2022 PGA Tour

[Toga]

Phil's starting to look like Mike Brey.

He looks like Aaron Rodgers in about a week.

 

[Toga]

 

[GoSU96]

Then why couldn’t they just answer the question and say, yes, there are some places I wouldn’t play.

Because they are golfers, not diplomats. They aren’t selling export controlled equipment, they are playing a game.

 

[djcon57]

Because they are golfers, not diplomats. They aren’t selling export controlled equipment, they are playing a game.

Got it.

Happy to hear your response when the “we’re just golfers” do a bunch of Saudi propaganda videos. It’s standard when the Saudi’s do business with sports leagues.

 

[GoSU96]

Got it.

Happy to hear your response when the “we’re just golfers” do a bunch of Saudi propaganda videos. It’s standard when the Saudi’s do business with sports leagues.

I thought the issue was responding to a hypothetical demand from a journo about what countries are beyond the pale.

If part of their deal was to do some kind of PR, that’s part of the deal. They are a sponsor.

 

[djcon57]

I thought the issue was responding to a hypothetical demand from a journo about what countries are beyond the pale.

If part of their deal was to do some kind of PR, that’s part of the deal. They are a sponsor.

Nope, you said they were just golfers just playing a game. Don’t backpedal


Ftr, to make my stance clear. I have no issue if they want to take the saudis money and do PR for them while playing golf...honestly, I get it, the money is massive.

If that’s the case they should feel fine standing up there and declaring that.

I do have a problem with the playing innocent card and “were just playing golf” routine.

 

[GoSU96]

Nope, you said they were just golfers just playing a game. Don’t backpedal


Ftr, to make my stance clear. I have no issue if they want to take the saudis money and do PR for them while playing golf...honestly, I get it, the money is massive.

If that’s the case they should feel fine standing up there and declaring that.

I do have a problem with the playing innocent card and “were just playing golf” routine.

What backpedal? These guys have an army of advisors, their deals are their deals. What’s that got to do with listing countries you won’t play in off the top of your head. It’s a question designed to cause trouble because there’s no answer that isn’t going to piss off some consistency.

 

[djcon57]

What backpedal? These guys have an army of advisors, their deals are their deals. What’s that got to do with listing countries you won’t play in off the top of your head. It’s a question designed to cause trouble because there’s no answer that isn’t going to piss off some consistency.

“Their deals are their deals”...correct..The deal to play in LIV is to play golf and be PR for the Saudi government suggesting they are becoming a progressive county.

You suggested their deal was to “play a game”. It’s not, that’s kinda the point youre missing. I understand the question sucked. I wish these guys would have the balls to just tell the truth. They don’t feel that’s it’s wrong morally to take money from the Saudis, period, end of story. Just say it. Instead they are cowardly giving mealy mouthed answered about growing the game. It’s ridiculous.

 

[Toga]

“Their deals are their deals”...correct..The deal to play in LIV is to play golf and be PR for the Saudi government suggesting they are becoming a progressive county.

You suggested their deal was to “play a game”. It’s not, that’s kinda the point youre missing. I understand the question sucked. I wish these guys would have the balls to just tell the truth. They don’t feel that’s it’s wrong morally to take money from the Saudis, period, end of story. Just say it. Instead they are cowardly giving mealy mouthed answered about growing the game. It’s ridiculous.

Exactamundo

 

[MSOrange]

 

[CuseTG2003]

I loved Greg Norman as a kid. It's clear to me now he's a POS.

 

[jncuse]

Went to the Canadian Open in Toronto on Thursday for the first round at St. George's. Thought I would do some comments and review of the event as I watched today's Round 3. The leaderboard is actually quite strong, as the cream has risen to the top, in this top heavy field.

The Course - St. George's is ranked in top 5 of Canadian courses by basically all listings of repute (as high as #2). I had never been there and I enjoyed it. Its a Stanley Thompson course who is considered the greatest Canadian course architect ever (courses designed about 90-100 years ago).

Course was in great shape, albeit a little soft due to some recent rain (although the course itself was not wet at all). The rough was very thick and lush - hitting fairways was at a premium. It's a classic old school parkland course with many valleys, greens typically elevated at the top of the valleys. Smaller greens. Due to the above reasons (keeping it on fairway at a premium) and relatively soft greens, many players were not using drivers at times.

Overall, with the thick rough and smaller greens, it was a great prep for next week's US Open. And many top players took advantage of this, and this leads to the Field

The Field
It was an unusual field compared to prior opens. 5 players in the world top 10 played - the most in the event in a long time I believe. However, the field was not deep -- there was much less player in the world 50 to world 200 than normal. In fact there was not enough "qualified" players to fill the field of 156, even with 23 Canadians playing... they had to fill the field with the lowest qualifier - past champion of a PGA tour event -- many guys with no world ranking points in 2 years but past winners of a PGA tour event were in the field - Ben Crane, Brian Davis, Richard Johnson, Kevin Stadler, George McNeill and many others. It took out some event as a fan because yes there was a handful of groups with great players, but there were also many jobbers out there that would make even Barry Horowitz or Steve Lombardi blush.

Let's consider some context here:
1) New place on schedule - The Canadian Open used to have arguably the worst date on the PGA tour.

- British Open
- Canadian Open
- WGC Akron
- PGA Championship

Not only was it the week after the British Open, all the top 50 in the world would play the other 3 events for sure... guys don't like playing 4 weeks in a row, so which one would get passed on?

2) St George's vs Glen Abbey - Glen Abbey is a nice course. But it is not a great prep for a US Open, and not at the level of a St. George's in terms of a course that would be highly respected by players.

Factors 1 and 2 explain why 5 of the top 10 players were here.

3) Vaccines - No political comments here pro or con. Just stating the fact - you have to be vaccinated to enter Canada - similar to those entering the US. There is probably a number of unvaccinated PGA tour players who would have normally come to this event. There was much less "middle of the pack players then normal" which severely weakened the middle and bottom of the field.

The Weather
Weather was very nice despite the forecasters predicting a cold rainy day. I was overdressed because of these idiots. There was some gusts at time but overall there was wind but not that strong.

Course Play
Some guys are really heating up in round 3 as I type this, but overall it played tough through first two round. The Cut was at +1, despite the course being a tad soft and there really being not that much wind.

Part 2 to come

 

[jncuse]

Now onto the event itself. Let's get the lowlights out of the way first, even though it was a good day overall.

The PGA / Tournament Directors had a number of things that made me scratch my had:
- Shuttle Parking Payment Debacle: There was only one way to pay $20 parking fee. Download a Parking Company app, and then make a payment to them over your phone. I understand its 2022, but not everybody likes to pay over mobile or knows how to pay for things over data. As I approached the bus I noticed this was causing some chaos -- some people were upset. I was in the process of downloading the parking app when word got around from somebody that they were not going to enforce things. Real or not who knows, I didn't pay and jumped in the bus before it took off.

- Shuttle Bus Departure - I knew that four key Canadians were teeing at 7:00 (Connors, Weir, Hadwin, Hughes) and they were playing with Thomas and McIlroy -- I couldn't wake up that early and there was also forecasts of morning rain that never came. The bus was about 1/2 full when I got there just before 8:00. I had to wait on the bus for a good 15-20 minutes for the rest of it to fill 100%. Annoying. Should have had departures every 15 minutes rather than waiting for it to be full, especially as there was multiple buses lined up.

- No Tee Sheets Available - One of my favorite pieces of sports memorabilia is the Sunday Tee Sheet at the 2000 Canadian Open which Tiger Woods won with his memorable 200 yard shot out of the sand over water, to win at the 18th hole at Glen Abbey. Back then they were glossy small brochure type booklets that had maps. They were given for free.

Now I don't need any of the glossiness. But how about a simple 2 sided piece of paper - one with a black and white course map, and the other with the tee groups so you knew who was coming up. Is that too much to ask? Even sell them for $5. Nope.

When I asked if there was tee sheets, they said no use your mobile device and the Golf Canada or PGA tour App. I used the PGA Tour App. My phone is not the newest and after 6 hours of using it quite a bit, it died.


- The $10 Hot Dog with nothing on it - Around 12:00 I had yet to eat other than a few Granola Bars I had snuck in. I was not near the Prime eating area which was several holes away, but there was a hole nearby with a good seating area on the hill above the 3rd green.

So I originally ask for some Wrap. None were available. They said pre-made salads were available. I passed. I then saw a hot dog on the menu. They said they would be ready in five minutes. Ended up being 10. The place was disorganized and short staffed.

The "RBC Special Dog" per the sign came with a "Toasted Bun, Garlic Aioli sauce, Bacon and Caramelized Onions".

So I ordered it, paid $17 for the dog and water, and waited about 8 minutes. Finally the hot dog came -- 100% plain, a cold bun that had yet to be fully defrosted much less toasted. Toppings? What toppings. I asked where the other stuff was and they said "We don't do the dogs like that this stand". But they threw me one single pack of ketchup and mustard. I just shook my head - the guy beside me was not so kind.

As an aside, there was also some knob that paid for his meal with virtual currency that was holding up the whole line as there was confusion. You're buying hot dog you freaking hipster clown-- just use a damn card to pay like the rest of us.

More positives to come.

 

[upperdeck]

I saw that the PGA tickets for next year at Oak hill come with unlimited food and drink (non alcoholic)

thats probably $50 worth of food in a day.

 

[jncuse]

A few miscelleneous or humerous moments:

The Justin Thomas fanboy I went a few holes of the morning groups I was following so I could be at the front of the ropes at the 1st green (their 11th hole) when Thomas, Mcilroy, Connors, Hughes, Weir arrived. Some 40 year old guy beside me was fawning over Justin Thomas the whole time.

So Thomas shot comes in, leaking to the right in serious danger of short-siding himself in long rough on a downhill chip about 20 feet from the fin. The ball hits the side of the mound, spins off takes a few bounces in the rough, then leaks out on to the fringe where it feeds down to about 3 feet from the hole.

The Thomas fanboy starts loudly proclaiming so everyone around could here him " He did that on purpose! He did that on purpose! He did that on purpose!" He didn't do that on purpose you clown. No player would risk short siding themselves on a downhill chip.

"I know the Rules" Guy - On the 15th hole some guy flew the green and the ball ended up against a railing behind the 16th tee-off. Aaron Cockerill I think. Some fan runs to about six inches from the ball. A tournament volunteer comes running over and asks the guy to move back just trying to clear space for when the golfer arrives. The fan refused saying "I know the rules, this guy will get a drop, I'm not moving" A few seconds later a security guard has to come over -- nothing physical but he has to tell the guy to move.

- Tommy Gainey, two gloves- Tommy was one of the guys that got in only because of the bottom of the field issue noted above. I saw Tommy twice. At the 16th hole, "the Rink" which is more of a fan interaction hole. He tried to rally the fans and embrace the situation much more than the dozen or so players I saw tee off there. On the other occassion I saw him he was in the rough near the ropes waiting for the hole to clear -- I was about 30 feet away but it seemed like he was having a 2 minute conversation with a random fan. It was just a neat moment to see.

 

[jncuse]

I saw that the PGA tickets for next year at Oak hill come with unlimited food and drink (non alcoholic)

thats probably $50 worth of food in a day.

I hope the Hot Dogs are better than the "RBC Special Hot Dog" I had noted above. I should have just thrown it out, but I am cheap and ate it. Didn't want to eat more as my stomach was iffy and I didn't want to risk using a public toilet. Saw a fan about an hour later pull out the Dog out of a foil, properly made, oozing with a bunch of crap. ****

 

[jncuse]

A few other notes

Some golf fans may remember Graham Delaet. Ran into him - said hey Graham. Wasn't sure if he would say anything, but he stopped said hi, said thanks to me and shook my hand. Kept walking after that, but though it was a nice gesture.

Paul Barjon's wife wears way too much perfume. Fairly cute though.

Saw Scottie Scheffler hit about a 40 foot chip from the rough for birdie on 16. I was in the front row of the grandstands (standing at the top of the steps), so it was a great view for that shot. Scottie Scheffler is just a really big guy compared to most.

Cameron Smith has been great this year, but he really stank it up out there while I was watching him implode on the back nine with a 41.

Rory took on the course largely with driver on every hole, while others were pretty conservative. He shot a 67 despite hitting only 5 greens so it worked. On a 370 yard par 4 most were laying up, but he went at the green.

A number of woman were dressed as if it was a night club. My eyes didn't mind, but still seemed odd.

Rory Sabbatini has always been known as a bit of a hothead and he came through the one time I saw him. Noted it around the 3rd hole when after he missed a short putt. As he was walking off the hole, he was just ranting about the crappy green and was upset with his caddie.

 

[jncuse]

Jim Nantz took some not so subtle jabs at LIV as the broadcast started today.

He basically said - "The first LIV event has just been completed, with world #126 Charl Schwartzel, a player who had not won a tournament worldwide in over 6 years, winning the event"

Have so many thoughts on LIV -- listened to a number of podcasts driving back from Toronto yesterday. Such a complex situation. Will ramble about many things at some point over the next few days. But the PGA structure of touraments is so odd. Imagine the NBA owning its regular season, but outsourcing its playoffs. That is sort of the PGA -- the most hyped events it has (the majors), it has no control over.

 

[GoSU96]

Now onto the event itself. Let's get the lowlights out of the way first, even though it was a good day overall.

The PGA / Tournament Directors had a number of things that made me scratch my had:
- Shuttle Parking Payment Debacle: There was only one way to pay $20 parking fee. Download a Parking Company app, and then make a payment to them over your phone. I understand its 2022, but not everybody likes to or knows how to pay for things over data. As I approached the bus I noticed this was causing some chaos -- some people were upset. I was in the process of downloading the parking app when word got around from somebody that they were not going to enforce things. Real or not who knows. I didn't pay for it, and never got a ticket.

- Shuttle Bus Departure - I knew that four key Canadians were teeing at 7:00 (Connors, Weir, Hadwin, Hughes) and they were playing with Thomas and McIlroy -- I couldn't wake up that early and there was also forecasts of morning rain that never came. The bus was about 1/2 full when I got there just before 8:00. I had to wait on the bus for a good 15-20 minutes for the rest of it to fill 100%. Annoying. Should have had departures every 15 minutes rather than waiting for it to be full, especially as there was multiple buses lined up.

- No Tee Sheets Available - One of my favorite pieces of sports memorabilia is the Sunday Tee Sheet at the 2000 Canadian Open which Tiger Woods won with his memorable 200 yard shot out of the sand over water, to win at the 18th hole at Glen Abbey. Back then they were glossy small brochure type booklets that had maps. They were given for free.

Now I don't need any of the glossiness. But how about a simple 2 sided piece of paper - one with a black and white course map, and the other with the tee groups so you knew who was coming up. Is that too much to ask? Even sell them for $5. Nope.

When I asked if there was tee sheets, they said no use your mobile device and the Golf Canada or PGA tour App. I used the PGA Tour App. My phone is not the newest and after 6 hours at the course of enough use it died.


- The $10 Hot Dog with nothing on it - Around 12:00 I had yet to eat other than a few Granola Bars I had snuck in. I was not near the Prime eating area which was several holes away, but there was a hole nearby with a good seating area on the hill above the 3rd green.

So I originally ask for some Wrap. None were available. They said pre-made salads were available. I passed. I then saw a hot dog on the menu. They said they would be ready in five minutes. Ended up being 10. The place was disorganized and short staffed.

The "RBC Special Dog" per the sign came with a "Toasted Bun, Garlic Aioli sauce, Bacon and Caramelized Onions".

So I ordered it, paid $17 for the dog and water, and waited about 8 minutes. Finally the hot dog came -- 100% plain, a cold bun that had yet to be fully defrosted much less toasted. Toppings? What toppings. I asked where the other stuff was and they said "We don't do the dogs like that this stand". But they threw me one single pack of ketchup and mustard. I just shook my head - the guy beside me was not so kind.

As an aside, there was also some knob that paid for his meal with virtual currency that was holding up the whole line as there was confusion. You're buying hot dog you freaking hipster clown-- just use a damn card to pay like the rest of us.

More positives to come.

It’s 2022 , you need to lower your expectations

 

[kirbivore]

Jim Nantz took some not so subtle jabs at LIV as the broadcast started today.

He basically said - "The first LIV event has just been completed, with world #126 Charl Schwartzel, a player who had not won a tournament worldwide in over 6 years, winning the event"

Have so many thoughts on LIV -- listened to a number of podcasts driving back from Toronto yesterday. Such a complex situation. Will ramble about many things at some point over the next few days. But the PGA structure of touraments is so odd. Imagine the NBA owning its regular season, but outsourcing its playoffs. That is sort of the PGA -- the most hyped events it has (the majors), it has no control over.

PGA tour after seeing the collection of mostly stiffs in the top 10 of the LIV leaderboard

 

[kirbivore]

Have JT in a matchup bet over Scheffler. Justin's 63 yesterday locks that bet up.

 

[jncuse]

-11 through 15 holes today on a par 70 course.

Par out and he shoots a 59.
One Birdie and he ties the 58 record of Furyk.

 

[jncuse]

PGA tour after seeing the collection of mostly stiffs in the top 10 of the LIV leaderboard

I have to disagree here. The LIV and even the initial modest LIV field scares the **** out of the PGA. About 5 or 6 months ago a number of names were mentioned (largely the ones that joined now minus DJ and Dechambeau IIRC). It seemed around March these rumours were squashed and the narrative switched that it would all be garbage players -- guys like Robert Garrigus who was the first to seek an exemption from the PGA would be amongst the best in the field. In the end Robert Garrigus wasn't even granted an invite by LIV, and the first field was better than expected even if modest.

Apparently LIV plans to continue to add on to players on a piece-meal basis,. PGA, as a non profit member operated group, is trying to run like a business of sorts (can't lose money), while LIV's business plan has nothing to do with making money or any sort of financial return (at the golf level anyway). That is extremely hard for the PGA to compete against.

Furthermore, the PGA's goal is not to beat the LIV -- its to make its approximately 40 events it fully owns better products (it does not own the majors or fully own the WGC's). Beating LIV does not help the tour in its goal of bettering its product if its own product is diluted in the process..

Losing 20 of your better players to LIV will hurt the quality of those 40 events you own. They already have issues with modest fields in some of those 40 events. That problem will only get much worse. Might not be a problem for the majors (who will likely still invest the best of LIV), but for the PGA tour owned event it will. And that is going to be a problem when it comes time to negotiate TV rights.

Was the first LIV field that great. Certainly not, but it was better than anticipated. LIV now has 20 of the top 100 players in the world, which is about as many as some PGA tour events. It certainly is an older product, with more Euros and South Africans, but its going to keep adding. And it has names with some brand recognition or heat (like DeChambeau).

The initial quality of field was about a "32" in terms of World Ranking Points if Reed and Dechambeau had played, which is on par with some low tier PGA events. It will be hard for the World Ranking board to justify not granting these events some points. Could be lawsuits there.

 

[jncuse]

Rose struggles down the stretch going +1 on his last 3 holes, to end with a 60.

 

[MSOrange]