Tiger And Rory Now Doing Joint Post-Round Interviews; Gym Sessions And Wine Country Weekends May Be Next

The signs have been there but longtime watchers of Tiger looked away: he's in love!

The Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy bromance went public Thursday at the BMW Championship when the two lovebirds gave a joint Golf Channel interview after an impressive scoring duel over Crooked Stick Golf Club.

Randell Mell writes:

“It's fun to play with him, and he's just an amazing talent,” Woods said. “You watch him swing the club and watch him putt and play, he doesn't have a lot of weaknesses. You can see that, in the next decade or so, as he really matures and understands some of the nuances of the game, he's only going to get better, and that's kind of fun to see.”

Huh? Lions don’t share their turf, do they?

Bob Harig also noted the burgeoning romance in his round one story.

They ate breakfast together Wednesday morning, bumped into each other in the media center after their pro-am rounds, managed to poke fun at one another, and were mostly all smiles during the first round of the BMW Championship at Crooked Stick. Afterward, they yukked it up together for a TV interview.

It helps when you are playing well, as both did on a warm, humid day with a water-softened course in the opening round of the third of four FedEx playoff events.

Accompanying Harig's story is a revealing image from Getty's Scott Halleran (right).

Look at how those two gaze at each other!

Let's be frank here. Tiger does not like anyone who is a threat to his game, holds grudges and it's one of the reasons we respect him. Unlike some of his peers, who are gentlemen to the point that they will never achieve greatness, Tiger wants to win and win big. Anyone who gets in the way is the enemy, just as was the case for all-time great predecessors like Ben Hogan. (I know it's hard to believe, but by all accounts the Hawk could be a real beauty when the gates opened.)

But now as Tiger gets older and much, much shorter off the tee, he has become openly smitten with young Rory, cooing over "the kid" in a joint post round interview with Steve Sands, viewable in Golf Channel's first round highlight package. 

I, not normally a cynic, have a few theories on why Tiger has taken such a liking to someone who so clearly stands in the way of reaching the much-vaunted goal of 19 majors.

• Rory is about to sign with agent Steiny (example: Stricks, Kooch...Rors next?)

• Rory mentioned that he saw the aerial videos and might be interested in buying Privacy for him and Caroline. To which Tiger, tired of the $1 million in annual upkeep, realized he's found a sucker buyer he needs to be nice to.

• Rory wondered out loud about playing at Sherwood in December and Tiger is trying his best to lure a box office draw to help save the sponsor-less event he hosts to help fund his foundation.

• Rory is about to sign with Nike (rumored but doubtful since this could eat into how much Nike pays and markets Tiger).

• Rory heard Tiger knows a lot about designing courses, wants to learn from Tiger and Tiger doesn't want to tell Rory the bad news that even the purveyor of a lowly golf blog has more design credits to his name than Tiger.

Or maybe Tiger is just setting the lad up, only to go all gamesmanshippy and glaring-stare Tiger when they meet in Sunday singles at the Ryder Cup?

I hope it's that. Because if this Mutual Admiration Society stuff goes on much longer...

The lovefest continues Friday at 9:39 a.m. ET with Golf Channel coverage at 3 p.m. ET.

**This from Golf Channel: Golf Channel will now air the second round coverage LIVE from 11:30am - 3:00pm. There will be a taped re-air immediately following the live telecast on Golf Channel from approx. 3:00-6:00pm.

Just In Case: Euro's Importing 400 Rainsuits!?

Anticipating either colossal storms or a vast shortage of GORE-TEX in the state of Illinois, European Ryder Cup supplier ProQuip will have 400 rainsuits shipped to Chicago, reports Bernie McGuire. Apparently they heard about that AmEx bill the PGA of America racked up at Celtic Manor buying suits last time out.

To kit out the 12 players in Olazábal’s team, plus caddies, ProQuip has supplied 90 pairs of waterproof trousers, 60 full-zip jackets and 60 half-zip playing tops.

ProQuip will only reveal the slim-fit garments feature an exclusively developed, highly technical, lightweight fabric that is super-quiet and supremely soft, enabling the players to perform their best in all weathers.

Olazábal and his four vice-captains also receive rain suits, as well as backroom staff, the six boys and six girls that make up the Junior European Ryder Cup Team, plus board members and Official Partners of Ryder Cup Europe.

Gee, and I thought the PGA of America was shameless when it came to having too many hanger-on types!

Irony: Augusta's Muni Shuttered

Newer readers wonder why I'm hostile toward The First Tee, which, while no doubt a fine program with fantastic tax implications for those who give to the program, too often receives all of the attention from those generously giving to "grow the game."

However, the problem for American golf's future remains the same: we may be introducing new people to the game through The First Tee, and then turning them loose to limited or unappealing options for graduating to a "big" course. Like in the case of Augusta, Georgia, where there's a well funded First Tee and now we learn, the closed muni, a.k.a. The Patch.

Susan McCord and Gracie Shepherd report the sad news of The Patch's closure Wednesday, complete with Club Car picking up its leased equipment and a hapless city government that feeds off of golf-related tax dollars refusing to turn the lease over to interested parties who requested some basic repairs.

Augusta commissioners decided not to make the repairs or comply with other requested concessions, so the Kelly group backed out.

“We had a good alternative, but they didn’t like it,” an irritated Commissioner Joe Jackson said Thursday, referring to other commission members.

In fact, someone placed a sign at the clubhouse Thursday pointing those wanting to play to three commissioners – J.R. Hatney, Bill Lockett and Alvin Mason – and suggesting they were responsible for the public golf course closing.

Jackson said those commissioners certainly didn’t help The Golf Course at Augusta LLC, the new firm headed by the Kellys.

An angry Jackson even suggested the city’s handling of the situation might warrant termination of top city personnel.

“Someone’s going home,” he said.

Beermeister: “We tried to stack the deck in our favor by releasing the beer in areas where we don’t have to explain who Sam Snead was."

There is one minor issue with the new Slammin' Sam beer, created in part by former Golf Channel staffer Casey Bierer, and pointed out by The Pilot's Tom Embrey.

The line’s packaging and marketing will depict famous images of Snead from the 1950s and ’60s. Ironically, Snead was pretty much a teetotaler, especially when he was on the circuit playing.

“We tried to stack the deck in our favor by releasing the beer in areas where we don’t have to explain who Sam Snead was,” Bierer said.

Bierer said he hopes to expand the brand in the future to reach more than just golfers.

“Our inspiration was Sam Snead,” Bierer said, “So golf courses are a natural target, but this is not just for golf courses, it’s not a novelty product. It’s something we think everyone will enjoy.”

Slammin' Sam is available at Pinehurst Resort along with 31 other beers.

Monday's Deutsche Bank The Second Most Watched Playoff Event, Ever!

Yes, I spoke too soon about the no-press-release-in-the-in-box-part, but the format still needs work if a star-studded leaderboard on a cool course is only drawing a 3.3...and that's record territory?

For Immediate Release...

Ratings for Golf Channel on NBC’s Final Day Coverage of Deutsche Bank Championship was Second Only to Tiger-Phil Showdown at Same Event in 2007

NBC Sports Group Sets Multiple Ratings Records to Begin 2012 Playoffs

ORLANDO, Fla. (Sept. 6, 2012) – NBC’s final round coverage of the Deutsche Bank Championship on Monday became the highest-rated and most-watched PGA TOUR Playoff round in five years, and the second-best round among all four Playoff events since the race for the FedExCup began in 2007.

Scoring a 3.3 household rating and 4,808,000 average viewers, the 1:30-6 p.m. ET broadcast was second only to the final round of the Deutsche Bank Championship in 2007 (3.4/4,900,000), which featured a finishing duel between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. This year’s final round also bested the same round last year by 83 percent.

“The PGA TOUR Playoffs have provided a stage for the best players in the world to showcase some incredible golf and the resulting competitive drama has garnered more attention than ever before,” said Golf Channel President Mike McCarley. “Tim Finchem and his staff at the PGA TOUR deserve credit for their vision in creating an exciting playoff environment, which after five years has delivered on the promise of what golf can be at this time of year.”

Whoa Nellie, going out of your way to thank the Commish for the great "vision." Easy there Mike, that quote will come up in the next negotiations! Don't encourage them!

Golf Channel early round coverage of the first two tournaments of the PGA TOUR Playoffs – The Barclays and Deutsche Bank Championship – and its branded coverage of the third and final rounds of the Deutsche Bank Championship on NBC have set several ratings milestones, creating a wave of ratings momentum heading into the final two Playoff events of the 2012 season. These record audiences continue to contribute to making Golf Channel the fastest-growing network on U.S. television among those serving more than 80 million households.

· Round two of the Deutsche Bank Championship on Golf Channel (1.5/1,526,000) was the highest-rated and most-watched early round for this event ever (2003-2012) and was 84 percent higher than the same round in 2010, the last time Tiger Woods played in the event. It also was the second-most-watched Playoff early round in the history of the FedExCup (best was round two of the 2007 TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola (1.9/1,721,000).

· Metered market overnight ratings for third round coverage of the Deutsche Bank Championship on NBC (2.5) was up 67 percent over the same round in 2011 (+47% versus 2010) and the best since 2007 (2.8).

· Golf Channel’s second round coverage of The Barclays (1.4/1,344,000) topped any previous record since the tournament became a Playoff event on Golf Channel in 2007 and was the highest-rated and most-watched early round for this event on cable (1995-2012), including telecasts on ESPN and USA Network. Round two ratings were 58 percent better than round one and also topped the same coverage in 2011 by 116 percent.

The Great (Golf) State Of Vermont Is Back!

Tom Mackin files an update on the Vermont courses hit so hard by Irene last year and the resurrection of several is pretty stunning considering how dire the initial images were.

Hurricane Irene was the worst storm to hit the state in more than eight decades, causing six deaths, destroying countless homes and severely damaging bridges and roads. Total cost of the damages statewide has been estimated at between $700 million and $1 billion, according to Betsy Ide, executive director of the Vermont Disaster Relief Fund.

Virtually every golf course in the state was affected as well, according to Dave Pfannestein, executive director of the Vermont State Golf Association, which has 65 member courses. "There was a big impact on any tourist-related business after the storm," he said, noting that September and October are the peak months for both golf and the state's famed foliage season. "People saw pictures of the damaged roads and stayed away until wintertime. It was really a big hurt. The munis lost green fee traffic while private clubs lost their second-home business."

A year later, the scars left by Hurricane Irene are still visible. "When you drive around there are still houses off their foundations and others condemned," Pfannestein said. "Some stuff has been cleaned up, but other stuff is still sitting there like it was that day. But most of the courses are pretty much back to normal this year."

A slideshow of before and after shots by F.X. Flinn and Ken Lacasse accompanies the story and it makes for some stunning viewing.

The Range That Lets You Hit Romney And Obama

Linda Chion Kenney visits Brandon, Florida's Ace Golf range where hackers can hit shots at huge head shots of Barack Obama and Mitt Romney.

The promotion was thought up by owner Bill Place, who even placed the photos based on his analysis of the candidates' positions.

"I guess some are shooting at them and some are shooting for them," Place said. "They can shoot in whatever direction they please. Some people like to shoot way off to the left and some people like to shoot in the right direction."

Either way, he added, "it gets people talking about the candidates."

As for Place, his allegiances are not hard to determine.

"I got to choose the pictures," he said. "I have to say that Romney's is probably a little more flattering. We put him a little right of center, which is where I thought [Bill] Clinton was, who I actually supported for president. I put Obama out in left field, where he belongs, in my view."

"Bottom line, the game has been needing a boss."

Jaime Diaz pens a Golf World column wondering aloud about the origins of the USGA/R&A's move toward a ban on anchoring putters, with the announcement likely this fall.

But the point here is the USGA is using its de facto authority, vested or not, to clean up a mess. It knows it will be reneging on a 23-year old decision, which alone doesn't seem fair. It admits that sympathy for players desperate for a "last resort" method is the main reason anchoring has continued to be allowed. But with more players without overt putting problems choosing to switch to the broomstick or belly, there's a threat that in 50 years everyone will be using them. Very simply, widespread use of long putters is not the way the USGA and the R&A want the game to look.

And as much as I support doing away with anchoring, I still have to go back to Webb Simpson's remarks about the modern, 460cc driver's impact on the game versus anchoring. It's not even close which development has changed the game for the worse.

Ryder Cuppers About To Get Shafted

Team USA and Team Europe re-shafts for the players who use Dynamic Gold's and Project X's?

A re-shaft right before the Cup?  Is that a good idea so close to the matches?

Either way, John Strege explains...

Reset Cup's Most Important Week...To Players And Immediate Family

I admire Doug Ferguson's determination to show us just how important the FedExCup is to players in this story filed on the BMW Championship's eve. Unfortunately, the player quotes reveal the fundamental flaw with the "playoffs." They are not fan-friendly.

"This is the biggest one," said Pat Perez, who checks in at No. 55 and is somewhat of a long shot to get to East Lake. "The biggest prize to me is top 30. The $10 million is nice, but it's only for one guy. I'd like to be in the top 30 because then I'm in everything. I'd have a chance to win majors. And that's what you need - a chance.

"If I could never win the FedEx Cup but knew I would be top 30 for the next 10 years? Sign me up."

The BMW is the most important of the playoffs because of the exemptions at stake. Reaching the top 30 here, fueled by a convoluted points system which absurdly over-values the playoff weeks, does make this week important for 2013, yes. But reasonable or interesting?

As evidenced by another week of not receiving a press release in my inbox touting television ratings, the playoffs do not appear to be "important" to fans.  The continued quiet on the network telecast ratings front would seem to confirm that. Or maybe it's just not that brilliant to bring the top players together for three weeks of golf when football season is starting and folks are distracted by too many other things.

Oh and there was Tiger's latest put down of the cup, as quoted in this Jay Coffin roundup of today's presser:

The goal this week regarding FedEx Cup positioning: “This is a different format that I’ve played the FedEx Cup. I didn’t play last year. I wasn’t even in the damned thing, so it’s nice to be here and be able to contend in this thing. It’s interesting, you can go and win the first three playoff events, finish second in the last one and not win it. But it’s what we have.”

"Waugh could ultimately replace Tim Finchem as PGA Tour commissioner."

Golf World's Tim Rosaforte breaks the hearts of all the Commissioner wannabes in Ponte Vedra by revealing the worst kept secret in golf: Seth Waugh might be available to be the next Commish and would be welcomed with open arms by a lot of people.

Waugh could ultimately replace Tim Finchem as PGA Tour commissioner. Their friendship was apparent the previous night at a pro-am draw party, where a four-year extension of Deutsche Bank's sponsorship was announced, along with the company's seven-figure investment as a First Tee Trustee.

Well let's not stretch it there Rosie, these two did have a nice flare up two years ago when Commissioner Empathy-free kicked in that purse increase clause on a bank that really wasn't in a position to be putting up even more money.

The Waugh-Finchem dynamic is unique in that Waugh has a way of playfully teasing Finchem in public and getting a smile out of the commissioner, as he did twice during the pro-am draw party. As for potentially replacing Finchem, there is no timetable. Waugh will not discuss it at length, both out of respect for Finchem and his decision to focus the next few years on Clancy. In actuality, the timing could be perfect. Finchem's latest contract expires in 2016, which means should Waugh be considered for, and want the job, at age 58 he'd be ready for the challenge.

"The commissioner thing is an uncomfortable thing to bring up," Waugh said. "Tim likes his job, right?

Yes, but at 65 he is staying on past the same retirement age that he's invoked on many loyal servants now spending more time with their families. Anyway, go on Seth...

Lots of folks have asked me about it, a lot of people behind the scenes are talking about it. Let's see how it all plays out."

I'd say that's a big yes!