Quadrilateral: Restored Southern Hills Gets Its National Unveiling
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I was enjoying the battle of the BRos to finish off the almost-complete weekly notes edition.
When you come to think of it that is the secret of most of the great holes all over the world. They all have some kind of a twist. C.B. MACDONALD
Bryson Transitions To Gentle Troll Mode In Battle Of The Bros, But Tom Brady Wins The Day
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Not only did Bryson DeChambeau jump on one of Brooks Koepka’s efforts at light ribbing, but so did PGA Champion Phil Mickelson.
For those tracking the Player Impact Program race instead of the Comcast Business Solutions No One Will Play The Wyndham Regardless chase, that’s 98.2k likes for Brooks, 24.5k for Bryson and 48.6k for Phil. We’ll let the algo comprised of Meltwater Mentions x MVP Index x Google Searches x Tuesday’s temperature in Ponte Vedra decides who wins.
But Bryson also made a quiet Instagram story play WITH Photoshopping (bonus points!), as caught here by No Laying Up:
This all came on a day when Tom Brady joined in the fun to promote The Match with some epic meme trolling of Aaron Rodgers and a funny, maybe a tad edgy reply by Bryson.
Glorious!
Except in the State-guided media world.
As I noted in an earlier post, NBC/Golf Channel is “investigating” the origins of the video. And while the episode is a little embarrassing in various ways for Koepka and the network’s leadership, it amounts to a very small deal in the grand scheme and hopefully will not lead to a low paid, overworked employee losing their job.
Given the incredible number of times the clip was watched before getting taken down—as many saw it as tuned in for the final round of the PGA—you’d think media operations constantly searching for “engagement” and “impressions” with a young, hip, male audience would be reporting the above fun that does possibly have ramifications for the Ryder Cup.
The efforts to run from such good fodder suggest this is a grave matter at the Global Home and their internal “listening” reports are being drawn up to analyze the reactions. (GolfChannel.com and PGATour.com have touched no part of the social fodder while GolfDigest.com has buried an item on it where stories go to die, also known as The Loop…yes it still exists.)
So I guess the attempts at make this gaffe go away tells us not to expect an update on the Player Impact Program ramifications. Darn.
"Brooks Koepka's obvious dislike of Bryson DeChambeau is so great for golf"
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That’s the question Andy Nesbit poses at For The Win and while I’m not sure I share his enthusiasm, we know the bro-buddy-backstopping-backslapping ways of pro golf are not as fun as an edgy rivalry.
Regarding the mostly vanquished-from-the-web aborted first take of Koepka showing disdain for DeChambeau, Nesbit writes:
This feud and that hatred is so great for golf.
Koepka and DeChambeau or two of the best golfers in the world and a personal rivalry like this can only make things more interesting when they find themselves battling down the stretch of a tournament, which could happen any week the two are in the field.
The PGA Tour can be a very vanilla place where lots of guys are happy for a top 20 finish and the six- to seven-figure payout that comes with that. There are lots of smiles, waves to the crowd after a nice shot or a big putt, and aw shucks reactions to big moments.
What the Tour lacks is any real disdain felt between some players that leads to some epic Sunday showdowns and cause casual fans to sit down and tune in.
As for outrage over the Live From interview getting taken down by NBC on various platforms, you can’t blame the network. After all, the clip never aired and is a poor reflection on an operation demoralized by labor and budget cuts. So it’s perfectly logical they would want it removed and not ever making the Golf Today rundown.
The channel replied to my request for comment about how the clip got out: a spokesperson said the channel is “investigating” how the tape was leaked.
The Match Goes To Big Sky, Montana With Mickelson, DeChambeau, Brady And Rodgers
/Set for July 6th, they’re taking The Match to a place called The Reserve at Moonlight Basin where they have a 777-yard par-5 and property to move.
And by then Aaron Rodgers might even know where he’s playing next year! If not, well that’ll be awkward.
For Immediate Release:
Turner Sports to Exclusively Present Capital One’s The Match Featuring
Phil Mickelson & Tom Brady vs. Bryson DeChambeau & Aaron Rodgers
TNT to Televise Premier Live Golf Event – Tuesday, July 6 – from The Reserve at Moonlight Basin, the Breathtaking Jack Nicklaus Signature Course in Big Sky, Montana
Turner Sports will present the next edition of Capital One’s The Match, the Sports Emmy-nominated premier live golf event series, which will feature World Golf Hall of Famer Phil Mickelson – following his historic 2021 PGA Championship win – and seven-time Super Bowl Champion Tom Brady teeing off against 2020 U.S. Open Champion Bryson DeChambeau and reigning NFL league MVP Aaron Rodgers.
TNT will exclusively televise the event, to be held Tuesday, July 6, with live coverage beginning at 5 p.m. ET from picturesque Moonlight Basin in Big Sky, Montana. In addition to live televised coverage, interactive social and digital content will be available on Bleacher Report and House of Highlights leading up to and during the event.
With a focus on the importance of supporting community, Capital One’s The Match will include donations made to Feeding America, among additional charitable beneficiaries.
Live event coverage airing on TNT will once again feature unprecedented access with all players having open mics throughout the entire competition, including the capability to communicate directly with other golfers and the broadcast commentators. More information on the live production, including the commentator team, will be shared leading up to the event.
The competition format will be modified alternate shot match play with six-time Major Champion Mickelson reuniting with seven-time Super Bowl Champion and three-time NFL MVP Brady against first-time participants in DeChambeau, the PGA TOUR’s current FedEx Cup leader, and Rodgers, a three-time NFL MVP and Super Bowl Champion.
Mickelson, a two-time winner of The Match, paired with Brady for last May’s Capital One’s The Match: Champions for Charity event. Most recently, Mickelson teamed with Charles Barkley to pull off one of golf’s biggest upsets, besting Stephen Curry and Peyton Manning in Capital One’s The Match: Champions for Change in November.
A Jack Nicklaus signature course, The Reserve at Moonlight Basin is set on the northwest side of Montana’s iconic Lone Park and is considered one of the most breathtaking settings in golf. The Reserve’s 8,000-yard private course – with a 7,500-foot elevation – is surrounded by some of the most picturesque scenery in Montana, and at the centerpiece is a 777-yard, Par 5, 17th hole.
The media agreement with WarnerMedia and Turner Sports was completed in partnership with global sports business agency SPORTFIVE, which represents Mickelson and is the tournament co-organizer with Excel Sports Management. Live event coverage will be produced by Turner Sports, in partnership with 199 Productions, Brady’s global multi-platform content and production company.
Turner Sports is proud to continue its partnership with Capital One as the title sponsor of Capital One’s The Match, which is a sanctioned PGA TOUR event. Capital One will collaborate on a number of social, digital and broadcast integrations leading up to and during the live event. To learn more about the company and its commitments to change banking for good, visit https://www.capitalone.com/about/our-commitments/.
Autotrader will be the presenting sponsor of Capital One’s The Match’s pre-show coverage. Progressive Insurance will return as a presenting sponsor, and DraftKings is back as content integration partner for Capital One’s The Match. Additional partners will be shared prior to the event.
Ryder Cup: Phil Won't Be Driving A Cart This Year; What To Do With Brooks And Bryson?
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GolfDigest.com’s Brian Wacker talked to 2021 Ryder Cup vice driver Davis Love about Phil Mickelson’s win and what it means for this year’s matches
From the sound of Love’s comments, Mickelson’s historic win—which would have exempted him to the team not that long ago—came just in time.
“We were going to talk to [Mickelson] about what he wanted to do,” Love said Monday afternoon at Belmont Golf Course where he was on hand for the reopening of the A.W. Tillinghast course and site of the 1949 PGA that he helped redesign. “I’m glad we didn’t do that.”
Hey buried lede there! More on Belmont another day. We have Ryder Cup drama to deal with.
Sure sounds like they have the keys to a cart with Phil’s name on it ready. Not now.
“The first thing I did [Monday] morning was look to see what number he was [in the standings],” Love said. “And he’ll [continue to] get more points.”
Captain Stricker is working with a record six picks this year.
Two players currently not needing a pick? Why it’s Brookson!
Bryson DeChambeau is currently second in Ryder Cup points while his buddy Brooks Koepka is sixth, but almost assured a Captain’s pick if he’s healthy. And while the PIP ramifications of their unusual bond was sealed with the leaked Golf Channel tape, the captain’s are going to need all of their powers to prevent those two from a table tennis room tussle.
Needless to say, they will not be in the same pod.
PIP Move: Bryson Responds (In An Instagram Comment!?)
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I’ll just say it: this PIP race is way more exciting than the FedExCup.
Though I must question Bryson DeChambeau’s use of a comment section at the expense of some key Meltwater mentions. Hogan would never have made such a PIP mistake.
8.9 million views and growing. Major Google search points accumulating for Brooks!
2021 PGA: Final Round Averages 6.5 Million, Peaks At 13 Million
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Good news for the PGA: the final round rating on CBS drew something in the neighborhood of the thrilling 2018 finish featuring Tiger Woods.
Bad news? competition from the NBA and a Lebron-led Lakers, graduation season, etc…probably ate into the numbers and is a reminder that the PGA’s August date featured no major sports competition.
Austin Karp notes that the 3.9 rating was the fourth-best Sunday audience over the last decade.
Quadrilateral: 2021 PGA Winners & Losers Plus Media Coverage Wrap-Up
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Two more Quadrilaterals went out to paying subscribers, my version of Winners and Losers and a wrap-up of the best and least satisfying elements of PGA coverage.
Included in the latter are plenty of CBS and ESPN notes, plus comments from CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus on the commercial load and the wild scene at 18.
I’m really enjoying the format and invading your inboxes. Sign up options here.
LPGA Announces New Commish: Princeton AD Mollie Marcoux Samaan
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Joel Beall with this at GolfDigest.com about the LPGA’s new leader:
Marcoux Samaan comes to the LPGA from Princeton University, where she served as its athletic director. She was a two-sport athlete at Princeton in soccer and hockey, earning All-Ivy League honors four times and won the C. Otto von Kienbusch Award, the top senior female student-athlete award at Princeton which recognizes “high scholastic rank, sportsmanship and general excellence in athletics.” She graduated cum laude in 1991.
Her predecessor is excited:
Samaan appeared on Golf Today and made a good impression:
Bryson Walks By Brooks: Viral Smash For The PIP Era!
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Frankly, the Player Impact Program ramifications are just too complex. At least I think. Since that was meant to be a secret rewards program we just do not know what the algorithms will say about this Todd Lewis interview of Brooks Koepka where all Bryson DeChambeau had to do was walk by to elicit genuine pain, agony and swearing.
The key line from Brooks for the historical record: “Sometimes, uh I lost my train of thought, hearing that bull!@#$t…&*^%ing Christ.” Or words to that effect.
The tape obviously was left on the Live From The PGA cutting room floor, so I’ve reached out to NBC Sports for an explanation as to how it made it’s way to a Twitter account and very quickly, legendary PIP virality (2.5 million views not more than 120 minutes after getting posted). I’ll share an update on how the tape got out when I hear back from Golf Channel’s parent company.
A YouTube edition that gives the PVB Police another takedown to deal with:
PGA Of America Apologizes To Brooks And Phil Over Kiawah Security Breakdown
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The PGA of America has condemned the excess of fans who poured onto the 18th hole in obvious jubilation over witnessing history. And of course I’m sure they were all fully vaccinated.
But the PGA has yet to address what it plans to do about the security and crowd control breakdown at Kiawah.
With a Ryder Cup coming and no apparent desire to limit adult beverage sales, barricades may be in order. Also yet another review of the alcohol policy might be in order.
There was also this as noted by ESPN.com’s Bob Harig:
The tournament originally announced that attendance would be capped at 10,000 spectators per day due to COVID-19 protocols. But with restrictions being loosened across the country and in South Carolina, the crowds were considerably larger throughout the event. There were thousands of people lining both sides of the fairway at the 18th on Sunday.
The late Monday statement from CEO Seth Waugh lacking any vow to make improvements for future events:
Here is what Brooks Koepka said about the scene:
Q. What was that scene like on 18 and was anything today reminiscent of the 2019 Masters when you were right there, also, T-2 behind Tiger's win? The energy seemed very similar.
BROOKS KOEPKA: I never thought of it that way but I think so. Yeah it would have been cool if I didn't have a knee injury and got dinged a few times in the knee in that crowd because no one really gave a s---, personally. But if I was fine, yeah, it would have been cool. Yeah, it's cool for Phil. But getting dinged a few times isn't exactly my idea of fun.
Q. What is going through your mind as you're walking up 18 with all that commotion around you? You're incredibly focused but what's going through your mind in that moment?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Trying to protect my knee. I don't think anybody really understands until you actually you're coming out of surgery how -- I mean, even when I was doing rehab and there's five people kind of standing by your knee, you get a little skittish. Like I don't mind waiting or being in that crowd but getting my -- I don't know, it felt like somebody tried to, I don't know what the deal was, but it's what it is. Be putting it nice today. It feels like s--- right now.
Quadrilateral: A Win For The Aged
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Phil Mickelson, 2021 PGA Champion (PGA of America/Instagram)
This one is for all to read so enjoy it and sign up so it comes to your inbox. Free!
Your Thoughts: Phil Mickelson Wins The 2021 PGA
/While I’m busy collecting thoughts, notes, quotes, anecdotes and much more from Phil Mickelson’s 2021 PGA win, I’d love to hear your thoughts on the day.
I tried to come up with a clever poll question but there really isn’t one. Just a special week, incredible win and one we won’t stop talking about for a long time.
Quadrilateral: Mickelson Tries To Become Golf's Oldest Major Winner
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Phil Mickelson Saturday at 16 (PGA Championship Instagram)
A stellar Saturday sets us up for a doozy Sunday at Kiawah.
Phil Mickelson leads by one over Brooks Koepka and looks to become the oldest male major champion.
