When you come to think of it that is the secret of most of the great holes all over the world. They all have some kind of a twist. C.B. MACDONALD
Thanks to reader Greg for sending the link to this amazing ESPN E:60 short documentary on a caddy and his sponsor in Mumbai, India. Connoisseurs of cross country golf will want to see the handmade clubs and slum design the caddies create to test their skills.
Mumbai Golf - ESPN E:60 from Evolve IMG Films Ltd. on Vimeo.
Golf Channel's replay of the Valero Open first round re-airs at 8:30 ET and about 50 minutes in he racks up the big score. To boot, he was wearing a Golf Channel microphone!
**Err...make that 16!
The two main questions most would have are not answered in the release: the new tournament title and whether it's going from five days to four. Ron Sirak's report on the eight-year-deal suggests they are still contemplating the four day switch.
For Immediate Release...
Humana and the William J. Clinton Foundation Partner with PGA TOUR for Bob Hope Classic
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FL and LA QUINTA, CA – The PGA TOUR and the Bob Hope Classic announced today that Humana (NYSE: HUM) and the William J. Clinton Foundation have formed an eight-year partnership with the TOUR and the Classic beginning in 2012, with Humana becoming title sponsor. Next year’s tournament week will be January 16-22.
The agreement will build on a shared commitment by both the Clinton Foundation and Humana to promote healthy living and work across sectors to improve the lives of people around the world. A conference of health-industry leaders will be held early in the tournament week. Further details on the partnership, the tournament and the format will be announced later this spring.
“We are excited to announce this collaboration between Humana and the Clinton Foundation in support of this iconic event,” said PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem. “The tournament will take on an expanded focus of serving as a strategic platform to establish and communicate new initiatives in health and well-being. We are delighted to have the support and commitment of Humana and truly honored to have the Clinton Foundation’s partnership.”
Sponsorship of the tournament expands Humana’s involvement with the PGA TOUR. As one of the nation’s largest publicly traded health benefits companies, Humana has been a marketing partner of the TOUR since 2005 and is the “Official Health Benefits Company of the PGA TOUR and Champions Tour.”
“President Clinton and his Foundation have had an enormous impact over the past years on improving lives by transforming ideas into real action,” said Humana Chairman and CEO Michael B. McCallister. “We see the partnership with the Clinton Foundation, the PGA TOUR and the Classic as an effective way to showcase the importance and overall benefits of a healthy lifestyle and what needs to be done to improve overall health and well-being for everyone.”
“The PGA TOUR has always been a leader in philanthropy,” President Clinton said. “I’m so pleased that my Foundation has committed to working with the TOUR and Humana to raise awareness for global health and continue to improve the lives of people around the world. Through the Clinton Global Initiative, members have made nearly 2,000 commitments, which have helped 300 million people in more than 170 countries. My Foundation has helped 4 million people gain access to life-saving HIV/AIDS medications, but there is still more work to be done. By joining with the PGA TOUR and Humana, we can further our efforts to improve global health, strengthen economies, and protect the environment.”
President Clinton will have a prominent role in both the conference and the tournament including key messaging and a presence in the tournament telecast.
Since its introduction in 1960 as the Palm Springs Golf Classic, the tournament has generated more than $50 million for charity and literally funded the construction of the Eisenhower Medical Center, thanks in large part to Bob Hope becoming involved as tournament host in 1965. The Bob Hope Classic traditionally is played the third week of the PGA TOUR season and is the first tournament on the U.S. mainland.
“We have always felt that the Bob Hope Classic is more than just a golf tournament and we could not be more pleased that Humana, the Clinton Foundation and the PGA TOUR are enhancing the mission of this event in the spirit of Bob Hope’s legacy of giving back,” said John Foster, Chairman of the Bob Hope Classic. “Mr. Hope epitomized a healthy lifestyle, was friend to Presidents and Kings, believed in the good works of this tournament, and would certainly be thrilled with today’s announcement.”
After all, we live in a world where a champion heroically birdieing the last four holes and a host of other players performing brilliantly under pressure might just give some the impression something was faulty with the design or setup.
Well, we know tournament chairman Fred Ridley phoned in this year's setup...just kidding.
As I noted in Golf World Monday (link readable for non-subscribers too), Augusta National put on a show like few others this year thanks to what looked like a combination of a very solid setup by the committee, the addition of so much more grass on the course and slightly softer ground.
No, balls didn't roll down banks into creeks and lakes as much as they used to. And in general, we saw very few situations where you felt like the course was creeping over the edge. Schwartzel shot -14 and sure, there were plenty of red numbers but the weather was essentially ideal for four days. On a course with no rough, four par-5s and smooth greens, that's a number today's players should shoot.
That said, the architecture still is tainted by the recent changes, namely at 11, 15 and 17 where the tree planting does not get any less offensive. Huggan and Elling noted this and other course related topics in their pond scrum:
Huggan: The sight of Jason Day chipping out -- chipping out at Augusta! -- from behind a particularly mindless example of a Hootie tree right of No. 15 made me shudder.
Elling: Absolutely agreed. The whole idea is to be able to go for the green -- at your own peril. Chop-outs are for the U.S. Open.
Huggan: I don't have a problem with ANGC being longer, I might add. Something has to be done if the ball is not to be fixed by the USGA and the R&A. In fact, we have come full circle in that respect: 14 years ago the so-called "Tiger-proofing" began when Woods was hitting short irons to par-5s. Well, that's what we had again this week from the likes of Woodland and Quiros.
So I'm curious what you are seeing and hearing from those who watched the Masters.
Do golfers attribute this year's epic Masters to the great setup and conditioning giving today's players a chance to showcase their talents, or do they see low scores and think something is wrong?
I really do hope we've grown past such a childish assessment of a course's worth based on the scores, but I know better.
It was fascinating to see how many people who aren't Tweeters emailing around the image that Rory McIlroy posted on his Twitter account featuring himself with Charl Schwartzel headed to Malaysia. Not only did it remind people what a graceful and even courageous young man he is in defeat, but only added to his following as Jay Busbee noted.
Well that's a stretch, but there aren't many courses under construction but it's great to see nice guy Bruce Hepner get the gig to design the second course at Ballyneal, where he worked on the original layout's design with Tom Doak and Jim Urbina. Ron Whitten with the details.Geoff Shackelford is a Senior Writer for Golfweek magazine, a weekly contributor to Golf Channel's Morning
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