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Morning 9: McCord speaks out (strongly) on firing | Is Tiger already the GOAT? | LPGA POY

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By Ben Alberstadt
Email me at [email protected] and find me at @benalberstadt on Instagram and golfwrxEIC on Twitter.

October 29, 2019

Good Tuesday morning, golf fans. A very Happy Birthday to my dad, who took me to Gospel Hill Golf Club in Erie, PA for my first round of golf some 25 years ago. 
 
**Just a reminder we’re looking for advertisers for 2020. Drop me a line if you’d like to talk about getting your message in front of the M9 readership.** 

 

1. McCord: I was fired
Golf Digest’s Dave Shedloski on the sacking of Gary McCord…
“This is not how I would have preferred to see it end,” McCord said. “I’m going on 72. I’ve been doing this for 30-odd years. I knew I was coming to the end of the deal, but I was going to go out on my terms. That’s not happening now.:
  • “Bottom line, they fired me.”
  • “McCord, who began his CBS career at the 1986 Memorial Tournament, had an inkling what was coming after learning close friend and colleague Peter Kostis, who has been with CBS since 1992, was informed last Wednesday that his option was not being picked up, either. “I looked at my phone, and I had a message from a 212 area code Wednesday night and thought, Uh oh,” said McCord, who got the news from McManus on Thursday.”
  • “He [McManus] tells me, and he told Peter the same thing, that ‘We think CBS golf is getting a little stale, and we need to go in another direction,’ ” McCord told Golf Digest by phone from his home in Scottsdale. “I’ve been called a lot of things, but one thing I’ve never been called is stale.”

Full piece.

Geoff Shackelford’s take is worth noting as well….”There was a great deal of sniping in recent years over McCord’s act having grown thin, but never felt that way. He was often the one person trying to inject some life into telecasts, but without his old foil David Feherty or many opportunities to exhibit his knowledge of the swing, McCord was often limited to the role of 16th hole traffic cop.  Therefore the notion of “stale” strikes me as more a statement about the CBS production elements (Yanni?) or overall energy than the work of any one announcer.”
2. Typhoons, Joker, and shaking off the rust 
Bob Harig takes a backward glance at Tiger Woods’ winning week, which included some interesting elements (in every sense of the word)…”A typhoon, of all things, interrupted Tiger Woods’ unlikely brush with history. As the rain hammered down Friday, postponing play at the Zozo Championship and causing considerable upheaval in the region, Woods and several others ventured to a Narita movie theater to catch “Joker.”
  • “Woods called the film “dark,” and he knows all about that word: from the scandal of a decade ago to the numerous back surgeries and the pain medication issues and the struggles to even assemble a golf game again.”
  • “I know what it’s like to have this game taken away from you,” Woods said in a telling moment on the 18th green Monday, where he soon would be taking part in an awards ceremony to celebrate his 82nd PGA Tour victory, some 8,000 miles from his home in Florida.

Full piece.

3. A Tiger in the Olympics? 
Golf Channel’s Will Gray…”Woods’ record-tying 82nd career win also vaulted him back into the mix for the U.S. Olympic team, with only the top four American men qualifying for next year’s event in Tokyo. While countries are capped at two players per nation, there is a provision to allow up to four players from the same country to play if all are ranked inside the top 15 in the world.”
  • “Woods’ victory moved him to No. 6 in the latest world rankings, and he’s currently the fourth-highest American behind Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson and Justin Thomas. But the Official World Golf Rankings utilize a two-year rolling points system that currently dates back to October 2017, while points for the official Olympic rankings only began accruing in July 2018.”

Full piece.

4. LPGA POY 
Golf DIgest’s Ryan Herrington…”In contrast, who would pick up the LPGA player-of the-year award has been a foregone conclusion for a few months. Jin Young Ko’s stats speak for themselves: four victories, including two major titles (ANA Inspiration and the Evian Championship), three runner-ups, five additional top-10 finishes and no missed cuts in 20 starts.”
  • “And with a T-9 finish on Sunday at the BMW Ladies Championship, the 24-year-old from South Korea officially ended the discussion. Despite three events remaining on the LPGA schedule, Ko’s edge in points over Jeongeun Lee6 (241 to 123) makes it mathematically impossible for anyone to catch Ko.”
5. The knee is key 
Tiger Woods quoted in the Independent…”The knee wasn’t allowing me to rotate and because of that it put more stress on my lower back and hip,” he said.
“I didn’t really know I’d come back and play at this level but the fact I could get down and read putts again is something I hadn’t done in months. Something pretty subtle makes a difference. I felt more comfortable with my putter just because I was able to make a better stance.
“Ironically my back has been less sore. I’ve been able to rotate better. The way I started this week, who would have thought, bogeying the first three holes, I’d shoot the number I shot. I made a few mistakes this week but they weren’t bad.”
6. East Lake Cupdate
Golfweek’s JuliaKate E. Culpepper…”After Mark Power made a birdie putt on the 18th hole at East Lake Golf Club on Monday, he pumped his fist and smiled. The freshman from Wake Forest was leading the East Lake Cup and in a good position to win the individual honors trophy.”
  • “The passion Power emitted stemmed from the thought of earning his first individual win as a collegiate athlete, but he also smiled because he remembers what it took to get him to this point: disappointment, hard work and a little luck.”
7. Already the GOAT?
Golf Channel’s Randall Mell makes the case…”You don’t need to be a world class litigator to make a convincing case that Tiger Woods is already the greatest player of all time.”
  • “The argument is laid out in the formidable nature of the foes strewn in his path.”
  • “The guy is golf’s version of Keanu Reeves blowing past an onslaught of enforcers in the John Wick movies.”
  • “With his 82 PGA Tour titles, Woods has Nicklaus, Hogan, Palmer, Nelson, Casper, Hagen, Mickelson, Sarazen, Middlecoff and Watson in his rearview mirror. He’ll have Snead behind him with his next title, which doesn’t seem such a daunting task with the form Woods showed tying Snead’s victory mark in Japan.”

Full piece.

8. Tiger’s Rolex
In case you were wondering…from our WOTW report…”Tiger Woods was wearing what looks to be a Rolex Sea-Dweller Deepsea D-Blue (ref: 126660-0002) on his wrist after winning his 82nd event, the ZOZO Championship! Finally, we get to feature Tiger Woods on WOTW. It feels like it took forever, but after a rain-soaked ZOZO Championship Tiger gets his legendary win, and we get to look at the Rolex he had on his wrist.”
  • “…Rolex created the first water and dustproof watch in 1926, protecting the watch movement from any damage. The Rolex Sea-Dweller debuted in 1960 as the more rugged and capable dive watch compared to the Submariner. Where the Submariner can dive to 300 meters, the standard Sea-Dweller goes to 1,220 meters, and the Sea-Dweller Deepsea will survive the wild depth of 3,900 meters! The Sea-Dweller Deepsea was introduced in 2008 and its water-resistance rating of 3,900 meters is more than 100 times deeper than any human could survive.”

Full piece.

9. Full Bubba 
Did you see the line Bubba took off the tee at the Zozo?
 

Check out the video on Golf Channel.

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GolfWRX Editor-in-Chief

4 Comments

4 Comments

  1. G

    Oct 29, 2019 at 5:30 pm

    CBS thought they were too stale? So their way of fixing that was to fire the least stale guy on their team? Huge miss, golf on TV got even worse with this change.

  2. James

    Oct 29, 2019 at 12:01 pm

    Tiger is hardly a GOAT. He couldn’t even keep his harem of dogs in line.

    • A. Commoner

      Oct 29, 2019 at 7:45 pm

      Picking the greatest of all time in any sport or activity is beyond nonsensical. Such an exercise ignores innumerable variables as to make it farcical.

  3. Ryan

    Oct 29, 2019 at 11:14 am

    McCord got on my nerves sometimes, he would talk over others, caddie conversations etc, but he knew his stuff and was a solid announcer. Kostis is in the same boat. He is very knowledgeable when it comes to the swing. They will both be missed. I don’t really know who they are going to pull in to replace them.

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News

Morning 9: 58 on the Korn Ferry Tour | Rory on possible return to policy board

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By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.

For comments: [email protected]

Good Friday morning, golf fans, may a bountiful weekend of golf be in store for you!

1. 58 on the Korn Ferry Tour

KFT staff report…”Frankie Capan III went crazy low Thursday on the Korn Ferry Tour. Nearly in record fashion.”

  • “Capan carded 13-under 58 in the opening round of the Veritex Bank Championship, matching the second lowest score in Korn Ferry Tour history. He fell one shy of Cristobal Del Solar’s record 57, set at the Astara Golf Championship presented by Mastercard earlier this year, but it was a heck of a show nonetheless.”
  • “The Minnesota native played an eight-hole stretch in 9-under Thursday, following an eagle at the par-5 ninth with seven straight birdies to begin the back nine at par-71 Texas Rangers Golf Club. He “cooled off” with a two-putt par at the long par-4 17th hole. He arrived at the par-5 18th hole at 13 under for the round, but he found a fairway bunker off the tee, laid up to 134 yards and missed his third shot left of the green. He chipped to 7 feet and drained the par putt to match the Korn Ferry Tour’s second-lowest score of 58, carded by Stephan Jaeger in the opening round of the 2016 Ellie Mae Classic at TPC Stonebrae.”
Full piece.

2. Team McIlowery starts strong

Paul Hodowanic for PGATour.com…”Late Thursday afternoon in New Orleans, Rory McIlroy rested his head on Shane Lowry’s shoulder.”

  • “It wasn’t the typical post-round moment, but this isn’t the typical event. McIlroy and Lowry teamed up for this week’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans, the PGA TOUR’s lone team event, and the all-Irish duo put on a show. Sporting matching pink-on-navy getups, McIlroy/Lowry opened in a best-ball 11-under 61 in Thursday’s Four-ball format at TPC Louisiana.”
  • “This partnership might have stemmed from a boozy brunch last fall, but their opening-round performance at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans gave the field a sobering reminder: They’ll be tough to top.”
Full piece.

3. LPGA Tour: Grace Kim in front

AP report…”Grace Kim shot a 7-under 64 at Wilshire Country Club to take the first-round lead Thursday in the LPGA Tour’s JM Eagle LA Championship.”

  • “Playing in the morning session, the 23-year-old Australian capped her bogey-free round with a chip-in birdie on the par-3 18th.”
  • “Well, I chunked my tee shot on the last hole 20 meters short and then I chipped it in it,” Kim said. “I think that’s pretty cool, in front of everyone
Full piece.

4. McIlroy on rejoining policy board

Golf Channel’s Ryan Lavner…”Rory McIlroy said Wednesday that he is willing to rejoin the PGA Tour policy board if the other player directors want him.”

  • “As first reported by the Guardian, Webb Simpson has submitted a letter stating that he’d like to resign from the board, but only if his vacant seat is filled by McIlroy, who stepped down last fall because of the toll it had taken on him professionally and personally.”
  • “Five months later, what has changed?”
  • “I think I can be helpful,” McIlroy said Wednesday ahead of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, where he is partnering with Shane Lowry. “I don’t think there’s been much progress made in the last eight months, and I was hopeful that there would be. I think I could be helpful to the process. But only if people want me involved, I guess.”
Full piece.

5. Charlie Woods shoots 81 in U.S. Open qualifier

Golfweek’s Cameron Jourdan…”Charlie Woods is going to have to wait to play in the U.S. Open.”

“The 15-year-old son of Tiger Woods played Thursday in local qualifying for the United States Golf Association’s national championship, set for June 13-16 at Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina. Charlie played at The Legacy Golf & Tennis Club in Port St. Lucie, Florida, and he shot 9-over 81.”

“Charlie’s round featured a bogey on his opening hole, the par-4 first. He then doubled the par-5 second. A pair of pars followed before his lone birdie on the front, but another double the next hole, the par-4 sixth, had him turn in 4-over 40.”

Full piece.

6. Photos from the Zurich Classic

GolfWRX is live on site this week at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans for the PGA Tour’s one-and-only two-man team event.

Check out all our photos at the link below!

Full piece.
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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans

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GolfWRX is live on site this week at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans for the PGA Tour’s one-and-only two-man team event.

As usual, general galleries, WITBs, and pullout albums — including some pretty spicy custom putters and headcovers — await your viewing.

Be sure to check back for more photos from the Big Easy, as we’ll continue to update this page with additional galleries throughout the week.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

See what GolfWRXers are saying about our photos from the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in the forums.

 

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News

Morning 9: Tiger’s TGL teammates | Woosnam’s criticism of Cantlay | Rory’s return to tour policy board

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By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.

For comments: [email protected]

Good Tuesday morning, golf fans, as the PGA Tour heads to New Orleans for the Zurich Classic.

1. 15-year-old finishes top 20 on KFT

Jay Coffin for Golf Digest…”During a week when most eyes were on Scottie Scheffler and Nelly Korda, the 15-year-old lefty finished off an incredible week with a five-under 66 in the final round of the Korn Ferry Tour’s LECOM Suncoast Classic at Lakewood Ranch in Florida.”

  • “After opening with 68-66-70, Russell finished at 14-under-par total to tie for 20th place. The finish in which he jumped 28 positions on the leaderboard on the final day, gives him an exemption into next week’s Veritex Bank Championship at Rangers Park in Arlington, Texas. He’s the youngest player to finish inside the top 20 on the PGA of Korn Ferry tours, according to records that go back to 1983.”
Full piece.

2. Understandably, Nelly WDs

Golf Channel’s Ryan Lavner…”Nelly Korda’s bid for a record-setting sixth consecutive win will have to wait a few weeks.”

  • “A day after capturing the Chevron Championship during a marathon final round in Houston, Korda announced on social media that she was withdrawing from this week’s JM Eagle LA Championship.”
  • “It was not an easy decision,” she wrote. “After the unbelievable week at the Chevron and grinding through the mental and physical challenges of four events in the past five weeks, I am definitely feeling exhausted. With so much still to come throughout 2024, I feel I need to listen to my body and get some rest, so I can be ready for the remainder of the season.”
Full piece.

3. Scheffler’s impressive No. 1 feat

Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine…”After Scheffler’s victory Monday morning at the RBC Heritage, Scheffler upped his points average to 15.016 and increased his advantage in the Official World Golf Ranking over No. 2 Rory McIlroy to more than double McIlroy’s 7.365 average, meaning Scheffler is ranked further ahead of No. 2 than No. 2 is ahead of the last-ranked player.”

  • “The last time a No. 1 player had a greater points average was Woods, who was at 15.4564 on Dec. 6, 2009. But Woods was less than seven average points ahead of No. 2 Phil Mickelson at the time. Earlier that year, Woods was 7.735 ahead of Mickelson, which is the last time the gap between Nos. 1 and 2 was greater than Scheffler’s current 7.651 advantage.”
Full piece.

4. Zurich field notes

PGATour.com’s Adam Stanley…”Rory McIlroy will make his tournament debut alongside good pal, Ryder Cup teammate, and Irishman Shane Lowry – a duo that was firmed up during a celebratory lunch after the Ryder Cup last fall… Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele will try to reprise their 2022 win here. Cantlay and Schauffele have both the Foursomes and Four-ball scoring records at this event… Davis Riley and Nick Hardy will defend their 2023 title. No team has gone back-to-back… Three sets of brothers (and two sets of twins!) will play together with twins Rasmus and Nicolai Højgaard and Parker and Pierceson Coody in the field along with Alex and Matt Fitzpatrick. Alex Fitzpatrick and Rasmus Højgaard are sponsor invites…”

  • “Billy Horschel, who won last week at the Corales Puntacana Championship, will be without his previous partner Sam Burns, as Burns and his wife are expecting their first child any day. Horschel will instead be paired with fellow University of Florida alum Tyson Alexander. Horschel has won the Zurich Classic when it was both an individual and team event… Other notable pairings include Collin Morikawa and Kurt Kitayama, Sahith Theegala and Will Zalatoris, and Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin. The Canadian duo finished runner-up a year ago and would like nothing more than to show Presidents Cup International Team captain Mike Weir how well they play together… Steve Stricker will play his second TOUR event this season (after earning his way into THE PLAYERS Championship), teaming up with Matt Kuchar.”
Full piece.

5. Tiger’s teammates

Field Level Media report…”Tiger Woods announced Monday that Max Homa, Tom Kim and Kevin Kisner have joined his Jupiter Links GC TGL team.”

  • “The virtual golf league headed by Woods and Rory McIlroy will begin its inaugural season next January. Woods also unveiled the team’s logo.”
  • “I have already shared my excitement and optimism for TGL as a league and product,” said Woods. “Now that we have finalized our roster with a team of world-class golfers, I am even more confident that this group will proudly represent the Jupiter (Fla.) area and connect with our fans for years to come.”
Full piece.

6. Woosnam questions Cantlay’s decision

Our Matt Vincenzi…”After the horn sounded to suspend play due to darkness, Cantlay, who’s ball was in the fairway on the 18th hole, had a decision to make. With over 200 yards into the green and extreme winds working against the shot, conventional wisdom would be to wait until Monday morning to hit the shot.”

  • “On the other hand, if he could finish the hole, he may just want to get the event over with so he could get out of Hilton Head.”
  • “Curiously, Cantlay chose neither of those options. After hitting 3-wood into the green, and still coming up short, the former FedEx Cup champion chose to mark his ball and chip and putt on Monday morning.”
  • “Ian Woosnam, who was watching from home, took to X to give his thoughts on Cantlay’s decision making.”
  • “Cantlay would end up getting up and down for par when play resumed at 8:00 am Monday morning.”
Full piece.

7. JT on Scheffler’s “weird” equipment choice

Our Matt Vincenzi…”After Justin Thomas’ third round of the RBC Heritage, the two-time major champion went in the broadcast booth alongside the CBS crew.”

  • “While Thomas was watching Scottie Scheffler play on the back nine of his third round, he wondered aloud why Scottie uses high-numbered golf balls.”
  • “Does anybody else think it’s weird that Scottie uses high numbers? I don’t know if I’ve ever seen an elite player use high-numbered golf balls.”
  • “Amanda Balionis who was on the grounds chimed in, reporting that analyst Dottie Pepper had wondered the same thing earlier that day.”
  • “I’ve been going about this wrong my whole life,” Thomas jokingly said.
Full piece.

8. Rory to rejoin PGA Tour policy board

Mark Schlabach for ESPN…”Four-time major championship winner Rory McIlroy is poised to return to the PGA Tour’s policy board, pending a vote by the board, which could come as early as this week, sources confirmed to ESPN on Tuesday.”

  • “One of the PGA Tour’s most vocal supporters during its three-year battle with LIV Golf, McIlroy abruptly resigned as a player director on the tour’s influential policy board in November.”
  • “He is expected to replace policy board player director Webb Simpson, who intends to step away before his two-year term expires in 2025.”
Full piece.

9. Weir names Presidents Cup assistants

PGA Tour report…”International Team Captain Mike Weir announced Ernie Els, Trevor Immelman, Geoff Ogilvy and Camilo Villegas as captain’s assistants for the 2024 Presidents Cup, which will be played at The Royal Montreal Golf Club in Montreal, Canada, Sept. 24-29.

Full piece.
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