Tour News

Top 10 highlights, lowlights of 2015

Published

11 years ago

Jul 3, 2015

It’s been a tremendous 2015 so far, wouldn’t you say? We are basically at the halfway point (which is scary) so I figured I’d recap the highlights, and lowlights, of a memorable first half of the season. Here they are, in no particular order:

Hightlights

No. 1 — An unexpected treat

Watching The Valspar Champsionship at Copperhead — ending in a Reed-Spieth-O’Hair playoff — was just a flat-out, unexpected, treat. It was not only a great finish, but a forecast of things to come, and came at a time when the appeal of a Tiger-less PGA was being questioned.

No. 2 — Rory finds a rival

Jordan Speith: He got his first major at that place called Augusta (while tying the tournament scoring record) and then doubled down on the surface of the moon a.k.a. Chambers Bay. He did that all while displaying the confident steely-eyed poise of Maximus Decimus Meridius (Russell Crowe’s character in ‘Gladiator’), publicly declaring Rory as his motivation, becoming the new face of golf, and seemingly never acquiring an ego. The kid is a doggone dream for the Tour and someone I really enjoy rooting for.

Hips open, club head lags behind. Perfect.

No. 3 — Nice toss, Rory

Club-tossing is fine by me. Especially Rory’s beautiful, kinetically sequenced hurl at Doral. I liked seeing it and, in general, it shows me players — especially ones having huge endorsement contracts — care.

No. 4 — Anonymous player polls

I am rather enjoying these anonymous player polls. I have no issue with players talking trash behind each others backs like sorority girls and then not-so-subtly calling out these same anonymous haters after winning golf tournaments while flashing hardware and model girlfriends. Which brings me to…

So much for being voted the most overrated player on tour

No. 5 — The Players, just wow

The Players Championship. Utter senseless filth of entertainment. One of the most exciting tournaments I have ever seen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdhWhgA8Y0A

No. 6 — Epic Nike commercial

This commercial. I got goosebumps. No one really comes close to Nike’s golf commercials. Maybe FedEx.

No. 7 — Talent is exciting, too

The Northern Trust Open at Riviera; proving that you don’t need a bomber’s paradise to have a compelling event; especially if you are looking for a healthy mixture of talent in contention.

Tell us how you really feel, Ian.

No. 8 — Poulter’s Pinnacles

I hope Ian Poulter never shuts up. The guy treads Twitter/Instagram about as gingerly as a Ham Porter cannonball at the town pool, but he’s honest. Calling out Donald Trump and Mike Davis within months takes some serious Pinnacles.

No. 9 — Back-to-back aces

J.B. Holmes and Dustin Johnson acing the fourth hole at Doral, just minutes apart, caused me to jump off the sofa and scream.

No. 10 — Tom Watson at The Masters

I know he ended up missing the cut, but Tom Watson, at 65, shooting a 1-under on the Thursday of the Masters was incredible.

Lowlights

No. 1 — Tiger’s top

I don’t like this new, “nice” Tiger Woods. He laughs when he sucks. He talks about his feelings. He tops fairway woods in majors. I need Tiger back. I never cared that he was a jerk. Ty Cobb, Jordan, McEnroe, Hogan weren’t exactly endearing softies either, and that seemed to work OK for them.

No. 2 — Greg Norman and the Fox Broadcast

Greg Norman’s color commentary needs some…um… commentary? The Shark seemed under water for much of the Open, oddly silent during times when his experiences would have been welcomed And the chemistry amongst the entire Fox broadcast was lacking. I’ve taken depositions that have had more camaraderie.

That’s Babe Freaking Ruth. At the Clambake

No. 3 — Lacking star-power at Pebble

For all of the talk of “Growing the Game” — maybe golf should consider revamping the Pebble Beach Pro Am to actually feature, you know, amateurs with actual star power. Every golf book I’ve ever read talks about the precursor to this tournament (the Crosby Clambake) like it was a mix between golf’s fifth major and one of Jay Gatsby’s West End blowouts. I’m pretty sure potentially impressionable golf fans aren’t running to buy a starter set owing to the transcendent appeal of style-less corporate big wigs, donning oversized golf polos.

Are they hunting something?

No. 4 — Altered Course? No thanks

I have zero interest in instituting any of the things I recently saw on Altered Course into my golf habits. The only time I will ever sprint between golf shots is if I’m being chased by a bear.

That’s just too far

No. 5 — A secluded Chambers Bay

While I thought Chambers Bay was certainly major championship worthy, it didn’t seem like a U.S. Open because the fans were miles away form the action. Granted, the coverage didn’t help, but even with Fox’s ultra-sensitive microphones, players seemed to be playing within bubbles of sound-proof glass.

The pants, too, belong in the frying pan.

No. 6 — Calc’s bacon pants

Although I suspect that he couldn’t care less, Mark Calchevecchia’s pants with the bacon strip pattern on them were not cool or stylish. From the looks of it, Mark should probably be wearing salad-themed pants.

No. 7 — Keegan vs. Miguel-Angel

I think I lost some respect for the Mechanic after the Keegan dust up during match play. I’m still not entirely sure what went on, and I wasn’t there, but MAJ seemed to be out of place throughout the process.

No. 8 — Heckling Sergio

The heckling of Sergio at the Players lacked class. I’m not sure why one of the greatest ball strikers in the game seems to be the one of the most popular targets for fans.

No. 9 — Dustin’s putt robs the viewers

Dustin Johnson’s missed putt on 18 at Chambers Bay was not only painful to watch, but robbed us of the opportunity of playing hooky the next day to watch an 18-hole playoff featuring two of the game’s brightest starts. As memorable as it was, it could have been legendary.

No. 10 — Saying Goodbye to “Celebration of Man”

To he be honest, Fox’s U.S. Open theme by Brian Tyler is very solid. But it’s not Yanni’s “In Celebration of Man,” a tune that, to me, always signified the start of summer and was/is arguably the greatest intro tune to a major sporting event of all time. (This is a close second, and this a very close third). A moment of silence for this song’s passing is deserved. Unless, of course, NBC resurrects “Celebration” when it picks up the British Open coverage in 2017?!?

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Lawyer, Bachelor and Golf Nut. John also writes for his and his sister's Italian culinary and lifestyle blog at www.johnandelana.com, maintains an honest GHIN handicap, and is from New Jersey; all of which he is proud of.

10 Comments

Ken

Jul 8, 2015 at 8:08 pm

My crazy prediction: Chambers Bay is one and done. It’ll never host another major, let alone another corporate weekender (okay, maybe one or two of those political junkets). The PGA has fulfilled its obligation to the “fringe” fans in the Pacific Northwest, and will never venture further north of the Oregon/Washington State border, except for a new Nirvana album. Oh, is that not a thing anymore??
I agree on Fox’s drab, struggling presentation of the U.S. Open. And I don’t like to bash on Fox, because I enjoy their subsidiary, Fox News. I’m not sure what management was thinking: you put Juli Inkster, Corey Pavin, Scott McCarron, Brad Faxon and Steve Flesch all in the same room, live in front of the camera, and expect them to act like fire plugs, that’s not what you’re going to get. Yes, that’s a lot of golf knowledge there, but NONE of them inspire the words excitement (never did in their playing years, save for Pavin’s one 4-wood in the ’95 US Open), engaging, or a lot of the ingredients you need for a successful, extended, live tournament production. Even Holly Sonders (yes, even Holly!) looked more plastic than normal, and it translated into bad TV. Not smooth. Did the makeup team get lost for the whole weekend? Did they keep mirrors away from her the whole time? I realize it was Fox’s first time for a major, but it looked like it was it was the first time any golf tournament was ever broadcasted on TV. Joe Buck can do most any event he puts his mind to, but I’d prefer he stick to baseball and football.

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Shelby

Jul 6, 2015 at 9:40 pm

The MAJ and Keegan Bradley saga was completely Keegan’s moron caddy. MAJ was coming over to see what was going on. This was MATCHPLAY and he had every right to ask questions about the rule. It was “Pepsi” who acted out of place. If it was me, I probably would have said “shut the F*** up”, versus “shut up”. Then I probably would have punched him in the face and accepted the huge suspension.

Keegan’s caddy is known as one of the biggest losers in golf. He has no class and is rude to a bunch of players.

I thought MAJ handled it quite well. Especially at the end of their match when he tried to smooth it over with “pepsi”.

Good article!

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Mark H. Davis

Jul 6, 2015 at 6:38 pm

Gentlemen… the point seems to be to start a conversation. As in, “What are YOUR picks for top 10 best and worst?” Get to it. Almost everybody on this forum is a better golfer than me, so have at it!

My best: Jordan Speith wherever. Class act. Bunch of kids out there following. Good on ’em.
My worst: Geez, that’s tough. I guess I have to go for the FOX coverage of the Open. Pretty thin soup, all in all.

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Chris Eckes

Jul 6, 2015 at 4:29 pm

How did you not include the NHL on ESPN theme music?!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BuSLqUD65I

Reply Report comment
- John
  
  Jul 7, 2015 at 5:05 pm
  
  you know chris – that is a solid choice. I can’t put that in the top 3, but good call.
  
  Reply Report comment
Jeff*

Jul 5, 2015 at 3:15 pm

I couldn’t disagree more on certain points. Let’s go through just a few of em. First let’s start with some lowlights that weren’t. The Fox coverage. Norman never came across as a know it all the way Johnny Miller does. Norman blew US Opens, he had no business telling the fans exactly how to win one, that was honest. Fox cut out commercials for the final few hours. As a viewer I’m having trouble figuring out what was wrong with that for so many. All I can think of is most golf fans fear change. The fox coverage was as good or better than ESPN. Does anyone care how Brad Faxon would right the ship if he were Tiger. Nope.
Next was giving Rory “credit” for throwing a club, come on now, a poor attitude is a poor attitude, stop stroking the guy.
You’re right about the Players. And Rickie is good. But we all knew that.

Then you didn’t mention how Jordan Speith it calling a hole a “stupid hole as a 4” almost cost him the US Open when DJ covered 550 yds in two swings. That was something. I bet he doesn’t do that again. Anyway, I guess I just watch different things.

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ABgolfer2

Jul 5, 2015 at 3:07 pm

That was my takeaway as well.

Reply Report comment
Matto

Jul 5, 2015 at 3:19 am

There’s NO way you can be serious in regards to MAJ?!? He came across as the complete winner in that “altercation”. Keegan’s caddy turning his back? Rude self-centred pricks the pair of them.

Reply Report comment
Fred

Jul 5, 2015 at 2:04 am

pretty decent list, except the dig on MAJ. What were you thinking – Keegan came across as an epic loser and was a disgrace.

Reply Report comment
Gus

Jul 3, 2015 at 6:03 pm

pretty lousy opinions tbh. Pros are supposed to be the cream of the crop of the golf world, and that includes composure and attitude, Rory

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