Phil and Pelz Scout Oakland Hills; Still Pondering Several Possible Faulty Game Plans

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No mention in this AP story of the driver being benched, or a sixth wedge joining the team for the PGA. But they still have "a lot more work to do," which means there is still time.




"Last year there were at least six such DQs."

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In the July 25th Golf World, Ron Sirak pens "The View" titled "Defending the Rules" (not posted online). In it he notes this item related to the Michelle Wie scorecard signing incident:

In truth, the LPGA went out of its way to be fair. Tour officials did not find [out] about the Friday incident until after Wie teed off Saturday. After clarifying the rule with the USGA, the tour decided to let Wie finish her round uncluttered by the issue and then allow her to respond to the accusation. To her credit she verified the account.
To think this is some vendetta against Wie is simply wrong. According to the LPGA, her's was the fourth DQ this year for failing to sign, one of which occurred after the player in question had taken only a step outside the scoring area. Last year there were at least six such DQs.

I don't believe anyone sees this as an LPGA vendetta, do they? Seems more like LPGA incompetence or budget restrictions. Incompetence gets the nod here because, really, ten DQs in the last year or so?

In the interest of players, fans or sponsors, at what point do you (A) put an official in the scoring room (B) get local LPGA or PGA members to man the scoring tent or (C) put up an enormous sign on the back of the door saying, SIGN YOUR CARD, LADIES!

I contacted the PGA Tour to find out how many times a player was DQ'd for not signing their card in the last year.

Zero.

How many times this century?

Zero.

The last time that a PGA Tour player did not sign his card was 1997. 2005 (see JohnV's link below).

Norman Already Plotting To Undo Dawson's Turnberry Design Work!

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Seems the new owners of Turnberry may realize that their course needs fixing post-Peter Dawson's R&A branded redo in advance of the 2009 Open Championship.

John Huggan writes for Golfobserver.com:

Still, for Norman as for everyone else who has endured a sporting loss, life goes on. Only a couple of hours after completing his opening 75 at Troon, he was at Turnberry, scene of his first Open victory back in 1986. Accompanied by David Spencer, the chief executive of Leisurecorp, Norman toured the back-nine on the Ailsa course with a view to recommending changes that will be implemented immediately after the Open Championship returns to the famous links for a fourth time next year.
And...
While he was too diplomatic to say as much, one got the feeling that Norman was less than impressed with the work already done on the Ailsa’s closing three holes. Under the direction of the R&A’s chief executive, Peter Dawson, the 16th fairway has been moved 50 yards left of its previous location and new tees have been built at each of the last two holes. Brown had apparently wanted to leave the 17th alone and call it a par-4, but the man from St. Andrews would have none of it.
Then again, maybe Brown had a point. Although Dawson was understandably quick to hail the changes “a great success” in the immediate aftermath of the recent British Amateur Championship, it would perhaps have been more professional of the press pack in attendance to ask some of the players what they thought. Especially those unfortunate individuals who, unable to reach the fairway into an admittedly strong wind at the long 17th, took ten or more shots to eventually hole out.
Oops. So I'm not the only one thinking a few too many writers have R&A memberships in their eyes!
“The R&A have obviously recognized that some adjustments to the course are required if it is to stand up to the technology available to the players nowadays,” said Norman, ever the diplomat. “It’s interesting how, when you look at it from a player’s perspective, you see things differently than you might do on a plan. Some of what they have done I might have done a bit differently. But that is what my eye sees; I see it from a player’s perspective as well as an architect’s.”
Welcome to the backstabbing world of golf course architecture, Mr. Dawson.

"The AP did neither, it contends, but that's not the main thrust here."

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In last week's "message from headquarters," LPGA Commish Carolyn Bivens made a big fuss about the AP running a corrected story, when, as was pointed out here, there wasn't much to correct.

Seems, the AP did not correct the story, as Thomas Bonk writes in his LATimes.com column:

Four days later, in a two-page memo from Commissioner Carolyn Bivens to LPGA members (but leaked to news agencies all over the place), Bivens explains the incident, defends the rules official and says the Associated Press misquoted the official and ran a correction.
The AP did neither, it contends, but that's not the main thrust here. Why such a memo was necessary in the first place is an issue, but then so is a potentially greater after-effect, such as, why give the impression that you're picking on Wie again when the thing is already done?

"The LGU had an open mind about Scottish venues and did not rule out the possibility of also utilising more modern links..."

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An unbylined Scotsman story says the Women's British Open has been locked into Scotland five times between 2011 and 2020. I share this not because you need to mark your calendar, but because this caught my eye:

In a break with past practice which prevented the LGU from staging its flagship event at a men only club, Shona Malcolm, the chief executive of the LGU, indicated it would now be happy to hold discussions with either Muirfield or Royal Troon, the two Scottish links on the Open rota where the clubs don't have women members, about staging the Women's British Open.
Malcolm also revealed that the championship would not necessarily be held on a links and they would look at outstanding parkland courses on a par with Gleneagles and Loch Lomond. She said the LGU had an open mind about Scottish venues and did not rule out the possibility of also utilising more modern links such as Kingsbarns, near St Andrews, Archerfield in East Lothian and Dundonald in Ayrshire.

"The Presidents Cup is fun. Jack just makes it fun."

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A few weeks ago reader John warned me that if I was planning to tie my record for power flipping through Golf Magazine (4 minutes, 33 seconds cover-to-cover), the August issue would give me fits. I've heard this before. Oh you'll see, it's a good issue, only to paper cut myself up working through mindless instruction and even more pathetic Maxim-wannabe items geared to frat houses that wouldn't even use the mag to balance a keg, much less be caught subscribing to Golf.

But John was right, the issue was outstanding and hopefully the first sign that an SI influence has taken hold at Golf. Not only is there a nice opening photo spread ripping off a cornerstone of the SI franchise, but excellent content throughout highlighted by two Alan Bastable pieces.

The first is his interview with Hunter Mahan who proves to be sort of a modern day David Duval, only with a sense of humor, enough humility to be likable and no painful speeches about the trials and tribulations of fatherhood. The Ryder Cup remarks were of most interest:

The Presidents Cup sounds like fun. Has the Ryder Cup become a chore?
Phil Mickelson and Tiger — their time is worth money. And for the PGA of America, the Ryder Cup is a moneymaker like no other. They don't have to pay anything. I think when [Mark] O'Meara said players should get paid for it or some of the money given to their charities, I think [he said that] because the PGA takes so much out of the event that the players don't really get anything. Is it an honor to play? Yes, it is. But their time is valuable. This is a business.
So there's resentment?
I just feel like the players don't have much control over it, and I don't think they like that. I wouldn't like that.
How do you explain the U.S. team's recent woes?
I think Europe really, really takes it seriously. I think the U.S. does, too, but not like Europe. For one, every place they hold a Ryder Cup in Europe is a place on the European Tour schedule. That's really smart because right away they have an advantage. The PGA of America could care less about winning it, honestly. They pick a site where they're going to have the Senior PGA, the PGA and the Ryder Cup, which means less money they have to pay out to get more money. And from what I've heard the whole week is extremely long. You've got dinners every night — not little dinners, but huge, massive dinners. I know, as players, that's the last thing we want to do. We want to prepare ourselves. That's part of the whole thing: you're just a slave that week. At some point the players might say, "You know what — we're not doing this anymore, because this is ridiculous."
Guys might actually refuse to play?
Don't be surprised if it happens. It's just not a fun week like it should be. The Presidents Cup is fun. Jack just makes it fun. We had a great time, we really enjoyed each other's company. From what I've heard, the Ryder Cup just isn't fun. The fun is sucked right out of it. That's the word I hear a lot.
The other story you must read is Bastable's compelling profile of Arjun Atwal that clears the Nationwide player's name and fleshes out the bizarre events surrounding the fatal accident he was involved in.

Championship Vision At The PGA

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If you are going to the PGA, it seems the folks at American Express will be handing out their Championship Vision TV's to the first few thousand cardholders. Definitely the best deal of the group...

Are You a Cardmember?
While the PGA Learning Center is open to all, only Cardmembers will have the exclusive opportunity to enjoy:
•          Championship Vision:  Cardmembers can borrow complimentary, hand-held televisions that deliver a live telecast of the championship that fans can pause and rewind, check out aerial views of Oakland Hills Country Club and view player bios from anywhere on the course
•          American Express Cardmember Club:  The exclusive lounge area features complimentary food and beverage items and a silent auction featuring historic golf memorabilia and travel packages (Located between the 8th and 12th fairways, open all day from August 4–10)
•          Commemorative PGA Poster:  Special gift available with all purchases over $175 made using an American Express Card at the merchandise tents

After the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, I reviewed Championship Vision here.

Note to Julius: you'll score major points with scribblers if you can procure a few of these for their use. I know you appreciate these tips.