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Scott Van Pelt’s take on renewed fan appreciation for Tiger Woods. Do you agree?

Published

6 years ago

on

Tiger Woods has been the most popular and widely rooted-for golfer since turning pro in 1996. This holds true among golf fans and general sports fans alike. And despite what his detractors might say and their arguments as to why this should not be the case, it is. Overwhelmingly so.

In the course of Woods’ latest comeback from injury, beginning at the 2017 Hero World Challenge, we’ve seen a little different flavor to fan adoration, and a little different response from Woods himself.

Michael Williams, speaking with ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt on the 19th Hole podcast, asked Van Pelt for his perspective on the Tiger love.

Van Pelt offered an excellent reply.

“Here’s why in my opinion. At 21, or 25, or 28 whatever stage you want to pick when he’s truly this Superman and he’s flying above everyone else and he’s destroying people, we can’t relate to any of that. None of it is part of the human experience that we know, but at 40-something with a bald spot and with some kids and with some miles on the tires and some bumps in the road that you’ve hit and some other things you’ve run into that were your own mistakes, we can relate to all of that.

“We can relate to the frailty of human condition and we can relate to being fallible, and we can relate to being imperfect and I think that we … When I say we, I mean what I presume we are seeing in golf fans. With golf fans turning on their televisions in record numbers and who bought record numbers of tickets in Tampa, what those people are saying, in my opinion, are we want that guy who we know is fallible and frail and human. We want to see that guy do it again and whether it’s one more time or ten more times we want to see it again, because societally we have this really interesting habit of wanting to tear down what we built up and then wanting to see it get back to that place.

“I think the love of the galleries it’s unreal. Monday he comes out and walks onto the range and you hear this roar and it’s a Monday and he’s walking out to the range and people are cheering. They’re so excited to see him.

“Here’s the thing, I get that there’s pushback. I get that there are people who don’t root for him and that’s fine. You see it on social media, this, that and the other and you don’t have to root for him, but to those people to try to pretend like they’re not in a minority is a joke. The overwhelming majority of people that are watching, are watching to see one guy and it’s Tiger Woods.”

What do you think about SVP’s take, GolfWRX members? Has he hit the nail on the head in describing this new flavor of Tiger fandom? Is is the enthusiasm merely the product of absence making fans hearts grow fonder?

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19th Hole

Phil Mickelson reveals he won’t be pursuing broadcasting career when he retires from golf

Published

4 hours ago

on

May 8, 2024

By

On Tuesday, Chris McKee, a Toronto writer and radio host, wondered aloud on his X account if Phil Mickelson will be a commentator after his playing days are over.

“The second Phil Mickelson retires he’ll instantly become the most sought after TV analyst in golf. Would any PGA Tour broadcaster (CBS, ESPN, NBC or Sky) bring him in or would he have to stick to LIV broadcasts? #LIVGolf”

Mickelson saw the post and responded, saying he’s not interested in moving from the course to the broadcast booth.

“Thank you for the kind words. However, just cuz someone CAN do something doesn’t mean they SHOULD do it. Instead of commentating, I’m going to shoot some Pros vs Schmos 9 hole matches. I’ll share insights throughout as well as talk a little smack. It won’t be the highest quality video but it’ll be fun for me to do and fun to watch I think too.”

While I believe many fans would like to see Phil in the booth, his idea of “Pro’s vs Schmo’s” could certainly be intriguing.

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19th Hole

PGA Tour pro sounds off on ‘unfair’ PGA Championship invites

Published

4 hours ago

on

May 8, 2024

By

This week, the PGA of America made some surprising announcements regarding the field of next week’s PGA Championship at Valhalla.

The event now will feature 16 LIV players with Talor Gooch, Dean Burmester, David Puig, Adrian Meronk and Patrick Reed receiving special exemptions.

PGA Tour player, Dylan Wu, took issue with how the exemptions were used and went to X to share his thoughts.

“Why is there never “real” qualifications for the PGA Championship? You have a points list and World ranking invite. Usually just outside top 100 in OWGR gets in. Chan Kim ranked 104th in OWGR doesn’t get in. SH Kim at 107th isn’t in.”

“Jesper Svennson ranked 108th gets in. Tim Widing 120th gets in. Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald gets a spot. A bunch of guys get leapfrogged even though they’re ranked higher than others. Seems like they just invite whoever they want. Unfair to the guys on the edge like Chan and SH”

“Just seems like the world of professional golf is in a weird spot and I love that the tournament invited a handful of great LIV players but figure out a correct system for a major championship where guys know they’ll be in or not. ????”

Fans who replied to Wu seemed to agree that a more definitive ranking system for the PGA Championship should be established.

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19th Hole

Report: LIV star turns down PGA Championship invite due to ‘personal commitments’

Published

22 hours ago

on

May 7, 2024

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On Tuesday, the full field for the PGA Championship at Valhalla was released. In some surprising news, a handful of LIV players were granted exemptions including Dean Burmester, Patrick Reed, Lucas Herbert and Adrian Meronk.

The most surprising omission was Louis Oosthuizen. The South African has been one of the most consistent players on LIV this season, and also won two DP World Tour events in the fall.

According to the AP’s Doug Ferguson, Oosthuizen was actually given an invitation, but declined due to “personal commitments”.

In total, there will be 16 LIV golfers teeing it up next week at Valhalla.

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