Did IMG Steer Clients To Stanford Financial?

Thanks to reader Tuco for Peter Lauria and Kaja Whitehouse's New York Post story claiming that IMG directed its clients to Stanford Financial. IMG is vehemently denying...

According to three sources with knowledge of the situation, IMG and Stanford have a quid-pro-quo agreement under which Stanford Financial pays IMG a low- to mid-seven-figure consulting fee in exchange for IMG advising its clients - which include golfers Tiger Woods, Arnold Palmer, David Toms, Sergio Garcia and others - to have their money managed by Stanford.

The backroom bargaining has exposed IMG to charges of double-dealing, and is raising questions about where the firm's allegiances lay: with Stanford Financial or its athlete clients.

"It's certainly a conflict of interest," said one source. "IMG is trading on its athletes' names to make money for themselves and then turning around and telling them to invest money with Stanford."

Greetings From L.A., Pro-Am Edition

Skies cleared to make for a beautiful pro-am day. Normally I try to take cover on pro-am days since the media center is right in the firing lines. Today I spent some time on the range to watch a few players I don't normally get the chance to observe.

Early on, I witnessed a true first: fifty or so Japanese media members watching Ryo Ishikawa hit balls. And not just watching, but they were glued to every shot. Some were even making notes. Yes, notes of a driving range session. And when he moved to the side tee to work out of the practice bunker, the herd followed. Truly a different world!

Chopra (click to enlarge)Daniel Chopra spent a good 15 minutes trying to hit lob wedges over the range fence before finally giving up. Judging by the state of his, uh, highlights, I think his time would have been better spent at one of L.A.'s finer salons.

Trevor Immelman came to the range and no one seemed to know, care or even recognized the Masters champion. Pretty strange. That said, watching his beautiful swing next to that of Jeev Milkha Singh provided quite the contrast.

Jeev Singh at the top of his unique backswing (clck to enlarge)Singh must have the strangest swing for a great player. I had hoped to interview him but he seemed determined to hit about 300 balls and you can only stand and watch someone that laid off at the top so long.

I watched Vijay Singh and he didn't seem the least bit bothered by the Stanford Financial situation, so hopefully his money was invested elsewhere.

And finally, my major quest of the day ended with good news: Stuart Appleby is not, contrary to what I've heard, a complete jerk to his pro-am partners. In fact, I can report that he not only spoke to them, but signed autographs for young boys and even posed for a photo, patiently waiting while a young Wang took way too many shots and way too much time trying to frame the image. Appleby displayed great patience and dispelled most of the myths about his pro-am demeaner with the GeoffShackelford.com staff.

"I always say if it was built before 1960, there's a good chance I'm going to like it."

Jim Furyk, killing any chance he had for the ASGCA's Donald Ross Award, talking Wednesday at the Loss-of-Trust Open about Riviera and classic architecture in general.

I always say if it was built before 1960, there's a good chance I'm going to like it. If it was built after 1990, there's probably a pretty good chance I won't. It doesn't always hold true, but it's a good rule of thumb.

"A wood not an iron"

Thanks to reader Quan for this Aaron Gouveia story that sounds like something out of a Larry David episode. Guy holds door open for another guy who doesn't say thank you, so guy opening door utters sarcastic "thank you" (something I will never do again after reading this!).

Police officers were called to the Hess gas station at the corner of Sandwich Road and Route 151 at 6:45 a.m. Monday following an altercation between two customers. The incident began with one man not saying "thank you" to another man as he held the door open for him, police said.

When he was exiting the gas station, police said, a 50-year-old East Falmouth man held the door open for Carlos Navarro, 38, of Falmouth. When Navarro allegedly failed to thank the man for opening the door, the 50-year-old man allegedly uttered a sarcastic "thank you" to Navarro, police said.

Navarro told police he believed he had been disparaged, which led to a heated argument. Navarro then went to his car and retrieved a golf club — a wood not an iron — and struck the alleged victim several times in the stomach and legs, police said.

Police said the alleged victim suffered minor injuries in the incident.

So glad we got that clarified on wood or iron. As if it really makes a difference when you are getting beaten with one!

PGA Tour Sponsors: "Three Camps"

I thought reader "Hitting Three" made some interesting observations (as did several others) on the original Stanford Financial post.  Hitting Three broke down PGA Tour sponsors into categories of financial well-being. In case you missed it:

PGA Tour sponsors, 3 camps:

Camp Solid: (24 events)
=======================
Mercedes...seem to be fine.
Sony...seem to be fine.
AT&T...seem to be fine.
Northern Trust...seem to be fine, for a bank anyway.
Accenture...seem to be fine.
Honda...seem to be fine.
Mastercard....debatable but AP can always rope in a new one.
Computer Associates...seem fine.
Transitions...ditto.
Shell...should be fine.
Master's...self-funding, what a concept!! (obviously not a PGA Tour event)
Verizon...seem to be fine.
Zurich...ditto.
Valero...stock went from $75 to $15, but otherwise fine?
HP...fine.
Travelers...ditto.
AT&T (2)...seem to be fine.
John Deere...stock from $90 to $30, but seem fiscally sound.
Royal Bank of Canada...prob be ok, but keep an eye on 'em.
Bridgestone...should be fine.
BMW...ditto.
Coca Cola...ditto. (it's "Co'cola" for the uninitiated)
Viking...men will always grill out.
Disney...guess there will always be a Disney tournament.

Camp Coin Flip: (8 events)
==========================
Mayakoba...luxury travel, who knows, unless it's a wash site then they are fine?
Crowne Plaza...hotel biz? has to be a questionmark.
Morgan Stanley...appears to have survived brush with death, but TARP limits them.
Wyndham...hotel biz? stock has gone from $37 to $4, I'd be worried.
Deutsche Bank...another bank, stock is down 75%, flip a coin.
Turning Stone...prob be ok, I guess.
Shriners...who is the sponsor?
Fry's...with the recent fraud who knows?

Band Camp: (10 events)
======================
Chrysler...life support, probably not a viable sponsor going forward.
FBR...stock traded at .22c today. Most .22c'rs don't make it.
Buick...ditto Chrysler.
Banco Popular...bank, stock down 75% in last 3 years, seems v shaky.
Wachovia...vaporized, acquiror has no interest in Tour.
Stanford...raided today by SEC for "massive on-going fraud".
US Bank...bailed on the sponsorship after '09.
Buick (2)...life support, brand may not even survive.
Legends..."a project that is currently on hold" -- doubt they are back for '10.
Barclays...stock down 87%, and it's a bank, Ty bulk up in legal!

- 56% of events appear to be on solid footing.
- 20% in coin flip territory.
- 24% looking like burnt toast.

Not a pretty picture... 02.17.2009 | Hitting Three

"Tom Morris of St Andrews" Wins 2008 USGA Award

Here's the story on USGA.org.

Minorities Pave Way For Anthony Kim To Skip L.A. Open

Daniel Wexler looks at the progressive nature of the event formerly known as the L.A. Open, while Doug Ferguson notes the power of IMG the interesting early season scheduling by the next great PGA Tour hope, Anthony Kim.

Anthony Kim grew up in Los Angeles and spent his last few years of high school in the Palm Springs area. But the West Coast swing will end without Kim at either of the PGA Tour stops in his hometowns.

He missed the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic with a shoulder injury, leaving Mark Calcavecchia to quip, "Has he heard of Advil?"

More peculiar is how Kim could miss the Northern Trust Open at Riviera. Instead, he is playing on the European tour for the second straight week, this time at the Johnnie Walker Classic in Perth, Australia.

Kim has played only twice on the PGA Tour this year, tying for second in Kapalua and missing the cut in Phoenix.

Update on 2009-02-18 18:00 by Geoff

But at least AK got to stay in Australia this week, unlike his caddy.

Stevie: "He never tees it up unless he believes he can win and he's ready to go."

Stevie Williams is still in New Zealand and not sounding entirely like someone about to jump on a plane for Tucson. Which makes sense, since a Tiger return to the match play seems like an odd choice when you consider the 36-hole days involved on the weekend. Or Stevie's bluffing:

"It's going to be anytime, shortly," Williams said.

"He's probably 95 percent of the way there. He was waiting for the birth of his second child which just came last week so he's ready to go. He just needs a little bit more walking. He hasn't been able to walk too well," he added.

"Anytime in the next few weeks he's going to tee it up. He definitely wants to play a couple of tournaments before Augusta so any day now he's going to make a decision when he's going to play."

Greetings From LA: Quiet Tuesday Edition

Riviera took another rain beating overnight and seemed pretty saturated this morning, but by midday was drying out. I even spotted some of Matt Morton's dedicated crew out mowing fairways, an encouraging sign that things are too water logged.

I walked with a few players and listened in on some driving range chatter, all the while noticing that Vijay Singh was constantly on his cell phone. I'm going to guess those weren't fun calls. 

My best attempt at a Borat thumbs up needs work (click to enlarge)Fun for me was getting my photo taken next to the Titleist truck, something I did just for my vast Fairhaven readership, which looks a little thin these days based on Google Analytics.

I also forgot how boring it can be listening to golf pros talk about shafts, lofts, lies and other minutae. At least they're passionate about something! We certainly know it's not golf architecture.

Anyone not have a camera in Ryo's gallery? (click to enlarge)Fans were in such short supply that teen sensation Ryo Ishikawa's gallery was dominated by photographers and television crews (see lousy iphone image, left). After briefly catching a glimpse of the young lad who sported banana yellow slacks he picked up at a Tom Weiskopf garage sale, I was thrilled to hear he joined up for back nine play with two giants of the game. He covered this in his afternoon press conference:

Q. I believe you played a practice round today with Chris DiMarco and J.J. Henry. How did that come about, and did they give you any advice or words of wisdom?

RYO ISHIKAWA: Both players are so kind to give advice like, you know, the pin positions last year or something like that. So every single hole, those two players gave me some advice.

I wanted to play the PGA TOUR since I was young, and it's kind of like a dream playing with those superstar players. So, it's like a dream.

I think that's the first time superstar has been used to describe J.J. Henry, but you have to love the respect he's paying his elders.

Speaking of respecting elders, John Strege filed this enjoyable summary of Ryo's news conference

Stanford Financial Clippings

Steve Elling labels the Stanford Financial charges a disaster and Bob Harig manages to wrangle a quote out of the LPGA spokesman who says they are monitoring the situation.

Geoff Caulkins talks to a FedEx briefcase and it sure sounds like the air freight giant is already in talks to rescue the Memphis stop they once sponsored.

Martha Graybow of Reuters says the case raises new questions about the SEC. But I found some of the timing mentioned interesting considering the LPGA just recently signed up (Nov. 19) Stanford for its Tour Championship despite this:

A complaint filed last year against Stanford's firm by two former employees contended they were aware of a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission inquiry into the firm's sales practices while they worked there.

The employees, Mark Tidwell and Charles Rawl, said in their Texas state court lawsuit that they left rather than participate in unlawful business practices. They departed in late 2007.

A Guardian blog post by Andy Bull examines the likelihood of poor due diligence performed by the England and Wales Cricket Board before taking Stanford's sponsorship money. So will questions will be raised about the due dilligence carried out by the PGA and LPGA Tours who are so visibly leaning on Stanford?

More immediately, the Stanford Financial "Eagles for St. Jude" spots should prove to be uncomfortable for the Golf Channel anchor who has to note the program. As should future airings of these ads:

Latest Trump Bankruptcy Not Exactly Assuring The Scots

If they only knew how many times The Donald has been through this, they'd understand it's all part of doing business the Apprentice way.

He said the company "represents substantially less than 1% of my net worth, and has for some time".

"If I can't manage something, it's not for me," said Trump who holds 28% of the company's stock, according to a recent filing. "Now I will study and watch as the horrible and outrageous fees being paid to lawyers and consultants will suck the blood from the company."

Last night, Aberdeenshire councillor Paul Johnston, an opponent of the Menie golf development in its present form, said he believed events in America did have a bearing on the Menie development.

"He is a property developer at the riskiest time ever for property development and the questions is, will it ever get finished if he starts it? People are worried it will never happen and Mr Trump, by his resignation, is breeding uncertainty. I am not in high finance but this doesn't look good.

"Clearly he always has the option of making life easier for himself by scaling back the development here and still build the world's greatest golf course but without destroying the sand dunes. This whole development may be built on sand."

Bandon, Here They Come?

Matty G looks at the efforts to make Bandon Dunes more accessible via commercial aircraft and also quotes my cousin Tobin who has creating an innovative air service for those wanting to get around some of Oregon's better courses.

What Kind Of Club Is Natalie Holding?

Alright, behave yourselves please, my mother reads this site!.

Here is an email query going around wondering what kind of club shaft that Natalie Gulbis, current Celebrity Apprentice star, is holding? Here's the email:

Stanford Financial Raided By U.S. Marshalls**

Oops. Now this should test those ironclad PGA Tour contracts. And on the LPGA side, ADT must be looking better and better down at headquarters.

Update on 2009-02-17 22:32 by Geoff

**The Commissioner weighs in:

STATEMENT FROM PGA TOUR COMMISSIONER TIM FINCHEM REGARDING ALLEN STANFORD

We have no comment regarding the situation with Allen Stanford and certain of his companies at this time.

However, we want to categorically state that the PGA TOUR event in Memphis will be played as scheduled this year.

Update on 2009-02-17 22:38 by Geoff

Thanks to reader Jim for this story which fleshes out the sports angle a bit more including Vijay Singh's possible exposure.

ZZZZZZZ: Olympic Golf Would Use 72-Hole Stroke Play Format

76 pages of questions?

IGF Submits Detailed Questionnaire to International Olympic Committee, Constituting Golf’s Formal Olympic Bid

Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, USA (February 17, 2009) - The International Golf Federation announced today that a 76-page detailed questionnaire was submitted on Sunday to the International Olympic Committee Programme Commission, constituting the formal and technical bid to include golf in the 2016 Olympic Games.

The questionnaire sought specific information on various topics relevant to golf's bid, including how golf would be presented if it were part of the Olympic Games and information on golf's worldwide appeal and governance structure. The submission of the questionnaire was the next step in the process set forth by the IOC Programme Commission and followed a presentation in November to the Commission in Lausanne, Switzerland by Peter Dawson, chief executive of The R&A and joint secretary of the IGF, and PGA TOUR executive Ty Votaw, Executive Director of the IGF Olympic Golf Committee.

"We are pleased with the formal bid document, and now look forward to working with the Programme Commission on the preparation of the final report to the IOC Executive Board in advance of our presentation to the Board in June," Votaw said. "We worked diligently to solicit input from the world's leading players and golf organizations to address and finalize a number of key issues contained in the document, including the recommended format for competition."

Recognized as the representative body for golf by the IOC, the IGF is proposing 72-hole individual stroke play for both men and women. Leading players expressed that this is the fairest and best way to identify a champion, mirroring the format used in golf's major championships. In case of a tie for either first, second or third place, a three-hole playoff is recommended to determine the medal winner(s).

There's your buried lede of the week or maybe month.

Golf needs another 72-hole stroke play event like it needs another financial firm sponsoring a tour event.

Oh but it's fair! And it's just like the majors.

Example 90,702 demonstrating golf's lack of imagination rearing its ugly head yet again.