Rose Pulls Out Of AT&T National...

It was admirable of him to stick to his Travelers Championship commitment last week but the adrenaline can only last so long, as U.S. Open champion Justin Rose WD's from the AT&T National this week to regroup for The Open Championship.

His statement:

"I'm disappointed to withdraw from the AT&T National, but the last three weeks have been extremely demanding both mentally and physically," Rose said. "This tournament has been very good to me - especially in 2010 - and I would play if I felt I could. Tiger and his Foundation run a great tournament, and I wish I could be there."

Video: AJGA Recently Set An Under Four Hours Time Par

Great stuff on Morning Drive today exposing the AJGA's pace of play work as part of Golf Channel's push this month. Namely, the AJGA getting to explain their check point and time par system that is working. It's a sharp contrast to the USGA's glossy campaign that is not backed up by the implementation of a time par system at the U.S. Open.

The most interesting thing I learned from AJGA executive director Stephen Hamblin and player representive Nicole Morales is their abandonment of the honor system and the 17-minutes a round saved by asking players to walk ahead to the next tee when they've holed out first. They also recently set a time par of 3:58 at an event and rounds averaged under that.

I also was intrigued by Hamblin's mention of this as a "safety issue" by keeping everyone out of midday hot weather an hour less a day. Considering the length of the days at the recent U.S. Open at Merion, that's not a bad point!

Unpaid 10-Second Ad Appearance Costs Amateur His Status

But he can receive equipment manufacturer balls and clubs to be counted at USGA events for advertised ball and club counts! 

What a wacky world, as Julie Williams reports on Scott Pieri losing his amateur status after he "made a 10-second appearance in a commercial for Golf Etc., a local club-fitting store owned by a friend, to deliver a brief testimonial."

And if you want to start your week off in peachy fashion, just read the contradictions in the Decisions on Amateur Status. Breathtaking.

Father-Son Aces On Same Hole, Same Round

Thanks to reader Taylor for passing along Cameron Smith's interpretation of David Barron's behind-a-paywall Houston Chronicle story of a father-son hole in one double.

It seems Lonnie and Zach Widener pulled off this amazing 1-in-17 million accomplishment at River Pointe Golf Club's 6th hole, dad from 115 and son from 100 yards.

"It's probably going to be the most memorable thing we accomplish together," Lonnie Whitener told the Chronicle. "I just hope we have a lot more good things to come. It's one of the coolest things you could ever do."

Video: Bubba To Caddie: "There's just no reason for me to show up."

Thanks to Doc from golfcentraldaily.com for this mini-meltdown by Bubba Watson directed at caddie Ted Scott during the Travelers Championship final round.

Ken Duke beat Chris Stroud on the second hole of sudden death to win.

Meanwhile out on the Champions Tour, the caddies have been told not to enter a certain restroom. Rough times for loopers!

**Corrected the headline to note he said "me" and not you.

Update on 2013-06-24 14:47 by Geoff

*Bubba talked about 16 after the round.

Brian Wacker's post round account, which was misreported in another publication as a confrontation but which another witness tells me was severely taken out of context.

Wacker quotes caddie Ted Scott:

"I 100 percent take responsibility for it. It's totally my fault. I got in the way of the painter on that one."

For his part, Watson defended Scott and said of the exchange they were simply trying to figure out what went wrong.

  "Did we do the yardage wrong, was it a gust of wind? We were just trying to figure out what was going on," Watson said.

"We planned to do one thing and it didn't do it. We mis-clubbed is all."

Watson went on to shoot his second straight 70 and finished in fourth alone. It was his second top 10 in a stroke play event on the PGA TOUR this season.

We also post typos on this blog from time to time, FYI.

Steiny Scores! Adds Justin Rose To The Stable

Tim Rosaforte with the news that apparently won't come as a shocker to anyone who saw the U.S. Open champion and the agent for Tiger Woods speaking at the Memorial a few weeks ago.

Actually, it's still shocking.

Rose had been represented by Marcus Day of 4Sports & Entertainment. Industry sources knew Rose was talking to Steinberg three weeks ago at the Memorial. They had a private discussion on the putting green prior to the opening round.

Steinberg also just signed University of Washington's Chris Williams, one of the top prospects leaving the college ranks.

Course Operator: "The best golfers in the world were unable to break par at your tournament once again, and nothing about the course setup looked fun to me or to the golfers"

Predictably the USGA's well-choreographed Pace of Play initiative launch has fallen a bit flat with golfers and operators who are struggling with the duel message of faster play and US Open setup practices that bogged down play. And this is without most knowing that the USGA steadfastly is opposed to implementing their own time station system at the US Open even though it's been successful in their other championships.

Gene Yasuda publishes a letter from Eagle Golf CEO Joe Munsch to USGA President Glen Nager in response to a comment in the launch where Nager called on golfers to stand up to the industry.

You said the game at the recreational level needs to be fun. You said golf course operators need to slow down green speeds, lower rough heights, widen fairways, and generally make the courses more playable. These comments suggest you have not recently visited a course that was not set up for one of your tournaments, because golf course operators have understood these issues and done these things for years.

You further stated that the professional game is not the standard for the recreational game and that the recreational level needs to have a different paradigm. Those thoughts are surprising coming from an organization that recently ruled to ban the anchored putter, created unnecessary controversy when Callaway introduced the “non-conforming driver” and often frowns on the improved travel distances of today’s golf balls.

I am left to wonder what exactly is the different “paradigm” sought by the USGA? Most, if not all, of the organization’s recent applicable rulings attempt to make the game more difficult and less fun to play.

Most disturbing to me was when you called for recreational golfers to visit your web site and unite with the USGA to send a message to the golf industry that the game needs change and become more fun.

Those of us on the front lines of the golf industry have understood this for years. Our courses don’t have six-inch rough, 530-yard par 4s, and 270-yard par 3s. The best golfers in the world were unable to break par at your tournament once again, and nothing about the course setup looked fun to me or to the golfers, based on their comments and on-course reactions throughout the week.

In the golf industry we fight, scratch, and claw to get golfers out to our courses. If they don’t have fun, they don’t come back. We have known for years that time is a factor. I am glad the USGA has finally come to this realization as well.

If you haven't seen Golf Channel's Pace of Play Month page, you can find all of their recent (excellent) coverage here, including this piece by Rex Hoggard on the PGA Tour's policy. It included this from Paul Goydos:

“We’ve been plagued by slow play for years, and it turns out it was a 14-year-old that was the problem,” Goydos said. “We should be embarrassed by that. I find that appalling that they did that. He was penalized for not knowing how to beat the system, not for slow play.”

But neither Goydos nor Glover dispute the trickle-down effect slow play in the Big Leagues is having at the grassroots level.

“You have your favorite players, and you want to emulate them. If that player has a two-minute pre-shot routine, that’s what you’re going to do,” Glover said.