1. Don’t blame J.B.
Steve Dimeglio, writing for Golfweek makes a valid point–while J.B. Holmes may have clearly been in violation of the spirit of slow play “rules,” he was never put on the clock at the Genesis Open. As he clearly feels it’s advantageous to play at the pace he does, and knowing there will be no negative ramifications for doing so, why would he speed up?
- “It took the final group – Adam Scott was alongside Holmes and Thomas for the sluggish ride – 5 hours, 29 minutes to complete 18 holes.”
- “…Holmes defended his pace of play, saying he “was never even close to being on the clock all week.”
- “And therein lies a major problem. Until officials start weighing in with slow-play penalties, this issue will still be an issue in 2055.”
- “Just look to the past to predict the future. The final group in L.A. on Sunday fell more than a hole behind the next-to-last group, which should have led an official to at least warn the group of its slow-play infractions. No such warning came.”
2. Tiger learning Chapultepec
ESPN’s Bob Harig…“Woods arrived Tuesday afternoon for his first look at the Club de Golf Chapultepec for the WGC-Mexico Championship, and he had his first range session and nine-hole practice round trying to figure out just how this is all will work before the tournament begins Thursday.
- “It’s a lot of work,” Woods said during a practice round with Justin Thomas and Billy Horschel, who was also playing the course for the first time. “The ball doesn’t peak. It spins basically the same but there is a lot to figure out.”
Full piece.
Harig reports Woods hasn’t played at altitude since 1999.
3. JT on the adjustments
Golf Channel quoting Thomas...”A 6-iron at home, I think [he hits it] about 200 yards,” Thomas estimated. “Last week in the mornings when we were warming up for the restarts, we were going about 180 [yards], and this week could be anywhere from 230 to 240 just depending on the height I hit it, how hard I hit it and whatnot.”
- “When you’re 250 yards away and you look down at your ball and you look up and the pin’s that far away, and you look back down and you have a pretty decent lofted iron in your hand,” he said. “Especially a hole like 6, that par 5 where you’re hitting over water. You could have 300 yards to the hole and I just pull out a 5-wood and you can’t even see anything, you’re over water, but if you hit it right, that’s the right club.”
4. Sponsors like shorts
Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard with the report…
“I knew it was coming because the players wanted it,” Horschel said of the PGA Tour’s new policy introduced this week that allows players to wear shorts during practice and pro-am rounds.
- …According to Horschel it was input from various sponsors that ultimately convinced the Tour to allow shorts.
- “[Tour commissioner Jay Monahan] was against it. He will tell you he wasn’t really for the shorts. But when the PGA of America did what they did and it was successful and people loved it he took notice,” Horschel said. “What pushed Jay over the edge was when he talked to the sponsors and they said they loved the shorts. They told him it brings the Tour player closer to us. That’s what Jay told me pushed him over the edge when it allowed the Tour players to become more relatable.”
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