Prospective 2019 Presidents Cup Team Gathers; Spieth Absent But For Some Reason Billy Horschel Is There

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There is absolutely nothing to read whatsoever into this gathering of possible 2019 Presidents Cup team members convening in advance of the Northern Trust, except that Patrick Reed missed the memo on wearing a scripted Nike outfit and, I suppose, the absence of Jordan Spieth (29th in points). It’s hard to picture a team without Spieth given what a huge role he’s played on recent Cup squads.

Meanwhile Billy Horschel, 18th in points with one career major championship top 10, 10 missed cuts in 25 majors and a 0-0-0 record in the Ryder and Presidents Cup, must have been walking by and was invited in?

Tiger’s Tweet:

The "Hovland Rule" Might Not Have Made A (Tour Card Earning) Difference For Viktor Hovland

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Even though everyone knows the USGA does not move quickly, Monday’s welcome change in allowing the reigning U.S. Amateur winner to retain their U.S. Open exemption even if they turn pro in the months after winning, was met with fingers pointed at Viktor Hovland.

While it is logical that Hovland remained an amateur to play the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, therefore costing him valuable FedExCup points had he been playing as a pro, it is illogical to think the USGA acted within hours of Hovland missing out on earning his PGA Tour card by just a few points.

Of course they did not and of course they have been contemplating this change for some time.

Even better, based on the points handed out at Pebble Beach, Bill Speros at Golfweek reasons that Hovland still would have missed earning his card…by one point.

Ratings: Women's British Most Watched Women's Pro Event Since 2014; Wyndham Final Round Down

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Great news for the thrilling AIG Women’s British Open Sunday broadcast on NBC: a 1.0 rating despite the midday slot on the east coast (11:30 am to 2 pm ET). The 1.67 million average audience was the highest rated LPGA telecast since the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open won by Michelle Wie at Pinehurst.

From Golf Channel PR:

According to SBD, the Saturday broadcast earned a 0.7.

The PGA Tour continued a rough ratings run since The Open, with the 2019 Wyndham earning a 1.4 overnight rating, down sizably from 2018’s final round 1.9.

The third round’s 1.0 was down from 2018’s 1.1.

U.S. Amateur Champs To Retain Their U.S. Open Exemption The Following Year No Matter What

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You may recall—probably not—how much this one has grown tiresome to me as a fan of keeping the U.S. Amateur a high-profile event in a world where the meaning of amateur status is fading away.

But now when the U.S. Open trophies surface at the USGA’s two biggest amateur championships (and the two biggest on the planet), the winner will know they have a date with the Open ten or so months later.

My item for Golfweek.com.

The move is good for the USGA, good for the amateur and best of all, sensational for the U.S. Open where preserving tradition like the premier defending champion/Open winner/U.S. Amateur champion is more important than whether the amateur retained their amateur status.

Of course, Viktor Hovland and his T-12 this year as an amateur will cringe wanting to know why this didn’t happen sooner, but he’ll be fine.

For Immediate Release:

USGA Changes Exemption Category for Reigning
U.S. Amateur and U.S. Women’s Amateur Champions

Exemptions into U.S. Opens will no longer be contingent on retaining amateur status

Liberty Corner, N.J. (Aug. 5, 2019) – The USGA announced Monday that moving forward, the reigning U.S. Amateur and U.S. Women’s Amateur champions will be afforded the opportunity to utilize their exemptions in the following year’s U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open as an amateur or professional.

Previously, the reigning winners of the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Women’s Amateur received an exemption into the following U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open, respectively, only if they maintained their amateur status. Moving forward, the reigning champions will have the option to turn professional while maintaining their exempt place in the field.

“We believe this change gives our champions an important option as they choose whether and when to embark on their professional careers,” said John Bodenhamer, USGA Senior Managing Director, Championships. “Given the significant purses awarded at the U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open, we realize how important it is for players to make the most appropriate decision for his or her career, and the positive impact it could have at the outset of their professional careers.”

Over the past decade, four of 10 U.S. Amateur and three of 10 U.S. Women’s Amateur champions forewent their exemptions into the following year’s Open Championships, choosing to turn professional.

“Given the opportunities afforded the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Women’s Amateur champions, we want to make sure they are able to take advantage of as many as possible,” said Bodenhamer. “We feel strongly that our reigning champions have earned their places in the U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open, regardless of their amateur status.” 

Playoffs, Top 125 Missing Some Familiar Names

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But hey, that’s what exemptions, Korn Ferry Playoffs and other stuff are for.

Still, the top 125 chase to get into The Northern Trust and to secure a card for 2019-20 is over and as Adam Woodward notes here, there are many names missing, including two tournament winners from this year.

The live points page for those worried about the playoffs, but more likely, those worried about favorite players who were on the cusp.

What Happened To Trump Ferry Point As A Major Tournament Venue?

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In light of the New York Daily News’ story last week spotting the first money-losing year and an empty tee shot most days, The Forecaddie wonders what happened to this New York City, Jack Nicklaus, Trump Golf-managed venue with the magical locale?

Longtime readers will know that at one point, there appeared to be a battle for who could name the most tournaments at Ferry Point. And now…

While his supporters will blame politics, Trump Ferry Point is more likely the victim of unrealistic expectations that built as soon as various organizations were sniffing around to see if it would work. Logistically it has issues and now, as so-so sales at New York area majors have shown, the market may be oversaturated both in terms of tournaments and with amazing venues featuring more than just great views.

Which reminds me, The Northern Trust returns this week just months after the PGA at Bethpage and just months before the U.S. Open at Winged Foot. And…it just keeps on coming after that.

Did Shibuno Pull Off The Women's Major Championship Equivalent To Ouimet At Brookline?

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It may not be mentioned with Ouimet’s shocker at Brookline, Jack’s comeback in 86 or Tiger’s two most triumphant Masters wins in 1997 and 2019, but as far as golf tournaments I’ve watched Hinako Shibuno’s win at the 2019 British Women’s Open will rank with the wackiest, most improbable and most inexplicable.

She’s also just the second Japanese player to win one of golf’s major championships.

I’m going to step out of the way now and let some crack pro writers who were there explain what happened, but just remember, Shibuno had never competed outside of Japan. At 20, I’m not thinking she’s multiple buddies trips to the heathland or linksland, so to say she was a tad green would not be rude.

Anyway, it was a joy to watch, a real bummer for two LPGA stalwarts in Lizette Salas and Morgan Pressel, and a true heartbreaker for Jin Young Ko looking to win a third major and second in two weeks. Yes, this was zany!

Beth Ann Nichols for Golfweek.

British fans were captivated by the speedy player with the double-jointed arms and a sweet tooth who never stopped smiling. They rose to their feet and roared when she drained an 18-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole to slip past American Lizette Salas by a single stroke on a day of riveting golf. It was a fairy-tale finish for the ages by a player nicknamed the “Smiling Cinderella” by Japanese media.

And then there was the day she did it, prompting this simple question from Randall Mell at GolfChannel.com:

Has anybody ever made it look more fun playing the back nine on the Sunday of a major while tied for the lead?

Ron Sirak for LPGA.com:

This sensational Sunday had more subplots than a Charles Dickens novel. All six of the players in the final three twosomes had a chance to win.

The last hole birdie, though it doesn’t really capture the quality of the play by all down the stretch and the amazing stories of Salas, Pressel and Ko that added to the insanity of the whole thing.

And her remarks after…



The Top 125 Chase And Hovland Add Intrigue To Wyndham Sunday

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While many across America—frankly, the world—will undoubtedly be looking to see if Paul Casey and Webb Simpson can crack the Wyndham Rewards top ten, Sunday’s final round of the Wyndham Championship is the last event a player can assure himself top 125 status and a tour “card” for next year (well, this September).

While the 126 and beyond crowd still has the Korn Ferry Tour playoffs and partial status, etc.., as Beau Hossler noted in a heartfelt tweet after missing this week’s cut, the 125 number has real meaning.

The 125 number also retains a certain romantic and historic significance given that there is a life-altering quality to the drama that playing for playoff money has yet to capture. Plus, getting in that 125 class is the difference between possibly playing the Northern Trust and playoff events and not battling for career relevance. Andrew Landry, Austin Cook and Shawn Stefani’s names stand out for Sunday at Sedgefield.

Here is the best way to follow the 125 chase here, with several projected to move in and several more potentially bumped according to the PGA Tour’s live tracker.

Speaking of the Wyndham Rewards, much hyped and a total non-story this week, The Forecaddie says there is an easy adjustment that could make the money meaningful in more ways than one.

But for most fans of pro golf, the emergence of Morikawa, Wolff and Viktor Hovland over the last couple of months can be capped off Sunday with Hovland finishing in a two way tie for second or better to secure his card, reports Helen Ross for PGATour.com.

Your tee times and TV coverage windows here, with Golf Channel starting at 1 pm ET and CBS taking over at 3 pm.

Golf And Gambling Hecklers: “It’s something that probably needs to be addressed, but I don’t know how you address it"

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In light of Ian Poulter’s latest heckling incident last week, Brian Wacker at GolfDigest.com revisits a topic many of us have not been able to wrap heads around: how does golf intend to deal with sports gambling interference.

No sport can so easily be disrupted by a simple sound, with gambling outcomes potentially impacted as legalization spreads in the U.S.

Many will point to the lack of a high-profile incident in the UK with legal gambling, but several factors in the U.S. seem to make it more likely an issue: the coarsening of the culture, the ability of a huge audience to live-bet via mobile phones, and the PGA Tour’s “live under par” culture promoted to make golf tournaments louder and more interactive.

So far, the PGA Tour has not outlined any plans to confront these situations when the day comes, but as Wacker’s story notes, players are thinking about it. Including the U.S. Open champion:

“I played with [Poulter] in the [FedEx Cup] Playoffs last year, and he’s dealt with it for a long time and he’d had enough,” Gary Woodland said. “Enough is enough. From the fantasy standpoint, it’s huge. I see it on social media. I get blasted all the time from guys betting on me.

“It’s something that probably needs to be addressed, but I don’t know how you address it,” Woodland said. “It’s only going to get bigger and bigger. Social media, you don’t have to look at it [if you’re a player]. Hopefully out here [with spectators], we can police it better.”

Despite The Leaderboard, Final WGC Fed Ex St. Jude Ratings Tumble Hard

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The schedule in 2020 will stick the new Minnesota stop in the slot after The Open, so maybe this is an aberration. But given the quality of the leaderboard (Brooks Koepka/Rory McIlroy final pairing), the final ratings for the WGC FedEx St. Jude were not good.

Paulsen from SportsMediaWatch attempted to compare them to both the old WGC Bridgestone (played in August) and the FedEx St. Jude Classic’s ratings (June). And the new WGC FedEx still fell shy of those events.

Last Sunday’s final round of the PGA Tour/WGC-St. Jude Invitational averaged a 1.6 rating and 2.31 million viewers on CBS, down 30% in ratings and 33% in viewership from last year (2.3, 3.45M), and down 11% and 13% respectively from 2017 (1.8, 2.66M). The 1.6 rating is the lowest for final round coverage of the event — previously the Bridgestone Invitational — since 2012 (1.3).

Numbers for pre-coverage on Golf Channel were also way down from the event’s ratings in the August/Bridgestone slot.

"Brandie played the game the way it was meant to be played."

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It’s been such a joy in recent years for listeners of The Open Radio broadcast also heard on Sirius/XM, in part thanks to Gordon Brand Jr.

The former Ryder Cupper, current senior golfer and broadcaster passed away suddenly at 60.

Alistair Tait remembers the Scot for Golfweek, including this.

Yet while he was one of the most affable and approachable players I dealt with during my career, he didn’t suffer fools gladly. Brandie wasn’t afraid to speak his mind when something was amiss, like the Spanish tournament when he took a popular local pro to task for being, shall we say, a little lax with the rules. Said player was disqualified after Brand reported him, and local galleries booed the Scot for the final two rounds as a result.

“Was it worth it?” I once asked him.

“Absolutely,” he said. “You’ve got to play the game the way it’s meant to be played, otherwise why play?”

Spieth: "There were times that I just went to sleep...knowing that the next day was going to be a struggle on the greens"

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Pretty astounding admission from Jordan Spieth after opening the Wyndham with 23 putts en route to 64.

From Will Gray’s GolfChannel.com story on Spieth’s strongsuit returning.

“That’s a pretty massive turnaround, and I needed it,” Spieth said. “I mean, there were times that I just went to sleep not having any idea what was going on with the putter, knowing that the next day was going to be a struggle on the greens no matter what, just that kind of stuff.”

All of the great putters have had lulls, but that’s still amazing to think someone who was that good on the greens reached those depths. The effect on the rest of the game was seen and probably will be for a while as he regains his groove on the greens.

Check out this astounding round one stat from Sean Martin:

PGA Tour Expediting TV Rights Deal To Avoid NFL, Believes Golf Needs A Second "Linear Channel"

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I got a chance to read the longer version of John Ourand and John Lombardo’s SBD piece on the PGA Tour rights fees and beyond the summarized version I posted about yesterday.

There were several interesting nuggets shared by Rick Anderson, who will head the Tour’s negotiations.

Ourand and Lombardo call the timing “aggressive” given that it could create an awkward situation with existing partners for two full seasons. Or…

If the PGA Tour signs new deals with CBS and NBC, it will be able to add new features two years early. If it moves on from CBS and NBC, the tour believes that it will need those two years to develop a new channel and digital presence.

Another reason for the tour to move early is to take advantage of an overheated media rights market before the NFL comes in and takes over a sizable piece of that market. The NFL’s deals are up in 2021 and 2022, and all indications are that the $5.5 billion of linear TV rights deals that the league collects annually will see a huge increase. 

The NFL is also pushing hard to expand its season deeper into February, which could impact who might be interested in fall or west coast events.

The Tour also seems to believe there is a need for a lot more golf on television, including options to pay for the privilege of seeing every shot from every player if someone chooses to:

Anderson said he is looking for one or, potentially, two linear channels. He pointed to the content it has from the PGA Tour, LPGA, PGA Tour Champions and Korn Ferry tours as evidence that the tour has enough content to fill two channels.

“When you start talking about capturing every player and every shot, the digital platform is where that would come to light,” he said. “We know that our opportunity extends beyond the current business model of cable and a linear channel. We can build a real digital platform that has content that people will pay for and in a different way than any other sport can do.”

I’m thinking you could call it PGA Tour Live. Just a thought!

It will be fascinating to see how many streaming services believe they can sell subscriptions with golf as part of their package. It’s hard to see HBO Max and ESPN+ feeling that adding golf will be that final piece getting someone to pay $20 a month.

In sizing up the bidders, SBD’s assessments beyond the expected interest of CBS, NBC and Golf Channel featured surprising notes, presumably shared with them by Anderson:

Discovery

Discovery signed a 12-year, $2 billion deal for the PGA Tour’s international rights. It paid $30 million to $35 million for Golf Digest this spring. But Discovery has not showed interest in the tour’s U.S. rights.

What happened to Netflix for golf on our phones? Oh right, when you’ve got to cover the CEO’s absurd compensation package, it’s hard to start a new channel.

ESPN

Much of ESPN’s interest revolves around its streaming service ESPN+. But new President Jimmy Pitaro has expressed interest in the PGA Tour’s linear rights, too.

Don’t count out ABC, where golf’s demographic actually would watch in numbers that sponsors care about.

Fox

Sources say Fox is not interested in a big PGA Tour package, but the tour hopes it will want tournaments around the U.S. Open to help streamline its production and sales processes around the sport.

The new U.S. Women’s Open date rules out the Memorial going to Fox two weeks out from the men’s U.S. Open, meaning an RBC Canadian or Rocket Mortgage could be in their future?

WarnerMedia

WarnerMedia has showed a lot of interest. Last week, AT&T’s Randall Stephenson said he is in the market for live sports rights for the company’s planned direct-to-consumer streaming service HBO Max. PGA Tour rights would fit that bill.

And since he gets to have a say as part of the PGA Tour Policy Board, you have to like his chances.

Links! Porthcawl Joins Troon As Next Two Women's British Open Venues

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The early voting says you want links courses only to secure the Women’s British Open’s identity going forward and while I’d like to say the R&A heard you, this one obviously had been in the works for some time: Royal Porthcawl will host the 2021 edition. And Golfweek’s Alistair Tait says this should be a precursor to finally bringing The Open to Wales.

For Immediate Release:

ROYAL PORTHCAWL CONFIRMED AS VENUE 

FOR 2021 AIG WOMEN’S BRITISH OPEN

31 July 2019, Woburn Golf Club, England: Royal Porthcawl was announced today as the venue for the 2021 AIG Women’s British Open, following on from Royal Troon, which makes its debut on the Championship roster in 2020. 

Royal Porthcawl is renowned to be as challenging a course and as hospitable a club as you will find and has held many amateur and professional tournaments on its famous links. In 2014 the Club hosted the first ever Major in Wales, The Senior Open, which returned again for the 2017 edition won by Bernhard Langer. 

Among others, the Club has hosted The Amateur Championship, The Walker Cup, The Curtis Cup, The European Team Championship, The Men’s Home Internationals, The Vagliano Trophy, The Women’s Amateur Championship, The Dunlop Masters, The Penfold, The Ladies European Tour and The Coral Classic.

As South Wales’s first 18 hole golf course, Royal Porthcawl was awarded the privilege of the prefix ‘Royal’ in 1909, only the second course in Wales and one of only 66 clubs around the world to have that distinction.

Johnnie Cole-Hamilton, Executive Director – Championships at The R&A, said: “We are very much looking forward to taking the AIG Women’s British Open to Royal Porthcawl for the first time in 2021.  We have a very exciting couple of years ahead with the Championship also making its debut at Royal Troon in 2020. Both courses will present outstanding tests for the world’s best women’s golfers.”

Speaking on behalf of the Welsh Government, Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism, Lord Elis-Thomas, said: “We are delighted with today’s news and look forward to the honour of welcoming the AIG Women’s British Open Golf to Wales in 2021. Wales has built its reputation as an outstanding destination for major international events and the AIG Women’s British Open event will help to maintain this momentum and highlights our commitment to bringing world class women’s sport to Wales. We are committing funding to work with the R&A, Wales Golf and clubs and schools across Wales to use the event and the Curtis Cup in Conwy in June next year to inspire more women and girls to take part in golf.  Having these two great events in successive years at two fantastic venues like Conwy and Royal Porthcawl is a great boost for golf in Wales in general and women’s golf in particular.” 

Royal Porthcawl Club Captain, Rhys James, added: “We are thrilled that the AIG Women’s British Open will be coming to Royal Porthcawl in 2021. Hosting our first women’s Major is a tremendous honour for the Club and we cannot wait to welcome the world’s best golfers to Wales. Being here at Woburn this week and seeing the impressive scale and quality of the Championship makes us look forward to it all the more and to seeing how these fantastic players handle all the challenges our course in two years’ time.”

The Women’s British Open was founded by the LGU in 1976 and has been staged in conjunction with IMG, the world’s largest sports marketing company, since 1984. The event has been co-sanctioned by the LPGA and LET since 1994 and gained Major status in 2001. The Championship is now owned by The R&A.

European Tour Originals: New Guinness Record For Fastest Hole Played!

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Given all the slow play talk of late, here’s some much needed therapy and another gem from the European Tour Originals team, this time as Thomas Detry, Sean Crocker, Guido Migliozzi and Paul Dunne all take a shot at the 1:33 record. The fine print:

The rules of the attempt dictated that the par five tenth hole had to play a minimum of 500 yards with each player required to finish the hole carrying the same number of clubs they started with.

After some highly respectable – and often dramatic – attempts, it was 26 year old Detry who succeeded in breaking the standing record, going from tee to green in just one minute 29.62 seconds.

Enjoy: