ANWA Set To Go, Rankin Saying Goodbye To Majors And Tiger's Day Trip
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Plus there’s the Tiger news and a promising weather forecast for next week’s tournament days.
Hot off the Quadrilateral presses. Read all about it and sign up!
When you come to think of it that is the secret of most of the great holes all over the world. They all have some kind of a twist. C.B. MACDONALD
Ten Years Later, Bubba's Shot Still Resonates Like Few Others
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We talk so often about the continued sight of Masters patrons gravitating to the spot where Bubba Watson's rope-hook wedge sealed the 2012 Masters.
And so I decided to break down the shot, incorporate terrific insights from Watson’s new book with Don Yeager, and filed this lengthy Quadrilateral item that finishes with links to YouTube options.
R&A's Celebration Of Light Kicks Off Countdown To The 150th Open
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The Open/Twitter
The state-of-the-art production was narrated by actor and lifelong golf fan Gerard Butler. It charted the remarkable journey of golf since The Open began in 1860, celebrating renowned Champion Golfers and unforgettable performances from many of the sport’s greatest names.
Some Tweets and the full show on YouTube…
Auction: The Tiger Slam Irons Can Be Yours
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But you better be ready to fork over eight figures given the starting bid of $25,000 already has things nearing $600k with two weeks to go.
It’s quite a story:
In the 12 years since they first surfaced in the collector market in our 2010 auction, the Tiger Slam irons have been displayed privately in a Houston office complex - appreciated only by the occasional visitor with a passing interest in golf. Over the past several years, we have repeatedly pleaded with Brock to let us showcase them to the world. Yes, the collector market has matured a lot since the dark days of 2010. But it was never about the money, even though these clubs will likely reset the record books. Instead, it was about timing. When was the collector market finally ready to appreciate the value of the very best golf collectibles, and ready to appropriately appreciate Tiger Woods and his position in history.
After winning the 2001 Masters Tournament, Tiger held all 4 Major Championship titles at the same time - what we now call the Tiger Slam. 7 weeks later, at the Buick Classic at Westchester Country Club in New York, Titleist Director of Player Promotions Rick Nelson and Titleist VP of Player Promotions Steve Mata delivered to Tiger Woods the new set of irons and wedges that Titleist made for him. Tiger decided to put the new clubs into play that week, so Nelson brought Tiger's old clubs to the Titleist Tour Van to verify the specs of the new clubs would match his current gamers. Tiger then put those new clubs into play for the first time during the Wednesday Pro-Am that week. And the old clubs? The ones just used to complete the greatest feat on a golf course since Bobby Jones' Grand Slam in 1930? Tiger gave the clubs to Nelson and Mata, and Mata brought them home with him. It was widely known at Titleist, within Tiger's camp, and within the industry that Mata owned the Tiger Slam irons before he infamously put them up for auction in 2010.
PGA Tour Has Not Responded To PGL's Substantial Offer Letter
/We learned from the Fire Pit Collective that Rory McIlroy brought the Premier Golf League’s latest concept to the PGA Tour Policy Board, including substantial free money for players.
There was no direct response to PGL other than through player-director Kevin Kisner, who told the Fire Pit Collective that an independent company studied the proposal and “the results were presented to us: not feasible.’’
The PGL outlined its plan in a Feb. 14 letter to the PGA Tour Policy Board that was shared with numerous players. According to the plan, it would generate significant equity value for all voting PGA Tour members, as well as those on the DP World Tour and Korn Ferry Tour.
Applications Now Accepted For The Liv Golf Invitational In London
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Application invitations have been sent to prospective Liv Golf Invitational contestants for the initial stop in London. As tends to happen with email, the link and password has been forwarded around and found its way to an inbox of mine.
Unless you meet the criteria, you cannot apply. But in the interest of making sure all worthy candidates have their fair shot at the $25 million purse, I’ll share the criteria below with carefully crafted insights in between. (Note the nice double dollar sign choice for the password.)
LIV GOLF INVITATIONAL LONDON
WHEN: 3-day, 54-hole tournament taking place June 9-11, Thursday through Saturday. This ensures anyone competing in the U.S. Open the following week has the ability to travel back to the States on Sunday.
No chartered jet to Logan?
WHERE: Centurion Club, 35 minutes north of Central London
FIELD: 48 players across 12 teams (4 players per team)
PRIZE PURSE: $25MM Prize Purse with $20MM distributed based on individual performance (1st $4MM - 48th $120K) and $5MM distributed across the top 3 teams and paid out evenly to each team member (1st $3MM, 2nd $1.5MM, 3rd $500K)
THE DRAFT: A draft will take place on Tuesday, June 7 to roster the 12 teams, with LIV appointed Team Captains selecting their 3 open team positions in snake draft format
LIV appointed Team Captains should be fun.
Greg, I have Gary Player on line one, should I send him to voice mail?
HELL NO! Put him through pronto!
PRO-AM: The pro-am will take place on Wednesday, June 8th
For that much money maybe players can buy pro-am spots and just choose to play a practice round?
COMMITTMENT: Participating in LIV Golf Invitational London does not require you to play in future events
This registration is only for our London event. As players have the option to enter and compete in one or all of our events, we will be sending out separate invitations to request an invite for each of our events in the coming months.
Entries for this event close at 11:59PM EDT Tuesday, May 10th. Invitations will be on a rolling basis with written notifications to the final field commencing Monday, May 23rd.
Taking it right to the bitter end.
LIV GOLF INVITATIONALS 2022 - EXEMPTION CRITERIA:
1) Asian Tour Players(3):
a) Leading 2 players from within the top-20 of the final 2021 Asian Tour Order of Merit Standings
b) Leading 1 player from within the top-10 of the Asian Tour Order of Merit at close of Entries
For now.
2) DP World Tour Players (3):
a) Leading 2 players from within the top-20 of the final 2021 European Tour Race to Dubai Standings
b) Leading 1 player from within the top-10 of the DP World Tour Rankings at close of Entries
Nice recognition of the branding transition.
3) PGA Tour Players (3):
a) Leading 2 players from within the top-30 of the final 2021 PGA Tour FedEx Cup Standings
b) Leading 1 player from within the top-10 of the PGA Tour FedEx Cup standings at close of Entries
Someone finally pays proper respect to the FedExCup!
4) Leading 2 players from within the top 15 of the final 2021/2022 standings of each of the PGA Tour of Australasia, Sunshine Tour and Japan Golf Tour (6)
Two spots each. Generous!
5) Leading 3 players from the Asian Tour International Series rankings at close of entries (3)
You go Asian Tour!
6) The two leading players from the International Series London not otherwise exempt (2)
But wasn’t that event replaced by the Liv London? I can’t keep up.
7) Leading 22 players from the OWGR at close of entries (22)
Whoa, but no minimum on the number. Bold.
8) Balance of field to be made up at the discretion of LIV Golf Commissioner and Championship Committee
Ah now we’re getting somewhere. Will Greg Norman go all Dick Cheney and decide he’s the best candidate to fill out the field?
2022 Masters App Is Live And Ready To Be Updated
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It’s back only sporting minor updates in the form of a new interactive Featured Group feed. Also, the Masters Radio is listed and may have been last year, too (if anyone recalls let me know). This would mean it’s not exclusive to SiriusXM and that you can get that broadcast via phone while driving or sitting on the beach.
Here is the link to update or download the 2022 edition.
The Masters also dropped this teaser video featuring a lot of former champions but Phil Mickelson and Angel Cabrera:
DeChambeau Says Hand Injury Happened Playing Table Tennis In Saudi Arabia
/And maybe some speed training.
DeChambeau said he injured his hand playing table tennis at the Saudi International, but the ailment had been hurting him for some time.
“People are going to say it’s off of speed training and all that and, sure, some of the things have been a part of that, just abuse and working really, really hard,” he said. “But at the same time, I wouldn’t have traded it for anything. I’ve learned so much about my body as time has gone on and learned how to manage things and how important rest is.”
DeChambeau, said he may eventually need to have surgery on his injured hand.
What’s the old saying? Nothing good happens in Saudi Arabia?
Monahan: "The system is working"
/The New York Times’ Bill Pennington looked at the youth movement on the PGA Tour and other than suggesting ratings are soaring (they’re definitely not), it’s an interesting read.
But this quote from Commissioner Jay Monahan about the emergence of all under-30-year-olds’s in the world top ten struck me as, well, odd.
“It’s a reflection of the system at work,” said Jay Monahan, the PGA Tour commissioner. “The athleticism, the youth, the preparedness, the system is working. You can talk about the top five, but you can extend it past the top five and into the top 30.”
We could also be in a transition period similar to the mid 90s where some top players finally hit a wall, grew older and a new guard stepped in. The system? I guess. But I get we have to go to the whip and play up the athleticism card for the ad agencies.
The Fried Egg Podcast: Is An Equipment Rollback On The Horizon?
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Andy Johnson and yours truly chatted about an array of topics, with a focus on the distance rollout and the repercussions for players and course design.
Hope you enjoy!
2022 Valspar Ratings Stink; The Players Lowest In At Least 20 Years
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We should draw a line through ratings for the rain-delayed, Gold Man-infused 2022 Players. But it’s still notable that live action during the weekend windows drew such putrid ratings for NBC.
Paulsen at SportsMediaWatch.com writes:
Monday’s rain-delayed final round of The Players Championship averaged 1.35 million viewers on Golf Channel, with the conclusion of the third round putting up 302,000 earlier in the day. Weekend coverage on NBC averaged a 1.6 and 2.56 million last Saturday and a 1.8 and 2.91 million last Sunday, the latter the tournament’s smallest Sunday audience in at least 20 years.
Some of this has to be the rain-delay forcing second and third round coverage into the NBC windows Saturday and Sunday. But the network’s inability to market “the product” like they could just a few years ago should be a concern down at the Global Home.
Last weekend’s 2022 Valspar was won for the second year in-a-row by Sam Burns and rated ever-so-slightly better than the Honda Classic in the same slot last year.
But both were hammered by the NCAA tournament but the Valspar at least drew a strong field. The ratings affirm that golf can’t compete with a surging NCAA Tournament and continuing a rough start to the PGA Tour’s 2022 Nielsen numbers. Going against Saturday’s 5.18 rating for Michigan-Tennessee and Sunday’s 6.19 for Duke-Michigan State, the Valspar was not able to crack a 1 on Saturday and drew a 1.49 Sunday.
The Honda Classic in the same post-Players/NCAA first weekend slot as the ‘22 Valspar:
Oakland Hills Adds 2034, 2051 U.S. Open's And Four More Amateur Championships
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The USGA staved off, well, no one by securing Oakland Hills for future majors and top amateur events. The latest announcement adds to previously announced U.S. Women’s Opens for the fabled South Course.
For Immediate Release for championships not immediately happening:
LIBERTY CORNER, N.J. (March 22, 2022) – Historic Oakland Hills Country Club, in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., has been selected as the host site for the 2034 and 2051 U.S. Open Championships as well as four additional prestigious USGA amateur championships, starting in 2024.
“We could not be happier to bring six additional championships to such an iconic venue as Oakland Hills,” said John Bodenhamer, USGA chief championships officer. “Since its first U.S. Open in 1924, Oakland Hills has provided a supreme test for the game’s very best, and it will continue to do so for professionals and amateurs alike in the coming years.”
Adding to the two U.S. Opens and the two U.S. Women’s Opens in 2031 and 2042 announced in January, Oakland Hills’ South Course will host the 2024 U.S. Junior Amateur, 2029 U.S. Women’s Amateur, 2038 U.S. Girls’ Junior and 2047 U.S. Amateur. The club is set to host a total of eight USGA championships between 2024 and 2051. It will become the fifth club to have hosted a U.S. Open, U.S. Women’s Open, U.S. Amateur and U.S. Women’s Amateur, with Pebble Beach set to join those ranks when it hosts the U.S. Women’s Open in 2023.
“This is a significant and meaningful day for all of us at Oakland Hills,” said Rick Palmer, club president. “The commitment of two U.S. Opens as well as four top amateur championships is a testament to the fabulous work of everyone at Oakland Hills. With a total of eight USGA championships coming to our club starting in 2024, we can’t wait to add to our storied history. We look forward to continuing our championship golf tradition at Oakland Hills and our long-standing relationship with the USGA.”
The South Course at Oakland Hills, also known as “The Monster,” was designed by Donald Ross and opened in 1918. It was renovated by Robert Trent Jones Sr. (1950), Rees Jones (2006) and Gil Hanse (2021). The most recent restoration, which aimed to return the property to its original early 1900s layout, included tree removal throughout the property and the reshaping of all 18 greens to their original specifications.
The club has played host to 11 USGA championships in its 104-year history, including six U.S. Opens, two U.S. Senior Opens, two U.S. Amateurs and a U.S. Women’s Amateur. In addition, Oakland Hills has also hosted three PGA Championships and the 2004 Ryder Cup.
The 2034 U.S. Open will take place 110 years after the first U.S. Open at Oakland Hills in 1924, when Cyril Walker prevailed over defending champion Bob Jones by 3 strokes. Ralph Guldahl won the first of his two consecutive U.S. Opens in 1937. In 1951, Ben Hogan won his third U.S. Open in four years, saying it was the “toughest 18 holes I’ve ever seen.” The 1961 edition saw Gene Littler capture his only major title and Jack Nicklaus earn low-amateur honors at age 21. In 1985, Andy North claimed his second U.S. Open, and in 1996, Steve Jones became the first U.S. Open champion to go through final qualifying since Jerry Pate in 1976.
Nicklaus would go on to claim a USGA title at Oakland Hills in 1991, when he won the U.S. Senior Open. Glenna Collett Vare (1929 U.S. Women’s Amateur) and Arnold Palmer (1981 U.S. Senior Open) are also among the legendary champions to hoist a USGA trophy at Oakland Hills.
To date, Michigan has been home to 33 USGA championships across 16 host sites.
State Of The Game 120: Latest Distance Report Analyzed
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Rod Morri, Mike Clayton and yours truly discussed the long-awaited follow-up from the USGA and R&A.
We discussed some of my reporting and comments from the R&A’s Steve Otto, featured here.
As always, State of The Game is available wherever podcasts are streamed. Or you can check it out here at the show’s page. Or just listen via the embed:
