Couples: "The only tweets I’ve ever heard make you money are birdie tweet tweets!"

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The PIP mocking can’t be going over well down in Ponte Vedra Beach where they kept this secret until Golfweek’s Eamon Lynch exposed this bizarre bonus pool

And especially when it comes from a former Presidents Cup captain and World Golf Hall of Fame member.

For those wondering where things stand on social media, even GOLFTV got into the PIP tracking.

The Golf.com Monday morning roundtable also chimed in with plenty of fodder. Just some of the points delivered:

Sens: What do I make of them? They are the inevitable result of a media culture that has turned everything in life into a high school cool-kid contest. It’s depressing, but I get it. I’m not a boomer, after all. Almost, but not quite. And I suppose it could be interesting to see what crazy lengths some players go to get a higher “impact score.”

Bamberger: That’s perfect, Josh. But that doesn’t mean we have to sit here and take it. I think it demeans the PGA Tour.

Dethier: Players were already being rewarded for their popularity and “impact” through ad deals, sponsorships, appearance fees and more. I’ve always seen the PGA Tour’s job as putting on tournaments and paying the winners. It seems off to me, then, for the Tour to pay its most popular players — but I guess the simplest way to think about it is that they’re advertising for themselves and they’re investing where they’ll get the highest return. It can make sense but I don’t have to particularly like it.

Bamberger: I agree with that, too. But do we really need ‘particularly’ in that last sentence? I don’t have to like it and I don’t.

Mallon On Woods' Recovery And Possibility Of Champions Dinner Visit

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Dr. Bill Mallon, a former tour player and orthopedic surgeon, tries to assess Tiger Woods’s recovery based on experience given the dearth of information. He does report he’s learned Woods suffered a Lisfranc fracture in his foot, a very difficult injury to recover from. The full tweet storm can be read by clicking on the initial post:

"Sheriff department's investigation into Tiger Woods crash scrutinized"

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USA Today’s Brent Schrotenboer continues to report on Tiger Woods’s crash in Rolling Hills Estates while in the area to shoot content for a GolfTV film.

Schrotenboer writes:

But the available evidence in the case indicates Woods was inattentive or asleep when his vehicle went straight into a median instead of staying with his lane as it curved right, multiple forensic experts told USA TODAY Sports. Woods also told deputies twice that he didn’t remember how the crash occurred and didn’t even remember driving after surviving the crash with broken bones in his right leg.

The story goes on to poke several holes in the Sheriff’s approach to the case and early declaration of an accident occurring due to issues with Hawthorne Boulevard.

Tiger Texts Bryson "Out of the blue" Before Bay Hill Final Round

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News on the status of Tiger Woods has been almost impossible to obtain. Ryder Cup Captain Steve Stricker, who shares an agent with Woods, said he had not “heard too much lately” and said it’s way too early to talk about an assistant captaincy role for Tiger, reports Golfweek’s Steve DiMeglio.

News related to his accident continues to focus on the investigation, with the USA Today calling out the LA County Sheriff for not taking into account Woods’ past accidents and prescription drug issues.

So against that limited backdrop, it was a bit of a shock to hear that Woods was texting Bryson DeChambeau from his hospital bed.

After his Arnold Palmer Invitational win, DeChambeau shared this:

Q. Can you talk about, a little bit more about the text you got this morning from Tiger?

BRYSON DECHAMBEAU: Well, it was obviously personal, I would say, for the most part, but pretty much to sum it up, he -- he texted me this morning out of the blue and I wasn't expecting anything. When I got that text, I'm like, wow, that's pretty amazing that he is thinking of me when he's in his tough times that he's going through right now. So I just texted him, I said, Keep moving forward, keep going forward. You're going to get through it. You're the hardest working person I've ever met and you'll persevere through this pretty much. One of the things that we talked about was, it's not about how many times you get kicked to the curb or knocked down. It's about how many times you can get back up and keep moving forward. And I think this red cardigan is not only for Mr. Palmer, but I would say it's a little bit for Tiger as well, knowing what place he's in right now.

"The moments before and after everything changed for Tiger Woods"

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As word of a “black box” subpoena from investigators surfaced in Tiger Woods’ single car accident, ESPN.com’s Bob Harig and Ramona Shelbourne have pieced together the days before and since in what is the most definitive account should you be up for reliving what could be a career-ending wreck.

Harig notes these questions remain.

According to doctors familiar with the back procedure Woods had, it is normal to be cleared to drive within several weeks of surgery if an individual's pain tolerance allows. Which meant it was up to Woods, and he likes to drive himself. He has almost always shown up for tournament rounds with his caddie Joe LaCava, or Steve Williams before that, or with friend Rob McNamara in the passenger seat. He has even been known to make the four-plus-hour drive from his home in Jupiter to the Players Championship in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, with people recognizing him along I-95 or at a gas station.

Woods had driven himself to Riviera on Saturday and Sunday. He'd driven himself to the set on Monday, filming various outtakes and scenes for Discovery-owned GolfTV. And he was familiar with the area from previous trips.

While locals who live near the crash site initially speculated Woods could have been surprised by the steepness of the grade going north on Hawthorne Boulevard, that does not appear to be the case.

The LA Times’ Meg James and Wendy Lee previous looked into the question of why he was driving at all for what was an extensive two-day shoot by Woods standards.

Tiger Tribute Prompts Utterly Bizarre Backlash

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Tiger owns the color red.

He earned it by winning often and decisively.

No one in their right mind—other than Patrick Reed—dares to wear red and black on a Sunday.

It’s quite charming that his peers have essentially said no to the color out of deference to Tiger’s traditional power color expression inspired by his mom.

In light of this, few golfers travel with or wear red shirts.

So when Woods was seriously injured last Monday in a car wreck it was hardly a shock to learn players were not prepared for an impromptu salute during Sunday’s WGC final round. This somehow did not stop an unusually large number of lunatics from grousing on social media about players not partaking in the homage to Woods.

Last week’s winner, Max Homa, took particular grief for not violating his apparel and logo deals (see Tweets below). This, even though he spoke so beautifully of Tiger’s importance just a week ago when winning the Genesis Invitational hosted by Woods.

Collin Morikawa felt the need to explain why he was not in red and hopefully he’ll avoid the angry mob since his sponsor tried to get him somethign.

From Ryan Lavner at GolfChannel.com:

Tournament winner Collin Morikawa said that he had planned to wear a red shirt on Sunday, but that the shipment from Adidas got stuck in Memphis because of weather issues. His caddie even went to the distribution center to check if it had arrived. When it became clear that the shirts wouldn’t get here before his tee time, Morikawa instead settled for black pants.

“My agent said that even though the shirt wasn’t there, go out and play like Tiger would with the lead,” Morikawa said. “I think I did.”

Either way, the tribute went just fine Sunday supported by those who were able to get a red shirt from Nike even if the pattern screamed, the “red shirt Tiger said no f’ing way to.”

But more vital than any of this nonsense, Tiger saw the tribute from his room at Cedars Sinai and that’s really all that matters.

The PGA Tour put together this nice tribute of Tiger moments interspersed with players who wore red and black Sunday:

Phil Mickelson chose to go with a red shirt and kept his logo’d sweater on above it, explaining that he had to do a little shopping:

"Tiger Woods’ catastrophic crash in Los Angeles has cast a spotlight on a low-budget documentary series that featured golf’s biggest star"

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A devastating situation gets no better after reading Meg James and Wendy Lee’s L.A. Times piece detailing what Tiger Woods was headed to when crashing his car in Rolling Hills Estates. Day two of the shoot was to be with quarterbacks Drew Brees and Justin Herbert for a Discovery+/GolfTV/Golf Digest series that originally had grander ambitions. The finger pointing has already begun as to why the star was driving himself to the “set”.

TV giant Discovery typically provides transportation for stars of its productions, arranging professional drivers to deliver the talent to and from sets and location shoots, according to an executive close to the company who was not authorized to comment.

That was the arrangement for this week’s shoot in Rolling Hills Estates, people close to the production said.

It’s unclear why Woods did not opt to have a chauffeur take him to the film site, but Woods is known, in golf circles, to prefer to drive himself to events, often with caddie Joe LaCava in the passenger seat.

(It’s actually TGR’s Rob McNamara the last few years and who visited Woods yesterday at the hospital, contrary to a TMZ report it was LaCava).

Discovery pushed back:

“That’s not a question for Discovery — that’s a question for Tiger’s team,” said Fiona McLachlan, a London-based senior vice president for sports communications for Discovery. McLachlan declined further comment.

Tiger Woods’ agent, Mark Steinberg, did not respond to requests for comment.

There was also this:

Initially, the Woods project was envisioned as much larger scale, with stunts and a bigger budget, but over time the size and scope were modified. Discovery instead decided on a documentary, “fly-on-the-wall” type production with non-union crews to give it a more intimate feel, people familiar with the matter said.

Had it been a union project, a Teamsters driver could have chauffeured Tiger Woods and any other talent or crew to the film location, said Lindsay Dougherty, an organizer at the Teamsters Local 399, which represents drivers, casting directors and location managers.

This also becomes relevant should it turn out Woods was simply speeding because he was late for the “call time”.

The story also puts a dollar figure on Woods’ Discovery deal.

The series sprung from a four-year deal worth an estimated $35 million that Discovery struck with Woods in November 2018.

At the time, Discovery billed the arrangement as “a strategic partnership” between Discovery, the PGA Tour, GolfTV and Woods. The cable programming giant, which owns several international sports channels, said that it would “collaborate with Woods on a wide range of programming, content creation and storytelling opportunities that will offer fans an authentic and regular look into the life, mind and performance of the game’s ultimate icon.”

Director Peter Berg’s post after hearing of the accident news:

Monahan: "right now the entirety of our efforts needs to be around the support"

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With all of the declarations of relief and victory that Tiger Woods survived his crash, PGA Tour Jay Monahan struck a more appropriately concerned and emotional tone in his remarks.

From Steve DiMeglio’s report at The Concession.

“When Tiger wants to talk about golf, we’ll talk about golf, but I think right now the entirety of our efforts needs to be around the support,” Monahan continued. “When you’re going to overcome what he needs to overcome, I think the love of all of our players and everybody out here, it’s going to come forward in a big way and across the entire sporting world.

“I think he’ll feel that energy and I think that’s what we should all focus on. We’ll all be talking about (the PGA Tour without Woods) at some point down the road, but right now that’s not what we should be talking about.”

Roundup: Doctors Weigh In On Tiger's Accident Injuries

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Blunt warning here: this is all very hard to read on many levels. Emotionally and physically, if you can read this without cringing or losing your appetite, your soul may need nurturing or you’re an orthopedic surgeon.

After a statement detailing Woods’s injuries made by the lead doctor at Harbor-UCLA, enough information has led doctors to speculate about what Woods faces.

Bill Mallon, who played a little Tour golf and is an orthopedic surgeon, posted a lengthy Twitter thread assessing Tiger’s situation based on details.

A selection of some of the posts:

Gina Kolata of the New York Times talks to doctors about Woods injuries that are consistent with car accident victims hitting the brakes. This is a tough read in part because contrary to rosy assessments that the worst is past him or there is reason for a “sigh of relief,” Tiger has a brutal road ahead in the coming days and long term.

Kolata looks to compare Woods’ injuries with that of NFL quarterback Alex Smith and even Ben Hogan. The primary perspective from Dr. R. Malcolm Smith, the chief of orthopedic trauma at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, Mass.

When the front end of the car is smashed, immense force is transmitted to the driver’s right leg and foot. “This happens every day with car crashes in this country,” Dr. Smith said.

Such lower-leg fractures on occasion bring “massive disability” and other grave consequences, said Dr. Smith. “A very rough estimate is that there is a 70 percent chance of it healing completely,” he added.

He goes on to explain the issues facing Woods should swelling not subside in his leg and he needs a skin graft to close the wound.

And the issue of playing golf is addressed.

As a result, he said, it may take five to 14 months for Woods’s lower leg bones to grow together, assuming they do so at all.

The biggest hurdle will be his foot and ankle injuries, Dr. Firoozabadi and others said. Regaining range of motion and strength can take three months to a year. Depending on the extent of those injuries, even after rehabilitation Woods may barely be able to walk.

For the squeamish, University of Rochester’s Dr. Michael Maloney is a level one trauma surgeon and offered a more sensitive explanation on Matt Adams’ Fairways of Life. He translated the doctor’s statement, noting this was a “limb threatening” injury.

It’s a very good explanation that starts three minutes into the show:

Roundup: Tiger Woods Seriously Injured In Rolling Hills Car Accident

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The LA Times story was reported on by Hayley Smith, Richard Winton, Faith E. Pinho, Sam Farmer and Christina Schoellkopf who report on how Tiger Woods was seriously injured and details concerns with the road where Woods was injured.

Sheriff Alex Villanueva said Woods was traveling at a “relatively greater speed than normal” descending down a hill, noting that the area “has a high frequency of accidents.” The sheriff said that there were no skid marks and no signs of braking and that the golfer’s vehicle hit the center divider, a curb and a tree in the rollover crash.

Villanueva said Tuesday there was no evidence Woods was impaired at the scene.

Woods was taken to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center by ambulance, where he was in serious condition and being treated for his injuries, the Fire Department said. His injuries included a shattered ankle and two leg fractures, one of which was compound, according to a source familiar with his treatment.

That terrible news was confirmed around 10 pm Pacific Time by his doctor and company, TGR (embed above).

From Bob Harig’s ESPN.com report.

As part of a statement on Woods' official Twitter account, Dr. Anish Mahajan of Harbor-UCLA Medical Center updated the famed golfer's condition, saying in part that he had multiple "open fractures" to his lower right leg, had a rod placed in his tibia, and screws and pins inserted in his foot and ankle during an emergency surgery.

"Comminuted open fractures affecting both the upper and lower portions of the tibia and fibula bones were stabilized by inserting a rod into the tibia," said Mahajan, the chief medical officer and interim CEO at Harbor-UCLA. "Additional injuries to the bones of the foot and ankle were stabilized with a combination of screws and pins. Trauma to the muscle and soft-tissue of the leg required surgical release of the covering of the muscles to relieve pressure due to swelling."

Woods was staying Palos Verdes as part of a two-day content shoot for Golf Digest and GolfTV. It is believed he was en route to Rolling Hills Country Club for the shoot, though TMZ reports he might have been late for a shoot at Riviera and appeared impatient at the hotel. That report appears inaccurate.

The officer first on the scene spoke of the experience:

Discovery, owners of Golf Digest and GolfTV, released this statement:

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The PGA TOUR Statement on Tiger Woods from Commissioner Jay Monahan:

We have been made aware of Tiger Woods' car accident today. We are awaiting further information when he comes out of surgery. On behalf of the PGA TOUR and our players, Tiger is in our prayers and will have our full support as he recovers.

A sampling of statements rounded up here by ESPN.com:

The mood soured at this week’s PGA Tour stop, reports Steve DiMeglio.

The Daily Mail’s story includes numerous images.

I penned this for the Quadrilateral on finding some comfort in Ben Hogan’s recovery.

Coverage was largely respectable except USA Today/Golfweek’s Nathan Bomey story detailing the car like a bad salesman trying to lure sponsored content.

Woods was seen at Riviera for last weekend’s Genesis Invitational arriving in the SUV.

Justin Thomas: "I'm...just worried for his kids"

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Even after learning of Tiger Woods’ serious car accident in Rolling Hills Estates, the PGA Tour went ahead with a pre-planned call featuring Justin Thomas.

Given how close he is to Tiger, it was admirable of Thomas to muster the mood to talk all things WGC and speak so movingly about his concern for Woods’ children.

Nine questions in he was finally asked about what should have been on the only topic in the minds of most press operations. And to see what was asked before and after shows why it might have been best not to have this session at all and just let Justin share his concern on social media.

But we have the Workday WGC at The Concession And Not In Mexico City to promote, promote, promote!

Q. How concerned are you that--if you were playing well when you had that success, how concerned are you with how you're playing at the moment?

JUSTIN THOMAS: I don't know if "concerned" is the right word. I obviously always want and wish to be playing better, but yeah, not exactly where I want to be with my game right now. But just like this game, you always work to try to get out of it when you're not doing your best. So just got to keep working on it and hope good things start happening.

Q. Justin, not the greatest question, but have you heard about Tiger and do you have any reaction to it?

JUSTIN THOMAS: Yeah, I'm sick to my stomach. You know, it hurts to see one of your--now one of my closest friends get in an accident. Man, I just hope he's all right. Just worry for his kids, you know. I'm sure they're struggling.

Q. On a lighter note, you played the golf course today. One of the reasons that they call this course The Concussion was the greens. How are the greens and especially how are they as you chip up to them?

Oy. Vey. Gevalt.

The point missing here both on the PGA Tour and press side is just off the charts.

But again, tip of the cap to Justin Thomas for being a good sport in a trying circumstance.

Tiger Surfaces (With Clubs) A Day After Talking About His Surgery And Masters Hopes

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While Tiger Woods gave a less-than-rosy assessment of his immediate ability to play, he turned around and mustered the strength to spend the day shooting something with comedian David Spade. Presumably this is something for GolfTV. But given that few can confirm the channel’s existence and since Woods avoided media during this weekend visit to Riviera, we can only hope the workload is limited and he didn’t set back his recovery in the name of barely-seen “content”.

Tiger On Playing The Masters: "God, I hope so."

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Tiger Woods looked better in person than the cameras made him appear in a 12 minute booth stint. The Genesis Invitational host briefly touched on his foundation’s 25th anniversary before questions from Jim Nantz about the state of the back.

From Bob Harig’s ESPN.com story:

"I'm feeling fine, a little stiff," Woods said. "I've got one more MRI scheduled, and then I can start doing more activities. I'm still in the gym doing rehab activities before gravitating towards more."

Woods would not commit to playing a tournament before the Masters, and when asked specifically about the year's first major championship, he said, "God, I hope so. But I've got to get there first. I don't have much wiggle room left. I've got only one back."

Harig, however, noted this:

The recovery from the procedure, which was believed to be one level up on the spine from where his previous ones occurred, was expected to take two and a half to three months. He was said to be hitting balls a few weeks later, but Woods' words indicated he has not done the heavy practicing necessary for a return.

Part of the segment during final round play:

Flashback: How The Game Has Changed Files, Tiger Asks Trey Holland For Embedded Ball Relief Edition

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A week after Patrick Reed’s remarkable request, approval and endorsed embedded ball relief saga at Torrey Pines, it’s still the talk of 19th hole banter (at a safe distance). Playing it as it lies remains under assault on the PGA Tour. I’ve yet to hear from anyone who liked what they saw.

Then we added Wednesday word of a volunteer confessing to having accidentally stepped on Rory McIlroy’s ball. If true, it solidifies key differences between Reed and McIlroy’s situation on top of one other key point: McIlroy’s next lie was essentially no better than the first one.

It’s all pretty strange and was made otherword-bizarre when the rules community could not find one thing wrong wtih Reed’s actions.

It wasn’t always that way.

Thanks to reader E for sending in this gem from the Sports Illustrated when players were not bigger than the game.

Former USGA President Trey Holland wrote this guest piece for SI on Tiger Woods. It’s a fun read but best on the ruling part after Woods hit it some deep Pebble Beach rough:

"Then on the 3rd hole he hits his second shot short of the hole,
near a bunker. The ball sinks in the grass. He says to me, 'I
 think my ball is embedded.' If it's embedded, he gets a free
drop. There's an intensity in his voice. He knows how he wants 
this to come out.

"I say, 'Mark your ball, lift it and test the dirt with a finger.
 If the plane of the dirt--not the grass, but the dirt--is broken,
 it's embedded.'

"He tests it. He says, 'I think it is.' I say, 'Let me have a look.' I put my finger down there. I say, 'It's not.' He doesn't say a word. Replaces his ball. Hacks it out. Makes a triple

bogey.

"On Sunday we're back on the 1st tee. He says hi. Doesn't say anything about the ruling. He does his two-minute stare again, plays his final round, wins the U.S. Open. I congratulate him, and he says, 'Thanks, that means a lot. But I sure would have liked to have gotten that drop yesterday on 3.' Twenty-eight hours later and after winning the Open by 15 shots, he was still thinking about it. I was under the clear impression that he wanted to win by 18."