"I have no idea what goes on."

Michelle Wie was peppered with some interesting questions to plug her appearance at next week's Reno event (sorry, no linkable transcript). This exchange struck me as disturbing but not surprising:

Q. I also know the PGA TOUR can't pay any appearance fee, but do you get anything from your sponsors when you play on the PGA TOUR?

MICHELLE WIE:  You know, I don't think I'm the right person to talk about my financial stuff.  I have no idea what goes on.

Q. Is that your dad?

MICHELLE WIE:  Yes.  I just play.

"So, now that the fertile fields of home have been scorched, we're headed abroad to see if we can fool 'em into making the same mistakes. Shame on us."

Steve Elling considers Tim Finchem's "grow the game" argument for making the push to get golf in the Olympics and writes:

Costs for players skied as daily fee courses commanded triple-digit payouts. Courses became too hard to play in under five hours. The cost of a new driver, needed to handle the 7,000-yard tracks being built, rose to $400. A legion of folks was priced out of the game because of time and money. For every new customer, another one quit.

The number of rounds played each year in the U.S. stagnated. Now, alarmingly, it has begun to drop in some parts of the country. Worse, more courses have closed over the past three years than have opened. People bought homes in golf communities in good faith, only to see the developer-owner of the courses bolt when the land was sold.

The economic model of the game in the States pulled a hammy chasing after money. Now that some cities are cracking down on water usage, which will affect course conditions and desirability, it's likely going to get even worse. Crude prices have driven up fertilizer costs markedly.

So, now that the fertile fields of home have been scorched, we're headed abroad to see if we can fool 'em into making the same mistakes. Shame on us. Granted, it's a slight leap of faith to hold the PGA of America or USGA responsible for the general direction of the game and current economic climate, but in golf, most of the parts are somehow linked.

And of course, regarding the format, which in a sport full of potentially emotion-rich team formats is 72-holes of individual stroke play...

Besides, is there really a great appetite for golf in the Games among the public, especially if it results in yet another four-day stroke-play event? I'm not feeling the love.

Chrissy On PGA Decision: She Just Wants Greg To Be Happy

John Garrity caught up with the lovely bride who reports that the happy couple has until Monday to decide whether they will sweat off five pounds stomping around muggy Oakland Hills.

“He has until Monday to decide,” his bride Chris Evert said this afternoon as she followed Norman in the second round of the Senior British Open at Royal Troon

“He has a lot to consider,” said Evert, who has faced a few roadforks of her own since retiring from competitive tennis. “What are your motives for playing? Do you play just because you’re flattered that you’ve been invited, or do you play because you feel good about your golf and really want to play?”

And this just warmed my heart...

“I’ll give my opinion, but it’s entirely his decision,” Evert said of the PGA invite. “If he wants to play, I want him to play. I just want him to be happy.”

Phil Holds Ground In Testimony; Tells Congress That His Charity Efforts Are Working Wonders

Not included on the YouTube edition were tough questions from our hard-working Congressmen.

“Andrew played harder than some of the other boys wanted to play.”

Thanks to readers Ari and John for these stories related to Andrew Giuliani suing Duke University over coach O.D. Vincent dismissing the senior from the golf team.

Ellis Henican in Newsday:

Late yesterday, his attorneys filed a federal lawsuit in North Carolina, contending the university has violated its obligations to him as a student-athlete and demanding he be invited back to Duke's state-of-the-art golf-training facility.

It's obviously been a tense few months on campus.

On Feb. 11, the lawsuit says, men's golf coach "O.D. Vincent announced to the team that he was unilaterally canceling Andrew's eligibility to participate in the University's Athletics Program immediately and indefinitely. Andrew and his teammates were shocked. Andrew had no prior notice of what was about to happen. At no time was Andrew ever given an opportunity to defend himself; instead he was summarily dismissed."

Dan Slater posts these details on the WSJ's blog. Unfortunately for Vincent, it reads like satire.

The suit claims that incidents of misconduct that Vincent cited in his reasons for expelling Giuliani were not appropriate reasons for expulsion, such as:

    •    On Feb. 2 Giuliani flipped his putter a few feet to his golf bag.

    •    On Feb. 3, Giuliani leaned over his driver and it broke, and “in O.D. Vincent’s telling, this became ‘throwing and breaking’ a club.”

    •    On Feb. 3, Giuliani walked ahead of his playing partner at Treyburn Golf Course and later that day “gunned the engine” of his car and “drove fast while leaving the golf course parking lot.”

    •    On Feb. 4, during a golf-team football game, “Andrew played harder than some of the other boys wanted to play.”

    •    On Feb. 10, while Giuliani was eating an apple, a teammate twice hit the golfer’s hand and knocked the fruit to the ground. After that same teammate “slammed a door hitting Andrew’s face,” Giuliani “tossed the apple at a teammate, glancing off the side of his face.”

"She was like looking at a little kid after you tell them there's no Santa Claus."

Now I should know that when the Brand Lady looks to smooth over something, it warrants further investigation. Especially when we have videotape contradicting her written statement. And for the life of me, why the LPGA is trying to spin this, I have no idea (unless the emails are coming from parents with crying children who have just found out there is no Santa Claus).

According to her "Message from Headquarters" Carolyn Bivens writes:

...there has been some misunderstanding about comments made by Sue Witters, LPGA director of tournament operations and the lead official in this situation.  The initial AP story that ran misquoted Sue. Acknowledging the error, the AP ran a corrected story.  However, for those who only viewed the original story, it is important to know Sue’s comments in the press conference were referencing her own emotion when she had to notify Michelle; the comments were not directed at or describing Michelle.

Here's what the corrected AP story says:

Sue Witters, the LPGA’s director of tournament competitions, disqualified Wie in a small office in an LPGA trailer at the course after asking her what had happened.

“I felt like I was telling somebody that there was no Santa Claus,” Witters said.

Courtesy of Springfield's WAND TV's video viewable here (and below), Witters told the assembled media:

"She was like looking at a little kid after you tell then there's no Santa Claus. She was upset, I don't blame her. We forget how young she is because how well she plays. We gotta remember, she's a kid."

The AP had the quote correct the first time, so I'm not sure why the LPGA sought to have the story retracted?

"The rules are the rules."

Thanks to the reader who forwarded this letter from the Brand Lady regarding the most recent Michelle Wie incident, which went out to friends of the LPGA Tour and LPGA members. Bloggers were not included.

While Commish Bivens clarifies several key points related to timing and the circumstances, I'm surprised she had to clarify the comments of Sue Winters as not being a put down of Michelle Wie (must have been a big part of the fan email?).

The fundamental question still has not been answered: why does the LPGA lack an official in the scoring tent like other
major tours?

Here's the letter, minus the fully branded e-stationary announcing a "A Message From Headquarters."

Carolyn F. Bivens
LPGA Commissioner 

July 23, 2008

Dear LPGA members:

Since the LPGA disqualified Michelle Wie from last weekend’s LPGA State Farm Classic for not signing her second-round scorecard, the LPGA has been the subject of countless feedback e-mails, blogs and phone calls to LPGA headquarters.  Many of these have had varying and inaccurate accounts of what happened and why the various steps were taken when.  All of this has confused and angered individuals, when in fact we enforced a very clear-cut rules infraction.  I also understand that many of you have experienced first-hand the emotion that this decision has created.

 With this in mind, I would like to share with you the details and timeline of the events relating to the rules decision so you will have all of the information relating to the events at the LPGA State Farm Classic, and be as informed as possible to share the information with anyone you may come across.

Timeline/details

Friday, July 18

-          After the second round, Michelle turned in her score card and left the roped scoring area without signing her card. A scoring volunteer noticed that the card was missing Michelle’s signature and caught up with her approximately 40 yards from the tent. The volunteer asked her to sign the card, which she did.

-          When LPGA Officials were verifying cards and scores on Friday evening, they had a fully signed card. They did not know that Michelle left the scoring area without signing her score card.  They had a signed card – for all players – and proceeded with the daily round verification.

Saturday, July 19

-          While the third round was underway – and all players were on the course -- an LPGA staff member overheard volunteers discussing the events from Friday re: Michelle’s card and the staff member asked the volunteers to recount the situation.  Realizing there was an issue, the staff member alerted an LPGA Official.  The LPGA Officials gathered the facts and interviewed various individuals – some of whom were onsite and some who were not working the event that day -- and all repo rted the same story.  LPGA Officials decided not to disrupt the pairing and determined they would speak with Michelle when she completed her round.  It was important to get Michelle’s side of the story, but interrupting the round would have impacted Michelle’s fellow competitors as well.  When the round was complete and she was advised of the situation, Michelle confirmed the details and the LPGA imposed the disqualification effective with the end of the second round.

-          LPGA Officials were in contact with the USGA as soon as the incident was reported. The on-site officials proceeded cautiously and correctly.

 Rules infraction

-          Rule 6-6b. – Signing and Returning Score Card governed the situation:  After completion of the round, the competitor should check his score for each hole and settle any doubtful points with the Committee.  He must ensure that the marker or markers have signed the score card, sign the score card himself a nd return it to the Committee as soon as possible.

-          The 2008 LPGA Rules of Play define the scoring area as the roped area defining the boundary of the scoring tent.  Supplementary rules of play stipulate that the scoring area boundary may instead be defined by a white line, which has the effect of decreasing the size of the scoring area.  The white line was not deemed necessary this week and was not put in place, and as a result the boundary is the scoring tent.  Prior to signing her card, Michelle left the defined scoring area.

I addition, there has been some misunderstanding about comments made by Sue Witters, LPGA director of tournament operations and the lead official in this situation.  The initial AP story that ran misquoted Sue. Acknowledging the error, the AP ran a corrected story.  However, for those who only viewed the original story, it is important to know Sue’s comments in the press conference were referencing her own emotion when she had to notify Michelle; the comments were not directed at or describing Michelle.  In fact, Sue represented the LPGA in a way that we can all be proud of. She handled the situation with the utmost care and attention.

In the end, we should all hold our head up high knowing that our organization upheld the rules of golf and administered them with Michelle the same way they have been applied to every player since the LPGA’s founding in 1950.  The rules are the rules.

Should you have any questions about this or need additional clarification, please let me know.


Best regards,

Carolyn F. Bivens

Let's not pat ourselves on the back too much here CB. This would not have happened on the PGA Tour. Where, incidentally Michelle will be teeing it up soon.

Greg And Chrissy To Discuss PGA Championship Appearance Over Dinner

For the sake of golf fans in Detroit, they might want to hope it's a really good bottle of red. Because a PGA appearance would be four weeks in a row, and following four days (presumably) at The Broadmoor/altitude, so I'm going to guess Greg Norman is going to decline the PGA of America's invite to tee it up at Oakland Hills, especially reading his comments about all of his injury issues.

He may not look like an old man, but he's starting to talk like one.

"But Wie’s sponsors have a lot invested in her, and time is running out this year on them getting any returns for the $10 million they gave her to celebrate her 16th birthday."

Tim Dahlberg nails it with this point regarding Michelle Wie's latest sponsor's invite:

But Wie’s sponsors have a lot invested in her, and time is running out this year on them getting any returns for the $10 million they gave her to celebrate her 16th birthday. She has only one sponsor’s exemption left on the LPGA Tour, and if she doesn’t make $80,000 or so in the CN Canadian Women’s Open next month she would face having to go to qualifying school to try to get on the tour next year.

And she had better get on tour soon, because her novelty act has long since worn thin. Wie might some day be a fine player, but she is no longer a precocious child playing against grown-ups and she still has yet to win a tournament.

Joe Logan isn't too excited about the invite either. And this blog post lists the previous Wie debacles. Anyone excited about her appearance in Reno?

"The British Open will be an all-cable major beginning in 2010"

From Thomas Bonk's LATimes.com column, reporting on the 2008 British Open television ratings:

The overnight ratings for ABC's final round coverage Sunday fell 14.6%, from a 4.1 to a 3.5.

And this is surprising, particularly the dollar amount, which sounds awfully high.

The British Open will be an all-cable major beginning in 2010 and be carried only on ESPN, ending a 50-year association with ABC, according to SportsBusiness Journal. The seven-year deal is not yet finalized but reported to be around $25 million a year.

"This is another step in the process of making me a better player.''

Whatever sympathy I had for Michelle Wie and her clan following the weekend DQ was lost with the announcement that she's going to play the Reno PGA Tour event. Doug Ferguson reports.

Open Championshp Question 2: Reinforcing The Beauty Of Flexibility?

Coming off the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, I'm wondering if the R&A's lack of first round flexibility, along with the clear lack of planning during architectural alterations only makes the USGA's Mike Davis and PGA of America's Kerry Haigh look that much more shrewd when it comes to getting the most out of a course's architecture by varying tees. 

Or do such course setup contrivances only belong in America where we don't have the weather to liven things up, and where such variety delivers the surprise and spontaneity that is already inherent in links golf?

Personally, I don't see how you can ever go wrong mixing things up in a game that is entirely too predictable, even on the great links during a windy Open Championship.  I guess that's my nice way of telling architect Peter Dawson to throw in a few more tees next time he renovates a rota venue, especially on those into-the-wind par 5s they convert to 4s. (Well, but please, no more tees at St. Andrews.)

Congress Calls Phil To Testify; Expected To Assert Fifth Amendment Rights If Torrey Driver Decision Comes Up

Phil and Amy Mickelson will be hosting an education-related town hall before Phil heads up the hill to testify at the request of Exxon-Mobil's lobbyists   Exxon Mobil's PR department  Congress. He will be talking about the state of math and science education in the United States.

"Amy and I are thrilled to be working with our partners to give teachers the tools they need to help improve math and science education in this country," said Phil Mickelson. "Through our series of Town Hall Forums, we can also raise awareness, focus attention and dedicate additional resources toward solving the growing crisis in math and science education."

Joining the Mickelsons on the panel will be Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum, president of Spelman College in Atlanta; Dr. Gerry Wheeler, executive director of the National Science Teachers Association; and James M. Rubillo, executive director of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Dr. Emlyn Koster, president and chief executive officer of the Liberty Science Center, will open the Town Hall Forum by addressing the important role science centers play in energizing young minds in math and science. Ken Cohen, vice president of public affairs with ExxonMobil, will moderate the panel and encourage additional discussion of key topics in math and science education.

Open Championship Question 1: Did Padraig's Shot Save The 17th Green?

By nearly all accounts the R&A/Martin Hawtree green installed at Royal Birkdale's 17th was out of character and disrespectful to Birkdale's architectural flow.

But did Padraig Harrington's final round eagle set up by a brilliant hybrid shot (and help from a brilliant bounce) save this green cause?

Since we're dealing with the stiffest of the stiff upper lips here, I'm voting that the green will not be touched between now and the next Open at Birkdale.

Thoughts?