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Good luck, Michael Whan – you’ll need it
If you were like me, you probably had a similar reaction as I Wednesday when you got wind of the LPGA’s new Commissioner.
As in “Who?”
Surely, Michael Whan wasn’t on anyone’s short list – well, save for perhaps his mother’s – when it came to the vacant top post with the ladies.
Well, one thing we do know. He had better be a heck of a lot more effective than his predecessor. Last we checked, Carolyn Bivens was still trying to remove various irons from her backside on her way out of town following a player revolt this past summer.
Thanks to Bivens and her combative ways, the LPGA Tour on Whan’s watch has plenty of kissing and making up to do. Whan will be walking into every boardroom, every meeting, with a friendly, how-you-doin’ smile – which may work out well for him seeing he has worked for companies that hawk toothpaste and tooth-whitening polish.
Most with any knowledge of the search progress figured one of Donna Orender, Peter Bevacqua or Arlen Kantarian would have to be considered the frontrunner for the post. And, yes, you are forgiven if you have to use a mulligan on a Google search there, as well.
Then again, the fact that there was virtually no coverage, no interest, in the search in any major publication is just further proof of all how far the LPGA has fallen. No one really cares anymore.
They are now hoping that mindset will change with Whan kicking up his feet in Bivens’ old office.
I guess the LPGA could have done a lot worse than hiring a savvy marketing executive to run the ship. The LPGA, with an endless array of talent on the tee every week, has an intriguing story to tell. Unfortunately, most just got sick of Bivens’ act and tuned out.
It’s now in Whan’s hands to get the support, along with the sponsors, back on board.
We wish you luck, Michael. You’ll need that – and a whole lot more.
Risdon may not get wish, Appleby in begging mode and Richard Scott has tough week at Q-School
If Dustin Risdon feels he is not quite ready for the PGA Tour, as he told me in an interview last month, then he certainly didn’t do himself any favours Sunday in the final round of the Nationwide Tour Championship.
Risdon posted a final-day 67 at Daniel Island that lifted him into 26-40 territory on the Nationwide money list, earning himself a pass right into the final stage of PGA Tour Q-School.
Now, we know Risdon isn’t going to “tank it” in the hopes of staying out on the Nationwide for 2010, but you have to admire the guy’s honesty. Here is one of Canada’s young guns coming right out and saying another year on the Nationwide Tour is in his best interests right now, especially considering he is six rounds away from joining the land of millionaires. Perhaps Risdon saw the early struggles from Jon Mills and David Hearn on the PGA Tour, and would rather fine-tune his game for another year before making the jump.
No matter. Once final stage begins and Risdon realizes how close he is to realizing his dream, he’ll have the pedal down. The chance may never come along again.
***
Remember all the warm, fuzzy feelings in everyone when the golf world was trumpeting David Duval’s return at the U.S. Open earlier this summer? Remember how he turned back the clock and showed the stuff that once saw him dueling for top perch on the global golf birdcage?
Um, never mind.
Duval has only made one cheque in seven tries since Bethpage and is now on the outside looking in when it comes to keeping a card, sitting 149th on the money list.
If you thought Duval was in tough, consider this: Stuart Appleby, who began the year as the only player in the world to start every single major and World Golf Championship event in the past 12 years, will be begging for exemptions next year. Looks like he has thrown in the towel on 2009 and returns to Australia without a card.
***
Of all the Canadians that failed to get out of the opening stage of PGA Tour Q-School last week, perhaps none is as perplexing as Richard Scott of Kingsville, Ont. After a trio of Canadian Amateur crowns, Scott was widely viewed as a can’t-miss prospect on the Canadian golf scene – and he might still be. It’s a little early to write a 26-year-old off and it may take a couple of years to get his feet under him as a pro – see DeLaet, Graham. But no matter how much talent you’ve got in your golf bag, Scott’s first-stage ouster is proof if you haven’t got your game on at the right time of year, you’re going home early.
Payne remains a decade later
Ten years. Hard to believe, isn’t it, that it was a decade ago when the final moments of Payne Stewart’s life played out right before our eyes on national television like some twisted reality show that could never have a happy ending.
Oct. 25, 1999. If you’re a fan of the game, chances are you remember exactly where you were when you heard the news.
And no, ten years later, it doesn’t make any more sense, just as it didn’t as we watched as that LearJet flew across the miles, destination unknown, before dropping from the South Dakota sky, a pair of F-16s keeping watch over a scene that no one could really comprehend.
Long before that plane hit the ground, Payne Stewart and five others were gone.
Four months earlier, Stewart had knocked off young hotshot Phil Mickelson with a 15-foot putt on the final hole at the U.S. Open, displaying that now-famous leg kick and fist-pump, now forever etched in time.
And as soon as his ball hit the bottom of the cup, he walked over and took Mickelson’s face in his hands and told the soon-to-be daddy:
“Good luck with the baby. There’s nothing like being a father.”
The next day, Lefty and his wife, Amy, celebrated the birth of their first child.
That was just Stewart’s way: respect for his foes but an even larger appreciation for the game, its history and what it stands for.
Payne Stewart, like any of us, was not perfect. He had a fiery temper and more than a few times displayed a short fuse with the media. But he was a throwback, with that tam o’shanter cap and those plus-fours. Ten years ago, Tiger Woods and to a lesser degree, Mickelson himself, were showing signs of their pending domination, but the torch had not yet been passed. Guys like Stewart, they were about to be bumped to the second page of the golf headlines, but back then, back in 1999, it was still their time.
That wasn’t going to change for a while.
Or so we thought.
Ten years. And we wonder where the time, like personalities such as Payne Stewart, has gone.
DeLaet ready for the big time
He may not have done it in golf’s fast lane that is the PGA Tour, but an argument could be made – and a valid one at that – that Graham DeLaet is putting on the finishing kick of one of the most dominating seasons by a Canadian professional in recent memory.
In what was a definite statement year for the long-bomber from Saskatchewan, DeLaet has sent a pretty loud message that he is ready for the big time. The stats, it would seem, back him up.
Yeah, we know, his name isn’t Mike or Stephen and, as far as we know, he hasn’t put a million bucks away in the bank account. Well, as of yet anyway. Given his current pace, don’t bet against that happening sometime in the next few years.
Canadians may want to start paying attention to this kid.
You’ll have to go back to 2003, when Weir won The Masters for his third triumph of the season, to see a Canuck put up the type of numbers DeLaet has over the past 14 months. Different stage, perhaps, but same game.
DeLaet’s run since the 2008 Desjardins Montreal Open is nothing short of staggering. Arriving in Montreal in August of last summer, he had made just three of eight cuts on the Canadian Tour all season and hadn’t cracked the top 20.
That changed with a win in La Belle Province. From that day until this past Sunday – when he captured his first win on the South African Sunshine Tour – DeLaet has been a locomotive with a golf bag. In 18 starts on two different continents for the Canadian and Sunshine Tours, DeLaet has made 15 cuts with four wins – three in Canada – five runner-up showings, a third, fourth, eighth and two other top-12 results.
He won the Canadian Tour’s Order of Merit in a landslide despite playing in three less events than his closest pursuer, made the cut at the RBC Canadian Open and joined forces with Stuart Anderson to earn Canada a spot in next month’s Omega Mission Hills World Cup in China.
Now, with a free pass into the second stage of PGA Q-School thanks to the Canadian Tour’s money crown, DeLaet hopes to advance to the final phase and, if nothing else, earn a full-time Nationwide card for 2010.
Now is about the time Graham DeLaet moves on and introduces himself to the rest of the country. He’s paid his dues on the Canadian Tour and is set for prime time.
The numbers, as they say, don’t lie.
Seve Ballesteros British Open dream might be too big a challenge – even for him
Maybe this is a challenge too big for even Seve Ballesteros.
Granted, Ballesteros has earned the right to do pretty well anything he wants in this game for the rest of his life. His courageous, inspirational battle with brain cancer rubber-stamped his legacy; he was a legend long before this latest battle, the one that has captivated the world.
Now, Seve is on the record as saying he hopes to play in next year’s Open Championship.
Seve Ballesteros has nothing left to prove to anyone. By teeing it up at St. Andrew’s – assuming, of course, it is an official tournament round and not one of those Arnie-hitting-the-first-shot-at-Augusta ceremonial kickoffs – maybe Ballesteros will prove something to himself. That is only something he knows.
Even in good health, Seve has not made the cut at a major in well over a decade. Of course, in the grand scheme of things, that wouldn’t matter to the masses at the Old Course, which has to make you wonder, why do it at all? Could Seve one-up Watson’s performance this past summer? Perhaps, but, let’s be honest, not likely. The man is battling cancer – the fact he is still alive is defying the odds. In fact, Ballesteros doesn’t even need to play in an official round at The Open to get the joint rocking. A simple appearance at the first tee is sure to do that.
If Ballesteros wishes to play in The Open Championship, that is his right and he has, without a shred of doubt, earned that chance. No one will ever deny the man the opportunity, nor should they.
The fact that Seve Ballesteros is still waging this battle tells you all you need to know about the man. He is a champion’s champion.
If he never takes a another swing with a golf club, that is something that won’t change.
***
Not there was a lot of doubt, but Chris Baryla all but booked his place on the PGA Tour for 2010 at the Nationwide Tour’s Miccosukee Championship on Sunday.
A tie for 27th moved Baryla up one spot to 19th with just the Nationwide Tour Championship remaining on the schedule. With the top 25 earning PGA Tour playing privileges, it’s all but certain Baryla will join Mike Weir and Stephen Ames in the New Year.
Speaking of the Nationwide Tour, here is something you won’t see every day: Michael Sim and Michael Sims both tied for 17th Sunday.
***
Hats off also to Graham DeLaet, who continued his Midas touch with a victory at the South African Sunshine Tour’s BMG Classic Sunday. DeLaet, who gets a free pass into the second stage of PGA Tour Q-School thanks to winning the Canadian Tour’s Order of Merit in 2009, will also partner with Stuart Anderson to represent Canada at the Omega Mission Hillls World Cup next month. It seems no matter where he plays, DeLaet is showing no sign of slowing down.
Allenby-Kim, the make-up…
One thing is all too obvious in the wake of the Robert Allenby – Anthony Kim tit-for-tat at Harding Park.
There are four reporters – incidentally, all in the same scrum – that are in serious need of a visit to the audiologist (that, for those who haven’t quite mastered the art of Google, is also known in layman’s term as a hearing doctor).
If you listen to Allenby and read the rather feeble “press release” that came from the PGA Tour head office, you come to realize that those of us in the media are all just a bunch of idiots. As if you didn’t know that already, right?
Straight from the desk of PGA Tour Executive VP Rick George:
“Robert Allenby and Anthony Kim were both part of a fantastic week at The Presidents Cup in San Francisco, representing the U.S. and International Teams, respectively, with utmost professionalism, competitive spirit and good sportsmanship. Concerning the reports published after the fact with unfortunate comments attributed to Robert regarding Anthony, we understand that both players have since spoken and have put the incident behind them. We wish them both the best as they play out the remainder of their 2009 schedules.”
Gag. One has to wonder why the Tour was so quick to step in and mediate this little difference of opinion, unless, of course, it is to protect AK, their golden-child in waiting. Can’t recall them being so quick on the PR trigger when Steve Williams and Phil Mickelson were at each other’s throat…
Allenby went one further, suggesting his comments were taken “out of context”, industry speak for “I spoke before I thought and screwed up and I am just going to blame it on some slug in the media.”
As per Allenby:
“While I feel like the comments published were taken out of context, I did call Anthony to apologize for anything that I said or inferred that could possibly portray Anthony as anything less than a professional of the highest caliber.”
Yeah, Robert, we can see how “Maybe we should all take the theory of Anthony Kim…Get home at 4 a.m. and then go shoot 6 under” could be taken totally out of context.
And when some wide-eyed scribe – actually, make that no less than FOUR – licks his chops and asks Allenby if the conversation is on the record, the Aussie leaves a little more doubt, didn’t he?
“I don’t care. Ask his playing partners. Ask his team. He is the loosest cannon in that team.”
Yep. Plenty of ways to screw up that quote, huh?
So instead of ‘fessing up and admitting his comments were in the heat of battle as Allenby licked his wounds following a textbook whoopin’, Allenby runs and hides behind the “I was misquoted” shield, even as he refers to Kim as the “current John Daly” of the PGA Tour. Instead of admitting to openly questioning the late-night habits of the guy that administered that whooping, he tucks his tail between his legs as the PGA Tour gives him a reassuring pat on the head in the form of some perplexing press release.
Instead of opening himself up to public scorn, Allenby instead chose to blame the media. All four of them.
It is what is known as damage control, and Allenby did his part. The rest, as it turns out, was done from some office in Ponte Vedra Beach.
Allenby tirade on Kim nothing but sour grapes
Seems that losing thing doesn’t sit very well with Aussie Robert Allenby.
Shortly after getting it handed to him by young gun Anthony Kim Sunday at the Presidents Cup, Allenby went off on Kim, saying the American staggered “sideways” into the team hotel at 4 a.m. the night before, just a few hours before their scheduled singles match.
Hung over or not, Kim made short work of Allenby, drubbing him 5&3. Cue the Allenby whine-a-thon:
“Maybe we should all take the theory of Anthony Kim. Get home at 4 o’clock in the morning and then go shoot 6 under.”
Maybe, Robert. Maybe indeed.
Oh, and he wasn’t done yet:
“Ask his playing partners. Ask his team. He is the loosest cannon on that team.”
Looking to land another shot below the belt, Allenby also referred to Kim as the “current John Daly” of the PGA Tour.
Hmmm, wonder if by that Allenby means the hard-drinkin’ fist-pounding Hooters regular or the two-time major champion – which, incidentally, is two more than Allenby has on his resume.
Listen, these little international bragging right things can test the patience of many, especially when you are on the wrong end of the beating as Allenby and his International Team colleagues were at Harding Park. And Kim’s nightlife habits are becoming the stuff of legend, with Kim himself admitting that he has to cut back on the booze if he is to fully live up to his potential.
Golfweek even reports that an unidentified U.S. team member says Kim was asked to go back to his room during a team function because he wasn’t “presentable”. Whether or not that means three sheets to the wind or just dressed like a slob is anyone’s guess.
But, at the end of the day, Allenby needs to grow up. Instead, he comes across as a snivelling whiner because he was taken to school by a 25-year-old. Play better. Or, better yet, take your lumps like a man.
Then again, Kim probably said it best:
“If Robert had that to say,” Kim said, “he may need to go practice a little bit more.”
Naked truth on ESPN photo spread, Baryla wins and how about mandatory golf attire for Rio?
OK, so it didn’t exactly have Hugh Hefner’s legendary stamp of approval – darnit, we know – but seeing the much-discussed ESPN Magazine Body issue was really nothing to get, um, all cracked up over.
Seriously, gawking at Sandra Gal, Anna Grzebien and Christina Kim sans shirts and skirts isn’t any big deal. No sense getting your knickers in a twist – if the ladies were wearing any. The beer cart girl at the course I played last week had less clothing, and it was 12 degrees.
A couple of weeks back I was less than positive when discussing Christina Kim’s appearance in the magazine, what with her being a Player Representative on the Board of Directors and all. Seems someone named Christina Kim actually replied to the post and told me to wait until the issue came out before passing judgment. If it was the real Christina Kim, I stand corrected. Call me. If it wasn’t, get lost.
Really, it’s rather tasteful and, I must confess, pretty easy on the eyes. If any of the issues at your local newsstands have this one page ripped out, it’s safe to say most male readers agree with me.
In fact, the first thing I think of when I see that picture is “Hey, only two to a cart.” Or, if they’re looking to round out that foursome – for golf, I might add – look me up, ladies.
***
Tip o’ the cap to Canadian Chris Baryla, one of this country’s top prospects who has been snakebitten by injuries over the past few years. Baryla won his maiden Nationwide Tour event at the Chattanooga Classic on the weekend and is poised to make the jump to the PGA Tour for 2010.
For those who don’t know a lot about the kid, Baryla is borderline genius. With an IQ measured at 168, it seems Baryla’s game is finally catching up to his brain. He is the real deal.
***
The worst-kept secret in sports became official Friday when golf, along with rugby, got the nod for the 2016 Olympics in Rio. Golf was reinstated by a vote of 63-27 with a pair of abstentions, while only eight voted against rugby. That number, no matter how brave a face those in charge of golf’s bid choose to put on, is a bit alarming. Oh, speaking of which, where are these guys and gals going to play? Apparently, Rio has two golf courses and neither is up to Olympic snuff. No word if a clown’s mouth is part of the finishing hole. Oh, and for what it’s worth, a new golf course isn’t exactly in the Olympic budget.
***
Wanker of the Week comes straight from the Presidents Cup: apparently, on day one at Harding Park, Geoff Ogilvy is set to putt when some idiot’s cell phone rings. Unperturbed, Ogilvy backs off, addresses his attempt for a second time and said idiot’s phone goes off AGAIN. The foursome – Ogilvy, Tiger, Steve Stricker and Ryo Ishikawa – hunt down the culprit and it turns out it is a course marshal and he has no idea how to turn his cell phone off. Then again, given the shellacking the Tiger and Stricker administered on opening day, Ogilvy was probably willing the guy to call back.
Giving thanks for…
It’s Thanksgiving weekend – well, north of the 49th, anyway – a time to give thanks for the things that really matter, like family, friends, health, Jessica Alba and that two-iron you knocked stiff five months ago.
So, with untold millions of birds having met an untimely end before winding up on your table alongside the carrots and cranberry sauce, it’s also time to be grateful for those things that matter in the world of golf.
So, golf clap and genuine thanks:
For mute buttons and David Feherty. Package deal.
For Natalie Gulbis. Just because.
For Graham DeLaet. If you are from Canada and aren’t sure why we are giving thanks for this guy, just wait. You’ll see soon enough.
For the Olympic Games. Tiger and Co. going for gold in Rio, of all places, seven years from now. Whowouldathunkit?
For Monty and Sandy Lyle. The bickering between the two is adding a little spice to the 2010 Ryder Cup. One got the European captain’s gig, the other one is a little upset because he didn’t. Makes for some great reading.
For Brandt Snedeker and Adam Scott. Snedeker’s meltdown four-putt from 12 feet on the final hole at the BMW and Scott’s gong show of a season allows hope for we weekend hackers. Next time you put up a snowman on a par-3, think of these two. See, don’t you feel better already?
For Carolyn Bivens. For proving to each of us that, yes, you can hang on to your job for years despite getting the fur up of everyone around you while accomplishing, well, nothing.
For Tiger. No, not because he is just so darn good, but for calling out rules official John Paramor at the Bridgestone Invitational, proving even the most dominant, successful athletes in the world can still act like spoiled crybabies.
For Fartgate. Not sure why, exactly, but at least it gave us something else to talk about instead of Tiger carving up the field like that turkey you’re about to dig into.
For Jennifer Kirby and Matt Hill. Perhaps the well in Canadian golf isn’t as dry as the naysayers will have you believe.
For Scott Simmons and Bill Paul. Mother Nature may not have cooperated at Glen Abbey in July, but the tournament itself certainly had a world-class feel to it, something that hasn’t been easy to say in recent years when it comes to Canada’s national championship.
For Sergio Garcia and his constant whining, making a writer’s job far too easy. One day, he’ll grow up. We think.
For old boys Gary Player and Tom Watson. Watson thrilled the world at The Open Championship and nearly pulled the darn thing off, and Player dunked one in that silly little par-3 thing at Augusta, proving the teachers, every so often, can still steal the thunder from the students.
For Seve Ballesteros. Heroes, at least in sport, just don’t come much larger.
For Y.E. Yang, showing the world that Tiger is mortal, after all.
For Christina Kim. Whether doing the butt smack thing with Wie at the Solheim Cup, doing photo spreads for ESPN The Magazine or just being a tweetaholic, she marches to her own drummer.
And to you, the Fairways readers – a Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!
International Team needs to make this Presidents Cup interesting
Leading lambs to slaughter may indeed be just a little bit of a hyperbolic stretch, but the Americans should – as we caution, SHOULD – make short work of the Internationals this week at the Presidents Cup.
But, as the saying goes, there’s a reason they play these things, right? And for the sake of a rather prestigious event that seems to have lost a little of its lustre, the International Team needs to add a little drama this week.
This Presidents Cup is not exactly a slam-dunk, but it is about as close as you can get. The Americans have five players in the world’s top ten, the Internationals – let’s see here – well, none.
There are six players on the International squad that haven’t won anything in 2009. Anywhere.
Yet somehow, the newly-single Greg Norman and his international boys have to dig down deep in ‘Frisco and find a way to at least keep this one interesting heading into Sunday. The last thing the event needs is to have the U.S. boys home and cooled before the singles matches even begin, like in 2007. Sure, we north of the 49th like to talk about Mike Weir’s memorable taming of Tiger on that Sunday afternoon at Royal Montreal but not only was the outcome of the Presidents Cup no longer in doubt, trust me when I say no one outside of Canada really cared about Weir beating Tiger on his home soil.
The Americans are looking to win the Presidents Cup for the sixth time in eight tries and they’ve never lost at home. Things are not exactly lining up in the Internationals’ favour this week.
Any time you get Villegas, Ogilvy, Singh, Weir, Goosen, Els, Cabrera, Allenby, Clark and Yang on the same team – not to mention wild cards Ishikawa and Scott – there is always hope. Well, save for Scott anyway. They’ve got at least a puncher’s chance this week.
But the Internationals need more than to catch a lucky break with a haymaker. They need a clear knockout to get people talking about the Presidents Cup again. Another American whitewash is not going to do that.
Last year, the prevailing train of thought was that the Americans needed to win back the Ryder Cup to get some renewed interest in a world-class event that was getting a little stale thanks to the European team’s complete domination in the match play format.
This time around, it’s the Internationals that need to put up some sort of a fight in San Francisco.
Anything else and the Presidents Cup is going to met with yet another shrug of the shoulders.
Fairways Web Editor Marty Henwood spent more than six years as the Media Relations Director with the Canadian Tour and has been involved in sports journalism for more than a decade, including stints in newspaper, radio, new media and media relations. He will offer his unique take on the world of golf, with nothing and no one off limits.