Wentworth Members Pondering Court Challenge To New Owner?

/

CNN Money's Jim Boulden says the Wentworth membership met Friday to discuss how to battle their new owner, who wants to run most of them off and just days after European Tour Chief Keith Pelley suggested the BMW there is not necessarily the tour's flagship event.

Fun times at Wentworth!

Boulden writes:

Wentworth residents are meeting Friday to discuss how to proceed, and they could go to court.

"There are distinct legal implications in their actions. Failure to listen will bring Reignwood into disrepute and be a terrible case study for China-UK relations," local resident Nigel Moss said in a statement.

Wentworth club told CNNMoney that as a private member's club it won't discuss its new demands.

Rio Olympic Course Handed Over; AP Still Mocks Golf In Rio

/

You'd think that finding out Olympic athletes might get sick because of the disgusting waters would have quieted the assault on golf in Rio. But AP's Stephen Wade continues to mock the idea of a course in the Brazilian host city even as it marches ahead toward an actual opening.

A hand-off ceremony of the golf course from the developer to the organizing committee was as ceremonial as you can get, but that didn't stop the AP from covering it with its decided attitude that golf doesn't belong in Rio (neither do events in natural bodies of water so contaminated that athletes may get ill).

AP's Wade twice tweeted his story with (two!) attempts to liken golf in Rio to building a bullring in Finland. I'll give you a moment to absorb that metaphorical mastery. Oh wait, it made the story too.

The legacy for the sport is unclear.

Few people play golf in Brazil, and Paes has acknowledged the game probably has little future in the South American country. Some have compared building a golf course in Brazil to setting up a bullring in Finland.

Some!

"In Brazil I don't think there's much legacy for a golf course," Paes said. "I've always said that. I don't think this is something Brazil is very famous for, delivering courses. It's not a popular sport in Brazil. But there are some things you need to do when you deliver the Olympics."

Carlos Nuzman, the head of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, contradicted the mayor just minutes later.

"It's a big legacy," Nuzman said. "It's a public golf course. There are a lot of young kids — boys and girls — who want to participate to develop golf. It's a chance for golf in a new region of the world to be developed."

The sure winner is probably the developer Mauro, who is building the course with private money. It follows the pattern of other Olympic projects in Rio, where large real estate interests have moved in. Another is the nearby Athletes Village — 3,600 high-end apartment units — that will be sold off after the games.

Mercifully, AP's Doug Ferguson will be covering Olympic golf and he won't muddle his lede with some bizarro agenda.

I'm sensing if Stephen Wade covered the final round of the men's golf, his lede would look something like this:

Golf's future in Rio remains uncertain, but that didn't stop Jordan Spieth from holding off Rory McIlroy, Jason Day, Vijay Singh, Adam Scott and Rickie Fowler in sudden death to capture the first Olympic gold medal in golf since 1904.

Anyway, looks like a nice casual handoff ceremony...

Old Guys Rule Files: Peter Senior (56) Wins Aussie Masters

/

When Peter Senior last won the Australian Masters the Internet, largely an unknown U.S. government-owned system, was accessed by new dial-up services America Online and Prodigy. They mailed CD's to let us gain access. Oh, and Jordan Spieth was two.

Twenty years later and with wins in five decades, including the Australian Senior Open, Senior is again the Australian Masters champion, holding off the likes of Andrew Evans, Bryson DeChambeau, John Senden and Adam Scott with a clutch 8-foot par putt on his final hole.

Matt Murnane with the first report for the Sydney Morning Herald, though I suspect we'll get some fun reads putting his incredible win into perspective.

Video: Most Interesting Man's Warm-Up With A GoPro

/

I'm sure when the grade school teachers of the European Tour's social media expert Jamie Kennedy see him strapping a GoPro to Miguel Angel Jimenez, they will gush with pride. All so that we can see the most interesting man warm up! The subtitles were a nice touch, too.

 



Reminder: Day 2 Of Bones And Woody From St. Simons Island!

/

As mentioned this week in the Forward Press, this was an opportunity for fresh voices. And a new energy they brought!

Jim "Bones" MacKay and John "Woody" Wood immediately delivered a different vibe than the usual former golfer-turned on-course reporter. Day two starts at 1 pm ET on Golf Channel as the two loopers hit the course for RSM third round coverage.

Bones and Woody assessed day one with Steve Sands.

There was also a fun bit set up in advance where Bones told a story from the 1993 Ryder Cup involving Davis Love.

Casey Shuns European Ryder Cup Chances For America, Family

/

He'll be blasted and no doubt treated like a leper by some on the European side, but Paul Casey has been fairly consistent throughout the saga about his desire to stay closer to his new home, new family and to protect a career that has gone sideways once before.

Still, the decision to stick with the PGA Tour and not play enough European Tour events to be eligible to play at the 2016 Ryder Cup is clearly not sitting well with Captain Darren Clarke.

From Ewan Murray's Guardian report:

“It is obvious that representing Europe in the Ryder Cup is not on Paul’s priority list, which is disappointing, but I wish him all the best for the future,” Clarke said.

“For me the focus is firmly on the players who are committed to the European cause as we move towards Hazeltine and I look forward to working with these players over the next 10 months.”

Brrrr...who says the planet is getting warmer?

Double Standard When It Comes To Female Competitiveness?

/

Now that we've had some time to digest the Suzann Pettersen-Alison Lee Solheim Cup incident, Karen Crouse raises an intriguing point fueled in part by comments from Butch Harmon.

You may recall Pettersen was well off the 17th green of a match when Lee picked up her ball without a concession. I've always felt Suzann knew that Lee was a little loose with the match play dynamics and etiquette and was lying in wait. Her mistake, in my view, was that she was too far from the action. Had she been standing on the green, arms folded (the international signal for putting out), she is considered a Seve-like competitor. But standing off the green, almost to the next tee?  She was rightly criticized.

Yes, golf is a crazy-strange sport.

But Crouse makes the case that female athletes play under different standards when it comes to competitiveness and that Pettersen may always be remembered in a negative light, perhaps due in part to her gender.

To be a female athlete is to be ever mindful that appearances matter. Prettiness is next to godliness, which is why many of the players wear makeup during tournaments and treat their competitiveness as an imperfection that needs to be covered up with hugs and smiles. The same icy stare that identifies Tiger Woods as a fierce competitor is off-putting when it freezes Pettersen’s opponents.

“Absolutely, there is a double standard,” said Pettersen’s swing instructor, Butch Harmon, whose past clients include Mickelson and Woods. “It’s not right. One of the things I love about Suzann is what a great competitor she is. She prepares, and she plays, to win.”

Speaking by telephone, Harmon added: “If you look at Serena Williams, she gets put in the same category. People say Serena Williams is overaggressive. No, what she is is very, very good and very, very competitive.”

I really don't think of Pettersen in a negative light because she missed a nuanced element of gamesmanship and it didn't hurt that she apologized (even though she isn't the one who made the initial mistake). 

But a few months later, how do you view Suzann and the incident? Are females held to a different standard when it comes to competitiveness?

McGinley Also Baffled By Team USA's Early Vice Captain Picks

/

In an appearance with Sky during the Race to Dubai final, winning 2014 Ryder Cup Captain Paul McGinley was understandably baffled by the baffling Team USA decision to announce three active(ish) players as Vice Captains for the 2016 Ryder Cup to go with Tom Lehman (previously announced).

Ryan Lavner at GolfChannel.com transcribes McGinley's comments that included an assumption that this was a task force-related move, but it oddly establishes Woods as a ceremonial golfer for the time being and announces Jim Furyk as a maybe, even though he is one of America's best players.

“But I’m surprised that they’ve done it so early. Normally, in Europe, we might announce one or two vice captains well in advance, but we don’t really until the 11th hour. We give everyone the best chance they have of making the team.”

McGinley pointed to Jim Furyk, who turns 46 in May but is still one of the Americans’ best players. Furyk won his first tournament since 2010 at the RBC Heritage, was one of the top contenders for the FedEx Cup before a wrist injury, and currently sits 10th in the Ryder Cup points standings. He has a 10-20-4 record in nine appearances in the biennial event.

“Is his mind going to be swayed by the fact that he was announced early as a vice captain?” McGinley said. “We’re going to have to wait and see. But it is a bit strange.”

Love said the move was made because the captain and his team have to "get to work."

You know, fitting each Vice Captain for a cart, an IFB so that they can hear all back channel chats and, of course, learning how to drive a cart carrying four instead of the usual two.

Rory Says What Most Are Thinking About Tiger Shifting To A Ryder Cup Driving Role

/

Talking after his opening round in the Race To Dubai finale, Rory McIlroy naturally wonders about Tiger's physical well-being if the legendary golfer is already committing himself to cart shuttling duties instead of leaving open the possibility that the 40-year-old-to-be could make the team.

From an unbylined Belfast Telegraph wire story:

Told of the news after his opening round in the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, a visibly surprised McIlroy said: " I don't know what to think about that, I really don't.

"It's great that he wants to help the US team in any way that he can, and if that's not in a playing capacity, then as a vice-captain. Just sort of makes me think what really his health is like and how he feels like he's going to come back from that.

" I'd rather see him on the course at Hazeltine but if not, at least he'll be there and it will be a good addition for them."

 

This Week Is Ivor Robson's Finale As A First Tee Starter

/

Oh sure, he'll probably be enlisted to record voice mail messages for charity and whatever else someone lures him into, but the legendary first tee announcer Ivor Robson is calling it a career after this week's European Tour event.

While Dubai isn't quite St. Andrews (where Robson called his final Open Championship last summer), this will be your final chance to hear a grown man sounding like he's been goosed everytime he announces a golfer on the first tee.

From the European Tour's Instagram account:

 

 

Despite His Driving Record, Tiger Lands Assistant Ryder Cup Gig

/

Shady insider politics were no doubt in play as a member of the two-time-convening Ryder Cup Task Force, Tiger Woods, was named as part of Davis Love’s first wave of 2016 assistant Cup Captains.

Bob Harig says this shows Tiger cares, which is probably true. Though I’d lean more towards the “cares about still getting checks from Nike” division. Whereas Harig believes this is a statement about Woods’ feelings for the Ryder Cup.

That Woods is willing to take a subservient role at this point sends a message of allegiance. Taking drink orders and offering tidbits of wisdom might not seem like Woods' style, but that is what he has signed up to do.

And shuttling WAGs to the 17th tee...

Though I’m not sure I’d jump in a four-seat cart with a man who crashed an Escalade.

Captain Love also handed cart keys to Jim Furyk, Steve Stricker who join already-named asst. Captain Tom Lehman. It’s unclear whether he intends to have any more assistant captains in the inevitable push toward every Ryder Cupper having their own cart driver masquerading as an assistant captain.

Speaking of the swelling list of cart drivers, Doug Ferguson explains the thinking this way:

The five vice captains would allow one of them to be with each match during the team sessions, with another that Love described as a ”floater.” Last year at Gleneagles, European captain Paul McGinley had one of his assistants with the players who sat out some of the team sessions.

None of this really matters as Forbes says Tiger is worth $700 million and narrowly made the magazines’ 40 Richest Entrepreneurs Under 40 list. 

Dick's Sporting Goods No Longer Blaming Golf For All Problems

/

I love the shopping experience at Dick's Sporting Goods, but longtime readers know how revolting I found it that the chain of sporting goods stores blamed the state of golf after going all-in on Taylor Made's three-drivers-in-one-year strategy.

So it was nice to see them at least not dump on the state of golf in their latest conference call and even suggest that the lowly "sport" of hunting was the real drag on sales (as golf stabilized). Overall, Dick's is taking a huge stock price hit and may still be feeling the karma after-effects for having blamed golf for all world problems.

From Tomi Kilgore's story, whcih was accompanied by, quite charmingly, a Callaway ERC II. Nothing like featuring turn-of-the-century drivers! (Thanks reader John for sharing this.)

The sporting goods retailer’s stock DKS, +0.51%  plunged 12% in active afternoon trade Tuesday, putting it on track to close at the lowest level since January 2012, after the company’s disappointing results and outlook. The stock has tumbled nearly 40% since the April 4, 2015 record close of $58.98.

Same-store sales at its Golf Galaxy stores declined for an 11th-straight quarter, but the company said that overall, sales of golf equipment and apparel increased and golf margins improved.

Chief Executive Ed Stack explained on a Tuesday conference call with analysts that while Golf Galaxy “ran a little behind” the results seen in Dick’s branded stores, Golf Galaxy represented only about 3% of the company’s total business, according to a transcript provided by FactSet. Stack said he saw reason to be optimistic on golf, given strong sales of new products, such as the M1 driver from TaylorMade and Callaway Golf Co.’s Big Bertha.

Stack said the golf business still won’t be a big growth area, “it’s just we think we’ve stopped the bleeding, so to speak, but it will be much more profitable.”

That's better!

Faldo On Overtinkering, Why Young Players Are Excelling

/

The most famous swing overhauler of the modern era is warning Jordan Spieth not to overtinker, and while that certainly is a headline worthy topic, I thought a few other points by the Nick Faldo were worth reading.

In a lengthy chat reported by Reuters' Tony Jimenez (who dutifully plugged the six-time major winner's six new wines), Faldo sounds horrified by Spieth's off-season plan to gain yardage. But it's his take on the role of technology via things like Trackman and the application of biomechanics that may explain why we are seeing so many complete, ready-for-prime-time players under 25:

"Now you have what I call the appliance of science. You have machines to tell your swing path, club-face angle, ball flights after one shot -- that's fantastic.

"I wish I would have had that rather than hit a million balls and then go, 'Oh, I wonder how this feels?," added Faldo with a giggle.

Europe's 2008 Ryder Cup captain also said golfers were much more powerful nowadays.

"The physical side has been taken to a new level. They've really done a good job in dispelling the thought that it's an old man's sport," said Faldo.

"These guys now are unbelievably strong. We have more than a dozen doctors travelling on tour with degrees in biomechanics ... they know exactly how to build a golfer and that's fantastic.

"This is all factual information, it's not a guess. It's been around for years now and kids at 15 get this knowledge for five years and bang, that's why they can come out at 20 and be impressive golfers."

Adam Scott Reiterates, Expands On His Disdain For Olympic Golf

/

Some have questioned how someone who tends to go about his way quietly could have such strong resentment toward golf in the Olympics, so it's good to see Adam Scott elaborating on his disdain.

From an unbylined story in The Age on the eve of the Australian Masters:

He said he would have liked organisers to have been more "creative" and considered a mixed team event.

"I'm not really sure how just having another golf tournament is really going to enhance the game or grow the game any more than any other tournament just because it's the Olympics.

"With the field criteria it doesn't necessarily get the strongest field in the game either."

He is correct on both points, though the field make-up is by far much less egregious than the mundane format which was, sadly, endorsed by Scott's peers.

Willett Almost Makes Race To Dubai Fun In A Controversial Way

/

The headlines all but had Danny Willett categorizing tournament-skipper and kickabouterer Rory McIlroy as some sort of subversive deserter.

But after a close reading of the Race to Dubai's second place-holder's comments, it appears Willett almost called out McIlroy for receiving special treatment to reach the finale.

From Ewan Murray's Guardian story:

Pressed on the fact other players, including Willett himself, have competed when not fully fit, the Englishman added: “That’s the thing. There’s a lot of guys who play through injuries week in, week out; guys with problems with their back, ankles, wrist. It’s the story of the game.

“If it had been anybody else in a different situation, they potentially might not have been given the same treatment. But it’s Rory and he’s going be the life force of this tour for the next 15 years. So have you got to look after him? Yes. I don’t think it was an incorrect decision at all.”