As OS noted in a post that keeps a steady flow of traffic every week, last year's PGA Championship was a monumental screw-up.
This year's leaderboard is dominated by relatively unfamiliar names, new faces, strong young players like Dufner, Steele, Bradley. Tiger's Tale is now one of self-destruction, accelerating after he fired Steve Williams, the best caddy any golfer could wish for. There are also a number of familiar names up near the front, and any one of twenty of the field could prevail. It's the makings of a great event.
Now, to see if the PGA officials will resist the temptation to determine the outcome. If the marshals will control the crowd, if the course managers really have thought through (and marked!) out-of-bounds, hazards, what is and isn't part of the golf course. Where the bunkers are and aren't, for starters.
We'll see if Mark Wilson decided that last year's fifteen minutes of fame was enough, or if he needs another moment in front of CBS's cameras. (Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad.)
We'll see if CBS Sports puts up with his BS another year, or calls it what it is.
If the PGA screws up again, it will bode ill for the professional game. Sponsors aren't obligated to pony up cash, volunteers can give their time elsewhere, spectators can go to baseball games, viewers can change the channel. Young people, who are much needed to keep the game alive, will conclude that years of dedicated work don't matter when a PGA official decides how he wishes matters to conclude.
So, we'll see. This final round isn't just about the skill of the competitors, it's about the integrity and future of the PGA.
Tee it up, ya'll!
Showing posts with label PGA Championship. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PGA Championship. Show all posts
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
The Day After, And The Protests Continue: PGA Damage Control Not Working
OS checked in with CBSSports.com, to the official line presented by Mr. Elling.
The official shoulder-to-shoulder, we're-just-gonna-have-to-stonewall-this-one-out-Party Line is: Rules is rules is rules is rules, and nobody gonna question either the PGA or us, by golly.
The reaction to that article is pretty vehement. Folks aren't buying it.
Lots and lots and lots of money on the line here. And this is not going to go away.
CBS also posted a summary video with Nance and Nick Faldo. Faldo looked pretty heartsick as he held to the party line.
Someone, somewhere, within the next few days, within the PGA or CBS, is gonna' start talking about this candidly to some part of the press that will give him a hearing. The fur will then fly.
This is not over. OS smells scandal in the air. There is some sort of iceberg under this tip.
The official shoulder-to-shoulder, we're-just-gonna-have-to-stonewall-this-one-out-Party Line is: Rules is rules is rules is rules, and nobody gonna question either the PGA or us, by golly.
The reaction to that article is pretty vehement. Folks aren't buying it.
Lots and lots and lots of money on the line here. And this is not going to go away.
CBS also posted a summary video with Nance and Nick Faldo. Faldo looked pretty heartsick as he held to the party line.
Someone, somewhere, within the next few days, within the PGA or CBS, is gonna' start talking about this candidly to some part of the press that will give him a hearing. The fur will then fly.
This is not over. OS smells scandal in the air. There is some sort of iceberg under this tip.
Monday, August 16, 2010
The Grassfire Builds: The PGA Gots Some Splainin' To Do, Lucy
From Steve Elling, CBS Sports Senior Writer:
Rarely has a ruling touched off such a firestorm of commentary. The PGA Tour, which had nothing to do with the administration of the event, posted the following on its Facebook page, where fans were going ballistic: "The PGA Tour did not make the ruling and had no authority over the outcome. Your comments are appreciated, but please keep them clean of foul language and attacks."
Johnson's professional peers jumped to his defense, although as any judge or referee will be quick to note, ignorance of the rule is no excuse.
"I didn't see any notice in the locker room but I wasn't looking for them," Ian Poulter wrote. "They may have been there."
Former Masters champion Trevor Immelman wrote: "Gutted for Dustin. Shocking rule, 900+ bunkers and probably only 100 rakes. I don't get it! That is ridiculous, since when can a 1000 spectators walk through a bunker? Stupid!"
LPGA star Paula Creamer chimed in with: "That is a horrible call. I just can't believe it."
PGA Tour veteran Joe Ogilvie: "I'm stupefied they are even considering penalizing Dustin. If anything, it is ground under repair."
Elling is doing his duty for his employer, who have spent many millions on PGA event rights, and have millions to lose if the public turns away. Fair enough, his article supports the PGA to the hilt. He even quotes the owner of Whistling Straits, the course of 1,200 bunkers:
"It's a bunker," Kohler said. "Whether it's outside the ropes or inside the ropes doesn't make any difference, it's still a bunker. Hard lessons in life I tell you, but it was on the rules sheet.
"I'm not sure it's negative. It's hard, it's terrible and it's crushing for Dustin. It's crushing for everyone that watched and heard and feels for Dustin. On the other hand, darn it, it's the rules of golf.
"The point is, golf has rules. And the beauty of golf is, those rules apply to all of us. Be it professional or amateur and the values of golf have evolved from the rules of golf. And it's those values that are really quite precious. "They all knew it."
Really? Is every square inch of sand of a flat surface on a golf course a bunker? Do fans get to stand in bunkers?
OS took a few minutes to review the Facebook comments referenced above.If you think OS has a low opinion of the PGA, you ain't read nothin' til you read these!
The PGA.Com Facebook page appears to have shut down all further comment, but the stream of invective and protest previous to that act of courage is overwhelmingly negative.
Yeah, baby, yeah! That'll show all them ignorant, pissant, nobody-worth-knowing fans! They're just the ones who tune in to our events every Sunday, buy tickets and merchandise to events, take lessons with our members, volunteer for our tournaments. We'll do just fine without them!
This will not go away soon. This calls everything about the PGA into question.
Golfers know and love the game, almost at a religious level, because they play it with such dedication. It gives people such joy, such a sense of accomplishment, at whatever level they play. They love the game, and revere it, because honesty and fair play lie at the very heart of it.
The PGA just pissed all over them, and let them know they don't care a fig for their opinion.
This will not go away soon.
PS: This view from Golf Channel.
They still remember what the game was about.
OS misses Arnie, Jack, Lee, Ben, and Gary. It was a game played with and for love and honor.
Rarely has a ruling touched off such a firestorm of commentary. The PGA Tour, which had nothing to do with the administration of the event, posted the following on its Facebook page, where fans were going ballistic: "The PGA Tour did not make the ruling and had no authority over the outcome. Your comments are appreciated, but please keep them clean of foul language and attacks."
Johnson's professional peers jumped to his defense, although as any judge or referee will be quick to note, ignorance of the rule is no excuse.
"I didn't see any notice in the locker room but I wasn't looking for them," Ian Poulter wrote. "They may have been there."
Former Masters champion Trevor Immelman wrote: "Gutted for Dustin. Shocking rule, 900+ bunkers and probably only 100 rakes. I don't get it! That is ridiculous, since when can a 1000 spectators walk through a bunker? Stupid!"
LPGA star Paula Creamer chimed in with: "That is a horrible call. I just can't believe it."
PGA Tour veteran Joe Ogilvie: "I'm stupefied they are even considering penalizing Dustin. If anything, it is ground under repair."
Elling is doing his duty for his employer, who have spent many millions on PGA event rights, and have millions to lose if the public turns away. Fair enough, his article supports the PGA to the hilt. He even quotes the owner of Whistling Straits, the course of 1,200 bunkers:
"It's a bunker," Kohler said. "Whether it's outside the ropes or inside the ropes doesn't make any difference, it's still a bunker. Hard lessons in life I tell you, but it was on the rules sheet.
"I'm not sure it's negative. It's hard, it's terrible and it's crushing for Dustin. It's crushing for everyone that watched and heard and feels for Dustin. On the other hand, darn it, it's the rules of golf.
"The point is, golf has rules. And the beauty of golf is, those rules apply to all of us. Be it professional or amateur and the values of golf have evolved from the rules of golf. And it's those values that are really quite precious. "They all knew it."
Really? Is every square inch of sand of a flat surface on a golf course a bunker? Do fans get to stand in bunkers?
OS took a few minutes to review the Facebook comments referenced above.If you think OS has a low opinion of the PGA, you ain't read nothin' til you read these!
The PGA.Com Facebook page appears to have shut down all further comment, but the stream of invective and protest previous to that act of courage is overwhelmingly negative.
Yeah, baby, yeah! That'll show all them ignorant, pissant, nobody-worth-knowing fans! They're just the ones who tune in to our events every Sunday, buy tickets and merchandise to events, take lessons with our members, volunteer for our tournaments. We'll do just fine without them!
This will not go away soon. This calls everything about the PGA into question.
Golfers know and love the game, almost at a religious level, because they play it with such dedication. It gives people such joy, such a sense of accomplishment, at whatever level they play. They love the game, and revere it, because honesty and fair play lie at the very heart of it.
The PGA just pissed all over them, and let them know they don't care a fig for their opinion.
This will not go away soon.
PS: This view from Golf Channel.
They still remember what the game was about.
OS misses Arnie, Jack, Lee, Ben, and Gary. It was a game played with and for love and honor.
The PGA Covers Itself In Mud: The 2010 PGA Championship
The Damage Control has begun already.
The PGA will have to get out ahead of this massive, public screwup before Monday morning, but they will fail. The world saw the ball fall into the deep part of the crowd, on ground that had been trampled over again and again and again. Young Mr. Johnson was crowded in on every side by that crowd, with his ball lying on a flat sandy patch of soil, replete with grass and weeds. He was on the 18th hole on Sunday at the PGA Championship, with a one-stroke lead. He hits his shot, and scrambles to -11 for a three-way playoff. As he walks off the green, the rules official intercepts him to tell him that was a bunker he played from, after all.
David Feherty of CBS was with him when he played the shot. Feherty is an experienced professional player and journalist, someone who knows the game inside and out. Feherty didn't perceive it to be a bunker. He even went back to the spot, and said it again. The crowd that had witnessed the shot was with him, and they concurred. They were there. Where was the rules official? From what vantage did he see the event?
One rules official, somewhere, decided to play God, to claim his fifteen minutes of fame. Two-stroke penalty for young Mr. Johnson, or DQ for refusing to sign the card, and one of the strictest codes of silence in the world: Even breathe a word that we screwed up, my boy, and your career ends. Just try it.
Thus, let us take note: On 15 August, 2010, the PGA joined the ranks of the NBA, NFL, NHL, World-Cup Soccer, NCAA, and Major (and minor) League Baseball, where the umpires have decided that they deserve to intervene and direct the outcomes of games. Because they can.
They can take away a perfect game from a pitcher on the final out of the baseball game, and get away with it. Because they can.
They can allow one team to commit egregious fouls on another in the NCAA basketball tournament, and just about assure its victory. Because they can.
The rules are no longer the means of maintaining the integrity of the game, but the means by which the umpire can bend the outcome to his will, and gain the notoriety that so eludes him by any other means of legitimate achievement.
Mark Wilson, co-chairman of the PGA of America Rules Committee, got his minute on camera with CBS--how sweet was that? Hi, Mom! Hi, Dad!--to begin the damage control.
The crowd was chanting 'Let him play!' Wilson decided to enter the history books this weekend, and he goes to his hotel satisfied in his quest.
Young Mr. Johnson is penalized two strokes. The playoff gets underway, and it is easy to sense the deflation in the entire proceeding. On eighteen, Bubba Watson hits his second shot into the creek, and a rules official is there, explaining it all to him, including the two-club-length rule from the hazard line. So, Bubba dutifully marks off his two club lengths, lay the driver down, mark with a tee, lay the driver down, mark with a tee. Only the rules official has his ****!!!! back turned as Bubba marks it off!
Inspires all sorts of confidence in the PGA Rules officials, now doesn't it?
The PeopleInChargeOfSuchThings back at PGA HQ will be on full-tilt damage-control and charm campaign. The press releases will fly, the ads of smiling golf pros with poor young children in the hospitals will run heavily. On and on and on,'cuz if sponsors (such as FedEx, Rolex, Mercedes-Benz, and RBC) smell trouble, sponsors walk. The PGA office will talk and talk and talk, and massage and massage, and spin and spin, and explain and explain, and privately threaten young Mr. Johnson within an inch of his young life, if he dare utter an honest opinion of the idiocy of his situation.
But the fans, and the players, know the truth already:
Mark Wilson screwed Dustin Johnson. Because he could. Not for the sake of the integrity of the game, but simply because he could. And the current leadership of the PGA will back him to the hilt, because they think they can get away with it.
But after today, we know a few things about the PGA:
No player, however skilled, however honest, irregardless of years of sacrifice to play at that level, is safe from a Mark Wilson. A shadow now hangs over the game, and every player must now always look over his shoulder while trying to compete, wondering where the next Mark Wilson hides.
No tournament, relying upon hundreds of volunteers donating thousands of hours and millions of dollars, is now safe from one rules official who decides how he wishes the tournament to conclude.
No corporate sponsor, spending money to buy goodwill from backing a tournament, is now safe from having their money flushed down the crapper by the PGA, when one rules official decides how he wishes the tournament to conclude.
Because he can.
Today, 15 August 2010, professional golf became just another professional sport.
The PGA will have to get out ahead of this massive, public screwup before Monday morning, but they will fail. The world saw the ball fall into the deep part of the crowd, on ground that had been trampled over again and again and again. Young Mr. Johnson was crowded in on every side by that crowd, with his ball lying on a flat sandy patch of soil, replete with grass and weeds. He was on the 18th hole on Sunday at the PGA Championship, with a one-stroke lead. He hits his shot, and scrambles to -11 for a three-way playoff. As he walks off the green, the rules official intercepts him to tell him that was a bunker he played from, after all.
David Feherty of CBS was with him when he played the shot. Feherty is an experienced professional player and journalist, someone who knows the game inside and out. Feherty didn't perceive it to be a bunker. He even went back to the spot, and said it again. The crowd that had witnessed the shot was with him, and they concurred. They were there. Where was the rules official? From what vantage did he see the event?
One rules official, somewhere, decided to play God, to claim his fifteen minutes of fame. Two-stroke penalty for young Mr. Johnson, or DQ for refusing to sign the card, and one of the strictest codes of silence in the world: Even breathe a word that we screwed up, my boy, and your career ends. Just try it.
Thus, let us take note: On 15 August, 2010, the PGA joined the ranks of the NBA, NFL, NHL, World-Cup Soccer, NCAA, and Major (and minor) League Baseball, where the umpires have decided that they deserve to intervene and direct the outcomes of games. Because they can.
They can take away a perfect game from a pitcher on the final out of the baseball game, and get away with it. Because they can.
They can allow one team to commit egregious fouls on another in the NCAA basketball tournament, and just about assure its victory. Because they can.
The rules are no longer the means of maintaining the integrity of the game, but the means by which the umpire can bend the outcome to his will, and gain the notoriety that so eludes him by any other means of legitimate achievement.
Mark Wilson, co-chairman of the PGA of America Rules Committee, got his minute on camera with CBS--how sweet was that? Hi, Mom! Hi, Dad!--to begin the damage control.
The crowd was chanting 'Let him play!' Wilson decided to enter the history books this weekend, and he goes to his hotel satisfied in his quest.
Young Mr. Johnson is penalized two strokes. The playoff gets underway, and it is easy to sense the deflation in the entire proceeding. On eighteen, Bubba Watson hits his second shot into the creek, and a rules official is there, explaining it all to him, including the two-club-length rule from the hazard line. So, Bubba dutifully marks off his two club lengths, lay the driver down, mark with a tee, lay the driver down, mark with a tee. Only the rules official has his ****!!!! back turned as Bubba marks it off!
Inspires all sorts of confidence in the PGA Rules officials, now doesn't it?
The PeopleInChargeOfSuchThings back at PGA HQ will be on full-tilt damage-control and charm campaign. The press releases will fly, the ads of smiling golf pros with poor young children in the hospitals will run heavily. On and on and on,'cuz if sponsors (such as FedEx, Rolex, Mercedes-Benz, and RBC) smell trouble, sponsors walk. The PGA office will talk and talk and talk, and massage and massage, and spin and spin, and explain and explain, and privately threaten young Mr. Johnson within an inch of his young life, if he dare utter an honest opinion of the idiocy of his situation.
But the fans, and the players, know the truth already:
Mark Wilson screwed Dustin Johnson. Because he could. Not for the sake of the integrity of the game, but simply because he could. And the current leadership of the PGA will back him to the hilt, because they think they can get away with it.
But after today, we know a few things about the PGA:
No player, however skilled, however honest, irregardless of years of sacrifice to play at that level, is safe from a Mark Wilson. A shadow now hangs over the game, and every player must now always look over his shoulder while trying to compete, wondering where the next Mark Wilson hides.
No tournament, relying upon hundreds of volunteers donating thousands of hours and millions of dollars, is now safe from one rules official who decides how he wishes the tournament to conclude.
No corporate sponsor, spending money to buy goodwill from backing a tournament, is now safe from having their money flushed down the crapper by the PGA, when one rules official decides how he wishes the tournament to conclude.
Because he can.
Today, 15 August 2010, professional golf became just another professional sport.
Monday, August 17, 2009
David and Goliath
Congrats to Mr. Yang, winner of the PGA Championship just ended this afternoon, over Tiger Woods.
It marks the first time in fifteen occurrences that Tiger stepped onto the first tee with the lead on Sunday, and didn't win.
Mr. Yang remained patient, kept his courage, and in the process won the gallery over to his cause. He never allowed Tiger's presence to rattle him.
South Korea, and all of Asia, have a genuine hero.
We'll see him again in years to come, with a long exemption status on the PGA tour, invitations to the Masters and the Open, etc.
Here's to many more inspiring afternoons with Mr. Yang.
It marks the first time in fifteen occurrences that Tiger stepped onto the first tee with the lead on Sunday, and didn't win.
Mr. Yang remained patient, kept his courage, and in the process won the gallery over to his cause. He never allowed Tiger's presence to rattle him.
South Korea, and all of Asia, have a genuine hero.
We'll see him again in years to come, with a long exemption status on the PGA tour, invitations to the Masters and the Open, etc.
Here's to many more inspiring afternoons with Mr. Yang.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)