Who Knows What 2021 Will Bring?

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While I'm happy the PGA Tour will be on television for the foreseeable future--and more importantly, network television--I'm having a hard time getting past the notion that the new PGA Tour television contract runs through 2021.

Consider that we'll have three U.S. presidential elections between now and then.

Two World Cups.

And there will be three Summer Olympics in that time, with the location for the third set of games just narrowed down to six bids this week (and only two of those are golf friendly...or at least I don't think they have much great golf in Azerbaijan).

I point this out because it seems fair to question why either the tour or networks would want to be locked into that agreement so far in advance. Especially in light of our "flat," rapidly changing world.

Consider this wisdom from someone who many consider to be very smart about business, politics and what the digital future holds:

Who knows where -- I'll just go off a little bit here, but Tom Friedman has a book coming out this week, and in that book he cites when he wrote "The World is Flat," and he thought that was a cutting-edge book. But he says in this book, if you go back and look at that book, and it's only five years ago, you can't find Skype, you can't find Twitter, and he lists about eight different things. That's pretty amazing. That's five years ago. None of that stuff was even there.

Those comments were from Commissioner Tim Finchem while announcing the 9-year deal.

"Value" Dominates "Underpinning" 16-9 In PGA Tour Matchups, Jargon Edition

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I tracked the jargon-usage from the press conference to announce a new TV deal--starring Tim Finchem, with cameos by Sean McManus and Mark Lazarus--and Value never had to go the whip, leading gate to wire despite a nice stretch run move by 99-1 longshot Underpinning. Value you paid $2.80 to win.
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PGA Tour Announces TV Deal Extension Through 2021

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Details will follow. My Twitter stream has the highlights from Tim Finchem's press conference in Boston.

"Ogilvie also understands that it's time for him to be more candid about his future interests in a job currently held by Tim Finchem."

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Joe Ogilvie tells Jeffri Chadiha that the players "have a perfectly great commissioner right now in Tim" but "eventually Tim is going to retire." And with that, he officially lets it be known he would be interested in the job.
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Cadillac Gives Up On Detroit...

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...for a summertime PGA Tour tournament. It's good news for the tour that they don't have a summertime opening in 2012, bad news for Detroit. Carlos Monarres and Chrissie Thompson explain.

When no date on the tour schedule opened this year, Cadillac sought a date in 2012. But finding a date on the tour’s schedule during Michigan's few dependably warm months proved too difficult, according to a person familiar with the situation.

A potential opening on the tour's schedule closed when the Heritage, a longtime tour stop in Hilton Head, S.C., found a new sponsor in Royal Bank of Canada, signing a five-year deal in June.

Cadillac will continue through 2016 its sponsorship of the Cadillac Championship, which is held in March at Doral, Fla., and is one of three premier World Golf Championships events on the schedule.

“Our relationship with Cadillac, from a sponsorship perspective, started with the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship at Doral,” PGA Tour spokesman Ty Votaw said. “We’ve jointly pursued exploring the potential for a new event in Detroit in addition to that, and that exploration is no longer.”

Old White TPC In Line To Be Rewarded For Painfully Awkward Name Change?

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It sure sounds like the Greenbrier's chances of landing a future Presidents Cup have improved with their home-run of an operation and the obvious need for some kind of reward for becoming the Old White Guys TPC. Sean Martin, writing about why players enjoy the Greenbrier week so much, slips this in toward the end of his column:

He has big plans for his resort, hopeful that it can host the 2017 Presidents Cup. (The Tour declined comment.) You have to like his chances. Pazder said Justice has been a perfect partner with the Tour; his club joined the TPC network this year. Crowds for practice days were larger than some tournaments on Sundays. Volunteers welcomed guests with a smile and a greeting.
Tom Watson, the club’s pro emeritus, first saw the resort at the 1979 Ryder Cup. He left before the competition began for the birth of his daughter, Meg, but had fond memories.
“I just liked the way people treated you here,” he said.

And that’s the main reason the prognosis for this PGA Tour event is a strong one.

"Golf has changed so much over the last 10 years that America, once the ultimate destination for the best players from all corners of the globe, now is no more than an occasional detour for so many Europeans."

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Doug Ferguson talks to some Euros about the place the PGA Tour has in their life and they'd rather forsake membership and a few bucks for peace of mind.  Nothing newsworthy here, just interesting to read the shifting attitudes. Darren Clarke at 42 wasn't as vital as the attitude of Martin Kaymer.
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Awkward! Michael Collins Alleges Pre-Drug Testing Pot Use On PGA Tour

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Bob Carney noted the awkwardness of the exchange between Michael Collins and Golf Channel's Kraig Kann and Frank Nobilo discussing the Robert Garrigus story from Golf World and Collins shocks them by saying marijuana smoking also once took place on the PGA Tour. Of course, now everyone is clean as a whistle he says.
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"Oh yeah, there were plenty of guys on the Nationwide Tour who smoked in the middle of the round...We always talked about it. You could go in the Porta John and take your drags."

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It's always fun to read a well done player profile, especially when the player is interesting and his story is bound to have men in Oxford's running around PGA Tour offices trying to figure out the spin.

So while all the stuff Dave Shedloski tells us about in the Robert Garrigus story--Memphis last year, the 2011 U.S. Open and his struggle with addiction--these are the comments bound to be brought up the next time Tim Finchem claims that PGA Tour pros are all angels and drug testing was unnecessary.

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