2020 PGA Championship To Harding Park

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Looks like Joe Passov beat me to it by about 15 minutes, but here's my GolfDigest.com item for The Loop on Harding Park landing the 2020 PGA Championship.

The decision is a positive for the PGA of America because they are coming west after a 16-year hiatus, but I don't believe the current course, despite it's staggering $23 million PGA Tour Design Services renovation price, is up to the quality standards for a major site.

As I spell out in the item, this also dooms the chances of an international PGA in 2020 to get away from the Tokyo Games. That was always a longshot, but obviously when you weigh Harding Park vs. Royal Melbourne, well, the international option would have been great for fans.

**Story updated with quotes from Sandy Tatum, who spearheaded the renovation of Harding Park over 11 years ago and as you can imagine is delighted with the news.

Back9 Prez: We're E! To Golf Channel's ABC

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Pete Finch talks to Back9Network president Carlos Silva after the announcement of DirecTV deal that will get the golf lifestyle network launched.

One of their three shows planned sounds appealing. Batting .333 isn't all bad.

The three shows that we’ve talked about for the launch are “The Ahmad Rashad Show,” a show called “Ball Hog,” which is about a company that actually dives into the ponds or lakes at golf courses and reclaims golf balls as a business, and another show called “Golf Treasures,” which is a couple of guys who have an auction house that is in the business of acquiring historical golf artifacts.

And regarding Golf Channel, this sounded logical:

Q. Do you view Back9Network as a competitor to Golf Channel?

We really see us as a complement. One of the comparisons I like to use is E! Entertainment at the Oscars. They do the on-ramp and off-ramp to the Oscars, but the live show is on ABC. We feel there are a lot of complements to being that on- and off-ramp to the live game -- being able to feel like you were at Pinehurst even though you may never get to go to a U.S. Open. What’s it like to be at U.S. Open? What’s the town like? What are the restaurants like? What’s the travel like? How are the players getting in and out? Where are they staying? What’s the feeling like when you’re there during tournament week? That’s a lot of what will be on the Back9Network.