"We have almost a cart mentality to how we approach pace of play"

In Golf World's U.S. Open preview, Dave Shedloski does a nice job of giving a slow play primer, though it left me wondering one key question that needs to be asked this week at Torrey Pines: why isn't the USGA's pace of play policy in effect here and on the PGA Tour.

A few highlights:

"We have almost a cart mentality to how we approach pace of play," former British Open champion Todd Hamilton says. "We're not ready to play when it's our turn. And then we go through our whole routine, and we just waste a lot of time, and who knows how that affects your playing partners or other guys behind you. The length of time we're taking … it's like we're using cart-path only rules."

And, regarding the USGA pace of play policy model:

The merits of that concept are being realized at the junior golf level (see page 61), and Davis says it has helped to have a rules official walk with each group during competition to try to keep the group in position and avert a problem before it develops, a practice the USGA started in the 2006 Open. "We're telling our officials not to wait. If they think their group might be getting out of position, then they should say something," Davis says. "Because of that we've put fewer groups on the clock and we think the pace as been much, much better."

But it is still slower. A sampling of records kept by Jeff Hall, the USGA's managing director of rules and competitions, shows that the fastest threesomes in the 1998 U.S. Open took 4:24 to play Olympic Club, and in 2002 at Bethpage State Park, the quickest were buzzing along at 4:46. Last year at Oakmont CC, the best any group could manage was 5:04.

Wow.

Given the difficulty of a U.S. Open layout, Davis thinks 4:45 is not an unreasonable time for three long-hitting, skilled golfers to complete 18 holes. In fact, the recommended allotted time for the opening two rounds this year is 4:40. For twosomes on the weekend, it's 4:03.

Compare that to just 10 years ago at Olympic Club, when the USGA's allotted time for the final two rounds was 3:36—27 minutes fewer.

The Torrey Story Blog

My introductory post is now up at GolfDigest.com. Lots more to come this week. Hope you check in regularly here at the link, and I'll be posting reminders as well.

"I don't think professional golf needs the Olympics, nor does the Olympics need professional golf."

Geoff Ogilvy is the first prominent player to shrug off the golf Olympic movement, reports Adrian Proszenko.

Here he shows a complete disregard for the most important people in the world: network television.

"If the sport does join the Olympics, my suggestion would be that it would be more appropriate for amateurs to play, rather than pros, to promote the true spirit of the Olympics. However, I am generally not in favour of the idea."

Amateurs? That's so last century. 

Remember Geoff, the Olympics are about the needs of the advertisers and the folks hunting for higher ratings and don't you forget it!

Multiple Choices At Torrey South

My Golf World preview story on Mike Davis' plan to mix things up is now posted.

John Huggan tackled a similar subject in his Sunday column, with a review of the tiered rough's impact after two years, along with this quote from Davis about the tee placement variety concept:

"Before I took over, there was a long-standing policy that, as soon as the location of the tee was established that was where you played from," says Davis. "I want to get away from that. I want us to start mixing up tee markers. I think that offers more of challenge. One day you are at 470-yards, the next day the hole plays 410-yards. Suddenly, the drive zone has changed and the player has to think about it differently.

Golf Club Radio Show Appearance

If you have 30 minutes to kill, I spoke with Danielle Tucker for her Golf Club Radio Show on Saturday. Topics include Torrey Pines, slow play, and the other usual suspects.

“I wish the (PGA) tour had the (guts) to do it more.”

Tod Leonard talks to Phil about The Pairing and Torrey Pines, which he has yet to play this week (!?).
“I think it's awesome,” Mickelson said in an interview yesterday with The Union-Tribune. “I wish the (PGA) tour had the (guts) to do it more.”

Leonard's San Diego Union Tribune counterpart Tim Sullivan is not a fan of The Pairing and says you are better off watching on television, though in the USGA's defense he shares some pretty impressive numbers about the proportion of fans and grandstand seats.

Jim McKay R.I.P.

The sound of Jim McKay's voice accompanied by the Love Unlimited Orchestra's "Love Theme." Nirvana for golf fans (my generation, anyway).

Here's the New York Times obit.

Brand Lady Strikes Back With Series Of Bruising Rhetorical Questions

Smarting from that new 3-year contract extension, LPGA Commish Carolyn Bivens announced a de-branding of the LPGA Championship and a likely move to a summer date in the Northeast U.S. Naturally, she was quite humble in announcing the move, as reported by Ron Sirak.

"The LPGA has been surviving for 58 years," Bivens told Golf World. "Now is the time to move into the world of major sports." She said that while the tournament will have no title sponsor (other than the LPGA), it will seek presenting sponsors to help with the cost of running the event -- and hope to be part of a television package that will generate revenue.

And she seems to have really mastered the rhetorical question.

"Could the proceeds from the LPGA Championship be the beginning of a real retirement fund?" Bivens asked rhetorically. "Could it grow into an LPGA version of the Masters? Could it contribute two, three, four, five million dollars a year to the pension fund? The business plan we have for 2010 can take this tour to a new level of financial stability."

U.S. Open Contest Finishes Before Sundown As JT Breaks 100; Shark and Butch Battle To Get On Camera

Larry Dorman reports for the NY Times (including a fun Matt Lauer anecdote) while John Strege spills the beans for GolfDigest.com:

The damage report: Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo (whose handicap index is 2.2) shot a 13-over par 84; pop star Justin Timberlake (a 6.0) shot 98; Today Show host Matt Lauer (a 6.2) shot 100; and John Atkinson (an 8.1), who was chosen from a pool of 56,000 contest entrants nationwide, shot 114.

"They're inhuman, how well they stripe it," Timberlake said of the professionals who -- albeit better armed on the talent front -- will face the same challenge next week. "We're just proud to be a part of actually showing it."

Not a single birdie was made, and the longest putt holed was a 20-footer Lauer made for par at the last hole. Atkinson failed to make a single par, yet he was the winner by anyone's measure. A year ago, Atkinson was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer.

His own personal gallery included an estimated 60 people, family and friends from his hometown of Omaha, who spent the six hours, 15 minutes it took the foursome to complete the round loudly encouraging his every swing. So did the the celebrities in his group and their caddies, who included Greg Norman (looping for Lauer) and Butch Harmon (working for Timberlake).

"I had a great time," Atkinson said. "I had a certain score that I wanted to hit, but that wasn't going to happen. But I feel it's like life -- you've just got to keep going."

Berman: ESPN Would Be Doing Public A Disservice By Asking Him To Shelve "Ground Control To David Toms" And Other Not-Funny Knicknames

Jay Posner bravely talks to Chris Berman about the ESPN legend's uncanny ability to make 6 hours of U.S. Open telecast seems like 60 hours in a Guantanamo detention cell.

We talked about his passion for the Open – which he has been covering since 1986, including the last five years as the play-by-play voice on Thursday and Friday – but also the criticism and why he believes it's unjust.

“First of all,” he said, “it's unfair because if you're on the air for six hours and heaven forbid I say, 'Ground control to David Toms,' you're writing it like I said it 500 times. Not the case.”

One Ground control to David Toms was one time too many.

Perhaps the biggest criticism I hear about Berman is that he puts himself above the event he's broadcasting. When Maxim recently named him No. 1 on its list of the 10 worst broadcasters in sports, author Will Leitch – who founded Deadspin.com – wrote that Berman “never fails to shoehorn his trademark nonsense into a game.”

Said Berman: “It's unfair if people say I'm trying to make it my show. Then you haven't paid attention. Then you haven't done me fair. 'Cause I'm not. But I'm trying to be me and have a good time with it as someone who's an avid follower of the game; someone who's like most of the audience who are watching, a 16-handicap give or take, not a 3 (handicap) or a scratch.

“I would think that's someone loaded for bear before I even come out of the woods, and I can't help that.

Loaded with dread was more how I think of it.

“It's the only way I know how to do it. There's a lot of ways to announce it; I'm just being me. I'm not trying to overdo it at all. If anyone thinks I come in to overdo it, you're not being fair and you're not listening.”

No, I believe you. Just wish we would get more stuff like this.

John Skipper, ESPN executive VP of content and a supporter of Berman's, said Berman “is aware of a balance about being himself and the event. But part of what you want on the event is Chris Berman.”

Because it's just the little old U.S. Open, it needs that extra push!

“The U.S. Open guys love him on it,” Skipper said (a USGA spokesman confirmed that). “They position themselves as the people's golf tournament and Chris is the personification of that. . . . He's knowledgeable and passionate. For us it's a no-brainer (to use him).”

Really, there's nothing I can add to those sentences.

Monty: Will You Still Rank Me When I'm 52?

Lewine Mair talks to the great Scot on the U.S. Open eve and he offers an unprecedented admission. Sort of. First...

"I feel as if I'm still a top-25 player," protested this competitive soul. "The only thing is that the rankings don't lie."

Here's the kinda mea culpa. Here's the background from Alistair Tait if you don't recall his brilliant decision to fire his caddy and go with a local last year.

Ideally, Montgomerie wants to get cracking now. Only two years ago he came within a whisker of winning the US Open. Last year, on the other hand, was a write-off, not least because of relations between him and his local caddie, 'Oakmont Bill'.

The two all but came to blows at the long fourth on their second and last day. Bill asked the Scot if he planned to go for the green or if he was going to lay up. "I'm going to go for it," Montgomerie said. He tried and failed - and then he rounded on the caddie for putting negative ideas in his head.

Montgomerie was also at odds with his putter, with as many as nine stone-cold implements tumbling from his locker when he was leaving for home.

"The local caddie was a bad idea and changing putters was a worse one," he admits. "In the case of the putter, I'm afraid nothing was more applicable than that old saying about the bad workman - it wasn't the putter, it was the puttee. I've still got to force myself to follow through, to accelerate more through the ball."

Montgomerie is always looking for positives and a couple have just landed in his lap. Miguel Angel Jimenez, who won at Wentworth, is the same age as he is, while American Kenny Perry, who won the Memorial Tournament last week, is older.

He will be 45 this month but, as he points out, he is exempt on the European Tour for the next seven years.

"And do you know what?" he volunteers. "I'll still be telling you than that I should be in the world's top 25 when I'm 52."

Never shy in the self-important department!

Just In Time For Father's Day, Vol. 2

Thanks to the reader who passed along the Talking Points Memo item on John McCain's fundraiser/father's day gift idea, with "Golf Gear" featured prominently at the top of his web site next to categories titled, Decision Center, General Election and Obama & Iraq.

Judging by the images, it's just what dad has always wanted. A cute little pursey kind of shoe bag, some balls, tees, towel and ball mark fixer, all for just $50.

It's not the UroClub, but what is?

Greetings From San Diego: The Day We've All Been Waiting For Has Arrived Edition

You've been marking the days off your calendars, you've set your ical alarms for June 6th and in general, you're tracking the wires for word on whether Justin, Tony, Matt or John break 100.

Yes, Friday is the day they tackle Torrey Pines and it absolutely pains me to admit that this one-off USGA pandering to celebrity-it's-all-about-me-culture will...ugh...God this hurts...be a huge hit. 

San Diego (well, south of Leisure World) is abuzz over Justin Timberlake's whereabouts. I hate to break the news to the radio station trying to figure where he's been: it's not that sexy unless you really like golf.
Ogilvy chats with Harmon and Timberlake on No. 3 tee (click to enlarge)

"JT" has been slapping it around Torrey talking to Butch Harmon about his swing plane and being a nice guy to anyone he comes in contact with. (Yep, you wanted him to be an arrogant snot, but he seems like a genuinely great guy infatuated with golf. He even watches it on TV...now that's devotion). 

Even more astonishing thing about this Golf Digest-NBC run event would be the names expected to attend the made-for-TV event (airing before the final round at Torrey): Greg Norman as Lauer's looper, Butch Harmon as Justin's pro jock and Adam Scott as a friend lending moral support.

The Trophy Wives Club Is Ready To Go (click to enlarge)Here's why I think it'll be a hit: someone is going to break 100 and it'll make for great TV (especially since they'll edit the 6 hour debacle into a one-hour package). Now, Geoff Ogilvy contends a sub-100 score might happen because Rees Jones's computer-generated green complexes will not exact as huge a toll as say, Oakmont's might have.

I like that theory, plus I'm going with a visceral thing that these guys are pretty good golfers. Sure, Justin could vomit all over himself with the cameras rolling, but whenever I saw him playing his game looked very solid. John Atkinson, the contest winner, looked good though a bit overburdened with everyone offering swing thoughts. That's why he's got Bob Rotella on the bag. And Romo is just a good stick.
T-shirts were the highlight of the merchandise tent (click to enlarge)

The fountain is off, Torrey's transformation into a U.S. Open venue is complete (click to enlarge)As for my day walking with Ogilvy and his pals Steve and Greg, or Geoff's chat with Mike Davis and Jim Hyler about the course setup, or the USGA's quick reaction to an emerging course setup hot spot, or all of the other fun stuff I saw, you'll have to check in to GolfDigest.com Monday morning. Don't worry, you have the Stanford St. Jude Championship to help bide the time.

World Ranking Pairing Reaction

I was at Torrey Pines all day and so it was fun to read your reactions to the Tiger-Phil pairing news and that now-so-obvious &%$#@ pairing.

On site, volunteers were allowed to tackle the Merchandise Pavilion, so while I was also making my contribution for the good of the game ($250 thank you), I quizzed some of the shoppers who offered a mix of opinions similar to the variety displayed by some of the writers.

Personally, I'm torn between loving the excitement it adds while cringing at the logistical nightmare that will unfold on a course where nearly half the holes do not allow for fans to line both fairway sides (3, 4, 6, 7, 13, 14, 16, 17 for those counting at home) .

But enough about me, here's a sampling of early media reaction:

Cameron Morfit loved the USGA's decision to pair Tiger and Phil while wondering why the world ranking pairing system isn't used all of the time.

His golf.com colleague Farrell Evans thinks it's a bad idea because it re-enforces "the idea that they are the only two truly marketable players in the game. Let them earn the right to play together in the final round on Sunday. Let them scuffle and hack their way through the deep rough to play together."

Steve Elling wishes fans attending the Open good luck if they were actually hoping to see Tiger and Phil hitting shots.

Thomas Bonk raises a point that Geoff Ogilvy made today, and Geoff should know since he was played with Tiger and Phil at Medinah: "chances are that Lee Janzen, Steve Flesch and Rich Beem aren't going to be quite so jolly. They're the group behind Woods, virtually guaranteeing them less than a serene day at the golf course."

Bonk also gets NBC's reaction:

"It's great for TV and for the viewers," NBC spokesman Brian Walker said. "We'd be showing as much of their round as possible, so in some ways, it makes it easier to cover."

Ed Sherman gives it a big thumb's up but wonders how it will affect Lefty.

And Doug Ferguson, who broke the story and sounded skeptical in his initial reporting, still sounds a bit conflicted:

Applaud the USGA for trying what no one else — the PGA Tour, especially — has dared, even if there might be so many spectators that half of them won't be able to see anything at all.

And the USGA decided to go along with a gimmick that takes place Friday at Torrey Pines, when three celebrities and one lucky (or unlucky) amateur will play the course in U.S. Open conditions to see if they can break 100.

The last thing it needs is more accusations of trying to become more than it was meant to be — a circus, not a championship.

Even so, it's worth a shot.

Update on 2008-06-06 17:03 by Geoff

Tod Leonard has local reaction. It's also mixed.

"What's wrong with putting 1 and 2 together, given their background at Torrey Pines?"

Doug Ferguson fleshes out his exclusive on the unique pairings structure for this year's U.S. Open.

Mike Davis, the senior director of rules and competition for the USGA, said the top 12 players will be grouped together and spread over the four various time slots — starting on the first tee or 10th tee in the morning, and first tee or 10th tee in the afternoon.

The biggest stars usually are dispersed among the morning and afternoon times, largely at the behest of television. Davis said the USGA has been thinking about a major change over the past few months and decided to give it a try.

"Why not put them in the same wave?" Davis said in a telephone interview from San Diego. "The heck with what TV wants. Let's do what we want for the championship."

You can do these things when they are signed through 2014 or whatever it is.

The original thought was to keep Woods and Mickelson near the same time, but as Davis spoke to USGA executive director David Fay and other executives, they decided to go a step further.

"What's wrong with putting 1 and 2 together, given their background at Torrey Pines?" Davis said.

From there, they decided to involve the top 12. That means Ernie Els, Ogilvy and Justin Rose would be in the same group, while Steve Stricker, Jim Furyk and K.J. Choi would comprise another, and Vijay Singh, Sergio Garcia and Stewart Cink would be the other.

The U.S. Open traditionally groups the defending champion, the British Open champion and the U.S. Amateur champion. That would not be affected with Angel Cabrera at No. 22 in the ranking, Padraig Harrington at No. 14 and U.S. Amateur champion Colt Knost not in the field because he turned pro.

"If there was a right year to do it, this was it," Davis said, alluding to Woods' and Mickelson's history at Torrey Pines.

Update on 2008-06-05 15:10 by Geoff

And here are the pairings, courtesy of USOpen.com.