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GolfWRX Morning 9: A gray-haired resurgance | McGinley calls out McIlroy

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By Ben Alberstadt ([email protected])

November 15, 2018

Good Thursday morning, golf fans.
1. A gray-haired resurgence
Matt Kuchar and Lee Westwood winning again had Shane Ryan looking back at recent 30-and-40 something winners this fall – the long(er) in the tooth have triumphed late in the year.
  • “Fall officially begins in the northern hemisphere on Sept. 22, and on that Saturday, 42-year-old Tiger Woods shot a 65 in the Tour Championship to propel himself to the top of the leader board. The very next day, he finally broke his five-year winning drought and raised a trophy on the PGA Tour. Simultaneously, 38-year-old Justin Rose secured the FedEx Cup title and the $10 million bonus.”
  • “If we were paying attention, we would have seen the signs: After a spring and summer of Koepka and Reed and DeChambeau, the gray-hairs were making a resurgence.
  • “Next came the Ryder Cup, where an extremely experienced European team taught the brash youngsters a lesson. Along with Bjorn’s vintage picks, 35-year-old Francesco Molinari was the undisputed star, becoming just the second man in the modern era to earn five points for his team.”
  • “A few weeks later, at Valderrama, the 38-year-old Garcia shook off the bad memories from a miserable year on the PGA Tour to win his first tournament of 2018, and just his second since his Masters triumph 18 months earlier.”
2. Communication problems
New U.S. Ryder Cup goal: communication.
Rex Hoggard at Golf Channel…”Following the U.S. Ryder Cup team’s victory at the 2016 matches, then-captain Davis Love III credited a new system of organization that mirrored that used by USA Basketball. Love and this year’s captain Jim Furyk used those lessons as they prepared for September’s matches, and on Wednesday at the RSM Classic, Love said that learning curve will continue after the U.S. team’s seven-point loss in Paris.”
‘”I just think we need to communicate a little bit better as a team,” said Love, one of Furyk’s vice captains in Paris. “That doesn’t mean just the captains or just the players. I think we need to get to know each other even better and communicate a little bit better so little frustrations don’t turn into problems.””
3. OWGR
Rex Hoggard on OWGR problems and why they’ll persist.
  • “Brooks Koepka moved back into the top spot in the Official World Golf Ranking from his couch on Monday, and depending on a variety of scenarios this week at the Dunlop Phoenix event in Japan where the three-time major champion is playing, he could be overtaken by Justin Rose … who is spending this week on his couch.”
  • “The world rankings are golf’s version of the College Football Playoffs – confusing at times, arbitrary at others and even polarizing. But it’s not Koepka and Rose’s game of musical chairs atop the list that’s most compelling.”
  • “The frontmen for the world’s two most high-profile tours also appear to be taking a long look at the math and madness of the rankings, at least if current comments are any indication.
  • “Two weeks ago at the Turkish Airlines Open, European Tour chief executive Keith Pelley was asked about his circuit’s relationship with Rolex, which is the title sponsor of the tour’s eight Rolex Series events. That Pelley’s response drifted into an examination of the OWGR was telling.”

Full piece.

4. LPGA pros step up
Beth Ann Nichols writes…”Tiffany Joh saw a need and rallied her fellow tour players to respond. Joh read on Facebook that the parents of JaNae Rhodes, one of the LPGA’s physical therapists, lost everything they own in the Camp Fire that has devastated California….Joh shareda GoFundMe page on Twitter that Rhodes’ husband had created.”
  • “Apparently her parents are in the Northern California area that was affected by the Camp Fire and literally just escaped with the shirts on their backs,” said Joh, whose own San Diego home is under extreme watch.”
  • “I don’t have a huge social media following, but I feel like I’m friends with people that do.”
  • “Jane Park retweeted Joh’s note, pledging to donate $20 for every birdie she makes at this week’s CME Group Tour Championship and asked if any other players wanted to join. Azahara Munoz jumped on board, and Paige Spiranac said she’d match Park’s donation.”
5. McGinley disappointed in McIlroy
One of emerging elder statesmen of European golf is predictably unhappy with Rory McIlroy’s announcement that he won’t be playing muchon the European Tour next year.
  • Said MgGinley...”It’s very disappointing…”I’ve been racking my brains wondering how that can be.
  • “Obviously Rory sees it in other ways and has got his own rationale for that, although I’m finding it hard to understand,” added McGinley, who will succeed the 29-year-old as the Irish Open’s tournament host at next year’s event in Lahinch.”
  • “Of the 12 players that represented Europe in the Ryder Cup this year, Rory is the only one who is going to do that and the others have all signed up to play the minimum of four events outside of the majors and WGCs.”
  • “We’ve already reduced the number of events players have to play on the European Tour from five down to four, just to make it easy for the guys, like Rory, who are playing a worldwide schedule.”
  • “It is right at the very minimum at the moment and the European Tour don’t feel that four is huge task to meet.”
6. More folk tales of Cameron Champ
Steve DiMeglio at USA Today…
A morsel…”This guy was Cameron Champ – there’s a name straight out of Madison Avenue – and Wagner watched intently on the tee of the 447-yard par-4 that was playing into the wind on a chilly day.”
  • “My jaw just dropped,” Wagner said. “That hole is not as short and easy as he made it look. He probably had a sand wedge in and I had a 6-iron into the green. Such impressive ball flight, such impressive length. I’ve never seen anybody flight and control a driver as he did that day.
  • “He’s fit, he’s young, he’s flexible and he’s strong as a bull.”
  • “The legend of Champ is ever growing, an eye-popping yarn of a 6-0, 175-pound, 23-year-old who sports a 32-inch waist, 129 mph swing speed and 190 mph ball speed. In a game that features Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Bubba Watson, Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods and many other bombers, Champ might be the longest of them all.”
7. Line ’em up no more
Golf Channel’s Randall Mell...”If you’re an LPGA fan and never liked seeing caddies line up players before a shot or putt, you can rejoice.”
  • “This week’s season-ending CME Group Tour Championship marks the last time you will have to endure it.
  • “When the LPGA resumes play in its season opener at the Diamond Resort Tournament of Championship next January, the new Rules of Golf forbidding caddies from aligning players will be in effect.”
Praise the golf gods.
8. Match beginnings
Dave Shedloski fleshed out the origin story of The Match in an excellent piece.
  • “The concept for The Match began with a hypothetical question between two Hollywood friends, CAA’s Jack Whigham, the agency’s co-head of motion picture talent, and one of his clients, Bryan Zuriff, a producer whose credits include the film, “Jobs,” and the Showtime series “Ray Donovan.””
  • “Zuriff, a golf enthusiast who was a huge fan of “The Skins Game” that used to occupy Thanksgiving weekend, is that creative type who has a million ideas running through his mind at all hours. Apparently, some are quite good, including a new Showtime limited series, “Escape At Dannemora,” starring Benicio del Toro and directed by Ben Stiller (the latter who might make an appearance on the pre-game show). His rough conceptualization for The Match got this ball rolling.”
  • “He called and asked me, How crazy is this? Whigham recalled. “I said, Probably too crazy.
  • “Basically, we started thinking, Wouldn’t it be cool if there were a golf match that was played the way a lot of us play with our buddies on the weekends? You know, where you bet on everything and talk smack and basically have this continually running dialogue of, pardon the expression, giving each other shit.”
9. Still work to be done to Save Muny
Geoff Shackelford notes that the imperiled Lions Municipal is still very much imperiled.
  • “The University of Texas Board of Regents and legislators who hold the future of Lions Municipal apparently need to be reminded again that a lot of people care about Austin’s gem of a public golf facility.”
  • “This Thursday they vote on whether to extend the Brackenridge Tract Agreement deadline for canceling the Muny Golf Course lease. An extension is needed to allow the state of Texas and City of Austin to continue negotiations on Saving Muny and the Brackenridge Tract.”
Shackelford directs readers to a form letter on Save Muny Instagram, which you can find here.
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Morning 9: Wyndham Clark on back injury | DiMarco’s bold Champions Tour take | Houston Open photos

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By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.

For comments: [email protected]

Good Thursday morning, golf fans, as day one of the Houston Open gets underway.

1. Wyndham Clark hurts back…still hopes to play

ESPN’s Mark Schlabach…”Reigning U.S. Open winner Wyndham Clark injured his back while working out at home Monday, but he hopes to play in this week’s Texas Children’s Houston Open, which starts Thursday at Memorial Park Golf Course.”

  • “Clark, the fourth-ranked golfer in the world, said he was lifting weights and “got caught in an awkward spot doing a lift and [his] back went.”
  • “It’s not something that happens regularly, but it happened and you live and you learn,” Clark said. “I’m trending in the right direction. I’m hitting it or feeling stronger and more mobile every day. I’m going to give it my best effort tomorrow and hopefully I can play and compete. If not, I’ve got to get ready for tournaments to come after this.”
Full piece.

2. DiMarco’s bold Champions Tour take

Our Matt Vincenzi…”While speaking on the Subpar podcast, former PGA Tour winner and current PGA Tour Champions player Chris DiMarco said he hopes LIV buys the Champions Tour.”

  • “We’re kind of hoping that LIV buys the Champions Tour,” he said.
  • “Let’s play for a little real money out here. I mean this is kind of a joke when we’re getting $2 million. There were like seven guys last week from TPC (Sawgrass, at the $25 million PLAYERS Championship) that made more money than our purses.”
Full piece.

3. Charley Hull’s course management problem?

Our Matt Vincenzi…”Charley Hull came just short of her third LPGA Tour victory over the weekend at the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship when she played her last two holes at 3 over to slip all the way to 10th on the leaderboard.”

  • “After the round, Hull was blasted by Sky Sports commentator and former LPGA Tour player Trish Johnson for her lack of golf course management.”
  • “While speaking on the Sky Sports Golf podcast, Johnson spoke harshly of Hull.”
  • “I’m probably her harshest critic, because I know how good she is. She doesn’t win anywhere near enough for her talent, and she doesn’t get involved enough, in all honestly.
  • “The thing with Charley is that you’re never going to change her. I read something the other day that said how much she loves the game and it’s her love of the game [that costs her]. She’s never going to change and she’s just going to go for every pin.
  • “In theory that’s great, but it won’t win you golf tournaments, it just won’t because she’s not that much better than anybody else.
Full piece.

4. Sahith’s interesting idea

Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine…”Which brings Theegala to his big idea: “There’s got to be something, like a fan challenge or – I think it would be awesome to see a scratch handicap go out and play like the Monday after a tournament, keep the same conditions and see what they would shoot just to put it into perspective how hard a PGA Tour golf course is.”

  • “Theegala loves the thought so much that he’d even come out and watch.”
  • “Shoot, I’d commentate on it,” Theegala added before continuing, “I have a pet peeve, sometimes when I watch golf on TV, a great example is hole 8 at Valspar last week. It’s a 230-yard par 3, the green’s 12 yards wide and someone will hit the middle of the green and, you know, they’ll be like, ‘Oh, really smart shot there.’ I’m like, ‘Well, no, he’s absolutely laced this 4-iron in the middle of the green, that’s right where he’s looking and to hit a 4-iron that straight is really, really hard.’ … Even like chipping, a lot of the stuff just looks flat on TV, but then when you get over the chip, like, oh, great, I have to land it over a mound on a downslope down grain?”
Full piece.

5. Top am Rachel Heck not going pro

Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine…”As Rachel Heck nears the end of her college golf career, she has decided that the LPGA isn’t for her.’

  • “Heck, the 22-year-old Stanford senior who won an NCAA individual title as a freshman and has climbed as high as second in the world amateur rankings, penned a first-person essay for No Laying Up in which she explained her reasoning for remaining amateur after graduation this summer and starting an internship not in professional golf but rather private equity. Heck, a political science major, also will be pinned as a lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force.”

Read her piece on No Laying Up: https://nolayingup.com/blog/why-im-remaining-an-amateur

Full piece.

6. DJ’s new LIV signing

Golf Monthly’s Elliott Heath…”Dustin Johnson‘s LIV Golf team 4Aces GC has announced former TravisMathew CEO Chris Rosaasen as the side’s new General Manager.”

  • “Rosaasen, who is a long-time friend of Johnson, is also the founder of the team’s apparel sponsor Extracurricular and has been CEO of the Omniverse Group for the past four years.
  • “He joins with more than 20 years of “brand-building, marketing, and business leadership” according to LIV Golf, which says his “record of innovation in the golf industry will strengthen and accelerate the growth of the 4Aces GC brand.”
Full piece.

7. Photos from the Houston Open

  • Check out all of our photos from this week’s event!
Full piece.
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Four books for a springtime review

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One thing that never changes over time: snowy evenings give purpose to reading (is it the other way around?) It has been a snowy 2024 in western New York, and I’ve had ample time to tuck into an easy chair with a blanket, coffee, and a book. You’re in luck, because despite the title of this piece, I’ll share five books and their worth with you.

There is great breadth of subject matter from one to five. Golf is as complicated as life, which means that the cover of the book isn’t worth judging. The contents begin the tale, but there is so much more to each topic presented within. If you’re like me, your library grows each year. Despite the value of the virtual, the paper-printed word connects us to the past of golf and humanity. Here’s hoping that you’ll add one or more of these titles to your collection.

        

Rainmaker

Hughes Norton interviewed with Mark McCormack for 20 minutes (30 if you count the missed exit at Logan International) while driving the founder of IMG from Harvard to the airport. The lesson of taking advantage of each moment, of every dollar, because you might not get another opportunity, is the most valuable one that life offers. I say to you, be certain to read this book, because another opportunity to bend the ear of Hughes Norton may not come our way.

Hughes Norton was with Tiger Woods for waaayyy fewer years than you might guess, but they were the critical ones. Be warned: not all of the revelations in this tome are for the faint of heart. Some, in fact, will break your heart. Golf was a sleepy hamlet in the 1990s, until the 16-lane interstate called Eldrick “Tiger” Woods came into town. Everything changed, which meant that everything would change again and again, into eternity. Once the ball starts rolling, it’s impossible to stop.

My favorite aspect of this book is its candor. Hughes Norton is well into his time on Planet Earth. He has no reason to hold back, and he doesn’t. My least favorite aspect is that George Peper got the call to co-author the book (and I didn’t.) Seriously, there is no LFA for me, so this is the best that I could do.

Decision: Buy It!

The Golf Courses of Seth Raynor

Michael Wolf, James Sitar, and Jon Cavalier, in abject partnership, collaborated to produce a handsome volume on the work of gone-too-soon, engineer-turned-golf course architect. Seth Raynor was pulled into the game by Charles Blair MacDonald, the crusty godfather of American golf. Raynor played little golf across the 51 years of his life. His reason? He did not wish to corrupt his designs with the demands and failings of his own game.

Jon Cavalier began his photography career as a contributor to the Golf Club Atlas discussion group. I met him there in a virtual way (we still have yet to shake hands) and have exchanged numerous emails over the years. Despite the demands of his day job, Cavalier has blossomed into the most traveled and prolific course photographer alive today. His photography, both hand-held and drone, makes the pages pop. Michael Wolf invited me and two friends to play his home course, despite having never met any of us in person. His words, melded to those of James Sitar, are the glue that connect Cavalier’s photos.

My favorite aspect of the books is the access it gives to the private-club world of Raynor. Fewer than five of his courses are resort or public access, and knowing people on the inside is not available to all. My suggestion? Write a letter/email and see if a club will let you play. Can’t hurt to try! My one complaint about the book is its horizontal nature. Golf is wide, but I like a little vertical in my photos. It’s not much of a complaint, given the glorious contents within the covers.

Decision: Buy It!!

Big Green Book from The Golfer’s Journal

Beginning with its (over)size, and continuing through the entire contents, there is no descriptor that defines the genre of the Big Green Book. It is photography, essay, layout, poetry, graphics, and stream of consciousness. It harnesses the creative power of a lengthy masthead of today’s finest golf contributors. Quotes from Harvey Penick, verse from Billy Collins, and prose from John Updike partner with images pure and altered, to immerse you in the diverse golf spaces that define this planet.

One of my favorite aspects is the spaces between the words and photos. Have your friends and others write a few notes to you in those blank areas, to personalize your volume even more. One aspect that needs improvement: the lack of female voices. I suspect that will be remedied in future volumes.

Decision: Buy It!!!

Troublemaker and The Unplayable Lie

Books that allege discrimination and mistreatment check two boxes: potentially-salacious reads and debate over whose perspective is accurate. In the end, the presentation of salacious revelation rarely meets the expectation, and the debate over fault is seldom resolved. Lisa Cornwell spent years as a competitive junior and college golfer, before joining The Golf Channel as a reporter and program host.

Despite the dream assignments, there were clouds that covered the sun. Cornwell documents episodes of favoritism and descrimination against her, prior to her departure from The Golf Channel in 2021. Her work echoes the production of the late Marcia Chambers, who wrote for Golf Digest in the 1980s and 1990s. Chambers took issue with many of the potential and real legal issues surrounding golf and its policies of access/no access. Her research culminated in The Unplayable Lie, the first work of its kind to address issues confronted by all genders and ethnicities, and immediately predated the professional debut of Tiger Woods in 1997.

My favorite aspects of the two works, are the courage and conviction that it took to write them, and believe in them. My least favorite aspects are the consistent bias that many groups continue to face. Without awareness, there is no action. Without action, there is no change.

Decision: Buy Them!!!!

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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open

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GolfWRX is on site in the Lone Star State this week for the Texas Children’s Houston Open.

General galleries from the putting green and range, WITBs — including Thorbjorn Olesen and Zac Blair — and several pull-out albums await.

As always, we’ll continue to update as more photos flow in. Check out links to all our photos from Houston below.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

See what GolfWRXers are saying in the forums.

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