Navigating the Slippery Slope of Armchair Rules Officiating

Question: Should viewers continue to be permitted to influence the outcome of a professional golf tournament by calling in potential rules infractions that they think they’ve witnessed while watching the live televised coverage at home?

A majority of the people I’ve personally discussed this issue with over the years seem to think viewers shouldn’t be calling in and reporting potential rules breaches, but it’s a practice that isn’t likely to be going away anytime soon.

Obviously the incident with Tiger a few weeks ago at the BMW Championship, which mind you had nothing to do with viewers calling in but rather the use of HD digital video technology, has put this issue front and center again. Maybe the time has finally come to figure out what roles, if any, that viewers and technology itself should be playing in the game.

“It feels awkward when it happens,” said Finchem about the Woods incident, which only came to light because a PGA Tour camera crew was filming the golfer. “On the other hand, I hate to say it’s part of the tradition of the game because actually you can’t really argue that because it’s changed with the degree of television we have. I think we need to do some more thinking about it. I think people in the game need to think about it.”

As far as video technology goes, the only opinion I can personally offer is that if a player has breached a rule and the incident in question is captured on video – the tournament rules committee obviously needs to know about it. To spot a potential rules violation but say nothing, in the end, isn’t protecting the field and certainly isn’t in the best interests of our sport.

And the same could be said about viewer call-ins, as much as I loathe the practice in principle.

The bottom line is this: in this 24/7 world of media/social media we live in today, nothing goes unreported. The absolute last thing the tour needs is a ruling controversy surfacing after an event has officially ended, which then brings into question the most fundamental principle governing our game – integrity. I don’t have a solution, but it would seem to this fan that a good starting point would be to assign a crew of rules officials to scrutinize every last second of televised coverage being aired each and every round played.

Beyond that, the player is responsible for knowing and understanding the rules. They are professionals after all, they get paid quite handsomely. It’s not asking too much for them to know how to play the game according to the rules that govern it. A two-pronged approach that involves both the PGA Tour removing the need for the viewer call-ins, as well as the players themselves showing enough competency to proceed under basic rules procedures?

It seems like a win-win to me.

Quick Five: Tour Championship

                            Getty Images

Before moving into the quick 5, obvious congrats go out to Henrik Stenson. He was easily the worthy winner of the $10 million Sunday at East Lake, and his attitude of not giving up is a reminder to us all that a little self belief and effort can go a long way.

We’ll start with the notables who played well last week. Or better yet, let’s talk about those who didn’t.

 

The two that most come to mind would be Tiger and Adam Scott, the two with the most to gain and the most to lose coming into the week (monetarily speaking). Adam gets a free pass because, well, he’s a nice guy. That and the fact that he became so ill Friday evening that he would’ve undoubtedly withdrawn from any other event in which he wasn’t competing for 8 figures. It was evident Saturday morning when Adam looked more like yours truly playing East Lake than it looked like him playing East Lake. Horrible timing, what a week to come down with a bug… Tiger Woods was sick too, but more along the lines of being sick of playing ratty golf. It’s amazing that the guy we’ve watched play over the past few months is the same guy who’s won 5 times this year and will easily win Player of the Year honors later this week. It was a great start for Tiger this season, but a very frustrating finish. And zero majors since 2008, still. I won’t get into the oscillation thing, I’ve moved on.

Secondly… two words: Spieth Rocks. The kid came into the season playing on sponsors exemptions and no status, and ends the season with a win, three 2nd place finishes, 9 top-10’s, $3.8 million in his bank account and a PGA Tour membership for the next 20+ years by the looks of things. For a very small window of time yesterday at East Lake, he gave us something to get all worked up about. Great season, Jordan. Keep it up, kid.

Thirdly… Finchem has been on record acknowledging that the FEC playoff structure isn’t perfect, and the points distribution (weighted more heavily in the playoffs) is designed to add excitement to those last four events of the season. But he’s been very fortunate to avoid the perfect storm. Imagine the chaos that would ensue with having a player like Steve Stricker, who hasn’t won a single event all season, winning the final event of the year and bagging the $10 million… Nothing against Stricker, who has managed 4 runner-ups this season and played very well, but I just don’t see how that competes against a player who has won 5 times this season (Tiger). The formula needs to be tweaked, Tim. And it wouldn’t hurt to remove one of those playoff events, making it three playoff events total, and expanding the field to include more than 30 players in the Tour Championship finale.

Fourthly… Henrik Stenson had several gut-check moments Sunday, and it was impressive to watch him manage his game on a day when it was clear that he wasn’t firing on all cylinders. Hopefully Jim Furyk was paying close attention, because Henrik provided a textbook example of how to close out a win with a significant lead going into the final round with everything at stake. The only thing missing Sunday was Fanny Sunesson there guiding him along and keeping him in the moment, but Gareth Lord, who took Stenson’s bag at the start of this season after Fanny officially retired, likewise did a phenomenal job getting his player around East Lake Sunday. But it does beg the question: does the caddie get the customary 10% of the $10 million???

And lastly… just a small point to make about how great these players are. A majority of them are hitting approach shots these days from 200-235 yards closer to the hole than I can hit a wedge approach into a green from half that distance. We’re talking insanely good. But most of us already knew that.

Bishop: Picking Watson as Ryder Cup Captain was Gamble

It’s never too early to start talking Ryder Cup.

Martin Dempster over at The Scotsman reports that Ted Bishop, the head of the PGA of America, felt that choosing Tom Watson to lead the American contingent to Scotland next fall came with potential risks.

“It would be great for the US to win [at Gleneagles] and, if we can do it with a 65-year-old captain, it opens the door for us for a whole host of future captains [instead of keeping to a tradition of appointing a PGA Tour player in his late 40s]. It’s a gamble. If we don’t win people will look at us a say ‘wow, you’ve lost eight of the last ten and you’ve pulled out all the stops, what are you going to do now?’ I’ll either be a genius or an idiot this time next year. I’m confident. I feel good about the decision, win or lose.”

Uh, Teddy… we pulled out all the stops years ago. That was never more apparent than when Sutton came up with the ingenious idea to pair Tiger and Phil together back in 2004, undoubtedly one of, if not THE biggest, gaffes ever made by a US Ryder Cup captain.

Picking Tom Watson wasn’t a huge gamble. You could’ve picked Bruce Springsteen for that matter. It’s not going to change the fact that Europe simply produces players who don’t fold in team competition, primarily because they’re not playing for themselves but their teammates.

I wish Tom Watson well next year, but it will take nothing short of a miracle to bring the cup back to American soil.

 

Zach Johnson Rallies to Win BMW Championship

                Sam Greenwood/Getty

There are plenty of ups and downs throughout a season of golf, but sometimes it’s simply a matter of playing the best when it matters the most that defines a career. What Zach Johnson accomplished Monday afternoon with his 10th career win at the BMW Championship shouldn’t have come as a surprise to most people who follow the game; the 37-yr-old has proven himself time and time again throughout his solid 9 years on the PGA Tour, but still remains one of the tour’s most underrated players. I’ll finish my stream of thoughts about Zach later, but now, it’s time to move on to my 5 Things from last week’s BMW Championship.

5 – Good First Impression

Despite Jim Furyk’s round of 59 and a few others who managed scores in the low-60’s, Conway Farms more than held its own last week in its’ professional debut. The Tom Fazio design that many felt wouldn’t challenge the players because of the softer conditions and shortish length ended up playing 8 strokes tougher than the very comparable TPC Boston the week prior. Sure – the winds and the weather elevated the challenges last week, but overall I think the layout proved to be a worthy consideration for the future tour playoff rotation down the road. There aren’t many shot-making courses left on the PGA Tour, and Conway Farms could fill that void. The layout there reminds us that it’s not always the longer hitters who have the advantage each and every week.

4 – The End of the Beginning or the Beginning of the End?

Everyone keeps saying that things will indeed get better, but last week was a sobering reminder of just how forgettable this season has been for Rory McIlroy. He entered the week # 41 on the FedEx Cup points list, well within reach of getting inside the top-30 and moving on to the Tour Championship despite a season filled with enormous struggle. But by the end of the second round on Friday he was already 13-over par and just as confused about his game as he was 9 months ago when the season started. Everyone has their own opinions as to the why’s and how’s of his demise, but that “one good month of steady playing” that many felt was all he needed hasn’t materialized, and doesn’t look to be coming anytime soon based on what he revealed last week. Some time away in the off season can help sooth his mind and maybe offer him some perspective, but winning is the only true thing that restores confidence. And at the moment, winning a golf tournament has never seemed more unlikely for Rory.

3. Tiger’s Carelessness

I had a paragraph prepared to better explain my take on Tiger Woods’ latest brush with rules controversies, his third such episode this season. But then I came across a well-written and to-the-point short read by Doug Ferguson over at AP who does a much more thorough job of putting the entire debacle into proper context. The excerpt from his column below has a live link that will enable you to read his article in its entirety.

“Grousing didn’t make Woods’ case any stronger, especially in light of the video evidence. If anything, he allowed his integrity on the golf course to be questioned. That was never (or rarely, anyway) the case as he assembled perhaps the greatest career in PGA Tour history — 79 wins, 14 majors, 10 money titles (including this year). But now he risks losing the locker room. A few players privately mocked him during the final round at Conway Farms. “Oscillation” became a punch line. Was it worth it?”

 

 

2. Freddy’s Justification

There’s nothing to not admire about Jim Furyk’s career…16 career wins, 25 runner-ups, a US Open title, and over $55 million in earnings. That’s Hall of Fame stuff. And then we look at how he’s represented the sport all these years, a professional in every sense of the word. Back on Friday when he became the 6th player ever to have carded a round in the 50’s on the PGA Tour, that honor couldn’t have possibly been bestowed upon a more deserving candidate. But three days later with a 2-shot lead heading into the closing 9 holes of the tournament, a pattern that has haunted Furyk over the past three seasons continued. Not to dismiss Zach Johnson’s remarkable charge in the group up ahead, but Furyk had this tournament by the balls on a layout that couldn’t have possibly been more suited for his game. But just like he’d done the last 5 times having the lead heading into the final round, Furyk failed to close the deal. His 1-over 37 coming in is basically the reason why he wasn’t picked to be on the Presidents Cup team, and in an environment where the captain is relying on players who can perform under pressure – Furyk did very little in the final round to make the argument that he deserved Freddy’s loyalty.

1. Mr. Clutch

In this long-balling, cookie-cutter swing era of professional golf, Zach Johnson is a refreshing throwback to an era that used to define the best from the rest. His patented closed-clubface with the hold-off finish swing has carved out quite the career on the PGA Tour, yet despite his impressive win at Augusta back in 2007 and the 8 tournaments he’s won since, he still doesn’t get near as much celebrity and press as do some of his longer-hitting counterparts who’ve yet to accomplish even half of the success he’s earned. If I had to sum up Zach’s career thus far with just a single word, it would be “fearless.” He’s shown us repeatedly throughout his career that he can play well under steady pressure, that he can win on a variety of differing layouts, and that he can be a very reliable teammate in Ryder and Presidents Cup team events. Last Monday at Conway Farms he showed once again how fearless he is with an impressive 6-under 65 to come from behind to earn his 10th tour career win. Well done, Zach Johnson.

This week we move ahead to the Tour Championship, the final leg of the race to $10 million. Click HERE for the updated FedEx Cup points standings, and live televised coverage begins Thursday at 1:00 on the Golf Channel.

Justin Rose’s Crazy Penalty on Saturday

While everyone was sidetracked with Tiger Woods incurring a penalty for inadvertently moving his ball during the second round Friday at the BMW Championship, another top player encountered a similar fate during Saturday’s round.

I must say it’s the first time I’ve ever seen something like this happen, and I think it’s a pretty safe bet that Rose will stay well clear of his ball when taking practice swings from now on!

Crazy Friday the 13th at BMW

It was a Friday the 13th that a lot of us won’t forget anytime soon, but one that the top player in the world will definitely want to put behind him.

The most obvious story that developed Friday at the BMW Championship was Jim Furyk, who became only the 6th player ever in the history of the PGA Tour to shoot a round in the 50’s. In swirling winds that at times were well north of 20 mph, Jim Furyk went completely bonkers at Conway Farms, and it was so obvious that he was going to shoot a sub-60 round that thoughts of potentially shooting 58 or maybe even 57 were definitely not out of the question. In fact – that careless 3-putt bogey on the par4 5th essentially cost him a round of 58, which would’ve earned him an even more exclusive part of history all to himself.

                                                              Photo Courtesy of AFP

Furyk joins a very exclusive club of 5 other PGA Tour players who’ve accomplished this extraordinary sub-60 feat, with Al Geiberger shooting 59 back in 1977, Chip beck back in 1991, David Duval back in 1999, and both Paul Goydos and Stuart Appleby carding rounds of 59 back in 2010.

check out Furyk’s 2nd round scorecard

Let there be no doubt, whether Furyk wants to admit this or not – this was clearly a statement round that he issued to none other than Presidents Cup captain Fred Couples, who decided to exclude Furyk as one of his captain’s picks by opting for Webb Simpson instead.

Furyk admitted last week that he was incredibly disappointed to not make the team, so much so that he described his mood as a little “grouchy” while sharing breakfast Thursday morning with friends and ‘would’ve-been teammates’ Steve Stricker and Zach Johnson, both of whom were talking about the upcoming event next month. “But I felt like last night I kind of kicked myself in the rear end and said, `You know, it’s done with. It’s over with,'” Furyk said. “There’s nothing I can do to change it now. It’s over and let’s just focus on this week.”

Furyk’s unforgettable round on Friday put him tied for the lead with Brandt Snedeker @ 11-under, with Zach Johnson lurking closely behind just three shots back.

Live Projected FedEx Cup Points

The other big story to develop late Friday afternoon was Tiger Woods, but in a completely different light from that of Jim Furyk’s. On the first hole of the second round, Woods’ tee shot found the trees and while attempting to remove some twigs from around his ball, the ball moved from its original position. Woods claimed that he thought the ball simply oscillated, which had that been the case there wouldn’t have been an issue. But a video that was taken by a freelance videographer recording Woods’ gardening duties revealed that the ball indeed moved out of its original position and never returned, thus no oscillation. Woods made a double-bogey on the hole, or so he thought, and continued playing the round. After his round and just prior to signing his scorecard – Woods was approached by PGA rules official Slugger White, who questioned him about the incident back on the 1st hole. Woods watched the replaying of the incident on the video, but still remained unconvinced that the ball had moved from its original position.

In the end, Slugger White assessed Woods a 2-shot penalty, which meant that he would sign for a round of 72 instead of the 70 that he initially thought he had scored. “He said he didn’t feel he could see that. I felt like that was OK, but the ball did move,” White said. “He knew there was movement there, but it’s like he was very adamant that it oscillated – it stayed there. But this video was at the site, and the ball did in fact move.” 

VIDEO REVEALS TIGER’S BALL DOES INDEED MOVE OUT OF ORIGINAL POSITION

Tiger, if I may… you clearly need to have your eyes checked if you watched the video and still maintain that the ball didn’t move. It clearly did, and furthermore – I was paying attention to the additional pause you exhibited after the ball did move. I’ll stop short of saying that you knew it moved, because we know what that infers. But to argue that the ball oscillated and didn’t move out of its original position, despite video evidence revealing otherwise???

Are you and Michelle Wie related, perhaps?

Clarke to Return to the PGA Tour

When Darren Clarke made the announcement yesterday that he plans to play full-time next season on the PGA Tour, it wasn’t earth-shattering news that warranted much more than a few sentences in a small blurb of a paragraph on most sports media outlets.

“I will be taking up my US PGA Tour card next season but that does not mean I am abandoning Europe,” Clarke said. “I will be supporting my home Tour as usual. I still feel I can be competitive at the highest level.”

As many will recall, Clarke forfeited his US PGA Tour membership after his first wife (Heather) passed away from cancer back in 2006, feeling that he needed to return to Europe to be closer to his two sons. And as most all of us remember – five years later he had that truly magical week at Royal St. George’s in the 2011 Open Championship, winning the one tournament he’d always dreamed of and finally becoming a major champion.

Getty Images

Along with that accomplishment came a 5-year exemption to play on the US PGA Tour, which naturally Clarke has decided a few years later is a chip worth cashing in.

Whether or not he can be competitive at that “highest level” he spoke of, especially after what has been two very lethargic seasons since, is anyone’s best guess. There’s also the remote possibility that the 45-yr-old is looking to retool his game over the next few years to prepare for a second career on the US-based Champions Tour when he turns 50.

Whatever his reasoning is, I’m sure Darren Clarke isn’t abandoning his home tour in a literal sense, but I’d wager a guess that he’s looking forward to the change of scenery.  Better crowds, better weather, better food, more perks and privileges each week that he tees it up, and obviously more money to be had…

Through all he’s been through and had to overcome in recent years, who could blame him?

We wish him well, one of the good guys in golf.

No Vacancies: Sean Foley Turns Away Luke Donald

I guess when you’ve already got a stable of thoroughbreds, the last thing you need is a pony.

Foley Turns Away Luke Donald   

Nothing to add really, other than maybe Sean Foley doesn’t see too much potential for Donald to be that much better than he already is. Not that Donald isn’t a good player obviously, but that in this day and age – majors matter just a much to messiah-like swing coaches as they do their players. At least I get that vibe in this instance. 

Of course, I could be completely misinterpreting this. 

But I doubt it. 

The Home Stretch: BMW Championship Preview

The concept behind establishing the FedEx Cup playoffs was to increase the drama and add a little more excitement to what has traditionally been a quiet, seemingly uninterested winding down of the professional golf season. Whether one believes that this has been accomplished is obviously open for debate, but despite coinciding and competing with college football and the 2nd week of the NFL season – there is undoubtedly plenty of drama for the remaining 70 players competing for the $10 million prize next weekend at East Lake.

But only 30 of those 70 players will move on to the Tour Championship next week, and a few dozen notables who find themselves nearer the bottom of the pecking order than the top will certainly be feeling some added pressure to stay in the hunt this week in Chicago.

Current FedEx Cup Projected Points Standings

Playing host to the 3rd stop of the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup playoff series is Conway Farms Golf Club, situated about 5 miles west of Lake Michigan. The part-links, part-parkland blend was designed by Tom Fazio back in 1991, and although this week marks the first time the PGA Tour has ventured to Conway Farms, the club has played host to a number of high-profile Open qualifiers, collegiate and amateur events over the years. Not nearly as long as some of the more notable PGA Tour stops, the layout will test the players this week with some narrower driving lines and awkward approach angles going into the well-protected greens.

One of the notables who’s hoping to turn a suspect season around this week is Luke Donald, who finished T41 two weeks ago at the Deutsche Bank Championship and finds himself needing a strong showing this week to advance to East Lake for the Tour Championship finale. Donald, a nearby Northwestern University grad, revealed earlier this week that he’s not satisfied with where his game is and that it’s time for change. “I think someone who was at the pinnacle of the game not too long ago and is now 54th on the FedExCup, it’s been disappointing,” Donald said. “It’s been very hard this year. It’s been frustrating at times, and I’ve had to make some tough decisions.”

Photo by AP

One of those tough decisions was informing Pat Goss, the guy who recruited Donald for Northwestern back in the mid-1990’s and has been his only golf coach since, that it was time to move on. “It was a tough decision. He understood it perfectly. He’s always wanted me to be as good as I can be and make those decisions that I think will make that difference in my career. It’s just one of those things that was very tough but I felt like I had to do. I felt like if I didn’t at least try something different, I would have regrets.” Luke is now working with Chuck Cook, who also happens to be newly-crowned PGA Champion Jason Dufner’s current swing coach. Donald admits that the change won’t be easy, but feels optimistic about his game again. “I feel pretty good about where things are headed, and I’m excited about the future. This year I still have time to rescue it,” he said. “I’m going to have to do that this week, and that’s the beauty of the FedExCup. It takes one good week to kind of rescue a year. And I certainly have that opportunity this week.”

As do a handful of other players, like Rory McIlroy, Nick Watney and Bubba Watson, three of the more prominent notables who entered the season having finished solid 2012 campaigns, but have struggled with consistency much of this season.

It should be a compelling weekend of golf, at least for those of us not watching college football and the NFL, to find out who those 30 players will be.

(players quotes courtesy of the PGA Tour)

More Americans Competing in European Tour’s Q-School

Eighty six American players will be teeing it up in the first stage of the European Tour’s Q-school in the coming weeks, more than double the amount of American players who attempted to qualify for the European Tour last fall.

But according to The Scotsman’s Martin Dempster (and everyone else who’s followed the American PGA Tour’s decision to change their qualifying process), it’s not totally unexpected. “The decision by more Americans to turn their attention to Europe in an attempt to get a foot on the ladder is also likely to have been influenced by changes to the PGA Tour Qualifying School,” Dempster writes. “It no longer offers instant promotion to the money-spinning main circuit, with the developmental Web.com Tour now being the primary path to get a PGA Tour card.” 

Maybe some of them are paying attention to the example set by Peter Uihlein, the 23-yr-old American who many remember for his impressive 4-0 performance in the 2009 Walker Cup and then winning the US Amateur the very next year. Uihlein decided to turn pro back in December of 2011, but failed in his bid to earn a tour card through the PGA Tour’s Q-School earlier that fall.

Chubby Chandler, who those in-the-know are familiar with as one of the more popular players’ agents representing International Sports Management in Europe, understood why someone like Uihlein would consider traveling across the Atlantic to chase his dream. “It is a pioneering move by him – the obvious step would have been to try to establish his career in the United States,” Chandler said. “But having seen players like Lee Westwood, Charl Schwartzel, Louis Oosthuizen and Darren Clarke build careers by playing all over the world, including America, Peter has been encouraged by that. I’m sure that he will benefit enormously from the experience.” 

In fact, Uihlein already has. Opting to play his way into the professional ranks, Uihlein spent all of 2012 competing on the European circuit, before finally breaking through with his first professional win back in May of this year. In just a little over a year, he went from having no status and simply hoping to get some playing experience to securing a tour card and getting inside the top 100 of the Official World Golf Ranking.

“I think people must be looking at their success over here and seeing it as a potential route, especially as both Peter (Uihlein) and Brooks (Koepka) chose to go this way deliberately,” said Mike Stewart, the Qualifying School director. “As they have both admitted, it has been good for them to be faced with new challenges in a new environment on a weekly basis and it is certainly healthy for the European Tour that others are deciding to try and follow the same route.”

Obviously it remains to be seen whether or not more American players like Brooks Koepka and Peter Uihlein can enjoy reasonable success competing in a totally different competitive arena opposite the PGA Tour and an ocean away, but most feel they have something in Europe that they no longer have in America.

That something? An opportunity.