Pro Golf’s Complicated Relationship With The Rules, Files: Par 3 Tee Information Sharing Is Apparently A Thing, At Least With LPGA Caddies

I’m struggling to believe the sharing of club selection on par-3 tees is a rampant problem, but it’s hard not to read Beth Ann Nichols’ Golfweek follow-up on the Kendall Dye breach and wonder about the claim of widespread information sharing. Dye, you may recall, flashed a sign to confirm what club another player in her group hit at LPGA Q-School, prompting her to receive a penalty, as did the player whose caddie did so.

Dye then proceeded to claim she’s seen this happen thousands of times. The player who reported this, Christina Kim, was vilified on social media.

Nichols says no player contacted could confirm seeing one instance of a player asking for information as Dye alleges happens on par-3 tees, but some say caddies work together more than we think.

“Caddies flash numbers to players and caddies,” said one veteran LPGA player. Because rules violations are a sensitive topic, Golfweek spoke to caddies and players about the issue on the condition of anonymity. “That’s really not uncommon. I bet it happens in every group at least once during the round in every tournament.”

This may be specific to the LPGA Tour, because I’ve never seen it on the PGA Tour or PGA Tour Champions. Ever.

Then there is the amazing argument against the rule for advice currently in place—for seemingly obvious reasons like pace of play or that, oh, I don’t know, a competition is not about colluding for a common cause.

Two of the LPGA’s most thoughtful players, both veterans, echoed Wilson’s belief that it should change, calling the rule “nitpicky” and “stupid.” Because a player can easily look into a bag to see what club is missing, they say, what’s the harm in a caddie making it a little easier by holding up a couple of fingers?

Holy cow. Hey, why not help read putts too?

One player remembers coming out on the LPGA as a 21-year-old rookie and learning how hand signals work on tour. She never thought much about it until Dye got docked two strokes.

While some believe it’s a “victimless crime,” something that’s not even worth discussing, one player called it a wake-up call.

“This maybe is a culture that needs to stop,” said one longtime LPGA player. “It’s like suddenly everyone thinks they’ve never done it, or their caddies have never done it. All of a sudden everyone thinks their hands are clean.”

The ignorance to not comprehend what this all might mean is staggering. No sport has ever thrived or even succeeded upon the realization that it has been corrupted in some way. Recovery is a possibility, as is redemption, but for the athletes in golf to potentially live in a bubble that precludes them from understanding how deadly this all could be, is quite staggering.

Then again, this is where the adults in the room need to explain how the mere appearance of collusion will turn off fans and sponsors. They did not do so with backstopping, and it took a high-profile embarrassment to finally help players understand it was to the detriment of their “product” to engage in such activity. This time around, it’s incumbent on the Commissioners to speak up before this becomes “a thing”.

Kuchar Returns To Mayakoba; El Tucan Won't Be On The Bag But Hopefully The Tips Are Flowing!

Hard to believe it’s been a year since Matt Kuchar’s improbable Mayakoba Classic win without his regular caddie to enjoy 10% of the $1.3 million winner’s check. Instead, a mysterious man named El Tucan was on the bag and failed to receive what is normally paid to bagmen after a win, despite making that little bit of difference to get Kuchar back as a PGA Tour winner.

Pro golfer Tom Gillis leaked word of severe underpayment—$5000—but Kuchar dug in and only after heckling, reputation tarnishment and full escalation into a national news story did one of the PGA Tour’s all time leading money winners decide to pay his looper a nice $50,000 chunk of change.

Adam Schupak of Golfweek reviews the saga that may end up in paragraph one of Kuchar’s obituary. Whether it prompts questions of Kuchar this week, or a very visible food tester, remains to be seen. But it could be a good week for tips from the Kuchar clan.

I forgot this:

During the Genesis Open in February, where one fan cracked, “Go low, Kuch, go low! Just not on the gratuity!” and others had launched a GoFundMe account to raise money for Ortiz, Kuchar issued a statement in which he apologized for his initial actions and did what he should have done long ago: cut a check to Ortiz reportedly for $50,000.

And now El Tucan has spoken to the New York Post’s Mark Cannizzaro who says the check was, indeed, life changing.

“Fifty thousand dollars, for me, is big,’’ Ortiz said. “It’s everything to me and not too much to [Kuchar]. The $50,000 I needed for my business and to fix my kitchen and bathroom at home and to buy a new cell phone.’’

Ortiz, too, bought himself a used BMW with the money.

But getting to that place, where Ortiz was paid at least a reasonable sum, was an ordeal that changed both his and Kuchar’s life.

How Tiger Keeps Things Interesting, A Theory

Playing as a cup team Captain is a feat. And an annoyance he did not need.

As is selecting Patrick Reed when you did not have to do so for a Presidents Cup team, particularly just a year removed from Reed’s 2018 Ryder Cup controversy (and awful play).

All I can conclude is that Tiger is making the 2019 Presidents Cup interesting for himself.

After all, he’s kind of been there, done that with just about everything in the game. Another Presidents Cup is not going to get his competitive juices flowing. But play as a captain and try to rehab Patrick Reed…now that’s a challenge. My Golfweek column.

Video: Jeff Maggert With A Middle-Of-The Fairway (!) Walk-Off Win

Great stuff from today’s Champions Tour finale in Phoenix, as Jeff Maggert’s hole-out costs Retief Goosen a Charles Schwab Cup and helping Scott McCarron win his first.

Right. On. Target. 🎯

From the middle of the fairway! 🙌@Jeff_Maggert has won the @SchwabCupFinale! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/nfg2BxmjYJ

— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) November 11, 2019

Add Rickie Fowler To The Elite Walking Wounded Brigade

If what the newlywed contracted on his honeymoon is even half as bad as it sounds, then don’t count on Rickie Fowler rushing back to the golf course soon.

Steve DiMeglio on Fowler’s bacterial infection that knocks him out of next week’s Mayacoba Classic and possibly, Presidents Cup consideration if a spot opens up.

In a text message to Golfweek, Fowler said at the tail end of his honeymoon – he got married the first week of October – he came down with Campylobacter jejuni, which is among the most common bacterial infections and leads to cramps, fever, pain and diarrhea.

Fowler said he started feeling the effects of the intestinal bacterial infection Oct. 26 and didn’t started getting back to normal until Nov. 7.

“It was not a fun stretch,” Fowler wrote. He added he is taking medicine to combat the last stages of the infection and just didn’t have enough time to properly prepare for the Mayakoba Golf Classic, where he’s finished second and in a tie for 16th the past two years.

Turkey: Pepperell Does His Best Roy McAvoy Impersonation, Positions Himself Ably For Next European Tour Social Stunt

Just days after raving about player hospitality and it’s chef, Eddie Pepperell took himself out of the Turkish Airlines Open by doing his best Roy McAvoy impersonation at the fourth hole. After depositing at least four balls into a lake, Pepperell told playing partner Martin Kaymer he was done. It doesn’t sound like Kaymer entirely bought in.

From an unbylined BBC report:

He had several more attempts, losing "four or five balls" according to Martin Kaymer, who said the incident was like a scene from the film Tin Cup.

"I have never seen anything like that before," said Kaymer.

"I only watched it on television, in 'Tin Cup'. This is the first time I have seen it live."

Recently emerging as the European Tour’s top acting talent in their social media videos, Pepperell has positioned himself to headline a new campaign on only carrying a couple of sleeves of balls. Lucky us!

MPCC Has Another Four Years In The AT&T Rota, Move To Dunes Still On Hold

The PGA Tour’s most closely watched rota will continue to include Monterey Peninsula Country Club, as Ron Kroichick reports in the San Francisco Chronicle. However, the wonderful Jackson-Kahn redo of the Dunes, expected to join the rota at some point over the accompanying Shore course, remains on hold in year one of a four-year extension.

From Kroichick’s report:

The extension with MPCC runs through 2024. The club’s previous deal was set to expire next year, after the upcoming Pro-Am.

Monterey Peninsula’s Shore Course joined Pebble Beach and Spyglass Hill in the Pro-Am rotation in 2010. MPCC’s renovated Dunes Course might alternate with the Shore as an AT&T venue, though the Shore will be used for next year’s event, Feb. 6-9.

Lucy Li (17) Turns Pro, Not LPGA Eligible Until 2021

Despite a final round 77, mere Symetra Tour status in 2020 and no LPGA eligibility until she turns 18 in 2021, the youngest player to ever qualify for the U.S. Women’s Open has chosen to turn pro.

Ron Kroichick of the San Francisco Chronicle reports on Lucy Li, the once-famous amateur who had a run-in with her status after filming an Apple Watch ad. But she’s already planning a foundation:

Li dropped not-so-subtle hints last month about her plans to turn pro, saying she would start a foundation to give part of her future earnings to establish a foundation “giving back to junior golf.”

Li maintained her amateur status in February, despite violating USGA rules by participating in an Apple Watch advertising campaign. The organization determined she breached Rule 6-2, but the amateur status committee decided to issue a one-time warning rather than strip Li of her amateur standing.

One refreshing component to this move from amateur golf to the professional level: Li went to the LPGA’s Q-Series, played, missed, and didn’t engage in a high profile rollout for her inevitable sponsors.

Captain America Is (Already!?) Back: Patrick Reed Gets A Presidents Cup Pick A Year After Ryder Cup Debacle

A year removed from questioning his Ryder Cup pairing with Tiger Woods and generally stinking up the joint in Paris, Patrick Reed gets one of four picks for the 2019 Presidents Cup.

There they are, the four selected: Tony Finau, Patrick Reed, Gary Woodland and Tiger Woods.

Steve DiMeglio on Tiger choosing himself.

PGA CEO: “Over the last 25 years, we’ve done a lot to try to kill golf."

A strange but accurate quote from PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh at the PGA Frisco groundbreaking regarding how the game has evolved.

From Art Stricklin’s report on the groundbreaking of the Silicon Valley of golf:

“This project is to benefit the 29,000 (members), it’s certainly not for me,” Waugh said.

“Over the last 25 years, we’ve done a lot of try to kill golf. We’ve made it too hard, too expensive and taking too long. The one thing we haven’t done is make it too fun. This project is a chance to push back on that.”

The organization has already announced 23 national championships at the site which is scheduled to open for play in early 2022 and include PGA Championships in 2027 and 2034 and likely a Ryder Cup after that.

“We feel this will be the modern home of American golf,” Crall said at the groundbreaking.

Therefore the operative word with Frisco’s 36 holes will be fun.

Reverse Old Course Gets Two Days In November 2019

Great news for the lucky souls in St. Andrews who have an open mind and an appreciation for golf history, as the Old Course will be set up in the reverse fashion once the original routing and later employed by Old Tom Morris to spread wear-and-tear. Annually, the routing is played in April.

Here is Jeremy Glenn’s deep dive on the setup and reverse routing.

From Graylyn Loomis on Twitter:

For the first time in years the St Andrews Links is allowing golfers to play the Old Course in reverse for two days late this month. Who has always wanted to play the Old backwards? pic.twitter.com/r3oDAHDNAC

— Graylyn Loomis (@grayloomis) November 6, 2019

R.I.P. Terry Galvin, Former Golf World Editor

Longtime readers will know that Golf World took a sizeable leap during the Terry Galvin years from 1989-2000, so it is with sadness that Bill Fields reports on and remembers the life of the longtime journalist.

From his GolfWorld.com story:

He was Golf World’s editor from 1989 until 2000, coming to the sport’s trusted, longtime bible after nearly three decades running sports departments at newspapers around the United States. Galvin left a position as sports editor at the Milwaukee Journal to edit Golf World. Earlier stops had been in San Jose, Akron, Miami and, long ago in his hometown, Oshkosh, Wis., where he attended the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

Galvin’s experience, along with a lifelong passion for golf, made him an ideal fit for Golf World, which had been purchased in 1988 by The New York Times Company, then the owner of Golf Digest.

“When Golf Digest bought Golf World, our editorial team was filled with monthly magazine types,” said Jerry Tarde, Golf Digest editor-in-chief. “We needed a fast dose of news editors—writers and a desk staff who could turn around stories overnight. Terry Galvin was the ultimate news editor and sportswriter. He knew golf, knew everybody and hired good people. We’re still benefiting from the talent he attracted.”

Els Makes His Captain's Picks, Does The Best With What He's Got To Work With

The race to make Ernie Els’ International squad didn’t exactly yield any thrilling breakout performances this fall, making Captain Els’ job of filling out the team a tough task. But thanks to some fall play from Joaquin Niemann and Adam Hadwin, the 2019 Presidents Cup team was filled out with two formful types who should fit Royal Melbourne well.

This is not to diminish Jason Day’s win in the MGM Resorts The Challenge: Japan Skins.

Not surprisingly, Day and Sungjae Im got the other two nods on earlier play and career credibility, as Adam Schupak reports for Golfweek.

Hadwin was the longest shot picked but a great one given his game, style and the venue.

Canadian Adam Hadwin, 32, competed on the 2017 International Team at Liberty National (0-2-1). He ranked 18th in the standings, but made a late charge racking up top-5 finishes at the Safeway Open (2nd) and Shriners Hospitals for Children Open (T-4) in September.

“I’m happy that it was a good phone call for me,” he said. “Having been on the team once before and experienced it and gone through what we went through in New York and Ernie being there as well, I’m that much more familiar with everything going on and that much more prepared.”

Video: Memorial Park Re-Opens, Jackie Burke Hits The Opening Tee Shot

Hard to tell what’s better, seeing an important muni revitalized in a major American city, or seeing the great Jackie Burke, former Masters champion, opening the course.

The Houston Business Journal’s Olivia Pusinelli with the full story of the $18.5 million renovation.

Thanks to the renovations, the Houston Open will move to the Memorial Park Golf Course in October 2020. Previously, it had been held at the Golf Club of Houston in Humble since 2003. Additionally, starting with the 2019 event, the Houston Open has moved to the fall after being held in the spring, shortly before the Masters Tournament, for years.

Thanks to reader Tom for these two videos put out by the Astros Golf Foundation to commemorate the reopening. Note one of co-architect Brooks Koepka’s primary request: reasonable length par-3s based on fatigue of playing too many long ones week-toweek in professional golf.

J. Burke Houston Open 2019 - v.5 from Andrea Andrus on Vimeo.

Tiger's 82nd Win As An Excuse To Fine-Tune The PGA Tour Record Book

I’ve been uncomfortable with the belittling of Sam Snead’s 82 wins, because while the record books do credit him with some odd wins, he’s also had many chipped away from his career mark since tied by Tiger Woods.

The bashing also ignores that the war years stripped Snead of opportunities to win at the peak of his powers.

But, that said, MorningRead.com’s Gary Van Sickle penned an interesting look at the various issues Snead had with his record, the changes in his victory total over the years and other PGA Tour marks that are worth examining. Or maybe re-examining. This one was interesting:

The main one worth mentioning is Byron Nelson’s streak of finishing in the money in 113 consecutive tournaments. It was broken by Tiger Woods, who extended his streak to 142 tournaments. Except, Johnson noted, from the 1939 PGA Championship through the 1950 Los Angeles Open, Ben Hogan was in the money 177 events in a row.

Did Hogan maybe miss a cut during that time and therefore not appear in the final tournament results, which happened occasionally? Did he have a missed cut that is unfindable because it didn’t appear in a newspaper box score? Possibly. The same can be said of Nelson’s record, which the Tour accepted on the basis of an Oklahoma golf statistician’s say-so. Neither proposed record is bulletproof.