Summerhays Almost Has The Ultimate Walk-Off Win, Reconsiders Retirement Decision

With limited on site at the Korn Ferry Tour’s Utah Championship, PGATour.com’s Stewart Moore did a nice job capturing Sunday evening’s incredible saga of Daniel Summerhays. The 36-year-old announced his retirement to start the week in his hometown event, then fired a final round 62 to be leader in the clubhouse for a few hours. He was eventually tied by two others and lost on the first hole of a three-way playoff, ultimately won by Kyle Jones.

Now he’s going to assess if it’s really time to walk away for the teaching and high school golf coaching job he’s taking.

From Moore’s story:

For the 36-year-old Summerhays, in his post-loss press conference, there was a bit of reflection. Was it time to turn away from a life in golf? He won the Korn Ferry Tour’s Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship as an amateur in 2007; lost in a playoff at the PGA TOUR’s Sanderson Farms Championship in 2013; in 2016, gained entry into the U.S. Open as the fourth alternate and wound up T8 for the week; that same year, finished solo-third at the PGA Championship with six birdies in his final 10 holes to earn his lone career trip to the Masters Tournament.

That torrid run in major championships was just four years ago.

“It would’ve been unbelievable to take the trophy home and to have one more,” Summerhays said. “We’ll have a little family meeting and we’ll evaluate how I want to see the rest of the summer go and what we’re doing.”

The Korn Ferry Tour’s post from Golf Channel’s coverage where Steve Burkowski and Craig Perks did a super job telling the Summerhays story.

View this post on Instagram

An emotional runner-up for @daniel.summerhays at his hometown @utahchampionship. ❤️ He had planned for it to be his final start as a pro. ⛳️ But after receiving overwhelming support across the golf community, he’s onward to @tpc_colorado_championship.

A post shared by Korn Ferry Tour (@kornferrytour) on Jun 29, 2020 at 7:05pm PDT

No Baba Booeys: "PGA Tour brings end to Michigan's sports shutdown", Fifth COVID-19 Positive Confirmed

Tony Paul previews this week’s PGA Tour return to the Motor City for the Rocket Mortgage Classic and finds a negative in the thing I’ve heard the most positive comments about: fan free events devoid of derelicts wailing baba booey.

For starters, there will be no fans, no baba booeys, no elevated blood-alcohol levels. That threatens to suck some of the fun out of the tournament.

And we don't exactly know when there will be another, given the Red Wings and Pistons are done, while the Tigers are supposed to start the season in late July — though COVID-19 has a strange way of keeping everyone from making plans in stone these days.

The tournament lost several multiple players on Monday who hadcommitted, with the PGA Tour announcing Harris English as the fifth player to test positive for COVID-19. He has withdrawn and will spend ten days in quarantine. His Whoop band apparently hasn’t arrived in the mail yet as the boilerplate statement only included the shameless homage to the Ministry of Sawgrass almost assuredly not uttered by English:

PGA TOUR COVID-19 Update - June 29, 2020

 As part of the PGA TOUR’s pre-tournament screening process this week at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, PGA TOUR player Harris English tested positive for COVID-19 and has been withdrawn from the event. 

English, who did not compete last week at the Travelers Championship, will have the PGA TOUR’s full support throughout his self-isolation period under CDC guidelines. 

“While it’s disappointing to receive this news, as I feel healthy, I’m pleased that the new safety protocols we have in place worked this week,” said English. “I fully supported the TOUR’s new rule of not allowing anyone on the tournament grounds until testing negative, as protecting others in the field and everyone affiliated with the tournament and the community should be the No. 1 priority as a result of a positive test. I appreciate the TOUR’s support and I look forward to competing again after I’m fully recovered.”

Oh yes, that’s just what he said! Verbatim.

 English is the fifth PGA TOUR player to test positive for Coronavirus since the PGA TOUR’s Return to Golf on June 11.

Great news regarding the first player to test positive: Nick Watney.

He’s getting ready to drive home to Austin after his unplanned extended stay in Hilton Head, is feeling good, plans to wear a mask on his lone pit-stop, and mostly has been concerned about whether he infected anyone else (he has not based on contact tracing and subsequent testing).

From the AP:

"I will say, it's not the greatest feeling being the first to get it," Watney said in his first interview since he was notified June 19 at the the RBC Heritage of his positive test.

"Some things are so vague around this thing," he said. "The symptoms ... some people get this, some get that. I haven't had a fever or cough the whole time, no shortness of breath. Maybe that's the reason it's so scary. I still don't know how or where I got it."

He lost his sense of smell, a sensation he described as "gnarly," but said that is coming back. And perhaps the strangest sensation is being at a golf resort without playing golf.

SBJ: FOX Initiated U.S. Open Chats Two Months Ago, "Never Fit Into" Network's Plans

Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand helps fill out the shocking exit from golf by Fox Sports with several insights into the deal announced Monday, including this about when discussions started.

Two months ago, after the USGA decided to postpone the U.S. Open to September, Fox Sports execs Eric Shanks and Larry Jones reached out to Pete Bevacqua and Jon Miller at NBC Sports to see if their network -- which owns Golf Channel -- would be willing to carry some of this year’s event. Fox’s fall schedule is jam-packed, and it saw NBC as a potential lifeline to help it carry and sell one of golf’s four majors. Early in the discussions, it became clear that NBC wanted a bigger piece of the USGA package, and Fox wanted out.

Write down time!

Ourand also noted the ultimate problem dooming the Fox-USGA partnership had nothing to do with the production side of the presentation after the first year struggles:

Golf never fit Fox: Fox gets a bad rap for its golf production. The network’s performance at last year’s U.S. Open in Pebble Beach was praised widely. But golf never fit into Fox’s plans. The Fox execs that originally cut this deal -- Chase Carey and Randy Freer -- left the company soon afterwards, and nobody was left to champion the sport. Fox never was close to adding to its golf portfolio; it wasn’t a serious contender for either British Open or PGA Tour rights, which should have been the first sign that it wanted to get out of the USGA deal.

Fox’s Joe Buck took to Twitter to downplay the stellar work he did, particularly when his big league chops shined during a rules fiasco in 2016 and course setup issues in 2018.

Nantz, Hicks, Tirico all better at calling golf than me -but I would put our production up against anybody’s. Our innovation and drone shots and overall effort to try new things pushed golf coverage forward and for that I am most proud.Our producer Mark Loomis was a master tutor

— Joe Buck (@Buck) June 29, 2020

Brad Faxon responded to several Tweets, including this:

Thanks Andy, nice of you to say, love @the_fried_egg and your passion for golf course architecture as well. Been nice having @gil_hanse as well on the team. Not many know more than he does. https://t.co/QMWWn1g9lU

— Brad Faxon (@BradFaxon) June 29, 2020

Rescheduled PGA Professional Championship Cancelled Over Austin COVID-19 Surge, Travel Restrictions

Unfortunate news for the top PGA of America professionals in the U.S. who have seen their annual championship rescheduled and now, cancelled.

Set for Austin in late July, with the top 20 going to the PGA Championship in San Francisco and the top 3 recently announced as U.S. Open exemptions, it’s both a shame and also an eye-opener for August’s championship given the mention of travel restrictions. The PGA Championship will retain the 20 spots for PGA pros by exempting 2019 PGA Player Of The Year standings.

The news was emailed to PGA members. Ron Mintz posted the sad news:

The PGA of America announced on Monday that it has canceled the PGA Professional Championship.

1 of 2

— Ron Mintz (@MintzGolf) June 30, 2020

“With the health and well-being of our PGA Members, volunteers, rules officials and staff serving as our guiding principles throughout this effort, recent COVID-19 surges in the area and various travel restrictions made our collective pursuit prohibitive.” 2 of 2

— Ron Mintz (@MintzGolf) June 30, 2020

USGA Confirms "New Media Rights Partnership" With NBCUniversal, To Include Golf Channel And Peacock Coverage

Press releases these days are usually so light on details and heavy on the fluff. Not this!

Let’s get to it, For Immediate Release:

USGA Announces New Media Rights Partnership with NBCUniversal  

Move is a win for golf fans  

Wow, even the subhead has layers.

LIBERTY CORNER, N.J. (June 29, 2020) – The United States Golf Association (USGA) today announced that the United States media rights for its championships have been transferred to NBCUniversal (NBCU), effective immediately.   

With the COVID-19 pandemic leading to the shift in dates for the U.S. Open from June to September, finding the necessary broadcast hours presented a challenge for FOX Sports, given their commitments to the National Football League, Major League Baseball and college football. What started as an exploration of how FOX Sports and NBC/Golf Channel could work together this unique year led to a broader conversation and eventual agreement for NBCU to take over the USGA media rights.  

No kidding.

As a result, NBCUniversal will broadcast the four championships the USGA will conduct in 2020: the 120th U.S. Women’s Amateur (Aug. 3-9 at Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Md.); the 120th U.S. Amateur (Aug. 10-16 at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Bandon, Ore.), the 120th U.S. Open (Sept. 17-20 at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, N.Y.) and the 75th U.S. Women’s Open (Dec. 10-13 at Champions Golf Club in Houston, Texas).  

So soon!

“We are thrilled to acquire the remainder of FOX Sports’ USGA agreement, and will carry the designated USGA events, including the U.S. Open, through 2026,” said Pete Bevacqua, president of NBC Sports Group. “Adding these prestigious USGA events to our already incredibly deep golf business, led by our long-term PGA Tour partnership, as well as The Open Championship and the Ryder Cup, positions us as absolute leaders in the golf space. This deal is advantageous for all parties, including NBC Sports, Golf Channel, Peacock and the USGA, but also FOX Sports, and we thank them for working with us to complete this transaction. It further solidifies our platforms as the destination for golf viewers and enthusiasts, with NBC, Golf Channel, GOLFNow and GOLFPASS.”  

Peacock, NBCUniversal’s new streaming app, debuts in less than two weeks and now adds a pretty hefty sports component.

“Partnering with NBCUniversal, including Golf Channel, gives us an unparalleled opportunity to connect and engage with the core golf audience more directly and routinely, and as a nonprofit, to continue to have a significant and lasting impact on the game,” said Mike Davis, CEO of the USGA.  

While the details are confidential,

Well, except to the AP and Wall Street Journal…

the term of the agreement between NBCUniversal and the USGA will be the same as the previous agreement with FOX Sports, carrying through December 31, 2026, and the financial remuneration for the USGA will remain the same for the duration of the agreement. This allows the USGA, as a nonprofit, to continue to fulfill its mission to champion and advance the game of golf, which includes conducting 14 annual Open and Amateur championships, serving golfers and golf courses and providing pathways into the game.  

Translation, FOX will be paying a lot of money to make the deal go away.

Starting in 2021, when the USGA’s full championship schedule will be played, the agreement with NBCU will allow the USGA to continue the uninterrupted coverage it provides to television fans thanks to its longstanding partnership with Rolex. In 2021, that means eight of the USGA’s televised championships will be completely uninterrupted, including the U.S. Women’s Open and the Walker Cup. For the U.S. Open, thanks again to Rolex, NBCU will continue the tradition of showing the last hour of the final round uninterrupted.   

To Fox and Rolex’s credit, this was an incredible “tradition” that started in 2018 and one everyone hopes can continue if financially feasible.

“In addition to moving our media rights to NBCUniversal, we are also excited by the opportunities that will come from extensive coverage on NBC’s Peacock platform,” said Davis. “We have implemented a defined strategy to build our digital offerings over the last six years and have achieved significant success. The reach and engagement of our championships will only increase through the NBCUniversal family, including their commitment to bring their “Live From” program to the U.S. Women’s Open beginning in 2021 and to cover Golf’s Longest Day linked to U.S. Open qualifying.”  

It’s back!

Golf’s longest and arguably one of its very best days had been covered by Golf Channel prior to the rights transfer, with Fox retaining a wrap-up show element that aired late in the day.

Ok, here’s where we praise FOX…

Heralded as a landmark partnership between FOX Sports and the USGA in 2013, the network first began broadcasting USGA championships in the 2015 season. At the time, the network made its first foray into golf under the talented leadership of Mark Loomis, executive producer of USGA on FOX. Loomis developed a top-notch team of on-air talent and production professionals. This group not only brought to life the annual U.S. Open broadcast, but also the seven other USGA championships it aired each season. 

“FOX Sports has cherished its time as home to the USGA championships for the past six years. This is a relationship and partnership that has been second to none,” said Eric Shanks, CEO and executive producer of FOX Sports.

I’m not sure I would have used second to none, now that it’s none. But go on…

“Recent events calling for the shift of the U.S. Open created scheduling challenges that were difficult to overcome. While we are proud of the success we’ve built over these years, this is a win for golf fans everywhere, a win for the USGA and a win for FOX and NBC Sports.” 

Wins for everybody…

“We have genuinely appreciated the partnership that we have had with FOX Sports over the last six years and are grateful for their steadfast efforts to produce world-class events,” said Davis. “FOX brought significant innovation to golf broadcasting by elevating technology and enhancing the fan experience.”

Very true and let’s hope it continues for the remaining seven years.

And with that ends one of the more bizarre chapters in USGA history.

"How the PGA Tour navigated its toughest week yet"

Nick Pietruszkiewicz of ESPN.com was one of the select media members on site at the Travelers Championship and summed up the PGA Tour’s third week back:

• There were positive tests, of players and caddies.

• There was the sudden arrival of the PGA Tour commissioner and the possibility of another shutdown.

• There was one major champion leaving and one playing a round all by himself.

So yes, the stark reality of all this was evident all across the property, every day of the week.

He goes on to detail the whirlwind events and while drawing no conclusions, the new normal outlined in the story sounds like something that will be tough to sustain. And this was all before yet another positive test was announced (more later).

But if things continue at this pace of positive tests, contact trace-based WD’s and daily guideline changes and is juxtaposed against nationwide outbreaks, golf’s importance may pale.

The good news?

A tournament concluded with Dustin Johnson winning in an entertaining final round, albeit with a weather delay that was forecast. Tee times were, once again, inexplicably not moved up for both safety and avoidance-delay reasons.

Masks were seen on players in post-round interviews, on one caddie in the network TV window (for Brendon Todd) and on some members of the PGA Tour rules staff when interacting with players. The putting green was no longer a crowded gathering place.

The CBS crew has done a remarkable job presenting the events with limited crews and major constraints.

The bad news?

Testing reliability by Sanford Health is now in question with Cameron Champ looking like a false-positive situation. Earlier in the week, Brooks Koepka caddy Ricky Elliott reported negative tests after his positive that trimmed the world no. 2 and his brother from the Travelers field.

CBS has done a remarkable job with a small crew—beancounters don’t event think this is sustainable.

And somehow, the virus has become an opportunity for the PGA Tour to move Whoop product.

Here is the statement on Dylan Fritelli’s positive test, with the quote as boilerplate as it gets, particularly if you’ve ever heard the charismatic South African speak.

PGA TOUR statement on Dylan Frittelli 

As part of the PGA TOUR’s pre-charter testing process, TOUR player Dylan Frittelli tested positive for COVID-19.  Frittelli, who missed the cut at the Travelers Championship, has been withdrawn from next week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic field.  He will have the PGA TOUR’s full support throughout his self-isolation period under CDC guidelines. 

The PGA TOUR has implemented its response plan in consultation with medical experts, including working with those who may have had close contact with Frittelli. After conducting necessary contact tracing, the TOUR’s medical advisors are not recommending any additional testing at this time.

“I am experiencing no issues and feel great physically and was surprised and disappointed to learn of the positive test today,” said Frittelli.  “I’m thankful for the WHOOP strap notification of a minor increase [0.3] in my respiratory rate overnight. However, I’m most thankful for the TOUR’s assistance, procedures and protocols, which I will continue to follow during my self-isolation, so as to keep everyone safe. I look forward to getting back on TOUR once it’s safe to do so.”

Frittelli is the fourth PGA TOUR player to test positive for Coronavirus since the PGA TOUR’s Return to Golf on June 11: Nick Watney at last week’s RBC Heritage; Cameron Champ and Denny McCarthy earlier this week.

The Whoop hard sell is a bizarre Twist in these already strange times. One player is already refuting the readings and selling of them by the Tour:

@PGATOURComms Let’s make sure we are not sounding incorrect alarms here or misrepresenting data. An increase in respiratory rate of .3 is not cause for any concern or even acknowledgment. Don’t freak out ever person you just handed a @whoop to.

— Blayne Barber (@BlayneBarberAU) June 29, 2020

The PGA Tour next lands in Detroit this week for the Rocket Mortgage Classic.

AP: FOX Asks Out Of USGA Contract, NBC To Pick Up Remaining Seven Years

AP’s Doug Ferguson reports that Fox Sports has “asked to end” its 12-year USGA contract and, over the last two weeks, a deal was ironed out.

Andrew Marchand of the News Corp-owned New York Post, confirmed the news in a Tweet. An announcement is expected Monday.

From Ferguson’s story, the pandemic appears to have played a role:

One person said NBC would pay for just under half of the rights fee through the rest of the contract.

Two other people said the deal began to take shape this month, especially with the U.S. Open being moved to September during the opening month of the NFL.

One person said Fox was contemplating moving the U.S. Open to FS1, an idea that was rebuffed by Mike Davis, the CEO of the USGA. That led to deeper conversations about the contract and how it could be resolved.

Fox famously secured the rights starting in 2015 after the USGA enjoyed a successful run with NBC and ESPN. While Fox predictably struggled early with production elements, marketing and finding the right announcer mix, they eventually delivered the broadcast innovation, strong production valus and a cohesive announce team at the last few U.S. Opens, where sound, visuals and the broadcasters excelled.

No Laying Up noted this:

Genuinely bummed about the Fox/NBC US Open news. They were an innovator in the golf broadcast game. Had made huge strides year over year and inspired changes at the other networks.

The news broke as we were recording, reactions will be on the pod in a few hours.

— No Laying Up (@NoLayingUp) June 29, 2020

The greater issue may have been a combination of economics, scheduling and the pending NFL rights deal. As Ferguson’s story notes, this fall’s U.S. Open at Winged Foot—if it goes forward—was going to be largely buried on Fox Sports 1, the cable network that motivated Fox’s excessive spend in the first place.

Financially, someone is taking a hit, but NBC does not appear to be that party. From the Wall Street Journal’s Joe Flint:

While Fox’s agreement with the USGA still had several years left to run, the network negotiated to unload the rest of its deal to NBC, which also owns the Golf Channel and has rights to the PGA Tour https://t.co/LQ6WQUslkZ via @WSJ

— Joe Flint (@JBFlint) June 29, 2020

Monday’s announcement following Sunday night’s orchestrated rollout to media should shed light on where other USGA events and early round coverage will land. We might also learn more about what precisely prompted the parties involved to work out the deal now. But if Ferguson and Flint are correct, FOX will be paying a significant amount of money annually to not televise USGA events.

Ultimately, however, the deal is a monster failure that should haunt the careers of Sarah Hirshland (now head of the U.S. Olympic Committee) and then-USGA president Glen Nager (since seen suing the United States). Then there was USGA Executive Committee member Gary Stevenson, whose conflicts of interest and lack of vision proved robust. He who is now working his magic for MLS. And I’d probably include former USGA President Tom O’Toole in there too while we’re throwing monster point-missers under the bus.

For some background on the deal when it went down, I’d point you to the late, great Frank Hannigan’s Letter to this website back in September, 2013, which considers the issues involved in a USGA television negotiation.

Video: Oak Hill's East Course Restoration And The Return Of The Short 15th

I thoroughly enjoyed this fourteen-minute Oak Hill restoration video and narrated by Rich Lerner. It gets downright emotional at a point when almost all of Donald Ross’s original Postage Stamp 15th is restored.

Bradley Klein kindly called the asinine Fazio-addition “ridiculous” in previewing the 2013 PGA, and if you feel confident in your digestion system, you should get one last look at it in that story. It really is one of the great architectural acts of vandalism.

Mericfully, the club and architect Andrew Green have brought back the original, minus the right bunker included in Ross’ original plan. The finished product looks like it’ll (re)join the list of tournament golf’s iconic short par-3s when the club hosts the 2023 PGA Championship and, as announced last week, the 2027 U.S. Amateur.

The video:

More Adjustments On The Fly: Daily Testing, Cameron Champ Gets To Leave Connecticut

The best news from Saturday’s Travelers Championship came when Cameron Champ revealed he’s tested negative for COVID-19 three times since Tuesday’s positive test and can return home.

Also, the first player to test positive on the PGA Tour, Nick Watney is feeling ok and tells GolfDigest.com’s Tod Leonard how he awoke last Friday to Whoop readings that made him realize he had a problem.

The bad news is for Champ. Home for him is one of America’s hottest spots and his positive test/WD from the event will inevitably raise concerns about the efficacy of Sanford Health’s testing.

After this week’s much ballyhood adjustments to the PGA Tour’s tournament guidelines related to COVID-19, they made a meaningful adjustment Saturday after both Champ and Watney stepped on grounds potentially with the virus.

Joel Beall reports on the bubble fix that should have been either implemented sooner, or enforced more closely in the form of daily checks instead of, as regulations said, regular checks.

“Over the past three weeks as part of its return to golf, the tour has been committed to learning from an operational standpoint and adjusting protocols in place in order to mitigate risk and promote the health and safety of all involved, including players, caddies, staff and volunteers,” read a statement. “Effective immediately with the Rocket Mortgage Classic, players and caddies, along with all other individuals ‘inside the bubble,’ will not be allowed on property until first being cleared with a negative in-market test.”

One other note: Jason Day ended up playing as a single for the Travelers Championshp after feeling symptoms but testing negative.

Scoring Records Fall At The Travelers...

Heading into the Travelers final at TPC River Highlands, Brendon Todd (-18) leads Dustin Johnson (-16) by two.

Now, we know the players eating all those brussel sprouts, listening to their teams and planking for ten minutes at a time explains their distance gains. But whenever folks try to downplay actual distance numbers, we hear how scoring has not budged.

Yet one interesting twist of this “Return to Golf”, with its oversized fields, is the difficulty to protecting par. With bloated fields and warmer weather, we’ve seen softer conditions and easier setups to move players around.

The result: absurd distances (mostly carry) and low scoring. Through 54 at TPC River Highlands and courtesy of the PGA Tour:

• Brendon Todd seeks to become the first three-time winner this season

• Todd’s 192 54-hole total marks his career-best on TOUR and a Travelers Championship tournament record

• Todd records his lowest 18-hole score in his PGA TOUR career (539 rounds)

• Dustin Johnson records his lowest 18-hole score in his PGA TOUR career (918 rounds)

"Lori Loughlin, Mossimo Giannulli Resign from Bel-Air Country Club Over Conviction"

I share this for the country club set of the world who need a story to know that no matter how much bickering, infighting and overall first world wackiness their club might be experiencing, there is always the latest from Bel-Air to top it.

According to TMZ, actress Lori Loughlin and husband/GFore creator/designer Mossimo Giannulli are resigning from Bel-Air as a result of their guilty pleas in the Rick Singer college admissions scandal. Things did not go smoothly.

Today In Adjusting As They Go: More Travelers Positives, New Rules

Friday’s Travelers Championship included the PGA Tour’s first case of a fully confirmed symptomatic player who—bless Denny McCarthy—woke up in the night feeling bad and it seems, got tested, did not get near his fellow PGA Tour peers, and unfortunately must try to recuperate away from home.

We have progress on one front: McCarthy is the first of the three players on the PGA Tour to test positive for COVID-19 and not expose any other players by taking a property tour or having a good physio session while awaiting test results.

The news of McCarthy’s illness also led to Bud Cauley pull out of the Travelers. He played with McCarthy in round one, and at least based on this Joel Beall report from the grounds, felt symptoms but tested negative and nobly stepped aside. Either way, they did the prudent thing for all involved and got a supportive statement from the Commissioner.

For those counting at home: twelve players have WD’d from this week’s Travelers, with seven of those virus related.

Beall also reported on the bizarre sight of Matt Wallace, who played round one with Cauley and McCarthy, to play by himself in round two.

On a positive note, another new rule appeared like yesterday’s Shane Lowry-you-can-play-but-avoid-the-clubhouse clause invoked by the Commissioner: a change was made at the putting green.

Despite repeated social media photos of players and caddies physically (NOT) distancing—plus masks as pocket squares!?—the McCarthy news ended the totally unnecessary sight of caddies on the putting green. Why they were allowed there in the first place for agronomic reasons, other than to pick balls out of the hole and offer empty sounding boards, is unclear. Especially without the masks that also continue to elude prominent PGA Tour officials.

From Bob Weeks:

After today’s positive test, caddies prohibited from being on the practice green. pic.twitter.com/2Cnw8Uovl7

— Bob Weeks (@BobWeeksTSN) June 26, 2020

"Golfer makes save in Bella Vista lake"

What an incredible act of life-saving by Ana Paula Valdes and reporting by the Northwest Arkansas Gazette’s Chip Souza, who documents an incredible story reminiscent of Mary Bea Porter-King saving a drowning boy a 1988 qualifier.

In a nutshell, Valdes, playing in a Women’s All Pro Tour event, saved someone from drowning.

Please hit the link and read it all, but a snippet:

Valdes said she looked out into the lake and saw a person floating face down about 30 feet from shore. Kathy King said the momentum of the cart traveling down the embankment, then slamming into a tree likely caused the woman to be propelled through the front of the golf cart and into the lake.

“I said, ‘Oh my god, that’s the lady,’ ” Valdes said. “So I jumped in the water and started swimming her way. I finally got to her and I tried putting her face up against my chest. I was swimming because I could not touch the bottom. It was deeper than I could stand.

“So I was swimming, trying to keep her face out of the water. I was trying to wake her up because she was unconscious. I kept saying, ‘you’re OK, you’re OK.’ ”

The story doesn’t end on a perfect note. Golfweek’s Beth Ann Baldry followed up with Valdes, who was understandably unable to focus on her golf.

Valdes, who turned pro in mid-May, played one round of the tournament, shot 76, and then decided to withdraw. Fellow Mexican Maria Fassi leads the event after three rounds by three strokes over Kelly Whaley, daughter of Suzy Whaley. Top junior Alexa Pano and Lauren Hartlage are six strokes back.

“The whole experience was very overwhelming for me,” Valdes told Golfweek. “No necessarily in a bad way, but a lot of emotions going through my head, my heart and my mind. I just couldn’t get my head straight for the tournament.”

There’s been quite a bit of swooning at this week’s Travelers Championship about players pulling out after possible COVID-19 exposure, and while their moves were noble, I’d say Ms. Valdes is deserving of an equal amount of praise/empathy/future invite or four.

Hale America 2: USGA Exempts 84 To The 2020 U.S. Open Including Phil Mickelson

Since the U.S. Open will not be “open” for the first time since 1942 when Ben Hogan won, trying to get a field in place without qualifying was no easy task. And for the most part they appeared to a superb job bringing a diverse group of players to Winged Foot this September.

Brentley Romine has the full list of exemptions, including six time runner-up Phil Mickelson thanks to a World Golf Ranking cutoff date of March 15 when Mickelson was ranked 61st.

There were a couple of surprises near the end, pleasant in the case of the Order of Merit winners and top seven ranked amateurs. Surprising but not shockingly so: the top three from the 2020 PGA Professional Chanmpionship scheduled for late July, and of course, that old standby, Special Exemptions.

-Order of Merit winners from the Asian Tour, Sunshine Tour and PGA Tour Australasia as of July 15.

-Top three finishers in the 2020 PGA Professional Championship.

-Top seven ranked players, not otherwise exempt, in the World Amateur Golf Ranking as of Aug. 19, following the U.S. Amateur.

-Special exemptions.

Rory: "Silly" To Suggest PGA Tour Stoppage Due To Positive COVID-19 Tests

Back in March when the Players Championship attempted to play on as other sports shut down, most felt it was Rory McIlroy’s suggestion to “shut it down” if a PGA Tour player tested positive that put the gravity of the pandemic into perspective.

After his opening 63 at the Travelers he praised Commissioner Jay Monahan’s uplifting press conference and suggested calls to stop playing following a few positive tests was silly.

From Christopher Powers at GolfDigest.com:

“I think people … you hear one or two positive tests and people are panicking, and I saw a couple of calls to shut the tournament down, which is silly from my point of view,” McIlroy said. “You know, I thought [Monahan] did a really good job explaining. There’s been almost 3,000 tests administered. The percentage of positive tests is under … it’s a quarter of a percent.

“I think as a whole, it’s been going really well. There’s a couple of loose ends that we needed to tidy up, and I think we’ve done that. So yeah, I feel like the mood and the tone of the event was probably lifted by Jay yesterday.”

Back in March, Powers notes when we knew less about the virus, McIlroy expressed graver concern about COVID-19, which was about 2.5 million cases and 126,000 deaths ago.

The four-time major winner said “we need to shut it down” if a player or caddie tested positive. Of course, March was a much different situation than June. McIlroy’s latest comments would indicate that he believes the tour is handling what continues to be a fluid situation quite well.