'21 RSM Classic Does Not Draw An Audience, LPGA Finale Matches 2019 Numbers

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The 2019 RSM Classic did not draw a rating of any kind, “surged” in 2020 with a barely discernible audience and reverted to anonymous status in 2021, failing to draw a rating for any day. Whether this is concerning to anyone at the Tours or ponying up the cash, I have no idea. But next time someone is moaning about Ray Romano getting too much air time at the Crosby, or just a golf pro who thinks he’s reinvented the game, just remember that IFC’s reruns of Everyone Loves Raymond are trouncing live PGA Tour golf. The show ended production in 2005.

ShowBuzzDaily.com with the 2019-2021 numbers or, lack thereof. Here are the 2020 numbers

The LPGA’s CME Group finale essentially matched its 2019 final round rating on NBC in its traditional time window, drawing a .27/384,000 average viewers this year compared to a .30/395,000 in 2019

Video: Beautiful Look At North Berwick's East Links From Above

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As much as many believe North Berwick’s West Links is easily the course they could play every day and never tire of—put me down and then some—the other links in town deserves more attention than it gets. I’ve written about the North Berwick East Links here—excuse me, aka The Glen—and even highlighted in a McKellar Journal piece how its name as a strange thing holding it back from becoming a staple of visitors to East Lothian.

Anyway, enjoy this drone footage just posted by the pro there, Fraser Malcolm and try to book a round there. I’m hard pressed to name many better 36-hole days in golf. Extra points for walking through down with your clubs!

"Widely different valuations" On Trump National LA Under Scrutiny

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Pete Bevacqua, Paul Levy, Donald Trump and Derek Sprague at Trump National Los Angeles, June 2015 (Geoff Shackelford)

David A. Fahrenthold, Jonathan O'Connell, Josh Dawsey and Shayna Jacobs report that New York state Attorney General Letitia James is considering a lawsuit or convening a grand jury to hold the Trump Organization accountable for wildly different property valuations.

Because Donald Trump was a resident of New York, James is able to investigate the valuation of Trump National Los Angeles, a.k.a. the-better-than-Pebble Beach-because-it’s-on-an-ocean course Trump purchased. And the shaky cliffs of the old Ocean Trails just keep on causing headaches, this time with regard to homesites overlooking the Palos Verdes course.

In 2012, Trump’s “Statement of Financial Condition”— a document that is typically used to demonstrate value to potential lenders — said the course had “52 home sites available for sale,” indicating a potential source of future cash flow.

At the time, however, the club had only received approvals for 36 home sites and six of them had already been sold, according to public records.

In May — after Reuters published an article on the club’s fluctuating valuations — investigators from James’s office contacted the city of Rancho Palos Verdes. They asked for hundreds of thousands of pages of documents, covering the history of the club’s efforts to get home lots approved, according to an email exchange released by the city’s lawyers.

They also wanted reports on the geology under the course — the factor that had limited Trump’s ability to develop it. “We will take any reports you were able to find issued from the year 2000 and forward,” a staffer for James wrote, according to an email that the city’s attorneys provided The Washington Post.

But don’t forget, better than Pebble Beach, which is on a bay, not the Pacific.

Hard Sell Files: Monahan Notifies Players Of Pending Purse Bumps

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In a letter to PGA Tour players, Commissioner Jay Monahan loosened the reins, went to the whip early and rode this announcement way, way too hard.

Call the stewards! Inquiry! No Laying Up summarized and posted the letter to players that screams of greater desperation than you’d expect for such great news:

Race To Dubai Madness: Morikawa Wins, McIlroy Rages And Rips...His Shirt

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Playing in his third non-major/non-WGC of the European Tour season, Collin Morikawa won the DP World Championship along with the thrilling, utterly meaningless-except-to-bank-accounts Race To Dubai.

History was made, however, as he became the first American to win the Race.

Afterwards, Morikawa was emotional in thinking of his late grandfather:

This will count as an “Order of Merit” win for Morikawa, which is even sillier when put in this historical context by David Jones:

Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy fell out of contention after this horrendous break at the 15th and bogies at 16 and 18. He was not in a great place after his round, as James Corrigan recounts in his entertaining Telegraph story.

I’m not sure it was worth trying to rip your shirt off though it did get him out of post-round interviews (no nipple allowed!):

Let’s take a closer took at this really bizarre scene just in case we later found out he rescued a child from an attacking tiger and was too modest to brag:

Rankin Winding Down Her 2022 Schedule, Golf Channel Producer Hutter Stepping Down

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The LPGA will see two huge changes to their broadcast presentation in 2022, with Judy Rankin confirming plans to only do four events in 2022 before retiring. If there were a broadcast wing to the World Golf Hall of Fame she’d re-enter the Hall for her incredible tenure at ABC/ESPN/Golf Channel. While she’s often lauded for breaking gender barriers, golf fans just know her as a steady, smart and reliable broadcasting presence. She’s been ABC/ESPN’s lead on-course reporter and easily transitioned to lead analyst duties when needed, the primary role Rankin played covering the LPGA in recent years.

GolfDigest.com’s Kent Paisley on Rankin confirming the news while accepting the Commissioner’s Award at the Rolex Awards.

"I'm coming to the end of my time," said Rankin, who turns 77 next February. "I'm not going to do a Brett Favre and retire about four times. I am seriously slowing down. I don't know how much their will be after this, at some point I will see you next year."

Rankin received tributes from many of her broadcasting and golf colleagues prior to speaking.

You can see it all starting at the 1:09 mark in this broadcast of the awards.

More surprising was the tribute paid by emcee Tom Abbott to Golf Channel’s LPGA producer Beth Hutter, who he announced was finishing her run with this weekend’s CME Group Tour Championship to spend more time with her family. The Abbott tribute can be viewed at the 9:22 mark.

Hutter received much attention in 2021 as the first woman to lead a major championship production and more recently was the subject of coverage when Golf Channel featured an all-female broadcast team at October’s Shop-Rite event. Multiple stories noted the moment but did not mention any plans to step aside at year’s end to spend more time with family. I’ve asked Golf Channel for comment on what is a shame for viewers, as Hutter got the most out of shrinking resources and brought fresh perspectives to audiences that helped differentiate LPGA coverage.

The USGA highlighted Hutter’s groundbreaking role in this pieced helmed by Bailey Chamblee:

LPGA Up To 34 Events, $90 Million In Prize Money And Plenty Of Time In SoCal

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Doug Ferguson reports on the 2021 LPGA schedule featuring $90 million and surrounding the final playing of the Dinah in Rancho Mirage, four tournaments in greater southern California.

South Korean television network JTBC has become the title sponsor of three tournaments, all of them in California. It takes over for Kia at the March 24-27 tournament at Aviara north of San Diego, and then has back-to-back tournaments in late April in Los Angeles at Palos Verdes Estates and Wilshire Country Club.

The other SoCal stop will be at Saticoy CC in October. The MediHeal moves from Lake Merced to Ventura County for an October 6-9 playing.

Fried Egg Podcast: Talking George Thomas

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As part of his series on the great golf architects, Andy Johnson had me on the Fried Egg podcast to discuss George Thomas, aka The Captain who I wrote a biography of in (gulp) 1996! Hope you enjoy.

The Apple podcast link.

The Google podcast link.

Major(s) News & Notes, November 18, 2021

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The Grand Slam world is never dull for Quadrilateralatians so if you aren’t signed up you’re missing what just dropped in email boxes.

Rory McIlroy reiterated the importance of majors as the PGA Tour focuses on financial incentives. My thoughts on this dichotomy are shared with a very profound solution.

Plus, Inverness and Olympic Club news, Slumbers on model local rules and media, capped off by some Reads.

Today In Strategic Alliance News: Jack To Facillitate The Next Phase Of Gary's Career

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Our deepest sympathies to Josh Sens for having to take out the 8 a.m. Golf news litterings with this “strategic alliance” “news” of 86-year-old Gary Player joining with Jack Nicklaus’s firm for design resource assistance.

Essentially the Nicklaus plan factory will churn out whatever stuff Player is paid slap his name to. Sens writes:

Under the arrangement, Player will enlist the resources of Nicklaus Design to help him launch his reborn Gary Player Design business. (Nicklaus Design is an affiliate of GOLF.com’s parent company, 8AM Golf.) That business has been largely inactive over the past two years, held up by a legal dispute between Player and a company run by one of his sons.

Family.

With that dispute now behind him, Player said he was eager to get back to designing and building courses around the world, and that the relationship with Nicklaus Design would be key as his own design company starts afresh.

“When I get a course to do, it will be great to have Jack’s people be part of the design,” Player said. “They’ve had so much experience with top courses around the world.”

In a statement that accompanied the announcement, Nicklaus said that the arrangement meshed with his own goal of providing “the expertise and resources needed to develop and support the people who will design the courses of the future.”

In this case, Nicklaus added, he and his colleagues were “happy to be in the position to facilitate the next phase of my dear friend Gary’s career.”

Greg Norman's Appointment Hardened Rory's Opinion Against The Disruptor Tours

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So much for The Great White Shirtless Shark convincing Rory McIlroy to take the Saudi’s money, reports the Daily Mail's Derek Lawrenson.

When asked by Sportsmail, the Northern Irishman made it clear in no uncertain terms that his opposition to a proposed Saudi world tour remains unequivocal.

If the Saudis thought that appointing Norman as the face of their new operation would lead to a player exodus from the established tours, they might well be dismayed by McIlroy’s coruscating verdict.

I’d say my view only hardened after the first appointments,’ he responded, referring to Norman. 

‘Then, when other selected individuals also came on board, I’d say that just hardened my opinion even more.’

Can’t these Floridians all just get along?

PGA Tour Fires Studio Host Who Wanted Religion Exemption From Mask Wearing

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Steve DiMeglio reports that the PGA Tour has fired social media host Teryn Gregson after the 32-year-old pregnant mother sought a religious exemption from COVID protocols, including mask wearing in the office for those who are unvaccinated.

Gregson took to Instagram to share her saga and has been retweeting the usual fringe news outlets like BlazeTV and Outkick The Coverage taking up her cause while seeking donations.

“I was in need of religious exemptions from their vaccine protocols of masking and testing,” Gregson said in her post. “They would not accommodate me in such a way that I did not have to violate my religious beliefs.

The story features an extensive rebuttal from the Tour where 94% of employees have been vaccinated and they have greater existential threats to deal with right now than social hosts who feel violated by masking and testing.

“When mandatory in-office work for Northeast Florida employees at our new Global Headquarters and PGA Tour Entertainment building commenced on November 1, the vaccination rate of employees was at 90 percent. Presently, all Tour employees based in Northeast Florida are required to return to the office and follow health and safety protocols.”

In a phone call, Gregson said she is contemplating pursuing legal action against the PGA Tour. She said she has not given much thought about seeking other employment. She added that she has been overwhelmed by an outpouring of messages from people across the U.S., many who said they are dealing with this same issue.

“I don’t know what’s next,” she said. “But I have to figure some stuff out.”

Start by looking for a job where you can go without a mask? Don’t bother with Fox or Newsmax. Good luck!