Flashback: HSBC Dude Was For Appearance Fees Before He Was Against Them

What's funny about HSBC's Giles Morgan lamenting Tiger and Rory's absence from his WGC event this week in China?

That Rory and Tiger committed (extremely) early to HSBC's January event in Abu Dhabi where they are undoubtedly receiving huge appearance fees? No.

That the Morgan has 13 of the top 20 in the world at the HSBC, and is unhappy, even though a field like that will make it one of the strongest fields of the year?

No, downright LOL funny: speaking on behalf of sponsors who are concerned about star players not teeing up every single week, Morgan apparently forgot that back in January he praised the very thing that is undermining his event this week.

Speaking to Bob Harig in his look at the role of appearance fees, Morgan was defensive about the notion of appearance fees "commercial arrangements" with some players:

"The commercial arrangements we have with some of the players is long seated,'' said Giles Morgan, group head of sponsorship for HSBC, which is in the second year of a five-year contract to sponsor this tournament. It also sponsors the WGC-HSBC Champions in China, as well as several other tournaments.

"Golf is a product and golf is a product particularly in new markets. And you have to ensure that the players are able to showcase what the sport is to the broader public. We are trying to take this sport to a new audience, which means that commercial arrangements are much more likely.''

Of course, such "commercial arrangements" are not allowed at a PGA Tour sanctioned event like the HSBC Champions.

Tiger: "Plus I've been struggling with Sean. Hitting my short irons so *&^%$# far."

I asked earlier if Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, who were obviously wearing microphones during their Monday exhibition, knew that their conversation could be heard. After watching this Golf Channel clip it's hard to believe Tiger thought this was going out live.

I base this assumption on the number of casual f-bombs that were dropped. (Deep, I know.)

You be the judge:

Update on 2012-10-30 20:01 by Geoff

**Bob Harig on Tiger's comments, included this:

It is no secret that, despite the progress Woods has made in the past year, the short irons have yet to come around. He often hits his approach shots just as close to the hole with his long irons as he does with the short ones.

For example, Woods ranks second on the PGA Tour this year in proximity to the pin from 175 to 200 yards, averaging roughly 30 feet from the pin. Yet, from 125 to 150 yards, he ranks 69th at roughly 22 feet.

Another way to look at it: He is first in greens in regulation percentage (65.13 percent) from 175 to 200 yards, but is only 115th (70 percent) from 125 to 150 yards.

Eavesdropping On Rory And Tiger: Were They Aware They Could Be Heard?

Mind you, I'm not complaining. But since the streaming feed of the Rory McIlroy vs. Tiger Woods "Duel at Jinsha Lake" wasn't streaming, I never heard any of the banter.

Thankfully, Ryan Lavner did, and recounts all of it.

The most awkward revelations:

On the 10th hole, Woods admitted to “struggling with Sean (Foley),” his swing coach, saying, “I’ve been hitting my short irons so (expletive) far.” He went on to explain how he rarely took a divot with his short clubs under former coach Hank Haney, but now, though, “all of a sudden, I’m thinking divots.”

Whoa Nellie!

Woods said he lost eight pounds last week in Kuala Lumpur, and that the heat was so suffocating, “it felt like an elephant was sitting on my chest. I had sweat dripping off my shirt when I was over the ball.” Apparently, he also lost his pin sheet on Saturday, which could help explain the third-round 69 that dropped him off the pace. (He eventually finished joint fourth.)

They couldn't get him a replacement pin sheet?

They talked scheduling. Woods noted that this was his first full season since 2005; that he likely will dial back his number of events next season; and that, post-British Open, U.S. players are plenty busy – maybe even too busy – with the FedEx Cup and all of the late-season jet-setting.

Problems, problems, problems!

Update on 2012-10-30 06:26 by Geoff

**The Golf Channel highlights.

"I think with the testing, it's only enhanced that respectability throughout all of sport."

There wasn't much in the way of coherent questioning from Tiger's Malaysia press conference to launch whatever event it is they're playing this week the CIMB Classic.

Anyway, there was this:

Q.  It's been a difficult week for sports in some respects with the Lance Armstrong scandal.  Just wondered to what extent you thought golf has any similar problems?

TIGER WOODS:  Could you repeat the last part of it?

Q.  I just wondered if you thought to what extent golf has similar problems, and are the authorities doing enough to catch people who are taking the wrong things?

TIGER WOODS:  Yeah, we just implemented testing probably three years ago I think it is, three years now.  I know we don't do any blood work like some of the other sports do.  Right now is just urine samples, but that's certainly a positive step in the right direction to try and validate our sport.  I mean, this is a sport where we turn ourselves in on mistakes.  A ball moves in the tree, and the guy calls a penalty on himself.  Golf is a different sport.  I think that's one of the neat things about our great game, and I think with the testing, it's only enhanced that respectability throughout all of sport.

It's always worth remembering that if not for Tiger raising the issue, as Steve Elling noted here, the folks in Ponte Vedra might be resisting drug testing. 

For a fun flashback, here's one of Commissioner We Don't Need No Stinkin' Testing's many tortured answers on the topic before he saw the light.

Sean Foley On Tiger, Nelson Mandela And Johnny Miller

From part one of Brian Wacker's "exclusive" Sean Foley Q&A at PGATour.com. It's exclusive because PGATour.com is acknowledging someone in golf who is not a member of the PGA Tour.

Nonetheless, as with any Foley interview, it's not short on engaging topics including Johnny Miller's recent comments about passing on the chance to teach Tiger, and this...

Q: I want to go back to that day about 10 years ago when you were sitting in a bar in Canada with Sean Casey, who's now the director of golf at Glen Abbey, and you saw Tiger Woods on television and you said "I'm going to coach him one day." What made you think you could?

SEAN FOLEY: I used to say it and then be met with a phase of ridicule. There are some things that are difficult to explain. It's like asking anyone about ideas like God or destiny. It's really difficult to put into terms and into words and to quantify. I can tell you that there probably weren't many people who ever thought [I would coach him]. But I've seen people like Nelson Mandela get thrown in jail and stay in jail for 27 years and then come out and become the president of the country. It's not just that he became president, but he came out forgiving his oppressors.

Even though that has nothing to do with my situation, to me as a kid, it was like, OK, if he's capable of that, what am I capable of? I always wanted to teach golf. There were a lot of things I wanted to do, and that's the benefit of being so young. And I just thought it would be cool.

Tiger's Interview With Maria

When a third person sent in Tiger's CNBC interview with Maria Bartiromo I figured I better watch knowing that I was risking five minutes I'll never get back.

I'm not sure what to call this other than awkward. From the questions about Lance Armstrong "coming back" to her persistence in learning Tiger's stake in FUSE to the FUSE guy reeling off a series of amazing bits of scientific jargon, it's a wacky five minutes.

**GolfChannel.com has since posted it.

Take That Geezer Golf Architects: Tiger Raises The Bar On Blueprint-Holding Site Photos

I just saw this Diamante-supplied image on the golf.com homepage leading us to Eamon Lynch's exclusive on Tiger's new Cabo design.

Have to say, I don't see Jack or Arnie climbing walls to stare at blueprints!

Tiger Woods Design Is Back, Cabo Edition

Eamon Lynch reports Tiger Woods Design is back in business! (Thanks reader Chris.)

The long rumored and denied second course at Cabo's Diamante is apparently under construction and will not be a Phil Mickelson design, but instead, a $12 million Tiger effort. Most interesting of all is that it began without a press release, golden shovel event, painfully staged photos and flashy video production. Someone has learned how this design business works!

Woods confirmed via email:

"I want to make it an enjoyable and memorable experience for all players, regardless of skill level," Woods wrote. "I've played in enough pro-ams to know that not every golfer is a scratch player. Creating wide landing areas and avoiding forced carries whenever possible allow all golfers, even beginners, to keep the ball in play and have more fun."

The team at Tiger Woods Design recently made a scouting trip to some courses in Southern California, including Riviera and Los Angeles Country Club. Woods, who is expected to return to the El Cardonal site in a few weeks, has said those classics will influence his work at Diamante.
"I want to be sure that my designs make individuals think their way around the course," Woods explained. "To me, that's an important part of golf and it's what I like to do when I play. I think players like risk-reward opportunities and to feel like they've been challenged in all aspects of the game."

Update on 2012-10-22 16:15 by Geoff

**The routing plan is also available to look at courtesy of golf.com.

Tiger Sounding Non-Committal (At Best) On Euro Tour Membership

From today's presser to announce the field and new sponsor for the year-end World Challenge at Sherwood.

Q.  Wondering what your thoughts are on ‑‑ you mentioned before that you might be joining the European Tour a few weeks back.  I want to know what that would mean if you chose to do that.

TIGER WOODS:  Well, they asked me the question whether or not I would entertain it, and I said, yeah, I entertained it early on in my career, there's no doubt, because at the time there was only 11 events, and I believe it was eight cross‑overs, and I played once or twice in Europe, and that put me at nine or ten ‑‑ usually at 10 because I played in Asia and I played as well in Germany for all those years.  So I was only one event away.

Now it's at 13.  13 is a little bit more difficult to get to, but that's one of the reasons why I think they implemented the Ryder Cup and the Presidents Cup as events that count towards that number.  I certainly can see the benefits and also see the negatives of playing that much golf.  But going forward, I don't know.