The Reed Rules Saga, Files: Calls For An Intervention, Fans Need To Back Off And Monahan Weighs In

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It’s no “mashed potatoes.”

Twenty-four hours later, Sunday’s “cheater” yell remains a shocker in a sport largely heckle-free. And totally predictable given Patrick Reed’s lack of a legitimate explanation for his cheating episode at the 2019 Hero World Challenge.

The outburst was surprising for the event, home to chill Maui crowds.

Brentley Romine on what was said and when during the 2020 Sentry.

Randall Mell writes for Golf Channel on the need of Team Reed to host an intervention due to overall point-misser tendencies.

Because this isn’t even really about Reed’s welfare. It’s about where the game is being further pushed if he doesn’t admit his need for forgiveness and seek some sort of absolution. It’s about how even reasonable golf fans are willing to accept heckling when it’s aimed at a player who is so remorseless in his indiscretion.

The sport is in trouble when heckling can be justified as defense of the game’s honor.

Michael Bamberger had a different view of “the heckle heard ‘round the world”, saying it’s the job of fans to save the sport by remaining genteel:

If golf is on the road to anything goes, on the part of players or spectators, the professional game will be on life support before Tiger gets his 18th major.

Ultimately this all ignores what I see as equally important: has the lack of any significant punishment for Reed increased the likelihood of more fan incidents? We considered this going into the Presidents Cup, and now we know how those crowds treated Reed (not well).

A second high profile episode in his first PGA Tour start of 2020 now exists during a sudden death playoff. And his case is closed. Commissioner Jay Monahan speaking in Maui, as reported by Dave Shedloski at GolfWorld.com:

“Golf is a game of honor and integrity, and you've heard from Patrick,” Monahan said. “I've had an opportunity to talk to Patrick at length, and I believe Patrick when he says that [he] did not intentionally improve [his] lie. And so you go back to that moment, and the conversation that he had with [rules official] Slugger [White], and the fact that a violation was applied and he agreed to it, and they signed his card and he moved on. To me that was the end of the matter.”

Given that Reed appears to have gotten away with something in the eye of most fans and PGA Tour leadership, it’s easy to envision many more fan episodes.

Oh, and he video, if you missed the 2020 Sentry:

Golf Central’s discussion of Reed’s issues with fans:

Monahan On Next TV Deal: More Work To Do Than Has Been Suggested

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PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan spoke to the light sprinkling of golf reporters on hand for the 2020 Sentry Tournament of Champions, reports GolfDigest.com’s Dave Shedloski. He covered an array of topics, but for those eager to see how the PGA Tour positions media rights for 2022 and beyond, it seems no decision will be coming imminently.

“We have more work to do. Probably more work than has been suggested,” Monahan said. “But I've been bullish on our prospects before we entered the process, and I'm as, if not more, bullish as we get through it.”

And this on TV vs…platforms:

He said that much more attention is being given to the delivery platforms as opposed to a straight television deal. “I’m probably more focused on that than I am anything else,” he said. “Making certain that … we continue to provide our content to our fans in the way that they want to consume that content.”

Mike Whan: "I can’t be thinking, 'I rebuilt the LPGA, now I am going to cash out and go to a bigger platform.’"

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GolfChannel.com’s Randall Mell talked to Commissioner Mike Whan about his intention to stay with the LPGA for a long time.

“My wife says, in time, God answers prayers, but maybe not in the way we expect,” Whan said. “I really believe, in some strange way, he answered my prayer. I wanted to raise and impact a young woman’s life, but there was another plan, another way to do that.”

A primary focus of Whan’s purpose going forward will be to address big, complicated issues.

Now, Whan can’t imagine leaving his adopted daughters with this larger purpose still to pursue, with women’s empowerment a cause he is committed to champion:

Growing the game to where half the golf population is female.

Growing the profile of his players with more network TV opportunities.

Narrowing the gender pay gap.

They’re all more aggressively in his crosshairs today.

“I can’t just let that be somebody else’s problem,” Whan said. “I can’t be thinking, 'I rebuilt the LPGA, now I am going to cash out and go to a bigger platform.’ That would feel wrong. You’re either in this, or you’re not.”

His comments are also notable given the pending renewal of media deals that certainly may lead to a bonus.

Some Players Take The Blame For Mistakes, Some Get Gusted

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The memorable 2020 Sentry Tournament of Champions featuring a playoff and eventual win by Justin Thomas will go down as one of the more memorable PGA Tour events in some time. The combination of elite players, Kapalua’s finishing holes regaining some of their danger and a nice dose of wind set up a wild conclusion.

Of course, none of it happens without Justin Thomas bungling the 18th in regulation, carding a six after a weak tee shot and poor decision to hit 3 wood. Plenty of factors threatened to stop Thomas from hitting a quality shot, as Luke Kerr-Dineen noted here for Golf.com.

And then there was Justin’s thinking.

Thanks to Jeremy Schilling from highlighting this answer in Thomas’ post round press conversation:

Q. Two things on 18 in regulation, a nice moment to reflect on. On the second shot you had, did you hit a bad shot or was it a bad lie?

JUSTIN THOMAS: It was a really bad lie. It was the wrong club. I should have hit a 5-wood. It just -- I had no chance to get it to the green. The only good thing about a 3-wood was that it was going to cover more if I slightly pulled it, not hit it as far left as I did. But I mean, as steep as -- the thing is the farther down you get it, the flatter it is. I hit that drive so bad and so far off the toe that I didn't get it far enough down to be flat. It just was -- with a one-shot lead that was so stupid. I would have been better off hitting a 6-iron than a 3-wood. It doesn't make sense.

If I just would have made 4 there I would have won the tournament in regulation. Obviously if I made 5 I would have, but standing on 18 tee, I'm like, we make 4 we're probably going to win this thing, and boy, I botched it up pretty badly.

In an era of “we” making a bad call or “we” hitting a bad shot, Thomas’s comments will endear him to golf fans.

Contrast that with those who got “gusted.”

Unbeknownst to many, this is a thing.

Patrick Reed wheeled out the term for his missed playoff putts during a post round interview, not long after Xander Schauffele used the term.

From Dylan Dethier’s noble attempt to respectfully consider the act of being gusted.

“Unfortunately I had two putts really to close it, and one of them I got gusted on, and then this last one with the wind and the break, just got me again,” Reed said. There it is again: “gusted.” (Remember to save this phrase for your weekend game!) He expanded on the point, describing his birdie try on playoff hole No. 2. “The wind picked up right when we hit it and it made the ball stay straighter because it was more downwind and it actually didn’t break at all,” he said.

Certainly wind can affect a putt, but as I recall watching the putts live, they appeared off pretty early on. Maybe that’s where the gusting too place. Or maybe former tour player Chris DiMarco likely summed up the feelings of most in a Tweet that now sleeps with the fishes, notes GolfWRX’s Gianni Magliocco.

Sentry 2020: Watching Young Guns Hit Woods Into Par-5s Was Exciting! Stop The Presses!

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Kapalua played like a golf course re-opening year one of a major overhaul. The turf was young, the greens sported that dreaded new-green firmness and overall, it needs a little more time to settle in. Mother Nature was also cruel to the 2020 Sentry Tournament of Champions in making Kapalua play long, soft, wet and not as much fun as we know it can be.

But as the ground dried just enough during Sunday’s windy finale, the 18th played like it did fifteen years ago. Drives that caught the right line and ridges shortened the hole. Clubs once called woods—not irons!—were used for second shots on a par-5. The hazard was in play. The ground mattered. Position off the tee was key. Genuine skill behind mere power was on display. And it was all very exciting to watch.

This is noteworthy given how often we are told the long ball is vital to selling the sport when we were once again reminded that power is fascinating when it is used to overcome hazards or to separate highly competitive players in a tight battle. Seeing the shots of Xander Schauffele, Justin Thomas and Patrick Reed just trickle on to a green in two, after starting 677 yards away, proved far more exciting than most finishes we’ve seen in some time and certainly were more fun than the simple lash at a tee shot.

It was all a reminder of how much pleasure can be found in watching a skilled player use a wood off of a hanging lie under tournament pressure, and how rarely it now happens as distance overwhelms the game.

Well done to all involved and thanks for the viewing pleasure to kick off 2020 in style.

Here was Thomas hitting into the hazard, hopefully we’ll get some social posts of the brilliant shots hit by Thomas, Schauffele and Reed on the first playoff hole (Think shaped, running and using the land, with a wood in their hand.)

Hopefully we’ll get some of those posted in the PGA Tour highlights package, but in the meantime, eventual winner Justin Thomas’s gaffe in regulation and his near eagle hole out in the playoff, in case you missed all the fun.

Better Than Most: Video And Story About The Baylor Full-Court Putt

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KWTX’s Tyler Boudin talked to Ky Carlson after his full-court, $5000 made putt at halftime of Saturday’s Baylor-Texas game. The incredible third putt of the contest went viral, including millions of views via social media (below).

In these tough times, it’s always fun to read about a fun feat. Boudin writes:

When Ky Carlson's third attempt drifted right of the green set up on the baseline, the trend appeared to roll on to another day.

"As soon as I hit it, I know I pushed it off to the right, but as it goes past halfcourt, it starts to curl back in," Carlson said. "It keeps getting closer and closer, and then all of a sudden, it's pandemonium. It pops on the green and goes in. Nobody could believe it, including me, so that was pretty amazing."

Carlson was a contestant in the Mattson Financial Group putting contest that features three separate putts worth $250, $500 and $5,000 respectively. Ironically, his first attempt was the worst of the three, missing the green by a few inches.

"(Baylor) kind of wants us to go pretty fast. I get to the second one and it's a dead aim," Carlson said. "That one barely lipped in and out. I thought that second one was my chance."

Here it is:

Instant Poll Asking For A Friend: Would You Support Monday Finishes During The NFL Playoffs?

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We’ve run into this question seemingly every year. But with the NFL’s already high ratings on the rise again as a strong leaderboard plays against wildcard weekend. It takes little imagination to know that golf is annoying blip to casual fans following the games, and is even asking its core audience to keep their remotes or second screens busy.

In between remote control flips to wildcard games, I ask, what would be so terrible if the first three events of the PGA Tour season started on Friday and ended on Monday?

The Sentry Tournament of Champions, Sony Open and Bob Hope Chrylser Humana Careerbuilder Workday American Express Desert Classic could all finish on Mondays and in eastern U.S. prime time on Golf Channel.

For the sponsor, a Monday finish might allow the event to get a similar rating on cable and get more recognition in media cycles when the only major sporting event.

The major negatives: a potentially smaller final round gallery at the Hawaii events, a tight turnaround from the desert event to Torrey Pines and the end of any chance a major network would carry the final round. And such a move would mean finishing near the start of the national college football championship but also on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a national holiday.

And then there is this point from reader Mark:

So, simple yes or no…

Should the PGA Tour's opening events avoid NFL playoff games with Monday finishes?
 
pollcode.com free polls

A Fun Mystery Emerges From Kapalua: What Was Patrick Cantlay Referring To?

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The season opening Sentry TOC has a solid leaderboard and enough intrigue to keep golf fans intrigued, despite how drearily rain-softened Kapalua Plantation course has been playing.

Things got more interesting Friday when NBC/Golf Channel mics were opened up to let us listen in on Patrick Cantlay and caddie Matt Minister killing time with some light bantor about Mai Tais and “pampered $#@&’s.”

Whoa, say what?

Enjoy this until the PVB Police hunt this done and dispose of the clip:

Theories abound about what Cantlay was referring to in joking about the “pampered $#@&’s.”

Riggs at Barstool says this was a joking reference to Mark Rolfing wanting to see the players get traditional Kapalua wind, but Golf.com’s Garrett Johnston received this correction to the prevailing assumption from Cantlay’s bagman Minister.

“I know that Rolfing had nothing to do with that conversation,” Minister said. “I find it amusing people assuming they know what we are talking about. They are wrong.”

Minister added that the Mai Tai remark “caught me off guard. [Patrick] doesn’t drink.” (Minister’s not a Mai Tai guy, either. He said his post-round drink of choice this week has been a craft beer from Maui Brewing Company.)

So, what were Cantlay’s remarks in reference to? Minister declined to say.

“Makes it more fun,” he said, “keep y’all guessing.”

Johnston goes on to detail the response of the Golf Channel crew which ranged from suggesting he was not in the moment to a light scolding for lack of microphone awareness.

And while Cantlay will be fined for salty language, his previously undetectable Q-rating with the under 75 demographic is soaring today.


Designing For Golf Pros, Files: 5th At Kapalua Edition

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Cover your eyes kids, but Ron Whitten gives us a window into the coddled mindset that is golf architecture for the modern pro. At least, in the eye of some.

Check out his entire piece on the Kapalua remodel in the face of linebacker strength and core-infused speed, as addressed by the course’s original architects Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw.

The par-5 fifth needed strengthening due to its width and easy reachability. With no room to lengthen, Coore and Crenshaw went old school, looked at divots, and placed a bunker Old Course-style. Ish.

“Everybody hit it up the left side,” Coore said. “Nobody challenged the ravine on the right side off the tee. After the tournament, I walked out to the fairway and found almost all the divots were in one big area on the left center of the fairway.”

He marked the spot and the next morning, he went out with Ben, who agreed the tee shot on five had become “mindless.” They discussed placing a bunker in the center of the patch of divots, to force players to position their drives. Crenshaw suggested that some may choose to aim at the bunker and fade it into the right side of the fairway, which would still be some 40 yards wide, but edged by that ravine. They flagged out the proposed bunker.

Soon, Rolfing, Wenzloff and tour officials inspected it. Tour players don’t like bunkers in the center of a fairway, they said. Especially a bunker so deep that they can only pitch out sideways.

So Coore and Crenshaw agreed to make it a shallow bunker, knee deep at its deepest, so players would still have a chance to escape with a five iron and reach the green.

The lack of depth in Kapalua’s bunkering was noticeable during the round one telecast of the 2020 Sentry. I assumed it was to help resort golfers get around faster. Turns out, there was a duel purpose.

This unfortunately raises the question debated for a couple of centuries now: why bunkers are there in the first place? To provide a manicured place of recovery or a penalty of some kind that elicits thought, a change of course and an edge to those who circumvent the trouble with a nice combo platter of brains and brawn.

There is also the more salient question: how often have the desires and needs of golf professionals had a positive impact on architecture? Rarely.

**Here is a screen capture from Sentry round 2 Golf Channel coverage showing the new “bunker” in graphic form.

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Ready Or Not, The PGA Tour Season Begins (Again) At Kapalua

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Whether its the side-effect of a late Presidents Cup, an accumulation of wraparound golf buildup or starting as early as possible, the 2020 Sentry Tournament of Champions arrives with little fanfare or anticipation.

The flat vibe certainly is not the fault of Kapalua, perennially one of the more enjoyable venues in tournament golf both in beauty and fun finish production. The course re-debuts after a freshening and toughening, and sounds a bit soft this year, which may negate the charming ground game of yesteryear.

The format is not to blame, either, though dreams of a duel PGA Tour-LPGA TOC start were dashed when a sponsor likely not want to deal with the cost or equal pay criticisms that would have been a byproduct of such an event. (Sentry just renewed through 2030, news announced for minimum traction on that Friday news dump not-on-a-Friday, aka New Year’s Eve…)

Nor are the players to blame. While the usual defections happened again due to a plethora of playing opportunities—Woods, Koepka, McIlroy passed—plenty of first time winners and quality players have turned up for a guaranteed $64,000 and week on Maui.

Which brings us back to a recurring and dreadful topic we’ll grapple with all of 2020: schedule compaction. To put it as euphemistically as possible.

Tokyo’s Olympic games in July grab two weeks of the PGA Tour schedule and thus forced the early start. They will also disrupt schedules of big names and highlight how too many playing opportunities exist. As a product folks pay handsomely to sponsor and televise, we’ll be reminded quite regularly that the people writing big checks could get a lot more bang for their bucks with some schedule contraction and less of an emphasis on providing year-round playing opportunities.

Not that anyone will do anything about it as long as players incentivize leaders to maximize at the expense of the product.

So sit back, enjoy the beautiful scenes from Kapalua and break out your trade winds-climate change-Coore & Crenshaw bingo board.

Oh, but do enjoy the warm and fuzzy Patrick Reed-Kevin Kisner pairing that should brighten any January gloom. The new security guard spotted as part of Team Reed has undoubtedly been told to keep an eye on Kis as much as any Hawaiian hecklers.

Golf Channel/NBC airtimes:

Tournament Airtimes on GOLF Channel (Eastern):

Thursday         6-10 p.m. (Live) / 11 p.m.-3 a.m. (Replay)

Friday              6-10 p.m. (Live) / 11 p.m.-3 a.m. (Replay)

Saturday          6-8 p.m. (Live) / 8 p.m.-1 a.m. (Replay)

Sunday            6-10 p.m. (Live) / 11 p.m.-3 a.m. (Replay)

Tournament Airtimes on NBC (Eastern):

Saturday          4-6 p.m. (Live)             

Here is a tournament need-to-know from PGATour.com’s Ben Everill, including a look at the 18th hole.

Here’s one more look at the changes from Golf.com’s Josh Sens:

The Wacky World Of Golf: Predictions For 2020

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Considering the madness witnessed in 2019, a few possibilities for 2020…

Distance Report Delayed Again – After PGA Tour distance averages show a one-yard decline through the first four weeks of 2020, the USGA and R&A decide (again) to delay their highly-anticipated distance insights study. “This year’s slight drop in no way means are players are less athletic, it should be noted,” Tweeted Commissioner Jay Monahan. “We praise the governing bodies for recognizing that the game is thriving and growing, especially with a younger demographic drawn to the aspirational joys of annually spending $550 on a driver to gain five yards off the tee.”

Load Management - A crowded schedule means the dreaded NBA phrase du jour of 2019 will come to golf in 2020. Brooks Koepka and Tiger Woods open as 2-1 favorites as the most likely to employ the phrase. Bryson DeChambeau, opens at a surprising 6-1. Explains oddsmaker Jeff Sherman, “Load management to Bryson is what ‘growing the game’ is to most players.”  

DeChambeau Admits He Bulked Up Too Much - After not breaking 70 on the entire West Coast Swing, Bryson DeChambeau reluctantly admits his 30-pound off-season bulk-up has made a mess of his game. “The idea was right, but the type of proteins my team chose were all wrong,” DeChambeau said after firing his nutritionist, physio, West Coast chef, Trackman-carrier and upper-body masseuse. “In order to lose the pesky muscle, DeChambeau will skip the Florida swing and restrict his exercise to walks from the couch to his kitchen, where his new chef will feed him a protein-free diet.

Live Under Par Survives Another Year. The PGA Tour’s new CMO issues a full review of the most ridiculed slogan in all of slogandom. Rumored internal replacements emerge, including Fields Have Never Been Deeper, These Guys Are 18-49 Demo-Friendly Jocks, Never Laying Up From A Barstool, and finally, Chicks Dig Long, Dimpled (Golf) Balls. Said an internal source, “we still have a lot of Live Under Par T’s to move at this year’s Players before we can move forward with a new one.”     

TPC Sawgrass To Get “Woke” Makeover - Responding to the rise of Sweetens Cove as one of the most beloved courses on the planet, Commissioner Monahan confirms a PGA Tour Policy Board decision to remodel the TPC Sawgrass clubhouse and entrance drive. Despite rumored cost overruns for the new Tour headquarter building, architect Norman Foster is hired to provide a re-imagined clubhouse by moving the entire 60,000 square foot operation underground, with only a double-wide and overgrown “TPC Sawgrass” sign above ground. The TPC’s recently renovated “driveway”, complete with tight turf and Disney World-inspired street lights, will be returned to a swampy dirt road hearkening to the course’s roots. However, players voted against a restoration of Pete Dye’s design to a more natural look, citing the possibility of unfair lies and the potential for white pant stains.  

Tiger Woods Wins The Masters Again. After winless West Coast and Florida swings, Woods cruises to a five-stroke win as a group of fearless, win-loving young players fold down the stretch. Woods reaches the 13th green in two with a long-iron after the club unveils a new tee stretching the hole to 595 yards. Chairman Fred Ridley announced earlier in the week that the USGA and R&A helped pay for the new tee in an effort to not undertake further equipment regulation. 

FedEx Fedup – Company CEO Fred Smith complains on a conference call with investors gets attention. Instead of addressing Amazon’s potentially fatal move into his business, he questions the bizarre positioning of FedEx’s hometown event, the WGC FedEx St. Jude. It is played in July as players focus on The Open Championship but also just prior to a fantastic two-day pro-am in Ireland that will include Tiger Woods. A bevy of players decide not to play the FedEx St. Jude after committing a year in advance to J.P McManus’ pre-Scottish Open pro-am. Smith groaned that an offer to fly the players to Ireland in a FedEx cargo plane the Sunday night prior was met with derision. “These guys are beauties,” the CEO told analysts who were more interested in whether Smith will have an answer to Amazon eating into revenues.

Mid-round interviews - One year after a failed attempt to allow for mid-round interviews, the PGA Tour copies the European Tour’s successful in-round chat model by transporting Sky Sports’ Tim Barter in to conduct them. The idea lasts one week after Barter tries to interview Patrick Reed following a possible rules violation and Reed’s caddie Kessler Karain threatens to physically harm the broadcaster.

Reed Wins Bobby Jones Award - After handling two more high-profile rules dust ups “like a gentleman,” the USGA announces that Reed has agreed to accept the Bobby Jones Award at the 2021 U.S. Open as long as wife Justine is also listed as co-winner.

Season Of (More) Championships - Bolstered by 2019’s Season Of Championships graphic depicting the Players, four majors and FedExCup as the beginning and end to the Season Of Championships, the PGA Tour allows sponsors to spend an additional $4 million to join the prestigious grouping. Only the John Deere Classic, which says it will lower its staggering annual $14 million donation to charitable causes in an effort to raise the tournament profile, accepts the opportunity.

At Least Two Longtime Golf Publications Will Cease Printing Issues - Yet,sophisticated golf journals are filling the printed void by ignoring any urge to appeal to demographics hostile to reading. Media executives search for solutions to this alarming trend.

TikTok Here We Come! - Despite concerns of spying, cyber security and unwanted harvesting of personal data, all of golf’s major organizations create TikTok accounts in 2020 to better reach the exploding youth audience that simply can’t get enough of golf coverage on the platform du jour. Oh wait, it’s already started.  2020 is here!

Happy New Year.

Plantation Course Returns From $12.5 Million Renovation: Will It Be Interesting Again?

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For whatever reason—climate change altering wind patters, thatch build-up causing balls to run less or players simply not using the ground like they used to—Kapalua’s Plantation course grew increasingly less interesting to watch over the last decade. Granted, it’s peak in 2000 with this PGA Tour epic duel will always be difficult to top…

And there was this radar blip of old school shotmaking from Bubba Watson:

Now arriving on the back of New Year’s Day, the 2020 Sentry Tournament of (Mostly) Champions arrives with big names either sitting out by choice or due to injury, so extra focus will be put on the renovated Plantation Course.

Dave Shedloski reports for GolfDigest.com on early reviews noting the increased difficulty. But we’ll have to wait to tournament time to find out of players simply refuse to use the ground, or if conditions prevented some of the past charm provided by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw’s first major design.

Some greens also were expanded while others, like at the par-4 seventh and the par-5 15th, were reduced in size.

“The course is even more of a second-shot golf course than it was before,” said Rolfing, who watched closely from the time work started on Feb. 11 until the course reopened on Nov. 23. “There are more shelf areas. The PGA Tour wanted more hole locations. The greens were softened and you have some flatter areas, but those transitions are more severe. That puts a real premium on shot-making like it was more in the earlier days. There’s more strategy than before. You can’t just bomb it off every tee, either, because you want to set up that second shot.”

Major Championship Performers: McIlroy Tops The 20 Best Of The Decade

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Thank you to Golf Channel’s John Antonini for taking the time to consider who the best players were of the last decade. Using a points system, it’s illuminating to see who performed best and how. Rory McIlroy peaking in the mid-portion, while Brooks Koepka landing second on the list with no success in the first half of the decade.

Check out the list here and note in the second ten how many major winners did not enjoy much success beyond their victories.

Antonini also explains how McIlroy tops the list despite not winning a major since 2014.

Why Rory? Because even though he missed the cut at Royal Portrush, he was a successful major performer throughout the decade. His four wins tied for the most in the decade with Koepka. His 18 top-10 finishes were the most of any player. And he was the only player to have at least one top-10 in a major in every year from 2010-19. Although Rory didn’t win a major after the 2014 PGA, he did have 10 top-10s over the second half of the decade, including a runner-up finish at the 2018 Open. Ultimately, that’s what set him apart. McIlroy was there at the beginning of the decade and was still a star at the end.  

Tiger At 44: Stats And A Reminder That When Healthy, Playing A Stellar Course, He's Still The Best

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Tiger’s 44th birthday shares the perspective spotlight with the equally amazing Lebron James among the elites born December 30th (there’s Sandy Koufax too). And it’s always a nice chance to consider the state of Woods, which some years this decade has been a dreary exercise in wondering what if?

Not 2019!

What a sensational and bizarre year, as presented in four acts here by Bob Harig at ESPN.com. As amazing as the Masters win was—it was predictable to some—act four this fall may actually give us more to chew on. Harig writes of Woods’ August 20th knee surgery and the resulting renaissance:

The results were remarkable. Woods, who hadn't played competitive golf since the BMW Championship and only began practicing about a month before his trip to Japan for a skins game and the Zozo Championship, opened the tournament with three straight bogeys but still bounced back to shoot 64. He shot 64 in the second round and went on for a 3-shot victory, the 82nd of his PGA Tour career to match the record set by Sam Snead.

He was then in contention until the final holes at the Hero World Challenge, finishing fourth, before leading the U.S. team to victory at the Presidents Cup, where he looked like the best player among the 24, going 3-0 in his matches.

The only thing I’d add of the Presidents Cup effort: placed on a firm, fast course eliciting heightened precision, Woods demonstrated that he is still better than everyone else. If his body cooperates and the schedules align to give him opportunities to shine, he will win a lot more.

We’ll have time to consider 2020’s major venues later, so in the meantime enjoy Justin Ray’s 44 Woods stats at the 15th Club. Just a teaser:

42. Tiger won his 82nd career PGA Tour title this fall at the ZOZO Championship in Japan. Across his 82 victories, fellow players in those fields have been born from a span of 1922 (Doug Ford) to 1999 (Devon Bling).

41. Woods has won 18 World Golf Championship titles in his career, twelve more than any other player. Dustin Johnson, who has six, could win every WGC contested through the 2022 FedEx St. Jude Invitational, and he would still be one behind Tiger.

40. Woods’ 82 PGA Tour wins since the beginning of the 1996 season are more than the next two players’ totals on the list combined. Phil Mickelson (39) and Vijay Singh (31), Hall of Famers in their own right, have combined for 70 in that span.

39. Woods is the only player in history to win the U.S. Junior Amateur, U.S. Amateur and U.S. Open in his career. He has won each three times.

38. Tiger is a combined 14-1 in playoffs in his PGA and European Tour careers. The only player to beat him was Billy Mayfair at the 1998 Nissan Open.

Pebble's (1929) 7th In Living Color: "Bring it back"

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When the photos of Pebble Beach’s 7th were shared via my Golden Age of Golf Design book and initially online, the reaction was typically immediate condemnation of the unmaintainable nature of its original “imitation sand dunes.” Those were created by Chandler Egan, Joe Mayo, Robert Hunter and a team of artisans trying to reverse the Pebble Beach narrative from one of artificial to natural when the course underwent massive change for the 1929 U.S. Amateur (where Egan reached the semi-finals at age 45).

Today, the chorus is nearly unanimous: “bring it back” say the commenters on this fascinating post by the Pebble Beach official account showing what the old hole would have looked like in living color. The post does not credit the source, but whoever it was did a sensational job.

We examined the issues with restoring this look earlier in 2019 when Pebble Beach hosted the U.S. Open:

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