2019 PGA Championship Picks Roundup: Prognosticating At Soggy Bethpage

Prognosticating golf tournaments is generally a fool’s game. Then dump lots of rain on a major venue and watch the nullification of many of the best setup and design elements. While Bethpage Black is usually soft for its major events, this year’s weather may further dull the local knowledge or experience advantage some might have enjoyed.

This is my way of saying this one seems wide open. Particularly when you factor in the mostly so-so track records of top players in four significant events since 2002. I consider those finishes and recent form in this “ten to watch” for Golfweek. 

And our team makes their picks for USA Today/Golfweek. I am sticking with Tiger again. He likes the place, he’s confident and he’s rested. Oh and he has Privacy here.

It’s hard not to see length being a huge factor, particularly without warmer temperatures this week that players enjoy so much. Ball-striking is paramount, as Joel Beall notes for GolfDigest.com.

Check out some of the changes in iron distance detailed in this Monday preview from Bethpage by Golfweek’s David Dusek. 

The Golf.com team’s picks.

Ryan Herrington’s “sneaky” PGA picks for Golf World.

And Oddschecker is always great fun to watch as it evolves during the week.

Discovery Buys Golf Digest And PGA Tour To Sell The Ads: A New House Organ Is Born?

It’s certainly pleasing that Golf Digest has been saved from extinction by Discovery and that many golf writers will remain employed, but it’s hard to see how the PGA Tour taking over sales for the magazine and website is a positive.

Keith Kelley reported on Page Six (link not live) that Discovery paid $30 million for Golf Digest, Golf World and assorted elements after a “bidding war” with NBC/Comcast. Multiple sources tell me, however, that no bid was even made by Comcast.

The $30 million figure noted by Kelley, if his reporting is accurate, marks a steep plunge from the $430 million Conde Nast paid for Golf Digest in 2001. But they were also buying a robust monthly then with millions in lucrative monthly ad sales and a staff full of must-read writers.

The purchase price also looks particularly paltry given Discovery CEO David Zaslav’s pay the last two years: $42.2 million and $129.5 million in 2019.

Most surprising, however, was this line late in Sam Weinman’s GolfDigest.com story announcing the new “global editorial powerhouse”:

The Discovery acquisition will also feature the introduction of a new sales structure in which Golf Digest and the PGA Tour will combine to create a one-stop digital network in which advertisers can engage with fans across Golf Digest, PGA Tour, and GOLFTV platforms.

It seems hard to imagine any other scenario where the PGA Tour driving and selling the content by Golf Digest is a plus. Some fans may like that this keeps the operation viable, but I’m guessing most golfers wanting coverage of the game will be disappointed in where this leads.

Needless to say, this will also radically re-shape Golf Digest’s coverage of the PGA Tour and the business of golf.

For Immediate Release (Warning, b-speak is flowing!):

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Discovery, Inc. Acquires Golf Digest From Condé Nast

Creating the largest digital golf media business in the U.S. in partnership with the PGA TOUR

Golf Digest’s multi-platform content to be distributed globally on GOLFTV streaming service

Golf Digest Chairman and Editor-in-Chief Jerry Tarde to Join Discovery Golf

NEW YORK, May 13, 2019 – Discovery, Inc. (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) announced today it has acquired Golf Digest from Condé Nast. Golf Digest is the world’s No. 1 golf media brand and will extend Discovery’s global golf media business to the U.S. market through Golf Digest’s multiplatform distribution and reach.

The acquisition creates a powerful programming engine for GOLFTV powered by PGA TOUR, adding world-renowned Golf Digest content to a platform that is built on competition coverage from the PGA TOUR, European Tour, and the Ladies European Tour, as well as the Masters Tournament in select territories outside the U.S. and Discovery’s exclusive global content partnerships with Tiger Woods, winner of 81 PGA TOUR events and 15 major championships, and Francesco Molinari, winner of 10 pro events worldwide and the reigning Open champion.

The addition of Golf Digest boosts Discovery’s global golf ecosystem with a leading platform in the U.S., and will now reach golf fans with everything associated with the game, including instructional videos, equipment advice, course rankings, travel destinations, online bookings and more.

Additionally, Discovery and the PGA TOUR are expanding their groundbreaking 12-year strategic partnership with a new content and sales relationship in the U.S., among other initiatives. The organizations will join forces to create the largest digital network in golf with a one-stop activation platform now including Golf Digest, for advertisers to engage with fans and players, across a full suite of editorial coverage, live and on-demand video streaming, digital, social, print and branded content opportunities. The current Golf Digest sales teams will continue to be responsible for ad sales during a transition period until the Discovery / PGA TOUR sales integration is complete.

David Zaslav, President and CEO of Discovery, Inc. said: “Golf Digest is a world-class brand that has become the ‘go-to’ authority for millions of golf enthusiasts, professional players and global advertisers. It’s a natural strategic fit with Discovery’s goal to be the leading golf media platform in the world through our investments with the PGA TOUR, the European Tour and our partnership with Tiger Woods. We wanted to bolster GOLFTV’s international offerings with Golf Digest’s award-winning journalism, broad consumer reach and deep content library while also creating the largest U.S. digital golf business with Jay Monahan and the PGA TOUR. They have been great partners, and we are excited to deepen the opportunity to bring these amazing players and all of their terrific play to more people on more devices in every market in the world.”

Rick Anderson, Chief Media Officer, PGA TOUR, said: “We’re thrilled to deepen our partnership with Discovery, as well as Golf Digest, which has been an official marketing partner of the PGA TOUR since 2006. By combining our assets in the U.S., we’re now able to offer the most robust digital content and product offering for fans, golfers and TOUR partners. The new PGA TOUR / Golf Digest digital network will be the single largest golf network offering unrivaled breadth and depth of content across platforms.”

Discovery will seek to optimize its exclusive global partnership with Tiger Woods across both Golf Digest and PGA TOUR platforms. GOLFTV is collaborating with Woods on a range of content, such as deep-dive instruction to help players improve their game, which began filming last month, and exclusive access to his tournament preparation. The unique collaboration offers an authentic look into the life, mind and performance of the game’s ultimate icon.

Tiger Woods said: “This is an important step in enhancing and expanding the U.S. and global reach of Discovery and GOLFTV. It gives me another platform to tell my story directly to fans and makes my partnership with Discovery even stronger. This acquisition, along with what Discovery and GOLFTV have already done with the PGA TOUR, is great for the game of golf.”

Alex Kaplan, President and General Manager, Discovery Golf, said: “This is a big deal for Discovery to add Golf Digest to our golf portfolio. Adding Golf Digest to GOLFTV and our existing PGA TOUR, European Tour, Tiger and Francesco content will be a big win for the sport. We are offering something unique, whether you’re a fan, player, viewer, brand or advertiser. We can utilize the strengths of both Golf Digest and our burgeoning GOLFTV platform, establishing a global editorial powerhouse delivering content across all platforms to engage and inspire millions of passionate golf fans around the world.”

Golf Digest’s award-winning editorial content, including news, instructional videos, and rankings, as well as tentpoles such as ‘100 Greatest Course Rankings’ and its annual ‘Hot List,’ will drive engagement for GOLFTV around the world, provide opportunities for Discovery to leverage its golf content in the U.S. and bring more exciting opportunities to partner the PGA TOUR and all the world-class players.

Discovery will seek to leverage its global scale, with reach into 220 markets and territories, to further grow the Golf Digest brand around the world. Golf Digest, which earns nearly half of its revenues from digital advertising, will continue to publish a U.S. monthly print magazine and Discovery will assume the global licenses for editions serving nearly 70 countries.

Golf Digest’s editorial team will join Discovery Golf under the continued leadership of Jerry Tarde, as Editor-in-Chief, Golf Digest, and Global Head of Strategy and Content, Discovery Golf. In addition to overseeing the world-class editorial content of Golf Digest, Tarde will expand his purview to include GOLFTV and report to Alex Kaplan, President and General Manager, Discovery Golf.

Jerry Tarde, Editor-in-Chief, Golf Digest, and Global Head of Strategy and Content, Discovery Golf, said: “Golf Digest has this amazing team of editors, reporters, producers, photographers and contributors – all dedicated to helping golfers improve and be smarter consumers of the game we love. Discovery’s vision to create one global destination for everything a golf fan could want is perfectly aligned with what Golf Digest does every day. As we look to the future, Discovery’s global scale and ability to light up content on all platforms and in every language, combined with the PGA TOUR’s brand, will benefit golf and golfers worldwide.”

Kaplan added, “A critical piece is Golf Digest’s people. We’re thrilled to welcome aboard Golf Digest’s world-class team and its Chairman and Editor-in-Chief, Jerry Tarde, who is widely considered the dean of golf journalism.”

Golf Digest reaches millions every month across all platforms:

• 60 million video views
• 4.8 million readers
• 4.8 million digital uniques
• 2.2 million social followers

Warning: The Black Course Is An Extremely Difficult Course That Players May Light Up During The 2019 PGA

And it’s ok! Really.

For three simple reasons: spring conditions, simple greens and huge changes in the game.

As Jim Nantz and Nick Faldo noted in this week’s CBS call to promote the new May date for the PGA Championship, the combination of spring conditions and more rain the weekend before means rough is likely to be inconsistent. While long and playing long due to cool conditions, the course should be soft.

But as Tom Dunne notes for Golfweek, Bethpage Black was meant to be a beast from the start and has largely maintained that reputation. (I’m sure it’ll still give players some fits but do remember that the 265-yard carry off the 10th tee in 2002 was understandably controversial. Today, it would take a major wind to restore that fear factor. )

Tillinghast wrote about the “Man Killer” element to the place in 1937 for the PGA Magazine (page 14 of 16 from the TIllinghast Illustrated by the great folks at Tillinghast.net).

Another factor worth watching: the relatively simple greens. In recent years hole locations have been in some astounding places to protect scoring but a soft Bethpage hasn’t many places to hide the holes. So even if the greens are slower than players like and maybe a little bumpy by day’s end, the lack of complexity in the green complexes makes the place more vulnerable.

So it will be interesting to see how the place’s reputation is viewed if the players score well in this PGA. It shouldn’t matter one bit. Because we all know the place has taken on a lot of water and will do so again all day Monday (100% chance of rain). But this is The Black and the good people of Long Island want their course to extract pain!

Oh and here is how things looked Sunday out there:

View this post on Instagram

Sunday before PGA Championship week! Black course just a little wet! @pgachampionship @accragolfshafts #accraontour #getshafted #goingtobeagreatweek

A post shared by gawain robertson (@gawainrobertson) on May 12, 2019 at 12:13pm PDT

Return To Bethpage Begins The Wind-Down On Muni's As Major Hosts

The state of New York’s glorious Bethpage State Park hosts this week’s 2019 PGA Championship and the 2024 Ryder Cup, while Harding Park is site of next year’s PGA. Throw in one US Open at a true public venue—2021 at Torrey Pines—and that’s about it in the way of muni’s hosting majors. The foreseeable future has been lined up for both the PGA and U.S. Open, with clubs or upscale resort courses the focus.

As I write for Golfweek, it’s been a mixed-bag in terms of success rate and benefits for the facilities. But it’s also clear that the cost to host and list of potential venues has shrunken due to the bench press and gluten free diets of today’s better athletes.

But do not despair, as I make the case that these majors at muni’s spawned interest in restoring classic public courses, with a tip of the cap to the new National Links Trust and efforts around the country.

Q&A With Ben Crenshaw On The State Of Putting

For Golfweek’s May putting issue, I couldn’t help but ask Ben Crenshaw all sorts of grumpy old man questions like why can’t these kids put like you used to, what’s with these silly green reading books and what happened to all the blade putters?

I enjoyed this answer to a question about how to get kids developing their putting:

Crenshaw: Putting contests, I always thought, were great. Harvey encouraged that. Having to putt against someone and go around the clock. There’s no better practice, because you’re putting something on the line, you’re competing. When you’re putting at different holes, that’s what golf is. When I was a kid, I found about eight balls out on the golf course. I went up to the putting green by myself, and I hit this one putt about an hour. Same putt, over and over. Harvey said, “Ben, I see what you’re doing. Your stroke looks pretty good, but you’ll never have that putt again the rest of your life. Putt to different holes.” You see young people do that in practice. They get the chalk out with straight lines and all that stuff.

Bethpage Black And The Credit Question

As Ron Whitten detailed back in 2002, A.W. Tillinghast had a limited role in the design of Bethpage Black. Yet he will be lauded next week during the PGA Championship while the primary designer, Joe Burbeck, only gets a few mentions.

It’s a peculiar bit of irony that guilty of that at Golf Channel too, where we have a feature set to air during Live From on Tillinghast’s later years in obscurity and his incredible cross-country consulting tour for the PGA of America. But there is also a lovely irony in the PGA Championship coming here that allows us to consider his place in the game later in his life.

Since Whitten’s story seventeen years ago was met largely with frustration, maybe even derision, we’ve come to realize a lot more about course design credit. While Tillinghast seems to have only been on site a small amount and appears to have walked away (or was fired) in frustration with the Works Progress Administration’s methodology, there is still something undeniably different about the scale and design of Bethpage Black that speaks to his influence. Which is undoubtedly why Tillinghast still warrants a co-credit in Golf Digest’s listing of top 100 courses.

Sure, the greens have none of the flair you’ll find at other Tillinghast designs in the area and the course is woefully over-bunkered given his views by the Depression years. But as Whitten detailed, he still had a hand in making the design more than just long and hard.

In August 1937, Tillinghast wrote for the first time about Bethpage Black, in PGA Magazine. He credited Joseph Burbeck with the very concept of the Black Course.

"Now it was Burbeck's idea to develop one of these layouts along lines which were to be severe to a marked degree. It was his ambition to have something which might compare with Pine Valley as a great test, and although my continual travels over the country in the PGA work have prevented me from seeing play over Bethpage's Black since its opening, I am rather inclined to believe from reports from some of the best players that it is showing plenty teeth."

The next few lines suggested he made at least one visit to the Black. He described the par-5 fourth in some detail: "In locating and designing the green, which can only be gained by a most precise approach from the right, I must confess that I was a trifle scared myself, when I looked back and regarded the hazardous route that must be taken by a stinging second shot to get into position to attack this green."

While Tillinghast may have walked out of the studio during the sessions, he was there, crafted key notes and lyrics, and is undoubtedly part of why the Black went to a different place architecturally. He might also have made the 18th hole better had he stuck around.

Onward!

Whitten has narrated a nice drone flyover of the course to get you in the mood for the Black’s return to major championship golf:

PGA Of America CEO Seth Waugh On The Scariness Of Playing The Travis At Garden City, Club Pros As Cadillac-Driving Thought Leaders, And Polymer Sprays To Preserve Golf Courses

If you like reading about member-guests, issues Hamptons golfers face and one downright scary thought, then you’ll love PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh’s “My Shot” as told to Guy Yocum in the latest Golf Digest. It’s accompanied by photos from what appears to be a shelved-for-campiness Vineyard Vines shoot by a photographer named, of course, Finlay Mackay.

Like the last lengthy sit-down he gave where he is still listing all of the clubs he’s a member at, Waugh comes off a bit out of touch with 99.9% of the golf world.

But two or three times a year, I'll tee it up individually, in tournaments—the club championship at Seminole, the singles events at National or, in the past, the Travis at Garden City. I like to feel on occasion that uncomfortable sensation that comes when you have to post a number, no Equitable Stroke Control, no excuses and nowhere to hide. It's a little scary, given my day job and a Handicap Index of 8.6, and there's always the possibility I could go completely off the rails toward Humiliation Station. But I like it. My friend Vinny Giles said it best: “Golf's a lot different when you've got a pencil in your hand.”

That’s why they invented Long Island Iced Tea.

The PGA professional is the most revered person in the game. He or she is admired and respected, much the way doctors, teachers and football coaches are in our communities. They come into contact with a lot of charities, civic leaders and business people. At its core, it's a noble profession, because they're always serving. They can have a huge influence, they're trusted and they care. They're sort of ministers with a different pulpit. I took this job for the opportunity to make 29,000 members' lives better, and because of how that can impact the lives of the millions of people that they touch every day. I'd like to utilize these traits more to their benefit.

Good solid sentiment even if we all know superintendents are the most revered and typically the best paid, but maybe such a view will help raise their profile nationally. Wait, what, there’s more?

It's just an idea, but say your PGA member drove a Cadillac. Could he or she, as a local thought leader, drive sales for the nearby dealer through club members and benefit from that in some way? Can we do this on a national scale? Everyone wins.

Like, you scratch my back, I’ll scratch your back scheme! Very, 21st century-friendly choice of Cadillac, too!

Oh but it gets worse…

A lot of ideas for improving the game are going to come from outside of golf. Arjun Chowdri, who we just named as the PGA of America's first Chief Innovation Officer, told us recently about a discovery prompted by the problem of waste in grocery stores. The amount and cost of produce going bad before it moves off the shelves is staggering. Arjun noted that scientists have developed a safe polymer that, when sprayed on fruit and vegetables, makes them last several days longer.

Yes, that shiny crap that sends people to buy from, say, the Southampton Farmer’s Market? Go on…

Arjun is wondering if there might be a use for that polymer on golf courses.

Does he now?

Could it mean less water usage, which we know is an increasingly critical issue in golf? Can it keep the azaleas in bloom at the Masters a week longer?

Ok, now that’s important in the grand scheme of things.

Maybe, maybe not.

Not.

But we're going to be encouraging and investing in that type of alternative thinking. One benefit of moving our headquarters to Frisco, Texas—we'll have golf courses and other state-of-the-art facilities—is to create a laboratory for the game in all forms. It will be the canvas to incubate ideas, and to test and develop concepts in real-world settings.

Polymer zoysia fairways, here we come! Just wash your hands a lot after playing at Incubator National.

Tiger Enjoys Bethpage In Shorts Weather While He Can...

More clips of Tiger Woods at Bethpage have surfaced and it would appear he got in his shorts-wearing before needing to pack those away as temperatures dip Sunday through Wednesday and struggle to get into the 60s. The tournament days look, for now, to be quite pleasant for the PGA Championship’s move to May.

I wonder what the people on Round Swamp Rd. thought when they saw the Masters winner strolling by…

🚨Tiger crossing the New York highway. What would you do ? pic.twitter.com/MPdo3uBeUF

— Tiger Woods Legion (@TWlegion) May 9, 2019

Love the cart just whizzing in front of him on 17. Of course, they have tents practically on top of the fairways—what could go wrong—to finish building.

⚠️16 may be in in bound⚠️ pic.twitter.com/kazIG9MQmR

— Tiger Woods Legion (@TWlegion) May 9, 2019

Captain Harrington Improves The Chances Of Not Having To Make Sergio Garcia A Captain's Pick

Oh, I know they’re best buddies now having bonded over 2018’s win and it’s silly to suggest the former rivals can’t stand each other.

Either way, you have to love Padraig Harrington’s vote of confidence in the best possible Ryder Cup players making the team on points for his 2020 turn.

Brian Keogh reports on Harrington’s wish list getting the green light from the European Tour committee. Now nine will make it on points and three will get a Captain’s nod.

“Having said that, I am pleased that the Tournament Committee agreed to the change of Wild Card numbers. I have spoken to a number of people regarding the ninth player automatically qualifying for the team and in my experience, a player is more comfortable when he has qualified, hence my reasoning behind this change.”

And since Sergio seems unlikely to make it on points and everyone will demand he be on the team, this just chips away at the chances I’ll have to make that dreaded call welcoming him to my team.

Tiger Gets Bethpage To Himself In Advance Of The 2019 PGA

Given the dreadful weekend forecast, those wondering if Tiger would get enough scouting in at Bethpage can rest assured after he turned up there Wednesday. Rest assured.

At least it looks that way based on his shorts and fluid swing and lovely solitude, though I’m sure there were plenty of hard working folks setting up infrastructure and trying to get the turf ready. Or maybe shooting some video!

Riggs of Barstool Sports posted this exclusive:

Per my sources, the Masters champ is at Bethpage and looking GOOD. Stuck both shots on the long par three 3rd, one to 7 feet. Grand slam alert @FrankieDeLuca_ pic.twitter.com/LxeZSL38nK

— Riggsy Commish (@RiggsBarstool) May 8, 2019

Chambers Bay Gets A New Development Plan And Boy Has It Been Losing A Lot Of Money...

Thanks to Aaron Levine for Tweeting several elements to the recent vote to add a new hotel and other amenities to boost 2015 U.S. Open host Chambers Bay, including this VERY detailed op-ed by a councilman explaining the vote for a new deal.

Included in that commentary are financials, talk of the new restaurant where the 9th tee sits (Not Jason Day’s Cafe!), but it’s mostly shocking to see the drop off in revenues since hosting the U.S. Open. High-end daily fee just isn’t what it used to be.

There was also a fantastic bit of controversy, with John Ladenberg, part of the original development, pushing an anti-development petition. His wife sits on the council, which prompted a lively back and forth!

MUST WATCH: Argument at @PierceCo Council mtg over an amendment (which passed) for an alternate No. 9 tee box to be incorporated into new @ChambersBayGolf hotel development. It was proposed by Connie Ladenburg. Her husband, John Ladenburg, started an anti-development petition. pic.twitter.com/i8mlrLDinA

— Aaron Levine (@AaronQ13Fox) May 9, 2019

2019 Wells Fargo Ratings Down Over Last Year, Up Over 2017

SBJ’s Austin Karp says the 2019 Wells Fargo drew a 1.8 for the final round without Tiger in the field, a 2.2 in 2018 when Jason Day won and Tiger finished 55th.

The tournament drew a 1.6 for Brian Harman’s win in 2017.

Interpret these as you see fit. Or not.

State Of The Game 93: A.W. Tillinghast's PGA "Tour" With The PGA of America's Bob Denney, Plus Other Vital Stuff

As we approach the PGA Championship there will be the inevitable discussion about A.W. Tillinghast’s role in the course’s final outcome. While that’s certainly a fun debate to have, the PGA of America’s first trip to Bethpage-Black offers a chance to revisit Tillinghast’s later-in-life work for the organization.

The PGA “Tour” started as a nice consulting job for the organization he was a longtime friend of, but became a major odyssey that sent the famed architect to around 500 courses to a wide variety of suggestions and assessments. You can read Tillinghast.net’s excellent description here with a list of courses.

I have worked with Golf Channel on a feature about this and Tillinghast’s fairly anonymous last years that will air a few times in the coming days, first on the CBS presentation of the “Road to the PGA.” That show re-airs Monday night on Golf Channel.

In the mean time, Rod Morri, Mike Clayton and I were joined by the PGA of America’s Bob Denney, who has preserved the bound volumes of Tillinghast correspondences and notes made by headquarters. These historic letters have moved around a lot and the golf world owes a debt of gratitude to Bob and the PGA for saving them (digital versions of most can be seen here thanks to the Tillinghast team of Wolfe, Wolfe, and Trebus!).

Here’s the pod! As always you can get it wherever fine pods are streamed, or here at the iTunes store.

Golf.com Retracts Reference Suggesting Billy Walters Was Phil Mickelson's Bookie

An online retraction has been posted and a Golf.com column by Michael Bamberger removed that suggested jailed gambler Billy Walters “was, court documents make clear,” Phil Mickelson’s “bookie.”

On June 17, 2018, GOLF.com published an article with the headline “It’s complicated: To understand Mickelson’s controversial actions, you must first understand Phil.” The article refers to Billy Walters as Phil Mickelson’s “bookie,” the accuracy of which Walters disputes.  The court records referenced in the article do not specifically refer to Walters as Mickelson’s “bookie” and GOLF.com has not been able to substantiate the claim. GOLF.com has removed the article and retracts the reference to Walters.

Of course, Walters merely offered stock advice that turned out to get him in big trouble for insider trading. The former AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am winner is currently serving time and believes his “ex-friend” Mickelson could have exonerated him had he testified in the trial that ultimately sent Walters to jail.

The original Bamberger story can still be read via Google’s cache search option.

It’s been a tough start for the new owner of Golf Magazine and Golf.com, Howard Millstein, who also owns Nicklaus Design and quickly gave one of his companies a “Best U.S. Renovation” award, with a special story highlighting the accomplishment (a note explaining the relationship was later added to this online entry.)

A similar “holding company” tagline was also eventually added to this story on Miura irons posted at Golf.com, but well after eyebrows were raised at the lack of basic transparency.

AT&T At Trinity Forest Draws Decent Enough Field

The PGA Championship’s move to May and lush inland golf, when combined with Trinity Forest’s eccentric Coore and Crenshaw links-style design, would seem to make it an easy stop to pass up.

Bill Nichols reports that while the field is not at the level it was when last played in Irving, the field is better than last year (5 of world top 50), headlined by Brooks Koepka, who liked what he saw on television last year.

"He told me he really liked how the course played on TV," said Nelson tournament director Jon Drago. "He said it looked like a lot of fun."

Word of mouth and the PGA Tour's schedule change, with the Nelson immediately preceding the PGA Championship, has strengthened the field. An influx of Europeans created the largest spike.

The Nelson field will feature 14 of the top 50 players in the World Golf Ranking: No. 3 Koepka, No. 19 Patrick Reed, No. 22 Marc Leishman, No. 28 Hideki Matsuyama, No. 31 Rafa Cabrera Bello, No. 33 Alex Noren, No. 36 Jordan Spieth, No. 40 Henrik Stenson, No. 42 Kiradech Aphibarnrat, No. 43 Lucas Bjerregaard, No. 45 Justin Harding, No. 46 Branden Grace, No. 48 Charles Howell III, and No. 50 Thorbjorn Olesen.

The normally firm and fast course was slowed down last year to ensure players were not turned off by the bold design features. Golfweek’s Eamon Lynch wasn’t a fan of that move and pleads with the PGA Tour to not dumb down the setup. However, this spring the weather has made it nearly impossible to present such a course, with more potentially violent storms expected Wednesday.

The course, while maybe not television friendly, is sensational. If you didn’t see it, Geoff Ogilvy filed a fantastic video tour last year that should remind you of its merits.