Lowry: "Cantlay pissed me off a little bit"

/
Screen Shot 2021-09-30 at 7.44.28 PM.png

Nice spot by GolfWRX’s Gianni Magliocco to catch Shane Lowry’s post-Ryder Cup comments.

As I noted in the Quadrilateral Sunday wrap and Monday awards, Shane Lowry seemed peeved at the end of his singles match with Cantlay, and overall came off a little over amped at last week’s event. Well, there was a reason.

Speaking on a Paddy Power Instagram Live chat, Lowry explained.

“Yeah, he (Cantlay) p****d me off a little bit on the 8th, to be honest. I was lining up my putt and he was riling up the crowd which I didn’t think was great. In Rome, we’ll hopefully win and win in a different style, that’s how I’m looking at it.”

Game on!

During the interview, Lowry revealed that Cantlay wasn’t the only U.S. player who got under his skin in Wisconsin and took aim at both Justin Thomas and Bryson DeChambeau for their demonstrations on the greens over a couple of short putts not being given.

“For a start Bryson Dechambeau’s putter shaft is about four feet long so it was definitely not a gimme. Justin Thomas did the same thing and then I did the same thing but purely because Justin Thomas did it. 

“They made me hit a putt from literally 18 inches on the first so I did the exact same thing as Thomas did just because I was annoyed with the picture I’d seen of him that morning.”

Lowry went on to admit he and Tyrrell Hatton did not give putts—yippee—but at least we now know what irked him so.

Cookie Jar On The Kummel Crisis

/
Screen Shot 2021-09-30 at 10.56.56 AM.png

There’s a headline from deep sleep dream. And while crisis might be a strong word given other options for post (or gulp, pre-round) sip of Kummel, Cookie Jar Golf’s Sam Williams has filed a lengthy explanation about the possible end of Wolffschmidt’s version of a stout beverage that’s been the preferred option for a long time at the UK’s most famous clubs.

In recent weeks, reports have been coming into us from all corners of the U.K. that clubs are unable to secure orders on further stock of Wolfschmidt, amid rumours that the Danish company has ceased production. Despite a lot of phone calls and various efforts to establish contact with the brand, no official statement has been received however we can confirm that future orders on the product are no longer possible. 

Whether that is due to a decision by the company to remove distribution in the U.K. or if the product itself is no longer to be produced at all is not known, and the details behind it seem to be extremely vague. 

Multiple conversations with stockists in London & Edinburgh, as well as calls to some of the clubs who are the biggest consumers of the product have failed to yield anything concrete as to why the decision has been taken, however it is apparent that future orders will not be possible.  

From Herbert Warren Wind’s New Yorker story about the President’s Putter (thanks reader D for the tip):

When I entered the big room, shortly after one o’clock, perhaps thirty members of the Society were wearing the club tie—two narrow stripes of light blue bordering a wider stripe of dark blue on a field of grass green. Everyone seemed to be in a merry, chaffing mood. For example, I heard a man near me say to a friend, “I gather putted very frequently this morning.” The rejoinder went: “I’m lying doggo. Watch me when it counts.” I was digesting this animated scene when Gerald Micklem, the current president of the O. & C.G.S. and one of my oldest friends in British golf, came striding into the room en route from the ninth green to the tenth tee, and threw down a fast kummel. (Kummel has long been a favorite drink of English golfers, because there is an old wives’ tale to the effect that it is the best antidote in the world for shaking putting.) Before hurrying out to continue his match, Micklem greeted me with his invariable hospitality, barking out his welcome in quick, peremptory phrases. Then, just as I noticed that he was wearing only a medium-weight sweater and no hat, he surveyed my goosedown trail jacket and the rest of my sub-Arctic outfit. “Think you’ll be warm enough?” he asked, and, with a little laugh, stroke out into the cold.

Bones Is Transitioning...From Announcing To Justin Thomas's Bag

/

Surprising news on many levels, but Jimmy Johnson’s backup has been promoted to carry Justin Thomas’s bag. Jim Bones Mackay will be missed on NBC broadcasts where he’s become established as a reliable on-course reporting voice entrusted with some of the network’s biggest assignments.

First reported by Golf Central’s Twitter account:

Ferry Point: NYC Selects Homeless Shelter Operator To Replace Trump*

/
Screen Shot 2021-09-30 at 9.03.30 AM.png

The City’s Claudia Irizarry Aponte reports on the no-bid awarding of Trump Ferry Point’s operations contract to CORE, a concessionaire working for the city on homeless shelters, who have teamed with Atlanta’s Bobby Jones Links.

The Trump Organization has been ordered to vacate by November 14 but is vowing to fight the move, a byproduct of the January 6th insurrection inspired by then-President Donald Trump.

Ken Caruso, an attorney representing the Trump Organization in the pending suit, said de Blasio is off course.

“The city has no right to award the license to another operator,” said Caruso. “The Trump Organization’s long-term license for this property is legally binding, enforceable, and remains in full force and effect.”

He called the contract cancellation “a mere pretext that Mayor de Blasio used as a cover for his political retaliation.”

And Caruso said Trump would do combat with the new golf course operator, too.

“The city’s position has no legal merit and we will continue to vigorously defend our right to possession and control of the property for the remainder of the 20-year term, against both the city and anyone to whom the city purports to issue a replacement license,” Caruso added.

It’s the latest twist in a saga that once had the Ferry Point site under consideration for major tournaments. The current website remains the (glorious) same, and a look at tee times suggest the course is pretty busy on weekends.

*Seems the above report led to the homeless shelter operator WD’ing from the deal, reports Aponte in a follow up story.

Quadrilateral: The Ideal Ryder Cup Course And Major(s) News & Notes, September 30th, 2021

/

Long Overdue Concession To The NFL: PGA Tour To Finish Saturday Before NFC/AFC Championship Sunday

/
IMG_5930.jpeg

The PGA Tour, Farmers and CBS have wisely decided not to fight the behemoth that is the NFL, moving up the Farmers Insurance Open to a Saturday finish. In previous years the NFC and AFC Championship games finished the Sunday of the Hope/Clinton/Phil/Chrysler/Humana/Careerbuilder/AmEx. In one of the many mysteries to rule the day in Ponte Vedra, that event stubbornly stuck to its Sunday finish and rarely saw much of a final round audience.

With the NFL’s expanded schedule for 2020-21, the Championship games have been pushed into Farmers weekend, the traditional start of CBS’s broadcast schedule.

The full press release and note the initials NFL never appear:

2022 Farmers Insurance Open® will feature Saturday finish on CBS

CBS Sports’ 2022 kickoff event to run Wednesday-Saturday including evening finish

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA, AND SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA – The PGA TOUR and Farmers Insurance® – title sponsor of the Farmers Insurance Open since 2010 – announced that the Farmers Insurance Open will shift its tournament competition days to Wednesday-Saturday – January 26-29, 2022 – at Torrey Pines Golf Course. With a crowded sports weekend, the PGA TOUR, CBS, Farmers Insurance and the Century Club are excited to shift to a Saturday final round that will result in a Friday and Saturday evening viewing on the East Coast with finish times of 8 p.m. ET both days on CBS.

Golf Channel will carry the opening two rounds on Wednesday and Thursday (January 26-27). The final two rounds will be played Friday and Saturday (January 28-29), with more than six hours of coverage on CBS. Lead-in coverage on Friday and Saturday will be broadcast by Golf Channel.

Additionally, the diversity-focused Advocates Pro Golf Association Tour’s (APGA) Farmers Insurance® Invitational, now in its third consecutive year playing, will expand to two rounds, with round one being played on Saturday, January 29, on the North Course at Torrey Pines Golf Course. The final round will be held Sunday, January 30, on the South Course and will be broadcast live on Golf Channel, marking the first time an APGA Tour event will be televised. 

“We appreciate Farmers Insurance’s collaboration and innovative thinking with this shift in competition days,” said PGA TOUR President and EVP Tyler Dennis. “The PGA TOUR’s first network event of 2022 wrapping up on Saturday combined with football games the following day will create an action-packed weekend for sports fans. Farmers Insurance has also shown extraordinary commitment to diversity in our game, and we are thrilled with the expansion of the APGA Farmers Insurance Invitational which will include Golf Channel coverage of the final round.”

As a California-based organization, Farmers Insurance initially committed to sponsor the 2010 tournament just 10 days before the opening round and just months after arriving in the San Diego community in response to devastating wildfires.  Nearly a decade later, disaster resilience continues to be an important component of the business and community efforts of Farmers®, while the focus on diversity and inclusion has grown. 

“Over the course of more than 10 years serving as the Farmers Insurance Open’s title sponsor, the Farmers team has worked with the Century Club and PGA TOUR to evolve and grow the tournament’s impact on the game of golf, and in the San Diego community,” said Farmers Chief Marketing Officer Melissa Joye. “As we approach the 2022 event, we’re proud to continue our sponsorship and look forward to hosting the APGA Tour’s first-ever nationally televised event.”

“The teamwork, flexibility and creativity exhibited by the PGA TOUR and Farmers Insurance to adapt the schedule for a Saturday finish was outstanding,” said Dan Weinberg, Executive Vice President, Programming, CBS Sports. “For over a decade the Farmers Insurance Open has launched our season. Thanks to our terrific relationships, our viewers are in for a fantastic sports weekend on CBS with golf, football and college basketball.” 

“There is tremendous interest and momentum on the APGA Tour as we continue our mission to prepare African Americans and other minority golfers to compete and win at the highest level of professional golf,” said APGA Tour CEO Ken Bentley. “Farmers Insurance has been a founding and consistent supporter of our efforts for several years. The opportunities, connections and exposure that we already received through the Farmers Insurance Invitational being held the same week at the same venue as the PGA TOUR were already tremendous for the development of our Tour and our players. With today’s announcement of a 36-hole event with a final round on Torrey Pines’ South Course that includes our first live broadcast on the Golf Channel, we couldn’t be more thankful and grateful for the effort and support from the Farmers team, the Century Club, the PGA TOUR and Golf Channel. The Farmers Insurance Invitational will be a fantastic showcase of the talented players on the APGA Tour and their stories of perseverance and determination.”  

“We’re proud to present the first-ever national telecast of an Advocates Pro Golf Association Tour event with the Farmers Insurance® Invitational next January on GOLF Channel,” said Tom Knapp, EVP, Partnerships and Programming, NBC Sports. “NBC Sports and GOLF Channel are committed to growing the game of golf and utilizing our platforms to help the sport become more diverse and inclusive. We’re excited to showcase the competition on the APGA Tour and provide a national platform for the Tour and its players.”

In collaboration with Farmers, the Century Club has contributed more than $15 million to deserving organizations benefiting at-risk youth through the tournament since 2010. Patrick Reed, who claimed a five-stroke victory in 2021 at the Farmers Insurance Open, is expected to defend his title in 2022.

Ryder Cup Ratings Up From 2018, Down From 2016

/
Screen Shot 2021-09-28 at 9.23.15 AM.png

Television ratings for the 2021 Ryder Cup are in and they’re solid given a number of factors.

  • These were the first matches played this century without Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson

  • It was Sunday runaway going up against some stellar NFL action

  • The Friday to Sunday broadcast windows were all 11, 10 and six hours

  • Plenty of cords have been cut since the last domestic playing and almost all ratings are down

Final day audiences increased from the 2018 edition at Le Golf National where Europe won handily.

Sunday’s final day at Whistling Straits drew a 2.14/3.5 million total audience. That’s up from a 1.8/2.67m in 2018 but down from a 2016 final day 2.7/4.27m.

The 2012 final day at Medinah drew a 3.8/5.5 million average viewers) over a similar six hour window as recent Cups.

Showbuzzdaily.com has all the numbers here.

The Friday increase for Friday’s action is solid given the decline in homes reached for Golf Channel compared to five years ago:

Friday in 2018 on Golf Channel averaged 765k viewers but also started at 2 am ET.

In 2016, previously touted as the most watched weekday for Golf Channel, Ryder Cup coverage posted 1.3 million average viewers per minute and a 0.94 rating in 11 hours of coverage, nearly identical to this year’s .93 but can attribute the 16% rise presumably to additional streaming numbers.

Not so hot was Thursday’s Opening Ceremony, which drew a .13 and average of 209,000 viewers. So not far off from a fall PGA Tour final round.

Quadrilateral: Straits Shellacking

/

Quadrilateral: Saturday Ryder Cup Wrap: USA Opens Record 11-5 Lead

/
1631F71F-5B71-48D7-A812-AB7A9C8805C7_1_105_c.jpeg

Reviewing Saturday's wild action and brouhahas. Plus, a look at Sunday Singles along with a few telecast notes. As is the case, this one is for paid subscribers but you’re always welcome to sign up, get some free issues or pay and not miss an issue of The Quadrilateral.

Whew, I’m exhausted! That was one wild and crazy Saturday but is anyone surprised?

All Hail Yale! Restoration Of The Macdonald Masterwork Finally Set To Happen

/
Screen Shot 2021-09-23 at 10.55.14 PM.png

Longtime readers know we’ve been through many ups and downs over Yale Golf Course, which, despite the university in question and many other factors that should prevent its masterful CB Macdonald/Seth Raynor design from ever falling into disrepair, has been a total soap opera. It’s doubly painful since the course hosts tournaments and has actually been a more affordable option for good players in the area.

Finally, after horrible changes by Roger Rulewich and overall decline, an agreement has been reached to do a proper restoration. Bradley Klein reports on Gil Hanse getting the gig to rejuvenate Yale Golf Course.

Quadrilateral: Finally, The Ryder Cup Is Here

/
IMG_9134.jpg

The foursomes are set for bright and early Friday morning with few surprises but some absolutely juicy match-ups.

In this edition for my dear subscribers, I also review the typically dreadful opening ceremony and drop some lighter fare in the form of a merchandise review.

It’s been three years but the most lively three days of golf have arrived. Enjoy the Cup!

"Like mistaken Thatcherite generalisations about English football hooligans all being disenfranchised lumpenproles rather than white-collar weekend warriors"

/

I tried to take a more measured approach to the issue of potential fan behavior questions looming at this Ryder Cup, while the Irish Times’ Dave Hannigan went the full takedown route for poor fan behavior in golf and in particular, the Ryder Cup.

And what would a Ryder Cup be with out some grievance airing from overseas!

Theories explaining declining standards of behaviour and an increasing absence of decorum around tee-boxes and greens are manifold. Some say it is the increased availability of drink that is fuelling these miscreants. As if free booze had never been poured in a corporate tent on a course until recently. Others, including the PGA Tour commissioner, reckon the disruptive carry-on is the inevitable consequence of the sport drawing a younger demographic. Too many testosterone-driven lads think they are at a college grid-iron game and act accordingly.

Like mistaken Thatcherite generalisations about English football hooligans all being disenfranchised lumpenproles rather than white-collar weekend warriors, the evidence suggests otherwise. Plenty of those shouting “get in the bunker” or “Brooksie!” in mid-swing are actually prosperous middle-aged men getting their inner lout on.