PGA Tour: WGC Dell Match Play: No Notes from the Ballwasher

First topic message reminder :

Anything to start a thread for this week, but no notes as out of town and out of touch (even more than usual).

Let the matches, and comments, begin:

Surprised they can get away with that sort of discrimination SR.

Hmmm ... wonder if it's ever been challenged? Still PLENTY of places for boarders to go in Park City.

Deer Valley website in case you have interest ... http://www.deervalley.com/

Interesting point raised by vc606 that Berger & Casey have been denied any official money/owgr points/FedEx points following their Friday withdrawal.
To which I would offer that Ben An also w/d, on Saturday, but receives full credit for a 9th place finish.
That all sounds like a load of b0ll0cks, especially given that everyone seemed to say Day could sit out Thursday and still play Friday.

Something smells.


Mad River Glen among other resorts that don't allow riders . . . . . . . 'Course, they don't have snow-making either so they were royally screwed this winter.

Surprised anyone would want a resort that results in it's users ruining the powder for everyone and favouring a technique that leads to moguls. Turkey's voting for christmas

Kwini

vc606 actually said that Berger gets paid and Casey doesn't despite both WDing.

princedrac wrote:Nosferatu ‏@VC606  4h4 hours ago
Hopefully just a misprint, can't see why @Paul_Casey doesn't get any money. Berger also WD but he gets a prize...

He later mentioned that Na gets paid less than guys with only 2 wins while Na has 2 wins and a draw.  It all seems a bit odd.  

Mac,
Yes he did.
I had originally assumed that, because Berger also didn't receive any owgr points, drac might have got that wrong - but of course none of those who didn't even halve a hole (like Wood, Smylie and boy wonder Justin Thomas) received owgr points, whereas Casey secured a half.

So drac is correct, and An's reward is at best inconsistent with stroke-play practice and application of points/prize-money.

Casey has been screwed. Knowing Casey I imagine there'll be a steward's inquiry.

EDIT: pgatour.com, rather than the WGC pages, suggest Berger similarly received no official cash or FedEx points . . . . . . . . . .
Still think this is inconsistent with the speculation regarding Day's participation on Thursday.

Long-range forecast for next week in Augusta, GA:
Temps in the 70's every day, nothing more than a 40% chance of rain.
Breezy every day but nothing extreme.
BUT: Could be some strong storms passing through next w/end which might soften the course a tad.

http://www.worldgolfchampionships.com/dell-match-play/past-results.html

Looks like Paul Casey got left out of the payouts this week.

And Kisner got 1.5 extra FEX points.

Shotrock wrote:Off topic ... but if you ever get a chance to ski at Deer Valley in Park City, Utah, by all means go! I have never had a more pleasant skiing experience.

Might be the same place that Poults went to over Xmas. He raved about it as well.

GPB,
As for Berger, this listing is all to c0ck. According to Kisner's player page, he only received 27 pts.
Still don't understand how Ben An gets full credit though, seeing as he walked off vs Rafa.

PS: Casey is now shown on the owgr site as receiving 1.49 pts, and other "half-pointers", Leishman etc, have their points adjusted accordingly.
EDIT: And Casey also receives 15.5 FedEx points, but no "official" money, though he'll surely have earned unofficial money so his bank manager needn't lose any sleep.

What a mess.

Another mess:
It seems the Rickie/Rory Challenge Match before the US Open, in Detroit, has been cancelled.
Rumours abound that Michigan Governor Rick Snyder (R), fresh off his triumph in the water supply lead poisoning of the population of the City of Flint, has demanded he compete as one of the "celebrity component" (instead of either Timberlake or Wahlberg), and that hasn't (yet?) been agreed to.

You would hope Rory and Rickie would have the sense to stay clear of that scumbag.

Rory might, doubt Science Denier would have the sense Mac, that's his demographic.

With Rafa CB now officially qualified for The Masters, it seems the field will be limited to about 92 golfers. pgatour.com indicates Olazabal won't be playing, and there must be fitness question marks against Messrs Berger and Woods - and Day?

A field of about 90 must be music to Billy Payne's ears, keeping the riff raff out. Take out some ceremonial participants and the "competitive" field will be about 75 (minus a few dozen more depending upon your point of view).

Plenty of resorts don't allow snowboarders. Which is good. They're a huge annoyance to other skiers - bit like a grandma Sunday driver. On top they don't spend money at the resort and smoke too much weed.
PS. I'm not prejudiced...

Kwini:  JMO  announced a couple of weeks ago that he won't be playing the Masters

http://www.golfdigest.com/story/jose-maria-olazabal-citing-health-issues-to-miss-masters

Robo has informed me that PGATour is rectifying the Berger and Casey snafus

They will receive Official Money and FEX points.

Official Money is not really a currency for anymore for PGATour players.  Except for Ryder Cup standings.   Since Casey is not a EuroTour member anymore, official money is official to his banker (and his wife)

With only 90 players, Jack and Gary can get an extra 15 minutes of sleep on Thursday morning as the tee times will be pushed back a couple of tee times.

The rest of us will get an extra hour of sleep during Jason Day's round..

Re Jason Day. Quite.

GPB,
Yup, figured that out this morning about Casey etc. See above.
Official Money is actually quite important for Casey given that he hasn't that many years of PGA Tour membership.
His career earnings are only( ) $14.7M, 98th on the All-Time list and way off the pace necessary to reach the Top 50 in career earnings. Could be important in his Tour career and, with only one win so far) could be significant in any Champions Tour aspirations. Tho $50K-ish is not really here nor there.
Thanks for the JMO info - hadn't seen that, the trouble (the only one of course) with being in England for a few days.

By what date would Tiger have to confirm whether or not he is playing the masters?

Mac,
As it's by invitation only, I'm guessing that all the players have to do is register next week, but exactly when the deadline is I haven't a clue.

McIlroy has pulled out of the Masters par 3 contest ans has not had his usual pre masters week trip to Augusta this season.

Just a scheduling quirk or does McIlroy want to change his approach to completing the career grand slam.

Rory says he just wants to eliminate as many distractions as possible; would have thought Wozza's attractions were pretty stimulating but not enough apparently.

Will Esteban Toledo be the first ex pro boxer to caddie at The Masters? The Champions Tour star will be working for Sandy Lyle, donating the caddie fee to charity. Good man that Esteban; pulled a man from a burning car that had crashed on a crowded LA Freeway a few years ago, among plenty of other things.

I wish Lyle would just get lost, he's an embarrassment.

Terrific interview on pgatour.com with Adam Scott:

http://www.pgatour.com/long-form/2016/03/29/adam-scott-q-and-a.html

Interesting stuff Kwini, thanks for sharing

http://www.golf.com/tour-and-news/what-happened-tiger-woods-it-remains-most-vexing-question-sports

What a fantastic article! A fantastic insight into Tiger.

Thank you for posting that link sirbenson. A really interesting read.

I will wait until a few more people have read it to offer my thoughts on the issues raised.

PS - anyone else notice this from Tigers site

http://www.tigerwoodsfoundation.org/newsfeed/article/169581390/tiger-woods-foundation-to-host-pga-tours-hyundai-sponsored-tournament-in-los-angeles/

Tigers foundation to host Riviera, which will be sponsored by Hyundai.

Which perhaps casts further doubt on the future of the FedEx play-off DeutscheBank event - or it's replacement in the Boston area.

Tiger has gone out of his way not to support the LA Open these past few years . . . . . . quite the turnabout.

Interesting article about Tiger, and even more interesting suggestion from the comments that it's down to steroids.

Surely that isn't a theory which is new to you Smithers? It's been floated around a long time, although to be fair to 9C for a moment, there is nothing which would suggest it is true, and if he couldn't keep his extra marital activities quiet, how could he keep this quiet?

At the very least though, it's certainly suspicious however that a golfer should have so many "injuries" as 9C has had, so there is grounds for suspicion.

super_realist wrote:Surely that isn't a theory which is new to you Smithers? It's been floated around a long time, although to be fair to 9C for a moment, there is nothing which would suggest it is true, and if he couldn't keep his extra marital activities quiet, how could he keep this quiet?

At the  very least though, it's certainly suspicious however that a golfer should have so many "injuries" as 9C has had, so there is grounds for suspicion.

If I remember right, the cocktail waitresses didn't exactly give his sexual prowess a ringing endorsement. Another side effect of steroid overuse is decreased libido....just saying.

Interesting points from the article posted by sirb

- Tiger lost interest in the game at a number of points in his career

- He tried to swim with sharks!

- Somehow I had never heard about the 17-17 tie and play off with Ernie in the presidents cup. But many pro's see it as one of the greatest putts ever.

- Despite claims on here it is pretty clear that the author of the article and the editors of golf.com are happy to accept Sergio's comment was racist.

- And in general the level of racism Tiger has faced during his time in golf has been pretty significant.

- He might be a nicer person in real life than his (self constructed) media image portrays.

-The navy seal stuff is still weird, and whats even weirder is that not only did he swim with sharks but he tried to swim with actual seals. Basically he likes seals. A lot.

- He might actually be academically quite bright.

- Somewhere in the article a pro is quoted as saying he played "the greatest golf ever seen". Would Jack fans be willing to accept that Tiger played the greatest golf ever seen between 1997 and 2008?

Thanks for the Tiger interview sirB,

As for Mac's questionnaire:

Lost interest? Tough to answer.

Sharks? Yup, the swimming kind and possibly the medical variety too - amazing that there's no reference in this interview to his relationship with Dr Anthony Galea and the blood-spinning/curdling stories.

Yup, interesting that Woods seemed to get up for the Presidents Cup but not the Ryder Cup. As for the South Africa story, surely Els should get equal share of the credit?

Fried Chicken? Anything to perpetuate the legend that puerile remarks are necessarily racist . . . . . .

Racism in his life? Don't you think Woods has also been the beneficiary of reverse racism as well; earned $gazillions by being the universally popular and transcendant black American (much like Michael Jordan) who mega-corporations and media could hang their token "politically correct" hat on?

Likeability? Tour pros (and presumably others) seem pretty evenly split on like Tiger vs dislike Tiger? There have always been stories about generosity and empathy with fellow pros - most frequently those who have never been a threat to his supremacy. Other stories would suggest that Earl Woods long ago poisoned the media's relationship with his son.

Quite bright? Probably very bright!

Greatest? Probably from late 1999 thru 2006 anyway.


As well as the medical stuff left unsaid, I'd like to have seen more reference to the funding of his Foundation; it's always grated with me that Woods chooses not to pay California State taxes (which contribute towards school funding across the board) yet uses an ethically (if not legally) challenged tax exemption gleaned from sources around the country/world to fund his baby. One day the tax-exempt nature of Tour events and their "charitable contributions" will be challenged in the US courts. Meanwhile, as reported above, he gets another media free pass by transferring his support from "Boston" to LA. Something very Drumpf-like about the media's behaviour towards Mr.Woods!

Interesting that there's never anything attributable to one of the dozens of women he's allegedly had his/their way with; hush-money must have cost him a fortune.

I see that IMG has cancelled the 2016 Aussie Masters.
What is it with Aussie golf that they can't sustain a viable calendar of decent events?
Would think a little money to underwrite all their secondary events would buttress the so-called Triple Crown tournaments, boost owgr points, etc., etc., everything that creates a domino impact.

Kwini

I don't think this is the time or place to go into it but I don't even accept the concept that "reverse racism" exists. As a white middle class male I am not going to try and pretend I understand what discrimination can do to you.

I assume by "Drumpf-like" you mean the media are not skeptical enough or do not portray Tiger in his true light. If this is true do you think it is one of the reasons he is not more popular with the more established golf fans? i.e those who are club members, watch most tour events on Tv (kind like the posters on here). Has the slightly sycophantic media response (possibly more so in the US) to Tiger turned this group off Tiger. Or can the pringle jumper brigade just not bring themselves to like a black man?

I do agree that more could have been mentioned about his medicine cabinet and foundation funding. But he is not the only golfer who chooses to live in a low tax state. For whatever reasons most players seem to live in Florida.

Sergio's comment was racist. If you need proof, poll 100 randomly chosen African Americans. Or, better yet, go to downtown Philly and start shouting that remark to every African American that walks by. Let me know how that works out.

Isn't "fried chicken" more likely a dish traditional than those of southern states in general than strictly black people?

I think Tiger, like Drumpf still does, got a pretty cushy ride from the media when he was in his pre-Escalade prime; and from everything we knew at the time, he deserved it. But, as with Drumpf, we don't know what the media knew but wouldn't impart.
fyi, Drumpf has received "free media" coverage valued two weeks ago of $2B since his quasi-Presidential campaign began, way more than double that of his nearest rival, Dem or Repub. Tiger is the same and his sponsors must love it.

Unfortunately it is the habit of media everywhere to build headliners up and rip them back down whenever the opportunity arises, there as much as here.

If Tiger could come out from behind the Steiny image, communicate a bit better and show some humility he'd become a very sympathetic figure. Perhaps that metamorphosis is already underway?

Super - You are correct. I would also suggest that if you enjoy fried chicken this place is awesome: http://hattiesrestaurant.com/

That, of course, has nothing to do with the long history of racist connotations of that phrase pea-brained Sergio muttered. Again, if you would like to test the offensiveness of that comment, head on down to any major city here in these United States ...

Shotrock wrote:Sergio's comment was racist. If you need proof, poll 100 randomly chosen African Americans. Or, better yet, go to downtown Philly and start shouting that remark to every African American that walks by. Let me know how that works out.

Do the same in Seville and they'll just give you a wide berth. Not that I think it wasn't racist but rather the Spanish are a bit weird like that - for instance all the black faces at Hamilton in F1

Go downtown Philly, or any other American city (plus most British cities) and utter something in a foreign language, sensible or offensive, and one doubts anyone would know wtf they're talking about.
Puerile/stupid does not necessarily = racist. And certainly not in comparison to the racist and discriminatory behaviour institutionalised in many of these disunited States.

Kwini

Has been talk for a while that the Aussie masters was about to fold. A shame to loose the great courses but the event itself was pretty grim in terms of field strength the last few years.

Kwini

As far as I am aware no golfer has ever received proper analytical coverage. Do you think Jacks thoughts on gay marriage, black people, women, transgender people would be savoury or do you think his massive support for some pretty aweful republican candidates would make him seem like a nice guy?

Do you think between golf more universally liked heroes; Seve, Jack, Arnie, Player, Trevino etc there are no unearthed horror stories?

All those players benefit from a media unwilling to question the mantra that they are great guys above reproach.

Here is a picture of Jack and Caitlyn Jenner

https://twitter.com/abbeymastracco/status/705557039829876737

There's already a trans gender player on the LET (no, not Laura Davies...), Mianne Bagger.