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Opinion: The miracles of Bill Haas?

Published

12 years ago

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By Vince Robitaille

GolfWRX Contributor

The weekend saw two things happen, a great rally by the son of a Hall of Famer, namely Bill Haas, and the worst possible outcome for the long-term sake of the PGA Tour … a great rally by the son of a Hall of Famer, namely Bill Haas. For those of you who might wonder where I’m going with this, just stick around for a minute or, better still, revert back to that dreadful afternoon of Sept. 25, 2011, which was the theatre of – well if you can’t see where I’m going with this, the depths of your mind are, how could I put it … pretty dimly lit. There was yet another Bill Haas rally. To say that I don’t like the North Carolinian is rather accurate, but my dislike isn’t aimed at Bill Haas the man, more at Bill Haas the FedExCup winner and, much to dismay, said FedExCup winner just legitimized all that is wrong with the flawed PGA Tour playoff system.

As Mickelson was standing over his second shot on No. 18 at Riviera last Sunday, the head honchos of the great ole’ PGA Tour must have been licking their proverbial chops as they were sitting at a table where either a prime cut of bloody filet mignon or a decadently juicy burger straight from a DDD episode, was going to get served to them on a silver plate. Of course, one could point out that no vegetarian would even come anywhere close to such dishes, but don’t you worry, they’re not.  Yes, that’s what was unfolding in front of their hungry gaze: the holy grail of win-win situations – well, the inclusion of Tiger Woods in there somewhere might have upped the ante, but even that seems unlikely and needs some further pondering; said pondering shall be done in a future installation of Yours Truly’s editorial work. On one side, golf’s good guy, Phil Mickelson, would go back-to-back despite the much covered family and arthritic issues. On the other, Bill Haas would prove that he is a premier golfer worthy, from a qualitative standpoint at least, of being Tour Champion.

Sadly for us, Bill Haas did prove himself worthy and silenced the detractors of the playoff system for, what will be, most of the year – hence, inhibiting any effort that could have been planned by the PGA Tour in order to perfect said system – much like the obvious football national champion coming out on top at the end of Bowl Championship Series cools down everyone regarding the BCS selection process and gives its officials the opportunity to show us how well the system “works”.  However, unlike the BCS, which intricacies are somehow part of its flair and assure that a twice-defeated team will be kept at bay, the FedExCup bring everyone back in, neglecting any type of comprehensible drama. Of course, there’s always Bill Haas to bail the Tour out and provide some last second excitement, but that’s only in the event that one had previously decided to watch on Sunday. Let’s not even discuss the three previous rounds which futility only matches their potential; a potential which, if the Tour wants to, one day achieve its goal of keeping its viewership riveted once the pigskin gets snapped, needs to be reached quickly.

While the prospect of a match play tournament to close out the season could be the most enviable option out there – or even an hybrid event a la U.S. Amateur — as nothing excites the sports aficionado more than a mano e mano fight to the death, the exclusivity clause that hold the World Golf Championship-Accenture Match Play Championship on such a format, forces us to look somewhere else for a decent alternative. As searching left and right aimlessly like a headless chicken leads nowhere, one has to stare in the eye of the blazing red Bacchanal figure and find the root of the problem, if order to discover the necessary remedy. Ergo, what, in The Playoffs, triggers Yours Truly’s gag reflex ever so vigorously? The reset does. Riddle me this: why would months of hardship be offset by a ridiculous bureaucratic act in order to give every horse a shot? And don’t get me started on all the fuss that is made about FedExCup points; one simply can’t spend more than a few hours watching any broadcaster’s coverage without it getting forcefully shoved down his throat, and we eat it up I might add — Sasha would be proud. We eat it up, but only for a few months, then reality kicks in and we realize that it was only a farce. Why not go all the way? Why not make it so that those FedExCup points, with which you bombard us throughout the summer, actually mean something in the very end? Why not turn it into a handicap-based Tour Championship? Give strokes to the players in accordance to their ranking after the third leg, and make the rear-enders chase the front runners with what really matters in the glorious game of golf: strokes. And I mean actual strokes, not some bottom echelon bias algorithmic facade. By doing so, you might get another Bill Haas miracle to end it all; then again, it might just come a little too late, but guess what, we’ll be watching.

Click here for more discussion in the “Tour Talk” forum.

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2 Comments

2 Comments

  1. Cavsball42

    Feb 23, 2012 at 1:34 pm

    There are pros and cons to any format. The goal of any professional (or collegiate) organization is to drive viewership. Viewership= Revenue. NASCAR used to have a point system which added up points throughout the year and the guy with the most was the winner. The problem was, if the lead guy locked up the championship with 5 races to go, what was really the point of watching?

    If your goal is for the “Best” player to win, then you sacrifice viewers in the instance that the championship is locked up before the final day.

    On the other hand, if the goal is viewers, then you have to have a format that decides the Champion on the last day. The risk you run here is that the best man may not win.

    Personally I like the second approach. March Madness is a great example. No one watches March Madness to see Duke beat Mt. St. Mary by 60. They watch to see the teams like Butler make a run at the championship. Cinderella?

    When I read the article, I wonder if the tone of the article would be different had it been Phil Mickelson who came from behind on Sunday, hit a miracle shot from the water that will be played FOREVER, and won the FedEx Cup?

    Reply Report comment

  2. dekker

    Feb 23, 2012 at 8:03 am

    The business of golf is increasingly a game between Madam and John, with the best girls promised to the couch.
    The average golfer doesn’t care about the intimate business details of golf. You could name it the Jemima Waffle Cup and he’d care less.
    That the deluded sponsor think he is provided with some worthwhile exposure must be an inside joke.

    Reply Report comment

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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2024 PGA Championship

Published

23 hours ago

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May 14, 2024

By

GolfWRX is on site this week at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, for the PGA Championship.

While we see fewer equipment changes and new gear seeding at major championships, we get a look at custom gear and looks into the bags of players we rarely see, which is just as exciting. In the case of the PGA Championship, this means a look at the gear some of the PGA Professionals who qualified for the tournament will be gaming, and LIV players, such as Jon Rahm and Patrick Reed.

Check out links to all our albums from Valhalla below and check back throughout the week as we continue to update.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

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Morning 9: Is it Rory’s time? | Stricker WDs | Why Valhalla is a great major venue

Published

1 day ago

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May 14, 2024

By
By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.

For comments: [email protected]

Good Tuesday morning, golf fans, as we gear up for the PGA Championship from iconic Valhalla.

1. Is now the time Rory finally ends major drought?

BBC’s Iain Carter…”But given the imperious form he showed in Charlotte last week, perhaps this is the PGA Championship to rekindle the ruthless streak of old. And not just because he is back at Valhalla (the Nordic word for the hall of the fallen).”

  • “It also became clear last week that McIlroy is somewhat persona non grata to the PGA Tour’s Policy Board. His views on a global future for this damagingly split sport do not seem to chime with the American dominated body.”
  • “His offer to return to the board from which he resigned earlier this year was rejected and he has been left as a mere non-voting member of the “transaction committee” dealing with a potential deal with Saudi Arabia.”
  • “McIlroy insists there are “no hard feelings” but there should be.”
  • “No player has worked harder for their sport during this period of unprecedented tumult and the board has rejected someone many people regard as the game’s most articulate and enlightened international voice.”
  • “Now is, surely, the time for McIlroy to feel slighted and respond with his clubs. Play as though he has a chip on his shoulder, but in the knowledge that he is generationally the most consistent golfing force out there.”
Full piece.

2. Scheffler in for PGA Champ after birth of child

Jaclyn Hendricks for PGATour.com…”Scottie Scheffler and wife Meredith’s bundle of joy has arrived.”

  • “The couple welcomed their first child, just weeks after Scheffler claimed his second Masters victory in three years.”
  • “Sports Illustrated’s Bob Harig tweeted Saturday that the baby was born and Scheffler will play in this week’s PGA Championship — the second major of the season.”
  • “There’s been nothing official from Scottie Scheffler, his team or the Tour… But word is he will be at Valhalla for the PGA next week after winning four of his last five tournaments, including the Masters. He is currently on the Tuesday interview schedule for 3:30 p.m. #babyborn,” Harig wrote over the weekend.”
Full piece.

3. “Erik van Rooyen, friends and family live in honor of ‘Trazzy’”

  • That’s the headline of Ryan Lavner’s superb piece on Erik van Rooyen and his departed best friend Jon Trasmar. An excerpt would be an injustice. Go read it!
Full piece.

4. Stricker out of PGA citing fatigue

AP report…”Steve Stricker decided Sunday to withdraw from the PGA Championship at Valhalla, citing the difficulty of playing four times in a span of five weeks.”

  • “Stricker, 57, was eligible by winning the Senior PGA Championship last year. He, John Daly and Phil Mickelson are the only players to have competed at Valhalla each of the previous three times the PGA Championship was held there.”
Full piece.

5. Why Valhalla is a great venue for major championships

Garrett Morrison for The Fried Egg…”But before we start slinging mud (of which there will be plenty in Kentucky this week), let’s pause to think about why Valhalla tends to generate close final-round battles featuring elite players. It’s not magic: the course has long par 3s and 4s, narrow fairways, and smallish greens surrounded by rough and bunkers. This style of design and setup, which practically defines the PGA Championship’s modern brand, gives an outsize advantage to a skill that many star players share: power. Length off the tee and the ability to muscle the ball out of rough to a well-protected green will be near-prerequisites for contending at this week’s PGA Championship. If Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm, and Bryson DeChambeau show up with any kind of short-game and putting form, they will be in the mix on Sunday. And the presence of such A-listers on the leaderboard will further burnish Valhalla’s reputation as a serious venue.“

  • “It does not follow, however, that Valhalla is a great golf course. In fact, I find it a fairly mediocre and bland one. Very few holes offer multiple options of the tee (the exceptions being the short par-4 fourth and the double-fairway par-5 seventh), most of the greens lack memorable contouring, and the recovery shots from around the fairways and greens are one-dimensional and repetitive. So even if Sunday turns out to be a barn-burner, the first three rounds, when the focus will be on the course and the shots demanded, will probably be sleepier, aside from the inevitable Blockie walk-and-talk.”
Full piece.

6. Dunne resigns from policy board

Mark Schlabach for ESPN…”Jimmy Dunne, who last year helped negotiate the PGA Tour’s controversial framework agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, resigned from the tour’s policy board on Monday.”

  • “In Dunne’s resignation letter, a copy of which was obtained by ESPN, Dunne wrote that “no meaningful progress has been made towards a transaction with PIF” and that “my vote and my role is utterly superfluous” now that player directors outnumber independent directors on the policy board. Dunne’s resignation was effective immediately.”
  • “It is crucial for the Board to avoid letting yesterday’s differences interfere with today’s decisions, especially when they influence future opportunities for the tour,” Dunne wrote. “Unifying professional golf is paramount to restoring fan interest and repairing wounds left from a fractured game. I have tried my best to move all minds in that direction.”
  • “Along with PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, Dunne and policy board chairman Ed Herlihy secretly negotiated the framework agreement with the PIF, which is financing the rival LIV Golf League. Monahan and PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan announced the deal on June 6. Most PGA Tour players — including some player directors — were unaware of the deal until it was announced on TV.”
Full piece.
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Tour Rundown: Rose blooms, Rory rolls

Published

2 days ago

on

May 13, 2024

By

This week last year, I found myself praying to the weather goddesses and gods that Rochester would be spared their wrath over the next seven days. The 2023 Oak Hill PGA Championship (that was slated for August when the contract was signed) was on the horizon, and I wanted my region to show well. Things turned out fine, with all four seasons making an appearance, a PGA Professional (Blockie!) stealing hearts, and a proven champion in Koepka (although I was pulling for Viktor.)

This year, no concerns. Louisville will shine this week at Valhalla, but we’ve matters to consider before we look to four days of coverage this week. Nelly did not win on the LPGA this week, so who did? The PGA Tour held two events in the Carolinas, and Tour Champions celebrated a major event in Alabama. Four noteworthy events to run down, so let’s head to RunDownTown and take care of business.

LPGA @ Founders Cup: Rose blooms

There was a sense that Rose Zhang might have a role in the 2020s version of the LPGA. After winning everything there was in amateur golf, she came out and won her first tournament as a professional. That was last May and, let’s be honest, who among us thought it would take 12 months for Zhang to win again? Rhymes with hero, I know.

This week in New Jersey, eyes were on Nelly Korda, as she made a run at a sixth consecutive win on the LPGA circuit. Korda ran out of gas on Saturday, and that was just fine. Madelene Sagstrom and Zhang had turned the soiree at Upper Montclair into a battle of birdies. Gabriela Ruffels came third at nine-under par. No one else reached double digits under par but Sagstrom and Zhang. They didn’t just reach -10…they more than doubled it.

Sagstrom had the look of a winner with five holes left to play. She was three shots clear of Zhang, at 23-under par. The Swede played her closing quintet in plus-one, finishing at 22-deep, 13 shots ahead of Ruffels. That performance we’d anticipated from Zhang? It happened on Sunday. She closed with four birdies in five holes to snatch victory number two, by two shots. Spring is a lovely time for a Rose in bloom.

PGA Tour @ Wells Fargo: Rory the Fourth is crowned in Charlotte

Xander Schauffele is a likable lad. He has an Olympic gold medal on his shelf, and a few PGA Tour titles to his credit. Even X knows that even par won’t get much done in a final round unless conditions are brutal. They weren’t brutal at Quail Hollow on Sunday. X posted even par on day four. It kept him ahead of third-place finisher Byeong Hun An but gave him zero chance of challenging for the title.

Paired with Xander in round four was the King of Quail, Rory McIlroy. The Northern Irishman had previously won thrice at the North Carolina track, and he was champing at the bit to gain some momentum on the road to Louisville. While Xander scored increasingly worse along the week (64-67-70-71) McIlroy saved his best round for the final round. Thanks to five birdies and two eagles, McIlroy ran away with the event, winning his fourth Wells Fargo by five over Schauffele.

PGA Tour @ Myrtle Beach Classic: a little CG won the inaugural week

It always seemed odd that the PGA Tour had zero stops along the Grand Strand each season. This week’s event seemed odd in that the golfers played the same course each day, and there were zero handicaps involved. Most events at Myrtle Beach involve hundreds of amateurs at dozens of courses, with all sorts of handicaps.

The Dunes Club is a Robert Trent Jones Sr. course, down toward Pawley’s Island. It claims what used to be considered an unreachable, par-five hole, the watery 13th. Nothing is unreachable any longer, including a 22-under par total for a six-shot win. Chris Gotterup, a former Rutgers and Oklahoma golfer, played sizzling golf all week and won by a sextet of shots. Gotterup opened with 66, then improved to 64 on Friday. His Saturday 65 sounded a beacon of “come get me,” and his closing 67 ensured that second place was the only thing up for grabs.

Chasing the podium’s second level were a bunch of young Americans. In the end, Alastair Docherty and Davis Thompson reached 16-deep, thanks to rounds of 64 and 68 on Sunday. They held off six golfers at 15-under par. The victory was Gotterup’s first on tour and should be enough to get him a Wikipedia page, among other plaudits.

PGA Tour Champions @ Regions Traditions: Vindication for Dougie

Doug Barron, if I recall correctly, was suspended by the Powers That Be, way back in 2009, for testosterone. He was naturally low in the hormone, so he took supplements. This did not sit well with certain admins, so he was put on the shelf for 18 months. Not cool.

In 2019, Barron came out on the Tour Champions. He won in August. The next year, despite the craziness of Covid, he won again.  Barron hit a dry spell for a few years. He kept his card, but accrued no additional victories. In late April, Barron showed serious signs of life, with a t2 at Mitsubishi. This week in Birmingham, he jumped out to a lead, lost it, then gained it back on Saturday. With major championship glory on the line, Barron brought the train into the station with 68 on Sunday.

Stephen Alker, the man who could not lose just two years ago, gave serious chase with a closing 63. He moved up 11 slots, into solo 2nd on Sunday. He finished two shots back of the champion. Two shots ain’t much. Cough once and you drop a pair. Third place saw a three-way tie, including last year’s winner (Steve Stricker) and runner-up (Ernie Els.) Despite the intimidating presence of the game’s greats, however, Doug Barron had more than enough of everything this week, and he has a third Tour Champions title to show off.

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