Finally! Twilight Rates Coming To A Major

Finally!

Whether due to golfers being morning people, or the days at major championships just going on too long, it’s become a strange late-day sight to see sparse crowds.

The Masters and U.S. Open, where tickets are usually in high demand, have always seemed the best option for a twilight ticket, but it’s The Open striking first. This new £25 option for those arriving to watch golf from 4 pm to dark certainly helps make the high price of the standard ticket look more palatable and probably will appeal to a younger crowd a Open venues closer to large cities.

Phil Casey reports on this and the reduction in price for a normal ticket purchased in advance (Americans are often shocked to learn you can buy a ticket at the door for The Open, even at St. Andrews).

New R&A Chief, Finchem Say Distance Issue Not An Issue

The R&A's Martin Slumbers and PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem, speaking at the HSBC Golf Business Forum, made clear they are not the least bit interested in doing a thing about distance increases.

So much for those hoping Slumbers would reverse the course of Peter Dawson, who said things were holding steady as he ordered "The Treatment" on all Open rota courses to mask his organization's fear of doing something meaningful.

No doubt this gibberish, quoted by Doug Ferguson AP notes colum, was followed by speeches about the need for sustainability to keep the game healthy. Hard to do when 8000 yards becomes the norm.

"What we are seeing at the moment is a fairly consistent percentage of some tremendous athletes who are hitting the ball farther," Slumbers said at the HSBC Golf Business Forum. "The percentage of them is unchanged. The average is a lot less than what the media talk about. The average has only moved 3 to 4 yards in the last 10 years. There's no burning desire on our part to make any changes."

We knew about the burning desire part, but to say players are hitting it farther and then say they are not according to the average, is an inconsistency even Peter Dawson never let slip.
at least made clear he's all about the PGA Tour.

"I do think if we get to a point where 75 percent of the field is hitting it where Dustin [Johnson] is and it gets a little boring, and we see signs of it affecting the integrity of the sport, it's a different matter," Finchem said. "Right now, I agree totally. We shouldn't do anything."

Slumbers also said distance "isn't getting out of control."

"It's a single-digit number of players who hit over 320 [yards]," he said. "The average is in the mid-280s -- this is run and carry. As long as it stays within those parameters, I'm celebrating skill."

Sigh.

What To Do To Restore The Walker Cup's Luster?

As the Walker Cup looms this weekend riding on almost no wave of attention, the reasons are pretty obvious:

-- A small TV presence (the ESPN details are in my Forward Press column), few star amateurs sticking around

-- Players selected choosing college events over the Cup

-- A secretive selection process that engenders no awareness of the competition to make the team or the rationale for why the USA team was picked

-- A trip to a links that isn't the more interesting links the R&A could go to for this event

Matters this week weren't helped with the news that Sam Horsfield, who was the fourth-highest GB&I player on the team before withdrawing for "personal reasons," just played five qualifying rounds and is on for Florida's first travel squad of the fall.

Alistair Tait at Golfweek reports.

Horsfield did not answer Golfweek’s requests for an interview. However, Florida head coach J.C. Deacon responded by email to Golfweek’s question on why Horsfield could not play at Royal Lytham and St. Annes but could tee it up at the Carpet Capital.

Deacon wrote: “Sam would have loved to be overseas playing for GB&I but a family situation came up. He was ready to play and excited to represent his country, so I truly feel for him. He's an amazing young man and we are all supporting him. It's a personal issue within Sam's family and I wouldn't feel right commenting further. I appreciate you understanding and having Sam's best interest at heart.”

Therefore, it may be time to reconsider elements to what should be a sensational and historic event.

Adam Schupak pens a Golfweek.com column making suggestions about how to improve the event. The only one within the reach of the USGA and R&A involves the date, which is proving problematic for elite college players wanting to turn pro. I'm not sure a move to spring would help either though...

The Walker Cup’s September date, which is during the school year for most of these college-aged players, seems antiquated. Sure, a May date would take some of the luster off the amateur summer, but winning the U.S. Amateur would be just as prestigious, and it doesn’t seem as though the hot hand gets picked for the team anyway (See Aaron Wise, winner of the Pacific Coast Amateur, runner-up in the Western Amateur; Derek Bard, finalist in the U.S. Amateur).

Why does having the best players represented matter, you ask? This has long been an event that elite amateur golfers from the U.S. and GB&I aspire to be part of before they turn pro. Hall termed it “a bucket list item in an amateur career.” It should remain that way. But don’t just take my word for it. Patrick Rodgers represented the American side in the previous two Walker Cups.

“I wish more people had the experience I had playing in two Walker Cups,” he said. “Not only is it the pinnacle of amateur golf, it may be the most fun you ever have playing golf. I wouldn’t pass up that experience for any kind of money playing professional golf. I think kids who skip out on that opportunity are making a big mistake, to be honest.”

The 2017 Walker Cup returns to the United States and will be played at The Los Angeles Country Club.