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
The only thing more impressive than climbing the tree and the one-handed backwards shot was the dismount.
Courtesy of the PGA Tour's YouTube account, another must see viral video from Bay Hill:
**Punters note, Garcia later withdrew with a shoulder injury blamed on his tree climbing expedition. Mark Helm with the story.
I'm too distraught to type my emotions right now, so I'll just copy and paste the key times for a re-arranged schedule now that the storm-delayed Arnold Palmer Invitational is running into Monday. A day normally set aside for the absurd expression of conspicuous consumption known as the Tavistock Cup.
Golf Channel Monday Programming Schedule (all times Eastern)
10 a.m.-conclusion Final Round Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard
Following API-5 p.m. Day One Tavistock Cup Coverage
And then there is the Tavistock Cup, re-imagined without, oh, the golfers most people want to see:
Tomorrow’s better ball competition will be as follows:
Group 1 - 12:20 p.m. Paul McGinley and Tom Lewis will play with Bob Tway and Scott Verplank.
Group 2 - 12:35 p.m. Brian Davis and D.A. Points will play with Peter Hanson and Webb Simpson.
Group 3 - 12:50 p.m. Tim Clark and Adam Scott will play with Ross Fisher and Graeme McDowell.
Group 4 - 1:05 p.m. Fred Couples and Jay Haas will play with Bo Van Pelt and Bubba Watson.
Gate hours will remain the same.
Tiger Woods holds a two shot lead over three players and with gusty winds forcast it could be a lively final day at Bay Hill.
In Carlsbad at the Kia Classic, Beatriz Recari is trying to hold off Hall of Famer Karrie Webb and recent auto accident victim Paula Creamer.
And to most of the rest of America...
Tremendous up-and-down followed by barefoot putt-out by Nicholas Thompson during the third round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Rich Lerner says this one has YouTube sensation written all over it:
Even better, St. Andrews Links Trust head honcho Euan London uses a baseball analogy in making a stunning comment about the extreme nature of Old Course changes that his organization ultimately approved.
From John Huggan's must-read dissection of the Old Course meddling:
“So I understand there are legitimate counter arguments, one that says ‘don’t ever tinker with the Old Course’, and another outlining the futility of trying to out-run technology.
“There was, however, no obligation on our part to go along with the R&A’s wishes. In fact, when they first came to us I don’t think there was any expectation in the minds of Peter and Jim that any of this was going to pass first base.”
As Huggan pieces together, the original stance of the parties involved turned out to be a fictional account. Or at the very least, one designed to mislead about the chain of events.
The original Friday news dump press release suggested the changes were dictated by recommendations from architect Martin Hawtree, but as a subsequent admission from R&A Chief Peter Dawson hinted and Loudon confirms to Huggan, the changes were entirely driven by the R&A and that Hawtree was hired by the Links Trust merely to implement the plan.
“From my perspective, the R&A came to us with what they saw as the ‘big picture’,” says Loudon. “Martin was the detail man.”
Why does this matter? Because we have a governing body making changes to a masterpiece--the masterpiece--for no apparent reason other than to try and elevate scores and mask their regulatory malfeasance.
Sadly, Loudon reveals that the approach to the work wasn't even that thorough in its cynical calculation.
Players like Tiger Woods have wondered how they could try to make the Road hole tougher considering its astronomical scoring average at every Open Championship. Huggan, in going through each of the changes with Loudon, wonders how a hole like the Road could average closer to bogey than par and still need to be made tougher with new greenside contouring.
“You make a good point,” acknowledges Loudon. “Those statistics were not part of our thinking. Maybe they should have been.”
Oh dear.
Thanks to the PGA Tour digital people for grabbing this crazy segment of Friday's Arnold Palmer Invitational telecast where Graham DeLaet gets a bad break but appears to enlarge the cup a tad for Chad Campbell, who pulls off a nice hole out.
But the Golf Gods do their part for DeLaet, too.
A WPXI report points out that Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Latrobe will not be shut down, but is on the sequestration cuts list.
This means pilots will have to coordinate takeoffs and landings among themselves over a shared radio frequency.
It will be interesting to see what the players at the Valero Texas Open have to say about it as a pre-Masters venue this year due to a scheduling quirk that has put the Shell Houston Open--and its Augustaeque setup--next week on the schedule.
Phil Mickelson explained why he's not playing at the Valero, home to the reviled TPC San Antonio, even though it's not his preference. Bob Harig reports:
"For me personally, I like playing in a tournament that's similar to what we'll be playing," Mickelson said. "For a long time, we had a pretty good tournament before the U.S. Open. I don't remember what it was [Westchester] but now it's Memphis. It's so hot, I run out of energy and going to the Open, I'm drained so I don't play there anymore.
"This year, having a windy, tight course [in San Antonio] really isn't conducive to getting ready for Augusta. That makes it difficult for me personally so I'll end up going to Augusta a few days early and what have you. I've got to make some adjustments, just because the tournaments before the majors are not helping us at all get ready."
Mickelson is a man of his word, added the Scottish Open last year to his schedule. And with a return to Castle Stuart this year along with an NBC weekend telecast, chances are decent he'll do the same.
Geoff Shackelford is a Senior Writer for Golfweek magazine, a weekly contributor to Golf Channel's Morning
Copyright © 2022, Geoff Shackelford. All rights reserved.
