Five Family Fun: Premier Series Details Emerge

On the eve of the PGA Championship--albeit one that lands earlier than normal and which will take a few days of golf to get excited about--details of the European Tour's long-rumored Premier Series are emerging.

Chief Exec Keith Pelley's concept of a world tour/answer to the PGA Tour will be a select group of events with a presenting sponsor, reports Golfweek's Alex Miceli.

The Premier Series, the brainchild of Tour chief executive Keith Pelley, was created to stem the flood of veteran talent to the PGA Tour and keep younger European players focused on their home tour.

The plan focuses on certain parts of the schedule with increased purses, not to just compete directly with opposite PGA Tour events but also to emphasize certain times of the year on the European Tour.

With the first phase of the series to be announced at the British Masters in mid-October, the Tour intends to implement the program over the next two or three years. The Premier Series would consist of 10 tournaments in 2018 and 12 events in 2019.

Your turn Commissioner Finchem!

Club Car Thanks You: Captain Clarke Adds Fifth Vice-Captain

The European Ryder Cup team's vice captain squad has swollen to five, potentially boosting Club Car's third quarter revenues as Darren Clarke looks to become the first captain to have a shuttle driver for every two players.

According to a BBC report, 2002 winning captain Sam Torrance joins Ian Poulter, Paul Lawrie, Thomas Bjorn and Padraig Harrington on Clarke's coaching squad at Hazeltine in Minnesota.

Oddsmakers have installed Mark James, Neil Coles, Peter Alliss and a hologram of J.H. Taylor as co-frontrunners to grab the next vice-captain spot.

The full release:

DARREN CLARKE NAMES SAM TORRANCE AS HIS FIFTH VICE CAPTAIN FOR THE 2016 RYDER CUP
 
Darren Clarke, the European Captain for The 2016 Ryder Cup, has named Sam Torrance as his fifth and final Vice Captain for the match against the United States at Hazeltine National in September.

The 62 year old Scotsman will bring not only a wealth of experience to Clarke’s backroom team – having played for Europe on eight consecutive occasions between 1981 and 1995 – he will also bring the knowledge of what it takes to be a winning captain in the biennial contest, having led Europe to victory at The Belfry in 2002.

It was also at the English venue that Torrance enjoyed his greatest Ryder Cup moment as a player when, in 1985, he holed his famous curling putt across the 18th green to beat Andy North and secure the winning point as Europe went on to record a 16 ½ - 11 ½ triumph.

The man who still holds the record number of European Tour appearances with 706, also knows what it takes to succeed in the Ryder Cup arena in the US, having been part of the team which won at Muirfield Village in 1987 – the 15-13 success representing Europe’s first triumph on American soil.

Video: Rio Olympic Golf Course Third Hole

The par-4 third can be stretched to 351/321 but will hopefully be set up shorter to entice players to drive the green. 

Here is the Golf Digest flyover narrated by co-architect Gil Hanse. Here is Hanse's final rendering of the hole.

Irish Open To Portstewart Sets Up Three-Week Links Season

The Open and the Scottish Open are being joined by the Irish Open, it was announced today.

Brian Keogh with the details on Portstewart landing the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open, hosted by the Rory Foundation.

The July 6-9, 2017 dates mean three weeks of links golf next summer, with a pair of tune-up options for players.

How Pete Cowen Helped Henrik Stenson Get His Game Back

One of the many things lost in the haze of the magnificent Stenson-Mickelson battle for the ages at Troon was Henrik's bizarre career arc.

It's easy to forget that he hit rock bottom many years ago, but with the help of instructor Pete Cowen, Stenson built a swing that led to one of the great performances in major history.

Bob Harig files this super profile of the Cowen/Stenson partnership for ESPN.com.

"He couldn't hit the world, let alone the fairway,'' said Pete Cowen, Stenson's longtime instructor. "And it could be with every club in his bag. He could hit 5-irons out of bounds, 7-irons out of bounds. There are three important things, and they are to start the ball on line, and have the correct flight and spin. Henrik couldn't start it on line, and then you have no idea where it is going to finish.''

Stenson turned pro in 1998 and found some early success on the European Tour. But at the European Open -- at the K Club in Ireland -- his game, his ego and his confidence took a hit 15 years ago, one from which it is amazing he recovered.

Playing in July 2001 with Miguel Angel Jimenez and Sandy Lyle, Stenson came to the 13th hole and hit a massive slice that would not have been so alarming if he had not hit a massive hook on the same hole a day prior. Stenson had no idea where the ball was going, and was so spooked by his lack of form that he withdrew.

"After nine holes, I told the guys they'd be better off without me,'' Stenson recalled. "The balls were all over the place.''

Two months prior, Stenson had won the Benson & Hedges International tournament, but now he wondered if he'd ever be able to compete again.

The 2016 PGA: Baltusrol In July, Major And Olympic Preview!

So soon after The Open--particularly one we'll never forget--and at a parkland course short on memorable holes, and played in July to accommodate America's obsession with football, all adds up to make it hard for many including the SI/golf.com gang to get excited about the 2016 PGA Championship.

From the roundtable:

Bamberger: Yes, the PGA risks getting overlooked. But this year less than others. It's the lead up to the Olympics!

Shipnuck: You jest, Michael, but it will add a little extra juice and another needed talking point. We all know the PGA is the least prestigious of the majors, and as long as it’s going to boring tracks like Baltusrol, that won’t change. But the Olympics are the de facto 5th major this year—Sorry Players—and will continue the mojo for this blockbuster summer.

Bamberger: I don't jest. Not about this!

Shipnuck: Good, because these Olympics are life and death. Perhaps literally!

Ritter: Only if you drink the water in Rio, Alan! (Or, leave your hotel.) As for the PGA, Balty has produced some great winners, including Phil in ‘05 and Jack twice. If it gets a few high-wattage names in the mix on Sunday, it'll draw its share of eyeballs, even in a busy summer.

Probably more than had the event been moved to the early fall to help with the congested schedule. But football won that match before it even teed off.

David Fay filed some terrific Golf Digest thoughts on the history of Baltusrol and what makes it such a great club, even if you find the course a little uninspired on TV. And he addresses that silly wall installed by Robert Trent Jones at No. 4. **See Rick Wolffe's much appreciated clarification on the wall in comments below.

Alan Pittman offers this black and white photo tour of the club.

Phil's Baltusrol Defense: Changes In Game Means Change In How To Attack The Course

With the PGA Championship's return to Baltusrol, the spotlight will be on the course's defending champion, Phil Mickelson (Jason Day is of course the actual title defender).

In an unusually candid as-told-to with Mark Cannizzaro, Mickelson mentions the role of Baltusrol retiring pro Doug Steffen in helping him learn the green, Joe's Pizza for his favorite local pie, Wednesday golf at Pine Valley again with Jerry Tarde and other fun insights.

But for those wanting to know how the Open Championship runner-up plans to attack the course, Mickelson admits to a big change in approach worth noting.

I have to play it shorter off the tee and straighter and then more aggressive into the greens. A lot of times before, I couldn’t be aggressive into the greens because I was in trouble. But I could get away with that because my length off the tee was more of an advantage than it is now.

Now I have to be more conservative off the tee so I can then be more aggressive into the greens. You have to adapt as a player. During my 30s, length was key for me and there wasn’t as much rough as there is today and I was pretty wild. One of the things I’ve had to do as a player is adapt and become more consistent off the tee, and I’m in the process of that right now.

My anticipation of playing Baltusrol this time around is going to be much more methodical. I can’t overpower a golf course like Bubba Watson or Dustin Johnson. I’m going to give up strokes off the tee to them. Dustin gains 2 ¹/₂ strokes on the field. So I have to make up three shots elsewhere — chipping, putting, iron shots, whatever.

USOC Threatens #Rio2016 Hashtagging Companies

Darren Rovell with one of the more amazing point-missing exercises in the social media area, as the United States Olympic Committee has notified companies who are not official sponsors that they must pretend the Games are not happening.

In a letter send to sponsors of athletes, Rovell says the USOC warns of stealing intellectual property.

"Commercial entities may not post about the Trials or Games on their corporate social media accounts," reads the letter written by USOC chief marketing officer Lisa Baird. "This restriction includes the use of USOC's trademarks in hashtags such as #Rio2016 or #TeamUSA."

This is fun too...

The letter further stipulates that a company whose primary mission is not media-related cannot reference any Olympic results, cannot share or repost anything from the official Olympic account and cannot use any pictures taken at the Olympics.

Social media is largely a reminder and branding service that merely threatens to remind people to watch or enjoy the exploits of an athlete. While you can understand their need to protect the Team USA sponsors, it's got to be tempting for some to test the bounds of this to see just how far the USOC will go to "protect" its turf.