Matsuyama Tests Positive For COVID-19, Open Championship Eligibility Unclear

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While Jon Rahm was able to take a private flight home to isolate and return after two negative COVID tests, the upcoming status of Hideki Matsuyama is unclear based on limited information.

The Masters Champion’s mid-Rocket Mortgage Classic WD came after testing positive is the fifth since testing began. A PGA Tour statement did not suggest he was part of a contact tracing watch or if he was tested due to possible symptoms. He may have simply chosen not to be vaccinated and was infected during travels.

But as Adam Schupak notes for Golfweek, the rules are much tougher in the UK and the Open Championship looms in 12 days.

But will that be soon enough to play in the British Open, which is scheduled to begin in less than two weeks at Royal St George’s in England. The R&A recently informed contestants of its stiff requirements. It’s unclear whether the 29-year-old Japanese star will be required to self-quarantine in England upon his arrival, given his recent case of COVID. Based on the information at hand, it would appear Matsuyama’s ability to compete in the final major of 2021 potentially is in doubt.

Round one playing partner Phil Mickelson was asked about the news following his round.

I'm certainly concerned because although I've made every effort to not be around people, even playing partners even though they were tested because you just don't know. With the British Open, I think it's a concern on whether Hideki-san is able to play the British Open. Hopefully, he can. We're at the point now where if you were to come down with COVID, like you can't go to the U.K. and play. That's why we're all being so careful. I've been vaccinated, but still, people who have been vaccinated still get it. We're doing--myself, my brother, Andrew Getz and the people we're with are trying to stay as isolated and as careful as we can.

And…

It's certainly unsettling to know that I spent the entire day that close, but also as I look back, I know that I kept my distance from everybody and tried to stay six feet and tried--so I think we're all being as responsible as we can. And I'm very sorry that that happened to him and I hope he's able to play the British, and I also hope that Rickie and his caddie Joey and myself and my brother, that we're okay, too.

When A Player-Caddie Breakup Spoils Your Brand Rollout, Rocket Mortgage Edition

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Not that the brand wizards at Rocket Mortgage could have anticipated a player-caddie breakup, but running the new golf-focused ad post-DeChambeau/Tucker divorce is going to make for a very long weekend.

DeChambeau missed the cut and declined to speak to media after his first and second rounds. He did post this to Instagram, however:

The Rocket commercial on the very likelihood you were doing something other than watching early round coverage:

If it were me—and I’m no brand expert—I’d beam over some Tracey Morgan spots pronto to make the weekend viewing a little less awkward.

Craigslist Ad Briefly Appears Looking For Detroit-Area Caddie

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This one has already been taken down, but thanks to savvy reader Isiah T. for screen-grabbing this Craigslist ad while searching for some work.

At first glimpse, it sounds like Bryson DeChambeau’s open caddie position was briefly advertised on Detroit Craigslist? However, I’m suspicious it might be a fake. I know, I know.

But Bryson’s not GoMacroBar guy. Or the Craigslist type. More of a ZipRecruiter chap if I had to guess.

Plus, he managed to get a fill-in for his Rocket Mortgage Classic-opening 72.

Bryson Splits With Caddie And Brooks Celebrates By Announcing Caddie Ricky Elliott Appreciation Day

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Brooks Koepka made a huge passing PIP move by taking news of Bryson DeChambeau splitting with his caddie and piling up the Meltwaters with upbeat social media!

Koepka’s positive news first because I really don’t like the world of manspatting.

But you have to be impressed by 49K likes on a Tweet. That’s some serious PIP pointage. There is also the enjoyment Koepka inevitably enjoyed hitting send on this. Because he loves his Ricky!

And many thousands of likes on the Gram, too!

As for DeChambeau, he lost the services of caddie Tim Tucker at some point Wednesday night or Thursday morning. The bagman for all of Bryson’s wins decided he’d had enough and No Laying Up had the news first.

From Golfweek’s Adam Schupak at the Rocket Mortgage Classic where DeChambeau is defending champion:

“I love the kid,” Tucker texted Golfweek. “Hardest worker I have ever seen. Proud to have been his caddie. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him win Rocket Mortgage. He is hitting it great.”

Tucker caddied for DeChambeau in the practice rounds this week, including Wednesday’s pro-am. Tucker has been on the bag for DeChambeau for all of his eight PGA Tour victories, including the 2020 U.S. Open. DeChambeau went through a slew of caddies early in his career, including a previous break with Tucker, before making him his steady bagman in 2018.

DeChambeau’s agent told various outlets that it was a mutual agreement, separate ways thing.

No PIP points for that kind of dreary news!

**Sam Harrop was inspired by the latest Brookson exchange to re-imagine The Scientist by Coldplay.

"Phil Mickelson, upset over report, Tweets he won't return to Rocket Mortgage Classic"

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Phil Mickelson won’t be returning to the Rocket Mortgage Classic over a Detroit News story about gambling with the help of goombahs in 2007.

Carlos Monarrez with more Mickelson explanation for why he’s holding a local news story against Detroit and Rocket Mortgage.

Mickelson, the reigning PGA champion, was highly critical of the article in the Detroit News. He said he did not feel appreciated for arranging his busy tournament schedule in order to play in Detroit, which marked his first tournament in Michigan since the 2008 PGA Championship at Oakland Hills.

“It was so much effort for me to be here and to have that type of unnecessary attack,” he said. “Not like I care. It happened liked twentysomething years ago. But it’s just the lack of appreciation. Yeah, I don’t see that happening. I don’t see me coming back. Not that I don’t love the people here. They have been great. But not with that type of thing happening.”

I’d like to say it’s somewhat amazing Phil is linking a local newspaper story with the good folks putting on a golf tournament. The laddie doth protest too much, methinks.

USGA: Chief Commercial Officer Out On Day One Of The Mike Whan Era

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Mike Whan suggested he’ll have a better feel for the USGA after 100 days on the job.

So it’s not saying much for Navin Singh that his time as Chief Commercial Officer ended before the new CEO knew where to find the Coke machine.

Golfweek staff penned the news first:

The USGA also confirmed to Golfweek that Chief Commercial Officer Navin Singh has left the organization to pursue other professional opportunities. Singh was responsible for creating, directing and implementing the USGA’s commercial strategy, which included the broadcast production of USGA championships as well as the organization’s digital media rights portfolio and its digital media products.

Singh joined the USGA in 2016.

Given Singh’s willingness to leverage the USGA’s business with Golfweek Custom Publishing to complain about stories he didn’t like (including some of mine), it was probably wise no one at Golfweek put a name on this story should Singh pop up in another golf job. And given the propensity of golf organizations to go to the been-there-done-that “talent” well, he’ll probably land somewhere. With a raise.

But as I’ve written in recent Quadrilaterals here and here, the U.S. Open’s over-commercialization grew embarrassing in recent years. Under Singh’s watch we got Lexus courtesy cars in play and dreadful digital media products like this year’s U.S. Open apps. And with the move back to NBC and Golf Channel (where Singh worked), the USGA got railroaded into being part of Peacock rollout to the inconvenience of viewers, all while flooding the broadcasts with USGA partner messaging. Other than that…

Quadrilateral: Major(s) News And Notes, July 1, 2021

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I just figure we’ll have all of August and September to dive deep into the Ryder Cup, so if you really want to see if Patrick Reed will make the team on points, Google is your friend this week.

An Open at Sandwich looms and zany things happen there, as The Quadrilateral will be reviewing in coming editions for the great humanitarians who’ve signed up to pay. But the weekly news and notes are for all to enjoy, and for the July 1 edition I praise players for not barking more about the UK government’s mixed signals, John Deere's Open exemption getting restored, tips on traveling to Sandwich by rail, news on 2022 U.S. Open tickets and Oakland Hills wanting back in the major rota, but where?

More on The Quadrilateral here and subscription info here.

Phil Concerned For Detroit Tourism After Press Report On 2007 Wager

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The Detroit News’s Robert Snell reported on a previously undisclosed trial transcript revealing how a Grosse Point Park mob-connected bookie was unable to pay Phil Mickelson and friends their winnings.

The 2007 trial centered around “Dandy” Don DeSeranno and $500k in winnings he could not come up with. Get ready for the Goombah Classic:

According to the trial transcript, DeSeranno was questioned about Mickelson after receiving immunity from federal prosecutors and testified as a government witness in the 2007 racketeering trial of Jack Giacalone, a reputed organized crime leader in Metro Detroit. Giacalone's dad was the late, admitted mob captain Vito "Billy Jack" Giacalone, a suspect in the unsolved disappearance of Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa. And his uncle, the late mob captain Anthony "Tony Jack" Giacalone, was supposed to meet Hoffa the day the labor leader disappeared in 1975.

Mickelson did not know about DeSeranno’s background while placing sports bets with the bookie, the golfer’s lawyer, Glenn Cohen, told The News on Tuesday.

Mickelson’s attorney spoke at greater length to ESPN.com’s Bob Harig and admitted that his client does not deny the activity which sounds, well, illegal. Cohen was more concerned with the timing of the story:

"He didn't say anything [in the story] that wasn't true; I'm not complaining about that,'' Glenn Cohen, Mickelson's attorney, said in an interview with ESPN. "But why? Why are you going to embarrass Phil Mickelson when he's there to support your tournament and the charities it supports and the [PGA] Tour? Rocket Mortgage is a Detroit-based company. Phil has never played there before.

"I'm disappointed they would curiously pick this week to write an article about a bet that was made over 20 years ago and a jury trial that took place in 2007, where the guy who was convicted is dead and where the only purpose for this article is to embarrass Phil Mickelson.''

Mickelson replied to a frustrated fan on Twitter and is thinking of the greater good, or at least, greater Detroit tourism in light of “Rob” and his report.

It’s not clear how the Free-Press report might prevent people from coming to Detroit and helping any way they can. Unless it’s the news of one less bookmaker available to take half-million dollar wagers?

Quadrilateral: The Drive To Produce Major Content

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With The Open Championship joining the other majors in adding yet more “content” online to draw in new fans, I took the opportunity to look at these efforts as Netflix’s Drive To Survive show boosts F1.

Plus a quick roundup and links to The Open Final Qualifying results.

This one’s for all but if you like what you see, signing up is free.

Here is the R&A’s produced piece on Sam Forgan, who made it through qualifying to reach Royal St George’s.

Olympic Women's Golf Field Set With Few High Profile Defections

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The Kordas will represent Team USA in Tokyo along with Lexi Thompson and Danielle Kang

The Kordas will represent Team USA in Tokyo along with Lexi Thompson and Danielle Kang

Once again the world’s best women are more on board with Olympic golf, though seeing both the U.S. and South Korea getting four players in does make me wonder what might have been if the field was a stroke play/team match play format like the NCAA golf.

The host country will be represented by Nasa Hataoka and Mone Inami.

Beth Ann Nichols with the notes and the photo gallery of the entire field.

England’s Georgia Hall and Charley Hull were the highest profile players to pass. Hull’s explanation on Instagram:

Shadow Creek Primed To Be The First $1000 Green Fee Course

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GolfDigest.com’s Stephen Hennessey with the gory details of Shadow Creek becoming the first $1000 green fee course, though it also requires staying at an MGM property so the price is actually higher.

Good news, it’s only $750 during off-peak months.

Meanwhile Pebble Beach is still below $600, but also requires a Lodge or Spanish Bay stay.

Whan On The Way Out: "We write a check six times a year to be on network TV."

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Al Lunsford of Links chatted with Mike Whan on his way out of the LPGA Commissionership and into the USGA CEO job, where he says his immediate priority is to learn the rules and ask questions.

But his response to a question about the biggest obstacle to LPGA Tour popularity is a good reminder about what his successor faces:

I’ve always struggled with, “You just don’t deliver the viewership of the others.” Well, they’re paid to be on network TV 35 weeks a year; we write a check six times a year to be on network TV. If you asked me to run a 100-yard dash but I have to start 170 yards back, I don’t expect to win many races. We’ve closed the gap—virtually 12 years of viewership increases in the U.S. and around the world—but we’ve still never been given an equal playing field. It’s hard to engage with athletes you don’t see very much.

His comment about the LPGA having to pay to get on networks has been made before, but it’s still fascinating to hear given the recent gender equity talk.

Also noteworthy: Whan essentially says being on the Golf Channel means the tour is not seen very much. Psst…Mike, they host all of your new job’s events. Be nice!

2021 Travelers Ratings Hit 19-Year High, Audience Peaks At 6.6 Million

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Paulsen reports at Sports Media Watch on huge numbers for the Travelers, won by Harris English in a dramatic 8-hole playoff over Kramer Hickok that ran nearly two hours past CBS’s allotted window.

The final round averaged 3.97 million and peaked within 2 million of the recent U.S. Open’s highest audience number.

The telecast, which peaked with 6.66 million viewers from 8 PM ET to the conclusion, delivered the sixth-largest golf audience of the year and the third-largest with majors excluded. Only the final rounds of the Players (4.59M) and at Pebble Beach (4.19M) rank higher outside of the majors.

With the (suspicious) demise of ShowBuzzDaily.com, I don’t have access to the KPMG LPGA Championship final round rating. But Nelly Korda’s first major win ran concurrent to the Travelers in yet another reminder of golf’s scheduling issues.

Old Tom At 200 (And Almost Two Weeks): A Great Read, The Scottish Golf Podcast And Other Coverage

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2021 was supposed to celebrate Old Tom Morris’s 200th birthday and then get followed by an Open in St Andrews. Well, it didn’t work out that way but he did turn 200 and there were some enjoyable efforts to commemorate the great man. Then he had the audacity to be born the week of the U.S. Open!

So belatedly because some of us were distracted by a major, some of the Old Tom coverage that caught my eye.

At TheOpen.com, they posted a wonderful collaboration by author Roger McStravick, the British Golf Museum’s Hannah Fleming, and with bits from The Colossus of Golf by David Malcolm and Peter E. Crabtree, TheOpen.com featured a fantastic long-but-not-excessively so read of Old Tom Morris’ life and legacy. Just a sampling from his role in The Open:

Indeed, Morris and Park helped grow The Open in stature from what was initially a slight inconvenience to some members in 1860, to already by 1867 becoming a fixture in not only the Scottish sporting calendar, but in the English calendar too, where the event was covered heavily in the gambling press.

“There were eight players in The 1st Open,” Roger McStravick said. “They were squeezed in between other members in their meeting, and they were quite annoyed about this band of rabble. These lower than low squeezing in among the gentleman golfers, it was such an inconvenience. The players didn’t take practice swings, they just got onto the first tee and got away, anybody who took a practice swing was just posing. So they just got away with a minimum of fuss.”

Prestwick unveiled a new plaque in his honor:

I spoke to the Scottish Golf Podcast’s Ru Macdonald about the great Prestwick and it’s role in Old Tom’s life and the newfound appreciation for the links.

More Tweets and fun stuff…

PGA Tour Ending COVID-19 On-Site Testing In July, Vaccination Rate Unknown

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GolfDigest.com’s Tod Leonard reports that players have been notified of the full scale COVID-19 testing coming to an end at the 3M Championship this July. No player has been known to test positive since Jon Rahm’s high-profile case at the Memorial, one of around 35 detected or reported after players revealed to have experienced the virus (but not testing positive under the Tour program).

Leonard says there will still be testing available to those who experience symptoms and daily health surveys but could not get a vaccination rate out of the Tour.

I reported earlier this month that the LPGA was at 60% full vaccination of players, caddies and staff as of early this month and no positive cases since March.

According to Leonard, the unvaccinated will have to undergo contact tracing if they test positive.

Though unvaccinated people don’t have to undergo testing, according to the memo, there are distinctions made. Vaccinated individuals will not have to undergo contact tracing should they be around someone who has COVID-19, while those who haven’t been vaccinated must notify the tour and follow contact tracing protocols.

The memo says that those who have been vaccinated “should” upload a copy of their vaccination record to their Healthy Roster account, but the tour will require proof of vaccination should the player be involved in a contact tracing situation, a tour spokesperson said.

The story also notes this:

Since testing began, more than 25 tour players have tested positive for COVID-19, including some of the game’s most high-profile athletes: Jon Rahm, Dustin Johnson, Tony Finau, Adam Scott, Gary Woodland and Padraig Harrington. No PGA Tour player has reported serious illness or hospitalization due to the coronavirus.

It was Golf Digest’s Undercover Caddie that suggested there have been players hit harder than reported:

A few of the guys who did test positive got really sick, more than fans have been led to believe, and that certainly got our attention.

Given that the LPGA Tour has a better track record on positive cases this year despite a more worldly schedule and far less private jet travel, they were able to report vaccination rates without violating anyone’s privacy. In light of that, the Tour’s program seems like it should be able to end on a brighter note of at least some disclosure and assurance that it’s in line with vaccination rates seen in general society.