Seve, Tiger and a pair of shoes
I don’t really have any personal connection with Seve Ballesteros – never met the man, saw him play or spoke to him on the phone. Yet for the past thirty years Seve has been part of every golf round I’ve ever played and often in my thoughts as I watched golf telecasts or live tournaments.
In my own games, whenever I hit a bad shot, I mutter to myself, “way to go Seve!” I can’t recall when this started or why. All I know is that it has been part of my post shot routine for a long time. Occasionally a playing partner will overhear me which often leads to recollections of horrendous drives that Seve hit, from which he usually recovered brilliantly. Whether I’m channeling my inner Spaniard or using some form of visualization might be ascertained by a team of clinical psychologists, but I don’t really care. I’m far more concerned with the magical recovery shot that I can imagine Seve making and me duplicating. Such is the state of my game.
Similar thinking occurs as I watch golf on TV. When some Tour chop finds himself in an impossible situation, I usually ask myself what Seve would do. While some of the modern players are pretty adept at getting out of trouble, you know that Seve would come up with some kind of shot that only he could imagine. And he’d pull it off too. Today’s players could watch endless tape of Seve being creative but I don’t think you can teach that stuff. It’s something you’re borne with.
Obviously I’m saddened by Seve’s death. And particularly sad for his family and close friends who were part of his tough battle these past few years. I feel fortunate to have witnessed his genius and kind of empty knowing he’s gone.
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Some day I’m going to have to figure out how the Official World Golf Rankings work. Tiger Woods hasn’t won anything since before the fire hydrant jumped in front of his SUV but he’s still ranked 8th in the world. He’s managed three T4′s in the past two Masters and last year’s US Open but apart from those results he’s been MIA. Some players get into the top 10 without ever winning but at least they’re playing a lot of events and recording top 10 finishes. Tiger’s not playing much at all. And when he is, he’s not placing high enough to warrant his current position in the OWGR.
The rankings reflect results over two years and give heavier weighting to the current year and to majors. That’s likely why Tiger has hung on to his lofty perch as long as he has. Something tells me that he’s about to drop precipitously as older points drop off and aren’t replaced by new ones. This latest injury may see him drop out of the Top 10 altogether. That will certainly generate lots more articles and columns suggesting Woods is done like dinner and Jack’s record is safe. However, anyone who watched him win the US Open at Torrey Pines on one leg knows an injured Tiger is still pretty dangerous. I’m not making any predictions about breaking Jack’s record but I certainly wouldn’t be calling it a career quite yet either.
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I don’t often get too jacked about new equipment. I know what I like and what works for me. I also rarley talk about it. However, last week I tried a pair of the ECCO Golf Street shoes. Without a doubt they were the most comfortable shoes I have ever worn on the golf course in my entire life. I walked 18 holes and felt like I was wearing a pair of comfy slippers. Except, unlike slippers, they provided excellent support from every lie imaginable. They grip well too. These ECCOs come with little orange nubs on the bottom instead of plastic spikes. I suppose the nubs might wear down eventually and since they’re part of the sole, they can’t be replaced. But I also suspect the nubs will last as long as the shoe. I’ll try to stay off the pavement.
PS I tried to upload a picture but technical difficulties prevailed. I’ll keep trying.
Watch out for Woods
Quite a weekend for a lot of Canadian golfers. Congratulations to Rod Spittle who finally won on the Champions Tour after Monday qualifying for the past six seasons. That means fully exempt status for him next year.
Also kudos to David Hearn who finished inside the Top 25 on the Nationwide Tour which guarantees him a return to the PGA Tour in 2011.
Over the past two weeks, fourteen Canadian golfers made it through the first stage of Q school in their quest to earn playing status for 2011. Among the notables who didn’t make it were Nick Taylor and Matt Hill, ranked No. 1 and No. 2 amateurs in the world last year. Just goes to show that there’s a world of difference between the amateur and pro levels.
This Monday morning wouldn’t be complete without a comment on the latest World Golf Rankings. Lee Westwood is the new number one! Didn’t even play on the weekend. That’s part of the weirdness of the rankings.
Over the past season when perennial No. 1 Tiger Woods didn’t play well, five players had a chance to overtake him by winning – Phil Mickelson, Steve Stricker, Lee Westwood, Ernie Els and Martin Kaymer. None of them got the job done at the time it counted most. Both Westwood and Mickelson had multiple chances to move past Woods just by nabbing a top finish but even that couldn’t be had.
Tiger always says winning is the only thing that counts and the rest just follows. All of the top players will be teeing it up in China this week and I don’t look for Westwood to be No. 1 for long. Mickelson is the defending champion but Woods has a habit of putting things right when he puts his mind to it.
The rankings themselves are just a snapshot. They could change week to week or maybe someone else could start a long reign atop the list. If you were picking one guy to hang on to top spot for a while, who would it be?
For my money, I wouldn’t bet against Woods.
Tiger’s not talking. So what else is new?
They billed it as a news release but it really falls more under the category of “DUH!”
Tiger Woods agent Mark Steinberg released a statement that his client would no longer answer any questions about the past – meaning the past twelve months or the past twelve mistresses or something. Perhaps I missed the moment but at what point in the past twelve years did he ever answer anything.
Woods is a master at talking a lot but saying absolutely nothing – he has perfected the art of the non-answer. This is not just a celebrity athlete protecting his privacy. This has gone way beyond that.
Some athletes fall back on sports cliches to eliminate the need to think: “I try to show up at the rink every night. I’m giving it 110%.” Woods doesn’t need the cliche. He has more elaborate options that he can dial up as the occasion requires such as:
Patronizing banter – use the reporter’s nickname and reference some little incident that nobody else in the room has any clue about. Makes the reporter feel special. Leaves everybody else scratching their head and reaching for a barf bag. Note: if the reporter doesn’t have a nickname, make one up.
The icy stare – use for insensitive questions, meaning almost all questions. Follow icy stare with “Next question!”
The diversion – when asked a really tough question such as, “Tiger can you tell us about the skanks you were with in Vegas and what really happened in the parking lot at Perkins?” Respond with, “the greens here are running about 12 1/2. I had trouble finding my rhythm.”
The comeback – only to be used with really obnoxious reporters. (Meaning most of them). “Weren’t you the one who asked me that question at the British Open? Next question!”
The refusal – “I’m not going to talk about that. It’s personal.” Covers almost everything not related to the specific golf event this week including how things are going with his course design business; what’s upcoming on his playing schedule; and does that porn star really have video?
The denial – to be used both in media conferences and with the Florida Highway Patrol. No explanation required.
And finally, there is the textbook answer. This is sometimes known as the prepared text. It was perfected by Phil Mickelson in his early days on Tour when everything he uttered sounded like it was coming from his PR agency. Woods has taken it to a new level, given that he can deliver the statement with a sarcastic grin on his face so that you know he doesn’t believe a word of the b.s. he’s saying and worse, he knows you know. Maybe more appropriately this could be labelled under the category, “I’m Tiger. You’re not. Deal with it.”
So, Mr. Steinberg, pls explain how this latest announcement will mean anything different from past media scrums with Tiger. Or can I call you Steinie?
Final thoughts on the Presidents Cup
Congratulations to the American Team on winning the Presidents Cup. There’ll be lots of post mortem analysis on both sides but I think the biggest factor in the US victory was that the International team let the Americans back into a handful of key matches on Friday and Saturday that, had they gone the other way, might have changed the final outcome. It didn’t seem that the Internationals ever came from behind to steal one.
One of the biggest reversals was Saturday morning when Mike Weir and Tim Clark had Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker on the ropes but couldn’t close the deal. Ironically, Weir had a similar advantage on Justin Leonard in the Sunday singles but another poor approach to the 18th handed Leonard a half point gift.
Speaking of Tim Clark, did anybody ever put on a better display of chipping and putting than this guy? I’ll echo what the NBC broadcast team repeatedly pointed out. It’s unbelievable that Clark has never won a PGA Tour event. I suspect he will soon.
The edge goes to Greg Norman in the Captain’s pick category. While Adam Scott was a dismal 1-4-0, 18-year old Japanese sensation Ryo Ishikawa won three of his matches including a short game clinic singles victory over 49-year old Kenny Perry. Meanwhile, for the US, Hunter Mahan (2-1-1) was OK but US Open champion Lucas Glover (0-3-1) looked like he wanted to be somewhere else.
I’ve never been a big fan of the captains giving on-course advice to their team but the sight of Greg Norman on the greens helping his players read putts was particular galling. With a partner plus two caddies there’s already enough input to confuse anybody. That was pretty apparent when Jim Furyk and his caddie Mike “Fluff” Cowan tried to help Sean O’Hair in the Saturday fourball. O’Hair had the putt going one way, Furyk and Cowan the other. Naturally O’Hair missed.
Harding Park has to be a clear winner after this past week’s events. The course was ideal for match play competition and it was exciting to watch the players go for the green on several short par fours when the tees were moved up a bit. Maybe overall it’s a bit short by today’s bomber standards but with tight tree-lined fairways and heavily contoured greens I think this is a course that could host a major too. Just keep Rees Jones away from it.
Woods hates to lose and seems to bring his game to another level when he has something to prove. Just ask Y.E Yang who was thoroughly thumped in the singles. Although Yang still has the Wannamaker Trophy ……. Does Retief Goosen have a pulse? ………. Is there any way to keep Kelly Tilghman off the telecast?
Clever line: Roger Maltbie is the “course whisperer.”
Oddball observations: That Ally bank commercial that featured a kid playing with a big red truck cracked me up. Even though I saw it about fifty times over four days, when he gets the cardboard truck and says, “it’s a piece of junk,” I still laughed out loud every time.
Unrelated matter: Congrats to Canadian Chris Baryla on winning this weekend’s Nationwide Tour event. He moves into 20th spot on the money list and now has a PGA Tour card pretty well guaranteed for 2010.
STRIKE THREE!
STRIKE THREE! You’re outta there!
That should be it for the FedEx Cup. Tim Finchem and the PGA Tour have had three attempts to get it right and none of them have resonated with real golf fans or the players either for that matter. So let’s bid it farewell.
Yesterday’s version of a tournament within a tournament was just further proof that the PGA Tour’s convoluted process of choosing an annual champion doesn’t work. As a golf tournament it had plenty of excitement – Phil Mickelson putting on a charge to win, hapless Kenny Perry fading in a big event once again and Tiger Woods struggling to get something going. Anytime you have the two biggest names in golf monopolizing the airtime it’s got to be good for viewers, ratings and sponsors.
Oh and by the way, in case you missed it, since Tiger finished second all alone and Steve Stricker finished in sixth, Tiger accumulates 8,327.889 points to Stricker’s 5,975.002 points thereby maintaining his slim lead over Stricker in the FedEx Cup points race while Mickelson’s 9,114 ½ points for winning isn’t quite enough to catch Tiger but is enough to move from fourteenth spot past Stricker into second place. And if you find that a bit confusing let me refer you to this projected points list once again. Aaaaaagh!
So the bottom line is that Phil wins but finishes second and Tiger finishes second but wins.
I’ve racked my brain to think of a parallel situation in another sport where someone can win the season championship without winning the final game. I can’t think of one. Maybe one exists but I doubt it, because all other sports recognize the ridiculousness of that scenario.
The PGA Tour has pushed an assortment of playoff formats at us over the past three years thanks to the deep pockets of Federal Express. But even the FedEx folks must be tired of the negative feedback that their sponsored program generates. Pardon the pun, but this package is undeliverable.
Nobody will remember or care how many FedEx Cups Tiger or anybody else won after their career is over. Quick, how many Money Titles did Jack Nicklaus win? I suspect relatively few people can answer that but most every golf fan knows Jack won 18 professional majors. (Correct answer is 8).
The truth is that golf, like tennis, is measured by major championships. No amount of fiddling by Emperor Finchem is going to change that.
So assuming that my voice, like so many others, falls on deaf ears down in Ponte Vedra, and 2010 sees yet another version of the FedEx Cup, let’s see how we can make it better.
First, let’s eliminate FedEx Cup points. Players play for money, not points. And the whole points system is confusing. Currently the Tour uses the Top 125 on the Money List to determine who gets a card for the next year so why not use the same number for the playoffs.
Second, to be a true playoff, winners have to advance and losers go home. This scares the Tour because some of the biggest stars (Tiger) might not be around at the finish. Too bad. At least it passes the smell test with most fans, something that the FedEx Cup points re-setting formula never did.
Third, scale the playoffs back to three events and complete the whole thing by the week after Labour Day. If you’re so afraid of going head-to-head with the NFL, then don’t.
In my version of the playoffs, the field gets cut from 125 to 70 after the first event, down to 30 after the second and then gets cut twice more to 16 and 8 after Round 2 and Round 3 of the final. On Sunday, eight guys start even and play for ten million.
Now that’s pressure!
Thanks Bob
The Canadian national inferiority complex kicks into high gear this week as pundits and fans across the country assess the field for this week’s RBC Canadian Open and ask themselves, why won’t Tiger come back? Doesn’t he like Canada? Why doesn’t Phil ever come here to play? Where are all the top players? Why won’t they play in our national championship?
The answers are as varied as the players themselves. There are larger issues like the unfortunate schedule that places our Open right after “The Open” and even though RBC Canadian Open Tournament Director Bill Paul does everything possible short of personally going to Britain and kidnapping players, some just don’t want to play golf the week after a major. Bill does send his personal jet over to provide Sunday night ferry service back to Canada for the willing participants and occasional freeloaders but even that courtesy isn’t enough to entice some of the pampered class.
The argument that the players are independent contractors gets kind of tiring. The guy who cuts my grass is an independent contractor too but if he doesn’t hack my weeds on a weekly basis, he’ll be more independent and less contractor real quick. Sooner or later, hopefully sooner, the top players, and that really means Tiger, Phil and a few others, will realize that if they don’t support ALL of the tournaments on a semi-regular basis, some will vanish for lack of sponsor support. Naturally that won’t affect Tiger’s bank balance but there are 143 other players on a weekly basis who depend on those second and third tier events. And there are fans and communities and charities too who need those events for a multitude of reasons.
Anyway, the purpose of this blog is not to lament the absence of a few top players from the 2009 RBC Canadian Open. In fact, the field looks to be one of the strongest in years. Among the top ranked players who will tee it up at Glen Abbey this week are Anthony Kim, Sean O’Hair, Retief Goosen, Camilo Villegas, Trevor Immelman, Luke Donald, Bubba Watson, J.B. Holmes and Dustin Johnson. Fan favourite Fred Couples and tabloid phenom John Daly will be there as will Canadian PGA TOUR stars Mike Weir and Stephen Ames.
Sometimes in all the hoopla about which top players will or won’t be there and who has a valid reason and who doesn’t, we forget about the guys who have been loyal to the Canadian Open for a long time. A few years back I was standing near the 10th tee at The Abbey and noticed Billy Mayfair sitting under a tree near by. Nobody was near him and he wasn’t due to tee off for another thirty minutes or so so I moseyed on over and struck up a conversation. Turns out Billy just wanted to get away from the practice area and all the ruckus and enjoy a bit of the tournament.
We spoke for about ten minutes and among other things he told me that he really enjoyed coming to Canada and loved the atmosphere of our national championship. He asked me as many questions as I asked him. Most of his were about Canada, our history and places to visit. For PGA Tour players, those are pretty unusual questions. Typically, if they do ask you any questions and it is rare, the questions are, “do you know any good restaurants nearby?” or “is there any nightlife around here?” (That last question usually gets phrased a bit more graphically too.)
After my conversation with Mayfair I did some checking. Billy first came to the Canadian Open back in 1989, tied for 70th spot and earned $1,773. Following up for 2009, the record shows that Mayfair will play his 15th Canadian Open this year. Billy is one of the nicest guys on Tour and has compiled a solid record over his career, yet rarely gets mentioned when the field is released for any event.
Likewise a few others who have been staunch supporters of the Canadian Open over the past 20 to 25 years. How about Billy Andrade, 1998 Bell Canadian Open champion, who began his pro career in 1987 and this year will be making his 18th trip north of the border for our Open. Or 2010 American Ryder Cup captain Corey Pavin who will be making this year’s Open his 19th in the past 25 years.
Mark Calcavecchia used the 2005 Bell Canadian Open at Shaugnessey GC in Vancouver to kick-start a career that had been on the skids for a few seasons. His win there marked just one of twenty appearances that Calc has made in the Canadian Open over a 28 year career. He’ll be at Glen Abbey this year too in spite of four rounds on the grueling Turnberry course last week.
As far as I can tell though, the longest streak at the Open belongs to 2003 Champion Bob Tway who will play his 24th this year. Bob first came to the Canadian Open in 1985 and has played every year since except 1987. What happended in 87 Bob? His streak of 22 consecutive Opens including this year is incredible and perhaps now even more so since Tway became eligible for the Champions Tour this past spring, yet still wants to play a full scedule on the regular Tour.
Apart from an exciting playoff win over Brad Faxon in 2003 at Hamilton, Tway’s Canadian Open record is solid but unspectacular. Therefore, outside of the past champion mention, he doesn’t get a lot of press and isn’t one of the marquee players that everyone talks about. Bob’s a quiet guy from Oklahoma with a wife and two kids. He has eight career victories including one major. (1986 PGA Championship where he chipped in from the front bunker to skewer Greg Norman one more time). Recently his greater claim to fame has come from caddying for his son Kevin as he begins his golf career.
All in all, Bob Tway is a pretty regular guy who just happens to be a strong supporter of the Canadian Open. For that, I think he, along with Billy Andrade, Billy Mayfair, Corey Pavin, Mark Calcavecchia and probably some others I’ve missed, deserve special recognition. If you get out to Glen Abbey this week, let them know that we appreciate them. For that matter, let all the players know that we appreciate them. They deserve it.
The Tiger Factor
It’s Sunday morning with one round left in the CA Championship at Doral. Tiger Woods is 9 strokes back of the leaders and – this may be going way out on a limb – HE WON”T WIN!
Of course, this minor hiccup won’t deter the folks at NBC. Today’s telecast will invariably carry the full complement of Tiger references, Tiger sightings, Tiger trivia. Someone, probably Mark Rolfing, will predict that if Tiger can get off to a quick start today, he’s right back in it.
“If Tiger can eagle his first five or six holes he can put some pressure on the leaders. A 57 this afternoon gets him right back in this. That will put him at 22 under and after that, anything can happen.”
Rolfing won’t be the only idiot. Miller, Hicks, Maltbie and Koch will put the Over/Under on Tiger references well into six figures while the producers deliver the usual melange of Tiger glory, past and present. There will be the required replay of how Tiger won the US Open last spring on one leg with a fever of 108, just days after donating most of his organs to Famine Relief.
Then of course, we will watch for the umteenth time all those “Great Moments in Sport” featuring, you know who, each with their own catch phrase now seared into our memory banks. “Better than most!” “One for the Ages!” “Oh my!”
Pardon me while I gag.
Over at the Tiger Channel, Rich Lerner and Kelly Tilghman are huddled with writers trying to find a new script to top “the greatest comeback in sports history.” If you didn’t see it, try to catch the replay. After eight months away from tournament play, Tiger returns to beat the 64th ranked player in the world. Can you imagine? Number 64!
Perspective here people. Let’s get some perspective.
Did they ever hear of a guy named Ben Hogan? Had a brief layoff after a minor altercation with a Greyhound bus. Nearly died. Recovered to win the US Open. No? Never heard of it? Oh you thought it was a movie script?
I thought comebacks were when a team came from 25 points down in the fourth quarter to win the Super Bowl or when a player came back after years in oblivion and actually won something. Tiger didn’t win the tournament. He came back to play after an injury. Period!
The people who call the shots at the TV networks seem to think we can’t get enough of Tiger. In fact many of them feel that if Tiger’s not playing, then there’s no golf to report.
I recently read a blog about the impact of Tiger on tournaments and telecasts. Here’s what author Robert Bruce had to say, “Simply put: When Tiger ain’t playing, ain’t nobody watchin’. In the past eight months, golf was off the radar — even while major notables like Mickelson, Kim, Singh, Villegas and Garcia played every week. During that same period, ratings sucked.
Don’t get me wrong. When Tiger’s in contention, it’s very exciting. But when he’s out of contention or worse, when he’s not even playing, there are 155 other stories in the field that week, some of them pretty compelling. For the long term good of viewership, the suits better develop some other story lines.
After all, Tiger won’t play forever. He’s slated to run unopposed for the US Presidency in 2024 when he’s 48 and after that anything can happen. In the meantime, barring a hangnail or bunions, I guess Tiger can keep golf on TV in pretty decent shape for at least 15 more years. By then Tiger’s son Charlie Axel, (don’t get me started) will turn 16 and probably be even better than his Dad. “Oh my!”
Peter Mumford is the Editor and Publisher of Fairways Magazine in Toronto. Fairways is intended for avid golfers and this blog site is an extension of that same philosophy - we don't dumb it down for the uninformed!