Sir Nick: Rickie Comment Probably "Born Out Of A Little Bit Of Jealousy"

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If you were on Twitter the last few days or you read today’s newsletter detailing the saga of Rickie and Sir Nick, you know the six-time major winner took some grief for a roasting.

The dreaded Tweet in question:

Rather impressively he took full ownership of the Tweet and even admitted that some jealousy might be involved given Rickie’s blue chip endorsement roster.

Faldo recorded this apology, his explanation of British humor for those wondering and even managed a plug for Sqairz…

"St. Andrews: The Road War Papers" Wins USGA's Herbert Warren Wind Award

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Well done to Roger McStravick on his second Herbert Warren Wind Award, this time for the incredible bit of research on St Andrews, the Road War and how it shaped both the course and town.

From the USGA:

'St. Andrews: The Road War Papers' Wins Herbert Warren Wind Award

USGA honors author Roger McStravick for second time for outstanding contribution to golf literature  

LIBERTY CORNER, N.J. (March 4, 2021) – The United States Golf Association (USGA) has named “St Andrews: The Road War Papers” by Roger McStravick as the recipient of the 2020 Herbert Warren Wind Award.  

Established in 1987 and named for the famed 20th-century American golf writer, the Herbert Warren Wind Award is presented by the USGA Golf Museum & Library in recognition of outstanding contributions to golf literature through expert research, writing and publishing. 

'It is wonderful to receive the USGA’s Herbert Warren Wind Award for 2020,” said McStravick. “It is the highest honor for any golf writer and I am delighted to be this year’s recipient. Winning in 2015 changed my life. This award has the power to do that, and I am truly grateful to the USGA and the committee. This means the absolute world to me.” 

McStravick’s book takes readers through the “road war” that ensued in 1879 after the St. Andrews town council encouraged residents whose homes faced the Old Course to build a road from Golf Place to Grannie Clark’s Wynd, running over a portion of the ancient links. Local resident John Paterson emerged as a staunch and vocal critic of the plan, fighting in court for the preservation of the historic grounds. The case eventually made its way to the House of Lords.

McStravick gathers, transcribes and analyzes original archival documents from St. Andrews institutions to construct a vivid account of the legal conflict while telling the story of the town’s evolution and development around the Old Course. This research, compiled in the book for the first time, includes court testimony of local residents, including Old Tom Morris and three-time Open champion Jamie Anderson. 

“Roger backs a fascinating and engaging narrative with meticulous research to deliver an unparalleled look at how St. Andrews was shaped into the town we know today,” said Hilary Cronheim, director of the USGA Golf Museum & Library. “The book will serve as an invaluable resource for future researchers on the history of the game as well as any golf fan who wants to learn more about one of golf’s most historic towns.”

McStravick previously received the Herbert Warren Wind Award for his 2015 book, “St Andrews: In the Footsteps of Old Tom Morris,” which also garnered him the Murdoch Medal from the British Golf Collectors Society (BGCS). He is currently the editor of the BGCS magazine Through The Green and is a frequent contributor globally in print and on screen as one of golf’s preeminent historians. McStravick lives in St. Andrews with his wife and two children.

The book can still be purchased here including for U.S. residents.

"At Golf Channel, women say, sexism fuels a ‘boys club’ culture"

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The Washington Post’s Ben Strauss interviewed 16 former and two current Golf Channel employees after former reporter and Golf Central anchor Lisa Cornwell aired her concerns on the No Laying Up podcast. Strauss reports that the women described “sexism, misogyny and harassment they have endured at the network”.

Strauss writes:

Golf Channel has disputed Cornwell’s claims in a response to the EEOC. An NBC spokesman, Greg Hughes, said in an email that the network is “vigorously defending this matter.”

Presented with a list of allegations made by other women, Hughes disputed many of their claims and said “the vast majority” had been investigated and that “appropriate action was taken.” Others, he said, the network was only now hearing of and would investigate “promptly and thoroughly.” The network declined to make any employees available for interviews.

Many of the women spoke anonymously, citing fear of breaking the nondisclosure agreements they signed in exchange for severance when leaving the network and their future job prospects. Hughes said that former employees interested in speaking publicly could contact Golf Channel to be released from confidentiality agreements, but several women said they did not feel comfortable doing that.

“Golf Channel is committed to providing a workplace where all employees are treated equitably and respectfully, and regularly conducts training to support that goal,” Hughes said.

Of note: many of the situations detailed in the piece related to incidents over a decade ago and most of those who had complaints made against them were disciplined or are no longer at the network as a result of their behavior or cost cuts.

The reporting effort by Strauss is impressive. However, many of Cornwell’s accusations leveled in the NLU pod were not addressed even though some relate to the current culture under Comcast/NBC. Perhaps a product of the “EEOC” claim and need for confidentiality until that investigation is complete.

Quadrilateral: Major(s) News And Notes For March 4, 2021

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The Quadrilateral’s weekly news and notes editon goes to all subscribers and while you can read it here, what fun is that when you can have it delivered free in a mobile-friendly edition for safe keeping. Or reading in line at Trader Joes.

You can read more on how The Quad will work as we near the first major, or at the Substack landing page where you can see past editions. I’ve got a few fun Q&A’s lined up for the coming weeks, some looks at Augusta National’s architecture and more as we near the season’s first major.

Also, if you’re enjoying Substack as much as I am, consider downloading their reader beta where you can read all of your favorite Substacks in one spot.

"The moments before and after everything changed for Tiger Woods"

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As word of a “black box” subpoena from investigators surfaced in Tiger Woods’ single car accident, ESPN.com’s Bob Harig and Ramona Shelbourne have pieced together the days before and since in what is the most definitive account should you be up for reliving what could be a career-ending wreck.

Harig notes these questions remain.

According to doctors familiar with the back procedure Woods had, it is normal to be cleared to drive within several weeks of surgery if an individual's pain tolerance allows. Which meant it was up to Woods, and he likes to drive himself. He has almost always shown up for tournament rounds with his caddie Joe LaCava, or Steve Williams before that, or with friend Rob McNamara in the passenger seat. He has even been known to make the four-plus-hour drive from his home in Jupiter to the Players Championship in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, with people recognizing him along I-95 or at a gas station.

Woods had driven himself to Riviera on Saturday and Sunday. He'd driven himself to the set on Monday, filming various outtakes and scenes for Discovery-owned GolfTV. And he was familiar with the area from previous trips.

While locals who live near the crash site initially speculated Woods could have been surprised by the steepness of the grade going north on Hawthorne Boulevard, that does not appear to be the case.

The LA Times’ Meg James and Wendy Lee previous looked into the question of why he was driving at all for what was an extensive two-day shoot by Woods standards.

Skill Debate: On Rangefinders, Green Reading Books And Coincidences

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I wasn’t just inspired by reading Alistair Tait’s pleasurable rant on green reading books or the positive reaction to Jon Rahm’s comments.

Nor was I that taken by the coincidence in the news yesterday, as documented in today’s Quadrilateral for paying friends of the newsletter.

No, I just sense more golf fans have had enough with pros getting too much assistance that dumbs down the game. Whether this shift is an offshoot of the distance debate, the ugly sight of green reading books, or rangefinders at the upcoming PGA Championship, more folks are getting the whole “skill” debate in golf. Or they at least are open to the topic and the possibility that elite golf could be more interesting with less outside assistance.

Check it out here if you’re a subscriber and if not, well, you’ll have to ask around about that coincidence.

PGA Tour Aligns With Amazon Web Services To Build "Data Lake" For Golf History

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In a staggering move that has executives all over golf asking, why didn’t I think of that, the PGA Tour and Amazon Web Services have combined to create the single greatest piece of golf B-speak nonsense.

I’ll leave it to Sean Martin to reveal in this story for PGATour.com because it does involve the most exciting part of this announcement:

AWS will help the TOUR store real-time and historic content that will give fans and media access to content dating back to the 1928 Los Angeles Open. This “data lake” will contain video, audio and images that AWS technology will tag for easy cataloging. This will help the TOUR and its content partners search, review, annotate and package new content and give them instant access to key moments in the TOUR’s history.

Now that sounds fun. Let’s get that lake filled with data!

As for the real reason behind this deal...

In a newly announced partnership that promises to revolutionize how fans consume the game, the PGA TOUR has partnered with AWS as it looks to modernize the way golf content is created and distributed. The AWS partnership comes at the perfect time as the TOUR grows its global media services. A range of AWS services will be utilized in this new media landscape to simplify content delivery, create new digital experiences, and provide enhanced access to archived broadcast footage and highlights.  

“We are excited to utilize AWS media services to further enhance new and existing innovative services for our fans,” said Scott Gutterman, the PGA TOUR’s Senior Vice President, Digital Operations. “Features like Every Shot Live and TOURCast will now be powered by AWS, which will allow for a more streamlined process and overall better product for our fans.”

Translation: we’re going to help them get closer to real-time streaming so we can make live betting happen.

The Tour’s dreams of live betting is quite unattractive in a world where streamers get excited texts from their cable-subscribing friends and must wait ten seconds to find out what happeed.

These latency issues are hugely problematic when other fans (or other interested observers) can beat the linemakers and algorithms who are on a delay. AWS to the rescue for not just golf, but all of sports streaming.

Nice And Steady Ratings: WGC At The Concession Slightly Up

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Showbuzzdaily has last week’s ratings for the 2021 WGC Workday at The Concession (listed as WGC Mexico).

The 1.79 final round rating on NBC was up just a tick from last year’s 1.83 based on audience size specifics. Saturday was up nicely, too. The overall steady numbers do not include streaming data. In sports ratings right now it seems “steady” or even “slightly down” is a positive for the sport.

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"The rich vs the very, very rich: the Wentworth golf club rebellion"

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It’s been a while by Wentworth standards since we’ve heard of drama or another course renovation coming out of the English countryside.

But The Guardian’s long read is devoted to the club’s first world dramas and Chinese owner Yan Bin. Thanks to all who forwarded a fascinating read that’ll make you believe your club or condo board is perfectly sane.

The story author, Samanth Subramanian writes:

The ongoing clash between Yan Bin and his club’s members has witnessed several dramatic phases: threats, lawsuits, duplicity, negotiations, truces, even death. But the tale isn’t just about the preposterousness of the wealthy. Rather, it’s impossible to learn about all this turmoil – in a place called “the Island”, for crying out loud – and not see it as an allegory. With its groves of pine and rhododendrons, its houses named Heatherbrook or Bluebell Wood or Silver Birches, and the gentle hillocks of its club’s fairways, Wentworth Estate holds dear a vision of pastoral Englishness. But since the 1980s, Wentworth has been reshaped – just like England itself – by money: first the wealth of the homegrown 1%, which considered itself immune to the turmoil of change, but which then found itself subject to the whims of the globalised capital held by the 0.001% like Yan Bin. The saga is familiar: a small locality unsettled by the arrival of an outsider. Except that the outsider is a transnational holding corporation, and the locality is Wentworth Estate, a slice of England overtaken by the world.

Oh No Another Florida Swing? European Tour Considers Three Events This May

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Nothing says Europe like three weeks of Florida tournament golf.

But with restrictions on traveling to and from Spain and Portugal, the European Tour’s current post-Masters schedule has issues. And since playing opportunities are all that matters, they’ve turned to their new global strategic alliance partners reports The Telegraph’s James Corrigan.

What a gift. A second Florida swing because one wasn’t enough? Who needs Tenerife, Gran Canaria and the Algarve when you can go to Tallahassee, Gainesville and the Villages?

Corrigan writes:

Not only has the PGA Tour given their sanction to the prospective tournaments, but it is understood they first proposed the idea as they saw their new partners struggling with the schedule due to the ongoing crisis.

Immediately after The Masters at Augusta, the Tour is down to visit Tenerife, Gran Canaria and the Algarve. But with Spain banning visitors from the UK and South Africa and with Portugal on the red list, the “elite athlete” exemption would not apply.

On average, roughly a third of European Tour fields are made up by South African and UK pros, making it doubtful this trio of stops could justifiably go ahead. At the moment, the Tour is undergoing a frustrating four-week blank period of regular events and Keith Pelley, the wily chief executive, has made it his mission to give his membership ample opportunities.

Florida here they come!

Timetable Offered For Resurrection Of West Palm Beach Muni

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Tony Doris reports good news from West Palm Beach where a community trust will restore the shuttered muni. (Thanks to reader John for this.)

PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh is the primary figure helping bring together all sides and donations for the project hoping to start this summer with a fall 2022 reopening planned. The site will return 18 holes designed by Gil Hanse along with a short course, full range and modest clubhouse.

Doris writes:

To date, $22 million has been committed by donors, he said. The founding group is prepared to contribute about $3 million and is looking for like-minded Palm Beach County golfers to join them, he said.

The total of $35 million required to build and sustain the project will include no money from city coffers. It will come from individual donors and a limited number of corporate partners, Waugh said.

The entrance will be off Georgia Avenue, no longer off Forest Hill Boulevard and Parker Avenue. Assistant City Administrator Armando Fana said that Georgia Avenue might require landscaping or other beautification but what form that would take and who would pay has not been decided.

2022 Drive, Chip And Putt Registration Opens, Stellar Set Of Regional Sites Await

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Parents and kids you probably know the drill by now: create an account and sign up for the next Drive, Chip and Putt in 2022.

And because it’s the world we live in, they’ve added Health and Safety Guidelines to read up on. But it’s all worth the opportunity to get to Augusta National or even the regional finals.

Now about the competition: Subregional, Regional and National Finals are again part of the equation.

Once again the USGA, PGA of America and Augusta National Golf Club have secured some amazing venues for the Regional Finals. So even if a trip to Augusta doesn’t happen, just making the Regional final will expose the youngsters to a very special place in the game. And Quail Hollow too.

From the DCP press release:

These regional venues, featuring several USGA and PGA Championship sites, include: Medinah Country Club, Oak Hill Country Club, Colorado Golf Club, Quail Hollow Club, TPC River Highlands, Pebble Beach Golf Links, TPC Scottsdale, Alotian Club, The Bear’s Club and Oakland Hills Country Club.

Saturday, September 11 | Medinah Country Club (Site of four USGA championships, including three U.S. Opens; and host of two PGA Championships and the 2012 Ryder Cup)

Sunday, September 19 | Oak Hill Country Club (Site of six USGA championships, including three U.S. Opens; and host of three PGA Championships, the 1995 Ryder Cup and two KitchenAid Senior PGA Championships. Oak Hill will also host the 2023 PGA Championship)

Sunday, September 19 | Colorado Golf Club (Site of the 2019 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship and 2010 Senior PGA Championship)

Saturday, September 25 | Quail Hollow Club (Site of the 2017 PGA Championship and the host of the 2025 PGA Championship)

Poor Presidents Cup.

Sunday, September 26 | TPC River Highlands (Site of the Travelers Championship)

Sunday, September 26 | Pebble Beach Golf Links (Site of 13 USGA championships, including six U.S. Opens, and the future site of the 2023 U.S. Women’s Open and 2027 U.S. Open; and host of the 1977 PGA Championship)

Sunday, September 26 | TPC Scottsdale (Site of the Waste Management Phoenix Open)

Saturday, October 2 | Alotian Club (Site of the 2013 Western Amateur Championship and 2019 Arnold Palmer Cup)

Sunday, October 3 | The Bear’s Club (Founded December 31, 1999 by Jack and Barbara Nicklaus)

Saturday, October 16 | Oakland Hills Country Club (Site of 11 USGA championships, including six U.S. Opens; and host of three PGA Championships and the 2004 Ryder Cup)

2021 U.S.A Walker Cup Team Set, Matches A Go For May

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The Walker Cup’s May playing at Seminole got the best sign yet it’s full steam ahead with the naming of Team USA.

Brian DePasquale has all of the details and team bios here. No teens and no one over 29. Stewart Hagestad, John Pak and Cole Hammer are holdovers from the American’s winning effort in 2019 at Royal Liverpool.

The release announcing Team USA also provided this update on attendance:

Due to health and safety guidelines, attendance at the Match will be limited. Information on the availability of public tickets will be posted in the spring on walkercup.org.

Television times have not been published yet.

Morikawa Finds His Putting Stroke And Scores Impressive WGC Win

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When reigning PGA Champion Collin Morikawa is putting well, well, he’s tough to beat.

From Ryan Lavner’s GolfChannel.com story at the WGC Workday at The Concession, a late replacement event for the WGC Mexico City.

For the week, Morikawa ranked 10th in the field in putting, gaining nearly four shots on the field – the second-best putting week of his Tour career, behind only the PGA.

“His putting stroke looks unbelievably good,” Horschel said.

So why is this not just another hot streak? Why does he feel confident that these weeks can be the norm, not the exception?

“Now I feel confident I can take the stroke out of play and I can just really focus on speed, I can focus on the line, how do I get that ball to fall in the hole where I want it,” Morikawa said. “That’s what’s really exciting for me.”

Morikawa turned things around thanks to a move to a saw putting grip Mark O’Meara taught him two weeks ago.

Golf.com’s Nick Piastowski with an explanation and the backstory. Oh, and how it’s different than a claw grip.

The saw keeps his putter square. For a right-hander like Morikawa, the left hand grips the putter a bit like it would the other clubs, with the thumb pointing down the shaft. The right hand is the “saw,” which O’Meara described in a 2008 video for Golf Channel as “my top three fingers are on the top of the putter, my pinkie is just on the back edge of the putter and my thumb is around the back side.”

A few notes courtesy of the PGA Tour communications team:

  • Made 27 birdies, most of any player in the field; most birdies in a WGC stroke-play event is 29, by three players (Scott McCarron/2002 Workday Championship/6th, Martin Kaymer/2013 HSBC Champions/T8, Hideki Matsuyama/2016 HSBC Champions/Won,)

  • Led the field in Strokes Gained: Approach The Green (9.544) and Strokes Gained: Tee to Green (12.526

  • Morikawa joins Tiger Woods as the only players to win a major and WGC before turning 25

  • No player has won multiple tournaments through 20 weeks, the longest streak to start a season since 1994 (Nick Price won his second tournament in the 21st week of the season)

  • Scottie Scheffler finishes highest among the five players in the field who competed at the 2015 NCAA Division I Men’s Championship at The Concession Golf Club

  • Seven bogey-free rounds recorded during the week, but none in the final round

Morikawa’s early career is shaping up to be impressive historically:

This also makes it back-to-back weeks for Cal golf, with Max Homa winning last week’s Genesis Invitational.

Tiger Tribute Prompts Utterly Bizarre Backlash

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Tiger owns the color red.

He earned it by winning often and decisively.

No one in their right mind—other than Patrick Reed—dares to wear red and black on a Sunday.

It’s quite charming that his peers have essentially said no to the color out of deference to Tiger’s traditional power color expression inspired by his mom.

In light of this, few golfers travel with or wear red shirts.

So when Woods was seriously injured last Monday in a car wreck it was hardly a shock to learn players were not prepared for an impromptu salute during Sunday’s WGC final round. This somehow did not stop an unusually large number of lunatics from grousing on social media about players not partaking in the homage to Woods.

Last week’s winner, Max Homa, took particular grief for not violating his apparel and logo deals (see Tweets below). This, even though he spoke so beautifully of Tiger’s importance just a week ago when winning the Genesis Invitational hosted by Woods.

Collin Morikawa felt the need to explain why he was not in red and hopefully he’ll avoid the angry mob since his sponsor tried to get him somethign.

From Ryan Lavner at GolfChannel.com:

Tournament winner Collin Morikawa said that he had planned to wear a red shirt on Sunday, but that the shipment from Adidas got stuck in Memphis because of weather issues. His caddie even went to the distribution center to check if it had arrived. When it became clear that the shirts wouldn’t get here before his tee time, Morikawa instead settled for black pants.

“My agent said that even though the shirt wasn’t there, go out and play like Tiger would with the lead,” Morikawa said. “I think I did.”

Either way, the tribute went just fine Sunday supported by those who were able to get a red shirt from Nike even if the pattern screamed, the “red shirt Tiger said no f’ing way to.”

But more vital than any of this nonsense, Tiger saw the tribute from his room at Cedars Sinai and that’s really all that matters.

The PGA Tour put together this nice tribute of Tiger moments interspersed with players who wore red and black Sunday:

Phil Mickelson chose to go with a red shirt and kept his logo’d sweater on above it, explaining that he had to do a little shopping: