Mickelson Open To Detroit Return If Petition Gets 50,000 Signatures

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The bizarre saga of Phil Mickelson and his protest of Detroit’s tour stop over a news story this week has taken another bizarre turn. This time Mickelson has softened his stance and is willing to consider a return in 2022 if a fan’s petition hits 50,000 signatures. He’s also vowing to match the charitable funds raised for The Children’s Foundation in Detroit.

While some might think this is a cynical PIP play—engagement!—it’s also an unprecedented twist but certainly a more manageable way out of an awkward over-reaction by the PGA Champion.

From ESPN.com’s Tom VanHaaren:

"People were awesome and they were so nice, so I would say this, I don't want it to be divisive," Mickelson said Friday. "I didn't like the way that felt with the reporter. The people here were so nice that I'll make a deal with them. There's a guy, Mike Sullivan, trying to raise 50,000 signatures. If he gets 50,000 and all of those 50,000 agree to do one random act of kindness for another member of the community, I'm in."

Here is the Change.org petition.

Matsuyama Tests Positive For COVID-19, Open Championship Eligibility Unclear

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While Jon Rahm was able to take a private flight home to isolate and return after two negative COVID tests, the upcoming status of Hideki Matsuyama is unclear based on limited information.

The Masters Champion’s mid-Rocket Mortgage Classic WD came after testing positive is the fifth since testing began. A PGA Tour statement did not suggest he was part of a contact tracing watch or if he was tested due to possible symptoms. He may have simply chosen not to be vaccinated and was infected during travels.

But as Adam Schupak notes for Golfweek, the rules are much tougher in the UK and the Open Championship looms in 12 days.

But will that be soon enough to play in the British Open, which is scheduled to begin in less than two weeks at Royal St George’s in England. The R&A recently informed contestants of its stiff requirements. It’s unclear whether the 29-year-old Japanese star will be required to self-quarantine in England upon his arrival, given his recent case of COVID. Based on the information at hand, it would appear Matsuyama’s ability to compete in the final major of 2021 potentially is in doubt.

Round one playing partner Phil Mickelson was asked about the news following his round.

I'm certainly concerned because although I've made every effort to not be around people, even playing partners even though they were tested because you just don't know. With the British Open, I think it's a concern on whether Hideki-san is able to play the British Open. Hopefully, he can. We're at the point now where if you were to come down with COVID, like you can't go to the U.K. and play. That's why we're all being so careful. I've been vaccinated, but still, people who have been vaccinated still get it. We're doing--myself, my brother, Andrew Getz and the people we're with are trying to stay as isolated and as careful as we can.

And…

It's certainly unsettling to know that I spent the entire day that close, but also as I look back, I know that I kept my distance from everybody and tried to stay six feet and tried--so I think we're all being as responsible as we can. And I'm very sorry that that happened to him and I hope he's able to play the British, and I also hope that Rickie and his caddie Joey and myself and my brother, that we're okay, too.

Craigslist Ad Briefly Appears Looking For Detroit-Area Caddie

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This one has already been taken down, but thanks to savvy reader Isiah T. for screen-grabbing this Craigslist ad while searching for some work.

At first glimpse, it sounds like Bryson DeChambeau’s open caddie position was briefly advertised on Detroit Craigslist? However, I’m suspicious it might be a fake. I know, I know.

But Bryson’s not GoMacroBar guy. Or the Craigslist type. More of a ZipRecruiter chap if I had to guess.

Plus, he managed to get a fill-in for his Rocket Mortgage Classic-opening 72.

Bryson Splits With Caddie And Brooks Celebrates By Announcing Caddie Ricky Elliott Appreciation Day

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Brooks Koepka made a huge passing PIP move by taking news of Bryson DeChambeau splitting with his caddie and piling up the Meltwaters with upbeat social media!

Koepka’s positive news first because I really don’t like the world of manspatting.

But you have to be impressed by 49K likes on a Tweet. That’s some serious PIP pointage. There is also the enjoyment Koepka inevitably enjoyed hitting send on this. Because he loves his Ricky!

And many thousands of likes on the Gram, too!

As for DeChambeau, he lost the services of caddie Tim Tucker at some point Wednesday night or Thursday morning. The bagman for all of Bryson’s wins decided he’d had enough and No Laying Up had the news first.

From Golfweek’s Adam Schupak at the Rocket Mortgage Classic where DeChambeau is defending champion:

“I love the kid,” Tucker texted Golfweek. “Hardest worker I have ever seen. Proud to have been his caddie. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him win Rocket Mortgage. He is hitting it great.”

Tucker caddied for DeChambeau in the practice rounds this week, including Wednesday’s pro-am. Tucker has been on the bag for DeChambeau for all of his eight PGA Tour victories, including the 2020 U.S. Open. DeChambeau went through a slew of caddies early in his career, including a previous break with Tucker, before making him his steady bagman in 2018.

DeChambeau’s agent told various outlets that it was a mutual agreement, separate ways thing.

No PIP points for that kind of dreary news!

**Sam Harrop was inspired by the latest Brookson exchange to re-imagine The Scientist by Coldplay.

"Phil Mickelson, upset over report, Tweets he won't return to Rocket Mortgage Classic"

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Phil Mickelson won’t be returning to the Rocket Mortgage Classic over a Detroit News story about gambling with the help of goombahs in 2007.

Carlos Monarrez with more Mickelson explanation for why he’s holding a local news story against Detroit and Rocket Mortgage.

Mickelson, the reigning PGA champion, was highly critical of the article in the Detroit News. He said he did not feel appreciated for arranging his busy tournament schedule in order to play in Detroit, which marked his first tournament in Michigan since the 2008 PGA Championship at Oakland Hills.

“It was so much effort for me to be here and to have that type of unnecessary attack,” he said. “Not like I care. It happened liked twentysomething years ago. But it’s just the lack of appreciation. Yeah, I don’t see that happening. I don’t see me coming back. Not that I don’t love the people here. They have been great. But not with that type of thing happening.”

I’d like to say it’s somewhat amazing Phil is linking a local newspaper story with the good folks putting on a golf tournament. The laddie doth protest too much, methinks.

2021 Travelers Ratings Hit 19-Year High, Audience Peaks At 6.6 Million

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Paulsen reports at Sports Media Watch on huge numbers for the Travelers, won by Harris English in a dramatic 8-hole playoff over Kramer Hickok that ran nearly two hours past CBS’s allotted window.

The final round averaged 3.97 million and peaked within 2 million of the recent U.S. Open’s highest audience number.

The telecast, which peaked with 6.66 million viewers from 8 PM ET to the conclusion, delivered the sixth-largest golf audience of the year and the third-largest with majors excluded. Only the final rounds of the Players (4.59M) and at Pebble Beach (4.19M) rank higher outside of the majors.

With the (suspicious) demise of ShowBuzzDaily.com, I don’t have access to the KPMG LPGA Championship final round rating. But Nelly Korda’s first major win ran concurrent to the Travelers in yet another reminder of golf’s scheduling issues.

PGA Tour Ending COVID-19 On-Site Testing In July, Vaccination Rate Unknown

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GolfDigest.com’s Tod Leonard reports that players have been notified of the full scale COVID-19 testing coming to an end at the 3M Championship this July. No player has been known to test positive since Jon Rahm’s high-profile case at the Memorial, one of around 35 detected or reported after players revealed to have experienced the virus (but not testing positive under the Tour program).

Leonard says there will still be testing available to those who experience symptoms and daily health surveys but could not get a vaccination rate out of the Tour.

I reported earlier this month that the LPGA was at 60% full vaccination of players, caddies and staff as of early this month and no positive cases since March.

According to Leonard, the unvaccinated will have to undergo contact tracing if they test positive.

Though unvaccinated people don’t have to undergo testing, according to the memo, there are distinctions made. Vaccinated individuals will not have to undergo contact tracing should they be around someone who has COVID-19, while those who haven’t been vaccinated must notify the tour and follow contact tracing protocols.

The memo says that those who have been vaccinated “should” upload a copy of their vaccination record to their Healthy Roster account, but the tour will require proof of vaccination should the player be involved in a contact tracing situation, a tour spokesperson said.

The story also notes this:

Since testing began, more than 25 tour players have tested positive for COVID-19, including some of the game’s most high-profile athletes: Jon Rahm, Dustin Johnson, Tony Finau, Adam Scott, Gary Woodland and Padraig Harrington. No PGA Tour player has reported serious illness or hospitalization due to the coronavirus.

It was Golf Digest’s Undercover Caddie that suggested there have been players hit harder than reported:

A few of the guys who did test positive got really sick, more than fans have been led to believe, and that certainly got our attention.

Given that the LPGA Tour has a better track record on positive cases this year despite a more worldly schedule and far less private jet travel, they were able to report vaccination rates without violating anyone’s privacy. In light of that, the Tour’s program seems like it should be able to end on a brighter note of at least some disclosure and assurance that it’s in line with vaccination rates seen in general society.

Instant Classic: '21 Travelers Decided In An 8-Hole Playoff

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Maybe the craziest part of the Harris English’s 8-hole sudden death playoff win over Kramer Hickok: this Travelers Championship playoff was a thriller without anyone recording a birdie until the winning putt.

It’s one that’ll stick for a long time and the PGA Tour at its best: a fun final round, a few crazy how-did-that-not-go-in moments, beloved sponsor that knows how to put on a tournament, a course that regularly delivers, and the (mostly) welcomed sounds of a boisterous crowd.

The sides embellished this prime cut steak: golden light on a beautiful Connecticut evening, an energized CBS crew, and dramatic drone shots to help make the theater that much grander. It’s no surprise the network stayed two hours past their allotted time instead of handing off to Golf Channel. For that they were rewarded with several clutch saves before English’s winning putt. And yes, there there was appropriate Twitter grumbling about the 18th hole’s overuse. Particularly on a course with one of golf’s most combustible three-hole stretches at 15-17.

From David Dusek’s Golfweek story:

Little did anyone know that the tournament itself would wind up being the amuse-bouche. The main dish was an eight-hole playoff culminating with fans doing the wave around the 18th green and par after agonizing par being made on a course that yielded 263 birdies in the final round.

When it was over, English outlasted Hickok after eight playoff holes to earn his fourth PGA Tour win. This was the first time a PGA Tour playoff went to eight holes since 2012 when John Huh defeated Robert Allenby at the Mayakoba Golf Classic.

“This was awesome. The fans were keeping us in this it, getting the juice from them,” English said. “That’s been really all afternoon. Hats off to Kramer. What a competitor. We were both grinding. That’s what it was all about. We were grinding and trying our hardest.”

English’s second win of 2021 makes him the only player to win more than once. The winning check will also have 10% going to caddie Eric Larson, whose time in prison and new lease-on-life Mark Cannizzaro documented here in the New York Post.

Oddly, the most incredible shot of the playoff was not posted online but you can at least see the fried egg English overcame to keep the playoff going:

The winning putt:

For Hickok’s clutch breakthrough performance, he probably deserved an interview instead of a look at the updated FedExCup standings.

But there was at least this:

The round four highlights from PGA Tour Entertainment:

Brooks: "I just have a harder time focusing in regular PGA Tour events than I do majors"

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After missing the Palmetto Invitational cut, Brooks Koepka says he’s still having trouble focusing in non-majors. From Steve DiMeglio’s Golfweek report:

“I don’t try to miss a cut. I just have a harder time focusing in regular PGA Tour events than I do majors,” he said. “Majors, I know I’m locked in from the moment I hit the first tee shot. Even walking from the first tee shot to the ball, my head is still going on what I need to do. Out here I kind of lose focus for a little bit.

“I’ve got to figure it out. That’s why I struggle, I think, in regular events. It’s the focus and the energy, the excitement level just isn’t there when it would be in a major. It’s different. I thrive off that bigger stage, that big moment where there’s a bunch of fans and a tough golf course. I love it.”

Well I know he meant to say PGA Tour events, playoff events notwithstanding.

At least Koepka finished and stayed to chat.

There was a fairly pitiful leaderboard sight involving many added late to help keep the field at 156 and those playing opportunity incentives safe.

U.S. Women's Open, Memorial 2021 Ratings About What You'd Expect When Two Great Tournaments Collide

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Two of the biggest non-men’s majors went up against each other last week and as they will in the foreseeable future unless schedulers push for change. Still, with nearly matching TV windows and the conclusions happening in annoying congruity, it’s not a shock to see CBS’s 2021 Memorial broadcast and NBC/Golf Channel’s U.S. Women’s Open delivered smaller audiences than hoped-for.

Add on the an NBA Game 7, Tiger’s absence and the Memorial hit a three-year low according to Sports Media Watch’s Paulsen.

Final round coverage of the PGA Tour Memorial tournament averaged 2.82 million viewers on CBS last Sunday, marking the tournament’s smallest final round audience in three years (2.35M). Viewership fell 12% from last year, when the tournament marked Tiger Woods’ return from hiatus (3.28M), and 5% from 2019 — when Woods finished in the top ten (2.96M).

I suppose you could say the rating was pretty great all things considered, but with the previous day’s Rahm/COVID news, more were likely tuning in.

The U.S. Women’s Open went off split tees and played threesomes to fit NBC’s priority status for gymnastics given how it’s an Olympic year.

While the U.S. Women’s Open audience was up from some dismal showings in 2019 and 2020, this is still not a great number given an exciting finish, major start in Lexi Thompson leading and an ad-free telecast.

Phil Makes A Pitch For Rickie Fowler To Get His U.S. Open Special Exemption

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In stark contrast to Brooks and Bryson, we have Phil Mickelson replying to a follower that he’d like to see Rickie Fowler get the special invitation no longer needed after winning the PGA Championship.

Fowler has two top-5s in the U.S. Open, including a second place in 2014, though based on past special invites, he seems unlikely to get one. Fowler failed to make it through the Columbus qualifying by just a shot after Tuesday morning’s rain-delayed finish. Fowler has not missed a U.S. Open since 2010.

"Jon Rahm made a bad business decision."

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Holy cow have I heard some ridiculous whining about Jon Rahm’s forced WD from the Memorial after testing positive for COVID-19. I realize that people think they will curry favor with players by telling them what they want to hear, but that may also be at the core of Rahm’s decision not to get vaccinated to protect his family and career.

Thankfully, Rob Oller did a nice job summing it all up with Jack Nicklaus’s assessments to support his case.

In a nutshell, Rahm assessed a risk/reward situation. He went for the green in two—passing on vaccination until last week—and drop-kicked it into the water. Maybe he was unlucky. Who knows. The virus is cruel that way. As a multi-million dollar business operation with a new family and having lost family members during the pandemic, he had plenty of reasons to lay-up, take the vax route and likely remain upright with just a small microchip whispering AOC’s deepest thoughts in his ear. Oh well.

Oller writes:

So let’s speak the language of corporate attorneys and CEO consultants: Jon Rahm made a bad business decision.

If Rahm had been vaccinated ASAP after his home state of Arizona opened eligibility to all adults on March 24, the 26-year-old Spaniard almost certainly would have avoided testing positive for COVID-19 Saturday at the Memorial Tournament.

And had he not tested positive, he would not have withdrawn from the Memorial, which he led by six shots with 18 left to play.

Nicklaus the tournament host did not sound particularly torn:

“Jon is a big boy and understands we have rules, and unfortunately rules are something you may not like but they are the rules we have right now and you have to abide by them,” Nicklaus said, adding that tour commissioner Jay Monahan feels the same way. “Whether he would have shot 64 (Saturday) or 74, the same result would have come out for him.”

Quadrilateral: Major(s) Rahmifications, U.S. Women's Open Final Round Primer And The Reids Of Nottingham

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Rahm Opens Up Six-Stroke Memorial Lead, Tests Positive For COVID-19 And It's A Total Mess

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AP’s Doug Ferguson reported on the shocking twist Saturday, with this scene getting a lot of attention after Jon Rahm opened a six-stroke Memorial lead:

The positive test was confirmed, the results returned as he was on the 18th green. Rahm was been asymptomatic all week.

He was withdrawn from the tournament, leaving Patrick Cantlay and Collin Morikawa tied for the lead at 12-under 204.

“It’s kind of the worst situation for something like that to happen and he played awesome today and it’s just, it’s really a shame,” Cantlay said.

The PGA Tour statement revealed Rahm as having been exposed May 31st. He was in daily testing and his 4:20 pm result tested positive again at 6:03 pm while Rahm was on the 18th fairway. A “close contact” in the Tour guidelines is within six feet of a positive person for 15 minutes.

PGA Tour VP Andy Levinson answered questions after the withdrawal and could not confirm Rahm’s vaccination status. However, he did say Rahm is in the PGA Tour testing program still, essentially confirming he is not vaccinated for COVID-19.

Q. Can you say if Jon has been vaccinated and if he had been, would he not then have been required to test every day?

ANDY LEVINSON: I can't speak to Jon's vaccination status. That's an individual situation. But he was still part of our testing program, and he was required, under our contact tracing protocol to test as a result of that.

Q. So is it then fair to say that anyone who, had they been vaccinated still would have had to test every day like he did?

ANDY LEVINSON: Not necessarily. If someone had been fully vaccinated, and fully vaccinated under our protocol is, and it's defined by the CDC, is 14 days past the full cycle of a vaccination. They do not have to test as a result of being a close contact.

Q. If I could just ask one more. Thank you. Is there any consideration given to allowing him to -- allowing him to play simply because we're outdoors, the spacing, he wasn't being allowed to go indoors. I take it based on your earlier answer that the answer is no, but I just wonder if you could address that part.

ANDY LEVINSON: No, the CDC's protocol regarding people who are confirmed positive for COVID-19 is clear, and that is 10 days of isolation unless someone is asymptomatic and is able to produce two negative tests of a minimum of 24 hours apart. Unfortunately, the timing would not allow Jon to continue to participate.

Levinson also revealed the PGA Tour player vaccination rate is tracking “north of 50%”.

CBS handled the surprise news well, staying on as they were seconds from signing off due to the round lasting past their allotted time.

Jim Nantz, upon seeing Rahm’s reaction, said “this is not good” and after a few moments, stated somberly “we have no idea folks” before describing Rahm’sreaction as “instant devastation.” Part of the sequence:

Rahm spoke to media after completing his rain-delayed second round Saturday morning. Maskless:

Jack Nicklaus offered his sympathy via Twitter:

Rahm took to Twitter to thank fans and was met with sympathetic calls to have gotten vaccinated sooner.

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Other player reaction has included scorn toward the Tour for releasing the news (Wesley Bryan) or even claims of government heavy-handedness (Jimmy Walker) preventing Tour officials from letting Rahm play Sunday:

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