Kuchar: "“If you could design a better version of the PGA Tour, it wouldn’t look like the current version."

While that comment is not exactly what the doctor ordered when you are about to (allegedly) announce an $8 billion, 10-year deal at the Players, Matt Kuchar raises an interesting question.

As quoted in this story by GolfDigest.com’s Brian Wacker looking at player views of the proposed Premier Golf League:

“It’s intriguing,” Kuchar said of the PGL. “If you could design a better version of the PGA Tour, it wouldn’t look like the current version. What we have is awesome, [but] I think there’s a lot of hope that the tour moves in a direction that is slightly different moving forward, and guys like Rory have an influence on that direction.”

McIlroy certainly will be listened to after announcing he’s “out” on the league unless there is a mass exodus of top players.

But it does raise an interesting question: if you started from scratch, how would you design a golf tour that takes the sport to different places, shows off the skills of these talented players, and keeps them happy?

Premier Golf League Latest: Players And Agents Convene At Riviera; Phil Predicts He’ll Have Decision By The Players

Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson walk by the 13th hole home where a PGL meet-and-greet was held.

Buzz on and off the Riviera Country Club grounds included continued discussion about the proposed Premier Golf League.

As Eamon Lynch reported for Golfweek, a Tuesday gathering was attended by most player agents and seven prominent players, allowing for potential PGL targets to hear the group’s pitch.

I can report that among the seven attendees were Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Justin Rose, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Reed. They heard a presentation from Premier League backers inside the 13th hole-adjacent home of asset manager Ahmed Tayeb and his wife, art collector Cherine Magrabi-Tayeb.

On site rumors were flying that Mickelson was ready to reach a decision on the proposed league last week. Since he’d almost assuredly be a founding team captain and a major draw even as he nears 50, Mickelson’s verdict could make or break the proposed Tour.

When asked at Torrey Pines he was “intrigued,” before playing in Saudi Arabia with league officials in that week’s pro-am. Asked after missing the Genesis Invitational cut where he stood, Mickelson told those of us assembled he was “not really ready to talk about” his position.

 “I’m going to play Bay Hill and Players, I’m going to guess by the Players I’m going to have a pretty good opinion. I would guess. I’m not going to promise that. I’ll probably have an opinion by then.”

Besides Tiger Woods, who reported his team was looking into the proposed league and could have financial incentives to join it, other players interviewed would not rule out the league and two likely candidates for founding captain status in the proposed team portion were expansive with their thoughts.

“The concept is very good,” said the eventual Genesis winner Adam Scott when I discussed it with him Tuesday of tournament week. “Professional golf on the PGA Tour is in a very good place. There are a lot of opportunities for professionals to play. However, I feel like having some sort of premier tour, would be better for the game of golf almost as a whole and a way to follow the top players and it could have a positive impact on the game.”

Scott said he had not engaged in direct conversations with the league but wanted to learn more.

Justin Rose confirmed that his agent, Mark Steinberg, has been running interference for him with the league founders. The 2013 U.S. Open champion attended last week’s private gathering and discussed his largely positive views on the league concept while reiterating multiple times that he needs questions answered.  As for joining the league, Rose is “hedging for sure with this thing right now” and hopes a resolution comes soon.

“I think it needs to come to a head shortly, otherwise it becomes too much noise for noise sake,” he said Friday. “There’s obviously a lot of incentives for guys to want to be interested in it. And it’s a redistribution of all the economics that are involved in golf.”

Rose was referring to an increasingly problematic notion facing the PGA Tour. Namely, that top players see tournaments continually added where purses are funded by the same media rights pool that also funds lesser events.  Meanwhile, the people who do sell tickets, aren’t paid for the attention and tournament income they deliver.

“Format wise it’s about seeing the top players playing against each other more regularly. I think we’d all like to see that but it’s often not as simple as that. There’s 100’s of questions that need to be answered, which don’t seem to be getting answered very quickly.”

One of Rose’s primary questions involves venues. The group’s documents pledge to take events to the best courses in the world and list several ambitious sites, including last week’s Genesis host, Riviera Country Club. But the combination of modern day tournament needs and a reduced number of classic courses capable of testing the world’s best, could be a limiting factor.

“Venue quality is one of the most important things,” Rose said. “Whether the purse is $8 million or $9 million, that’s not how I’m choosing my schedule.

“When I hosted the British Masters, golf course was everything for me so I think that’s a huge thing. Now we’re talking about 18 brand new events, the talk is the best golf courses around the world. I’d like to see a list.”

Rose is, however, bullish on many elements of the proposed schedule as an “international player” who is torn with the “loyalty question” of wanting to support both the PGA Tour and European Tour.

“The attractive thing is the schedule,” Rose said of the proposed January to September schedule. “I always feel for me, taking time off and trying to play the European Tour as well, I don’t play much on the PGA Tour in October, November, December, January and I wake up 2000 points behind. You’re always playing catch up in the season long race, so to have something that was a bit more easy as an International player, would fit me better.”

Rose plays 24 weeks a year and says the 18-plus-4 majors notion balances out with the likelihood of more international travel.

“You could argue three rounds, trims wear and tear. It’s a bit more international travel, and might be more wear and tear on the body. So for me, it washes out.”

But others? Say, Tiger Woods?

“Tiger for example, that’s a lot. Some guys will have to weigh that up.”

Rose is struggling seeing how things unfold in terms of player commitments

“I don’t see a situation where eight guys go, or four go. It’d be an all or none situation, and I don’t know how it gets to that point and I don’t even know if that point is good.”

As someone potentially targeted to helm a founding player franchise, Rose is intrigued by the league’s vision for franchises.

 “It’s interesting, and lot of pressure with that too,” he said. “You’ve got to pick and choose your team every day. If you’re going to do it, you want to be one of the guys involved in the ownership structure. Again, many questions about how it would operate, what the value would be. I don’t understand the economics behind the franchise model. Yet.”

Kostis: "The PGA Tour doesn't give a rat’s ass about the quality of the telecast. They don’t care about the quality of the viewer experience."

Longtime CBS golf announcer Peter Kostis has joined Chris Solomon on this week’s No Laying Up podcast (embed below). He makes several frank statements about the PGA Tour’s role in his firing, the quality of broadcasts and the future when they gain more control over production. (I finally had to pause though I hear the rest on Patrick Reed is also going to be blog worthy tomorrow).

As always I urge you to listen, but for the sake of documentation, quotes as I jotted them down during this stunning listen.

—On his non-renewal last fall from CBS. “I don’t think there was a plan in place. They had not signed other announcers. prior to not renewing Gary’s and my option years. So I don’t think there was a plan in place.”

—On who drove his non-renewal: “I honestly think, and this is my opinion, and it’s been corroborated by some anonymous inside sources, that media likes to use these days, that it was the tour that told CBS to get younger, I think the Tour had an issue with me not being a cheerleader, I think they had an issue with Gary sometimes…

He goes on to tell a story about a classic McCord quip regarding the silliness of golf that was not comprehended by the folks in Tour HQ.

Then issues this: “They wanted the announce crew to get younger, so the younger players could better relate to the players and vice versa. I don’t agree with that in any way, shape or form.”

—On his call with CBS Sports head Sean McManus: “I asked Sean McManus, why he was doing it, was it something I did or didn’t do. He said ‘Things had gotten a bit stale and we wanted to go in a new direction.’ He denies it now but that was the exact quote and that’s what he told Gary as well.”

—Majors are off-limits. Kostis tells of interview a player on his first win, and noting that it came with two years of job security and a Masters invitation. “I got a call the next day from New York, they had gotten a call from the Commissioner, that he had won 500 FedExCup points and didn’t want me talking about majors.” He then mentions he did it again in another interview. “I did it again, because they told me not to do it, if you notice toward the middle of last year, I stopped doing interviews with the winners. They shifted it over to Amanda.
It was me being told I wasn’t listening correctly.”

—On where things are headed. “The Tour wants more control over what’s being said. I think they want more cheerleaders on the telecasts. More people that are going to “promote the Tour’s product,” you know which, we’re bridging into the stuff that people are really upset about: the quality of the telecast: I’ll say this, from the bottom of my heart, I believe this, no one in management of a network, or leadership of the PGA Tour, give’s a rat’s ass about the quality of the telecast. They don’t care about the quality of the viewer experience. They don’t care about anything other than promotion.”

—”When the Tour keeps up and upping the rights fees, CBS has to get the money back somehow, hence, a gajilion commercials. The Tour goes to the Korn Ferry Tour, we’re going to give you pops, FedEx ex number of times…

“So they use the telecast to pay off, if you will, people who bring money into the tour. It clutters up the telecast to no end.”

And…

”They are interested in the marketing of the product, not the quality of the product.”

—On the next model. “The word on the street, there is not going to be a CBS compound, NBC compound, but an Olympics world feed” and then later says, “Imagine what’s going to have to happen on the telecast…I’m not one feeling good about the tour taking over more control.”

—On Rights fee influences. “As long as the cost of the rights keep going up and up and up, you’re going to see less and less golf.” And he said, “everything’s driven by cash.”

—$25 Million!? “Rumors that the FedExCup winner is going to get $25 million.”

—Gambling. “Everything is going to revolve around gambling” in the PGA Tour’s future models for revenue growth.

—One monitor vs. two. Kostis explains how it works for CBS vs. NBC announcers and suggests it’s “disingenuous” of NBC announcers who call shots on tape as if they are seeing them live.

It’s finally happened.

Peter Kostis is here to discuss his departure from CBS, golf on TV, what needs to change, other Patrick Reed incidents he’s seen (!), and so much more.

He does not hold back. Go now.

Apple: https://t.co/q9YDSK4PsO
Spotify: https://t.co/sICOmq7eel pic.twitter.com/OJLOCjbsjG

— No Laying Up (@NoLayingUp) February 19, 2020

Koepka Lumps Patrick Reed's "Building Castles" With Astros Scandal, Says Lie Improvement Going On More Than It Should

Well there’s some synergy for you.

Brooks Koepka, co-architect of revisions to Memorial Park, home to the 2020 Houston Open benefiting the Cheating Astros Foundation, shared his views on Patrick Reed’s Hero World Challenge waste area antics with SiriusXM’s Sway Callaway (full clip below).

After answering in the affirmative to the “cheating” word, Koepka is more than clear on his views about Reed and overall lie improvement practices he sees.

From a GolfChannel.com report:

When asked by host Sway Callaway if Reed was cheating when he improved his lie, Koepka said: “Yeah. I don’t know what he was doing, building sand castles in the sand. But you know where your club is. I took three months off and I can promise you I know if I touch sand. If you look at the video, obviously he grazes the sand twice and then he still chops down on it.”

After making an Astros comparison, Koepka touched on something once sadly controversial and now going on too often in pro golf: mashing the grass down behind a ball.

In fact, during a U.S. Open (he didn’t specify which year), Koepka said that he watched one of his fellow playing competitors blow a drive right, into 6-inch rough. He saw that player take out a 3-wood and pat down the thick rough behind the ball, only to then grab a wedge and hack the ball out 60 yards down the fairway. Koepka looked at the other player in his group and said, “This ain’t right.”

“It goes on a little bit more than people think,” he said, before adding: "I’ve been guilty of it. I haven’t opened my mouth. But now if I saw it, just because of where I’m at in the game, the stature that I have, I would definitely say something.”

The full interview…hope Brooks doesn’t get too big of a fine for this!

How You Know The Ball Goes Too Far After Another Week At Riviera

You know how I know the ball goes too far and just makes a total mess of things?

—This driving range fence was just a normal chainlink fence in the mid-80s. Now they bring in a special extension tournament week and Bryson DeChambeau was still able to clear it last week…

Riviera’s range, with temporary extension installed during tournament week.

—Monday’s Celebrity Cup participants could drive the 10th green. They had to wait for the surface to clear to tee off. Oliver Hudson drove over the 10th green…

After a long wait for the green to clear, A-Rod tees off in the Celebrity Cup.

—They put a concession stand where players used to hit bad drives off the 434-yard third hole. Now they miss 40 yards farther down the hole. And in Phil Mickelson’s case (this is the long ball search for him), 40 yards right of the fairway edge…

That concession stand was once a popular spot for missed drives, now it’s a safe spot!

The 10th at Riviera is not a drivable par-4, it’s a 3-woodable long par-3 where the layup is at a disadvantage based on the birdies made. The 2020 ShotLink scatter chart:

R.I.P. Mickey Wright

The legendary LPGA champion and founder has passed away at 85.

Famous for her swing and grace, Mickey Wright is remembered by a number of stories, starting with the AP obituary posted at GolfChannel.com listing her remarkable accomplishments.

• 82 LPGA titles, second only to Kathy Whitworth (88).
• 13 major championship titles, second only to Patty Berg (15). Four of those were U.S. Women’s Open titles, equaling Betsy Rawls for most ever.
• 13 victories in a single LPGA season (1963). It remains the tour record. She won 11 times in 1964, which equals Annika Sorenstam for second most LPGA victories in a season.
• Four consecutive major championship victories, a mark no other woman has ever achieved. She won the last two majors in 1961 and the first two in ’62.
• Five consecutive Vare Trophy titles for low scoring average (1960-64), the most won in a row in tour history.
• Four consecutive LPGA money titles (1961-64).
• 14 consecutive years with an LPGA victory (1956-69).

Beth Ann Nichols for Golfweek on Wright:

Wright was one of the most important figures in golf throughout the early 1960s, a private person by nature but constant presence on the course while playing some 30 tournaments each year and winning at a rapid rate. She later allowed the public into her life in a different way, offering more than 200 artifacts to the USGA Museum for her own personal room at the Far Hills, N.J. shrine.

Wright’s swing was the envy of the golf world. It’s one she began building at age 15 while taking lessons from Harry Pressler, an esteemed instructor in California. Wright and her mother traveled 250 miles round trip to see Pressler every Saturday for two years.

Wright’s swing was the envy of several all-time greats and can be seen in this Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf, as well as in a shortened clip from that broadcast. Ben Hogan famously said her swing was the best he ever saw:

Seven years ago, Adam Schupak wrote about Wright’s donation of all her memorabilia to the USGA.

Wright, 77, is only the fourth player — and the first woman — to have a gallery honor her name at the museum, joining the golf icons Ben Hogan, Bobby Jones and Arnold Palmer. If there were ever a doubt, her place as part of the celebrated history of the sport is now drawn in indelible ink.

“She cried when I told her,” said Rhonda Glenn, a U.S.G.A. historian and longtime friend, who informed Wright in November that the U.S.G.A. executive committee had approved the room.

Here is a fantastic highlight film of Wright’s fourth U.S. Open win at San Diego CC.

Ron Sirak authored this tribute feature for Wright’s induction into the PGA of America Hall of Fame.

2017 PGA Hall of Fame Inductee Mickey Wright, LPGA from PGA of America on Vimeo.

A Few Things I Learned After A Better-Than-Most-Week At Riviera

Adam Scott en route to winning the 2020 Genesis Invitational

In no particular order…

—Green reading books are less of a thing. Adam Scott said he’s trying desperately not to look at the pages of arrows, and when he does it’s to recall contours as he approaches from the fairway. Rory McIlroy still regularly consulted his and Dustin Johnson appears more devoted than ever to his. Tiger Woods did not consult his at all (then again, after finishing last, maybe he should have). Either way, compared to a few years ago, the cheat sheets appear to be on the decline. Whether that’s because of changes in the rules, or grown men realizing that a page full of minuscule arrows is no way to read a putt, I do not know.

—Rough is only necessary to defend a dreary design. With only light afternoon breezes all week, sunny skies and very light rough, Riviera was able to give an incredible field a stern test. Maybe the final round hole locations were a tad relentless in difficulty, but green speed and firmness were more likely responsible for only one player finishing double-digits under par. Sunday’s 72.000 scoring average included 23 doubles and 9 others. Saturday’s third round yielded a 70.397 scoring average with 211 bogies and just nine doubles. All of it without the artificial intrusion of rough.

—Rough is not the answer to distance. With the recent distance study still fresh on minds, the most common golf pro answer involved advocacy for harvesting taller grass along sides of fairways. Riviera demonstrated again that architecture coupled with firmness is the answer. Of course, this was still after years of lengthening and other elements to keep the place relevant.

—A wedge approach to 18 just doesn’t seem right. Watching Rory McIlroy and Adam Scott hit wedges into the iconic 18th hole Saturday and Sunday—even after the hole had been lengthened years ago to 491 yards—reminds us they are essentially superhuman talents. Particularly given the 50-foot rise over the hill. But we’d still feel that way about them hitting 7 or 8-irons as approach clubs following a long drive.

—Never let your caddie place a Trackman on the roof of a car. Those soft cases just don’t stick like you’d hope.

—Printed pairing sheets are still necessary. In a sustainability effort, the Genesis no longer gives out printed pairing sheets. I could have sold my printed press center versions for good money, especially to Verizon customers who had no reception in the canyon. I get that it’s a Live Under Par way to be, but sometimes you just want to pull out a piece of paper and see who the players are before you.

—Short grass, even when it’s kikuyu, makes a great hazard. Something to remember when the anti-regulation folks want to grow rough: look at Rory McIlroy’s round-killing triple bogey Sunday when he was just a little too cute with his shot behind the fifth green. He was presented options to lob, run or pitch his shot. Had McIlroy only been given one way to play, who knows how things turn out.

—Just when putting with the flag in was no longer a thing, Adam Scott brings it back. Compared to a year ago when this new toy was employed by almost all players, flagsticks left in while putting are quickly becoming a thing of the past.

—Tradition still matters. Even with another new name and no open status, the L.A. Open and Genesis Invitational of the present succeeded this week on the back of ideal weather, an incredible field, a beautifully prepared golf course, and a tournament exuding a sense of permanence. A whopping 94 years of history and a design players love always helps. The week showed how dependent professional golf is on venues whether to lure a top field or put on a good show. The sport at its best returns to the places that matter. And it’s a shrinking list with every jump in distance gains.

A Rough CBS Weekend Should Prompt Questions About Next TV Deal Parameters

Presumably in the coming weeks we’ll finally learn the outcome of the PGA Tour’s negotiations with CBS, NBC, Golf Channel and ESPN+.

Maybe at the Players Championship we’ll learn—just throwing out a number here—that they’re going to get paid $8 billion over ten years. Players will swoon, north Florida BMW dealers will take extra special orders and second homes will be purchased by bonus-receiving executives.

But a very simple question will need to be addressed by Commissioner Jay Monahan: how will taking more money from networks make golf on television better? What guarantees will there be to improve the “product”? Or, to put it B-speak parlance, how will this deal “grow the game” with better productions?

The question is a logical one given that we suffered through another dreadful CBS presentation of the Genesis Invitational. The reactions both public and privately ranged from disgust to outright shock at the inability of the network to tell the PGA Tour story with any coherence.

CBS entered the season still fresh off of buyouts that depleted their team, several new announcers and the usual array of promotional excess interfering with the ability to show a triple bogey by the world No. 1 when he’s contending. Or a topped tee shot by the co-leader only shown after social media griping. Things did not improve when Frank Nobilo questioned a story about the moment and was met by commenters with nearly unanimous disdain for the broadcast.

I was on course most of the day so only saw the Golf Channel replay Monday. What I saw was sad. There was a lack of storytelling, weird mistakes and even more bizarre decisions to ignore several contenders. Then there was the absence of technology to explain why the course was a factor. A telestrator in front of Nick Faldo, anyone?

CBS also devoted a crew to Tiger’s dead-last play on the front nine and didn’t even provide basic audio to give a sense of the atmosphere. The entire thing could not have been flatter or more clearly showing signs of missing all of the institutional crew knowledge that went out the door last year.

And this, for a tournament hosted by Tiger Woods enjoying “elevated status” and dream-sponsor in Genesis.

If you want more, Ryan Ballengee detailed many of the issues here.

No Laying Up’s podcast this week also highlighted many of the problems and then some.

And not to be outdone, the Shotgun Start guys also chimed in at the continued issues doing the basics.

I could go on about how the Genesis CEO’s ill-fitting shirt went live before a too-tight camera shot for a painful 3:17, or point out that it’s too soon to be showing helicopters flying around LA, and just go on and on. But it turns out these are not questions for me to raise.

These are questions for the PGA Tour to answer when announcing a ten year and $8 billion at the Players, hypothetically.

Will there be money left over to invest in a broadcast and a business model that allows networks to show golf instead of merely coming on air to share an excess of commercials and promos interspersed with golf shots?

Does the new deal demonstrate any care for the viewer hoping to savor great golf on a fabulous venue, perhaps even with telecast elements that enhance the experience? Or will everything just look like the what we have now to help pay for a bump in the Bermuda Championship’s purse?

"What have I got to lose" Adam Scott, Riviera Prevail At The Genesis

Just how we never would have drawn this one up.

Adam Scott posted a one-under-par 70 under sunny, one-club breezy conditions to slip away from early finishers Sung Kang, Scott Brown and fellow third round co-leader Matt Kuchar. The win is Scott’s second at Riviera, but first for the record books after his 2005 36-hole win in a playoff over Chad Campbell was not counted as an official win.

“It fells really good,” he said after the round, noting that it was cute and all to “poke fun” at his unofficial win.

“It's incredibly satisfying to win a tournament of this stature on a golf course of this stature. It was a wonderful week, it was incredibly enjoyable just being here with the weather like this, the course in perfect condition and a great field. Even better to come out on top and kind of have your game really tested today. It was not easy and that was most enjoyable to kind of see that my game is holding up to that.”

The start was Scott’s first of 2020 after winning the Australian PGA and competing at the Presidents Cup.

I have no idea where this moves him to in the FedExCup.

After a painful bogey-double bogey run at Riviera’s 4th and 5th holes, Scott made key birdies at the sixth and 13th holes, but it was salvaging bogey at the 15th where Scott went above and beyond the field.

His 173-yard second plugged in the greenside bunker, causing an overplayed recovery to trundle over the back left of the green, leaving a tough recovery pitch.

“The shot that stood out was deciding to flop the second chip on 15 after I was plugged into the bunker and I kind of knifed it across the green. It was in a horrible position then.

”I stood there and I wanted to maybe bump it into the fringe, but realistically it was going to be 45 feet past probably and I thought, well, you can maybe win the tournament if you hit a great flop shot here, so I thought I might as well just go for it.

”I had a little bit of that kind of mindset not just today but the whole week of not careless, but "what have I got to lose" kind of thing going, give myself a good chance to get back in the winner's circle on the PGA TOUR. So that shot stood out for me, the flop shot on 15.”

For Scott, that letting go is a product of experience and an effort to take his game to a different place.

“As I chat about my feelings when I play with my coach, we often talk about just letting go a little bit. I mean, at times I feel like I'm too loose on some shots, but then there are other moments where I play a little too conservative all the time. It's a fine balance playing down the stretch in contention and finding the right place. It was fairly clear to me at that moment, my first thought was bump it in, it's safe but I'll probably make a double. Then I thought I really want to win this and maybe this shot can do it, and I hit a really great shot. It was quite fun.”

And fun to watch.

A look at the ShotLink numbers suggest typically solid ballstriking from the 39-year-old, but it was the sometimes-balky putting that carried the day. Scott made 282’ 7” feet of putts while registering just 88 putts on the 52 greens he hit, leading the field.

Other numbers of note:

17th SG off the tee

23 of 56 fairways

8th in all drives distance, 294.8 yards

15th on the measuring holes, 288.7 yards

52 of 72 greens

3rd SG approach play, with a 38’ 5” proximity average

17th SG scrambling

The round four highlights from PGA Tour Entertainment:

Varner's Not-Intentional Lay-Up At 10: To Show Or Not To Show A Bad Shot?

Harold Varner (purple shirt) just off Riviera’s 10th tee short of the first fairway bunker.

Leading the Genesis Invitational at the time, Harold Varner hit an unfortunate 129-yard tee shot at Riviera’s 10th and ultimately made double bogey. Yet CBS did not show the shot for almost an hour. (Other issues with the broadcast were noted here by Joel Beall at GolfDigest.com.)

wait wait wait wait wait...

Did they just say the leader TOPPED a 3-wood on the iconic 10th hole rather than actually showing it!?!?!?!?!

— No Laying Up (@NoLayingUp) February 16, 2020

129 yards!!

AT LEAST SHOW THE REPLAY!!!!! pic.twitter.com/BAkulY6lfB

— No Laying Up (@NoLayingUp) February 16, 2020

Not until the 14th hole and after much social media griping did CBS show the shot as Varner was playing the 14th hole.

After the round, Varner explained what happened:

Q. Did your foot slip at all?

HAROLD VARNER III: I don't know, I just know I missed it, I missed the ball. I couldn't tell you what exactly happened. I just know that I hit the dirt before the ball. I've actually done it before, which is funny enough. I did it in Korea, same exact thing, same exact wind.

Q. Were you playing off the deck before then, too?
HAROLD VARNER III: No, I teed that up. Yeah, I wish I would have hit it off the deck.

Q. And then after that now you've got to regroup and try to approach the hole from a different way, right?

HAROLD VARNER III: Yeah, I was screwed pretty much. Yeah, it's not like you can just hit the next one on the green and be like, all right, salvage it. Yeah, it's just funny, I'm looking at the hole right now as we're talking about it. It is what it is. There's nothing I can really do about it. I just wish I would have rebounded a little bit better. That's what I kind of, you know, alluded to all week is just how you respond to it.

No one wants to pick on Varner or revel in his horrendous shot. But not showing it until after a social media storm suggests that it may have been intentionally kept off-air.

At last year’s Genesis, a final round 8 by Jordan Spieth at the same hole was also not shown.

Naturally, CBS has a truckload of promos to show and other obligations as the round proceeds, but one of the three leaders hitting a disastrous tee shot by PGA Tour standards, should have been a focal point of the broadcast.

And while social media can get carried away with telecast griping, the outrage likely stems in part from a sense that network broadcasts and announcers increasingly are feeling pressure to put players only in the best light.

Had Varner made a miraculous par, perhaps the tee shot might have been shown sooner than the 14th hole. Either way, the overall sense of a State television vibe will only make fans less interested in watching PGA Tour golf, even when the player does something all golfers can relate to.

**This just in to Newscenter 7 with the video:

The most sought after footage since the Zapruder film apparently. Here's the elusive Harold Varner topped 3 wood. No toptracer included. @NoLayingUp @BrendanPorath pic.twitter.com/cJF782CcZi

— Andrew Stephens (@AStephensPGA) February 17, 2020

CBS’s Frank Nobilo took to Twitter to defend the coverage.

People on social media are entitled to their opinions. But you are in the print business. You have ample time to fact check your article. I covered the 10th hole and @TrevorImmelman was with the group and detailed the tee shot. Will you treat your writer with the same contempt? https://t.co/ySatS9jYSH

— Frank Nobilo (@frank_nobilo) February 17, 2020

Genesis Roundup: Primed For A Stellar Final Round At Riviera With Scott, Kuchar, McIlroy Tied At The Top

Golf Gods, you’ve gotten us this far. Now don’t mess up the glorious 2020 Genesis we’ve got on our hands.

After three days of ideal weather and nine of the world’s top 10, it should come as little surprise to see a leaderboard topped by names like McIlroy, Kuchar and Scott, with lurkers like Johnson and writer’s dream story Harold Varner, the former Sifford Exemption recipient. Oh, and 16 within four of the lead.

Riviera’s greens are as fast and firm as I can recall and Tiger might agree after taking 33 putts, including four at 13 to shoot 76. It was his second 4-putt on the 13th in his career.

Following his round, Woods admitted to some overall body stiffness and feeling “run-down". Ryan Lavner reports.

More impressively, even with such a premium on speed and firmness, the field has managed to score well, taking advantage of relatively little wind and remarkable conditioning by Matt Morton’s crew. The field posted a 70.397 scoring average Saturday, with a low of 64 by Talor Gooch and a high of 81 from Ryan Palmer.

(Palmer took five to get out of the 14th hole’s greenside bunker.)

As for our leaders, a few post-round highlights, starting with Adam Scott, coming in hot after layoff and a former winner here, whose 2005 title does not count as an official win.

Q. Adam, jumping back to the one you won here in the one-hole playoff and it rained all week and finally on that Monday morning the sun came out, do you remember what happened and what was it like for the week and the playoff itself?

ADAM SCOTT: I remember spending the most amount of time ever in a locker room that week. It was at least two days of eight hours sitting in the locker room and just waiting around. Then Monday I think they were looking at trying to tee guys off for a round and at least have a third round, but maybe a group teed off and after a hole they just said -- it was still raining a bit and they said the course is so unplayable. The only hole really was the 18th way up positive.

I kind of -- I guess it was good that it was called off. And then you win and then you're told it's not a win, that was not so good. Even though I had the trophy, it's not official. Maybe at the time it would have been better to try to plug it out for an official win, but it was still fun, fun to take a trophy home and kind of be a champion here.

ADAM SCOTT: I think all of that is just a bit of motivation for me to win tomorrow here and have an official victory at Riviera and the Genesis Open and I think that would be extremely satisfying for me.

Kuchar, who has led at the end of each round, is in his best position ever at Riviera. He’s never had a top 5 here despite 11 starts.

MATT KUCHAR: I absolutely love the course. I think it gets rave reviews across the board by everybody. You see a great leaderboard up there, it's one that has truly withstood the test of time. It's fun to see it this way in firm and fast conditions. I think so many years we've been here we've seen it kind of wet and cold and greens being a little bit softer. Anytime you get greens firm, it is hard to get them close to the hole, a golf course just plays that much harder.

And this place, you kind of learn it well enough and have to manage where you miss, where you don't. Chipping out of this kikuyu is so difficult, particularly with the little bounce in the greens. I mean, there are good scores out there and there are really bad scores out there and I think that's the sign of a good golf course.

And McIlroy, looking for win No. 19, explains why Riviera has a permanent place on his schedule.

I typically didn't play the West Coast Swing earlier on in my career, especially when I got to this tournament and this golf course, I regretted that decision because, okay, sometimes it can get -- if it's soft the greens can get a little bumpy or whatever, but the course is phenomenal. The whole place. I mean, staying in Santa Monica and doing all that, it's a really nice week, but obviously topped off by the fact that we're playing one of the best courses that we play all year.

So the only year that I didn't play here was 2017 and that was because of injury, because I couldn't. I said it back then, it will be a regular stop on my schedule because I love the golf course.

A few more notes on the co-leaders from the PGA Tour:

Matt Kuchar (T1/-10)

• After being bogey-free on the back nine entering Saturday, made bogeys on Nos. 13, 15, 16 in the third round  

• Holds the 54-hole lead/co-lead for the 10th time on TOUR (most recent: 2019 RBC Canadian Open/T4); converted four of previous nine into victory

• In search of 10th career PGA TOUR victory to join 115 players with 10 or more wins in a PGA TOUR career; won twice in 2018-19 after going four seasons without a win

• Made 12 cuts in 13 previous appearances at The Genesis Invitational with T8 in 2016 his lone top-10

• The Genesis Invitational is one of three PGA TOUR events he has made 11 or more starts without a top-five finish (AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am/14, The Genesis Invitational/13, Valspar Championship/11)

• Owns 106 career top-10s on PGA TOUR but seeking first of the season

• Won the SMBC Singapore Open in January

Rory McIlroy (T1/-10)

• Leads the field in par-5 performance for the week, being 8-under with two eagles and four birdies 

• Has been inside the top three on the leaderboard in nine of 15 rounds this season

• Has three top-threes in as many starts this season: ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP/T3, WGC-HSBC Champions/1st, Farmers Insurance Open/T3; is one of four players who have finished inside the top 10 in each start of the season (minimum two starts)

• Playing in his first start since reclaiming the No. 1 spot in the Official World Golf Rankings

• Making fourth start in the event; Finished T20 (2016, 2018) and T4 in 2019

• Seeks 19th win in his 172nd PGA TOUR start

Adam Scott (T1/-10)

• Through 54 holes, leads the field in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green (10.382), having hit 40 of 54 greens

• Was declared winner of 2005 The Genesis Invitational which was shortened to 36 holes due to rain; the win is not recognized as an official victory

• Making fifth start of the 2019-20 PGA TOUR Season and first of the calendar year; Won the 2019 Australian PGA Championship in December, his most recent worldwide start

Coverage begins at 8:30 am PT on PGA Tour Live, with Golf Channel doing live at 9 am PT and CBS coming on a noon PT.

Condensed Schedule Blues: These Guys Are...Pacing Themselves

We’ve been spoiled by a sensational field this week at Riviera, perhaps adding to the attention given to next week’s WGC Mexico City Championship facing some noticeable absences.

It seems absurd to offer this reminder on the fan-unfriendly topic of scheduling dynamics: there are too many options over a season, too many obligations, and too many majors in a short time.

So when Tiger Woods hosting and at an age where majors and family take priority, why is anyone surprised he’s passing on playing back-to-back weeks?

While I agree with Bob Harig’s general point about Woods’ decision to pass up easy points and progress toward an Olympics berth, the four majors preceding Tokyo remain more important. So does enjoyment of the life he’s built for himself.

For World No. 2 Brooks Koepka, also passing on Mexico City, health and majors come first. Especially after admitting that his recently repaired knee is still giving him significant trouble, and the PGA Tour heading to his home state for five weeks, it’s irrational to think that free points and a guaranteed $50,000 would entice him to risk further injury.

There was also this, which Koepka shared with myself and two other writers this week:

“I like the tougher golf courses which I think goes into the whole major thing, that's kind of how I'm trying to build my schedule. Trying to change what courses I play, what tournaments I play based on looking at not just previous year’s scores but the golf courses that are tougher. I'm not going to compete very well if it's eighteen under every week.”

Increasingly, top players are making architecture and setup a priority.

All of this serves as a reminder that the world’s best center their careers around the four majors above all else. With a condensed and sometimes inconvenient schedule, something’s got to give a bit more often than in year’s past.

Couples On Premier League: "You want to win one of these things or you want to win the L.A. Open?"

Greg Hardwig of the Naples News talked to Champions playing this week’s Chubb Classic and asked Fred Couples, Tom Lehman, Bernhard Langer and Jack Nicklaus about the proposed Premier Golf League.

Two-time Genesis Invitational winner—yeah I went there—Fred Couples thinks the PGA Tour essentially has a prestige component that a new tour just does not have. Except that the prestige event he mentions does not exist as he refers to it…

"I saw Jay Monahan's quote. That's how long I follow it," Couples said Thursday, where the two-time Chubb Classic champion was practicing for this week at The Classics at Lely Resort.

"You play there, you don't play on the Tour," he summarized Monahan. "Your choice. You want to win one of these things or you want to win the L.A. Open?

Bernhard Langer said he talked to the World Golf Group or representatives of the tour about the concept and raised the very persistent question: how do players come and go, how does young talent emerge and what happens when great players become a little less great?

"I was talking to them," Langer said Tuesday. "Again, it's in competition with the existing tour. Those guys, so if you take top 50 in the world or whatever, 10 might fall out because they want to have the young talent come up. So where do those 10 go? You're not exempt anywhere, so where do you go? You're done. The tours didn't like it basically, I think. You're dealing in direct competition unless they're involved."

And the Golden Bear just shot it down as only he can.

"I just don't think it's viable," said Jack Nicklaus, whom Jastrow contacted back in 2002. "I just don't think financially they can make it. I don't think they'll ever get the golf courses. I don't think the tour would ever let it happen. I don't think the guys would leave. There's just so many things that have to happen, I just don't think it's possible."

Besides what happens to players on the bubble, Nicklaus hits on what I think is ultimately the proposed tour’s biggest issue: where will they play?

With today’s players cutting out alcohol, deadlifting more weight than any athletes in the history of sports and generally carrying superhuman status, their 340-yard drives severely limit options. The PGA Tour has several of the clear-cut best courses in major markets, while the others possibly able to host something likely have little interest.

Now, with smaller fields and if the ball didn’t fly so far, you might be able to drum up support for some more remote destinations or classics left behind by the modern game.

Finally Golf Makes The News For The Right Reasons: Researchers Say It's A Recipe For Longevity

Researchers followed nearly 5,900 adults 65 and up over a decade and are prepared to say at least once-a-month golfers are going to live longer (well, 8% chance). Finally, golf makes national headlines for a good reason!

From a WebMD story:

The study will be presented later this month at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference in Los Angeles.

Golf is an option for older adults who want to be physically active, according to researchers from the Zeenat Qureshi Stroke Institute.

"The intensity level of the activity is such that it can be maintained for a longer period of time, and it's something that maintains the interest of the individuals so people can continue it on a regular basis," study author Dr. Adnan Qureshi, a neurology professor at the University of Missouri, told CNN.

Of Course Tiger's First Hole Eagle Putt Was 24 Feet, 8 Inches

The stars keep aligning this week at the Genesis Invitational, as Tiger’s first hole eagle putt measured out at 24 feet, 8 inches according to ShotLink.

Just over two weeks since Kobe Bryant’s passing, the former No, 24 and No. 8 of the Los Angeles Lakers, here is Woods’ eagle putt en route to an opening 69.

What a start.@TigerWoods opens the week with an eagle at the first.#LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/upZSb5Vqo4

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 13, 2020

Tiger was asked about it after the round:

Q. Tiger, can you talk about the first hole and the eighth hole where you made the eagle putt from 24 feet eight inches, Kobe's numbers, and then you get to No. 8 that's dedicated to Kobe and you birdied that?

TIGER WOODS: Yeah, it's ironic, isn't it? He was a -- it was a nice way to start. I didn't know about the putt being that long. As I said, ironic that having those two numbers. And then No. 8, happened to hit one in there close and had a nice little kick-in there for birdie.

You know, no matter what we do, I think for a while we're going to always remember Kobe and what he meant, and especially here in SoCal and the entire sports world. Like I said, very ironic that I happened to have those numbers on those holes and those exact measurements.