5. Ready for Riv
A bit from Dan Kilbridge of Golfweek’s look at Tiger Woods’ return to action this week…
- “This year I have an understanding of what I can and cannot do,” Woods said. “Finishing the year the way I did in the playoffs, hitting it like I did was great because I finally built it to a place where I can take a little time off and I know what I’ll have when I come back. I don’t have to go looking, searching for something, so that helps a lot.”
- “Telling comments coming off a T-20 finish at the Farmers Insurance Open in January at Torrey Pines, where Woods wasn’t as sharp as he hoped but still put together a solid result without much help from the putter.”
- “The fact Woods knows what his game is now all about means he’s spent the past few weeks sharpening and honing his swing. It’s not the big soul-searching process it was at times last year.”
6. Respect earned
Ho Sung Choi didn’t make the cut at Pebble Beach, but he did earn a measure of respect to go along with the amused infatuation the golf world has directed at him.
- USA Today’s Steve Dimeglio…”Yet the 45-year-old from a small fishing village in South Korea, who took up golf when he was 25, couldn’t stop smiling as the waves crashed the craggy coastline. He had won the lottery, after all, and his first trip to American soil and his first start on the PGA Tour left a lasting impression not only for Choi but for those entertained by his affable personality, showmanship and outrageous follow-throughs full of twists and turns that have made him an internet sensation.”
- “On the scenic stages of Pebble Beach, Spyglass Hill and Monterey Peninsula’s Shore Course, Choi was the biggest star in a tournament filled with celebrities and some of the game’s best players, his festive galleries larger than those following Bill Murray, Wayne Gretzky, Phil Mickelson and Jordan Spieth.”
- And this…”While the record will show he missed the cut by 11 shots after rounds of 72-75-77, Choi wasn’t out of his element in a week full of elements featuring hail, showers and bone-chilling temps. The four-time winner on the Japanese and Korean tours was baffled by the Poa annua greens but was far from a sideshow, as he impressed Kelly, who has six victories on the PGA Tour and PGA Tour Champions.”
7. 90 years of slow play
Geoff Shackelford reflects on the 1929 L.A. Open for Golfweek
- “Walter Hagen was not having a great L.A. Open week after opening with a 77. The reigning Champion Golfer of the Year was announced on the first tee by actress Fay Ward as “the Opium Champion of Great Britain” and was paired with Tommy Armour during the third round of that 1929 L.A. Open, the first at Riviera.”
- “Back then, groupings were notoriety-driven, so The Haig and the Silver Scot were the main draws and put together for Saturday’s round. Armour infamously set up shop over his shots after he triple-bogeyed the first hole and watched a lead slip away. Hagen was out of contention when organizers planned to put him with Armour for Sunday’s final round.”
- “Knowing January days were short and not wanting to suffer another day with Armour, Hagen threatened to withdraw before suffering through another 18 with the Silver Scot. Organizers caved.”
8. Team Eldrick vs. Team Fredrick
While it’s unclear if the Monday finish at Pebble Beach will disrupt these plans, Golfweek’s Forecaddie took a look at the unique Monday itinerary at the Genesis Open.
- “For $25 a fan can get a little bit of everything, from seeing some top players supporting their alma maters to major celebs. Oh, and Tiger Woods.”
- “After 12 collegiate players vie for a Genesis Open field spot, a new team element hosted by Tiger and Fred Couples will feature a nine-hole celebrity match play. At around 2 p.m. PT, The Celebrity Cup “will bring together two teams comprised of six celebrities” with Team Eldrick captained by Woods and Team Frederick captained by LA fan favorite Fred Couples.”
- “The Man Out Front has confirmed that Mark Wahlberg, Larry Fitzgerald, Jerry Rice, Nick Jonas and Reggie Bush have all committed – on top of Woods making a rare Monday appearance at a PGA Tour event. It’s all been an amazing L.A. transformation given how much of a struggle former tournament host Jerry West had in convincing the Tour and the tournament’s former sponsor, Northern Trust, to embrace L.A.’s access to attention-getting star power early in the week.”
9. PGA Memes speaks
Hally Leadbetter talked to the man (presumably) behind the PGA Memes Instagram account
“Walk us through the meme-making process.”
“I’m pretty busy in all areas of my life, so I try to balance it out and get ahead of things. The bigger following you get you have, the more people are sharing ideas and giving you inspiration. I’ll share a lot of images and line up different thoughts in my head for when the right moment comes. I try to have a content calendar because I think you can overshare and overdo things sometimes. I’m always trying to find something that fits with the audience and that’s “now.” There are a lot of pages that just repost the same material over and over again, but I’m always trying to push the boundaries. I’m really not that crazy; people probably think I’m nuts when they see some of my posts but there’s been times where I’ve second-guessed myself and then when I post it, it’s like “Wow, people liked that.”
“Wow, content calendar, so you’re pretty serious about this. What’s your day job, and what are your aspirations for PGA Memes?”
“I’m an executive that focuses on sales, marketing and business development. Understanding your content calendar is key because you don’t want to overdo it, and you need to know the right times to post. So I have that embedded in me from my day-to-day career. And for this, it certainly has taken off and opened the doors to some opportunities, but I’m not quite ready to quit my day job just yet. But the page is getting over 6 million impressions a week and it’s growing over 1,500 people a day, so I’m projecting to hit over a half a million followers by the end of the year. So who knows? When you get to that point you never know where it can take you. Overall, it’s just a hobby, it’s fun to do. It’s kind of an escape from day-to-day reality.”
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