Turkey: Pepperell Does His Best Roy McAvoy Impersonation, Positions Himself Ably For Next European Tour Social Stunt

Just days after raving about player hospitality and it’s chef, Eddie Pepperell took himself out of the Turkish Airlines Open by doing his best Roy McAvoy impersonation at the fourth hole. After depositing at least four balls into a lake, Pepperell told playing partner Martin Kaymer he was done. It doesn’t sound like Kaymer entirely bought in.

From an unbylined BBC report:

He had several more attempts, losing "four or five balls" according to Martin Kaymer, who said the incident was like a scene from the film Tin Cup.

"I have never seen anything like that before," said Kaymer.

"I only watched it on television, in 'Tin Cup'. This is the first time I have seen it live."

Recently emerging as the European Tour’s top acting talent in their social media videos, Pepperell has positioned himself to headline a new campaign on only carrying a couple of sleeves of balls. Lucky us!

MPCC Has Another Four Years In The AT&T Rota, Move To Dunes Still On Hold

The PGA Tour’s most closely watched rota will continue to include Monterey Peninsula Country Club, as Ron Kroichick reports in the San Francisco Chronicle. However, the wonderful Jackson-Kahn redo of the Dunes, expected to join the rota at some point over the accompanying Shore course, remains on hold in year one of a four-year extension.

From Kroichick’s report:

The extension with MPCC runs through 2024. The club’s previous deal was set to expire next year, after the upcoming Pro-Am.

Monterey Peninsula’s Shore Course joined Pebble Beach and Spyglass Hill in the Pro-Am rotation in 2010. MPCC’s renovated Dunes Course might alternate with the Shore as an AT&T venue, though the Shore will be used for next year’s event, Feb. 6-9.

Lucy Li (17) Turns Pro, Not LPGA Eligible Until 2021

Despite a final round 77, mere Symetra Tour status in 2020 and no LPGA eligibility until she turns 18 in 2021, the youngest player to ever qualify for the U.S. Women’s Open has chosen to turn pro.

Ron Kroichick of the San Francisco Chronicle reports on Lucy Li, the once-famous amateur who had a run-in with her status after filming an Apple Watch ad. But she’s already planning a foundation:

Li dropped not-so-subtle hints last month about her plans to turn pro, saying she would start a foundation to give part of her future earnings to establish a foundation “giving back to junior golf.”

Li maintained her amateur status in February, despite violating USGA rules by participating in an Apple Watch advertising campaign. The organization determined she breached Rule 6-2, but the amateur status committee decided to issue a one-time warning rather than strip Li of her amateur standing.

One refreshing component to this move from amateur golf to the professional level: Li went to the LPGA’s Q-Series, played, missed, and didn’t engage in a high profile rollout for her inevitable sponsors.

Captain America Is (Already!?) Back: Patrick Reed Gets A Presidents Cup Pick A Year After Ryder Cup Debacle

A year removed from questioning his Ryder Cup pairing with Tiger Woods and generally stinking up the joint in Paris, Patrick Reed gets one of four picks for the 2019 Presidents Cup.

There they are, the four selected: Tony Finau, Patrick Reed, Gary Woodland and Tiger Woods.

Steve DiMeglio on Tiger choosing himself.

PGA CEO: “Over the last 25 years, we’ve done a lot to try to kill golf."

A strange but accurate quote from PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh at the PGA Frisco groundbreaking regarding how the game has evolved.

From Art Stricklin’s report on the groundbreaking of the Silicon Valley of golf:

“This project is to benefit the 29,000 (members), it’s certainly not for me,” Waugh said.

“Over the last 25 years, we’ve done a lot of try to kill golf. We’ve made it too hard, too expensive and taking too long. The one thing we haven’t done is make it too fun. This project is a chance to push back on that.”

The organization has already announced 23 national championships at the site which is scheduled to open for play in early 2022 and include PGA Championships in 2027 and 2034 and likely a Ryder Cup after that.

“We feel this will be the modern home of American golf,” Crall said at the groundbreaking.

Therefore the operative word with Frisco’s 36 holes will be fun.

Reverse Old Course Gets Two Days In November 2019

Great news for the lucky souls in St. Andrews who have an open mind and an appreciation for golf history, as the Old Course will be set up in the reverse fashion once the original routing and later employed by Old Tom Morris to spread wear-and-tear. Annually, the routing is played in April.

Here is Jeremy Glenn’s deep dive on the setup and reverse routing.

From Graylyn Loomis on Twitter:

For the first time in years the St Andrews Links is allowing golfers to play the Old Course in reverse for two days late this month. Who has always wanted to play the Old backwards? pic.twitter.com/r3oDAHDNAC

— Graylyn Loomis (@grayloomis) November 6, 2019

R.I.P. Terry Galvin, Former Golf World Editor

Longtime readers will know that Golf World took a sizeable leap during the Terry Galvin years from 1989-2000, so it is with sadness that Bill Fields reports on and remembers the life of the longtime journalist.

From his GolfWorld.com story:

He was Golf World’s editor from 1989 until 2000, coming to the sport’s trusted, longtime bible after nearly three decades running sports departments at newspapers around the United States. Galvin left a position as sports editor at the Milwaukee Journal to edit Golf World. Earlier stops had been in San Jose, Akron, Miami and, long ago in his hometown, Oshkosh, Wis., where he attended the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

Galvin’s experience, along with a lifelong passion for golf, made him an ideal fit for Golf World, which had been purchased in 1988 by The New York Times Company, then the owner of Golf Digest.

“When Golf Digest bought Golf World, our editorial team was filled with monthly magazine types,” said Jerry Tarde, Golf Digest editor-in-chief. “We needed a fast dose of news editors—writers and a desk staff who could turn around stories overnight. Terry Galvin was the ultimate news editor and sportswriter. He knew golf, knew everybody and hired good people. We’re still benefiting from the talent he attracted.”

Els Makes His Captain's Picks, Does The Best With What He's Got To Work With

The race to make Ernie Els’ International squad didn’t exactly yield any thrilling breakout performances this fall, making Captain Els’ job of filling out the team a tough task. But thanks to some fall play from Joaquin Niemann and Adam Hadwin, the 2019 Presidents Cup team was filled out with two formful types who should fit Royal Melbourne well.

This is not to diminish Jason Day’s win in the MGM Resorts The Challenge: Japan Skins.

Not surprisingly, Day and Sungjae Im got the other two nods on earlier play and career credibility, as Adam Schupak reports for Golfweek.

Hadwin was the longest shot picked but a great one given his game, style and the venue.

Canadian Adam Hadwin, 32, competed on the 2017 International Team at Liberty National (0-2-1). He ranked 18th in the standings, but made a late charge racking up top-5 finishes at the Safeway Open (2nd) and Shriners Hospitals for Children Open (T-4) in September.

“I’m happy that it was a good phone call for me,” he said. “Having been on the team once before and experienced it and gone through what we went through in New York and Ernie being there as well, I’m that much more familiar with everything going on and that much more prepared.”

Video: Memorial Park Re-Opens, Jackie Burke Hits The Opening Tee Shot

Hard to tell what’s better, seeing an important muni revitalized in a major American city, or seeing the great Jackie Burke, former Masters champion, opening the course.

The Houston Business Journal’s Olivia Pusinelli with the full story of the $18.5 million renovation.

Thanks to the renovations, the Houston Open will move to the Memorial Park Golf Course in October 2020. Previously, it had been held at the Golf Club of Houston in Humble since 2003. Additionally, starting with the 2019 event, the Houston Open has moved to the fall after being held in the spring, shortly before the Masters Tournament, for years.

Thanks to reader Tom for these two videos put out by the Astros Golf Foundation to commemorate the reopening. Note one of co-architect Brooks Koepka’s primary request: reasonable length par-3s based on fatigue of playing too many long ones week-toweek in professional golf.

J. Burke Houston Open 2019 - v.5 from Andrea Andrus on Vimeo.

Tiger's 82nd Win As An Excuse To Fine-Tune The PGA Tour Record Book

I’ve been uncomfortable with the belittling of Sam Snead’s 82 wins, because while the record books do credit him with some odd wins, he’s also had many chipped away from his career mark since tied by Tiger Woods.

The bashing also ignores that the war years stripped Snead of opportunities to win at the peak of his powers.

But, that said, MorningRead.com’s Gary Van Sickle penned an interesting look at the various issues Snead had with his record, the changes in his victory total over the years and other PGA Tour marks that are worth examining. Or maybe re-examining. This one was interesting:

The main one worth mentioning is Byron Nelson’s streak of finishing in the money in 113 consecutive tournaments. It was broken by Tiger Woods, who extended his streak to 142 tournaments. Except, Johnson noted, from the 1939 PGA Championship through the 1950 Los Angeles Open, Ben Hogan was in the money 177 events in a row.

Did Hogan maybe miss a cut during that time and therefore not appear in the final tournament results, which happened occasionally? Did he have a missed cut that is unfindable because it didn’t appear in a newspaper box score? Possibly. The same can be said of Nelson’s record, which the Tour accepted on the basis of an Oklahoma golf statistician’s say-so. Neither proposed record is bulletproof.

Video: Morning Drive Tries To Solve Why Tiger Ignored Greg's Note

I’m so glad we did this exclusive extra recording after the show to discuss this complicated, but not complicated story of massive egos. That’s Damon Hack, Anna Whitely, Robert Damron and myself:

Rory: "He makes other guys try to do too much and they make mistakes and more often than not he’s the guy holding the trophy"

Dylan Dethier reports on Rory McIlroy’s SiriusXM radio appearance discussion, among other topics, the surprise factor in Tiger Woods winning the ZOZO Championship after slapping the ball around in Monday’s warm-up Skins Game.

Note the final remark in conversation with show host Brad Faxon:

“Obviously whatever he did, he got it together for a few days and that was some performance, to play that good on that golf course,” McIlroy said. “That was a pretty tough golf course, so to have that control of his ball like that, to shoot 19 under and win pretty easy in the end was awfully impressive.”

McIlroy cited the 2018 Tour Championship, Woods’ first victory in more than five years, as another occasion where Woods had blown him away with a combination of course management and game control.

“When he gets into contention, that’s what he does. He makes other guys try to do too much and they make mistakes and more often than not he’s the guy holding the trophy at the end of the day.”

Exclusive: What Greg Norman’s Unacknowledged Hand-Delivered Note Said To Tiger Woods

Thanks to exclusive recycle-bin scavengers in the greater Jupiter area, I’ve been able to piece together the post-Masters congratulatory note delivered to Tiger Woods by Greg Norman.

Norman admitted in Men’s Health that even after delivering to Woods’ security guard and identifying himself, Tiger has not thanked Norman for the thank you correspondence.

Forensic evidence suggests one of Woods’ staffers used the note to pick up defecation by the family pet, therefore handwriting experts are still working to confirm if the note was penned by Norman. However, several clinical psychiatrists can verify that it suggests the trademark signs of a note penned by a right-handed older male who wears copious amounts of sunscreen, may have once suffered a severe hand-injury trimming shrubs, and exhibits narcissistic tendencies.

Working through some of the pet stains, here is the best possible interpretation of the note:

Mate!

What a performance at the Masters! Congratulations from a fellow gym rat, living brand and member of the Major Club.

Look, I know we’ve had our moments and I’m ready to let bygones by bygones. Like, when I declared you’d never win another major, or when I said that I’d hate to see golf get lost again in that Tiger talk, or how ratings are up because you brought in new fans who really took to all of the young guys, or when you were looking intimidated by Rory, or that I defended Stevie Williams, or that I criticized The Match. All of that was fake news (well, except The Match part. That thing stunk!).

What isn’t fake is that my 285-foot yacht measuring 130 feet longer than yours with a fantastic wine cellar. Kirsten and I would love to have you and the lady friend over some time, maybe share some war stories about finishing off a win or where you see the equities market over the next five years. Guy-to-guy, man-to-man talk about how to be better than the guy you were yesterday.

Reach out any time. I know you have my mobile, or just DM me on Instagram, that’s where I spend most of my time these days,

Shark

PS: I’ve also got a golf cart that’s going to change the game and would love to take you on a spin around my property, which Zillow says it just a bit bigger than yours and way more valuable. Just saying, you have to see for yourself!

Sad: Christina Kim Protects The Field And Gets Villified

By now you’ve likely seen the story from LPGA Q-Series: Christina Kim witnessed playing partner Kendall Dye asking for the caddie of Dewi Weber what club was used on the par-3 17th, their 8th hole in the round. Kim first broached the subject with an official not long after, then the issue was fleshed out after the round, resulting in two-stroke penalties for Dye and Weber (because her caddie gave information, a violation of Rule 10-2).

Beth Ann Nichols with the full report here for Golfweek.

And here is my column for Golfweek on this being yet another strange story that you could chalk up to stunning ignorance of the rules, or the bizarre cultural elements that entitle players to believe they are should get the information, lie or good fortune they want.

The column was penned in part based on Kendall Dye’s assertion that this was a private matter but also part of life on the LPGA Tour (which means there are daily rules violations if so).

Kim retained her card, while Dye and Weber did not. She spent her day fending off charges of sensationalizing the situation by taking to Twitter, and from the oddball mob and LPGA sycophants who surface whenever a player suffers shame for bending or breaking the rules. Especially if they are American.

From Brian Wacker’s GolfDigest.com report:

“I was very surprised [they didn’t know the rule]. I don’t want to say I am disappointed in them as individuals, but I am disappointed in the fact that [the violation] was even a possibility, that people claim to have seen it thousands of times. What shocked me was their lack of knowledge of the rules. Does that suck? Royally. Is it excusable? Absolutely not.

On Morning Drive, the assertion by Dye that this behavior is a regular occurrence on the golf course seems utterly ridiculous, or utterly problematic for the LPGA if so. Adam Woodward with a round-up of that peculiar off-shoot debate in this saga.

SiriusXM’s Michael Breed had some interesting remarks on the trolls going after Christina Kim for doing her job as a playing partner. That she waited until after the round seems like a superfluous way of ignoring that a player believed she was entitled to ask others what club they hit to give aid in her decision-making.

.@TheChristinaKim called a rules violation on two of her playing partners at @LPGA Tour Q-School and has been getting attacked on social media.@MichaelBreed weighed in on the controversy. pic.twitter.com/GKKC4fjlWQ

— SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio (@SiriusXMPGATOUR) November 4, 2019

Lisa Cornwell and Karen Stupples, who each defended Dye’s actions on Twitter (here and here), discussed the incident on Golf Channel and in particular the “culture” of hand signals on the course signifying what clubs are hit, argue for a relaxing of the rule after this incident.

Mickelson: "I just haven't been mentally as sharp the last six, eight months."

As Phil Mickelson’s 26-year(!) streak inside the world top 50 came to an end last week, he reflected on his struggles of late and offered this candid assessment. From Will Gray at GolfChannel.com:

"I just haven't played well. Just had a lot of stuff going on, and I just haven't been really focused and into the mental side," Mickelson said. "I haven't seen good, clear pictures. I haven't been as committed and as connected to the target. I just haven't been mentally as sharp the last six, eight months."

For someone so eternally confident in his ability to concentrate, it’s a stark sign of how difficult the game is even for an all time great, but also a reminder just how long Mickelson has maintained the drive and focus necessary to compete.