The Quadrilateral: Major(s) News And Notes, July 29, 2021

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The Best Players In 2021's Majors By Score And World Ranking Points

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Thanks to Collin MacGillivray for reminding me of the Royal Selangor Trophy he conceived up and which is given to the player who performed best in the majors.

Jon Rahm held off Louis Oosthuizen, Jordan Spieth and Colin Morikawa with a winning score of -24 to Oosthuizen’s -19, Spieth’s -16 and Morikawa’s -15.

Other players who made all four cuts but did not threaten for the grand prize:

Xander Schauffele
Paul Casey
Scottie Scheffler
Harris English
Robert MacIntyre
Ian Poulter
Stewart Cink
Christiaan Bezuidenhout
Joaquin Niemann
Bryson DeChambeau
Shane Lowry
Matt Fitzpatrick

There is also the world ranking points approach that loops in players who missed the cut:

Kevin Durant On Post-Pandemic Fandom

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Things got ugly when the Nets visited the Boston and in light of what has looked or sounded like an increased edge to some recent golf proceedings, I thought Kevin Durant’s comments were of note.

"Fans gotta grow up at some point," Nets forward Kevin Durant said Sunday. "I know that being in the house for a year and a half with the pandemic got a lot of people on edge, got a lot of people stressed out, but when you come to these games, you have to realize that these men are human. We are not animals, we are not in the circus.

"You coming to the game is not all about you as a fan. So, have some respect for the game. Have some respect for the human beings and have some respect for yourself. Your mother wouldn't be proud of you throwing water bottles or spitting on players or tossing popcorn. So, grow the *&^% up and enjoy the game. It's bigger than you.”

Sleuthing The Koepka Interview Origins: How Can We Ever Look At The Player Impact Program The Same Again?

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Golf.com’s Dylan Dethier has dug into the leaked Brooks Koepka interview never aired by Golf Channel and it only raises more questions about the purity of the PIP race.

When a once-secret $40 million bonus pool with seemingly pre-determined standings is compromised, it really makes you wonder, why we even bother to get up in the morning?

Dethier went to the source, the mysterious @RJWinfield, who knows none of the individuals involved. Instead he obtained the video after it started going around via a MediaSilo link, Golf Channel’s preferred site for in-house video sharing. The big question with millions at stake: why was the interview’s first take uploaded?

Dethier has dug into the origins of the Koepka interview and it only raises more questions about the purity of the PIP race:

Multiple sources with direct knowledge of the matter said that Koepka himself had requested the clip from a Golf Channel contact to watch himself and send to friends for a laugh. He hadn’t intended for it to spread so widely, the sources said, but he might not have cared that it did, either. Remember how the video ended?

“I honestly wouldn’t even care,” Koepka said.

Maybe he meant it.

While there may not have been intent by Koepka for the clip to go viral, millions of views and some serious Meltwater/Google/MVP Index engagement, which, when multiplied by FedExCup standings rank and divided by a number of Vice Commissioner McIlroy’s choosing, Koepka may have improved his PIP status when things accidentally went viral.

Or, was it accidental?

This could be a $1 million difference in the final standings. I think I’ve lost all faith in formerly secret marketing program points races.

As Long As You Love Me: Bryson And Brooks Get A Song

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Who knew a little tape could inspire such artistry?

Golf Channel’s aborted-but-massively-viral Brooks Koepka interview has inspired a retooling of the Backstreet Boys “As Long As You Love Me”. Well done Sam Harrop. Kudos for not dumbing down the lyrics and slipping in some stellar core-fan only lines.

The engagement! The authenticity! Get this man a record deal!

Or as they do the kids do these days, subscribe to his YouTube channel.

Bryson Transitions To Gentle Troll Mode In Battle Of The Bros, But Tom Brady Wins The Day

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Not only did Bryson DeChambeau jump on one of Brooks Koepka’s efforts at light ribbing, but so did PGA Champion Phil Mickelson.

For those tracking the Player Impact Program race instead of the Comcast Business Solutions No One Will Play The Wyndham Regardless chase, that’s 98.2k likes for Brooks, 24.5k for Bryson and 48.6k for Phil. We’ll let the algo comprised of Meltwater Mentions x MVP Index x Google Searches x Tuesday’s temperature in Ponte Vedra decides who wins.

But Bryson also made a quiet Instagram story play WITH Photoshopping (bonus points!), as caught here by No Laying Up:

This all came on a day when Tom Brady joined in the fun to promote The Match with some epic meme trolling of Aaron Rodgers and a funny, maybe a tad edgy reply by Bryson.

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Glorious!

Except in the State-guided media world.

As I noted in an earlier post, NBC/Golf Channel is “investigating” the origins of the video. And while the episode is a little embarrassing in various ways for Koepka and the network’s leadership, it amounts to a very small deal in the grand scheme and hopefully will not lead to a low paid, overworked employee losing their job.

Given the incredible number of times the clip was watched before getting taken down—as many saw it as tuned in for the final round of the PGA—you’d think media operations constantly searching for “engagement” and “impressions” with a young, hip, male audience would be reporting the above fun that does possibly have ramifications for the Ryder Cup.

The efforts to run from such good fodder suggest this is a grave matter at the Global Home and their internal “listening” reports are being drawn up to analyze the reactions. (GolfChannel.com and PGATour.com have touched no part of the social fodder while GolfDigest.com has buried an item on it where stories go to die, also known as The Loop…yes it still exists.)

So I guess the attempts at make this gaffe go away tells us not to expect an update on the Player Impact Program ramifications. Darn.

"Brooks Koepka's obvious dislike of Bryson DeChambeau is so great for golf"

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That’s the question Andy Nesbit poses at For The Win and while I’m not sure I share his enthusiasm, we know the bro-buddy-backstopping-backslapping ways of pro golf are not as fun as an edgy rivalry.

Regarding the mostly vanquished-from-the-web aborted first take of Koepka showing disdain for DeChambeau, Nesbit writes:

This feud and that hatred is so great for golf.

Koepka and DeChambeau or two of the best golfers in the world and a personal rivalry like this can only make things more interesting when they find themselves battling down the stretch of a tournament, which could happen any week the two are in the field.

The PGA Tour can be a very vanilla place where lots of guys are happy for a top 20 finish and the six- to seven-figure payout that comes with that. There are lots of smiles, waves to the crowd after a nice shot or a big putt, and aw shucks reactions to big moments.

What the Tour lacks is any real disdain felt between some players that leads to some epic Sunday showdowns and cause casual fans to sit down and tune in.

As for outrage over the Live From interview getting taken down by NBC on various platforms, you can’t blame the network. After all, the clip never aired and is a poor reflection on an operation demoralized by labor and budget cuts. So it’s perfectly logical they would want it removed and not ever making the Golf Today rundown.

The channel replied to my request for comment about how the clip got out: a spokesperson said the channel is “investigating” how the tape was leaked.

PIP Move: Bryson Responds (In An Instagram Comment!?)

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I’ll just say it: this PIP race is way more exciting than the FedExCup.

Though I must question Bryson DeChambeau’s use of a comment section at the expense of some key Meltwater mentions. Hogan would never have made such a PIP mistake.

8.9 million views and growing. Major Google search points accumulating for Brooks!

2021 PGA: Final Round Averages 6.5 Million, Peaks At 13 Million

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Good news for the PGA: the final round rating on CBS drew something in the neighborhood of the thrilling 2018 finish featuring Tiger Woods.

Bad news? competition from the NBA and a Lebron-led Lakers, graduation season, etc…probably ate into the numbers and is a reminder that the PGA’s August date featured no major sports competition.

Austin Karp notes that the 3.9 rating was the fourth-best Sunday audience over the last decade.

Quadrilateral: 2021 PGA Winners & Losers Plus Media Coverage Wrap-Up

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Two more Quadrilaterals went out to paying subscribers, my version of Winners and Losers and a wrap-up of the best and least satisfying elements of PGA coverage.

Included in the latter are plenty of CBS and ESPN notes, plus comments from CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus on the commercial load and the wild scene at 18.

I’m really enjoying the format and invading your inboxes. Sign up options here.

Bryson Walks By Brooks: Viral Smash For The PIP Era!

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Frankly, the Player Impact Program ramifications are just too complex. At least I think. Since that was meant to be a secret rewards program we just do not know what the algorithms will say about this Todd Lewis interview of Brooks Koepka where all Bryson DeChambeau had to do was walk by to elicit genuine pain, agony and swearing.

The key line from Brooks for the historical record: “Sometimes, uh I lost my train of thought, hearing that bull!@#$t…&*^%ing Christ.” Or words to that effect.

The tape obviously was left on the Live From The PGA cutting room floor, so I’ve reached out to NBC Sports for an explanation as to how it made it’s way to a Twitter account and very quickly, legendary PIP virality (2.5 million views not more than 120 minutes after getting posted). I’ll share an update on how the tape got out when I hear back from Golf Channel’s parent company.

A YouTube edition that gives the PVB Police another takedown to deal with:

PGA Of America Apologizes To Brooks And Phil Over Kiawah Security Breakdown

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The PGA of America has condemned the excess of fans who poured onto the 18th hole in obvious jubilation over witnessing history. And of course I’m sure they were all fully vaccinated.

But the PGA has yet to address what it plans to do about the security and crowd control breakdown at Kiawah.

With a Ryder Cup coming and no apparent desire to limit adult beverage sales, barricades may be in order. Also yet another review of the alcohol policy might be in order.

There was also this as noted by ESPN.com’s Bob Harig:

The tournament originally announced that attendance would be capped at 10,000 spectators per day due to COVID-19 protocols. But with restrictions being loosened across the country and in South Carolina, the crowds were considerably larger throughout the event. There were thousands of people lining both sides of the fairway at the 18th on Sunday.

The late Monday statement from CEO Seth Waugh lacking any vow to make improvements for future events:

Here is what Brooks Koepka said about the scene:

Q. What was that scene like on 18 and was anything today reminiscent of the 2019 Masters when you were right there, also, T-2 behind Tiger's win? The energy seemed very similar.

BROOKS KOEPKA: I never thought of it that way but I think so. Yeah it would have been cool if I didn't have a knee injury and got dinged a few times in the knee in that crowd because no one really gave a s---, personally. But if I was fine, yeah, it would have been cool. Yeah, it's cool for Phil. But getting dinged a few times isn't exactly my idea of fun.

Q. What is going through your mind as you're walking up 18 with all that commotion around you? You're incredibly focused but what's going through your mind in that moment?

BROOKS KOEPKA: Trying to protect my knee. I don't think anybody really understands until you actually you're coming out of surgery how -- I mean, even when I was doing rehab and there's five people kind of standing by your knee, you get a little skittish. Like I don't mind waiting or being in that crowd but getting my -- I don't know, it felt like somebody tried to, I don't know what the deal was, but it's what it is. Be putting it nice today. It feels like s--- right now.