LPGA Nightmare: Playoff Tests The 18th Hole Six Times, Cristie Kerr Slow Plays

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The LPGA had a chance to share the spotlight with a rain-delayed Zurich Classic on Golf Channel, and while the network (in my biased view) did a solid job managing a real traffic jam, they could not overcome the LPGA product failings.

Namely that the tour, even after criticism following past deja-vu-all-over-again fiascos, insisted on conducting a sudden death playoff on only one hole. That would be Las Colinas's less-than-perfect 18th hole.

This meant eventual winner Haru Nomura and slow-poke Cristie Kerr played the 18th hole six excruciating times.

And then there was Kerr, who played at a painfully slow clip and was eventually called out by lead analyst Judy Rankin for trying to slow play her opponent. Twitter appreciated Rankin's tough call.

 Rooting for Cristie Kerr to lose now. Glad Judy Rankin finally called her out for the ridiculous slow play. Rather see PGA finish only here.

To be clear, none of this taints Nomura's win in the Volunteers of America Shootout. In fact, the world No. 18 ability to channel Kerr's gamesmanship and the lousy playoff hole makes it that much more impressive.

Will Gray at GolfChannel.com on how this does, however, taint the LPGA:

The LPGA should have learned from that particularly monotonous ending, but apparently they did not. So let Sunday’s anticlimactic conclusion outside Dallas serve as final reinforcement that any playoff rotation that calls for the same hole over and over needs to be thrown away and promptly re-written.

The LPGA should have learned from that particularly monotonous ending, but apparently they did not. So let Sunday’s anticlimactic conclusion outside Dallas serve as final reinforcement that any playoff rotation that calls for the same hole over and over needs to be thrown away and promptly re-written.

Kisner! Zurich Saved By Thrilling Eagle, Playoff Coming Monday

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The first team event since 1981--did you hear that enough?--was looking like a bit of a dud. A six hour delay, gray skies on soggy Bermuda and only Jordan Spieth left among the headliners were hardly the ingredients to success.

But in that classic bit of team play irony, Cameron Smith appeared to seal the victory and you could practically hear the screams of joys from the CBS truck. Furthermore, Smith and partner Jonas Blixt did not make a bogey all 72 holes, an amazing feat with 36 holes of foursomes.

Then Kevin Kisner brazenly holed out for eagle to send the event to a Monday playoff and the first Zurich Classic as team play will have a highlight we'll see for years to come.

Tune in to Morning Drive as we lead in to the 9 am ET playoff!

From Brian Wacker's GolfDigest.com report at the Zurich:

“We knew we had to have it,” Kisner said. “All I was trying to do was make sure I didn’t leave it short.

“It’s just one of those shots you dream about.”

Jeff Babineau's story from Golfweek on the playoff pairs, which pits longtime buds Kisner and Brown, against neighbors who bonded during the week in Smith and Blixt.

Not one of the four finalists (Blixt, like Kisner and Brown, is 33, and Smith is 10 years younger) was born the last time the PGA Tour conducted an official team event (1981 Walt Disney World National Team Championship). There is a good deal at stake on Monday morning: The winners will receive an official PGA Tour victory and two-year exemption, 400 FedEx Cup points and divide a winner’s check of more than $2 million. A victory also would get Smith, a Web.com Tour grad, into the Players Championship and PGA Championship.

Smith and Blixt were the only team in the field to get through the week without a bogey on the card, and they didn’t go away once they fell behind on Sunday. They ran off three birdies to start the back nine, cutting the deficit to one.

Ok, strap in, the shot and stellar reaction. Now, this was entertaining!

 

And just to show how little light remained...

France's Ryder Cup Hopeful: Alexander Levy Wins In China

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It's way too early--shoot they don't even start collecting points until August--but I'm fairly certainly most of golf will be rooting for Frenchman Alexander Levy to enter the discussion given the location of next year's Ryder Cup.

Moving to 11th on the European Tour money list with his four career win will also send him into the world top 100 again.

Levy was not shy after his win in mentioning the goal, writes Golfweek's Alistair Tait.

The Frenchman said his attention now is on making next year’s Ryder Cup team for the match at Le Golf National in Paris.

“It’s a goal and a dream for me to play the Ryder Cup in France,” he said. “I will do a lot of work to play the Ryder Cup and I will do my best to be part of the team.”

The winning Volvo China Open playoff putt:

Congratulations @alexlevygolf83! 🏆

A post shared by European Tour (@europeantour) on

The Brian Gay-Ian Poulter Decision

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Several of you emailed to ask why there is not more outrage at the retroactive tour card status given to Ian Poulter and Brian Gay. As much as I'd love to revel in a conspiracy theory, it's pretty simple: Gay questioned why his major medical exemption, based on one set of standards had he been able to play a full healthy season, was played under this year's new FedExCup points allotments.

More startling: in the rush to make the FedExCup a more accepted way of life (or "true equalizer" as the player notice puts it), this is a pretty significant miss.

Golfweek's Jeff Babineau explains why Gay's questions helped change the Policy Board perspective on his and Poulter's play under the major medical exemption.

Poulter, 41, who missed four-plus months with a foot injury last season, had 10 events to earn $347,634, or 218 FedEx Cup points; he fell short of both marks in his 10th start last week at the Valero Texas Open in San Antonio.

Gay, 45, has been in a similar position. Having missed 2014-15 with a back injury, he had 14 available starts this season to earn $461,851 or secure 309 FedEx Cup points. Gay, who tied for sixth in each of his last two starts (RBC Heritage, Valero Texas Open) has surpassed the earnings threshold. But he failed to get to 309 points, which meant he was not eligible for the lucrative Players Championship May 11-14.

Gay did some numbers crunching, though, and found a discrepancy in the way points are doled out this season compared with a year ago, which was the season against which he was being measured.

So the right thing was done and the FedEx points system probably is the best long term way to handle things in a purse-discrepancy world. However, in the move to the new system (please renew, FedEx, please!), having Gay discover this is a concern.

Congrats to both on earning their status for the rest of the year!

The player notice posted on Instagram by Poulter:

 

PGA Tour China In Limbo, Golf's China Hopes Dimming

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Thanks to reader John for Wayne Ma's WSJ story on the latest blow to golf's China hopes.

PGA Tour China has struggled with the business practices of its China operations partner and has also been unable to get Chinese tournaments approved for its upcoming season, due to begin in May.

The game was banned by Mao Zedong as a bourgeois pastime, and more recently nearly 200 golf courses have been closed amid President Xi Jinping’s campaign against corruption by government officials and ostentatious displays of wealth.

The PGA Tour came to China with high hopes, seeking to expand the game’s popularity and perhaps find a breakout star who could do for golf what Yao Ming did for basketball.

And there was this from Shanghai University professor Liu Dongfeng on China's Olympic aspirations likely not including golf.

Seeing the potential for economic returns, China is now moving to make sports more of a commercial enterprise, he said, phasing out the old system where a government office is paired with a quasi-government association.

Liu said soccer was the first sport to abolish its government office in 2015 and basketball appears to be next, with Yao this year becoming the first head of the China Basketball Association not drawn from government ranks.

“In terms of priority, golf is absolutely not on the agenda,” Liu said. “The prospect for golf is not very bright, unfortunately.”

Not To Be Outdone, Euro Tour Hands Lee A Slow Play Penalty

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The PGA Tour's first slow play penalty since the Clinton Administration's first term awoke the world's pace policeman emeritus, John Paramor.

The same European Tour rules official who penalized a 14-year-old playing in the Masters, did not even wait 48 hours to be outdone. This time, Paramor added a stroke to Soomin Lee's card following his third bad Volvo China Open time.

From Alistair Tait's Golfweek story:

Lee had already been handed two bad times before European Tour chief referee John Paramor informed Lee he’d picked up a third bad time on the 14th. The 23-year-old’s bogey on the par 4 turned into a double bogey, and contributed to his 1-over 73 to move him to joint seventh

Paramor delivers the news here...I love seeing Lee start running immediately. See, penalties work!

Today In Grandstands Too Close To Play: Volvo China Open

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If George Coetzee or Dylan Frittelli goes on to win the Volvo China Open Sunday, they'll have someone to thank for generous grandstand placement.



Zurich Classic: Gotta Root For Charlie Wi And K.J. Choi

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Normally when the stars leave early--Rose/Stenson and Fowler/Day in this case reports Jeff Babineau--we mourn for a tournament. Yet I've long hoped the revamped Zurich Classic would keep some big names around, but also weave in some surprises.

There is no grander or more fun than the Charlie Wi-K.J. Choi duo sitting two back heading into Saturday's foursomes. As Ryan Lavner notes for GolfChannel.com, LA resident and all-around great guy Wi is just "$338 shy of $10 million in career earnings" and now stands to cross that barrier.

The five-time PGA Tour runner up and winner of nine titles internationally is now teaching juniors in Monterey Park not because he lost his card, but because he called it quits.

Dave Shedloski of Golf World does a splendid job telling Wi's story of calling it a career and the effort he made to prep for Zurich after getting K.J.'s call.

When he began gearing up for the Zurich Classic, Wi hit balls for five to six hours a day. Having barely touched a club in 2017, he thought he’d be motivated.

“Instead, I realized, ‘Man, I don’t miss the grind.’

“Don’t get me wrong, being on the tour is fantastic, but there’s more to life than playing professional golf,” he added. “I always knew I never wanted to be one of those hangers on. I didn’t want to just keep doing it. If I say I’m done, I’m done.”

Except he’s not quite. Living in Los Angeles, Wi has begun teaching young players at Monterey Park, near downtown, at his eponymous Charlie Wi Academy. He finds it fulfilling. He sees kids with promise. He knows he can help them.

The First PGA Tour Slow Play Penalty Since 1995 Is...Something!

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Okay so it wasn't proud slow poke Ben Crane or one of the other known non-ready golf turtles. And no, it wasn't exactly the kind of self-indulgent pacing that you'd love to see rewarded with a penalty.

We have to start somewhere!

Golfweek's Jeff Babineau with the details of Brian Campbell and Miguel Angel Cabrallo--yes they are confirmed PGA Tour golfers--teaming up in Thursday's foursomes to take Glen Day off the hook.

Campbell and Carballo, originally alternates in this event who got in as a team when Kevin Chappell (already in the field) captured the Valero Texas Open on Sunday, were paired with two local club professionals from the Gulf States PGA Section, section champion Kyle Ramey and his partner, Phil Schmitt, who played at LSU. The group fell out of position on the 10th hole, and an official notified both teams they were on the clock.

Carballo (warning) and Campbell (penalty) each failed to play shots within the 40 seconds allowed under the pace-of-play policy, and were informed on 14 that they’d be penalized a stroke. Ramey and Schmitt had one bad time, and received a warning.

“Team event, we’re playing with section pros, who were struggling a bit, hate to say it, but it kind of put us behind the clock,” Campbell said. “When you keep hitting bad shots, it’s hard to catch up time.”

Blaming the section pros...Jay, I have Pete on line one!

So this wasn't quite the example-setting moment we'd all hoped for to make PGA Tour golf a better in-person. Or to actually send a message to those who have thumbed their nose at the pace policy. I'll still take it though!

PGA Tour Ratings Streak Hits 12 Straight Final Rounds

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Take that, Byron Nelson!

No, this is no joking matter now as PGA Tour final round ratings dropped for the 12th straight week this year on CBS and NBC, with the Valero Texas Open joining the list.

According to Paulsen at SportsMediaWatch.com, the 1.3 final round rating was down 10% in viewership from last year and the lowest since 2013.

Ratings and viewership have now declined for twelve straight final round PGA windows on broadcast TV, a streak that dates back to Super Bowl Sunday. Nine of those 12 telecasts have hit a multi-year low in one or both measures.

At least lead-in coverage Sunday was unchanged!

Lead-in coverage on Golf Channel had a 0.3 (-17%) and 385,000 (-23%) on Saturday and a 0.4 (flat) and 560,000 on Sunday (+4%).

This week there was good news on the round one/new format Zurich Classic front:

State Of The Game 72: Mathew Goggin

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His woods were just decapitated by United Airlines, he just missed out as first alternate at the Web.com Tour event in Mexico, but because he's a gentleman, Mat Goggin was our State of The Game guest to talk the Lexi situation, the player's perspective on rules issues and the state of his beloved four-wood.

Permalink here.

MP3 download here.

And of course iTunes has it too or you can listen here;

Zurich: After 36 Years Two-Man Team Play Is Finally Here

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The Zurich Classic vaults two-man team play and much-needed variety back onto the PGA Tour schedule, and players have responded, Steve DiMeglio reports for USA Today.

Shoot, even Bubba is swooning.

“You're going to see a lot of smiles, a lot of laughing and a lot of enjoyment of the game of golf,” said Bubba Watson, who is playing with former Presidents Cup partner J.B. Holmes.

“Zurich and the PGA Tour, you take your hats off. How would you not want to be here for this event? For them to step out of the box and do something creative like this is pretty amazing.”

Jeff Babineau digs a little deeper to consider some of the pairings for Golfweek.com, but can't look past the powerhouse Gold-Silver Medal winning duo of Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson.

Initially I wasn't too wild about the novelty element in European Challenge Tour player Chase Koepka receiving a sponsor's invite to play with brother Brooks. Given how many strong teams entered, it turns out that the Koepka's are one of the more enjoyable stories to follow this week.

Josh Berhow reports for Golf.com.

"We could either kill each other or it could be an awesome week," said Brooks.

Not long after the announcement that this year's Zurich Classic would be changed to a two-person team event, Brooks Koepka, 26, inquired about his younger brother, 23-year-old Chase, joining his team. He was granted an exemption and will make his first PGA Tour start this week in New Orleans. He previously played at the University of South Florida and has played on the European and Challenge tours since.

"It will be fun," Brooks Koepka said. "The whole family is here, so it will be neat for them."

You know how I feel.

One key to the week: how will television tell the stories of how the teams were formed (Ben Everill and Mike McAllister did a lot of the hard work here for PGATour.com, including confirmation of the Spieth-Palmer lost friendly wager story that's been circulating). They must also try to capture some of the inside-the-ropes dynamics of foursomes and best-ball play that we don't get with individual stroke play. On-course reporters and good research will be key to telling the many stories like those of the Koepka's.

PGA Tour Live begins coverage at 9 am ET. Golf Channel coverage begins at 3:30 pm ET.

The PGATour.com breakdown of how the format works and other FAQ's you might have.

Golf Is Finally Blaming Technology...For Something

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As Rex Hoggard at GolfChannel.com notes, a sport trying to modernize is suddenly acknowledging that technology might have taken things too far. But not with 340 yard drives that force the scale of the game to become bloated.

No, it's with replay and HD TV. As Hoggard notes, every other sport (for better or worse) is determined to get calls right using technology, but with this week's Lexi Decision, golf is headed backwards:

The rule makers are blazing new paths in what has been billed as a “modernization” of the Rules of Golf, but this new decision – which is entitled “limitations on use of video evidence” – feels like a step in the wrong direction.

No one is pleased with the the Thompson situation – neither the outcome nor that it took some 20 hours to unfold – and the desire to avoid similar incidents in the future is understandable, but sports have rules that must be applied no matter how much technology is needed to assure the proper outcome.

Yes, the "naked eye" test rolled out by the USGA and R&A appears to be the right thing to do. However, I'm pretty sure players whose "reasonable judgement" is relied upon over video evidence could leave them subject to integrity questions. Social media could gang up and tarnish reputations if the footage shows player judgement was possibly mistaken.

John Feinstein and I kicked around the issues on Golf Central this week:

Lexi Finally Explains "The Mark" & It All Sounds Pretty Innocent

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Reading Randall Mell's GolfChannel.com account and hearing Lexi Thompson speak, she would have made a strong case for herself if the "reasonable judgement" and "naked eye" Decisions had allowed her to. Now that the Rules of Golf do so, it's hard to see how Thompson is penalized under the revised rules given her explanation of what happened in the 2017 ANA Inspiration.

From Mell's story:

Thompson said she marked the 15-inch putt because her father told her not to rush short putts in majors. She also said she twisted the ball slightly before returning it to its mark, because she uses a dot on the ball as a focal point for making her stroke.

Thompson was asked a second time to explain how video came to show her returning her ball to a different spot on her mark, a violation that many of  her fellow players agree warranted the first two-shot penalty.
“I have seen the video, and I can see where they’re coming from with it,” Thompson said. “It might have been, I guess, me rotating the ball, but like I said, I’ve always played by the Rules of Golf. Growing up with two older brothers, they were always on me for playing by the Rules of Golf.

“There’s no need for me to improve anything. Those greens were absolutely perfect, and the whole week there was nothing in my line to be moving it from anything. So, I have no reason behind it. I did not mean it at all.”

And only after slowing down and zooming in does anyone think she "did" something, which is why we have the new decision.

The press conference video from GolfChannel.com:

Ouch Scheduling Luck: National Golf Day Hits Capitol Hill On A Slightly Busy Day In DC

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Unfortunate or some might say ironic scheduling, but as the golf world's very own President Donald Trump briefed Senators on North Korea, pushed tax reform and worked to stave off a government shutdown, Capitol Hill was probably not too focused on National Golf Day.

We will never know, but credit the folks in golf for still spreading the gospel in the face of Tuesday's chaos. Over 175 meetings with House and Senate members--who were undoubtedly keeping one eye on their Twitter feeds--took place, reports Ryan Herrington for Golf World.

This year’s efforts focused on three specific areas: health, labor and the environment. Participants attended 175 meetings with members of the House of Representatives and Senate from their home states, passing along the industry’s thoughts on these issues.

In each meeting, We Are Golf participants asked for support of specific bills already proposed in Congress (notably the PHIT Act, which would include physical activity, including golf lessons, green fees and camps/clinics, among tax-deductible medical expenses) or the repeal of current provisions (such as the Clean Water Act, which golf leaders says overregulates ponds and wetlands found on golf courses).

“I look forward to National Golf Day every year,” said Congressman James E. Clyburn, a Democrat from South Carolina. “It’s a chance to visit with the folks at We Are Golf here on Capitol Hill to talk about the positive impact the game has on our economy, worthy charities and personal fitness.”