Greenbrier: Freemium Comes To The PGA Tour

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An unbylined AP story reports that Greenbrier owner Jim Justice, who is also running for West Virginia governor (who knew?), has asked the state legislature to pull its $1.75 million funding of the Greenbrier Classic (who knew?) over their inability to pass a budget.

Best of all, he's giving away admission to the tournament this year as as result...

"My dream has always been to change the image of and bring opportunity to our state, and that's why I wanted to bring the PGA Tour to West Virginia," Justice said. "The budget mess we're in now is exactly what's wrong with politics. I am not going to let politicians delay the budget or bash me over the greatest economic/PR opportunity West Virginia has ever seen."

Republicans hold a majority in both the Senate and House of Delegates. Justice said he has endured criticism by GOP leaders and therefore "I am refusing the state's participation" in the golf tournament.

The only bummer: the concerts the event has become known for are off the table. At least for now.

But finally, the freemium model gets tested at a PGA Tour event!

NBC Promising "Most Live Coverage Ever" For The Open

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140 hours of The Open...night owls rejoice!

For Immediate Release:

NBC SPORTS TO DELIVER MOST LIVE COVERAGE EVER FOR A MAJOR AT THE 145TH OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP, JULY 14-17

From First Tee Shot to Final Putt, NBC Sports’ Live Coverage Includes Golf Channel’s First-Ever Telecast of a Men’s Major Championship and Return of The Open to Broadcast Television on NBC

ORLANDO, Fla. (May 17, 2016) – With the most live hours of tournament coverage ever dedicated to one of golf’s major championships, The R&A and NBC Sports Group’s long-term media partnership kicks off its inaugural year with a record number of planned programming hours. The 145TH Open will return to U.S. live broadcast coverage through Golf Channel and NBC’s nearly 140 hours of television coverage from Royal Troon Golf Club throughout the week. It also will represent Golf Channel’s first coverage of a men’s major championship.

“The unprecedented coverage of The Open will provide a unique showcase of the world’s best golfers on an iconic links course, navigating the often dramatic weather conditions and ultimately adding to the history that embodies golf’s original championship,” said Mike McCarley, President, Golf, NBC Sports Group. “We’re honored to provide complete coverage of The Open for the first time on Golf Channel and NBC. Fans will be able to see the opening tee shot through the final putt, culminating with the ‘Champion Golfer of the Year’ raising the Claret Jug.”

“We are delighted to be working with NBC Sports Group and are looking forward to their comprehensive coverage of The 145TH Open,” said Martin Slumbers, Chief Executive of The R&A. “Our fans in the United States will be able to enjoy every shot over the four days of the Championship and will be part of a true celebration of golf at Royal Troon.”

NBC Sports Group Tournament Coverage: 78.5 Total Hours: NBC Sports Group will devote 49.5 live hours of tournament coverage to The 145TH Open from July 14-17, including 14.5 live hours on Golf Channel over each of the first two rounds on Thursday and Friday; 10.5 live hours across Golf Channel and NBC during the third round on Saturday; and 10 live hours across Golf Channel and NBC during the final round on Sunday. In total, NBC Sports Group will provide 78.5 hours, including the live coverage of all four rounds, as well as two highlight specials on NBC from 4-6 p.m. ET on Saturday and Sunday, and encore presentations of each round on Golf Channel. All coverage will be streamed via NBC Sports Live Extra and Golf Live Extra, and additional digital extensions will be announced at a later date.

Golf Channel’s Wraparound News with Golf Central Live From The Open: 59 Total Hours: Golf Channel’s signature news programs, Morning Drive and Golf Central Live From The Open, will provide 31.5 live hours of comprehensive news coverage the week of The Open. Golf Central’s Live From The Open will be onsite throughout the week with 25.5 live hours from Royal Troon, which will be hosting The Open for the ninth time in its history. Morning Drive will kick things off from 11:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. ET before The Open’s first round to lead into live coverage of the opening tee shot. Coverage will be complemented by comprehensive news and highlights via NBC Sports Digital, Golf Channel Digital and social media platforms throughout the week.

Tournament Team: In order to cover this unprecedented coverage of a major championship, Johnny Miller (1976 Open Champion), Nick Faldo (1987, 1990, 1992 Open Champion) and Frank Nobilo will rotate as lead analyst in the 18th tower. In addition, a team of NBC Sports’ analysts will contribute to the nearly 50 hours of coverage, including David Feherty, Peter Jacobson, Gary Koch, Roger Maltbie, Mark Rolfing, Tom Abbott, Notah Begay, Billy Ray Brown, Curt Byrum, and Jerry Foltz. And Dan Hicks, Terry Gannon, Jimmy Roberts, Steve Sands and Todd Lewis will handle announcing and reporting duties.

Women's NCAA: The Unprecedented Accommodation For BYU

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Kevin Casey for Golfweek.com reports on the decision to allow the BYU women to play their third round before the first round of the NCAA Women's Golf Championship due to the school's no-competition-on-Sundays policy.

While it's not Eric Liddell or Sandy Koufax on the sports spectrum, it's still a fascinating situation that has led to some consternation.

“I find it interesting that people are coming up with these scenarios (for us) at NCAAs, and it’s like, ‘How do you know?’ ” Roberts said. “You’ve never seen a team in this situation.”

When it comes to college golf, Roberts is spot on. The situation on-hand has never before come about in either the men’s or women’s game.

BYU has a strict no-competition policy for its student-athletes on Sunday, as the university, affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Provo, Utah, cites the fourth commandment: “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy,” in explaining the no Sunday play. For BYU, Sunday is a day of rest, and, according to its bylaws, the NCAA must accommodate this Sunday exception – even if it means altering an NCAA Championship schedule.

Rory: “Back to a nice traditional U.S. Open, not like we’re playing on the moon this year.”

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From Brian Wacker's GolfDigest.com assessment of the state of Rory McIlroy comes a fun line from the lad after a rough week at The Players, indicating the lingering resentment toward the Chambers Bay setup a year later.

He won’t have to wait long for another crack. McIlroy’s next start comes this week at the Irish Open, followed by the Memorial tournament two weeks later, and then the U.S. Open two weeks after that.

“I’m looking forward to it,” he said of the year’s next major. “Back to a nice traditional U.S. Open, not like we’re playing on the moon this year.”

Mitzvah Files: Less Bermuda Rough At TPC Sawgrass

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Rusticize the place! 

As previously reported, changes are coming to the TPC Sawgrass after The Players. And great news, the clubhouse is getting bigger!

As I write for Golf World, my Sawgrass sources say we will see Bermuda roughs reduced and more sand/pine needle/scrub areas brought closer to the fairways to recapture some of the original Swamp Golf aesthetic.

Longtime readers know I feel a Pinehurst-like restoration to the original Pete Dye vibe would look livelier, more interesting, more environmentally-responsible and more visually intimidating. Done right, it might even justify the price of golf here in the way that Pinehursts's renaissance has restored a singularity to No. 2.

Check out the aerial comparison from 1982 at Golf Course Histories. It speaks for itself.

As difficult as the TPC remains, today's equipment and conditioning means the TPC Sawgrass has been left behind and green speed is one of its last defenses. It's an unfathomable notion given that this course was viewed as too tough when it opened, and the bermuda rough lining the fairways has not instilled much fear.

Jason Day hitting iron-3-wood to the once unreachable 9th? Dustin Johnson launching a 372 yard drive there as well, and too many other instances of players able to bomb and gouge has to be an alarming sight for those insisting the course should not be updated. I will argue until I'm blue in the face that there was not an intentional effort to reverse the low scoring by the tour staff on Saturday, but a strong case can be made that the green speeds we saw are motivated by a desire to keep an immacutely-groomed, scoreable course relevant.

As for the look of the TPC, two-time former Players Champion Steve Elkington noted this on Twitter:

Ultimately, the weird dynamics we saw at TPC Sawgrass boil down to one thing: the fear factor has been lost.

Getting that back won't be easy because of modern driving distance prowess, but at least bringing back some of the rusticity to TPC Sawgrass--and a few back tees--would help for the long term good of The Players.

Russell Knox Offers A Textbook Study In Handling A Nine

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Doug Ferguson on Russell Knox's Saturday 9 and the affable way in which Knox handled the catastrophic 17th hole play.

The good news? He holed an 8-foot putt to make a 9.

''I had no idea what I was going to make,'' Knox said. ''I ended up making an awesome putt for 9. After I was walking through the tunnel (toward the 18th tee) I was like, 'Whoa, that was to avoid a 10.'''

The Scotsman's Tweets were fun:

 

 

 


Here was the massacre, followed below by the brief scare Sunday:

 

Watch the initial reaction Sunday...

 

Players Saturday: Two Hole Locations Changed, Apologies Shared, Move On?

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If you didn't see any of the coverage or believe me from my post yesterday that the PGA Tour rules staff genuinely didn't try to push TPC Sawgrass over the edge, note from Rex Hoggard's report that they changed two Sunday hole locations and expressed their regret.

PGA Tour VP Mark Russell appeared on both Morning Drive with Damon Hack and Todd Lewis on Live From to explain how sickened they were to lose control of the course.

I'm not sure many will believe him given the sense that scoring drove the changes. I certainly understand given my view that the overall push for green speeds is an intentional or subliminal movement in golf to combat the overmatched nature of courses.

Thoughts?

Registered Voters: Spieth Barely Edges Tiger As World's Best

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David Whitley points out that in a poll of over 1200 registered voters by Public Policy Polling, the American public isn't exactly keeping up with the elite golfers.

Whitley writes for the Orlando Sentinel:

"Who do you think is the best golfer in the world?"

Jordan Spieth won with 22 percent of the vote. No argument there as long as we pretend the Masters never happened. But guess who was only one point behind Spieth?

Our old friend Tiger Woods. Yes, the same Tiger Woods who currently resides at No. 515 in the Official World Golf Rankings.