Quadrilateral: Major(s) News And Notes, August 5th, 2021

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"[Finchem's] election further validates claims that it is merely a popularity contest and charges of cronyism."

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The best I saw celebrating Tim Finchem’s induction into the World Golf Hall of Fame said he grew purses. Golfweek’s Adam Schupak counters that unprofound take and highlights why the Hall has lost so much credibility in recent years. Remember, this is Deane Beman’s biographer writing:

His election further validates claims that it is merely a popularity contest and charges of cronyism. (PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan, who was Finchem’s hand-picked successor, and other leaders in the game whose chances of being honored in the future probably also improved with Finchem’s election are among the voters. It all adds up to too much potential conflict of interest.)

Interestingly, Finchem was a semi-finalist in 2019 and didn’t even make it to the list of finalists. It makes you wonder what changed in the last two years during his retirement. But his election is just another reason why the number of members returning for the ceremony is often low and why Hall of Famers continue to give their best mementos elsewhere. The last thing it needed was to enshrine another administrator, even if Finchem says he has a great letter from Arnold Palmer that he will donate to his exhibit along with some photographs of the greats that he bumped elbows with – from Gene Sarazen to Tiger.

So It Seems Greg Norman Still Hasn't Worked Through All Of His 1994 Issues

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Greg Norman is a bit miffed at Rory McIlroy’s “out” declaration related to the Premier Golf League. And naturally, because it’s the Shark, it really has little to do with the positives and negatives of the proposed tour.

Josh Sens caught up with Norman in Mexico and taking time away from finding his biggest fan—hit the link if you thought April 1 had arrived early this year—and Norman seemed to take McIlroy’s invocation of Arnold Palmer personally.

With a TV deal in place and the support, Norman believed, of many players, the concept seemed to have legs. But it foundered in the face of savvy PGA Tour maneuvering and vocal opposition from the King. Shortly after Norman announced his plan for the global series, Palmer came out publicly against it. Norman, who had what he describes as a close relationship with Palmer, was devastated.

“I was blindsided, I felt backstabbed,” Norman said. “I’m listening to Arnold, with [then-PGA Tour commissioner] Tim Finchem standing beside him, chest puffed out for a 5-foot-4 guy, and I’m thinking, ‘Are you kidding? Why are you saying this?’”

Well, he could be an intimidating 5’4”…

Anyway, he goes on to say IMG planted the negative thoughts with Palmer to go against the Tour and accuses McIlroy of taking his stance against the PGL as part of his Golfpass/Golf Channel relationship ala the King back in 1994.

But other than that, he’s really worked through any lingering issues over the World Tour effort…of 25 years ago.

Finchem Rakes In $10.6 Million Bonus And Then A Some In First Year Of Retirement

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Maybe this explains why they’ve got mandatory cost cutting down in Ponte Vedra Beach. Still, even after retiring in 2016, PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem was well compensated in 2017. Maybe Jay Monahan found some uncashed paychecks in the top drawers and Finchem took them down to the local Suntrust ATM.

My math has him at $18,886,755 in 2017 baesd on this report from Roxanna Scott of Golfweek.

Wraparound Absurdity: Web.com Tour Finals Spill Into Monday, Graduates Expected In Napa Thursday

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Just a reminder: it was retired PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem's vision to save four fall events, turn those into the start of the next season in the "wraparound" season concept. It's looking more ridiculous by the day as Web.com Tour Finals grads who have been grinding the last two months  need to turn around and tee up in Thursday's 2017-18 PGA Tour season starter in Napa Valley.

And now with a rain-delayed Monday finish, they have two days to prepare for the start of their PGA Tour season. Oh and a status reshuffle looms after Sea Island.

Visionary!

Day Opens The Door For New Commish To Attack Slow Play

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New PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan probably took a few aspirin when he saw that world No. 1 Jason Day returned from time off and, unprompted, proudly touted plans to play slower in 2017.

After all, the new Commish has more on his plate than you'd expect given the supposedly great product Saint Finchem left behind. Big picture stuff like trying to fix a confusing schedule, repairing relations with sponsors and keeping FedEx around should be Monahan's first-month priority instead of jumping in on the slow play debate.

But did Day just hand Monahan the perfect opening to attack the slow play problem?

Because of Finchem's many blind spots related to the actual product of PGA Tour golf, none was more perverse and damaging as his desire to see pace of play policies ignored. Finchem prioritized protecting the gentleman's game imagery above the gentlemanly behavior of playing golf at a considerate pace. Finchem never shied from bragging about his players taking hats off and shaking hands for the 18th green cameras.

Slow players? That could be swept under the rug because television wouldn't show someone rudely taking three minutes to play a shot, until they started showing such antics down the stretch because they had no choice. Then a Sean O'Hair or Kevin Na or Jason Day made it apparent how ungentlemanly it is for someone with PGA Tour level talent to take that long to hit a shot, and the Commissioner openly resisted penalty shots.

It is no coincidence that in the nearly 20 years Finchem was in office, the last penalty occurred in his first months on the job and never since. He also worked to undermine the stature of his officials by prolonging contract negotiations and underpaying the unionized force charged with enforcing the rules. And don't think players were oblivious to this neutralization of the referees or the amount of time that has passed since the last penalty (1995).

Even the USGA appeared has bowed to Finchem, implementing its very effective pace of play system at all but the one of its championships. It just happens to be the one where coddled PGA Tour players play: the U.S. Open.

Now that Finchem is retired, the PGA Tour slowpokes' sense of taking as much time as they'd like came flooding out of Day's mouth prior to Kapalua's 2017 season kickoff event. With no fear of being penalized and a rumored $10 million a year from Nike to pay any minor fines, Day made clear he's not going to rush himself.

The full comment:

Imagine a pitcher declaring that he will not throw a pitch until he's ready or a free-throw shooter backing off five times before taking a free shot? The leagues would crack down. 

In an era when no sport can afford to be seen as slowing down, the PGA Tour has shied away from enforcement that might help solve the problem. However, a new commissioner is in town and he's just been given a natural opening to push back.

Monahan shied away from taking a strong stand on slow play in a Q&A at PGATour.com earlier this week, understandably not needing to start his tenure off on a combative foot. Yet Jason Day has uttered comments  far removed from the simple reality that the PGA Tour survives on its entertainment value, not on how it pads Day's bank account. The suggestion he will back off until he's ready made clear Day's entitlement level runs so deep that even his truest believers might not feel sorry to see a PGA Tour rules official stalking him around Kapalua. And Torrey Pines. Or any fairway he pitches his tent upon to indulge himself at the expense of our viewing pleasure.

New Tour Commish Jay Monahan's Four Most Pressing Issues

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Tim Finchem leaves Jay Monahan a robust PGA Tour, maybe even a bloated one that presents too many management issues. Still, Finchem's now-official retirement on December 31st comes a few months sooner faster than some expected based on his comments, and while there is time for Finchem to wrap up whatever projects he has been telegraphing as priorities, the schedule would seem to indicate time is running out for him to accomplish much.

Jeff Babineau at Golfweek.com outlined his thoughts on what Monahan faces, and here are the priorities in my view:

--Television future. Expect the PGA Tour to exercise an early opt-out of its CBS and NBC deals soon, with a renegotiation of terms that would kick in for the start of next fall's 2017-18 start. The current Golf Channel cable deal is locked in until 2021, but some changes in weekend coverage of PGA Tour events may be possible in this renegotiation. Such an opt-out would be risky considering that the sports rights fee bubble has burst, golf is expensive and cumbersome to cover (ask Fox), and golf's largely older demographic is not ready to log onto Twitter, YouTube or even PGA Tour Live to watch a live feed of the Shriner's final round. Monahan can use the opportunity to consider another partner besides the two he has and ask for telecast upgrades in technology, but he also risks upsetting two very powerful media companies. Maybe Monahan has been ushered into the Commissionership to play good cop to Finchem's final-move, bad cop opt-out cop? Big bonuses are at stake, but with Finchem having stocked the Policy Board with cronies and PGA Tour employee/PGA of America President Derek Sprague, his exit will be a well-compensated one and Finchem won't need to be signing up for Obamacare anytime soon.

--Schedule. PGA Tour players are asked to compete all summer, then show up in the playoffs before "enjoying" maybe a week or two off before returning to a full schedule (or risk falling way behind in Cup points, ranking points, or re-shuffle status). In 2017, the late season schedule may have only one week off up to Thanksgiving. So while the Commissioner's job is to provide playing opportunities, the long term pacing of the schedule makes little sense for players, fans, sponsors or TV partners.

--FedExCup. There still has been no renewal with the playoff sponsor. This was assumed to be (one of) Finchem's final pet projects. Perhaps the FedEx deal is done and terms will be delivered to the networks on opt-out day. Or maybe a FedEx renewal is not done and this will dictate a more-comprehensive-than-expected re-thinking of items one (TV deal) and two (schedule).

--European Tour. As partners in the PGA Tour's WGC events, will Monahan let them have their moments or turn up the heat with an eye to squelching Europe's tour? Chief Exec Keith Pelley and Finchem have very different views of the game, with Pelley thinking about things like night golf, while Finchem still thinks the PGA Tour's greatest charm is the sight of players taking off hats to shake hands. Monahan seems like he falls somewhere in between the two extremes. Will he take his eye off the core, most highly-rated product--domestic PGA Tour golf in the winter and spring--to expand internationally, all just to squelch European Tour power? Will it lead to him not dealing with a different rival few saw coming, say, a Formula One-style team concept?

Who Is Jay Monahan And Why His Appointment Is Promising

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The only negative on Jay Monahan’s resume? Why of course, he is Tim Finchem’s hand-picked successor.

Nothing against Commissioner Coterminous. Really. He navigated the PGA Tour through some swampy times and leaves a fine legacy on many fronts, but especially in providing his membership playing opportunities. But times are changing, threats loom and openings exist to re-imagine elements of the mostly-healthy PGA Tour "product".

As with Adam Silver moving into David Stern’s NBA Commissionership and Major League Baseball's Rob Manfred taking over for Bud Selig, Monahan has been positioned to enjoy similar success possibilities of those two recently-appointed leaders. Thanks to his ascension through a myriad of jobs and the core model of the tour in good shape thanks to Finchem, Monahan enters at a good time to refine what pro golf looks like and to enhance the tour's stewardship role in the game.

For a young guy (46) he’s got a lengthy résumé. That could be interpreted as the sign of someone who either (A) can’t sit still, or (B) was building an experienced pathway to a complex job like PGA Tour Commissioner.  I side with option B and give Monahan benefit of the doubt because he’s imminently likable, making him a personality that allows him to receive job offers with regularity.


Highlights of Monahan’s career to date, with commentary:

—Division III Academic All-American golfer at Trinity College: He could play the game at one time, which never hurts with players who respect such ability.

—Masters of Science in Sport Management from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 1995: He knows how to use B-speak.

—Account Supervisor at Arnold Advertising, handling Titleist and FootJoy Worldwide's advertising business: Okay, so rolling back the ball might be a tougher sell.

—Director, Global Sponsorships and Branding Programs at EMC Corporation: When they had the Skills Challenge, which, I think many of us kind of miss and might be the kind of alternative format idea the tour needs to be open to going forward.

—Executive Director of the Deutsche Bank Championship: has experience on the ground running a tournament, never a bad thing in a climate where tournament directors are not exactly unanimous members of The Tim Finchem Marching And Chowder Society.

—EVP at Fenway Sports Group. Knows sports, loves sports and has worked in sports besides golf. This has always felt like a blind spot for Finchem, who never seemed like a serious sports fan.

— Co-founded Golf Fights Cancer, with fellow Fenway executive Brian Oates. Has a heart!

—Tournament Director of The Players Championship. More tournament operations experience, which will help him justify the event's move back to March, opening up the PGA Championship to some day be played in May. Or something like that.

—Deputy Commissioner of the PGA Tour starting in 2014: reportedly never once dropped Tim Finchem’s garment bag in that time, always picked out the best ties for his boss and never ran out of hand sanitizer.

—COO of the PGA Tour. Already has essentially started the job and has begun moving in his preferred lieutenants.

I’m sure there are other elements to his career missing here, but you get the idea.

Jay Monahan has worked in golf and sports from the ground up.

He does not hold a law degree. These are good things.

Photo Caption Contest: McConaughey Meets Finchem

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As I wrote for GolfDigest.com, Matthew McConaughey visited the Olympic golf course and followed Rickie Fowler.

Big day here in Rio!

All right, all right...

More importantly, MM got some face time with TF, as evidenced by this Chris Condon photo on the IGF Flickr page. While this looks like a showdown, it was a long and friendly conversation (especially with MM in a Presidents Cup jacket). But I don't know what was said...you?