Survey Says: Tiger's 1997 Win Still The Best In The Eyes Of His Peers

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While hardly scientific, that’s not the important takeaway from Doug Ferguson’s survey of professional golfers. He asked them to rank the best of Tiger’s wins.

It’s a good reminder of how dramatic each of his victories here have been and how much time separated numbers four and five.

Equally remarkable, if not more, was his fifth green jacket in 2019 after Woods returned from four surgeries on a lower back — the last one to fuse his spine — in such bad shape that he feared he might never be able to play again.

In between was his most historic Masters victory — the Tiger Slam — when Woods made it a clean sweep of the four professional majors in a span of 294 days. The feat remains his alone.

Video: Tiger's Sunday Masters "Stroll"

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A video crew for Masters.com received exclusive access to Tiger Woods’ Sunday practice around and the official site has shared an edited package. Unfortunately it’s more glossy than meaty so it’s tough to tell much about his game, though he’s definitely taking an aggressive lash at the ball. The course was closed to all other media and spectators.

Bob Harig had details on the round if you’re looking for insights in how to play Woods for this week’s inevitable pools and fantasy lineups.

Oddsmakers at PointsBet are not bullish on Woods’ first round scoring potential, setting an over/under a 75.5

Quadrilateral Sunday Masters Notes: Tiger Is Here

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Tiger Woods heads to the course (Geoff Shackelford)

Notes on Woods' afternoon arrival. Plus, early week forecast concerns, Drive, Chip and Putt results, Masters merchandise and developing dessert news.

As promised in celebration of 4/4/22—a Triple quadrilateral, this one is open to all to sample as we begin a busy week in Augusta.

You can subscribe here.

Augusta National Women's Am Final Day Set For A Shootout

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With all 30 cutmakers within six strokes of the lead held by Beatrice Wallin and Latanna Stone, the 2022 ANWA is set for a wild finish. NBC coverage begins at noon ET.

Players teeing up at Augusta National also face a tricky call: who to have on the bag. Paul Rogers and Hailey Hernandez ask and report on the big decision.

Players were still afforded a round at Augusta National after storms delayed the second round into the traditional mid-tournament practice day. Adam Woodward queried players about the most challenging holes.

USGA Announces Pebble Beach As Anchor Site; 2100 U.S. Open To Celebrate 100th Anniversary Of Tiger's Historic Win

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Spectators arrive at the 2019 U.S. Open (Geoff Shackelford)

Continuing a concerted effort to go to America’s greatest courses and ensure that future Executive Committees have nothing fun to do, the USGA is set to lock Pebble Beach in through the end of the 21st century.

In announcing the latest “anchor site,” the 2100 U.S. Open “will ensure the next generation can celebrate the 100th anniversary of Tiger Woods’s 15-stroke win in the 2000 U.S. Open,” said the press release which also announced 14 championships for the famous seaside course.

From the release:

“In a world so secure with a future as clear as a sunny day on the Monterey Peninsula, we can’t be more delighted than to announce the securing of Pebble Beach as the site of our national championship for decades to come,” said USGA Chief Championships Officer John Bodenhamer. "It really is a relief to have gotten this deal done for the betterment of the USGA, the Pebble Beach Company and the world’s best golfers who want to play the very best courses. And we have contingency plans should the 18th hole be taken from us.”

Sources say the USGA contract with the Pebble Beach Company includes several “out” clauses should ocean levels rise and take out the finishing holes.

“This also keeps Facebook from taking Pebble,” said the source in an apparent reference to USGA fears of losing courses to an anticipated U.S. Meta Open. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has instructed his rebranded company to invest heavily in all aspects of the “meta” universe, down to landing site rights to a future national metaverse golf championship.

“Pebble is Zuck’s number one goal for a U.S. Meta Open and he’s demanding exclusivity for a $1 billion offered,” said a USGA source. “We had talks with him about making it the 16th USGA championship but he wanted access to the social security numbers of our members. He probably has them anyway, but institutionally that was a deal killer.”

In addition to the 2100 U.S. Open, the USGA will go to Pebble Beach every five years for a significant championship starting in 2032. The course will host four more U.S. Women’s Open’s. The 2053 U.S. Senior Women’s Open will celebrate the 30th anniversary of next year’s 2023 U.S. Women’s Open winner at Pebble Beach.

Other announced events include the 2055 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball, 2062 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur and the 2077 U.S. Open to commemorate Lanny Wadkins’ PGA Championship win.

“That’s for when the PGA of America is over Frisco by then and desperate to return,” said the source.

A 2068 date was also secured for a new championship not yet announced, though sources say it may be at the recently renovated Peter Hay Course and called the “U.S. Senior Mixed Team Four-Ball Par-3 Course Open.”

Golf Channel May Bring Back Weekly Tin Cup Airings In Bid To Win Back Viewers

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Due to budget cuts and tax-incentive driven move to Connecticut, Golf Channel ratings have flatlined and the “brand” diminished despite housing all early round PGA Tour coverage. The once highly-profitable and popular channel is now down to 63 million homes from a peak of nearly 80 million just a few years ago, causing NBC Sports to shift early round U.S. Open and The Open coverage to USA Network.

To stop the bleeding, network executives are said to be mulling an aggressive plan to win back nostalgic viewers. Sources say the initiative, dubbed internally as “Since Holly’s No Longer An Option,” centers around regular weekly late night showings of Tin Cup, the Ron Shelton-directed movie once airing so often that Cheech Marin bought two ocean front homes just off his Golf Channel residuals.

“Someone upstairs equates the film with our Golden Age instead of anything from the original programming, documentaries or award-winning feature department,” said a source. “So get ready for a lot more Tin Cup. Seems Tommy’s Honour just isn’t clicking with the millennials.”

Another source added: “It’ll be expensive, but say goodbye to late night infomercials for Villages insomniacs like Relief From Inflammation, Forgetful?, Try THIS Trick, and Bye Bye Neck Pain. They think this will get the channel’s average age viewer back into the mid-70s.

A third source in Hollywood and connected to actor Don Johnson added, “It’s his most layered role and worthy of more study. So it’s a win-win-win.”

Sponsors like Sqairz golf shoes, penile health pillmaker Xiaflex, Preparation H and crooner Mike Stone have signaled renewed interest in scooping up more premium ad time if Tin Cup returns.

A network spokesperson did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

The Butler Cabin Green Jacket Ceremony Will Look Very Different This Year

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In a bid to make the traditional-but-often-stilted Green Jacket ceremony more appealing, Augusta National Golf Club will institute several changes in 2022.  Some of the changes can be traced to the needs of documentary crews filming for the forthcoming Netflix series, which initiated conversations about inside access to the ceremony and an overall view of members whose grandchildren say the club needs to appeal to the “next generation.”

Sources cautioned that the changes recently outlined in a memo to the Butler Cabin And Wine Cellar Committee remain fluid and may be subject to change after rehearsals with CBS. But the Club expects all or most of the ceremony modifications to be incorporated when this year’s winner is given the Green Jacket.

  • In the most shocking change, Jim Nantz will step aside from his ceremony-hosting duties after 27 years. CBS’s more youthful Amanda Balionis and Colt Knost have been tabbed to interview the champion after a successful test run at this year’s WM Open’s 16th hole. Sources say Nantz has never been more loved by the club, and that the move is a pure youth play aimed at a demographic willing to wear Birdie Juice rope caps.

  • The highlight package used to bridge the gap from tournament completion to Butler Cabin ceremony will be replaced by a pre-taped trick shot performance from Dude Perfect. Filmed recently at Amen Corner and featuring Bryson DeChambeau, the club sees the Dudes as a more festive lead-in thanks to their faith-based, giant lawn dart trick shots.

  • The 2022 Champion will be allowed to leave his cap on inside Butler Cabin. Should the winner choose, he can wear it backwards in a subtle nod to millennialism and better face lighting for the inevitable tears of joy. Netflix reportedly lobbied hard to letting the Champion switch into their preferred private jet attire of hoodie, joggers and sneakers. But time constraints and logo-exposure issues tabled the idea.

  • The winner of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, as well as all age group winners in the Drive, Chip and Putt will be flown in and positioned on green suede sofas made from repurposed carpet fibers. They will be behind the Champion, the defending Champion and Low Amateur, who will sit on vintage bar stools instead of Butler Cabin’s traditional wood furniture. Consideration was given to covering the Butler Cabin fireplace and installing a fire pit in lieu of a coffee table, but the idea was scrapped by the club’s Fire Marshal.

  • Chairman Fred Ridley will take off his tie and go with an open-collared dress-shirt look. He also will not shave all week in hopes of sporting some stubble by Sunday. The aesthetic was crafted in consultation with the club’s tailor and Netflix’s hair and make-up team. Ridley also reportedly tested out a hoodie-under-the-blazer motif. “We just couldn’t find the right color hoodie to go with the Green Jacket and Fred worried about his mobility wearing so many layers. The last thing he wants is a repeat of the Bubba-Billy handshake whiff, but the Netflix people thought that would be hilarious.

Spokespersons for Augusta National, CBS and Netflix did not initially respond to requests for comment.

Exclusive: Tiger Has Made His Decision

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Tiger Woods has decided.

He’s going to ComicCon 2022 as Martian Manhunter. 

The return of ComicCon in 2022 has put added pressure on Woods as he nears a decision to play the 2022 Masters.

This will mark his first return to the annual convention since attending a few years ago as Batman. During last month’s World Golf Hall of Fame ceremony, Sam Woods revealed that her family attended ComicCon with her dad dressed in disguise as the caped crusader.

Multiple sources spotted Woods browsing the DC Comics row at Palm Beach’s Hollywood Studio’s Costumes. Shoppers overheard Woods engaging in lengthy chats with a store clerk about the merits of going as Aquaman, Flash and Martian Manhunter while asking many questions about locating a “Lynda Carter” era Wonder Woman getup. But Woods made clear the Wonder Woman dress-up was for his girlfriend who “liked the 70’s style over that neo-classical gladiatorial @$**%$#@ they’ve veered toward, and that she also did not want to revisit the “Cathy Lee Crosby jumpsuit years.”

Calls to Woods’ representatives and Hollywood Studio’s management were not returned, but a store employee who asked to not have their name or superpower revealed said Woods made clear he’s very loyal to DC Comics and was thinking Martian Manhunter would allow him to dress up, show off his biceps and attend without recognition.

“He is all-in on the family going as a Justice League posse,” the store employee said. “He said something about a Joe or Joey making a good Aquaman and also asked if we had Darkseid getups for a Stinny or Stenny. I told him that was backordered after Darkseid’s huge return in Zack Snyder’s Justice League. He totally got that. We agreed the film was so dope. He eventually went with Lex Luther for Stenny and told us to send him the bill. His son is going as Superman and his daughter is kinda rebelling and going with a Marvel character. Probably Spider-Woman. You know teenagers.”

The seven original members of DC Comics’ Justice League are Green Lantern, Flash, Superman, Batman, Aquaman and Martian Manhunter.

 Woods has said he will attend Tuesday’s Champions Dinner and after a recent practice round at Augusta National has fueled speculation of a pending return to The Masters. 

Participation: U.S. Sees Beginner Boom, UK And Ireland Still See Strong Numbers

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The National Golf Foundation’s Joe Beditz reports the biggest beginner boom since the start of the century in his latest report.

Over the past two years, the number of beginning golfers in the U.S. is higher than it was back when Woods was at his most dominant. Almost 30% higher. In 2021, a record 3.2 million Americans played golf on a course for the first time. This after 3 million newcomers picked up golf in 2020 as the pandemic unfolded and people sought out safe, outdoor activities that could provide a sense of normalcy with friends and family.

Like the “Tiger Effect,” there’s no question the “Covid Effect” has been a force in its own right in terms of fostering golf engagement. But other factors have helped boost golf trials, too, among them the increased interest created by golf entertainment venues and other off-course forms of the game, and a more favorable public outlook on golf in general. It’s now been six straight years that the number of on-course beginners has exceeded the 2.4 million newcomers Tiger helped introduce to the game in both 1999 and 2000.

Meanwhile in the UK the R&A released these numbers:

Two new participation reports show that 5.3 million on-course adult golfers – the second-highest number since monitoring began over 30 years ago – enjoyed playing on full length courses (9 or 18 holes) in Great Britain and Ireland in 2021. This includes a marginal increase in Ireland and a slight reduction in Great Britain.

Golf enjoyed a significant boom during the pandemic due to its ability to be played safely and proven benefits in boosting mental and physical health. The latest data shows that participation in golf is still well above the rates in the years prior to Covid-19.

In Great Britain, the number of on-course adults began to gradually increase before Covid-19, rising from 2.5 million in 2017 to 3 million in 2019, before surging to a peak of 5.2 million in 2020. The latest figures show that 4.8 million golfers played in 2021.

With less restrictions on play in 2021, the new figures also reveal that avid golfers more than doubled, there was an increase in female golfers and the use of driving ranges and Par-3 courses remained high.

And the key highlights from the 2021 Great Britain Golf Participation Report:

  • At 4.8 million, total adult golfers on a full-length course (9 or 18 hole) remains considerably above the 3 million in 2019 pre-pandemic level, albeit down from 5.2 million in 2020

  • Female golfer full course users increased to 34% of golfers (1.4 million to 1.6 million)

  • Avid golfers (who played more than 52 times) more than doubled from 149,000 to 339,000

  • Over 3.5 million people used a driving range – the second highest figure of the last 20 years

  • Par-3 course users rose from 27,000 to 41,000, similar to the figures between 2012-2016

  • The average age of golfers was 41, the same as in 2020

  • 15% of the population tried or started golf again in any on or off-course format because of the pandemic (in 2020 or 202

And the Ireland Golf Participation Report:

  • Total adult golfers on a full-length course (9 or 18 hole) marginally increased from 540,000 to 543,000

  • Female golfer full course users increased to 21% of golfers (70,000 to 111,000)

  • Core golfers (regular golfers who played 12-51 times and avid golfers who played more than 52 times) rose from 161,000 to 201,000

  • 18% of the population tried or started golf again in any on or off-course format because of the pandemic (in 2020 or 2021), rising to 29% of those aged 15-24

Masters News & Notes, March 31st, 2022

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