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
I think it's safe to say Roger Ebert will not be watching Seven Days In Utopia when it re-airs on Lifetime. The golf movie opens today with Robert Duvall starring in a performance Ebert noted:
Alex Miceli reports on the work about to get underway at Chambers Bay to prepare for the 2015 U.S. Open. And because the work is driven by the U.S. Open's needs, the USGA is helping pay for the work, setting an interesting precedent.
I tracked the jargon-usage from the press conference to announce a new TV deal--starring Tim Finchem, with cameos by Sean McManus and Mark Lazarus--and Value never had to go the whip, leading gate to wire despite a nice stretch run move by 99-1 longshot Underpinning. Value you paid $2.80 to win.
Steve Elling on the wild scene at the putting green with belly putters seemingly everywhere you looked Thursday. But all eyes will be on Phil Mickelson's bag.This revamp debuted last year but this is the first time I've had a chance to see what Gil Hanse, Brad Faxon and Jim Wagner cooked up for their remodel of the second green. I must say, television does not do this one justice. I definitely plan to spend some time there as the Deutsche Bank kicks off. And not just because it's so close to the media center.
The green is located in the same spot as the Palmer designed green, with the bail-out area changed from a giant drainage catch basin to a more level and natural look. But check out what golfers face if they do bail away from this reachable par-5 green (click on the images to enlarge).
(Above) left side lay up view, note how the "bump" creates problems.
From above the bail out...what a wild shot!
And the view from the ShotLink scaffolding...
Details will follow. My Twitter stream has the highlights from Tim Finchem's press conference in Boston.
****The official release highlights:
Highlights of the CBS package include the majority of the popular West Coast Swing; a strong spring and summer schedule; the end of the FedExCup Regular Season including the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational and the play-in event to the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup, the Wyndham Championship; and coverage of The Barclays to begin the Playoffs. CBS will maintain more than 130 hours of live weekend coverage per year.
NBC will continue to have a strong first quarter of coverage including two World Golf Championships events – the Accenture Match Play Championship and Cadillac Championship – and the Southern Swing; extended coverage of THE PLAYERS Championship in May with limited commercial interruption; and the final three Playoff events: the Deutsche Bank Championship, BMW Championship and the FedExCup season-ending TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola. NBC also will continue coverage of the biennial Presidents Cup. In all, NBC will have more than 75 hours of live coverage annually.
Golf Channel will continue to open the PGA TOUR season with four-round coverage of the first three tournaments, provide exclusive early-round coverage of the tournaments televised by CBS and NBC, and provide four-round coverage of alternate events and the Fall Series. In addition, Golf Channel will continue to broadcast prime time replays of its early round coverage, and will have rights to expand its exclusive lead-in coverage and replays for every event televised by CBS and NBC.
Financial terms of the new television deals were not disclosed, as has been the case historically with the PGA TOUR and its network partners. However, Finchem indicated that rights fee increases in this new term will allow the PGA TOUR to grow financial opportunities for players, invest in digital assets for fans globally that will create more one-on-one interactions between players, tournaments and fans and will position the TOUR to allow for increasing charitable contributions.
The new agreements also will provide for innovative coverage on digital platforms and the Golf Channel designed to enhance and expand the viewing experience for PGA TOUR fans. This includes:
A wide range of simulcast coverage of live tournament action on various PGA TOUR digital platforms starting with PGATOUR.COM, as well as CBSports.com, NBCSports.com and GolfChannel.com
Additional digital coverage of a number of tournaments featuring the ability to enjoy coverage from marquee holes, competition highlights and regular news updates from tournament sites; and
In partnership with NBC and Golf Channel, innovative, new live complementary tournament coverage on Golf Channel, which will air along with NBC’s coverage.
Today's pro-am at the Deutsche Bank Championship, playing the back nine behind good buddy Vijay Singh, who has long been using a similar looking long thingy. Hope they can share notes!
Wednesday's press conference to launch the new era of Acushnet (Titleist, Footjoy) that is now backed by a consortium of Korean investors kicked off with a press conference. Set at the Bay Club near the company headquarters in Fairhaven, the event was co-hosted by longtime CEO Wally Uihlein and new Chairman Gene Yoon. There was the inevitable talk of value propositions, growth, stability, continuing ball manufacturing in America and plans to continue the traditions of golf's most historic brand.There aren't usually too many great playoff stories when you compare them to, say, the U.S. Open sectionals, but Doug Ferguson does a nice job telling the Cinderella story of 32-year-old William McGirt, who has improbably made it to round 2 in Boston with a refreshing attitude.
"If you can't enjoy this job, you're in it for the wrong reasons," McGirt said.
This is from a 32-year-old PGA Tour rookie who played more mini-tours than he cares to remember; who still thinks it's a privilege - not a right - to get a courtesy car; and who thought more than once about quitting, promising himself "one more year" until he finally reached the last stage of Q-school two years ago.
He has traveled so much in the minor leagues that he once saw his wife for only eight days during a four-month stretch.
"If something happens and we never get back out here, I wouldn't kick myself for stuff I could have done," McGirt said. "I would know we gave it our best, and we had a blast while we were doing it."
There have been plenty of thrills the last two weeks.
McGirt had missed the cut in 13 of the 25 tournaments he had played, but he had done just well enough in the others that he was on the cusp of getting the 125th and final spot in the playoffs. His car already was packed in Greensboro, N.C. McGirt either was going west toward Knoxville, Tenn., for a Nationwide Tour event, or north toward New Jersey for the $8 million playoff opener at The Barclays.
Long after McGirt had finished his final round, it came down to this: On the 18th hole, Justin Leonard just missed the fairway and wound up missing a 12-foot par putt, a sequence that moved McGirt to No. 125 and sent him to the richest event he had ever played.
...let it be known that I am taking a Wednesday tour of the sexily named "Ball Plant 3" near Fairhaven, Massachusetts, followed by a press conference with Acushnet CEO Wally Uihlein and new Chairman Gene Yoon.
To my fellow scribblers attending the presser: if I don't appear at the Bay Club by noon sharp, it means my rants about technology got me sleeping with the future NXT's in a molten pot of Polybutadiene.
However, if I live to tell about it, expect some Tweets and video.
Geoff Shackelford is a Senior Writer for Golfweek magazine, a weekly contributor to Golf Channel's Morning
Copyright © 2022, Geoff Shackelford. All rights reserved.
