FedEx Won't Have Any Trouble Paying Their PGA Tour Bills After Tax Code Change Reduced 2018 Tax Bill To "Less Than Zero"

The New York Times’ Jim Tankersley, Peter Eavis and Ben Casselman explain how FedEx lobbied successfully for corporate tax cuts that effectively lowered their tax bill from a hefty $1.5. billion in 2017 to “less than zero” in 2018.

In other words, if you were wondering how they could justify that big FedExCup boost in prize money, not to worry!

As for capital investments, the company spent less in the 2018 fiscal year than it had projected in December 2017, before the tax law passed. It spent even less in 2019. Much of its savings have gone to reward shareholders: FedEx spent more than $2 billion on stock buybacks and dividend increases in the 2019 fiscal year, up from $1.6 billion in 2018, and more than double the amount the company spent on buybacks and dividends in fiscal year 2017.

A spokesman said it was unfair to judge the effect of the tax cuts on investment by looking at year-to-year changes in the company’s capital spending plans.

“FedEx invested billions in capital items eligible for accelerated depreciation and made large contributions to our employee pension plans,” the company said in a statement. “These factors have temporarily lowered our federal income tax, which was the law’s intention to help grow G.D.P., create jobs and increase wages.”

And that they did on the PGA Tour!

Amateur Golf Is Doomed, Files: Players Choosing Symetra Tour Life Over Competing For An NCAA Title

I’m loathe to pick on Sierra Brooks for turning pro hot off her Q-Series T-62 finish, guaranteeing Symetra Tour status. A perk she will take while conceding her final few months at Florida where she’s one of college golf’s best players on one of its best teams. But I will anyway.

After all, Brooks is one of many players—male or female—choosing to end her college career to turn pro even if the awaiting opportunities pale in comparison to the college golf structure.

Brooks talked to Golf.com’s Dylan Dethier about her decision despite not securing LPGA Tour status.

Golf is just the latest sport to, in seemingly sound ways, to address the desire of athletes and those around them to test the professional waters with rules that allow players to retain their amateur status while playing at Q-School.

And you know the drill: they do so, and even when faced with long odds or signs that more time in college would serve the athlete well, get convinced that cashing in is the way to go. Just like so many other sports, golf is piling up the cases of can’t-miss prospects who miss, diminishing the interest growth in college golf while not doing what’s best for young people who were often just given bad advice.

In the case of women’s golf, the LPGA’s noble effort to make sure they are open to new talent while also ensuring athletes are ready to perform, all while preserving the health of an important feeder tour in the form of college golf, appears to have failed.

Beth Ann Nichols considers the situation for Golfweek and concludes that allowing amateurs to test those professional waters at Q-School (Series), is not working.

It’s not a bad thing to make these players face a decision that has consequences. The thought process for going to Q-Series and taking that next step without a safety net looks completely different to the current landscape.

Amateurs haven’t always been allowed to participate in Q-School.

Why not go back to that?

It’s up to the LPGA to make some changes that will benefit all of women’s golf. Deferral was a good idea in theory, but there won’t be many Kupchos and Fassis who follow.

College golf isn’t the tour’s responsibility, but it is the main feeder system for the LPGA and Symetra Tour, and the lifeblood of American women’s golf.

Once again, there’s got to be a better way.

It Must Be Nedbank Challenge Week: Mongooses Attack Tommy Fleetwood's Ball

The Gary Player Country Club annually plays host to the Nedbank Challenge with dynamic wildlife on course and in the nearby Pilanesberg National Park.

During round one of the 2019 event, Tommy Fleetwood’s golf ball was attacked. Attacked! This time mongooses converged.

Anyone know the rule for a mongoose attack on your golf ball?😂 Got to love Sun City! #NGC2019 pic.twitter.com/Jh1czA7uSl

— Tommy Fleetwood (@TommyFleetwood1) November 14, 2019

El Tucan Is Back: Lands Rob Oppenheim's Bag At Mayakoba

El Tucan, short-changed a year ago, has landed Rob Oppenheim’s bag for the rain-delayed Mayacoma PGA Tour event. Round one play will commence Friday.

Granted, this would not normally be news except given the international headlines made by Matt Kuchar not paying his fill-in bag man what he deserved after winning the Mayakoba.

Brian Wacker with how the caddie for Kuchar last year finally landed work this week.

“I needed a caddie,” Oppenheim told Golf Digest. “He lives there, was available and aside from everything that has gone on I was looking for the best opportunity to play well. He knows the course and has had success here.”

Boca Blues: City Asks for New Architects Of Proposed Project Over Cost

The day many always thought would come arrived in Boca Raton. Maybe there have been previous examples, but it’s hard not to read about Boca’s kibosh on architects Tom Fazio II and Nick Price over the $13 million budgeted for their creation of 18 holes and a par 3 course.

Despite winning the project bid over many other architects, the city said the price was simply too high and will be asking for new bids. All over price, reports Christina Hristoforidis.

On the Tuesday night joint meeting between the City Council and the Boca Beach and Parks District, the idea for an RFP was approved.

In regards to the current project’s architects, Price/Fazio can submit in the new RFP and have the option to be compared to the resented from the RFP for the best golf course design.

According to WPTV, this decision left the President of Golf Association Greg Galanis, feeling betrayed.

For years the sport has been told the economics of building a new course was spiraling too far out of control. So it should come as little surprise that a city finally said not to the price of a golf course.

A story from February, 2019 broke down why the cost of the project was so high and while USGA greens weren’t mentioned, the overall cost to build a course has become unsustainable when coupled with infrastructure costs.

Building the golf course alone will cost about $15 million, said Wayne Branthwaite, spearheading the project for Price/Fazio Design.

“But there are several other costs from items that have to be done: Landscaping, irrigation pumps ...” Branthwaite said. The district also has to build the clubhouse (about $3.4 million), a maintenance facility (about $2.6 million) and a tunnel to cross Northwest Second Avenue, which cuts through the golf course (about $2.4 million), according to a Price/Fazio report.

Golf Inc's Most Powerful People In Golf Continues As A Peculiar Compilation Of Outdated Stock Photos

It’s hard to take any list seriously that includes David Pillsbury—in the No. 2 spot no less—but Golf Inc. has published their annual compilation of golf’s most powerful people. At least, powerful in terms of the golf development world, which would explain how Tiger Woods lands 7th and PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan slips to 4th behind company-killer and former PGA Tour exec Pillsbury as well as the Topgolf CEO.

I don’t know why you would want to invest much time in the least diverse list of lists—all male and only two who aren’t white guys—other than to see who has submitted the most awkward, outdated, airbrushed stock photo.

Stunner: Jason Day's Rotating Bagman Strategy Has Not Worked

He had a steady presence in Colin Swatton on the bag who remains his swing instructor, and while there have been more catastrophic caddie firings in golf, Jason Day’s replacement effort has fueled a decline in the former World No. 1’s game.

While Day did win twice in 2018, he has since struggled while having an array of loopers this year—four in his 21 starts—while also dealing with some nagging injuries. But as he explained in pre-Mayakoba Classic comments, the revolving caddie situation has been a problem. From Julie Williams’ Golfweek report:

“When you go through changes like that, trying to find the right makeup, the right chemistry, it takes some time,” Day said of his frequent caddie change-ups. “But I feel like with what I’m doing with David (Lutterus) out there, I think we’re slowly working on the communication and things are working and they’re coming around.”

Bevacqua Bullish On NBC/Golf Channel Retaining PGA Tour Rights: "I’m thinking about how we’re going to improve."

As we near the projected date of the next PGA Tour television rights deal, NBC Sports Group President and former PGA of America CEO Pete Bevacqua chatted with SBJ’s Abe Madkour and John Ourand.

Among the topics? Playing golf at Bel Air with Al Michaels and where NBC will target resources with the NFL and other sports properties.

The money needed to retain the NFL has many observers wondering what might get scrimped on by networks. Bevacqua made clear golf is not one of those sports.

Bevacqua said there is a "plan in place" for which non-NFL deals NBC is hoping to maintain or add going forward. He said, "I know in my mind what we feel we need to bid on, what we would like to bid on and what we probably won’t bid on. That can always change." Bevacqua was bullish on NBC and Golf Channel's chances to keep its PGA Tour package. "I’m not thinking about what will happen if we don’t get them," he said. "I’m thinking about how we’re going to improve." He also noted there will be a better sense of the landscape on the future of Tour rights "by the end of the year." SBJ has reported that Tour execs want to have a new deal in place by the end of the year, despite the current deals running through '21.

The full interview that is worth a listen despite the tragic microphone placement (come on SBJ, up your game!):

Collegiate Stars Graduating From LPGA Q-Series Again Choosing Pro Golf Over School

The rush to turn pro continues to be an ongoing theme for men’s and women’s college golf—followed by the inevitable coach quotes saying how happy they are for the players.

With four of five 2019 LPGA Q-Series participants deciding to turn pro instead of finishing the 2019-20 season—and Andrea Lee undecided—the situation stinks for women’s college golf and next spring’s Augusta National Women’s Amateur losing five marquee players. There is also the mixed record of players leaving school early and the societal pressures to rush into a pro career.

But as Ryan Lavner notes in his Tweet, it’s a no-win all the way around:

4 of the 5 college players who competed in the LPGA Q-Series have now turned pro, with Stanford star (and No. 2-ranked amateur) Albane Valenzuela announcing her decision today. Andrea Lee still undecided. No-win situation for players, coaches and teams.

— Ryan Lavner (@RyanLavnerGC) November 13, 2019

Kuchar In Mayakoba: Frugalgate Was A Teaching Moment For His Family

Matt Kuchar spoke to the Mayakoba Classic media gathered and as Adam Schupak reports for Golfweek, says last year’s win and ensuing controversy over caddie pay was hard on him. But Kuchar said his stubbornness in refusing to pay his fill-in caddie a reasonable chunk from the $1.3 million winner’s check provided a teaching moment for his children.

“It’s a moment I’m not proud of, but it’s one of those things you do your best as a father to teach kids lessons, and there’s no better thing than to show them – taking the lead and showing them the right steps to take. When you have moments you’re not proud of, you make amends for them, you do your best to make it right and try to keep moving forward and staying positive,” he said on Tuesday.

Another Player Unwilling To Take Responsibility: Bamberger Breaks Down Mayfair DQ And It's Not Pretty For Billy

Simplified rules debuted this year.

There are PGA Tour referees on-site to help deal with any questions.

And there is the glare of a national broadcast seemingly to keep players aware their movements can be watched and re-watched.

That did no stop Billy Mayfair from skirting or flagrantly breaking the rules of golf.

In a devastating breakdown by Golf’s Michael Bamberger of Mayfair’s recent Powershares QQQ disqualification at Sherwood, the Champions Tour player’s behavior is not only exposed, but Mayfair even has the audacity to deflect blame onto rules official Brian Claar despite being caught on tape lying about causing his ball to move and the length of a lost ball search.

For this alone, Mayfair ought to be suspended for a significant period:

“I wish this could have been handled more on an on-the-level basis,” Mayfair said. “It could have been handled better.”

Handled better by whom, Mayfair was asked.

“By the rules officials,” Mayfair said. “They see me searching for the ball. They know how long I’m looking for it. They have a stopwatch and I don’t.”

Certainly I’d advocate reading the story as Bamberger provides a great deal of the backstory and corroboration behind that search to make clear Mayfair’s take is dead wrong. But besides Mayfair’s changing stories and attempts to skirt the rules, the story highlights two other embarrassing details: just how few people watching PGA Tour Champions golf were watching and recording on a DVR, and then able to post on social media the offending ball movement seen live.

There were a few who noticed at the time:

Despite Golf.com having seen video of the incident—I have since been shown the clip and can corroborate that there is zero doubt Mayfair caused his ball to move as outlined by Bamberger—the PGA Tour once again as a transparency issue.

Two Golf Channel employees said the clip could not be shared with GOLF.com because broadcast rights revert to the PGA Tour 48 hours after a tournament concludes. Tom Alter, a vice president in the PGA Tour’s communications department, said the Tour could not make available a clip of Mayfair on the 17th hole, citing Tour policy. Asked about providing a transcript of the 15-second conversation between Mayfair and the official, Alter said, “We don’t have the resources for that.”

This, as they build a new headquarters designed by the guy who did Apple’s new campus. (Unpaid advertisement here: Rev is a wonderful transcript app and just $1 a minute, Tom! Need a better answer next time.)

There was also this:

The ball search on the 11th hole was not shown on Golf Channel, although it was taped by the cable network.

That film was used by rules official Claar to confront Mayfair about the second infraction in the same round, which ultimately led to the DQ.

Overall, the story may be an isolated situation revolving around a player desperate to cash a check. But golf is once again confronted with a cavalier approach to the rules and exposure of a culture that justifies this approach because, apparently, rules are now meant to be bent, if not broken. Strange times.

This episode also once again highlights the issues golf will face with legal gambling and disclosure. If a player is caught violating the rules, the gamblers will be entitled to a full explanation and analysis of what possibly cost them money. That would presumably include visuals and the resources to reproduce a transcript of a conversation shown on national airwaves.

CBS Making "Aggressive" PGA Tour Rights Bid After Securing Champions League

When news of CBS securing Champions League rights broke over the weekend, there was a natural question about what this meant for their PGA Tour rights.

SBD’s John Ourand considers takeaways from Champions acquisition and notes:

The UCL deal is not a one-off. I’m told that CBS has put forth an aggressive bid for PGA Tour rights, which is expected to be decided by the end of the year. Last fall, in a minor surprise, it renewed a deal for the PGA Championship. Under the direction of Sean McManus and David Berson, CBS Sports always has prided itself on deep relationships and historically has had success keeping the rights it wants. This deal shows that CBS no longer is content on keeping its rights portfolio intact; they want to expand it.

A decision on the next PGA Tour rights package is expected before year’s end.

Molinari: "It started going the other way and it has been hard to stop it."

Derek Lawrenson of the Daily Mail looks at the rise and flatlining of Francesco Molinari, 2018 Open champion who was in contention to win the 2019 Masters.

‘People told me it would be hard to beat last year, nearly impossible in fact, but until that day at the Masters I picked it up where I left off, and then it stopped,’ said Molinari. ‘Confidence plays a big part in any sport but particularly in golf.

‘I was feeling good coming to Augusta, everything was going my way. After that, it became many little things that I didn’t do quite as well. My ball striking wasn’t as good and I didn’t putt as well. For over a year, it felt like I was pushing a boulder going upwards but then it started going the other way and it has been hard to stop it.’

Nothing A Good Recession Won't Fix, Files: Alpine Country Club "sues its own waiter after wine spilled on ultra-expensive purse"

Our late, great friend Dan Jenkins certainly would have filed Rodrigo Torrejon’s story under the old “nothing a good recession wouldn’t fix” files. In a nutshell: a New Jersey woman sued Alpine Country Club for $30,000 when a waiter spilled wine on her Hermès purse, only to be outdone by the club suing the waiter.

In a response to the lawsuit filed Oct. 29 by Maryana Beyder against the Alpine Country Club in New Jersey, the club denied almost every one of Beyder's allegations – including that it was liable for the damage to her Hermès Kelly bag – and capped off the response by suing its own employee, according to court records.

The action is called a cross-claim, in which one defendant sues another in the same proceeding.

"So basically, what this is is that they're asking the employee to pay whatever they owe under the law to my client," said Alexandra Errico, Beyder's attorney. "So they're suing their own employee that they hired."

Calls to Kenneth Merber, the attorney for the country club, were not immediately returned.

I bet they were not.

Video: Hosung Choi Wins, Hasn't Lost His Gift For Entertaining Post-Impact Dance Moves

Korean golfer Hosung Choi posted a bogey-free 67 on Sunday to edge Shugo Imihara for the Japan Golf Tour’s Heiwa PGM Championship.

Here is a fantastic 7 minute compilation of his final round shots and you have to admire not only the reactions (even the self-beatings), but also the variety, even if a few of those dances on greens are hard to look at (he’s not wearing spikes at least).

Enjoy…