Houston Open: 2000 Fans A Day At $109 Per Person, Grab And Go Food Included

The Houston Open hosted by the Astros* Foundation will be the second PGA Tour stop to welcome back fans. Capped at 2000 a day, as ESPN.com’s Bob Harig reports here, masks will be required. So will financing.

The Tour and the Houston Open announced Friday that up to 2,000 tickets would be available per day at $79 for the opening round and $109 per day for the remaining three rounds, prices that include food options.

The tour has not allowed spectators at events since returning from a 13-week break due to the coronavirus pandemic in June. The PGA Championship and U.S. Open were played without spectators, and the Masters will also not permit them when it is played next month.

I note the price merely because a round of golf at Memorial, renovated by Tom Doak and Brooks Koepka for the Houston Open, charges $30 on weekdays and $38 on weekends for 18 holes. Now that’s a deal!

Add Rory To The List Of Those Keeping Up "With The Way It's Going"

Distance deniers have long found excuses for why golf’s governing bodies should not do their job by taking some dimples off the ball or reducing driver head sizes for elites. So they’ve blamed everything from agronomic influences to silly assertions about the crossover athletic abilities of modern golfers. But the message is always the same: tweaking the existing equipment rules to ensure courses and skill remain relevant would be unfathomable.

Typically, the contrarians are motivated by pure dollars and (ad) cents. Lately even more casual golfers are invested in the notion of athleticism as a life style that makes them, as average golfers, athletes too. Yikes.

Long ago we were told the equipment rules had drawn a line in the sand and anything more would prompt action. That was May, 2002. Now carry distances are absurd, Bryson DeChambeau has proven that speed and good putting can be everything, and even Rory McIlroy admits to making moves in an effort to maintain relevance.

From his pre-CJ Cup press conference at Shadow Creek, as reported by Rex Hoggard:

McIlroy also addressed the issue of whether the distance craze has reached a tipping point.

“It's the way the game's going,” he said. “I got sent a really good article last weekend, it was in the Wall Street Journal just about every single sport becoming faster, longer, stronger and I don't think golf's any different. I'm just trying to keep up with the way it's going.”

Again, this is his right as a grown man and probably the right way to think about the future of the game barring rules tweaks that discourage Happy Gilmore golf.

But just imagine the kids out there who don’t have power, don’t have a body that will let them add muscle, and who are watching this. What a shame.

View this post on Instagram

🚀 🚀🚀

A post shared by RORY (@rorymcilroy) on Oct 6, 2020 at 10:04am PDT

Augusta National Confirms: Only Patrons Will Be Able To Buy That Coveted "2020" Masters Merch

Unless Jack Nicklaus comes out of retirement and shocks everyone by forcing a playoff with Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Rory McIlroy, I’m pretty sure no one wants 2020-labeled gear. Even from The Masters.

But as reported previously, the club confirmed that those with ticket privileges lost due to the pandemic will still be able buy Masters merchandise online. From Brian Wacker’s GolfDigest.com story:

“Patrons will have the ability to shop,” a club spokesperson said via email, noting that means specifically ticket holders of record.

So those who were fortunate enough to have purchased tickets for the 2020 tournament through Augusta National will still be able to get their hands on this year’s merchandise. More details will be sent to ticket holders via email. There is also a limit of two orders per person, though it’s unclear if there is a limit to the number of items per order.

This will be fascinating as both an e-commerce story and on an eBay sales watch front.

The Match 3 Loses Tiger, Expected To Pick Up Charles Barkley And Steph Curry

With Phil Mickelson the lone professional and Peyton Manning expected to return, it sounds like the pro will take on the amateurs this day-after-Thanksgiving. Charles Barkley and Steph Curry step in to The Match 3, report Anthony Crupi and Scott Soshnick for Sportico.

The event is again expected to be played the day after Thanksgiving. The Match 2, one of the first post-pandemic live sports events, was the most watched golf telecast in cable history.

I don’t believe that will happen this time around. Just saying. Only the boldest predictions can be found here.

2020: Golf In The Context Of Pandemic Era Sports Ratings

Paulsen looks at the declines in 2020 sports ratings and golf enjoys a split decision, with a big win for CBS Sports.

CBS’s “return” events are among the few sports up in the ratings, as was the PGA Championship (though I’d argue a surprising mere 3% given the fantastic finish and west coast prime time slot).

The U.S. Open’s move back to NBC/Golf Channel/Peacock and from Father’s Day to September proved deadly in the ratings department. Although comparable to other declines in the NBA and NHL.

Paulsen does not include NBC’s other playoff events, but they were flat to down.

The updated chart: pic.twitter.com/fJXFanuKOQ

— Sports Media Watch (@paulsen_smw) October 16, 2020

Grayhawk Regains A Year On NCAA Hosting Deal Before La Costa Takes Over

Grayhawk lost the 2020 NCAA men’s and women’s golf championships due to the pandemic. But the coaches committees ratified a new deal that awarded the 2023 NCAA’s to the Scottsdale course and then moves the event to Carlsbad’s La Costa resort.

Adam Woodward at Golfweek with the news and noble effort to get the championships in prime time and where thunderstorms are not a part of daily life, both very good things.

Bryson: Einstein And Newton Were Called Crazy, Too

The U.S. Open champion gave an interview on Sirius/XM and was asked again about last week’s “mockery” comments from Matthew Fitzpatrick. Like Einstein and Newton, Bryson’s approach will be better understood by future generations.

“You Look at Einstein, you look at Newton, you look at all these big-time names in the science field there’s been a lot of people that have been called crazy. Decades later they’re like, wow, that person was actually pretty interesting, he did a lot of amazing things. I’m not saying that’s what I’m going to do but, shoot, I hope so one day. That’d be fun.”

That would be fun.

If the governing bodies cared about this distance stuff and the amazing cascade of events we’ve witnessed this year, they’d be alarmed by other DeChambeau suggestions of “no end game” to the distance pursuit and this on long drivers:

”They’re still 25 mph faster than me. I mean, there’s so much room for improvement, I feel like.”

And with a U.S. Open trophy on his mantel, who is to argue with him?

Thanks to Brendan Porath for flagging this on and posting full remarks:

In an interview with SiriusXM last night, Bryson DeChambeau dropped Einstein, Newton, and “Fast Eddie” as comps and models for what he’s doing. pic.twitter.com/NKo3AYvoxg

— Brendan Porath (@BrendanPorath) October 14, 2020

The European Tour Is In St Andrews This Week! Oh, Right, At The Fairmont

Those thirsting for the original links won’t quite get it at the Fairmont St Andrews, a Sam Torrance design that looks overshaped and, well, isn’t Crail, Elie or the Old Course. But it beats the silliness of Shadow Creek!

Brandon Tucker offers this preview in case you saw St. Andrews on your European Tour listing and got excited. The fall Dunhill Links this is not, but we’ll take something seaside with St Andrews in the title no matter what. Lee Westwood headlines the Scottish Championship Presented by AXA.

View this post on Instagram

Links views 😍 #AXAScottishChamps

A post shared by European Tour (@europeantour) on Oct 14, 2020 at 11:33am PDT

"The Murder of the Par 5" (And Now The Par 4)

Jerry Tarde’s “Last Call” column in the pre-November Masters issue makes a terrific case for what’s been lost with the end of true three-shot holes.

There’s something about the symphony of a par 5 that makes it greater than the sum of its shots. It requires more forward thinking, more self-restraint and sufferance, risk and reward at once. It can be cataclysmic like Sam Snead’s triple-bogey 8 when all he needed was a par on the last hole in the 1939 U.S. Open, or heroic like a 5 on the 18th at Pebble Beach any day of the week.

I was standing on the green of Pine Valley’s behemoth uphill 15th hole, measuring over 600 yards, about 15 years ago, when the second shot of the club’s pro, David Clark, bounded onto the putting surface, stopped and glacially rolled back off the fringe. David is a good player, but not Bryson DeChambeau. I remember thinking, Have I just witnessed the death of par 5s?

He eventually includes Tom Doak’s views on how to roll things back to restore relevancy and you’re feeling really good about the case Tarde’s making.

There used to be a list of what Tom Doak called in 1982 “the untouchables”—par 5s that had never been reached in two. In researching Golf Digest’s ranking of America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses today, we’ve found only one untouchable left—the 675-yard 16th at Olympic’s Lake Course.

**Blogger’s note because the fact checkers are gone: even that 675 tee is gone, only used for the 2012 U.S. Open. Go on…

On all of the PGA Tour last year, ShotLink data shows one par 5 wasn’t reached in two (the 623-yard fourth at Sea Island Resort’s Plantation course)—that’s 0.6 percent of all the par 5s played—and on two-thirds of the par 5s, at least half the field “went for the green.” The longest hole in tournament golf today is TPC Colorado’s 773-yard 13th hole on the Korn Ferry Tour, which even at Denver-area elevation has not been reached. Yet.

In the late 1970s, I remember playing the longest golf course in the United States, The International in Bolton, Mass., which measured over 8,000 yards. I was on Sam Snead’s team in a scramble. He liked to hit last from the fairway, so he could place his ball at the end of his partners’ divot hole and slam a driver off the deck. Pure distance leads to contrivances, not good golf.

Good news right? Tarde and Golf Digest are going to end decades of rewarding longer, more expensive courses that only rich white males can join, and even better, stop cow-towing to companies that stopped advertising years ago?

Eh, baby steps.

My advice would be to change the par, not lengthen the holes and incur all sorts of land, design and maintenance expense. I certainly don’t want to see a universal distance rollback that would shorten my already short drives—every hole over 400 yards seems to be a par 5 for my non-elite game.

I know what you’re thinking, it’s “all about me” is very 2010, as is suggesting changing par-5’s to par-4’s. We distantistas have been hearing that nonsense since the late 90s. Shoot, Hannigan and I had some fierce email exchanges around then about the “just change the par” idea.

But in 2020 here’s the not-so-funny part: we have almost no real par-5’s where risk and reward has meaning for golfers and spectators. And now we are starting to get a lot of par-4s that play as one-shotters. So add par-4’s to the victim list, all in the name of stuff that does not make the game better.

Sigh: JT Looking For More Speed, Too

The world No. 3 revealed pre-CJ Cup in Vegas that he, too, is looking to find more clubhead speed despite already having plenty in his tank. (Thomas has perennially averaged between 116-117 mph.)

Adam Schupak at Golfweek.com on Justin Thomas seeing what Bryson DeChambeau has done with modern technology and dieting.

“I’m not far off. It’s really about messing with some different stuff and different training and explosiveness to be able to pick up something,” he said. “There’s different ways to do it. I mean, the absolute No. 1 thing is I’m continuing to stay injury free and I’m continuing to progress in a good direction in terms of staying healthy and staying fit. But if I can do that while incorporating some more speed, then that’s big.”

Thomas has recovered from a 2019 wrist injury to be one of the game’s elite. While it’s great to read his strength work is centered around injury prevention, it’s hard not to wonder about the injury implications in pursuit of speed.

However it is quite easy to wonder if anyone in St Andrews or Far Hills is concerned by what they are reading.

Brooks Koepka reported good news on the injury front, but only after some serious injections, reports GolfChannel.com’s Ryan Lavner.

Ratings: On Busy Sports Weekend, PGA Tour And KPMG LPGA Get Few Eyeballs

I’m not sure there is much to analyze in the dreadful golf ratings last weekend given the confluence of MLB playoffs, NBA finals, college football and NFL.

Showbuzzdaily.com has the 2020 Shriner’s and KPMG LPGA numbers, with golf easily the lowest on their list of weekly sports ratings.

COVID-19: DJ Tests Positive, Finau Isn't Quite Ready To Return

Dustin Johnson becomes the highest-profile golfer to test positive for COVID-19 after reportedly asking for a follow-up test at the CJ Cup upon feeling virus symptoms.

The world No. 1’s WD from the event at Shadow Creek was announced by the PGA Tour.

From Joel Beall’s GolfDigest.com report:

“Obviously, I am very disappointed,” Johnson said in a statement. “I was really looking forward to competing this week, but will do everything I can to return as quickly as possible. I have already had a few calls with the TOUR’s medical team and appreciate all the support and guidance they have given me.”

Tony Finau, who tested positive for the virus had intimated he was hopeful of a return this week at Shadow Creek, but the world No. 17 withdrew from the event late Tuesday afternoon.

Besides the obvious dangers of the virus and complications caused by a positive test, both players are high up the list of Masters favorites and undoubtedly hope to be well by the November playing.

It's Official: Hoodies Are The New Cargo Shorts

While cargo shorts are no longer the scourge they once were in the eyes of stylistas, they are a staple of certain rallies where cut-off sleeve shirts and bald eagle-adorned golf shirts dominate.

I’ve never fully grasped the offense taken by golf clubs toward cargos. Maybe it’s the overall “working class” vibe that makes Thurston uncomfortable. Perhaps those extra pockets are just too convenient of a place to hide stolen silverware or, gasp, a mobile phone!

The offensiveness of hoodies also confounds as much as the perceived functional benefit of golfing in one. They are the millennial’s quarter-zip. If wearing one makes them more comfortable playing golf, then have at them. Or, apparently not.

After Tyrrell Hatton’s BMW PGA win in an Adidas hoodie, we have evidence of clubs taking a cargo-like stance against this sinister fashion trend. From The Club:

Sunday : One of the world's best golfers won a big tournament wearing a hoodie. Maybe golf will progress and trust people to dress themselves?

Tuesday : pic.twitter.com/5xpMX2qOtE

— The Club (@TheClub) October 13, 2020

GolfDigest.com’s Alex Myers visited the Wearside Golf Club’s website to learn of other fashion restrictions and while they might seem more extreme than most, the hoodies restriction carries and addendum vibe. But at least the H is capitalized and the space before the period confirms the importance of this policy.

So move over cargos, etiquette committees have a new nemesis.

Bryson Begins Masters Tune-Up By Not Playing Again Until Tournament Week

Apparently this whole athlete thing also entails weight, diet and equipment work leading into a major, not exactly a boost to the PGA Tour that loves the jock narrative and who pulled off a miraculous salvation of the lucrative CJ Cup and ZOZO Championships. Irony can be inconvenient.

From Steve DiMeglio’s post-Shriner’s wrap of U.S. Open winner Bryson DeChambeau’s pre-November Masters plans.

“I’m going to be working out like crazy. The first week back home, I’m not really going to touch a club too much and going to be training pretty hard and getting myself up to hopefully around 245, something like that, in weight. Be the first time I’ve ever done that, so I’m going to be consuming a lot and see and working out a lot and see what we can do from there.”

Gotta be ready to go twelve rounds.

Now, as for the whole skill vs. equipment debate, DeChambeau has teed up the governing bodies to take action. At least, in a world of governing bodies that like to govern. That’s because the other focus of DeChambeau’s preparation involves equipment testing.

Nothing unusual there, right?

“The advantages I usually have could be much improved upon with the equipment. We don’t have it yet, but we’re diligently working on it behind the scenes. We’ll prototype and test it and see if it works, if it doesn’t we’ll go back and tool it and hopefully have it ready for Augusta.”

Meanwhile Rory McIlroy is testing shafts to catch Bryson, at least based on photos and his postings about the speed chase, reports Jonathan Wall.

Yes, of course, players have changed clubs to suit Augusta National and even carried two drivers. But when a player shuts it down to weight train and equipment test to improve their advantage, might that be a sign things have tipped too far?

So Soon! Live Odds Coming To This Week's CJ Cup Telecast

Whether you are pro-betting or not, the prospect of live odds integration into telecasts should provide stellar entertainment. After all, announcers today are dancing around criticism of much of anything, so it should make for spectacular listening as they dance around the live odds.

“Rossi, did you see Collin Morikawa just move to 10-1 on that birdie? Mighty attractive price with just 31 holes to go and only six players in front of him, all imminently beatable, right?”

“Yes Jim, I’m opening up my BETMGM app as we speak to put down a hundon, AND jump on his head-to-head with Pat Reed who had a terribly long call with his wife on the range. That’s value you just can’t get at the dog track. At least, so I hear.”

Should be fun. And better than hearing about FedExCup projections.

For Immediate Release:

PGA TOUR integrates BetMGM odds into upcoming telecast

BetMGM odds to air during all four rounds of THE CJ CUP @ SHADOW CREEK

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA – The PGA TOUR announced today that BetMGM will provide betting odds for all four rounds of THE CJ CUP @ SHADOW CREEK in Las Vegas, October 15-18 on Golf Channel. This will mark the first time that a PGA TOUR telecast will feature live odds.

“We are excited to build upon our recently announced Official Betting Operator relationship with BetMGM by activating this partnership at THE CJ CUP @ SHADOW CREEK,” said Norb Gambuzza, PGA TOUR Senior Vice President, Media and Gaming. “The focus of our sports betting partnerships is to engage fans in new and creative ways. As an element of that strategy, we began integrating live odds onto TOUR digital platforms in August and now we look forward to learning from this first-time test in a live telecast.”

The BetMGM telecast executions will occur twice per hour, featuring leaderboards with integrated “open” and “current” odds to win, along with odds for head-to-head matchups, top finishes, winning margin, wire-to-wire winner, hole-in-ones and playoffs.

Matt Prevost, BetMGM Chief Marketing Officer said, “The PGA TOUR has been a great partner for BetMGM. Being the first sports betting platform to integrate betting odds into a live PGA TOUR telecast speaks to the innovative nature of our partnership. We look forward to continuing to move the needle and work closely with the TOUR to produce great content.”  

In August, BetMGM signed a multi-year content and marketing relationship to become an Official Betting Operator (OBO) of the PGA TOUR. The PGA TOUR is one of the most popular offerings on BetMGM, with TOUR events consistently ranking at the top of all professional sports wagers. The BetMGM platform offers multiple betting formats, from moneyline and point spread bets to parlays and futures. BetMGM is currently licensed for sports betting in seven states including Colorado, Indiana, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, Nevada and West Virginia, and has plans to be in 11 states by the end of 2020.

Following the Supreme Court’s repeal of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act in 2018, the TOUR instituted an integrity program in collaboration with Genius Sports to protect its competitions from betting-related corruption. Later that year, the TOUR announced a global partnership with IMG ARENA to license its official, live scoring data to betting operators all over the world.

The PGA TOUR is a Platinum Member of the National Council on Problem Gambling, committed to industry-leading responsible gaming practices.

PGA TOUR LIVE, the TOUR’s OTT streaming platform, integrated live betting odds during the opening two rounds of the Wyndham Championship on August 13-14.