Weekend Wrap: Jaegar's Headed To Augusta And Korda Wins Again

Veteran holds off Scottie Scheffler to win in Houston.

Plus, Tour's Bahama agenda is revealed, an equipment meeting is called for Masters week, magazines to unveil Top 100 influencer lists and Monahan lands book deal.

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

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.”

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

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

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. 

Masters Quietly Offers First-Ever Glamping Experience In 2021

Google Earth view of Camp Masters

Not many people get to spend the night on the grounds of the 2021 Masters.

Few enjoy the privilege besides member accommodations in familiar cabins named after former Presidents, and the lucky amateurs choosing the Crow’s Nest.

But now Augusta National is offering its first ever “glamping” experience for select guests as part of the super-exclusive Berckmans Place hospitality operation. The glorified camping concept appears born out of the pandemic and allows lucky guests to pay a premium price for overnighting on the grounds of Augusta National.  

In a prospectus obtained by GeoffShackelford.com, staging for the Berckmans Place glamp site is just beyond the 12th green on newly acquired land from Augusta Country Club. Club sources say the revenues will help pay for the expensive land acquisition.

Here is the document detailing the Camp Masters offering. No price is listed.

PGA Tour Issues New On-Course Microphone Rules After Player Complaints

Justin Thomas uttering a homophobic slur was not the final straw. Nor were the many other salty language moments picked up by television microphones. 

Multiple sources have shared Commissioner Jay Monahan’s email to players outlining restrictive measures designed to reduce the PGA Tour’s overheard conversations and obscenities. High-quality audio became a focus of player ire in recent weeks when NBC microphones captured balls hitting the water.

“It seemed like it was louder this year and we got agents complaining about player brand damage due to the ker-plunk sound,” said a source.

The news all but dashes hopes of players wearing microphones or placement of mic’s in cups. Players have publicly pushed back at recent broadcaster efforts to share more of on-course conversations and have defied requests for on-course interviews.

Just last week at the WGC Dell Match Play, Jon Rahm told writers it was a privacy issue.

When asked for comment, the PGA Tour deferred all questions to their network partners. However, GeoffShackelford.com obtained the email sent to players by Commissioner Jay Monahan: 

Augusta National Women’s Amateur: In Future Years Practice Rounds May Be Played Following Tournament’s Conclusion

Always looking to fine tune their approach, the committee charged with running the Augusta National Women’s Amateur is considering moving the tournament’s practice round to a different day.

Currently, the “ANWA” underway near Augusta plays two competitive rounds at Champions Retreat and a 36-hole cut is made. The tournament is then stopped to allow the entire field a practice round at Augusta National whether or not the player has made it to Saturday’s final round.

The unusual tournament structure was created to avoid a club tradition.

“Johnny Harris has a popular Scotch foursomes game on Wednesday’s,” said a club source. “So moving the practice round to before the tournament just isn’t in the cards. Speaking of which, Trophy Room card games are also a big part of Mr. Harris’s Wednesday game.”

While playing the practice round after a winner has been decided might seem peculiar, sources within the club think it could make for great television despite the excitement created at the inaugural ANWA where Maria Fassi and Jennifer Kupcho dueled.  

“The Club has looked at how the Par-3 Contest has turned into a family affair,” said the source. “Seeing the women smiling in a more relaxed setting and charting the greens could really grow the women’s game.”

2021 U.S. Open: USGA Looking To Repurpose "From Many, One" Slogan

Two expensive casualties of the pandemic are facing different futures. 

While the PGA Tour’s “Live Under Par” slogan rehabs somewhere in the glossy new Global Home, multiple sources say the USGA is looking to repurpose its qualifying-inspired “From Many, One” campaign for the 2021 U.S. Open.

With Torrey Pines expected to see severely reduced fan capacity, the USGA saw an opportunity to reimagine its expensive spend. Brand experts applaud the organizations dexterity.

“From many spectators to one would confirm to all the severity of the financial hit they are taking while also utilizing existing messaging,” said advertising consultant Action Fitzpatrick. “Most of your creative is already done, so really it’s just a matter of inboarding your lead flows, standing up your rollout and tweaking the font colors to reflect a more somber tonality.”

Whiteboard alternatives of “From Many, One” have been spotted at the USGA’s Far Hills headquarters. A source not authorized to speak shared this image from a conference room:

Note the USGA’s former “For The Good Of The Game” slogan has been crossed off and is an unlikely option.

 The USGA has not responded to a request for comment.

Postponement: April Fools Eyes Fall Schedule Slot

Sorry, that’s all I’ve got this year. Following a day hundreds of Americans succumbed due to an awful virus, April Fools quietly agreed to postpone until fall.

But hey, when you’ve been around for over fifteen years, there are archives.

Some age better than others and hopefully the next April Fool’s Day will feel more jovial. A few recent favorites based on theme.

Masters, Masters, Masters: Sergio gets his own dedicated walking official, Justine Reed the first spouse to attend Champions Dinner, when Billy Payne joined Twitter, Club precautions for Tiger’s wedge issues, Poulter and McDowell lose invites after social posts.

Involving A Future President, Division: Donald Trump is admitted to Augusta National, and he buys Bandon Dunes.

Pisser offers: Sweater folders and the May PGA, USGA needing a liason between staff and committees, the R&A continuing their odd locations for merch tents.

Media Matters: Golf Digest forms ranking of golf’s top Task Forces, British Press pre-celebrates a Rory 2015 Grand Slam, Charlie Rymer named grand marshal of The Villages parade.

Justine Reed Plans To Be First Wife To Attend Champions Dinner, Asks Guy Fieri To Help In The Kitchen

Celebrity chef Guy Fieri will be helping with the Champions Dinner

After successfully convincing instructor David Leadbetter to help with her husband’s game without Patrick Reed’s knowledge, Justine Reed is pulling out all the stops as her man prepares his Augusta National return. She has enlisted celebrity chef Guy Fieri to take over Champion’s Dinner preparations just two weeks shy of the annual Tuesday gathering where her husband is this 2019’s host.

Via text, Mrs. Reed confirmed the news. 

“Guy and I chatted at length about the menu and we are pleased to welcome him to the team,” Justine Reed said. “He is going to ensure that Patrick stays on his current diet while all of the former champions get something better than what the club wanted Patrick to serve.” 

Justine also confirmed her intention to be the first spouse to attend the Champion’s Dinner. While Patrick is not yet aware of his wife’s plan just as he was not aware of the Leadbetter outreach, Justine confirmed her plan to this decision out on their shared wavelength sometime Monday night of tournament week.

“I don’t want to bother him while he’s trying to find a swing,” she texted.

The 2018 winner’s spouse has grown concerned about the Champions Dinner and decided to contact the host of Diners, Drive Ins and Dives to make last minute changes for this year’s gathering of living Masters winners and the current chairman.

A Masters spokesman would not discuss Fieri’s standard practice of including a Food Network camera crew wherever he goes, but did confirm the club has reminded the charismatic host that Augusta National forbids the wearing of sunglasses inside its clubhouse.

Source: Mueller Report’s Mid-April Release Designed To Avoid The Masters

William Barr informed lawmakers last week of plans to release a redacted Special Counsel report on Russian interference by mid-April.

Left out of the Attorney General’s letter, according to senior-level Justice Department sources: Barr is waiting for the Masters to conclude before sharing the redacted Mueller report with the public.

“The AG knows the President doesn’t want his executive time interrupted,” said one official who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “The President is planning to watch a lot of the Masters. So no report until April 15 at the earliest.”

The Attorney General wrote last week to Congress explaining why he could not meet an April 2 deadline set by the judiciary committee.

“Everyone will soon be able to read it,” Mr. Barr wrote. Yet he did not elaborate on what sources say was the primary reason for delay: the 2019 Masters.

An Augusta National spokesman declined comment when asked if the club influenced the decision. However, several longtime members are reportedly still bothered by the distraction caused when U.S. troops took Baghdad in 2003 and felled Saddam Hussein’s statue as Chairman Hootie Johnson was giving his annual State Of The Masters press conference.

“That was just not well orchestrated by the generals,” said an Augusta National source. “The last thing America needs to be doing tournament week is reading the Mueller Report when we could be watching The Masters.”

USGA Advertises For Player Relations Officer To Work Between Staff And Executive Committee

Buoyed by goodwill over the expansion of their players relations staff to communicate between the USGA and professional golf tours, the USGA is looking for a “Jason Gore-like” person. The goal is to improve communications between the Far Hills-based staff and the organization’s 16-person Executive Committee.

Sources at ziprecruiter.com first spotted the job posting and shared with GeoffShackelford.com.

As always, I’ve copy and pasted here if or ever anyone takes the job:   

From the money-losing USGA Handicap System to the annual cash-cow that is the U.S. Open, to modernizing the game’s Rules to a totally unappreciative audience of spoiled golfers, while supporting sustainable golf course management practices 51 weeks a year, the United States Golf Association promotes the health of a game that inspires, challenges, and rewards like nothing else can. Most of the time. If you have the leisure time and disposable income.

Are you looking to join a dynamic team that meets as much as eight times in a day to promote and protect the conservative spirit of golf? 

The Executive Committee (XC) Partnership Builder is a front-line intermediary role position responsible for qualifying, cultivating, soliciting, massaging and sharing thoughts from the XC to USGA staff leadership so that the XC members are not encumbered by time-consuming small talk with staff.

Relationships will be cultivated by meeting with XC members at primarily southeastern and southwestern five-star resorts during winter before transitioning to northeastern clubs in summer. The individual will travel extensively while possibly getting to play the occasional round at a Golf Digest Top 100 course. (Caddie fees typically not expensible).

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT:

• Manage a portfolio of 16 XC members with divergent individual needs spread throughout the country’s best neighborhoods and gated communities. 

• In conjunction with the Chief People Officer and Deputy Chief of Staff, establish annual goals for visits, solicitations and filtering all ideas proposed, no matter how asinine.

• Develop strategies and prepare proposals—including written documentation—for accurate recording and acknowledgment of mostly dull ideas hatched from Sea Island to the Monterey Peninsula.

WHAT YOU BRING TO THE USGA:

• A minimum of a BA/BS degree with 5-7 years of experience as a front-line communicator, unless you were one of four former White House Communication Directors over the last two years.

• Retain demonstrated ability to create and cultivate relationships with a variety of inflated egos and sometimes out of touch individuals who prefer to converse only with those in a similar tax bracket.

• No prior experience in the golf industry necessary but if you do play golf, do not expect to get into Somerset Hills until the next Great Recession. 

• Proven track record of recording ideas, nodding head in convincing fashion

• Strong working knowledge of America’s most storied vacation spots, with a keen ability to explain the difference between The Breakers and The Cloisters

• Positive attitude and the ability to display consistent initiative no matter how condescending the treatment is by an XC member

• The ability to travel up to 90% of the year in economy class or Main Cabin Extra/Premium Economy if status allows. Private jet travel forbidden.

• Strong working knowledge of fine wine, with an emphasis on American vintages.

• Strong working knowledge of America’s golf architects, with an ability to understand the difference between an A.W. Tillinghast Redan and a C.B. Macdonald Redan. Never say Rodan. 

Sergio Garcia To Be First Masters Champions To Receive A Dedicated Walking Official

Beset by regular run-ins with the rules of golf and etiquette, Masters Chairman Fred Ridley has enlisted a retired USGA official to serve as Sergio Garcia’s personal walking rules official for next week’s Masters.

“We have such a strong affinity for our Champions and want to make sure that Sergio Garcia feels welcome both on the course and off,” Chairman Ridley said in a statement. “Keeping in line with the vision of our founders, it is essential we make sure that Sergio has the best possible experience at the 2019 Masters.”

The decision to enlist a personal rules valet is a big one given Augusta National’s preference for only seeing players and caddies inside the ropes. Normally rulings are administered by officials roving throughout the course after a player calls them in to assess a situation.

The call was made by Chairman Ridley soon after Garcia’s disqualification at the European Tour’s Saudi Arabia stop for damaging greens. Augusta National reportedly considered appointing a second dedicated official after Saturday’s Dell Match Play dust-up when Garcia raked a putt away before Matt Kuchar could concede the tap-in.

Several Twitter users have posted photos of former USGA director of rules and competitions Tom Meeks preparing at a local Indianapolis library, where he was seen reading Clifford Roberts’ Story Of Augusta National Golf Club, Emily Post’s Etiquette in Society, in Business, in Politics, and at Home, and the Richmond County civil code.

The Forecaddie reports that Meeks has told friends he will be trailing Garcia both on and off the course, also ensuring the 2017 Champion does not violate any of Augusta National’s many house rules or even the Augusta, Georgia speed limits.