19th Hole
Rory McIlroy accused of being ‘out of touch’ following post-round comment at Bay Hill
Bay Hill played difficult on Sunday. As a result, fans got to see a back-and-forth event with the leaderboard constantly in flux for much of Sunday’s final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
It was an exciting finish, and Kurt Kitayama (200-1 pre-tournament) ending up pulling off the shocking win over stars such as Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Viktor Hovland, and Tyrrell Hatton.
When speaking after his round, Rory McIlroy gave a bit of a strange response to what he believes fans want to see.
Rory today: "The lead's changing hands with guys making bogeys, not really birdies. So don't know how people find that entertainment value."
This is a point players, Tour often miss. We like when it's hard! We like seeing bogeys! Birdies aren't cool when everyone's making them!
— Dan Rapaport (@Daniel_Rapaport) March 6, 2023
Dan Rapaport of Barstool Sports added his opinion, saying,
“This is a point players, Tour often miss. We like when it’s hard! We like seeing bogeys! Birdies aren’t cool when everyone’s making them!”
Most of the twitter users replying to the tweet agreed.
I prefer birdies over bogeys however today was glorious
— Emerson Lotzia, Jr. (@EmersonLotzia) March 6, 2023
What separates players is not the easy but the challenging, fair but demanding. When you make it easy and favor birdies, you eliminate the mental grind side of the game, which makes it the most addictive
— Bhrett McCabe, PhD (@DrBhrettMcCabe) March 6, 2023
Kind of out of touch comment from Rory. Fans love tough golf more then 27 under micky mouse ? cupcake ? golf. Seeing the best have to struggle makes us all feel better about ourselves stinking. Not to mention more drama and unexpected twists then Birdie ? fest golf.
— Drizza77 (@drizza77) March 6, 2023
It was a fantastic leaderboard with 4 guys at 8 and 3 at 7 in the last hour. What’s the problem?
— Todd Bailey, PGA (@ToddABailey) March 6, 2023
Such an odd take by Rory. It’s almost like he’s become a bit detached from real golf and become one of the elite who doesn’t understand what fans want.
— Golf Lover UK (@GolfloverUK) March 6, 2023
I'd rather watch and play a Tournament where Par on the last 9 Sunday is actually worth something. This Course set up where 6 to 7 birdies are made from dartboard greens is boring stuff.
— Scott Hend (@hendygolf) March 6, 2023
That’s why a hard US Open is such a good watch.
— Eddie Pepperell (@PepperellEddie) March 6, 2023
IMO Rory is out of touch with the audience here. Majority of golf fans that tune in every week enjoy watching players tackle new obstacles, new course challenges, not partake in birdie fests.
— Alec Kowalczyk (@AlecKowalczyk4) March 6, 2023
I think we can all agree that a difficult test on Sunday and watching the world’s best struggling a bit on the golf course to see who overcomes the challenge is what most golf fans want to see!
More from the 19th Hole
- Pat Perez reportedly confronts journalist over ‘snarky’ comment at opening LIV event
- Paige Spiranac to take on PGA Tour legend in celebrity challenge match this Summer
- ‘That’s what everybody wants me to do’ – Is Anthony Kim about to make a sensational return to pro golf?
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19th Hole
Brandel Chamblee has a surprising new take on the PGA Tour-LIV stand-off
One of the more outspoken analysts throughout the LIV Golf vs. PGA Tour saga has been Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee.
This week, Chamblee reversed course, saying he believes the PGA Tour should strike a deal with Saudi Arabia’s Private Investment Fund (PIF).
Golf Channel Brandel Chamblee in his biggest about-face since the Framework Agreement on June 6, now says that making a deal with the PIF "is the better end of the bargain."
He says:
"The PGA Tour is in this pickle like it or not, but, do you want to compete with someone (LIV… pic.twitter.com/XDZaC1I6B8
— JCAGOLFReport (@JCAGOLFReport) May 10, 2024
“The PGA Tour is in this pickle like it or not, but, do you want to compete with someone who’s not going to go away, who can outspend you”.
“Every move they make that makes their tour better deletes your tour and causes more division within the tour. So the time is now, to Rory’s point about making a deal, I wouldn’t have said that a year ago… but it is the better end of the bargain.”
Chamblee’s new stance seems to be in line with that of Rory McIlroy, who reportedly wanted to rejoin the PGA Tour board with hopes of pushing a deal with the PIF closer to the finish line.
Chamblee will be in the booth for next week’s PGA Championship which has 16 LIV players in the field.
More from the 19th Hole
- Phil Mickelson drops big retirement hint; Says LIV will grow the game “on a much more global basis”
- 2-time major champ announces shock retirement from the sport at age of 33
- Tiger explains why golf has “negative connotations” for daughter Sam
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19th Hole
Xander Schauffele explains free drop ruling during round one of Wells Fargo Championship
During Thursday’s opening round of the Wells Fargo Championship, Xander Schauffele blasted his tee shot in the woods to the right of the fairway on the par-4 8th hole.
The ball was almost not found, but Xander’s group managed to track it down just before the three-minute time limit was reached.
When the ball was found, it was just beyond the penalty area close to a fence. In the moment, it seemed incredibly unlikely that Schauffele would be able to hit the ball through the trees towards the green.
However, through the woods and above the fairway, there was a hanging wire from a ShotLink tower that Xander claimed was in his way. He was then granted relief, and two club lengths from the spot positioned him all the way out of trouble. He played his ball onto the front of the green and two-putted for par.
Here is the full video of the interaction between Schauffele and the rules official.
??? #WATCH — The full video of the Xander Schauffele #DropGate situation ?
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) May 9, 2024
After the round, Xander said he “got really lucky.”
“Got really lucky multiple times, on 1 with Wyndham finding it, 2, being able to move the rocks, and 3, the ShotLink tower being in like my only shot line possible. To walk out there with sort of a no breeze 4 with what I thought was almost out was a really good break.”
“Yeah, I hit it in the trees. My ball was probably like a foot, two feet from the fence. If I — ball was here, fence was kind of here, hitting back this direction.
“If I went towards the green, the fence kind of worked this way so I had what I could hit, a 4-iron or something low and just kind of run it through. If it gets stuck, I’ll just kind of hit my next one out. But I brought the rules official in there with me because I was like, you’ve got to be OK with this because this is literally the only shot I can hit.”
“So Austin [Kaiser] and I moved two massive rocks that weren’t embedded and then I got relief out of the junk and then hit a pretty good shot on the green from there. What was a very stressful moment turned into a pretty stressless par.”
Schauffele finished the round at seven under, which gives him a three-shot lead going into Friday’s second round.
More from the 19th Hole
- Phil Mickelson drops big retirement hint; Says LIV will grow the game “on a much more global basis”
- 2-time major champ announces shock retirement from the sport at age of 33
- Tiger explains why golf has “negative connotations” for daughter Sam
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19th Hole
Report: Tiger Woods voted against Rory McIlroy returning to policy board; Will be the only player negotiating directly with Saudis
According to a report from The Telegraph, the relationship between Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy has soured.
Last week, reports surfaced that McIlroy, who was a member of the PGA Tour policy board during most of the past few years, was looking to rejoin the board, presumably taking Webb Simpson’s seat.
However, on Wednesday, McIlroy revealed that he will not be rejoining the policy board, due to people on the board being “uncomfortable” with that “for some reason.”
Here's Rory McIlroy talking about the PGA Tour policy board and the "subset of people on the board that were maybe uncomfortable with me coming back on for some reason." pic.twitter.com/0skNOwtWxz
— Patrick McDonald (@pmcdonaldCBS) May 8, 2024
The Telegraph has reported that Tiger Woods was among the players who voted against McIlroy returning to the policy board.
The divide is apparently due to McIlroy pushing for the game of golf to unify, whereas Woods, reportedly, believes the PGA Tour is in a fine position where it currently stands.
The Associated Press added another wrinkle to the situation, reporting that Woods is the only player who will be negotiating directly with the Saudis.
The other members of the committee are PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, board chairman Joe Gorder, John W. Henry of Fenway Sports Group, and Joe Ogilvie, who was a former PGA Tour player.
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