Good Thursday morning, golf fans.
|
|
1 “Underwhelming”
Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard…”A group of managers representing some of the game’s biggest stars met with representatives from a proposed breakaway circuit Tuesday at Kiawah Island, but the meeting didn’t seem to bring any clarity to the situation.”
- “One manager who attended the meeting characterized it as “underwhelming” and given how long representatives from the Super League Golf concept have been pushing for the new tour it’s likely going to continue to be a topic and a distraction for some time.”
- “It’s a complete distraction,” Bryson DeChambeau said. “I would say from my perspective, I’d want to know what way to go and just let’s go, whatever it is. Whatever is best for the players and for the fans is what I would support.”
|
|
2. Bryson to unleash the beast
BBC report…”DeChambeau, who leads the PGA Tour in driving distance with an average of 322 yards, also warned those who do not hit it long will be in for a “tough week”.”
- “This golf course is a beast,” said the US Open champion.”
- “Hopefully I can unleash the beast, but you never know. I may hit it right or left, I don’t know. But I’d say for the most part you have to hit it pretty straight out here, even though I’m hitting it pretty far.”
|
|
3. Stricker restates interest in a Woods vice captaincy
ESPN’s Bob Harig…”Stricker, speaking in advance of the PGA Championship at the Ocean Course on Wednesday, said Woods’ involvement with the team is welcome.”
- “I’ve talked to him; I don’t know if we are there yet to commit to him being there,” Stricker said. “He’s still got a lot going on, and his spirits are great, though, as of late. We were on a Zoom call with him just last week, and he seems like he’s in a better place. He’s still got some ways to go.”
- “But I’d love to have him there. Who wouldn’t, right? The guys really respect him, and he did a great job as [Presidents Cup] captain [in 2019], and he was an assistant of mine in 2017 [at the Presidents Cup] and he was unbelievable. He would do anything for you, and he’s totally, totally vested in the situation and the process, almost to the point of, he’s on it early and so much, it’s like, ‘Dude, we’ve still got months to go yet.’ He’s really good at being an assistant, and I’d love to have him be there if it’s at all possible.”
|
|
4. A tough sell?
Eamon Lynch imagines the reality — and difficulty — on the ground of the Super Golf League…“Interest among players for the Super Golf League is a combination of many things: simmering resentment among top players that the Tour structure is too weighted toward rewarding mediocre performers, a simple desire to secure their financial futures, naked greed, or even a pressing need for cash to ameliorate past misadventures. Live like a Saudi prince and you’ll need a Saudi prince to bail you out.”
- “But none of them can legitimately claim to be motivated by a desire for competition.”
- “Imagine Gretzky having quit because Dancing on Ice offered more money. Or Jordan’s Bulls deciding that joining the Harlem Globetrotters was better than winning championships. Those who join the putative Saudi circuit are acknowledging that their competitive careers are over in any meaningful sense, that they’re no longer engaged in the pursuit of history or a legacy of excellence, or in measuring themselves against the greatest ever. It’s instead an admission that they’re not athletes but entertainers, mere vessels for marketing product, even if that product happens to be the currish reputation of a brutal regime.”
- “But those philosophical matters aren’t even the most troublesome questions players who split will face…There would be a public relations war that rebel players seem fated to lose.”
|
|
GolfWRX may earn a commission of “GolfWRX Recommends” products.
|
|
5. A different Kiawah test awaits
PGATour.com’s Ben Everill…”Nine years ago, this event was held in August. That means a much different challenge awaits this year’s field.”
- “When Rory McIlroy destroyed the field with his eight-shot win in 2012 he was aided by summer storms that softened up the Ocean Course significantly over the weekend. There was also a searing swampy heat well into the 90s that felt like triple digits. And the winds never blew at full strength.”
- “Weather forecasts are fickle, of course, but on the eve of this PGA Championship there is a 0% percent chance of rain, the temperatures are expected to be in the high 70s most of the week and the wind is due to sit around 15 mph with gusts towards the mid 20s. The wind will start the tournament out of the east and move to the northeast before flipping for the final round.”
|
|
6. On DJ’s knee
Tom D’Angelo, Palm Beach Post…”The world’s top-ranked golfer had his left knee checked out last week after withdrawing from the Byron Nelson. He spent the week at his home in Palm Beach County, had an MRI and put together a plan with his doctor and physiotherapist.”
- “The result: He’s feeling better and just in time for the PGA Championship, which is being played in his home state.”
- “It just didn’t feel right,” Johnson said about the knee he had arthroscopic surgery on 20 months ago. “I got an MRI, everything was fine … and just put together a little bit of a plan to get a little bit stronger. It feels good, though.”
|
|
7. Bryson’s toughest test?
Golf Channel’s Ryan Laver…”Bryson DeChambeau, say hello to the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island, at a shade under 7,900 yards the longest course in major championship history.”
- “They would seem a perfect fit, bullies, both brawny and brutish, but it’s not that simple. This PGA Championship will be the most challenging test of his transformation.”
- “It’s probably one of the hardest courses I’ve ever played,” DeChambeau said after his practice round Wednesday. “You can’t miss it in certain areas. You can’t bail out left or right. You’ve just got to have your ball-striking on the whole day, and if you don’t, you’re going to get penalized.”
|
|
8. The essence of a PGA Championship
Paul Sullivan for the NY Times…”With an eight-shot buffer, McIlroy beat a stacked field that succumbed to the course. He also set a record for margin of victory, besting the one set by Jack Nicklaus when he won his fifth P.G.A. Championship in 1980.”
- “That is exactly the kind of excitement the P.G.A. of America seeks when it selects a course for its major championship. It wants a bunch of players to have a chance to win, but it’s also happy if one player puts on a master class and pulls away from everyone else.”
- “Our philosophy is we want someone to win it, not lose it,” said Seth Waugh, chief executive of the P.G.A. of America, which holds the P.G.A. Championship and the Ryder Cup. “We want birdies and eagles and bogeys and others. We’re not trying to create a torture test. That’s not what we try to do.”
|
|
9. From the Tour Truck Report…
As you might expect, players aren’t making many substantial changes being made the week of a major championship. Nobody is looking to replace the starting quarterback the week of the Super Bowl (yes, I know there’s no WITB trade deadline in golf).
That said, we still have some interesting notes from the Ocean Course to bring your way ahead of the PGA Championship.
TaylorMade
- In a surprising move, Dustin Johnson is reportedly putting a SIM2 Max in play (10.5 degrees) with a LA Golf prototype shaft.
- Sergio Garcia has switched from the TP5x to the TP5 golf ball.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Super Dumb League
May 21, 2021 at 1:11 pm
Super League … B.S…
More millionaires not satisfied with being millionaires.
Funds from Saudi Arabia? Gee, if this were a *liberal*-leaning sport, the outrage from the other side would be palpable.
It was a pathetic thing when Greg Norman tried it, it’s pathetic now, and will be next time too.
It’s a shame golf isn’t considered “essential service”… Most people in those walks of life make less than $50k/yr.