it that is the secret of most of the great holes all over the world. They all have some kind of a twist. C.B. MACDONALD
Shock: 21 Of Top 40 Executive Golf Salaries Based In Ponte Vedra
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Alan Pittman's annual Golf Digest look at executive salaries in golf really is a thing to behold. Those 21 PGA Tour execs account for a staggering $19,727,308 in pay, and that's not including the $1.3 million from three World Golf Foundation incomes.Bethpage Lands 2012, '16 Barclays Events?
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Mark Herrmann and Yancey Roy break the story, and because it's behind a pay wall we'll defer to Brendan Prunty for the detail that most people are wondering about: the relationship with the USGA.Rory: My Win Not As Impressive As Tiger In 2000
/Chris Fedor with a nice summary of Rory's appearance on the Dan Patrick Show that has been talked about quite a bit by those who heard it. On whether if he thinks his performance at the U.S. Open was as good as Tiger’s in 2000:
Who Says The PGA Tour Isn't Progressive? "MATCHUPS" Debuts
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I shudder to think how many meetings the underlings conducted with the fuddy-duddies at the top of the PGA Tour BMW 7 Series chain to convince them that this social media thing combined with the gambling thing can draw Americans to certain sports (eh, the NFL).
Anyway, somehow the fun-lovers in Ponte Vedra emerged victorious and this week the PGA Tour debuts Matchups, what I think could be a very positive move in the direction of making the tour more interactive and fun each week. Only quibble: as with their fantasy league excursions, the prizes are still a little underwhelming, but this is a solid start.
I've entered and also started a group under the highly original title, GeoffShackelford.com.
I found the interface and sign up very easy, so if you're on Facebook, join in and let's test this thing out!
"The obvious question is: What the hell has happened to American golf?"
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There are a couple of good reads today about the continued decline of American performances at majors following the U.S. Open where Kevin Chappell and Robert Garrigus were the low Yanks (though it should be noted that Chappell, a former NCAA champion, playing his first U.S. Open finished T-3).'12 Tournament Of Champions To End On Monday
/Sean Martin with the news that sounds like it was as much a product of the PGA Tour making a wise move as NBC promising to plug the event during its wild card NFL coverage.
Read More"I don't remember fist-pumping on Tuesday very often."
/Doug Ferguson files an unusually long but well-worth-it look at Phil Mickelson's urge for players to play more practice round money games with match play events in mind. Fergie'd win a GWAA award for this one if just one of the players involved had a minor disease.
Read More“What you’re seeing is that sports are becoming more relevant to more people.”
/SBJ's John Ourand asks how high rights fees can go after another stellar Olympic rights battle and recent deals with college conferences, but does not mention the PGA Tour other than a chart valuing the average annual value of the PGA Tour television contract at $491.7 million.
“The market is very, very robust,” said CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus. “Each of the parties that’s spending this money must be figuring out a way to justify the rights that they are paying.”
The huge increases may have the feel of a market bubble, having grown so much in such a short amount of time. But veteran sports media executives believe the prices accurately reflect the value of the rights and have room to grow.
“Have sports rights peaked? I don’t think they have,” said NHL Chief Operating Officer John Collins. “What you’re seeing is that sports are becoming more relevant to more people.”
And it's all about cable.
Cable TV channels view sports programming as the easiest way to increase ratings and the license fees that distributors pay. Today, several cable networks actively are trying to add sports to their schedules, which, sports media executives say, is the main reason why media rights fees are rising so quickly.
Comcast wants more sports on Versus. Fox is putting more sports on FX. Turner is trying to build up truTV’s sports assets. And, of course, ESPN needs reams of sports content for its multiple TV channels, broadband platforms and mobile applications.
And great news for the PGA Tour, they...oh wait, what? Oh that's right they're locked into Golf Channel exclusively over 15 years, unless NBC wants to re-write the deal and throw some programming to Versus.
PGA Tour Looking At Creating South American Tour
/When I read Doug Ferguson's description of what would possibly be an Olympic-inspired Nationwide feeder Tour to grow the game in South America it's hard not to wonder...ah I'll let you read it first.
Read More“Liberty is not a lady that’s just going to say, ‘Just take me when you want.' You’ve got to work for it.”
/Bloomberg's Mason Levinson profiles Paul Fireman, founder of the $250 million Liberty National where they are pining to return to the PGA Tour's Barclay Classic rota. To get the event back, they've made changes to the dreaded links.
Read More"Our players are going to have to get used to, or better, learn to like, playing overseas."
/A somewhat revealing comment from PGA Tour VP Ty Votaw in John Paul Newport's Saturday column asking whether American's should be playing around the world more:
Read MoreAnother NBC Departure; Tour TV Negotiation Underway?
/John Ourand reports on the retirement of Ken Schanzer, the longtime, golf-friendly NBC Sports #2 man and suggests Schanzer is staying on briefly to be part of PGA Tour television pact negotiations which may now be underway.
Read More"That's kind of the golden ticket these days."
/Doug Ferguson asks a question that needs to be asked frequently of the world golf ranking: "What's the value of being in the top 50?" Apparently, it's worth more than winning.
"I have no problem with facial hair, depending on the individual and how it looks."
/I finally got around to Tim Rosaforte's "Hairy Situation" story in last week's Golf World (not posted) and while the entire look at the tour and facial hair is great fun, Commissioner Adrian Monk came through with some of his most tortured logic ever.
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