1. Mell: Golf must act now to end slow play
Certainly, the Golf Channel staffer speaks for many, so forgive me, Mr. Mell, for quoting at length…
“Slow play isn’t good for DeChambeau’s image, but more importantly, it isn’t good for the game’s. It’s not just media and social critics saying so. It’s the game’s best players. Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy and Adam Scott are among the stars fed up with slow play…”
- “…Yes, it was encouraging to see the PGA Tour respond more than superficially last weekend, with a pledge to “take a deeper look” at the problem and how ShotLink technology may assist. But, like DeChambeau, PGA Tour officials are asking us to have faith in them. The Tour has slow played its slow-play problem for so damn long, faith among players and fans is in short supply.”
- “…The best way to break the game’s slow-play habit is to teach everyone to play by the same pace-of-play rules with the same penalties.”
- “…you can’t fine amateurs, but that’s the beauty of this collaboration. It doesn’t matter where you’re playing, the best penalty is to a player’s scorecard. Whether it’s a one-shot or two-shot penalty, there is strong message sent up and down the game’s ranks, for whatever slow-play policy the governing bodies agree upon.”
Full piece.
2. DeChambeau pledges to pick up the pace
Roxanna Scott at Golfweek...”Nearly 72 hours after he was ridiculed and ripped apart on Twitter for his pace of play at the Northern Trust, and about 24 hours after the PGA Tour said it will review its policies on the issue, Bryson DeChambeau vowed that he will play faster.”
“Slow play affects the quality of the game for both players and our fans and I’ve always had the utmost respect for my playing partners, including JT and Tommy,” he wrote on Instagram. “I’m constantly trying to improve and I will do my very best to improve my pace. Golf is my passion and livelihood. It’s my responsibility to help improve the game to be more enjoyable for all. Pace of play has been an issue for golf at all levels for a long time, and I’m committed to being a part of the solution, not the problem. I want to be a good representative of the game and the @PGATour and I looking forward to working with the TOUR and fellow players to find a solution to slow play.”
Full piece.
3. No WD from TW yet
The Striped One is still slated to tee it up Thursday at Medinah…
Details on who’s he’s paired with and what he’s facing via Golfweek’s Bill Speros..
- “Woods slipped to 38th in the FedEx Cup Standings after missing his WD at the Northern Trust. Only the top 30 players in the FedEx Cup Standings will advance to the Tour Championship next week. Woods won that event last year, ending a 5-year winless drought on the PGA Tour.”
- “Only 69 players will be competing this week. There is no 36-hole cut. The minimum payout is $18,500. The top 70 players in the FedEx Cup Standings qualify for the BMW, but Kevin Na WD’d on Monday so that he could be with his wife, who is pregnant with their second child.”
- “Woods begins play Thursday paired with C.T. Pan and Billy Horschel in a featured afternoon pairing that begins play at 12:54 p.m. ET on Thursday and 10:37 a.m. ET on Friday.”
Full piece.
4. Euro Solheim squad set; Pettersen gets picked
Golf Digest’s Keely Levins…”Eight members of the European Solheim Cup team qualified through points, which left four captain’s picks for Catriona Matthew to make on Monday for the event that begins Sept. 13 at Gleneagles in Scotland. The eight players who qualified were Carlota Ciganda, Anne Van Dam (the only rookie on the team), Caroline Hedwall, Charley Hull, Georgia Hall, Azahara Munoz, Caroline Masson and Anna Nordqvist. As expected, two of the captain’s picks were Bronte Law of England and Celine Boutier of France, the only European women to have won LPGA events in 2019. Matthew also selected Jodi Ewart Shadoff, who has played in two Solheim Cups, with a career record of 3-4-0. She is ranked No. 77 in the world and has had four top-10 finishes in 2019.”
- “Matthew’s final pick was Suzann Pettersen, ranked No. 620 in the world, who has just returned to competitive golf. The last LPGA Tour event Pettersen played before starting her maternity leave was the 2017 CME Group Tour Championship. Pettersen and her husband, Christian Ringvold, announced the birth of their son in August 2018.”
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Greg V
Aug 13, 2019 at 2:07 pm
Randall Mell also said this:
“Every second Spieth took to recover from his wayward shot into the practice range on his way to winning in the final round at The Open at Royal Birkdale two years ago was terrific theater.”
It wasn’t terrific theater for me; it was inconsiderate to his opponent, Matt Kuchar. It also took way too long, as Spieth deliberated his options, taking at least 20 minutes. I would have docked him two strokes for the time it took – excessive.