Everyone Wants To Have Their Own Tournament!

/

Doug Ferguson reports that Lorena Ochoa is the latest, but the Brand Lady is worried. Thanks to the Golf Chick for this:

Ochoa's brother said the $1 million tournament would be limited to the top 30 players from the money list, and he was hopeful of a date the week before the season-ending ADT Championship, a spot on the calendar now occupied by the Tournament of Champions. He said he had a title sponsor lined up, but declined to identify it until contracts are signed.

LPGA Tour commissioner Carolyn Bivens, however, said nothing has been determined.

“I don't know how I'd handicap that,” Bivens said when asked the chances of the No. 1 player having her own tournament. “Next year's schedule is still being refined. She'd love to have a tournament down there next year, but it depends on finding a title sponsor and the right mix of sponsors.”

That's a non-committal committal.

USGA Tabs CBO

/

No, this is not what you think. This really did come from the USGA: 

BEVACQUA NAMED USGA’S CHIEF BUSINESS OFFICER

Far Hills, N.J. (July 9, 2007) – The United States Golf Association (USGA) has named Peter Bevacqua its Chief Business Officer overseeing the revenue-producing activities conducted by the USGA. 

Bevacqua, 35, joined the organization as in-house corporate counsel in September of 2000. He has served as the managing director of U.S. Open Championships for the USGA since August of 2003. Bevacqua will become the first chief business officer in the Association’s history, reporting to USGA Executive Director David Fay. 

"I truly look forward to working with our staff and Executive Committee in connection with many of the ongoing activities and potential new revenue-producing activities of the USGA, including our broadcasting relationships, our USGA Members program and our new corporate partnerships,” said Bevacqua. “It is an exciting next step for me and for the USGA." 

Ah, the Members program as a revenue producing activity. Maybe they can sell ads in that sexy newsletter?

Prior to joining the USGA, Bevacqua was with the New York law firm of Davis, Polk & Wardwell. Bevacqua graduated magna cum laude from the University of Notre Dame in 1993, and earned his Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1997. Bevacqua resides in Bronxville, N.Y., with his wife, Tiffany, and will continue to operate out of the USGA's headquarters in Far Hills, N.J. 

What, no presence in The City?

"I am delighted that Pete's accepted this position," said Fay. "Pete has done a superb job as managing director of the Open and I am confident that he will provide strong leadership, creative thinking and solid judgment in this new and very important position. Pete has earned the respect of the USGA staff and I know his selection is fully and enthusiastically supported by our Executive Committee."

Reason 7,812 PGA Tour Pros Should Not Be Architects

/

Congressionalhole18.jpgGiven the choice between TiVoing the old geezers playing one of the twelve majors over a colorful, textured, rich, eccentric and slightly nutty design or an elite field playing a "classic" "U.S. Open style" "test," you can imagine what I picked.

Honestly, told I have six months to live, it's a toss up what I want to watch to make time stand still. Medinah or Congressional?

Now that Congressional's old 18th has been bulldozed by Rees Jones and replaced by a hole only he could design (click here for Tim Taylor's photos on GCA...but view with caution, it's not pretty), the final stroke of quirk has been stripped from the place. Therefore, as much as it pains me to not single out Medinah's relentless mediocrity, I think Congressional gets the nod for not taking better advantage of interesting terrain.

Ah, but the players love it! Why, I have no idea other than to merely confirm that they have no architectural sense whatsoever.

Billy Mayfair said:

"You put Tiger Woods as host and a great course like Congressional and you've got something people want to be involved with. What happened here this weekend was amazing. You put it down the street [at Avenel], and you're probably not going to have the same kind of field. Guys will come here, to Congressional. Guys want to play old-fashioned, U.S. Open-style courses, and that's what this is."

And Robert Allenby...

"This is a great golf course," Allenby said. "It's easy to run a good golf tournament here. You've got a great venue. It's pretty awesome."

It may be what you want to play fellas, but in terms of viewing it's deadly.

whistling_straits_straits_course_7.jpgSure, Whistling Straits goes over the top and the fairway widths looked absurd (exposed for their lack of room as soon as the wind came up Saturday). I also don't know what the USGA was trying to prove playing the 17th so far back Saturday, making it a 250 yardish shot when the hole is plenty brutal at 160 yards in benign conditions.  

But wasn't it fun to see all sort of different shots, including a few played on the ground?  And recovery shots. And most of all, a colorful, lively example of architecture's most inspired possibilities.

Watson Unable To Win One For Driver

/

Considering the rough week Walter Driver's had, what with having to constantly sign autographs of that Golf World story where he comes off as tired, bitter and pretentious (and that's just the cover shot), you'd think Tom Watson would have the decency to have won one for his beleaguered fellow Stanford alum to cap off Driver's fairy-tale USGA Presidency.

They tell fairy tales in hell right?

Women Beat The Men!

/

Sal Johnson, noting the unfortunate airing of the U.S. Women's Open and Buick Open at the same time last weekend passed this note along.

This year the U.S. Women's Open won the slot with a 1.7 (1.47 million) rating compared to the Buick Open's 1.7 (1.3 million) rating. Now both shows were drastically down over last year, the Women's Open was 39% down but that had to be expected. The reason, Annika Sorenstam and Michelle Wie were in contention last year and the Sunday show went to 7:30 because they played 36 holes on Sunday.

And...

As for the Buick Open they had a bigger drop, 60%. That was because last year the event was played in August and there was no competing golf show against it but the main reason for the drop was Tiger Woods won last year.

Monty's Ego Swells On Eve Of Open Championship

/

Mark Garrod reports on our man's big win in the European Open, making him a favorite to be asked for pre-tournament press center visits at Loch Lomond and Carnoustie.

Montgomerie fired a closing 65 to win by one from Swede Niclas Fasth, having started the day in joint seventh place four behind. The Scot's odds for winning the forthcoming Open Championship at Carnoustie have now been cut from 100/1 to 50/1 by William Hill who also offer him at 20/1 to win the Scottish Open at Loch Lomond next week.
Hmm...resistable.
"This is not an important win - it's a very, very important win," he said. "You wonder if it's ever going to happen, of course you do. You have self-doubts and I'm so glad. I'm thrilled with the success.

"I've never made a winner's speech and said I was unlucky and I was fortunate at the last two today."

 

O'Hara, Gamble, Fisher Tabbed For Golf In The Kingdom; Straight To Video Release Pegged For Summer '08

/

bk-1114.gifGolfweek's Scott Hamilton reports that the infamous Michael Murphy book is finally set for production and (spoiler alert) I've learned some key plot details. First, Hamilton writes:

Production of “Golf in the Kingdom” is scheduled to begin shortly after summer, with the entire shoot taking place in Oregon.

The movie version of Michael Murphy’s book of the same title has been tabbed with a modest $3 million budget. Production company Golf in the Kingdom LLC has enrolled sports marketing and management company Octagon to enlist corporate sponsors and handle all licensing and product placement for the film. John Ashworth is overseeing costume design, while Industrial Light and Magic, George Lucas’ special-effects firm, has signed on as the film’s visual designers.

What, no Marty Hackel?

Shooting is scheduled to wrap Dec. 1 with a release date planned to coincide with the 2008 U.S. Open or British Open. Golf scenes will be shot on location at Bandon Dunes with other scenes to be filmed in a Eugene, Ore, studio.

The cast includes David O’Hara, Mason Gamble, Frances Fisher and Malcolm McDowell. Mindy Affirme, the film’s producer, also said several actors have been approached for cameos, including Sean Connery and Hugh Grant.

Industry sources the delays were influenced by the book's lack of a second or third act.

However after veteran scribe Paul Haggis (Crash, Letters From Iwo Jima, thirtysomething (three story arc in 1987)) brushed up the script, a rivetting finale will now include Michael Murphy scaling the Golden Gate Bridge to talk Jim Flick (the Connery cameo) down from jumping after learning another of his students has adopted Stack and Tilt.

That will be followed by a dramatic chase through the streets of Palm Desert in which Shivas (now caddying at San Francisco Golf Club and reunited with Murphy in a quest for the meaning of life/golf) helps the author's character track down Mac O'Grady at Mesquite Country Club for a final instructional sequence that will leave audiences questioning everything they've ever read in Golf Magazine, while also marking the long-awaited digital media release of O'Grady's instruction thoughts.

It's Baggar Vance meets Memoirs of a Geisha in the vein of Traffic. 

Building Some Equity...

/

Thankfully, my Saturday viewing priorities went like this: Spinal Tap reunion during the climate change concert, U.S. Senior Open at Whistling Straits, Angels-Yankees, and then maybe a few minutes of the AT&T National from Congressional if everyone else was taking a commercial break.

Therefore, according to reader Jon, I missed this from Tiger Woods, talking to Jim Nantz about the future prospects of the AT&T National:

"Hopefully, we can build some equity [in the new tournament.]"

That's why I'm not watching.

"Once you reach a certain speed, the greens just aren't as interesting anymore, because it limits the type of places you can put the holes"

/

Thanks to reader John (as always) for John Paul Newport's WSJ column, this time looking at the race for more green speed in light of this week's R&A course setup boondoggle.

Insights from Ran Morrissett and Rees Jones stood out:

In recent years, the introduction of heartier bentgrass varieties that can thrive when cropped to an eighth of an inch or even shorter, plus other advanced agronomic techniques, have ushered in an era of expensive green-speed oneupsmanship among clubs. "It's like a nuclear-arms race. Nobody wins," says Ran Morrissett, host of the authoritative Web site GolfClubAtlas.com.
And...
The pity, both at older courses and at some new ones, is how many potentially great hole locations have been lost because of galloping greens. "Once you reach a certain speed, the greens just aren't as interesting anymore, because it limits the type of places you can put the holes," says Mr. Morissett. In the olden days, rapping the ball up and over undulations and banking it off slopes was a fun and challenging part of the game. "I'm not sure it didn't take as much skill to putt those old greens as it does the modern fast ones," says Mr. Jones. "There was a lot of technique involved in hitting the ball properly. Now the players basically just have to guide the ball, tap it in the right direction."

 

Gentle Ben On Whistling Straits

/

After his second round 67 put him in a tie for 2nd, Ben Crenshaw talked about plenty of fun stuff, including Whistling Straits:

 Q. As an architect yourself when you see a course like this, does that possibly inspire you maybe to?
BEN CRENSHAW: This is a great piece of work. You know, I know a little something about what was here, which was not anything like this. This is unbelievable.

Q. What's the most unbelievable thing about it?
BEN CRENSHAW: Well, this is, to make a course look like this from what it was, is just spectacular creation. This is incredible.

Q. Does it go along with your design philosophy?
BEN CRENSHAW: Well, Pete is probably the best with working with material and just working at it. God, it's just unbelievable.