ZOZO! Tiger Wins 82nd PGA Tour Title Over A Surging Matsuyama

The Monday finish went much faster than the ensuing trophy ceremony, but even though he came out looking a tad tight, Tiger Woods finished off the 2019 ZOZO Championship for his 82nd PGA Tour win. He is now tied with Sam Snead for the all-time tour victory total and did it nine years before Snead recorded his final win.

Steve DiMeglio with the Golfweek game story on Woods holding off Hideki Matsuyama.

Bob Harig noted how a week that seemed about checking off come corporate boxes ended up checking off a big feat box.

The journey to Japan was ostensibly about fulfilling corporate obligations, participating in a made-for-TV exhibition and getting in some reps following knee surgery and physical challenges that dogged Tiger Woods' throughout the summer.

Nobody -- including Woods, if he is honest -- was thinking about a victory, or a record-tying one at that.

Love this from ESPN.com’s Ian O’Connor:

In his healthy prime, Tiger Woods was Mike Tyson in a red shirt and slacks. He arrived at the tee box as if he were stepping through the ropes and into the ring, where cowering, wide-eyed opponents all but prepped themselves for the knockout.

Woods is no longer that heavyweight champ who rules through intimidation. He still has muscles, yes, but they don't look as forbidding on a balding man made vulnerable by age, gravity, surgery and the disclosure of his own personal failings. And yet a diminished Woods can still win golf tournaments.

Michael Bamberger writing for Golf.com:

Tiger rolled in his 10-footer for a closing birdie, the three-shot win, his 82nd title, a closing 67. It was subdued, but it was big. This has been, in ways, one of the most remarkable years of his career. The Masters win, followed by a lot of futility. The win in Japan. The Presidents Cup coming up. The baby steps to a reconfigured life. Amazing. “I know what it’s like to have this game taken away from you,” Woods told Todd Lewis of Golf Channel. Yes, he does.

You know it’s a big win when the big names pop up on Twitter to congratulate Woods, and that was the case after win 82. And Tiger posted this Tweet:

It’s an honor to be tied with Sam Snead for most wins in @PGATOUR history. Thanks Mom and Pop and everyone who helped make this possible. Hideki put up an amazing fight on his home soil, but to do this in Japan is something I’ll never forget. It’s been an awesome year. pic.twitter.com/m9ICuVyJmX

— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) October 28, 2019

It was a great week for the PGA Tour’s first official stop in Japan, and I noted that along with other winners and losers for this Golfweek column. I had to file before the trophy ceremony ended, otherwise it would have been included. Then again, the column would not have been posted until Tuesday if I waited.

Rachel Bleier with a roundup of Tweets about the trophy ceremony that almost never ended. Nothing like some good Twitter snark!

Harig impressively details all 82 wins here for ESPN.com, if you have the time and need the recap.

GC Digital posts Tiger’s 82 vs. Snead’s 82 and actually calls them by the name of the tournament at the time (so no Snead Sentry TOC wins on this list).

David Dusek with Tiger’s clubs for the week.

For his effort, Tiger received this Dyson fan to remember win No. 82:

View this post on Instagram

The trophy case just got heavier. 🏆

A post shared by PGA TOUR (@pgatour) on Oct 27, 2019 at 6:34pm PDT

PGA Tour Entertainment’s highlights:

Kostis: "Bye for now! I’m off to UPS to send some packages!”

Many are still trying to wrap heads around the abrupt end to long runs for Gary McCord and Peter Kostis, particularly given their longevity and CBS’s general unwillingness to make sudden changes.

Awful Announcing’s Jay Rigdon attempted to decipher the news and added this conclusion:

CBS has their current rights through 2021, so it’s unlikely this move is the result of a vote of no confidence in their own bid. It could be a move signaling a revamp of their coverage, or at least a willingness to evolve; maybe that’s something the PGA Tour is looking for in the next round.

In a farewell statement posted by Sports Business Daily’s John Ourand, Kostis said he’d “been thinking quite a bit about requesting a reduced travel schedule, but CBS made my decision easier when they elected to not exercise the two-year option on my contract.”

More interesting was an apparent jab at the PGA Tour’s partnership with FedEx.

Finally, I have to say a big thank you to all the announcers I’ve worked with over the years. I believe that the CBS golf announce team is the gold standard. A special shout out to Gary McCord who has been with me every step of the way, (including that infamous 1989 Ryder Cup broadcast team!) and Jim Nantz who has been there for my entire CBS career. To the cameramen, technicians and support staff at CBS I simply say it was a privilege to work alongside you. Bye for now! I’m off to UPS to send some packages!”

McCord And Kostis Not Returning To CBS Golf Coverage

A bit of a stunner as the two long-time veterans are out at CBS.

Here is my report for Golfweek.

With CBS having two more years on its current deal, plus two major championships, the move opens up two key positions on their broadcast team. It’s been a year of cost-cuts at CBS, with multiple longtime crew members offered buyouts in February and goodbyes said on air in May.

Sanctioned Gambling's Coming To Pro Golf, So What Will Be Done About Cell Phones?

An unbylined APF story quotes PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan saying gambling is coming to golf next year, saying “it’s all about engagement”. The focus continues to be on integrity matters.

"Once you start to participate, you can eliminate negative bets," he said. "We've done a ton of work to make certain that that's the position we're in.

"I think when we come forward, you'll see that we've taken significant steps to address that. We're going to participate in a thoughtful way and I'm really comfortable with that."

While the engagement angle is absolutely spot-on and key to keeping people interested during languid five hour rounds that the tour embraces, the lack of concern about interference continues to confound.

As I write for Golfweek, Bio Kim’s silly three-year suspension in Korea is still a silly one-year ban that warrants compensatory sponsor’s invites.

(Full news story here on the KPGA’s softening of their original suspension.)

While Kim was no angel in flipping off a fan whose cell phone went off as he was trying to win a golf tournament and pay his bills, he’s also a victim of golf’s reversal on phones and belief that fans could behave. The sport went from from policing, confiscating or banning phones at tournaments to encouraging fans to become documentarians.

Look, we all love our phones and the younger demographic that golf wants to attract will not attend a tournament if they were to be separated from their baby or unable to promote their presence. The same goes for older adults now too. That’s fine. But policing the use of mobile devices near competition must not be solely up to caddies and volunteers to police. Golf cannot be naive to the inevitability that a noisy mobile device could be used to alter the course of a tournament (and therefore, a bet).

I have no idea what the solution is, but an incident in the gambling age seems inevitable. Then there’s the overall look is peculiar and energy deadening to a sport already deprived of fan noise. Just look at the scene from this week’s ZOZO Championship:

Feel like this should be a snarky tweet about people using their phones too much but these people are so freakin nice I can’t say anything negative pic.twitter.com/pqbq6vPg0e

— Daniel Rapaport (@Daniel_Rapaport) October 24, 2019

An (Eye Opening) Majority Do Not Think Marijuana Is Performance Enhancing

In 2019 Robert Garrigus and Matt Every failed PGA Tour drug tests and as Rex Hoggard notes, the views are mixed, with an amazing amount of social media hostility toward the PGA Tour. Even though, as PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan reiterated in Japan during this week’s Zozo Championship, this is not a Tour policy:

On Wednesday at the Zozo Championship, Tour commissioner Jay Monahan was asked about the policy.

“Ultimately, we don't determine what is a banned substance and what's not, we rely on WADA for doing that,” Monahan said. “We'll continue to stay very close not only to that substance but any potential substance that would come on or come off the list.”

In voting for this site—the early returns are overwhelming. A stout 80% of you do not believe marijuana can be performance enhancing.

Granted, this is a sport that has seen major changes to courses to accomodate distance gains and where huge numbers of seemingly bright people convinced themselves that athleticism was the sole cause. So maybe golfers aren’t the best a self reflection, or maybe marijuana really isn’t performance enhancing.

At some point the PGA Tour may have to study the matter and consider breaking from WADA if society continues to embrace marijuana and golfers insist it’s not performance enhancing. But for now, with only a Garrigus and an Every as the poster children, and golf’s Olympic-eligibility tied to WADA rules, I wouldn’t count on any change in policy.

R&A Women Members Might Be Getting Their Own Locker Room Eventually, Probably

Given the R&A’s progressive push under Martin Slumbers, this story from Ewan Murray of The Guardian reveals plans are (finally) in motion to add a women’s locker room to the Royal and Ancient clubhouse are finally in motion.

He provides the backstory, hiccups and an update on the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews’ very slow efforts to add a place for the many new female members to gather, change and…act like members. Not that anything related to the plight of Princess Anne and the other lucky few compares to real world problems, but this is worth noting…

“We are in the early stages of planning upgrades to the clubhouse, including the installation of women’s changing rooms,” a spokesman for the R&A said. “We are consulting with members before we finalise our plans. There is no firm timetable but it will be a phased programme which will take us beyond 2021.”

The number of women among the R&A’s global membership of around 2,000 is unknown. Princess Anne, Laura Davies and Annika Sorenstam were among the first to gain admission. Perhaps it is unfair to castigate the R&A for doing the right thing. The clubhouse, as opened in 1854, will not be a particularly easy building to modify. The enhancements will be costly.

Nonetheless, it is bizarre that having admitted women to such fanfare, the delivering of equal facilities was not an immediate goal.

Bum Knees Unite: Tiger Understands If Brooks Has To Bow Out Of Presidents Cup

The buried lede in Tiger’s comments from Japan: world No. 1 Brooks Koepka is weighing a possible surgery to repair the knee he re-injured last week in the CJ Cup.

The main headline, for now, is Woods leaving things up to Koepka to decide if he’s Presidents Cup worthy, depending on “what his protocols are going forward,” Tiger said.

From Steve DiMeglio’s Golfweek story quoting Tiger on news of Koepka’s injury:

“As of right now, we’re just waiting on what the surgeon says and what Brooks is going to do,” Woods added. “He is getting other opinions on what are his options. You want to go through as many different opinions as you possibly can before you decide what you are going to do.

“I told him to take his time. No hurry. You’re part of the team. You earned your way in the top eight spots. You’re on the team. You have to figure out what is best for your career and your knee and if you decide you can’t play, great. I totally understand. We’ll cross that bridge when it comes.”

Tripp Isenhour and I discussed this run of left knees going back today on Golf Central:

Rory Signals Intent To Play For Ireland In 2020 Olympics, Do Many Care Like They Did Four Years Ago?

It was a neverending, bizarre and unfortunate chapter in Rory McIlroy’s career: having to decide between Ireland and Great Britain for 2016 Rio games representation. With the Zika virus a concern and most golfers largely apathetic toward the Olympic movement, he ultimately chose not to play.

Four years later he’s near Tokyo and the 2020 Games are less than a year away, with no Zika and a golf-crazy country welcoming the players, and McIlroy has declared his intent to represent Ireland should he qualify.

Rex Hoggard with that news for GolfChannel.com.

More interesting will be the reaction to his decision given how inflammatory the topic was four years ago. So far, the topic seems like old news and not particularly intriguing to most. Is that a product of the old debate, Brexit distractions, or overall Olympic golf apathy?

Marsh: Manufacturers "Bamboozed Everybody" On Distance Growing The Game

Powerful stuff on this week’s Inside the Ropes podcast from Australian golf great and architect Graham Marsh, talking about how quickly bunkers he placed early in his design career are now, and how little the race to add distance has done to grow the game.

Martin Blake reports the comments for Golf Australia.

“It’s been one of the great tragedies of the game. We were given this load of guff by the industry, that if we were to go with these game-improvement clubs, that everybody was going to play better, and of course the ball was going to go further, and they kept developing that with a good commercial arrangement, to make more money. That’s what you do in that industry.

“But the problem is, the players didn’t get better, the handicaps have gone up, the equipment’s more expensive and there’s less people playing the game. It was a great lie. They bamboozled everybody, including the USGA and the R and A. Completely bamboozled everybody.’’

You can listen to the full podcast here:

Here’s the distance talk:

Housing Developer Offers $120 Million For Top Canadian Course

Thanks to reader MJ for this stunning Globe and Mail story about the National Golf Club of Canada considering a $120 million sale to a real estate developer. The No. 3 course in Canada in Golf Digest’s latest ranking and an exclusive all-men’s club, is situated on prime Toronto real estate but has members fleeing due to excessive difficulty and cost.

From Andrew Willis’ story:

When noted golf architects George and Tom Fazio designed the National, which opened in 1974, it was well north of Toronto’s suburbs. Over more than four decades, the city swallowed the club. Large homes now surround the course, while shopping malls, Canada’s Wonderland amusement park and a subway station are minutes away.

In recent years, an increasing number of National members decided to unload their stakes, in part because aging golfers often find the course too challenging to play enjoyably. Not enough new members stepped forward and there are currently more sellers of memberships than buyers, according to Roxborough, who declined to comment on the exact numbers. Several sources at the National, whom The Globe And Mail granted confidentiality to because they were not authorized to speak for the club, said dozens of members are currently trying to sell their stakes, which typically change hands for around $40,000. Annual dues at the club are about $12,000.

Hundreds of course closures have occurred in recent years, but I’m fairly certain this would vie as the most significant

On Tiger: "Four rounds without the troubling signs of the summer should be enough."

Bob Harig at ESPN.com assesses what we’ve seen from Tiger since landing in Japan and revealing how long the surgically repaired knee has been an issue. While Harig sets a low bar, it’s the right one given this being Woods’ first start since August and also likely his last until December’s Hero World Challenge.

He acknowledged Monday that the knee surgery he had in August was something he meant to do a year ago, but put it off after winning the Tour Championship. After capturing the Masters, his knee slowly got worse, to the point that it was difficult for him to squat and read putts.

He said the knee pain and uneasy walking led to other issues with his back. He also withdrew from a tournament with an oblique injury.

Perhaps this is the explanation for Woods looking out of sorts for most of the summer. Why the back stiffness and unsteady gait led to some unseemly scores, especially for the Masters champion. And maybe it is why he seemed so at ease Monday, knowing that things are on the right path.

He did look genuinely at ease walking, swinging and playing the role of entertainer. That certainly was a far cry from the gimpy, bruised-and-battered looking golfer we saw post-Masters. Add it all up and this increases the intrigue around his Presidents Cup captain’s pick status and more importantly, 2020.

Technology Debate: "Those Superfast Nike Shoes Are Creating a Problem"

Many thanks to reader JH for sending Amby Burfoot fascinating look at Nike’s new technologically superior shoes causing serious rules consternation. This follows a pair of remarkable performances by Eliud Kipchoge in Vienna and Brigid Kosgei in Chicago prompting calls for more stringent rules on legal running shoes.

Here’s the part about the recent design breakthrough:

The Nike shoes also include a carbon fiber plate in the midsole. This plate might increase energy return, or it might improve foot function during the running stride. Either way, the plate is prominently mentioned in Nike’s patent application.

Nike-supported experts soon published papers in scientific journals showing that the Vaporfly shoes could improve marathon times up to 3 percent. That sounds small until you consider it is often the difference between a gold medal and a quickly forgotten fifth-place finish.

The results were so astounding, in fact, that some considered them as just another example of Nike sports marketing.

“I was skeptical at first, but then came the second and third and fourth report,” said Ross Tucker of the Science of Sport website. “I had to change my skepticism. Now I think the effect is real, and large.”

And this may sound familiar to those interested in the golf techology debate. The quote is from a rival manufacturer whose runners appear to now be at a disadvantage:

Nike is well known in the patent world for its large and increasingly frequent applications. It also has plenty of lawyers, though no one can say what might happen in any patent infringement case until it is litigated.

White said he would be unhappy if the I.A.A.F. tightened its shoe regulation policies. “We could end up limiting creativity and losing the chance to improve running shoes for the everyday runner,” he noted. “I think the ‘must be widely available’ part of the rule is the best answer.”

The everyday runner is likely not seeing the advantage that the elite runner is getting. Sound familiar?

GroundBreaking: A First Look At PGA Of America's New 36-Hole Frisco Facility

The Dallas Morning News’ Scott Bell attended the Governor William J. Le Petomane Thruway, err, I mean, Silicon Valley of Golf groundbreaking on some of Frisco’s finest farmland.

The usual groundbreaking speeches and demos were presented, though refreshing in the videos below with Gil Hanse and Beau Welling discussing their works, the “fun” word was mentioned as the priority. Imagine that ten or fifteen years ago.

The golf portion includes two 18-hole championship courses -- the East Course and the West Course -- as well as a short course and practice areas. Organizers expect the new PGA of America headquarters to become the home of national player development and coaching programs.

In total, the city of Frisco expects more than $2.5 billion in economic development over the next two decades, according to an economic impact study it commissioned.

Preparation for major golf events is already underway

There will be no shortage of big events taking place at PGA Frisco.

The site has been promised 23 championship events over a 13-year span, including six majors across the PGA, LPGA and Champions Tours: PGA Championship (2027, 2034), Women’s PGA Championship (2025, 2031) and Senior PGA Championship (2023, 2029).

Ticket sign-ups for those events coming soon, get them if they ever have the chance to last!

A couple of preview videos, first with Hanse and Welling, and a second with a look at the land plan that includes a par-3 course and Himalayas “interactive” putting green.

"It was like the Skins game version of Between Two Ferns. In that way it was almost endearingly bad."

Almost!

Look, golf on TV is hard to do. The Skins Game succeeded for two decades in part because it was only nine holes per day and tape delayed. And the money meant something back then. So did the timing of Thanksgiving weekend.

The revitalized and much-hyped MGM Grand Resorts The Challenge Japan Skins was played to provide GOLFTV Powered by the PGA Tour content and to kick off the Tour’s first official Japan event was bound to be imperfect. And other than not playing a practice round or taking their warm-up very seriously, leading to some loose golf early on, the players did their part. But the actual event execution was abysmal, from the broadcast production to the brilliant idea of playing a rushed 18 holes (instead of two days of nine holes). A foursome of Trevino, Demaret, Hagen and Palmer couldn’t have come off well with these constraints.

The Golf.com gang’s take, including the Josh Sens line from the headline above:

Michael Bamberger, senior writer: It looked like a practice round on a course that would never be the site for a PGA Tour event, here in the lower 48. I should say I fell asleep before the gents reached the fourth green. It was just guys playing golf and spreading good cheer. They weren’t raising money for war bonds, but it was still a good time and at times a good cause. What’s not to like?

Alan Shipnuck, senior writer (@AlanShipnuck): I didn’t make it to the back nine. The golf was sloppy, the course uninspired, the banter forced and cheesy, the money laughably small. But other than that…

Josh Sens, contributor (@JoshSens): Well, that was one weird show. The production itself was almost local cable access quality — you could hear the players talking and then you couldn’t; the shot tracer worked and then it didn’t; the images glitched and jumped then steadied. It was like the Skins game version of Between Two Ferns. In that way it was almost endearingly bad. I kind of liked how unslick it was.

Maybe the kids today and the adults who put all of the capital into appearance fees instead of the Skins and production will have found this acceptable. But it’s hard to imagine Tiger and friends will want to be associated with a glorified Periscope broadcast, no matter how lavish the appearance fees.

As we discussed on Morning Drive, it’s hard to have fun banter or great Skins moments when you’re in a hurry:

Rory: "He's super competitive like we all are. I see where he's coming from.''

Rory McIlroy diffused any kind of potential manspat with World No. 1 Brooks Koepka, for now.

Bob Harig reporting for ESPN.com from Chiba, after the MGM Grand The Challenge Japan Skins Powered By The PGA Tour In the The Middle Of The Night.

"What Brooks said wasn't wrong,'' said McIlroy, who was competing with Tiger Woods, Jason Day and Hideki Matsuyama on Monday at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club, the site of this week's Zozo Championship.

"He's been the best player in the world for the last couple of years. Four majors. Don't think he had to remind me that I haven't won one in a while. I love Brooks. He's a great guy. He's super competitive like we all are. I see where he's coming from.''

McIlroy’s on-course chat with Hennie Zuehl during The Challenge:

"What Brooks said wasn't wrong."

Rory addresses Brooks Koepka's recent comments about rivalries. pic.twitter.com/B55h0pavLq

— GOLFTV (@GOLFTV) October 21, 2019