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
Overnight Nielsen ratings for the Tour Championship: 2.2 Saturday (up 100%!) and 2.2. Sunday. It was the best Sunday for the TC since 2009 (3.3), and stands as the 3rd best TC final round overnight in ResetCup history (since 2007/3.3).
NBC drew a strong 4.0 for Notre Dame-Michigan (maybe thanks in part to golf's improved lead-in?) and a second-best ever 14.3 for Sunday night's New England-Baltimore NFL game.
John Strege on the sale of upscale golf clothier Peter Millar to Richemont, parent of brands like Alfred Dunhill, Cartier and Montblanc.
Couple that with a Brandt Snedeker Tour Championship win and it sounds like at least one golf company had a good week!
Even better, Strege answers one of the great mysteries in golf: who the heck is Peter Millar? And you say this blog doesn't lead you to life changing information?
The AJC's Steve Hummer with Brandt Snedeker's emotional Saturday winning $11 million in the Tour Championship/ResetCup but starting the day with a trip 11 miles away to the Shepherd Rehabilitation Center to visit the badly injured Tucker Anderson, son of his instructor Todd.
Only natural the subject of the Tour Championship would arise.
So, Tucker, you think I can beat Rory today?
Tucker Anderson had been involved in a near fatal car accident in Florida two weeks ago and was transferred to the Shepherd Center for treatment of a traumatic brain injury. The teen can’t speak yet. But as Snedeker relayed later, Tucker answered him with a wink.
“That’s all I needed,” Snedeker said.
C’mon, how you gonna beat that?
Bob Harig feels Snedeker's clean victory in the Tour Championship made his ResetCup win better too because the algorithms stayed out of the affair. Those poor calculability codes and rolled up Oxfords in PVB that couldn't bring the attention off the golfers and onto the suits!
The fact that Snedeker won the Tour Championship by 3 shots over Justin Rose and kept the typically contrived and confusing points scenarios to a minimum makes for a nice bow on that FedEx package.
Even Rory McIlroy, who finished second to Snedeker in the final FedEx standings despite two playoff victories, a major championship and a total of four wins this year (to Snedeker's two), was left to give a golf clap to Snedeker while having to "settle'' for his $3 million bonus.
"I'm a little disappointed, but at the same time, Brandt really deserves to win," McIlroy said. "If you look at his stats the whole way [throughout] the week, he played the best golf out of anyone. He knew what he needed to do. He needed to come in here and win. He controlled his own destiny, just like I did, and he was able to come and do that. Because of that, he really deserves it."
Rob Matre posts a lovely album of final day shots and also this awesome shot of Snedeker making a key putt.
Snedeker's entire post round interview transcript.
For those of you counting at home, the aggregate scoring concept for the Playoffs would have finished this way:
Rory McIlroy, 41 under (-1) -42
Dustin Johnson, 36 under (-1) -37
Tiger Woods, 34 under (-2) -36
Brandt Snedeker, 25 under (-10) -35
Ryan Moore, 24 under (-6) -30
Phil Mickelson, 31 under (+1) -30
Louis Oosthuizen, 34 under (+7) -27
And for those of you favoring the "Plus One" concept endorsed by Brandel Chamblee and Johnny Miller last week, that means the final foursome after the Tour Championship play would have been McIlroy, Woods, Johnson and Snedeker, playing either one round or 36 for the $10 million prize.
Now that's one reset I'd love to see!
ESPN's Sportscenter highlight package:
It's the day we've all been waiting for, the last PGA Tour round before the Ryder Cup!
I'm sure the algorithms will work themselves out and at some point there will be a chance for a statistical tie, forcing NBC's Steve Sands to hit the white board. Goosebumps just thinking about those permutations and data matrixes.
Your tee times here. The leaders go at 1:50 ET.
Karen Crouse travels to St. Simons Island, population 13,000 and branded by a headline writer as the "new capital for U.S. golf." She tries to understand what it is about the wealthy enclave that is spurring so many successful Americans including the Captain and three Ryder Cuppers.
The players were drawn to St. Simons, part of the Golden Isles chain of barrier islands along Georgia’s southeast coast, at least in part by Love, a 20-time PGA Tour winner whom they affectionately refer to as Uncle Davis.
“He’s everything from a plumber to an electrician to a hunting guide to a fishing expert, not to mention a pretty good chef when we grill out,” Snedeker said. “He’s kind of like everybody’s safety net.”
Hunter had no chance!
Matt Kuchar feels at peace with the oaks.
“It has beautiful low-country scenery with the reeds, the marshes and the oceanfront property as well,” said Kuchar, who moved his family here two years ago. “I think one of the things that I may enjoy the most is seeing these big oak trees. Something about going down a drive with just big old oak trees canopying a place puts me at peace. And then having the ocean; something about the natural ebb and flow of an ocean adds an unreal, peaceful rhythm to the place.”
Well, now I get it!
I tried to watch some of the Tour Championship today but with playoff chases in baseball, some decent college football games and those Web.com Tour-sized galleries splattered amidst that distance-diffusing East Lake setup (a 16-yard wide landing area?), the ResetCup was relegated to a distant third on my priority viewing list.
Even then, I tended to land on a commercial break whenever I flipped over.
The Ryder Cup can't come soon enough.
Because as Mark Lamport-Stokes reports, Captain Davis Love's selection Brandt Snedeker is playing super heading into the Ryder Cup and even has a chance to win $10 million Sunday.
Snedeker described his third-round 64 in breezy conditions on a fast-running layout as one of his best displays this year and he has targeted something similar for Sunday.
"I actually won't look at the leaderboard all day," he said with a smile.
Don't worry Brandt, all you'd miss are a lot of ads and recognitions of the host pro, The First Tee and high fructose-laden corn syrup soda pop.
"My goal tomorrow is to shoot as low as I possibly can. If that's 63, it's 63. If it's 72, it's 72.
"Whatever it is, it's going to be everything I've got on that golf course tomorrow. The biggest thing tomorrow is going to be how patient you can stay because this golf course eats guys up that don't stay patient."
Or find those under-20 yard wide strips called fairways!
The PGA Tour's highlights:
For fans of Gary Van Sickle's proposed aggregate stroke play for the playoffs, I've updated the scores of the only remaining contenders based on Jim McCabe's item from after the BMW Championship. So here are the scores heading in, with this week's scores in parentheses and the overall total. As it should be, Rory McIlroy has opened a commanding lead. It wouldn't make for exciting viewing but it would also be a win free of resets and based on a playoff consistency.
Rory McIlroy, 41 under (-5) -46
Tiger Woods, 34 under (-4) -38
Dustin Johnson, 36 under (-1) -37
Louis Oosthuizen, 34 under (E) -34
Brandt Snedeker, 25 under (-8) -33
Ryan Moore, 24 under (-6) -30
Phil Mickelson, 31 under (+2) -29
Oh and Luke Donald hit a super second shot at 14 Saturday, thankfully posted on YouTube so we can see it:
What is there to say? Oh I know...over/under on first Steve Sands session with the RussertBoard to tell us of a scenario that might happen, only to have that scenario wiped out by a birdie by the 10th place player?
Golf Channel has early coverage until 2 p.m. ET, then NBC picks up the coverage.
I'll go with 2:17 ET as the over/under. Place your bets!
First of all, who knew Greg Norman was on Facebook?
Of course, his URL is facebook.com/thegreatwhiteshark, which might be enough for most to roll their eyes and move on. But not John Strege, who thankfully Tweeted this link.
In Norman's post responding to the relatively minor backlash to the "Tiger-is-intimidated" remarks earlier this week, he wants to set the record straight.
Here goes...
Got off the plane from Beijing this morning and my Iphone just blew up with emails and voicemails regarding my interview with Robert Lusetich of Fox Sports.
No WiFi on the jet Gregster? I bet the 737 woulda have had WiFi. Sorry, go on…
It seems that everyone from Charles Barkley (no Charles I was not referencing or comparing Tiger's record to mine) to John Doe has weighed in on my quote regarding intimidation.
Uh, you did say that you took the baton from Jack Nicklaus, winner of 18 majors to your two wonderful Open Championship wins. But keep digging…
I stand by my comments and for those that choose to read the full article and not just "grasp" and "react" to one word will notice that the headline and byline were inconsistent with the content of what Robert wrote.
Not really, but we'll throw you a bone and let you off the hook. For now.
When you look at my comments in the full context of the article, you will see that it provides a more balanced view of my sentiments on this topic. Which is, since the PGA Championship Tiger has not made any impact on the weekend in passing Rory for the title.
What title would that be?
This has not happened in his career prior to this run by Rory. During the PGA Championship broadcast I spoke at length about Tiger and I maintain that no one has swung the club better in the history of the game, especially during the year 2000. At the end of the day, Tiger is a great athlete and a great student of the game and he will continue to win, but we are seeing a transition away from his dominance. Rivalry and parity is great for the game of golf.
Parity is great? I don't know, I think Greg Norman winning nine majors would have been pretty swell. But if you say so…
Unfortunately for Rory, I think that the trademark for “The Intimidator” is already registered with Dale Earnhardt.
Everyone on three: one, two, three…OY VEY!
Charles Barkley wants Tiger to get some "blackness" in him, wants him to stop taking the high road and best of all, wants Tiger to get into a public spat with Greg Norman over recent comments and indeed it would be the kind of spat we need, though preferably after the Ryder Cup. Shane Bacon with the comments and audio.
I would like for him to just blast Greg Norman … That situation gave everybody a chance to dump on you, and (Tiger) still tried to take the high road. I'm not a high road guy. I want him to come out and really blast Greg Norman. I wish he would go ballistic on Greg … I wish I could put some of my blackness in him … like toughness … (I've been) arrested eight times for fighting … just because I'm Charles Barkley, you can't disrespect me … you just can't say anything to me anytime you want to …
Oh I can. In this case, you're an idiot! But I do welcome the sentiment and hope Tiger takes your advice. If he still speaks to you.
Credit Matthew Norman for saying what needed to be said: this Tiger-Rory bromance must not strip the Ryder Cup of petty, childish, ego-fueled drama.
Did infantrymen on both sides endure the horrors of the War on the Shore in 1991, and the rancour occasioned by the Battle of Brookline eight years later, when the Americans invaded of the green while current European captain José María Olazábal stood over a crucial putt, so that their successors would compete in love and peace?
Golf, as all fans of PG Wodehouse’s Oldest Member stories appreciate, is not the prissy, gentlemanly pursuit of Peter Alliss’s rose-tinted babblings.
It is a vicious, murderous battle of wills, and more than ever in this biennial challenge to intercontinental machismo, there must be a healthy dollop of spite bubbling beneath the mannerly surface.
Hey, I wasn't there. I just copy and paste the stuff. For Immediate Release from the R&A, which is to be confused with the Royal And Ancient Golf Club which has a new Captain.
NEW CAPTAIN DRIVES IN
The traditional driving-in ceremony for the new Captain of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews took place on the first tee of the Old Course today.
Pierre Bechmann began his year in office with a drive at precisely 8am as a cannon fired alongside the tee. A large crowd gathered to witness the ceremony and saw Mr Bechmann hit a long drive down the middle of the fairway running to around 30 yards short of the Swilcan Burn.
And I know from the summer they've had, these are not drought-stricken fairways.
Mr Bechmann becomes the first Captain of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club from Continental Europe. His role will see him representing The R&A and supporting its work in developing golf around the world. He will attend R&A Championships in the professional and amateur games and assume an ambassadorial role for the Club.
But of course, the R&A is totally separate from the Royal And Ancient Golf Club.
After hitting his tee shot, a relieved Mr Bechmann said: “It is a daunting prospect teeing off in front of such a large gallery but I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I am greatly looking forward to my year in office and hope I can contribute to the important work The R&A does for golf around the world. I have been heavily involved in supporting the development of talented young players and I look forward to continuing that work in my new role.”
Born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Paris in 1957, Mr Bechmann is particularly active in amateur golf, sitting on the Executive Committee of the French Golf Federation and the Championship Committee of the European Golf Association.
A lawyer and member of the Paris Bar, Mr Bechmann has been President of his home club, Golf de Chantilly, since 2010. He is a former member of the R&A’s General Committee, and has served on the Championship and Rules of Golf Committees as well as The R&A Coaching Panel. In 2008/09 he was Captain of Royal St George’s Golf Club. Mr Bechmann lives in Chantilly and plays to a handicap of nine.
In the past, the Club Captaincy was bestowed on the winner of the annual Challenge for the Silver Club but by the early 19th Century the Captaincy had become an elected office.
Part of the tradition is that a gold sovereign is paid by the new Captain to buy his golf ball back from the caddie who successfully retrieves and returns it.
Why do I keep picturing the Judge tipping Danny a quarter after Caddyshack's thrown putter scene?
This year’s recipient of the sovereign was Scott Bechelli. The 44 year old from St Andrews said: “I have been caddying here since I was 13 years old and this is a real honour for me. My brother received the sovereign in 2008 so it’s nice to follow him.”
From his ESPN 980 radio interview transcript when asked about the ball and the size of the driver head.
“I think both. I think it all starts with the golf ball. I think the USGA will probably end up doing that in the not-too-distant future. (Host: How about a tour ball?) More for the game of golf. The game of golf has three problems. It’s too hard, it’s too expensive and it takes too long. If they dialed the golf ball back it would reduce all those costs. The costs of maintaining the golf course, the cost of land and all those things would be dialed back and as an added benefit there’s only one golf course in this country that is not obsolete to the pros and that’s Augusta National, they’re the only people that have enough money to build the golf course and do the things they needed to do. Every time they have an event what do they do? Build new tees, new bunkers and do everything. It doesn’t make any sense. The simplest thing to do is fix the golf ball.”
Geoff Shackelford is a Senior Writer for Golfweek magazine, a weekly contributor to Golf Channel's Morning
Copyright © 2022, Geoff Shackelford. All rights reserved.
