Afterthoughts and after effects

Beer! Its whats for winners!

     Predictions concerning newly crowned U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy's future seem to be running toward the messianic in the two short days since play in the 111th playing of the national open ended.  Though I'm not prone to crowning the lad the next dominant player just yet, I do think there's one area in which we can safely say he is about to dominate: Rory McIlroy is going to be the most sought after endorser since Tiger Woods quipped "Hello world."  Potential sponsors are undoubtedly beating down the door of McIlroy's agent, Chubby Chandler, and tossing piles of potential money around in the hope of buying space on his cap, shirt and golf bag.  Though he may not have the cross-culture appeal of a young Tiger, Rory is a can't miss prospect for any company hoping to capitalize on his much deserved popularity.  Chandler was heard to comment during Rory's post win press conference, "He's just as good in that seat as he is on the course," and that is one of the keys to McIlroy's potential endorsement riches.  Look for continuing breaking news where this matter is concerned.

     Another young golfer who continues to impress is the runner up in the year's first two major championships.  Australian Jason Day is showing a knack for getting in to the hunt and not backing down when the action heats up.  In four career majors, Day has finished in the top ten three times.  He could easily have had a major or two under his belt had it not been for Charl Schwartzel's four consecutive birdie finish and Rory McIlroy's otherworldly play.  Day may want to consider changing agents and enlisting Chubby Chandler, who represents both Schwartzel and McIlroy, as well as reigning Champion Golfer of the Year, Louis Oosthuizen.

     Speaking of Chubby Chandler and his major championship mill, it's interesting to contrast the atmosphere and feel of his agency, ISM, with that of the premier American agency, IMG.  It seems to me that ISM is run by Chandler to have a more collegial, avuncular approach than that of its American counterpart.  IMG has a reputation for enriching it's clients, sometimes at the expense of their career longevity due to the rigors of travel and the frequency of appearances.  It will be interesting to see if this trend continues long term.

     For future U.S. Opens, the rota is now scheduled through 2019, and there's reason for some excitement and some curiosity.  In order starting with 2012, the venues will be Olympic Club in San Fransisco, Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, Pinehurst #2 in Pinehurst, North Carolina, Chambers Bay in University Place, Washington, Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pennsylvania, Erin Hills in Erin, Wisconsin, Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Shinnecock Hills, New York and Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble beach, California.  Merion and Olympic are returning to the rotation after long absences (1981 for Merion and 1998 for Olympic) and Chambers Bay and Erin Hills are both hosting their first ever professional tournament, having opened withing the last five years.

Rory, Rory Halleluiah

     All week long, Rory McIlroy kept his head whilst all about him were losing theirs.  The 22 year old from Northern Ireland dusted the 111^th U.S. Open field in record fashion finishing at 16 under par, eight strokes ahead of runner-up Jason Day, and surviving the largest media driven hype-storm since some guy by the name of Eldrick had a pretty good tournament at the 1997 Masters.

     For the most part, the cyclone of hyperbole surrounding McIlroy during the tournament was predictable, even if it reached farcical proportions by the time the press conferences ended on Sunday night.  Given his epic final round collapse at the Masters in April and the torrid pace he set from the opening round 65 he carded on Thursday, it was inevitable that the Tiger starved golf media machine was going to flog every conceivable “Rory story” line to death, ranging from the dire “Rory gory” predictions of collapse to the divine “Rory glory” predictions of an historic career taking wing.  Even some of his fellow players got caught up in the hype machine, with Padraig Harrington predicting McIlroy would break Jack Nicklaus’s professional major championship record based on his performance that week.  One presumes that Harrington meant McIlroy would break the record later in his career, rather than somehow being awarded 19 major titles based on an admittedly stellar week of play.

     At the center of it all was this sprightly, mop-topped kid with the grown up game who calmly went about dismantling a very tough Congressional Country Club layout.  Despite the weather challenged course’s conditioning difficulties (the local area experienced hot, dry weather in the weeks leading up to the tournament and rain the week of the tournament, exactly opposite the desired pattern), Congressional’s  Blue course played tough for everyone in the field not named McIlroy, despite much softer that normal conditions..  No, McIlroy gave in neither to the hype nor to the supposed demons that his final round collapse at Augusta spawned to torture his young psyche, and simply turned in the best score ever seen in the 111 times the U.S. Open has been contested. 

 

     For all his brilliance inside the ropes, his best performance may have been in handling the public and the media during the week.  After every round, and with increasing hysteria, McIlroy was questioned about the influence of his Master’s final round, the increasing sense of inevitability concerning his strong play turning in to a win and what he felt his future level of success in major championships would be.  At every turn, Rory was humble, down to earth, humorous and solidly grounded.  His answers were polite, frank and he refused to be drawn in to the realm of speculation.  He pointed out that he had learned some lessons about himself at Augusta and was trying to apply those lessons to his play during the present tournament, that until the final putt dropped he hadn’t won anything or really accomplished very much, and that his major total stood at a total of one after that final putt did drop.  It was a performance that was refreshing for its genuine tone, especially in an age where so many agent coached athletes give only canned and often grudging answers when questioned by the media.

     The simple fact is, Rory’s performance last week needed no hype to be compelling and spectacular.  His golf was sublime and afforded a rare glimpse at an athlete in the midst of a transcendent performance.  At the same time and under intense pressure and scrutiny, this very young man allowed us to see how much fun he was having and was gracious and funny when questioned about the experience.  Rory’s future is, like that of all athletes and especially like that of all professional golfers is uncertain but wide open; an unfinished work in progress that fills all fans of the game with hope and anticipation.  Only time will tell what the future holds for Rory McIlroy, but mindless speculation will only sully the eventual result.  Even if the future holds no more major championships for Rory, he has still placed a shining example of skill and sportsmanship in the trophy case for us to admire.  If more come with time, let’s resolve to admire those as well and as they come.  Trying to label Rory as the next Jack or next Tiger won’t make them any more enjoyable, and may well take some of the fun out of the discovery.

Photo courtesy ESPN

Weekend recap - Lordy, lordy, the winners are 40 (or over)

K.J. Choi reacts to his winning putt

     There is a certain, undeniable pleasure to be had from watching flinty pro's ply their craft when everything is on the line.  Despite the recent youth movement sweeping professional golf, we were treated Sunday to an exhibition of experience, wisdom and judgment prevailing over youth and power.  On one of the longest tournament days in recent memory, a trio of 40 somethings finished on top of the leaderboard in The Players Championship, with K.J. Choi beating David Toms on the first hole of the most sudden of sudden death playoffs. Another veteran campaigner, Paul Goydos, finished two strokes back in solo third.

     With a rainy washout of a Saturday necessitating the playing of upwards of 30 holes over 12 hours on Sunday, you would have been excused of you gave the advantage to one of the many young players close to the lead.  Stellar names like Graeme McDowell, Luke Donald, Nick Watney and Aaron Baddeley  were all in contention, but all spit the bit in the final round.  McDowell looked like a sure contender after the completion of the third round left him a stoke in front, even after a freakish bounce sent his ball the width of the 18th green and into the water.  That poor piece of luck seemed to multiply as his newly tweaked swing disintegrated over the course of the final round, resulting in a disastrous 79 and a fade to a tie for 33rd.  Watney seemingly had a dozen chances to get on a roll, but in the end, poor judgment led to impossible predicaments and a tie for fourth with Donald, who never really got it going.

     No, youth would not be served on this day.  In the end, the three oldest guys in contention were the last ones standing.  Goydos finished with a gutsy birdie-par-par finish to take the clubhouse lead at -11 just before Toms and Choi hit their tee shots on the treacherous 17th.  He then took the low post-round interview honors as he engaged in a good natured joust with NBC's Jimmy Roberts.  Roberts: "Paul, you're the leader in the clubhouse at this point . . ." Goydos: (interrupts, squinting into the bright sunlight) "We're outside of the clubhouse right now."  Moments later, Roberts: "Paul, you had to play 21 holes today, did the long day have an effect on your stamina?"  Goydos: "Now I'm a professional athlete and I'm offended by that remark."  Goydos, whose physique is anything but athletic, then turned to the camera and quipped, "Just kidding America."

     The last three holes were the key to the tournament for the last group.  Choi laid up on the par five 16th, too close to the tree overhanging the fairway, which would influence his next shot.  Toms, with 233 yards to the front and leading by one, then tried for a knockout blow by going for the green with a hybrid.  He mishit a dying flare to the right and rinsed it, opening the door for Choi, who hit the niftiest low running punch you've ever seen to six feet.  He missed the putt and the two went to the island green 17th tied.  They traded birdies on the last two holes, Choi's after a stiffed wedge to 17, Toms' after a five iron from a sand filled divot on 18 and a clutch 18 foot putt.  The playoff started on the 17th, with Choi winning after Toms, his wedge tee shot barely hanging on the slope above the hole, three putted for bogey, ending the fourth playoff in as many weeks on the PGA Tour.

     Darren Clarke continued the 40 something surge with a win in the European Tour's Iberdrola Open at the Pula Course in  Mallorca, Spain.  The win was Clarke's first in three years and came on the strength of the Northern Irishman's final round 69.

     The other big story of the week was Tiger Woods' WD after only nine holes of the first round.  Woods played the first nine in a shocking six over 42 and walked in, citing a re-injury to his left leg.  The injury may well keep Woods out of competition until the U.S. Open June 16-19 at Congressional.  You have to think that Woods 2011 campaign is starting to resemble his 2010 season; lots of injury time and no wins.  Given Woods famously tight lipped stance on any information regarding injuries, we'll probably never know how bad this current "sprain" is.  The biggest question mark may have nothing to do with his health or his swing.  The longer he is away from contention, the more his battered psyche is bound to be affected.  Stay tuned.

Photo by Getty Images

Implemental favorites: The Players Championship

Ricky Fowler, the love child of Elvis and Engelbert Humperdinck

     This week's Players Championship may be the toughest tournament to predict in professional golf.  TPC Sawgrass favors no particular type of player,the list of past champions is as full of one-hit wonders as it is superstars and the 17th hole's famous island green always adds a larger than normal element of random chance to the proceedings.  While I take some time to ponder things, a list of things I'm sure will happen this week:

• Ricky Fowler will wear his hat backwards (note to any stuffy jerk who feels like reminding Ricky to turn his hat around:  Golf fashions evolve, so get over yourself.  That, or wear plus fours, a dress shirt and tie the next time you tee it up.  Seriously, we let Jesper Parnevik look like a Swedish Gomer Pyle, but that's ok because at least the brim is to the front?).
• Sean Foley will remain defensive when questioned about any criticism directed toward his work with Tiger Woods (note to Sean: you should have been prepared for the microscope when you chose to work with Tiger, and quoting his win record doesn't make YOU look any better).
• Lee Westwood and Rory McIlroy will continue to face mostly pointless criticism for not playing this week (note to the PGA Tour: when you limit someone to 10 starts, and eight of those are taken up my majors and WGC's, what do you expect?).
• The Golf Channel will continue to speak of The Players Championship as the "biggest, best and most important" non-major of the year and mentioning the term "5th major" at least once per hour, confirming their status at the new public relations arm of the PGA Tour (note to The Golf Channel: if your going to broadcast the Thursday and Friday coverage of every tournament from now until the end of time, how about getting with the modern age and offering some live streaming coverage?).

     As for the winner, I'm going to go out on a limb and pick Jason Day.  Three tier format leagues can pick him in the "C" group.  Pair him with Sergio Garcia to mitigate the risk a bit.  For the "A" group, I'm loving Matt Kuchar and Luke Donald with Bubba Watson and the backwards hatted wonder, Ricky Fowler, in the "B" group.  Wouldn't it be cool to see Ricky accept the trophy with his cap on any way he wants to wear it?

Photo by Getty Images

Players gotta play, so how do we make it happen?

     The premier event on the PGA Tour kicks off on Thursday with a less than premier field.  Prestige, money, more Official World Golf Ranking points and a five year exemption for the winner were not enough to entice the first and sixth ranked players in the world to enter the field.  Make no mistake, that's a big hit to the PGA Tour's solar plexus, despite the spin the Tour's marketing folks will use to try and make the best of the situation.  It's no secret that the PGA Tour created The Players Championship with the intention of having the tournament become the "fifth major" and every decision, every tournament tweak in purse size, scheduling and world ranking and FEDEX Cup points values has been made to increase the prestige of the event and insure that the top 50 (at least) in the world tee it up there every year.  The Tour knows that major championships are not proclaimed or created fully formed, they have to be gradually accepted by the players and the fans as one of the most career defining tournament moments.  The Tour also knows that two of the top ten players in the world thumbing their noses at the tournament will kill any chance it ever has to gain "major" status.

     In an earlier post (Sharing the sand pail, May 4) I promised to post my take on a solution to this problem.  To my mind, the goal of any solution should be to find a way to some middle ground that increases the likelyhood of having the best players in the tours' best events, and recognizing that the world's best players will inevitably increase their presence in international markets as the game increases it's own global footprint.  This would require some negotiation between the PGA Tour and the European Tour, but hopefully the two governing bodies would recognize the benefits, rather than guarding their own narrow interests.

     First, a preliminary step:

• Give full, co-sanctioned status to all five World Golf Championship events starting in 2012.  Currently, only the three WGC events in the United States enjoy full sanction by both tours.  The HSBC Champions exists in a kind of in-between state, counting in full in Europe but only partially in the U.S.  For those of you who only count four WGC events, remember the South African based Tournament of Hope begins next year with the biggest purse in golf.

     Then, lower the minimum number of tournaments on both The PGA and the European Tours to ten for players who fall into the following criteria:

• Are ranked in the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking at the beginning of the golf season.
• Are elligible for and agree to maintain full status on both tours.
• Who will agree in advance to play in the premier event for both tours (The Players Championship for the PGA Tour and the BMW PGA Championship for the European Tour).

     There it is in all of it's simplicity.  For those who are counting, playing in all four major championships, the WGC events and the individual tours premier events totals the required minumum of ten tournaments for each tour, on a committment of 11 weeks.  This plan rewards good performance, fills the fields with the best players, benefits both tours and allows players wishing to maintain an international presence to do so with a maximum of flexibility.  I believe this plan would result in more play on both tours, as players would be better able to schedule blocks of tournaments in the U.S, Europe and Asia, mitigating the effects of travel fatigue.  Events other than the ones above would also benefit as the top 50, freed of the low number of tournaments afforded to non-members, would gravitate to events they haven't historically played.  With more of the best playing all over the world, the game of golf raises itself in the public conciousness and has a chance to generate more revenue in the form of sponsorships and advertising from wider markets.  Every body gives a few things up, but everybody gains as well.

       

Weekend recap : Tournaments take a back seat

     The golfing world lost a giant Saturday as Severiano Ballesteros succumbed to brain cancer at his home in Pedrena, Spain.  Ballesteros, just 54, had battled the disease since being diagnosed following a loss of consciousness at the Madrid Airport in 2008.

     Ballesteros, a world golf hall of fame inductee in 1999, was arguably the most influential figure in the history of European golf.  His success, charisma, dramatic flair and passion for the game helped to popularize the game on the European continent and were instrumental in the expansion and worldwide growth of the European Tour.  His will to win and fierce competitiveness were legendary and were the major trans-formative factor in the emergence of the European Ryder Cup team as a perennial favorite to win the bi-annual competition.  Though his 91 professional wins and five major championship victories rank him with the game's greats, he is one of the few golfers in the history of the sport whose influence far outweighed their success on the course.  It is an unfortunate fact that, for the majority of American golf fans, Ballesteros seminal influence on the game went largely unnoticed.  To Americans, he was a foil for the American team at the Ryder Cup or a name to mispronounce on major championship leader boards.  In his way, Seve was as influential for the worldwide growth of the game as Arnold Palmer.

     Think, for a moment, of the state of European golf when Ballesteros turned pro at the tender age of 16 in March of 1974.  The European Tour was all of two years old, with a slate of 20 events running April through October, 12 of which were played in Great Britain.  The leading money winner would take home just over eleven thousand pounds for the year (roughly $25,000).  For comparison, the PGA Tour leading money winner in 1974 earned $353,000.  Great Britain hadn't won a Ryder Cup since 1957 and only had one win since 1935 (eligibility, recently expanded to include players from Ireland, wouldn't open to continental players until the 1979 contest).  No continental European player had won a major championship for most of the 20th century.  Today, the European Tour plays worldwide with purses that rival the PGA Tour, the European Ryder Cup teams regularly drub their U.S. counterparts and continental European players are regularly in contention for golf's majors, predominantly because of Seve's influence.

     Seve led the wave of young and talented players who began to change the face of world golf in the late '70's and opened the door to continued success and expansion in the '80's and '90's.  It wasn't just that he played well, it was the way he approached the game captured the hearts and interest of fans.  One of the longest players in the game, he was also one of the wildest off of the tee.  He would take a titanic cut at the ball with a swing that had way too many moving parts and, more often than not miss the fairway, putting himself squarely in his element.  Perhaps no player in the history of the game was better from trouble.  Seve simply saw ways out that other players couldn't dare to imagine.  His great vision and imagination, coupled with a short game that had no peer, produced a unique brand of golf that was akin to a netless high-wire act.  He was the antithesis of the straight-hitting, emotionless tactician and the fans fell in love with his unique play and daring escapes.  He was unafraid to let his emotions show, alternating thunderous scowls with radiant smiles often on the same hole and possessed enough showmanship to realize that talking to his ball in English would bring more fans in to his orbit (his native Spanish was usually reserved for cursing his ball or berating his caddy, more often than not one of his relatives).  While he captured the hearts of a legion of European fans, his passion for winning could drive his opponents to the opposite extreme, especially where the Ryder Cup was concerned.

     The ever-present cough, the jingling of pocket change, fidgeting, standing opposite his opponent's line; all practices that (although sensationalized and over-stated) fed the Ballesteros legend and painted him as a villain to American golf fans.  His Ryder Cup battles with Paul Azinger and Tom Lehman are legend and every contemporary golfer has a story or two about Seve's gamesmanship and will to win.  Less well publicized are the stories of Seve's sportsmanship and generosity;  his bear hug of Gary Player after Player dropped the winning putt in the 1978 Masters, the leadership he displayed in the Ryder Cup locker room, his insistence that Colin Montgomerie concede the final, 15-foot putt of the 1997 Ryder Cup to Scott Hoch.  These instances were equally indicative of Ballesteros' passion for competition.  Whether you loved him, despised him or your feelings fell somewhere in between, you were compelled to watch him.

     The golfing world will forever remember his unique talent, passion and artistry.  His radiant smile in victory echoed his passion for life, for a life that was cut all too short.  Perhaps the most fitting tribute was voiced by Padraig Harrington, when he offered the opinion that Seve's silhouette should grace the crest of the European Tour.  When you consider that Ballesteros' contributions, more than any other players, made that tour what it is today the tribute would be a fitting one indeed.

     In other events, the Lucas Glover and Tom Lehman won on the PGA Tour and Champions Tour, respectively, Tiger Woods committed to the Players Championship (and dropped to 8th in the world rankings) and we saw the first (undoubtedly of many) "Implemental Jinx" as my pick for the Wells Fargo Championship, Tommy "Two Gloves" Gainey missed the cut.  Back to the normal format next week.

  

   
Photo by David Cannon/Getty

Implemental favorites: Twofer truimph at Quail Hollow

     This week's tour stop takes us to Charlotte, North Carolina's Quail Hollow Club for the Wells Fargo Championship, one of the PGA Tour's premier non-major championship tournaments.  The field features five of the world's top ten ranked golfers and seven of the top ten players in the FEDEX Cup points standings.

     That being said, my pick this week is the 89th ranked player in the world, Tommy "Two Gloves" Gainey.  Gainey's bio reads like a Hollywood movie script:  The Bishopville, SC native attended tiny Central Carolina Technical College majoring in industrial maintenance.  He worked in a factory wrapping insulation around hot water heaters for the A. O. Smith Corp. (now one of his sponsors) before turning pro.  He labored for years on the smallest of mini-tours (Hooters, Tarheel and Gateway).  He appeared on The Golf Channel's "Big Break" series  (eliminated halfway through the "USA vs. Europe" season in 2005), graduated to the Nationwide Tour in 2007, played on the big tour in 2008 and part of 2009, failed to keep his card and returned to the Nationwide Tour for 2010, where he won once and finished third on the money list to regain his PGA Tour playing privelages for 2011.  All he has done this year is make nine cuts in 14 starts, with five top 25 performances including top three finishes in his last two tournaments. 

     "Two Gloves" (the nickname comes from his habit of wearing all weather gloves on both hands, a holdover from his baseball playing days)is hot and playing close to home.  He feeds off of the emotion of the crown well, as he demonstrated at the Heritage Classic, where he finished one shot out of the playoff between eventual winner Brandt Snedeker and Luke Donald.  He was in contention all week at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, finishing just two strokes out of that playoff.  He plays great in a three tier format, as his success is all recent and he is in tier C.  You can still load up the big names in the A and B tiers and have Gainey lurking in the C bracket (paired with defending champion Rory McIlroy?).  How can you not like this guy?  His blue-collar background, humble demeanor and local ties will make him a fan favorite.  Despite a swing that looks like he's trying to beat down an alligator in a phone booth, he's in the top 30 in the driving distance, total driving, GIR and scoring average statistical categories.  I look for Gainey to leap the final hurdle and get his first win on the PGA Tour this week.

     Other great picks in the three tier format include A: Nick Watney, who seems like he's in the top ten every week and Luke Donald, looking to gain ground on world no. 1 Lee Westwood.  B: Bubba Watson, coming off of a win and playing well all season; Justin Rose, 9 top 25's in 10 starts, Ricky Fowler and Hunter mahan.  C: Gainey and defending champion Rory McIlroy, looking for redemption after this year's final round Masters collapse and playing well in his Euro Tour starts since then.

Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images