Turtle Pike Dive, 2011 Players!

Rory McIlroy Tweeted the NBC turtle dive video from today's Players, hopefully we'll get higher quality version from the PGA Tour. Besides being great fun to watch, it's a nice reminder of what an amazing wildlife course this is. Even with the blue dye in the ponds, it's generally a sign of a healthy golf course and sensitive maintenance practices when you have so many birds, reptiles and other critters around.

Update on 2011-05-15 03:46 by Geoff

**Here's the PGATour.com version.

And another version with Jean Van de Velde commentating courtesy of reader Aleid!

2011 Players, Third Round Open Thread

I'll be on the course most of the day but would love to know what you are seeing.

Also, first Johnny reference to "grain" in the greens should be noted.

Your Players coverage times:

12-7 ET Live@ coverage at PGATour.com

PGA Tour Network Sirius/XM 12-7 ET

NBC 2-7 ET

Seve's Brother Makes Plea For Spain To Get '18 Ryder Cup

The Telegraph's Ian Chadband reports that the Ballesteros family would like the European Ryder Cup committee to select Madrid next Tuesday when they announce the winner of the 2018 Ryder Cup bidding.

The golfer’s brothers Manuel, Vicente and Baldomero and sons, Javier and Miguel, want the European Tour’s Ryder Cup committee to choose Spain’s capital city over rival bids from France, Germany, Portugal and Holland when they meet at Wentworth on Tuesday.

A tearful Baldomero invoked the legend of El Cid, the 11th century nobleman who, having been strapped to his warhorse following his death in battle and placed at the front of his troops, was supposed to have inspired them to one final victory.

He said: “I wish that, like El Cid, Seve wins the last battle after his death. It would be the greatest tribute to him.

“I appeal to the sensitivity of the Ryder Cup Committee of the European Tour to agree the greatest honour that could be bestowed on Seve is to award the competition to Spain. I appeal on behalf of the family.

"The bottom line is that we don't really know what is going on with Woods."

Mike Bianchi's piece on Tiger's WD and leg issues got a lot of attention Friday for suggesting that Tiger's body is breaking down due to no longer having access to Dr. Spaceman. It's a fair question to ask but barring Dr. Spacemen announcing that he used HGH on Tiger, one that we'll never know the answer to.

A better analysis of the situation came from Ron Sirak in a follow up to yesterday's reporting.

The latest injury was announced April 26 in a statement on TigerWoods.com that said he was withdrawing from the Wells Fargo Championship because of a "Grade 1 mild medial collateral ligament (MCL) sprain to his left knee and a mild strain to his left Achilles tendon," which Woods said happened hitting a shot out from under the Eisenhower tree during the third round of the Masters.

"There is no minor injury in a 35-year-old person who has already had four operations," said Dr. Ronald Grelsamer, an associate professor of orthopedic surgery at New York's Mount Sinai Hospital. "A highly trained and toned athlete doesn't suffer a debilitating MCL strain and an Achilles strain playing golf. No other golfer in memory has suffered so many lower extremity injuries while golfing."

After Woods withdrew Thursday, many were wondering why he even tried to play if his knee was bothering him that much. He says it's because the Players is an important tournament and because he is trying to prepare for the event he really cares about -- the U.S. Open. There is certainly disagreement among those who follow the game for a living on whether Woods' poor play has more to do with swing issues, knee issues or desire issues. Strong arguments can be made for all three.

L.A. Open Presented By Northern Trust To Continue Through 2016

Nothing says big news like a Friday afternoon For Immediate Release...

Northern Trust extends sponsorship of Northern Trust Open 
New agreement carries Northern Trust Open through 2016

CHICAGO and PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – The PGA TOUR and Northern Trust (Nasdaq: NTRS) today announced a four-year sponsorship extension for the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles through 2016. Northern Trust’s original five-year agreement expires after the 2012 tournament.

That Nasdaq symbol helped. Much appreciated, even though we all had it memorized.

"When Northern Trust first came on board as title sponsor in 2008, its executive team clearly was committed to invigorating this historic tournament and reestablishing its profile as a premier event," said PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem. "Over the past four years, we have seen tremendous strides and a renewed energy surrounding the Northern Trust Open,

Renewed energy!

particularly with the addition and leadership of Jerry West as Executive Director. With today’s announcement of Northern Trust’s four-year extension, the tournament undoubtedly is going to continue to grow and have a positive influence on the Los Angeles area."

While the charitable impact of the 2011 tournament has yet to be announced, last year’s Northern Trust Open generated nearly $1.5 million. Since Northern Trust’s title sponsorship began, the tournament has raised more than $5 million.

"We are proud to renew our commitment to the Northern Trust Open," said Northern Trust Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Frederick H. Waddell. "This is a terrific event that attracts the world’s best professional golfers while supporting our business goals. The Northern Trust Open provides a premiere event for clients, improves brand awareness, and helps the community by generating substantial charitable donations and economic activity."

Yes, for The Golf Channel.

A study commissioned last year by the PGA TOUR with Beacon Economics showed the Northern Trust Open is responsible for an economic impact of more than $21 million on Los Angeles County. The impact includes the equivalent of 201 full-time jobs for a year created by the event, with earnings of approximately $7.4 million and local tax revenues of $350,000.

And now for Jerry West's quote, in the voice of David Pillsbury.

"Northern Trust is an engaged, committed, passionate title sponsor, and the organization’s leadership has helped reestablish the tournament as a major sporting event in Los Angeles," said Jerry West, Northern Trust Open executive director. "Northern Trust's continued commitment will help the tournament continue to grow and make a bigger difference in the lives of our neighbors in need."

"The idea that we would pressure him to play is ludicrous."

It's not really newsworthy that Tim Finchem went on CNBC this morning to talk business and golf, but that he was asked about the suggestion that the tour encouraged/pressured Tiger to show up. Finchem was apparently not pleased that the insinuation that was made on CNBC sister network Golf Channel Thursday, so miracle of all miracles, the Commissioner was asked about it off the top of the interview:

It's always important for Tiger to be part of the tour, because he's Tiger Woods. But the idea that we would pressure him to play is ludicrous. We don't pressure any player to play the tournament. In this case the suggestion is somehow he was hurt and we got him to play anyway. Tiger doesn't enter a tournament unless he thinks he can win. I was on the range with him tuesday, I watched him hit balls. He practiced that day, he practiced wednesday hard. And he tweaked it yesterday. So, nonissue.

Thanks to reader Jim for the video tip...

The USGA And Polara Backstory

There is a USGA-Polara history related to the straight-flying ball that the New York Times featured on Page One earlier this week.

John Strege reminds us:

Of course the ball does not conform to USGA rules, which stipulate that "the ball must not be designed, manufactured or intentionally modified to have properties which differ from those of a spherically symmetrical ball." The symmetry rule was added in 1981 in direct response to the original Polara, which was introduced in 1977 and eventually ruled by the USGA to be illegal for tournament play. The company sued the USGA, which eventually agreed to pay a settlement of $1.4 million.

Phil's Least Favorite Architect List: Dye With A Bullet!

Good news Rees, Phil's over you now that he's seen Pete's 13th green in a new light. Dave Shedloski explains what happened Thursday at The Players and shares this quote from Mickelson after a double bogey derailed a good round.

"I don't know what to say. I don't know if it's the set-up or the design, but I just don't agree with that," Mickelson said after a one-under 71 left him seven behind leader Nick Watney after the first round. "I thought the question was would it stay up on top and be by the hole or was it going to roll down in the low area? I didn't know it could possibly go in the water. I think when I design golf courses, I try not to screw the player like that. I try to keep it a little bit fair. I don't know what I could have done differently."

Tiger WD Roundup: Round One 2011 Players

Doug Ferguson:

Woods had said his leg felt better. But from the opening tee shot at the TPC Sawgrass, he looked as bad as he ever has.

''The knee acted up and then the Achilles followed after that, and then the calf started cramping up,'' Woods said. ''Everything started getting tight, so it's just a whole chain reaction.''

The first hole could not have gone any worse.

He pulled his opening tee shot into the pine trees, leaving him a stance in the pine straw. Then he came up short of the green, his ball perched at the bottom of a steep bank that force another awkward stance.

Ron Sirak:

The winless streak for Woods is now at 541 days. Not only is there no clear indication when he might win again, but now we have no idea when he will play again. There were certainly times Thursday when it appeared as if the last place Tiger Woods wanted to be was on a golf course. And when he left the property after his truncated first round, no one -- not even him -- knew when he would next be on a golf course. A man used to being in control suddenly now has precious little control of his future.

Steve DiMeglio:

Woods looked nothing like the former world No. 1 he once was. He made bogey on the first, hit two balls into the water on the fourth to make triple bogey, made another bogey on the fifth and finished with yet another bogey on the ninth. He hit just one green and had just one birdie putt.

The 42 Woods shot on Thursday was not his worst nine-hole score as a professional. He has shot 43 four times, the most recent coming in last year's Wells Fargo Championship on the back-nine at Quail Hollow in the second round.

Jeff Rude:

This is a different Woods in more ways than one. He’s winless since 2009. He has been rebuilding his life and swing after a sex scandal and subsequent divorce. And now again he’s dealing with physical problems in addition to emotional scars.

As one esteemed golf journalist said soon after the withdrawal, “Tiger’s Achilles’ heel is his Achilles’ heel. It used to be waitresses.”

Steve Elling:

Watching Woods saunter around the ninth green, surveying another lengthy putt to save par, he was visibly favoring his right knee. He looked like that sitcom character, Fred Sanford, but this was no comedy and nobody was laughing. Woods' game was junked.

Even allowing for the rust from the layoff, it was an atrocious round. He flubbed three wedge shots from close range, including dumping a pitch into a bunker on the ninth, after he had executed a soaring, 290-yard 5-wood from the fairway that sailed over the green and under a tree. Even the good shots turned out badly.

Jeff Shain:

At times, Woods was more than a minute behind playing partners Martin Kaymer and Matt Kuchar and the caddies in walking from the tee to their second shots. Following his tee shot at the par-3 eighth hole, he watched the ball’s flight from a “flamingo” stance – his left foot lifted completely off the ground.

Robert Lusetich:

Why he even showed up at The Players - a tournament he doesn’t have much love for played on a course he dislikes - remains a mystery.

Maybe he felt he needed to repay tour commissioner Tim Finchem for allowing him to use the Sawgrass clubhouse as the venue for last year’s televised apology for the wake of his scandal.

Or maybe he just felt he needed to get in some practice before next month’s US Open at Congressional Country Club.

Or maybe he was just trying to do the right thing and show up at the tour’s marquee event.

Whatever the motivation, it was clearly a mistake.

Woods wasn’t ready to play this tournament, in any sense.

Michael Bamberger:

I don't doubt that his left knee and Achilles' tendon were hurting, or that his left calf cramped up on him. But I also think Tiger Woods is about as physically tough as anybody who has ever played golf, and that if he liked the course and cared about the event and had striped his opening tee shot with a 3-wood instead of hitting a pull-hook, he would still be playing.

He was at the Players for only one reason: he needed, to use one of his words, reps. He needed more tournaments before the U.S. Open.

Bob Harig:

He did not practice again after the Masters until Monday; he played nine-hole practice rounds here Tuesday and Wednesday.

"This morning, felt fine during warm-up and then as I played, it progressively got worse. ... The treatment's been good. It's been getting better. It just wasn't enough."

Woods said his doctors told him it was OK to play.

"The more rest I get, the better it would be, obviously," he said. "Obviously, it's a big event. I wanted to come back for it and play, and unfortunately I wasn't able to finish."

The Florida Times-Union posts a photo gallery of Woods' post round activities, that included a mandatory visit to the fitness trailer to clear his WD.

Update on 2011-05-12 19:10 by Geoff

**Brian Wacker talks to Sean Foley about his student's WD:

“At the end of the day if it’s been bothered before it doesn’t ever really truly heal,” Foley said. “You can be functional and productive on it but this comes from a guy that works hard and trains hard and is a perfectionist. The guy’s created a lot of speed for a lot of time. He’s an athlete and he’s fit but you can’t overuse your body that much and not have … there’s going to be some issues.”

"Besides, there is nothing wrong with being the most important event in the world that is not a major."

Greetings from Ponte Vedra, home to the fifth of four majors one of the four best events on the globe!

That's right, the tournament kicking off Thursday is a better event than the PGA Championship. My reasoning:

-Better course than anything PGA has played in years or will play.

-Better weather (barely...)

-Better television presentation (this one's not even close...and that's not a statement about CBS v. NBC, that's a statement about the PGA becoming a preview show for the CBS fall television schedule while The Players limits commercial time and gulp, delivers value to sponsors PWC and Jeld-Wen).

-Better course setup. The PGA's Kerry Haigh does an outstanding job most of the time, but has also made a few odd moves and is stretched thin handling other duties. The PGA Tour wins on consistency at a course that is not easy to set up. (Though the TPC Sawgrass would be way better with no rough...more on that in a moment).

Geoff Ogilvy wrote about his mixed feelings for The Players and touched on the magnitude of the event.

Besides, there is nothing wrong with being the most important event in the world that is not a major. I certainly can't think of one that is more important than the Players, whether Lee and Rory turn up or not. It's certainly a bigger deal than the World Golf Championships. In fact -- although the last thing golf needs is another major in the U.S. -- if we were starting over tomorrow, the Players, as the biggest event on the world's biggest tour, would surely be a major.

Though I never experienced the event in person in March, most feel the tour needs to shift away from the May date now that the NCAA has moved games to night and more fans were around in March. Personally, I like where The Players sits on the schedule now and hope they stick to their guns, but I'm definitely in the minority on this one. John Feinstein, courtesy of reader Lee:

Okay, here’s why May is a bad idea. First, the weather is almost always hot and humid in north Florida in May and that’s the weather report for this week. The crowds last year looked sparse compared with the old days in March when snowbirds were still around and others came down to combine spring training trips with a couple days of watching golf.

But the March date was better. Sure, it rained sometimes, but overall it was cooler and more comfortable for everyone. It fit right in at the end of the Florida Swing on Tour. Maybe it was a warm-up for the Masters but now, well, it’s an early warm-up for the U.S. Open. The always politically correct Phil Mickelson slipped for a second Sunday afternoon on TV when he said he was trying to make progress, “going forward towards the Open,” before catching himself and saying, “and of course The Players next week.”

More and more of the NCAA basketball tournament is played at night these days so there is less TV competition from basketball and in May there are still the NBA playoffs to deal with; baseball in full swing and good weather in most of the country that has people outdoors on the weekend.
The Players should move back to March. It still won’t be a major but it will be a better golf tournament. That should matter.

May only quibble with this event is one key element to the golf course: the rough. Adam Scott made these comments to Doug Ferguson:

"In my personal opinion, I don't think they've got the setup quite right yet for the May date," said Adam Scott, who won The Players in 2004 when it was in March. "With the different grass, I'd like to see them set it up a little differently. I'd like to see the rough cut down a lot more with the different grass here, get the ball running through. And we could do away with the thick rough."

Here's why the Bermuda grass rough stinks: (A) it keeps errant balls in play, as Scott notes and (B) the rough strips the course of much needed aesthetic punch that it once had (think Pinehurst #2 restoration).

Either way, The Players is here. I'll be out on the course quite a bit and will try to do my best to issue some reports, but with the PGA Tour clamping down on any kind of photo or video sharing, I'll be limited in what I can share!  Enjoy! 

Tee Times.

Leaderboard.