Shirtless Shark Says Mother Nature Was "Good To Me", Deletes Nude Shower Shot At Sirius' Request

Always great to hear Greg Norman singing the praises of the job Florida’s doing with COVID-19 as the state deals with a COVID surge. Oh, and the amazing body bequeathed to him by Mother Nature.

Appearing on Australia’s Today Show to plug a new Sydney housing development, the voice of The Masters on Sirius/XM admitted the satellite radio provider asked him to delete a nude shower photo posted just prior to tournament week.

“It’s just who I am!” Norman said to laughing hosts Allison Langdon and Karl Stefanovic. “Aussies are very outgoing people. I’m a very natural person, as you guys can tell. It is what it is and Mother Nature was pretty good to me.”

The Australian, who now resides in Florida, added that an American radio show pleaded with him to delete the photo because they thought that it would be the main news story “all week.”

“I love my outlook on life and it really is not offensive, to be honest with you,” Norman said. “I look after myself. I enjoy working out.”

Indeed, the post was taken down. What an insult to Mother Nature.

If you want to torture yourself, the full interview…

GasGate: A Laughing Matter Now, But The Open's 18th Tee Incident Reminds That Golf Betting Could Get Ugly

With a one-stroke lead, Collin Morikawa backed off his 72nd hole tee shot at The Open.

After some chuckling, it was believed someone had consumed one too many of those bratwurst and was maybe a bit nervous for Morikawa. Thankfully, the 24-year-old went on to win his second major in less than a year.

But on the Pardon My Take podcast, Morikawa explained a far more disturbing story given the push for golf betting. The Daily Mail transcribed:

“Some spectator, at some point in the day, snuck a little old school microphone, like a recording. Threw it underneath one of the marshals around there and started playing these farting noises right as I was about to swing,' Morikawa told Barstool Sports' Pardon My Take podcast.

“Louis [Oosthuizen], his caddie, my caddie, we all knew it was a farting noise. But we seriously thought it was from the spectators. We thought someone was playing it on their phone. 

“The marshals were all looking, we're looking around, the marshal digs in the grass and pulls this little recorder out. What're the odds of that happening?'“

Pretty good if someone had money on the second place player up ahead.

Report: PGA Tour's 2021 Asia Swing Seems In Doubt

GolfChannel.com’s Rex Hoggard has seen a rough draft of the fall 2021-22 PGA Tour schedule that commences in 56 days. It appears the three-event swing through Asia—the CJ Cup, ZOZO and WGC HSBC—are in doubt or unlikely to be played in their traditional locations.

One person with knowledge of the negotiations said that the CJ Cup is looking into venues in the U.S. again, but the other two events in Asia likely wouldn’t relocate to the U.S., meaning some players would likely be reluctant to travel because of the pandemic.

Certainly understandable with international travel issues. But this is amazing:

There’s currently an off week after the Tour Championship (Sept. 9-12), though some sources said the Tour could slide a new event into that spot.

They can’t even leave a week off to recharge everyone’s batteries. Example 4,018 of why it’s absurd to incentivizing PGA Tour executives to grow playing opportunities and purses, even if you’re having to track down players who won 20 years ago to fill out a field. Players who can’t get in a Champions Tour event!

"Women Golfers Are Embracing the Power Era. Is That a Good Thing?"

Paul Sullivan takes an NY Times look at chasing distance through the eyes of a few LPGA Tour players and it’s fascinating to read that some already regret the effort. But it’s also staggering to see the dispersion of average distances compared to the men.

The difference between the longest hitter on the L.P.G.A. Tour and the 168th ranked player, who is the last one on the list, is 60 yards. On the Ladies European Tour, which co-sanctions the Evian with the L.P.G.A., the difference is 79 yards between first and 168th place.

But even those numbers may downplay how far the longest hitters drive the ball, because the bombers do not always have to reach for their drivers to get maximum distance; they can play it safe with a 3-wood or iron and still be way out there.

By contrast, the difference between the longest hitter on the PGA Tour and number 168 is 33 yards. And almost all of those players are capable of hitting the ball 300 yards or more.

Anyway, it’s a good story and one to bookmark if you’re the parent of an aspiring young woman wondering if distance must be chased.

NBC: 2021 Open Final Round "TAD" Up 10% Over 2019, No Thanks To Streaming

I did a full breakdown of The Open’s ratings in the free-weekly Quadrilateral, and thanks to SportsMediaWatch.com’s Paulsen sharing the actual Nielsen ratings vs. NBC’s “total audience delivery” factoring in other ways folks see the coverage, we get to see just how few stream golf.

That’s kind of important for the sport to recognize at some point in the hard push to turn television viewers into streamers, even (A) the technology is still not there (B) golf is a background sport and a passive viewing experience except for the last holes of a tournament. Since no one has made the streaming experience as simple as hitting the power button and a number, with the option to come and go easily, it will continue to be a less enjoyable viewing experience for live events.

I digress.

It looks like the 2021 Open delivered a generally solid showing given the number of weekend hours NBC carried coverage. For Immediate Release:

STAMFORD, Conn. – July 20, 2021 – NBC Sports’ comprehensive coverage of the 149th Open Championship at Royal St George’s Golf Club in Sandwich, Kent, England, delivered across-the-board viewership gains for NBC and GOLF Channel vs. 2019.

Across more than 40 hours of live championship coverage on NBC and GOLF Channel, the Open Championship produced a Total Audience Delivery of 2.148 million viewers, up 8% vs. the 2019 Open coverage (1.983 million TAD) and up 27% vs. the most-recent Open Championship at Royal St George’s in 2011 (1.697 million TV-only). Sunday’s Final Round coverage on NBC delivered a TAD of 4.169 million viewers, up 10% vs. 2019 (3.784 million). 

Early Round viewership on GOLF Channel drew a TAD of 1.069 million viewers, up slightly vs. 2019 (1.065 million) to rank as the second most-watched Early Rounds on GOLF Channel in five years.

Of course, The Open’s only been on Golf Channel since 2016 so…

As I noted in The Quadrilateral’s wrap up, had a better week being off site than in Kent, with what seemed like more willingness to tackle a few subjects head on. You know, topics that are now avoided during PGA Tour coverage in fear of the red phone ringing. From the press release:

Week-long pre- and post-game Live From The Open coverage on GOLF Channel averaged 148,000 viewers, up 24% vs. 2019 to rank the most-watched week of Live From The Open since 2017 (161,000 viewers). 

Langer On Distance Regulation: "They haven't done anything...it's just common sense"

Golf Monthly’s Andy Wright reports on Bernhard Langer’s pre-Senior Open comments regarding distance and rendering venues like this week’s host, Sunningdale, obsolete.

“The R&A and the USGA are making our rules, we try to play by their rules and so far they haven’t done anything really of any great impact to bring the ball back or any of that,” Langer, who is looking to win his 12th senior major this week, said. 

No, they haven’t.

“They’ve obviously put restrictions on the trampolining effect on the driver but people are hitting the ball incredibly far, the young folks. 

“It’s a fascinating part of the game, so it’s a difficult decision and I do get it, because people come out and watch Bryson DeChambeau, right? Because he is the longest guy on tour right now, or one of the longest, and it’s fascinating to watch.

“People came out to watch John Daly because he could hit it really far and if you take that away, then you make the game maybe less attractive.”

Then again, tees can be moved up and depending on the execution of any regulation, a case could be made for real long hitters standing out more, getting a greater advantage for their skill and the thrills of players driving a green or going for a par-5 in two offsetting whatever would be lost in altering today’s version of golf.

“But at the same time, you’re making some golf courses obsolete in terms of the distances that they’re hitting it and golf becomes a little more expensive because you used to have 7,000 yards of golf, now you need 8,000 yards. 

“You need an extra 1,000 yards, more or less that you need to take care of, maintain, rent, buy or whatever you want to call it, water it. It’s just more expensive to do an extra 1,000 yards than not, it’s just common sense.”

Yes it is.

The Quadrilateral: Major(s) News And Notes, July 22, 2021

This week’s major notes open to all analyze NBC’s ratings (and tiny streaming numbers), the Ryder Cup teams if the matches were this week, and fresh photos of Augusta’s summer work.

You know the drill by now: the Quadrilateral is free at least once a week, but to ensure you get all editions, access to past issues and the chance to opine on a dignified message board, you can upgrade without ever facing a membership committee.

Oy: Golf Digest Releases Woods Instruction Series Filmed The Day Before His Single-Car Accident

There are just some pieces of “content” buried in a vault for good reason. You know, because it’s just a little too tough to watch knowing the extended circumstances.

Apparently that status was not given to A Round With Tiger, the “celebrity playing lessons” he was en route to just before crashing and suffering possible career-ending injuries. That was 149 days ago.

Not only is the turnaround time jarringly fast, the whole thing is a cruel reminder we may never see Tiger Woods play golf again because he was in a hurry to a GolfDigest.com “content” shoot. I know they’re paying him a lot and spent a lot on the production to get these A(ish)-listers down to Palos Verdes, but is it really so much that Discovery wanted to potentially remind us they inadvertently were part of this dark chapter in Woods’ life?

Apparently so. Because in a press release they noted Tiger’s approval as if to say, we know this is slimy but hey, Tiger’s cool with it.

Today, Discovery’s Golf Digest debuts A Round with Tiger: Celebrity Playing Lessons, an exclusive four-episode series starring global sports icon Tiger Woods that unveils a different side of one of the greatest athletes to ever live. The Peter Berg-directed series shows a relaxed Tiger engaging with his celebrity friends and sharing their perspectives on life, fatherhood and golf.

The content was captured in February, the day before Tiger had his unfortunate car accident, from which he is still recovering. With this knowledge, the deep and poignant conversations will undoubtedly resonate even more strongly with viewers.

Or creep them out.

The series is being released with the blessing of Tiger and his guests. Discovery and Golf Digest thank everyone for their involvement and wish Tiger a continued speedy recovery.

Well at least he didn’t issue a quote written by Steiny’s best summer intern. Wait, what?

“Shooting this series was some of the most fun I’ve ever had filming on the golf course,” said Woods.

Right.

“Each guest brought a unique perspective on life, both professionally and personally. I’m always inspired by others who are considered the best at what they do and learning about how they made it to the top.

Now that is some serious, Grade A, First Team, All-American BS.

“I was pleasantly surprised by Jada and David’s golf games, and Dwyane, who just picked up the game, made a lot of progress in the time we spent together. Each episode provides something that everyone can enjoy and learn from, so I’m happy to share these lessons and conversations with the world.

…“It is always a privilege for our team to work with Tiger and we’re excited to have these special guests come together to create this unique series, which so perfectly blends golf and life,” said Chris Reynolds, General Manager, Golf Digest.

Well it certainly blended in real life, just not the kind anyone wants to think about.

“The teams at Discovery and Golf Digest have built such a close relationship with Tiger over the years,

So, so, soooooooo close! Like that time Steiny threatened to…oh this is not the time.

and this resulted in some of the most enlightening, engaging content we’ve ever shot. We thank Tiger for allowing us to move forward in producing this series even after his accident and wish him a continued speedy recovery.” 

Good. Grief. What an embarrassment.

Even the website description is horrifying:

Tiger Woods invites a group of celebrity guests for one-on-one playing lessons at Rolling Hills CC outside Los Angeles—and you, the viewer, are along for the ride.

I’d stay away from driving references for like, a thousand years.

The conversations between Tiger and his guests are funny and enlightening, heartfelt and inspiring, and cover the gamut from golf tips and life-on-Tour secrets to child rearing and favorite foods. Directed by famed Hollywood director Peter Berg (who appears frequently throughout),

Famed!

this program shows a relaxed, intimate side of Tiger as he spends time with some of his favorite actors and athletes in a place they all love: the golf course.

More like, as he fulfills an obligation in his lucrative deal. And now you, too, can watch this macabre reminder of what happened the next day.

Actually, I’d much rather watch Tiger Woods play golf again. This “content” is not the next best thing.

Golf Saudi Lands Kokrak Who Vows To Tell His Fans "About the many marvels that Saudi Arabia has to offer”

Having first landed Gary Player it’s taken the Kingdom awhile, but Golf Saudi finally got their first non-octogenarian tour staff member in Jason Kokrak.

The endorsement was announced during Open Championship week because when you have news that big, it’s bound to leak. Must get out in front of these big reveals!

For Immediate Laughter:

JASON KOKRAK LATEST HIGH PROFILE NAME TO JOIN GOLF SAUDI AS AN AMBASSADOR AHEAD OF THE 2021 OPEN 

Two-time PGA TOUR winner and rising star joins Golf Saudi as the organisation’s second new international ambassador of 2021

14 July, 2021, The Royal St George's Golf Club, Kent, UK: Two-time PGA TOUR winner and world #24, Jason Kokrak, is the second international ambassador to join Golf Saudi in 2021, following on from icon of the game Gary Player in April.

And what a get that was. We know how discerning he is these days.

One of the in-form players of the last twelve months, American Jason Kokrak will support Golf Saudi in its journey to bring the great game of golf to new audiences both globally and within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

It’s a journey.

News of Kokrak’s ambassadorship was announced 24 hours before he was due to tee-off at the 149th Open at Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich, England. The Open is one of the oldest golf tournaments in the world, and one of the most esteemed on the annual tour calendar. This year’s Open in Kent was originally scheduled to take place in 2020, however was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As part of his new role with Golf Saudi, Kokrak will look to share his own insights on how golf can reach new audiences and ensure its future development. Kokrak has been positive in his support of Golf Saudi’s plans to date and at the start of 2021 he played in his first Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers, where he made the cut, scoring a respectable three under through four rounds and finishing T41. 

Presentable!

“It was fantastic to come over as a guest of Golf Saudi earlier this year and compete in my first-ever Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers. During my visit I was lucky enough to see the work that is being done to draw more people to our sport, particularly young boys and girls,” commented Jason Kokrak, who won his first two PGA TOUR titles in the past nine months.

The children are our future.

“Golf Saudi is doing amazing things for the game whether it’s through their Mass Participation programs to drive youth engagement or their efforts to ensure environmental sustainability is taken seriously within the sport. So for me it’s a real honor to be named as Golf Saudi’s newest ambassador and to work alongside one of the most forward thinking entities within golf currently.

When I think forward to who is forward-thinking, the Saudis do not typically come to mind.

“I’d like to share my own insights with them and do my part in terms of growing golf within the Kingdom, while also telling my own fans about the many marvels that Saudi Arabia has to offer.”

His fans are chomping at the bit.

The 2020/2021 season has seen Kokrak perform consistently well on both the PGA and European Tours, with victories coming in quick succession. The first being at Shadow Creek. one of the more exclusive courses in Las Vegas for the CJ Cup, where a two-stroke margin was enough to see off Xander Schauffele. This rich vein of form continued in 2021, where he managed to overcome crowd favourite Jordan Spieth and scoop his second tour victory in just 17 starts. Kokrak’s victory again by two shots, saw him rocket up the world rankings to a career high of 22nd and put him in serious contention for the U.S. Ryder Cup team. 

Uh, no.

Majed Al-Sorour, CEO of Golf Saudi, said: “Watching Jason star in this year’s Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers, it was clear his form was going from strength-to-strength. This is a player who has won at the big tournaments and has also featured in the Masters twice, appeared in eight PGA championships and five US Opens. This is no mean feat and at Golf Saudi we think his winning journey is just getting started and as such we feel this is the right time to develop a strong mutual working partnership, learn from his winning mentality and leverage that to support our ongoing development in terms of growing the game of golf in Saudi Arabia.”

Leveraging you some Kokrak to grow the game! Boom!

Bandon Dunes, USGA Form Long-Term Agreement: '29 Walker Cup, Men's And Women's Amateurs In Same Year

What a great thing for amateur golf (or whatever we’ll call it as members of Team TaylormadeFilaSxrionCallaway and TeamAcushnetFJUnionGreen descend on Bandon Dunes in 2045).

Most exciting besides the 2029 Walker Cup and the 2038 Curtis Cup in which most of the contestants were just born, are the men’s and women’s amateurs going there in 2032 and 2041. It’ll be interesting to see how those are structured—they have time!—but it’d be neat to have the stroke play starting for one as the other is wrapping up (check out dates are non-negotiable for all but the finalists!).

The full USGA release on a substantial commitment to the resort over the next 24 years but starting almost immediately:

Bandon Dunes Golf Resort to Host 13 USGA Championships 

Long-term relationship kicks off with 2022 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship 

LIBERTY CORNER, N.J. (July 20, 2021) – The USGA and Bandon Dunes Golf Resort today announced an agreement that will bring 13 USGA amateur championships to the resort over 23 years. The relationship will begin with the 74th U.S. Junior Amateur in 2022 and run through the 2045 U.S. Junior Amateur and U.S. Girls’ Junior Championships, with eight different championships being played at the resort, including the U.S. Amateur, U.S. Women’s Amateur, the Walker Cup Match and the Curtis Cup Match.

The 2022 U.S. Junior Amateur will be conducted from July 25-30, with Bandon Dunes serving as the host course for both stroke play and match play, and Bandon Trails serving as the second stroke-play course. Dates and courses for the other championships will be announced in the future. 

The resort will host both the U.S. Women’s Amateur and U.S. Amateur in 2032 and again in 2041, marking the first time those two original USGA championships will be contested on the same site in the same calendar year. The resort will also host the U.S. Junior Amateur and U.S. Girls’ Junior in 2045, which will mark the fourth time those championships will be conducted at the same facility in the same year. The agreement also includes the 2029 Walker Cup Match and the 2038 Curtis Cup Match. 

“With five championship-caliber courses and incredible support from the resort’s ownership, Bandon Dunes is the perfect location for these USGA championships,” said John Bodenhamer, USGA senior managing director of Championships. “Mike Keiser has been an incredible advocate for amateur golf and his ongoing support for the USGA and our mission served as the vision for this partnership. We are excited to work together for years to come.”

The 2022 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship will be the first U.S. Junior Amateur and eighth USGA championship hosted by the resort, making Bandon Dunes the first site to host eight different USGA championships. It will be the 39th USGA championship held in Oregon. 

Bandon Dunes Golf Resort previously hosted the 2006 Curtis Cup Match (Pacific Dunes), the 2007 U.S. Mid-Amateur (Bandon Dunes), the 2011 U.S. Amateur Public Links and U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links (Old Macdonald and Bandon Trails), the 2015 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball (Pacific Dunes), 2019 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball (Old Macdonald and Pacific Dunes), and the 2020 U.S. Amateur (Bandon Dunes and Bandon Trails). 

“I love amateur golf. What the USGA does for amateur golf and to grow the game is exceptional. I built Bandon Dunes for all amateurs to enjoy the great experiences and spirited competition that golf provides, and we are thrilled to be hosting the USGA’s signature amateur championships for years to come,” said Mike Keiser, the owner of Bandon Dunes Golf Resort. “We are particularly grateful to Mike Davis, who has been an advocate for Bandon Dunes since the resort’s earliest days. Amateur golf will always have a place at Bandon Dunes, and this commitment from the USGA is significant. We welcome all the great championships that the USGA will bring to the resort as Bandon Dunes is the home of amateur golf.”

The 73rd U.S. Junior Amateur Championship is being played this week at the Country Club of North Carolina in the Village of Pinehurst, N.C. 

Future USGA Championships at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort:

2022     U.S. Junior Amateur

2025     U.S. Women’s Amateur

2029     Walker Cup Match

2032     U.S. Amateur and U.S. Women’s Amateur

2035     U.S. Girls’ Junior

2037     U.S. Amateur Four-Ball and U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball

2038     Curtis Cup Match

2041     U.S. Amateur and U.S. Women’s Amateur

2045     U.S. Junior Amateur and U.S. Girls’ Junior

Olympic Golf Fever Is...Not There Yet

Axios survey

Take that, sport climbing! And water polo!

As the Tokyo games teeter on the verge of a superspreader event, they feel more like a money grab than ever. So it’s a challenge to focus on the incredible athletes and their quests.

In the case of golf, Americans seem to have only scant interest in the WGC Kasumigaseki according to an Axios/Morning Study survey of fans. Thanks to reader John for highlighting Jeff Tracy’s write up of the results which has Golf trailing almost everything in terms of fan interest.

As for the golfers, Collin Morikawa and Bryson DeChambeau reiterated their passion for representing Team USA next week, while Rory McIlroy is sounding increasingly annoyed he said yes. From Carl Markham’s Independent report:

"I am looking forward to getting another week's golf in and trying to get my game in shape. There's not much else to do there - so with 12 hours at the golf course hopefully I get my game into better shape.”

Boom! Kind of a long way to go to practice. But then he put on his Vice Commissioner’s hat.

"I'm not a very patriotic guy, I'm doing it because I think it is the right thing to do.”

Go Team Ireland! The visual version of these comments backed up what appeared in print.

Meanwhile the International Golf Federation charged with shaping golf’s inclusion in the Games is sending President Annika Sorenstam to the U.S. Senior Women’s Open. Growing the game!

2021 Open: Champions, Cutmakers And (Point) Missers

For my devoted Quad subscribers, the best, worst and somewhere-in-between from the 2021 Open Championship. It was a fun week at Royal St George’s and there will be more to dissect so make sure to sign up.

The Best Players In 2021's Majors By Score And World Ranking Points

Thanks to Collin MacGillivray for reminding me of the Royal Selangor Trophy he conceived up and which is given to the player who performed best in the majors.

Jon Rahm held off Louis Oosthuizen, Jordan Spieth and Colin Morikawa with a winning score of -24 to Oosthuizen’s -19, Spieth’s -16 and Morikawa’s -15.

Other players who made all four cuts but did not threaten for the grand prize:

Xander Schauffele
Paul Casey
Scottie Scheffler
Harris English
Robert MacIntyre
Ian Poulter
Stewart Cink
Christiaan Bezuidenhout
Joaquin Niemann
Bryson DeChambeau
Shane Lowry
Matt Fitzpatrick

There is also the world ranking points approach that loops in players who missed the cut:

All the 2021 Majors are in the books and these are the top #OWGR point earners in Majors this year.@JonRahmpga clearly in the lead as he is the only player with 4 top ten finishes!@TheMasters @PGAChampionship @usopengolf @TheOpen pic.twitter.com/O1oeCEy9AF

— Nosferatu (@VC606) July 19, 2021

Maiden Voyage: Collin Morikawa Wins The Open

A Quadrilateral roundup for all who subscribe, free or otherwise.

Lots more to come but for now a look at the best ledes, stats, quotable, TV notes and Tweets on Collin Morikawa’s Open Championship win.

And had you signed up for free, this one would already have arrived in your inbox.

2021 Open: The Quadrilateral's Third Round Wrap

After years of living quietly on the hole location edge, the R&A was called out by leader Louis Oosthuizen for pin placements Saturday. I give a little of this brewing backstory, plus some course stats, Sunday odds, quotes, heat warnings, TV notes, reads, Tweets and Trump's Turnberry statement.

All of these perks, minus a food and beverage minimum, in the latest paid subscriber-only edition of The Quadrilateral.