19th Hole

Long drive competition to form part of 2023 NFL Pro Bowl Skills competitions

Published

2 years ago

Jan 12, 2023

Yesterday, the NFL announced the eight tests that will form the make-up of the 2023 Pro Bowl, and it involves golf. Of sorts.

The All-Star game takes place on 2nd and 5th of February and ESPN will broadcast the event live for the first time, with the made-for-tv festival containing ‘skills’ that NFL.com reporter Ian Rapoport called school games.

This is tremendous. The 2023 Pro Bowl Games skills competitions are out and… I can’t wait to tell my kids when they get home from school that NFL players will play all their games pic.twitter.com/D9i4gAIfAv

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 11, 2023

On Thursday, the two teams, headed by the coaches Manning – Peyton (AFC) and Eli (NFC) – will face a game of classic dodgeball. The offense and defence of each team will face each other to determine who makes the final and wins three points.

Then follows the bizarre ‘Lightning Round’, something the older readers might have found on Almost Anything Goes! (known as It’s a Knockout for UK subscribers). Then, in the middle, just before ‘Precision Passing’ and ‘Best Catch’ is ‘Longest Drive.’

As NFL.com suggests, this comprises:

“Four players from each conference will compete in a challenge to drive a golf ball the furthest distance off a tee. Each player will get three swings and the player that drives the furthest within the boundaries on each side of the fairway will win three points for his conference.”

It’s not much, and will probably get lost amidst the more relevant football games, as well as Sunday’s ‘Big Catch Finale’, ‘Gridiron Gauntlet’, ‘Kick Tack Toe’ and ‘Move The Chains’, let alone the Flag football games that conclude the jamboree.

News divided potential viewers, and their reaction was mixed.

Many felt that it was a good move, and would be more entertaining than the usual arrangement:

Anything entertaining will be better than what the actual pro bowl game has reduced to and might actually get top names to do these fun activities. Good for fans to see their favorite players being relatable

— Todd (@todd_ray) January 11, 2023

However, there was plenty of opposition too:

Waste of everyone’s time. Have them play a 4 man scramble against every team in the league. Barkley can announce it. That would more entertaining. And no injuries. Guys half ass running throwing a ball into a moving barrell or hula hoop is no bueno

— Steven R. Pearson (@BigDaddy9804) January 11, 2023

So, what about the golf element?

No matter how hard they try, the Long Drive World Championship has never seen other than a novelty event by the vast majority of golf fans, despite the best attempts of 2020 U.S Open champion Bryson DeChambeau.

It’s also worth noting how much golf viewing figures take a downturn during the football season, so whilst maybe this is some nod to the sport, it feels like nothing more than more novelty.

Fun, maybe, but the move is unlikely to bring in any converted fans to the sport.

Longest Drive?!?! They could have put soooo many other football challenges in there. But chose golf?

— Vinny Martins, BS, CSCS, USAW (@vinnymart1995) January 11, 2023

The Open TV ratings don’t make for pretty reading

Published

1 day ago

Jul 24, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

According to Josh Carpenter of Sports Business Journal, last week’s Open Championship suffered its lowest television rating in almost a decade.

NBC and Peacock drew 3.39M viewers on Sunday for Xander Schauffele’s two-shot win in @TheOpen, down 4% from last year and Brian Harman.

That’s the lowest number for the final round since Zach Johnson’s win in 2015, which finished on a Monday on ESPN (cable) pic.twitter.com/9r7guxnfx1

— Josh Carpenter (@JoshACarpenter) July 23, 2024

The final round was down four percent from Brian Harman’s win in 2023 at Royal Liverpool, which offered very little drama down the stretch. It was the lowest-rated final round since Zach Johnson’s win in 2015 at St. Andrews: and that was a Monday finish.

Stars such as Rory McIlroy, Bryson DeChambeau, Ludvig Aberg, Viktor Hovland all missed the cut, which may have contributed to the lack of interest from casual golf fans.

This year, the Masters and The Open have decreased in ratings while the PGA Championship and U.S. Open saw an uptick. It’s fair to speculate whether the inclusion of Bryson DeChambeau deep into contention had an impact.

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While you’re here, check out BK’s look at Xander’s Open-winning WITB.

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19th Hole

‘That looks brutal’ – First photo of Tiger Woods’ leg without sleeve shows depth of injury

Published

3 days ago

Jul 23, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

It’s been a struggle of late for Tiger Woods on the golf course. The 15-time major champion has only teed it up five times in 2024, finishing 60th in The Masters and missing the cut in the other three majors. He also played in the Genesis Invitational and was forced to withdraw.

Woods has many ailments, but none as debilitating as his surgically repaired leg. Since his car accident three years ago, the 48-year-old has rarely been seen without wearing a leg sleeve. However, on Monday, a fan was able to take a photograph of Woods’ leg without the sleeve.

@blakebunkersgolf IG

??? #LOOK: A photo has emerged of Tiger Woods without his leg sleeve @TWlegion

(Via: blakebunkersgolf/IG) pic.twitter.com/ppaGLdXg8X

— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) July 22, 2024

The photo was taken at an event Tiger’s son, Charlie, was playing in by “blakebunkersgolf” on Instagram, and one of the top responses on X towards the photo was simply “That looks brutal.”

Woods has struggled with the lack of reps on the course but hasn’t given any indication as to whether his schedule will look any different come 2025.

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While you’re here, check out BK’s look at Xander Schauffele’s winning WITB.

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19th Hole

John Daly says this is the best golf course in Scotland…and it’s not St. Andrews

Published

3 days ago

Jul 23, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

John Daly withdrew at last week’s Open Championship with a knee injury, but the 58-year-old was back on the links this week showcasing one of the most famous golf courses in the world for his fans.

While at Trump Turnberry, John Daly recorded a video of the 18th green.

In the video, the 1995 Open Champion shared his opinion that Turnberry is the best golf course in Scotland, even better than St. Andrews.

?????????? #BEST OF THE BEST — John Daly says Trump Turnberry beats out St Andrews for the title of best golf course in Scotland.

Do you agree?

(Via: @LGlick1) pic.twitter.com/Ya7FIJEfp2

— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) July 22, 2024

“Hey everybody, John Daly here. I’m at Trump Turnberry today. I went out and tried to play a little bit. This place is amazing. It is the best golf course in Scotland, I think. St. Andrews is my baby, but I think I just found my new baby. I’m at the 18th green right here, this thing is unreal.”

Turnberry hosted its first Open Championship in 1977, which was dubbed “The Duel in the Sun” when Tom Watson beat Jack Nicklaus by a single stroke. The most recent Open the course hosted was 2009, where Watson almost won again, but lost to Stewart Cink in a playoff.

The course is not slated to host any Open Championships in the foreseeable future.