Cookie Jar On Royal St. George's And The 1922 Open Championship

/

To help build our excitement for the 150th Open and cleanse those of us muddied by reading all about modern player greed and ignorance, the guys at Cookie Jar Golf have come along with a fantastic look at Walter Hagen’s 1922 Open win.

It’s a reminder of the days when players made huge sacrifices to travel for the chance to win an Open. He also broke the Great Triumvirate stranglehold on the Open and ushered in a new era of American dominance. Using Tom Clavin's Sir Walter, The flamboyant life of Walter Hagen, they give us a much needed excuse to revisit last year’s host and its place in the game. Then it’s off to St Andrews!

Quadrilateral: Major(s) News And Notes, October 21, 2021

/

It’s a long one for this week’s free Quadrilateral with a wide range of topics covering the major championship spectrum. So sign on up if you haven’t already.

Today I’m wrapping up the 46-inch local rule ramifications with a succinct statement about what went down and what’s next. Plus, an array of venue news and notes, a new golf film about the 1976 Open's rogue qualifier, another post-op Augusta aerial, Reads and a couple of podcasts to put in the queue.

Here’s more on The Quadrilateral, though as the year ends I’ll be updating the explanatory site in anticipation of evolving the newsletter in 2022. The current price you pay is the one you keep so if you’re tempted this is the time to sign up.

Quadrilateral: Major(s) News & Notes, August 26th, 2021

/
QuadrilateralNews&Notes.png

No shortage of major news to cover in this week’s Quadrilateral notes edition, starting with the latest Ryder Cup quotes and potential blame game (hint: 46).

Plus a new look at Augusta's new 11th hole, Women's Open ratings, R&A policy change and the Green Jacket maker is remembered.

Every Course Needs An Angry Hole

/
Screen Shot 2021-07-31 at 10.24.54 AM.png

And if you want a little more sense of what the course once looked like, the PGA Tour’s Instagram did this then/now slide show:

The Quadrilateral: Major(s) News And Notes, July 29, 2021

/

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.

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

/
Screen Shot 2021-07-21 at 9.31.56 AM.png

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). 

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

/
QuadrilateralNews&Notes.png

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.

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:

2021 Open: The Quadrilateral's Third Round Wrap

/

2021 Open: The Quadrilateral's Round 2 Wrap

/

Links From The Road: Royal St George's And Sandwich Overview

/

Sam Cooper’s dispatches from the road have led to more wonderful “content” pieces about links golf. He has a special passion for Royal St George’s and the surrounding area. It comes out in this 10 minute piece. Some of the footage was licensed by NBC for the stunning visuals accented by Stephan Dillane’s voice.

Enjoy!