Golf Inc's Most Powerful People In Golf Continues As A Peculiar Compilation Of Outdated Stock Photos

It’s hard to take any list seriously that includes David Pillsbury—in the No. 2 spot no less—but Golf Inc. has published their annual compilation of golf’s most powerful people. At least, powerful in terms of the golf development world, which would explain how Tiger Woods lands 7th and PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan slips to 4th behind company-killer and former PGA Tour exec Pillsbury as well as the Topgolf CEO.

I don’t know why you would want to invest much time in the least diverse list of lists—all male and only two who aren’t white guys—other than to see who has submitted the most awkward, outdated, airbrushed stock photo.

Stunner: Jason Day's Rotating Bagman Strategy Has Not Worked

He had a steady presence in Colin Swatton on the bag who remains his swing instructor, and while there have been more catastrophic caddie firings in golf, Jason Day’s replacement effort has fueled a decline in the former World No. 1’s game.

While Day did win twice in 2018, he has since struggled while having an array of loopers this year—four in his 21 starts—while also dealing with some nagging injuries. But as he explained in pre-Mayakoba Classic comments, the revolving caddie situation has been a problem. From Julie Williams’ Golfweek report:

“When you go through changes like that, trying to find the right makeup, the right chemistry, it takes some time,” Day said of his frequent caddie change-ups. “But I feel like with what I’m doing with David (Lutterus) out there, I think we’re slowly working on the communication and things are working and they’re coming around.”

Bevacqua Bullish On NBC/Golf Channel Retaining PGA Tour Rights: "I’m thinking about how we’re going to improve."

As we near the projected date of the next PGA Tour television rights deal, NBC Sports Group President and former PGA of America CEO Pete Bevacqua chatted with SBJ’s Abe Madkour and John Ourand.

Among the topics? Playing golf at Bel Air with Al Michaels and where NBC will target resources with the NFL and other sports properties.

The money needed to retain the NFL has many observers wondering what might get scrimped on by networks. Bevacqua made clear golf is not one of those sports.

Bevacqua said there is a "plan in place" for which non-NFL deals NBC is hoping to maintain or add going forward. He said, "I know in my mind what we feel we need to bid on, what we would like to bid on and what we probably won’t bid on. That can always change." Bevacqua was bullish on NBC and Golf Channel's chances to keep its PGA Tour package. "I’m not thinking about what will happen if we don’t get them," he said. "I’m thinking about how we’re going to improve." He also noted there will be a better sense of the landscape on the future of Tour rights "by the end of the year." SBJ has reported that Tour execs want to have a new deal in place by the end of the year, despite the current deals running through '21.

The full interview that is worth a listen despite the tragic microphone placement (come on SBJ, up your game!):

Collegiate Stars Graduating From LPGA Q-Series Again Choosing Pro Golf Over School

The rush to turn pro continues to be an ongoing theme for men’s and women’s college golf—followed by the inevitable coach quotes saying how happy they are for the players.

With four of five 2019 LPGA Q-Series participants deciding to turn pro instead of finishing the 2019-20 season—and Andrea Lee undecided—the situation stinks for women’s college golf and next spring’s Augusta National Women’s Amateur losing five marquee players. There is also the mixed record of players leaving school early and the societal pressures to rush into a pro career.

But as Ryan Lavner notes in his Tweet, it’s a no-win all the way around:

4 of the 5 college players who competed in the LPGA Q-Series have now turned pro, with Stanford star (and No. 2-ranked amateur) Albane Valenzuela announcing her decision today. Andrea Lee still undecided. No-win situation for players, coaches and teams.

— Ryan Lavner (@RyanLavnerGC) November 13, 2019

Kuchar In Mayakoba: Frugalgate Was A Teaching Moment For His Family

Matt Kuchar spoke to the Mayakoba Classic media gathered and as Adam Schupak reports for Golfweek, says last year’s win and ensuing controversy over caddie pay was hard on him. But Kuchar said his stubbornness in refusing to pay his fill-in caddie a reasonable chunk from the $1.3 million winner’s check provided a teaching moment for his children.

“It’s a moment I’m not proud of, but it’s one of those things you do your best as a father to teach kids lessons, and there’s no better thing than to show them – taking the lead and showing them the right steps to take. When you have moments you’re not proud of, you make amends for them, you do your best to make it right and try to keep moving forward and staying positive,” he said on Tuesday.

Another Player Unwilling To Take Responsibility: Bamberger Breaks Down Mayfair DQ And It's Not Pretty For Billy

Simplified rules debuted this year.

There are PGA Tour referees on-site to help deal with any questions.

And there is the glare of a national broadcast seemingly to keep players aware their movements can be watched and re-watched.

That did no stop Billy Mayfair from skirting or flagrantly breaking the rules of golf.

In a devastating breakdown by Golf’s Michael Bamberger of Mayfair’s recent Powershares QQQ disqualification at Sherwood, the Champions Tour player’s behavior is not only exposed, but Mayfair even has the audacity to deflect blame onto rules official Brian Claar despite being caught on tape lying about causing his ball to move and the length of a lost ball search.

For this alone, Mayfair ought to be suspended for a significant period:

“I wish this could have been handled more on an on-the-level basis,” Mayfair said. “It could have been handled better.”

Handled better by whom, Mayfair was asked.

“By the rules officials,” Mayfair said. “They see me searching for the ball. They know how long I’m looking for it. They have a stopwatch and I don’t.”

Certainly I’d advocate reading the story as Bamberger provides a great deal of the backstory and corroboration behind that search to make clear Mayfair’s take is dead wrong. But besides Mayfair’s changing stories and attempts to skirt the rules, the story highlights two other embarrassing details: just how few people watching PGA Tour Champions golf were watching and recording on a DVR, and then able to post on social media the offending ball movement seen live.

There were a few who noticed at the time:

Despite Golf.com having seen video of the incident—I have since been shown the clip and can corroborate that there is zero doubt Mayfair caused his ball to move as outlined by Bamberger—the PGA Tour once again as a transparency issue.

Two Golf Channel employees said the clip could not be shared with GOLF.com because broadcast rights revert to the PGA Tour 48 hours after a tournament concludes. Tom Alter, a vice president in the PGA Tour’s communications department, said the Tour could not make available a clip of Mayfair on the 17th hole, citing Tour policy. Asked about providing a transcript of the 15-second conversation between Mayfair and the official, Alter said, “We don’t have the resources for that.”

This, as they build a new headquarters designed by the guy who did Apple’s new campus. (Unpaid advertisement here: Rev is a wonderful transcript app and just $1 a minute, Tom! Need a better answer next time.)

There was also this:

The ball search on the 11th hole was not shown on Golf Channel, although it was taped by the cable network.

That film was used by rules official Claar to confront Mayfair about the second infraction in the same round, which ultimately led to the DQ.

Overall, the story may be an isolated situation revolving around a player desperate to cash a check. But golf is once again confronted with a cavalier approach to the rules and exposure of a culture that justifies this approach because, apparently, rules are now meant to be bent, if not broken. Strange times.

This episode also once again highlights the issues golf will face with legal gambling and disclosure. If a player is caught violating the rules, the gamblers will be entitled to a full explanation and analysis of what possibly cost them money. That would presumably include visuals and the resources to reproduce a transcript of a conversation shown on national airwaves.

CBS Making "Aggressive" PGA Tour Rights Bid After Securing Champions League

When news of CBS securing Champions League rights broke over the weekend, there was a natural question about what this meant for their PGA Tour rights.

SBD’s John Ourand considers takeaways from Champions acquisition and notes:

The UCL deal is not a one-off. I’m told that CBS has put forth an aggressive bid for PGA Tour rights, which is expected to be decided by the end of the year. Last fall, in a minor surprise, it renewed a deal for the PGA Championship. Under the direction of Sean McManus and David Berson, CBS Sports always has prided itself on deep relationships and historically has had success keeping the rights it wants. This deal shows that CBS no longer is content on keeping its rights portfolio intact; they want to expand it.

A decision on the next PGA Tour rights package is expected before year’s end.

Molinari: "It started going the other way and it has been hard to stop it."

Derek Lawrenson of the Daily Mail looks at the rise and flatlining of Francesco Molinari, 2018 Open champion who was in contention to win the 2019 Masters.

‘People told me it would be hard to beat last year, nearly impossible in fact, but until that day at the Masters I picked it up where I left off, and then it stopped,’ said Molinari. ‘Confidence plays a big part in any sport but particularly in golf.

‘I was feeling good coming to Augusta, everything was going my way. After that, it became many little things that I didn’t do quite as well. My ball striking wasn’t as good and I didn’t putt as well. For over a year, it felt like I was pushing a boulder going upwards but then it started going the other way and it has been hard to stop it.’

Nothing A Good Recession Won't Fix, Files: Alpine Country Club "sues its own waiter after wine spilled on ultra-expensive purse"

Our late, great friend Dan Jenkins certainly would have filed Rodrigo Torrejon’s story under the old “nothing a good recession wouldn’t fix” files. In a nutshell: a New Jersey woman sued Alpine Country Club for $30,000 when a waiter spilled wine on her Hermès purse, only to be outdone by the club suing the waiter.

In a response to the lawsuit filed Oct. 29 by Maryana Beyder against the Alpine Country Club in New Jersey, the club denied almost every one of Beyder's allegations – including that it was liable for the damage to her Hermès Kelly bag – and capped off the response by suing its own employee, according to court records.

The action is called a cross-claim, in which one defendant sues another in the same proceeding.

"So basically, what this is is that they're asking the employee to pay whatever they owe under the law to my client," said Alexandra Errico, Beyder's attorney. "So they're suing their own employee that they hired."

Calls to Kenneth Merber, the attorney for the country club, were not immediately returned.

I bet they were not.

Video: Hosung Choi Wins, Hasn't Lost His Gift For Entertaining Post-Impact Dance Moves

Korean golfer Hosung Choi posted a bogey-free 67 on Sunday to edge Shugo Imihara for the Japan Golf Tour’s Heiwa PGM Championship.

Here is a fantastic 7 minute compilation of his final round shots and you have to admire not only the reactions (even the self-beatings), but also the variety, even if a few of those dances on greens are hard to look at (he’s not wearing spikes at least).

Enjoy…

Pro Golf’s Complicated Relationship With The Rules, Files: Par 3 Tee Information Sharing Is Apparently A Thing, At Least With LPGA Caddies

I’m struggling to believe the sharing of club selection on par-3 tees is a rampant problem, but it’s hard not to read Beth Ann Nichols’ Golfweek follow-up on the Kendall Dye breach and wonder about the claim of widespread information sharing. Dye, you may recall, flashed a sign to confirm what club another player in her group hit at LPGA Q-School, prompting her to receive a penalty, as did the player whose caddie did so.

Dye then proceeded to claim she’s seen this happen thousands of times. The player who reported this, Christina Kim, was vilified on social media.

Nichols says no player contacted could confirm seeing one instance of a player asking for information as Dye alleges happens on par-3 tees, but some say caddies work together more than we think.

“Caddies flash numbers to players and caddies,” said one veteran LPGA player. Because rules violations are a sensitive topic, Golfweek spoke to caddies and players about the issue on the condition of anonymity. “That’s really not uncommon. I bet it happens in every group at least once during the round in every tournament.”

This may be specific to the LPGA Tour, because I’ve never seen it on the PGA Tour or PGA Tour Champions. Ever.

Then there is the amazing argument against the rule for advice currently in place—for seemingly obvious reasons like pace of play or that, oh, I don’t know, a competition is not about colluding for a common cause.

Two of the LPGA’s most thoughtful players, both veterans, echoed Wilson’s belief that it should change, calling the rule “nitpicky” and “stupid.” Because a player can easily look into a bag to see what club is missing, they say, what’s the harm in a caddie making it a little easier by holding up a couple of fingers?

Holy cow. Hey, why not help read putts too?

One player remembers coming out on the LPGA as a 21-year-old rookie and learning how hand signals work on tour. She never thought much about it until Dye got docked two strokes.

While some believe it’s a “victimless crime,” something that’s not even worth discussing, one player called it a wake-up call.

“This maybe is a culture that needs to stop,” said one longtime LPGA player. “It’s like suddenly everyone thinks they’ve never done it, or their caddies have never done it. All of a sudden everyone thinks their hands are clean.”

The ignorance to not comprehend what this all might mean is staggering. No sport has ever thrived or even succeeded upon the realization that it has been corrupted in some way. Recovery is a possibility, as is redemption, but for the athletes in golf to potentially live in a bubble that precludes them from understanding how deadly this all could be, is quite staggering.

Then again, this is where the adults in the room need to explain how the mere appearance of collusion will turn off fans and sponsors. They did not do so with backstopping, and it took a high-profile embarrassment to finally help players understand it was to the detriment of their “product” to engage in such activity. This time around, it’s incumbent on the Commissioners to speak up before this becomes “a thing”.

Kuchar Returns To Mayakoba; El Tucan Won't Be On The Bag But Hopefully The Tips Are Flowing!

Hard to believe it’s been a year since Matt Kuchar’s improbable Mayakoba Classic win without his regular caddie to enjoy 10% of the $1.3 million winner’s check. Instead, a mysterious man named El Tucan was on the bag and failed to receive what is normally paid to bagmen after a win, despite making that little bit of difference to get Kuchar back as a PGA Tour winner.

Pro golfer Tom Gillis leaked word of severe underpayment—$5000—but Kuchar dug in and only after heckling, reputation tarnishment and full escalation into a national news story did one of the PGA Tour’s all time leading money winners decide to pay his looper a nice $50,000 chunk of change.

Adam Schupak of Golfweek reviews the saga that may end up in paragraph one of Kuchar’s obituary. Whether it prompts questions of Kuchar this week, or a very visible food tester, remains to be seen. But it could be a good week for tips from the Kuchar clan.

I forgot this:

During the Genesis Open in February, where one fan cracked, “Go low, Kuch, go low! Just not on the gratuity!” and others had launched a GoFundMe account to raise money for Ortiz, Kuchar issued a statement in which he apologized for his initial actions and did what he should have done long ago: cut a check to Ortiz reportedly for $50,000.

And now El Tucan has spoken to the New York Post’s Mark Cannizzaro who says the check was, indeed, life changing.

“Fifty thousand dollars, for me, is big,’’ Ortiz said. “It’s everything to me and not too much to [Kuchar]. The $50,000 I needed for my business and to fix my kitchen and bathroom at home and to buy a new cell phone.’’

Ortiz, too, bought himself a used BMW with the money.

But getting to that place, where Ortiz was paid at least a reasonable sum, was an ordeal that changed both his and Kuchar’s life.

How Tiger Keeps Things Interesting, A Theory

Playing as a cup team Captain is a feat. And an annoyance he did not need.

As is selecting Patrick Reed when you did not have to do so for a Presidents Cup team, particularly just a year removed from Reed’s 2018 Ryder Cup controversy (and awful play).

All I can conclude is that Tiger is making the 2019 Presidents Cup interesting for himself.

After all, he’s kind of been there, done that with just about everything in the game. Another Presidents Cup is not going to get his competitive juices flowing. But play as a captain and try to rehab Patrick Reed…now that’s a challenge. My Golfweek column.

Video: Jeff Maggert With A Middle-Of-The Fairway (!) Walk-Off Win

Great stuff from today’s Champions Tour finale in Phoenix, as Jeff Maggert’s hole-out costs Retief Goosen a Charles Schwab Cup and helping Scott McCarron win his first.

Right. On. Target. 🎯

From the middle of the fairway! 🙌@Jeff_Maggert has won the @SchwabCupFinale! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/nfg2BxmjYJ

— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) November 11, 2019

Add Rickie Fowler To The Elite Walking Wounded Brigade

If what the newlywed contracted on his honeymoon is even half as bad as it sounds, then don’t count on Rickie Fowler rushing back to the golf course soon.

Steve DiMeglio on Fowler’s bacterial infection that knocks him out of next week’s Mayacoba Classic and possibly, Presidents Cup consideration if a spot opens up.

In a text message to Golfweek, Fowler said at the tail end of his honeymoon – he got married the first week of October – he came down with Campylobacter jejuni, which is among the most common bacterial infections and leads to cramps, fever, pain and diarrhea.

Fowler said he started feeling the effects of the intestinal bacterial infection Oct. 26 and didn’t started getting back to normal until Nov. 7.

“It was not a fun stretch,” Fowler wrote. He added he is taking medicine to combat the last stages of the infection and just didn’t have enough time to properly prepare for the Mayakoba Golf Classic, where he’s finished second and in a tie for 16th the past two years.