Who Says Golf Doesn't Move The Needle?

Thanks to reader Jeff for this post by Craig Labovitz at Arbor Networks Security Blog looking at the incredible spike in Monday Internet traffic caused by the U.S. Open playoff.

Internet Providers usually spend their time worrying about threats from hackers, link failures, and router configuration errors. Yesterday, though, many of them were worried about Tigers…

Starting around 9 am Pacific and peaking at 1:30 pm yesterday, many ISPs noticed an unusual increase in traffic. At first, a few security engineers worried they were under some type of new DDoS attack. But the flood of traffic did not appear directed at any individual customer — the gigabits of anomaly traffic surged to almost all customers from multi-national banks to the bakery down the street and home DSL / Cable users. For several ISPs, traffic into their network grew by 15-25%. In one provider, inbound traffic nearly doubled.

It turns out that the U.S. Open played at Torrey Pines yesterday generated one of the larger Internet-wide flash crowds this year. Traffic dipped and peaked corresponding to Tiger’s initial misses and subsequent spectacular comeback as millions of office bound fans tuned in to the live NBC and ESPN coverage.

Retief Confirms He Has No Sense Of Humor, Jokes That Tiger Was Faking Knee Injury

Reuters' Norman Dabell reports on Retief Goosen's attempt to put out the fire caused by his comments to the Times' Kevin Eason.

Goosen told Reuters on Wednesday before playing in the BMW International Open pro-am that he had not been serious.

"I was joking, really. I mean, how do I know? I never spoke to the guy," Goosen said.

"He's got a sore knee, yes, and at the end of the day it's a great achievement by Tiger winning his 14th major.

"But I wouldn't really know how sore or not his knee was. Obviously if his knee was really bad he would have withdrawn.

"I won't say I knew he was faking it. How would I know?

"Anyway, it's great to see that he's recovering well and that he's back on form."

From the original Eason story:

“Nobody really knows if he was just showing off or if he was really injured. I believe if he was really injured, he would not have played.”

The South African was trying to soften the impact of his remarks last night, although he did not attempt to retract them, merely implying that he was not being serious. When approached by The Times on the eve of the BMW International Open in Munich, Goosen said: “I was being light-hearted. No one but Tiger himself knows how badly hurt he was. But if he was really badly hurt, he would have withdrawn, wouldn’t he?”

Goosen’s comments caused embarrassment at IMG,

...now that's saying something...

the management group that looks after the interests of both golfers, which would not make an official statement last night, but suggested that the South African’s remarks may have been misconstrued.

Risky Business: No. 14 At Torrey

I settled in on No. 14 tee Sunday and again for Monday's playoff to file a story for Golf World.

More U.S. Open Clippings

So much great 2008 U.S. Open reading and so much time to savor it thanks to a pitiful Game 6...

Gene Wojciechowski at ESPN.com:

I watched 5½ holes of the playoff while waiting near a food kiosk at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. My flight to Tampa, Fla., was delayed, so I sat on the edge of a huge potted plant as Woods' 3-stroke lead morphed into a 1-stroke deficit.

But here's the thing: It wasn't just me sitting there. I turned around and there was a guy crouched below the palm fronds. A woman sat on the floor to my right. A father and son stood to my left. Before long, there were about 20 of us in a semicircle -- business people, tourists, flight crews, ticket agents -- all watching an ancient TV whose spotty reception featured a series of Zorro-like slashes on the picture.

A handful of us had to board before it was finished. When I left the TV, Woods was in the fairway on No. 18 and Mediate was in the rough. That's all we knew as they shut the cabin door.

"I want Tiger to win," said one of the businessmen who had stood nearby, "but I don't want Rocco to lose."

That's how pure the U.S. Open was. You rooted for the underdog and the big dog.

Pat Forde says it was "arguably the greatest golf tournament ever" and writes:

If you sat next to Mediate on a flight from San Diego to New York, you'd probably know his life story by the time you were over Omaha, Neb. He'd be doing card tricks, telling jokes, showing you pictures from his vacation.

If you sat next to Woods on a flight -- well, forget it. He'd be on his private jet.

In his peppy Golf World game story John Hawkins writes:

Tee markers were moved all over the place -- six holes played to significantly different lengths during the week. For Sunday's final round, the 7,643-yard behemoth was shortened by a whopping 361 yards. Davis' makeshift drivable par 4, the 14th, had a subtle effect on the outcome: five of the top-eight finishers birdied it. The greens might have been a bit soft and the breeze somewhat feeble, but after back-to-back winning scores of five over, a playoff at one under was easy on the eyes and even nicer to the ears.

Jaime Diaz looks at Tiger and wonders...

...it is impossible not to be worried whether Tiger Woods will fulfill his destiny as a golfer. Will his gift be diminished? Have we seen the best of him? Is his time at the pinnacle of the game short?

These are heavy questions, and perhaps not even Woods really knows the answers, as he indicated when he said after the victory, "This week had a lot of doubt to it."

Tim Rosaforte takes on the Phil driver drama and says Harmon and Pelz signed off...

It didn't matter that Mickelson was trying to avoid the wide-left miss that cost him at Winged Foot two years ago. This was the longest course in Open history, and just about every expert except Harmon piled on Mickelson and short-game guru Dave Pelz—who provided data that led to the decision to sacrifice distance for accuracy. "I don't have a problem with the decision but with the execution," Harmon said.

Two weeks before the Open, Mickelson gave hints he wasn't going to attack Torrey South in the conventional way, saying he expected to hit driver only four to six times per round. In the interim, Pelz emphasized to Mickelson that playing from the fairway was going to be the key for the week. Their plan was based on a club Mickelson had made for him at the Callaway facility, a 13-degree FT Fairway 3-wood bent to 11.5 degrees. Able to carry shots hit with that club 280 yards, with 20 yards of roll, Mickelson was hoping to put less stress on his short game by keeping his ball in the fairway.

Bob Verdi focuses on Rocco but also compliments the USGA hierarchy.

Mediate walks as if he's late for a train. He's perpetual motion over the ball until impact. He waves, he laughs, he talks to himself, then hangs around waiting for an answer. Rocco earned a spot by surviving an Open playoff qualifier against so many kids, he felt like a chaperone. When he arrived at Torrey Pines, he went to the merchandise tent and bought Open pins for his hat, like the fan he is. "Hey, I play golf for a living," Mediate said. "And I played well in my favorite tournament, one where you don't have to make eight birdies a round to compete, one where you have to be precise. Why shouldn't I be happy?"

Spongy greens troubled some players, one of whom carped that it felt like he was "putting an egg instead of a ball." But Rocco never barked, because this was the "most fairest" Open setup ever. His attitude might have had something to do with his altitude, and overall, the usually restive locker room was a demilitarized zone. Torrey South was difficult and exacting, yet playable and flexible. More significantly, golfers sensed the intransigence and arrogance of the previous USGA regime was absent. Jim Vernon, Jim Hyler and Mike Davis got high marks for directing and producing an electric show. "Nothing wrong with the course," Rocco repeated. "Absolutely nothing."

Steve Elling has the Hank angle covered.

Hank Haney got a shade choked up, his eyes misting over as he watched his prized pupil hoist the U.S. Open trophy overhead for the third time.

As Tiger Woods kissed the chrome, Haney had no trouble putting the guy's latest other-worldly accomplishment into perspective. He did not equivocate, qualify or pull his punches, and even though he's on the Woods payroll, his opinion means plenty because Haney knew more than anybody about what Woods was enduring this week.

After 91 grueling, grinding holes had been completed, Haney finally pulled back the curtain regarding what Woods faced over the past two months since having surgery on his chewed-up left knee for the third time.

"It's his greatest win, given all of the things he had to overcome," Haney said, repeatedly clearing his throat. "The amount of pain he played in, the lack of preparation, it's his greatest win and I know he feels the same way."

Bill Fields zeros in on the amateurs in last week's field, while Brett Avery's stat package includes some interesting numbers.

Doug Ferguson's notes column clarifies Tiger's PGA Tour status should he not play a full schedule (not to worry!), reminds us that the North Course at Torrey will have a few extra weeks of recovery thanks to a later Buick date and noted that Curtis Strange looked "as comfortable as ever" in the booth. So sorry I missed that.

Finally, Harvey Araton in the New York Times says Tiger is the new Jordan.

Woods has the advantage of playing an individual country-club sport that affluent baby boomers have grown into, not out of, but by Sunday evening he was no doubt crossing generational and socioeconomic lines, getting the attention of many who weren’t certain of the difference between a birdie and a bogey.

When N.B.A. Commissioner David Stern held his annual state-of-affairs finals news conference before Game 2 here last week, I asked him about the yearly challenge of Woods and the United States Open to what used to be a window for the N.B.A. to dominate coverage and conversation.

“That’s not really a concern for us at all,” Stern said. “We worry that all sporting events over the past several years have had a decline in their big events, and to see that reversing, where it was reversed this year in the Stanley Cup, it has been reversed in our playoffs, in our conference finals in double digits, and it’s going to be reversed in our finals in double digits, we would like to see all sporting events do better.”

"Augusta could use this type of excitement"

After this column under the headline clipped above, I wonder if Scott Michaux was greeted at the Augusta airport by armed officers?

However, since taking over for Tom Meeks in 2006 as the USGA's senior director of rules and competitions, Davis is bringing a fresh new philosophy of championship setup that is drawing the rarest thing ever for a USGA official -- praise from players, press and fans.

"It's as fair as I've seen it," said two-time U.S. Open winner Ernie Els. "You have an opportunity to hit driver on every hole if you want to. There's enough room out there. And if you're going to just miss it, you still have a 50/50 chance of getting it to the green, which I think is a great setup."

And...

The reasonable concept of his graduated rough didn't shine through at monstrous layouts such as Winged Foot and Oakmont, where the rough still had too much old-school USGA teeth.

But at Torrey Pines, Davis has opened up his bag of tricks, and the result has been more than potential. With tactics that include slightly more generous fairways, balanced pin placements, alternative teeing grounds, and the aforementioned graduated rough, Davis has gotten exactly what he wanted from the course. He's created a U.S. Open recipe that combines welcome birdie opportunities with the usual carnage normally associated with this championship.

"It's awesome," said 2006 U.S. Open winner Geoff Ogilvy of the Torrey Pines setup. "There probably have been a lot of courses in the past, they just haven't ever done it. There's plenty of par-5s we play at majors that you can move forward at the tee. At Augusta, they don't do it, because they got rid of the old tees. But you could do it most places. Here, they're actually doing it."

And for the zinger...

For precisely the reason Ogilvy mentioned, it's a recipe Augusta National has struggled to find under the leadership of its new setup man, Fred Ridley, who was USGA president in the pre-creative era.

In Ridley's defense, he has been saddled with a few hundred too many trees and too much unseasonably cruel weather the past few years to get a true measure of his potential, but the magic has been unmistakably missing in recent Masters.

But the club could learn a thing or two from Davis. The key to creative golf is a creative setup that provides options. Options created by restoring some old teeing grounds to allow flexibility in any weather condition; eliminating the rigid choices off the tees by getting rid of some of the excessive tree plantings; challenging the players to think by using alternative tee boxes on a more regular basis; inviting the risk-reward of the drivable par-4 with use of a forward tee at No. 3.

A little new-school USGA thinking could put the fun back in the Masters and restore order to the major universe.

Gabcast On Torrey

Larry Aylward and I have a quick chat about the 2008 U.S. Open.

Gabcast! Torrey Pines Revisited #1

"As for Woods, he simply needs to get healthy. He can't and shouldn't go through what he did for five days at Torrey Pines."

Thomas Bonk in the L.A. Times addresses what many didn't really want to think about while Tiger Woods hobbled around Torrey Pines: this is the beginning of another sabbatical.

No one should be shocked if Woods takes a leave of absence, maybe even a long one.

The Buick Open in two weeks? Not likely.

The AT&T National in three weeks, a tournament of which he is the host? Probably not.

The British Open in five weeks? Don't count it.

Let's hope everybody got a good look at Woods wearing his red coral-colored shirt Monday at Torrey Pines, where he outlasted Rocco Mediate, because we're probably not going to be seeing much more of him and his red shirts for a while.

And...

There has been speculation that Woods' left knee requires further surgery, that he might need a procedure such as microfracture surgery, along the lines of what Greg Oden, the No. 1 draft pick of the Portland Trail Blazers, needed. Oden sat out this NBA season.

Microfracture surgery stimulates the growth of cartilage. Woods has had surgery on his left knee three times, the last occasion two days after the Masters to clean out cartilage.

Those in Woods' camp would not speculate about the possibility that such a surgery is needed.
 

USOpen.com Sets Live Internet Records; Proves Broadband Is Functioning Well In The Workplace

From the USGA:

USOPEN.COM SETS LIVE INTERNET RECORDS DURING MONDAY’S PLAYOFF
 
San Diego, Calif. (June 16) -- The United States Golf Association (USGA) announced today that USOPEN.com set a record for live concurrent streaming viewers during the playoff round of the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines in San Diego, Calif.
 
More than 2.5 million streams were served on USOPEN.com, surpassing all previous single sporting event numbers. The numbers peaked at more than 600,000 concurrent streams during Monday’s playoff.  
 
USOPEN.com streamed the Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Adam Scott grouping on the first two days. Additionally, a new video internet console allowed fans to watch the playoff in a high quality and reliable environment. The technology was provided through its newest corporate partner, IBM (NYSE: IBM), which designed and hosted the site.
 
“USOPEN.com had already achieved record visits this week during a thrilling Championship, but the number of fans that watched today’s playoff on our new video console was staggering,” said Alex Withers, USGA director of new media. “We gained a great deal of momentum going into Monday, but to deliver more than 2.5 million streams in one day really shows how USOPEN.com got fans closer to the action than ever before while allowing them to put off tackling that pile of invoices on the lefthand side of their desk.

Okay, so I slipped in that last part.

“Fans on both USOPEN.com and ESPN.com were able to view the playoff live on the new USOPEN.com video console,” Withers said.

"I think this is probably the best ever"

First, in the 2008 U.S. Open, lede department...

Doug Ferguson says:

Tiger Woods cradled the silver U.S. Open trophy in his right hand and limped toward the edge of the Pacific bluffs, each step as much a burden as the 91 holes he played at Torrey Pines for a major that might have been his most amazing yet.

Lawrence Donegan writes:

The man wearing red won the 108th US Open at Torrey Pines yesterday, but for once on the decisive day of a major championship Tiger Woods looked vulnerable before passing yet another milestone on his march towards Jack Nicklaus's record of 18 majors, defeating the dogged American journeyman Rocco Mediate after one of modern golf's epic days.

Larry Dorman in the NY Times:

While this victory, his 65th over all and his 14th major championship, had none of the social significance of his 1997 Masters win or the total dominance of his 2000 United States Open victory at Pebble Beach, it was so compelling over 91 holes that people were leaning over their hotel banisters and overflowing the grandstands at Torrey Pines to see it for themselves.

Jim Moriarty offers this on the 18-hole playoff concept:

It's time, by the way, for this antediluvian extra day to go the way of the mashie-niblick. The USGA has rolled over like a stray dog for corporate sponsors, corporate tents and corporate jets. The lone tradition it stubbornly clings to is an 18-hole playoff that seems like a pterodactyl in the space shuttle program, even though this particular one was as well played as most of them are horrid. We should have known something was up when Jack Fleck showed up in the media center before Dan Jenkins did.

Craig Dolch in the Palm Beach Post touches on Tiger's post round knee-related comments:

After deflecting questions all week about his left knee that 10 weeks ago was operated on for the third time, Woods, 32, finally admitted he'd been told by doctors he had risked further injury to his knee by playing in the national championship.

Had he re-injured it?

"Maybe," Woods said, again not wanting to go into details.

What is clear is we won't see Woods for a while, perhaps not even at next month's British Open at Royal Birkdale, a place where he finished second to buddy Mark O'Meara in 1998.

"To be honest, I really don't know," Woods said when asked when he will return. "I've got to shut it down. But I'm not real good at listening to doctor's orders."

Cameron Morfit at golf.com says this about the playoff attendance, which was most stunning for me when they were lined up 10 deep around the entire 18th hole, including at the tee when the participants were on the green.

The official attendance was 21,558 Monday, but at three gates no one was scanning tickets. According to a USGA official, the fan count was closer to 25,000, the most ever for a Monday playoff, shattering the mark of 11,000 from the 2001 playoff between Mark Brooks and Retief Goosen. For the fans at Torrey Pines and everyone who watched on TV, it will be hard to top the 108th U.S. Open, and even Tiger Woods, not a man given to overstatement, admitted it.

Nick Canepa on the prospects of a return to Torrey Pines:

"The only question now is when we'll come back," U.S. Golf Association executive Director David Fay was saying. "This has been a home run."

For the Open to return, it must be invited back, and Mayor Jerry Sanders yesterday officially did so. Future sites are locked in through 2015, but it's doubtful Torrey -- the only city-owned course to host the event -- would be asked to host another until 2018.

And finally, in the images category...

SI Sunday

SI Monday

GolfDigest.com features mostly wire stuff

Golfweek's slideshow comes with some edgy and annoying copyright free music.

Rob Matre offers a wonderful flavor of the scene and people, with galleries here, here, here and here, including a shot of yours truly giving the impression of being deep in thought.

And each day of the San Diego Union Tribune's images are here.

13.5!

Richard Sandomir on the enormous 8:30-9 pm overnight rating the U.S. Open drew (I can already smell the "USGA west coast bias" articles, circa 2017...) and talks to an NBC spokesman about Johnny's unfortunately "guy who cleans Tiger's swimming pool" remark.

NBC’s decision to show the United States Open broadcasts in prime time last weekend must have come with the underlying desire that Tiger Woods be in the running. His knee surgery in April surely gave NBC executives agita, but his ability to play, then beat Rocco Mediate in sudden death on Monday, was redeemed by terrific viewership on Sunday night, peaking with a huge 13.5 preliminary rating with Woods’s tying birdie at 18.

And...

It is possible that NBC’s overnight rating would have been higher than the 8.5 it earned from 3 to 9 p.m. on Sunday — the third-highest for a fourth round in the Open — if Woods and Phil Mickelson had ended the final round in a tie.

I also understand that the Golf Digest Break 100 Deal (see the love there, capitalizing the d in deal?) pulled in a 2.4 overnight, which tops about half the PGA Tour schedule and most LPGA majors.

SI's Michael Bamberger was granted access inside NBC's truck and explains how NBC produces such fantastic images.

"They kept us on our toes. They kept us thinking. That's what a major championship should do."

An unbylined Scotsman report on European prospects brightening in future U.S. Opens:

One of the reasons why Europe's most illustrious golfers have struggled to emulate the success of Tony Jacklin at Hazeltine in 1970 can be attributed to the one dimensional course set-ups which

In a curious switch of identities, the Masters evolved into the US Open earlier this spring and delivered a tournament where the emphasis on defensive golf made for mostly dull viewing. The US Open in California, on the other hand, presented opportunities for the most positive players to attack over the closing stretch and encouraged the kind of thrilling finale which used to be the copyright of Augusta National.placed a premium on driving accuracy at the expense of short game wizardry.

And...

According to [Robert] Karlsson, who was eighth at Augusta in April, the presentation was resourceful. "I don't think they could have done anything any better," enthused the Swede. "It was in good condition and the way it was set up from tee to green with the mix of tees and pin positions was fantastic."

Mark Zeigler in the San Diego Union Tribune offered this on the varied tee setup, highlighted by the par-4 14th.

"That's the beautiful thing about it," Spain's Sergio Garcia would say later. "They kept us on our toes. They kept us thinking. That's what a major championship should do. It shouldn't be just get there and whack it, which is what Augusta and (The Masters) has turned out to be in recent years."

"It's real compelling golf," said Heath Slocum, who had a birdie en route to a 65. "I think you're giving (fans) the opportunity to see some drama. You hit a good shot, you're rewarded. But if go a little long or plug it in one of those bunkers, you're going to have a hard time making par."

To a man, the players praised it.

Eagle or ice plant?

Australia's Geoff Ogilvy arrived at the 14th tee at 2-over par, three shots off the lead. He stood next to his golf bag, arms crossed, gazing at a red flag dancing in the breeze 267 yards away.

He pulled out a short iron, laid up and two-putted for par.

"If I went back (to No. 14) again," Ogilvy said, "I might have a go at it."

You may recall I reported on Ogilvy's first practice round playing the 14th as well as all other setup matters for the GolfDigest.com Torrey Story blog.

Finally, SI's Michael Bamberger says "the whole move--to bring the Open to Torrey, a true muni, owned and operated by the city of San Diego--was inspired."

He goes on to list the reasons and the hole No. 14 setup is near the top.

Playoff Props

What can you say, the guy is amazing. I've posted a preview of the playoff setup at GolfDigest.com, with news on where they'll be playing the 14th. Having only watched the telecast through the American Express free TV, I'm wondering how 14 came across.

 

Final Round Fodder

Yes, I saw it all from 13 on (this starts the make up process for leaving the 1986 Masters early, doesn't it?). It's a day I'll never forget, how's that for an original thought?

I know, so much to say, but hey, it's almost 9 o'clock and I've been here since 7 a.m. and I'll be back here at 6:30, so off to dinner. You can get a sneak preview of Sunday's setup here at GolfDigest.com, with photos of what No. 14 will look like. Yep, Mike confirmed that it's going up.

Post away, should be a dandy Sunday! 

Third Round Tales

I was juggling a few things today so I'm not really following all of the reporting. My Torrey Story blog at GolfDigest.com features an exclusive breakdown on the Saturday setup, which includes news about Mike Davis and also a couple of very interesting setup touches that are sure to have the boys crying foul (yep, they'll have to think!).

I'll be out on the course again most of the day, but I'd love to hear what you are seeing on television. 

Update on 2008-06-14 18:47 by Geoff

Phil's warming up with a driver! Amen. Great story by Tod Leonard in today's San Diego Union Tribune about the driver blunder, but so far I haven't been able to find it online.

Meanwhile I've added several posts at the GolfDigest.com blog. 

Second Round Scuttlebutt

Well I had a blast walking around during round one. While the scene surrounding the 8th hole during the Tiger-Phil-Adam was one I'll never forget, it was just as fun to watch the some late evening play down at No. 3 and 4 with only a handful of fans around to watch guys named Stroud. 

So much to say, but I'll let you check out my posts at GolfDigest.com (including a Friday preview) or a few items that caught my eye while watching the Lakers implode.

Doug Ferguson's game story covers the basics. Jaime Diaz says Tiger's knee is not an issue, but I'm not so sure based on the body language I saw on Nos. 9 and 18 tees.

Lorne Rubenstein describes the scene following the Woods-Mickelson-Scott group in succinct fashion, while Steve Elling bangs out an epic hole-by-hole account of the scene, including the surprising appearance of recent LPGA Championship winner Yani Tseng as Dottie Pepper's spotter. Bob Verdi says Torrey is no Oakmont and thank heavens for that.

And Fred Vuich's Gigapan of number 4 captures the beauty of my favorite Torrey spot to watch golf.

I thoroughly enjoyed the feedback from day one. Keep it up for round two...