"Staking your claim to 'one of the best TPCs out there,' is akin to being the most honest used-car salesman on the lot."

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Rex Hoggard says that being on Tiger's pass list of tournaments doesn't equal a death sentence, pointing to creative, atmospheric events like at Scottsdale and Connecticut as prime examples of great tournaments making do.

“We would love to have Tiger and Phil,” said Nathan Grube, the Travelers Championship tournament director. “But we didn’t have Tiger and Phil last year and our charity dollars doubled. There are lot of different matrixes to measure success.”“The players will say it’s one of the best TPCs out there,” Grube said of TPC River Highlands.

Staking your claim to “one of the best TPCs out there,” is akin to being the most honest used-car salesman on the lot.

But you have to give Grube credit. In 1998, Pete Dye and Bobby Weed gave River Highlands an impressive nip and tuck, and officials further sweetened the pot with a 22-acre, state-of-the-art, $4.5 million practice facility. They had Vijay Singh at 22 acres.

The new and improved Travelers, which for nearly 40 years answered to the name Hartford Open, moved to a more family friendly slot on the calendar, treated the players who did show like kings and enjoyed what could arguably be 2007’s best Sunday shootout (between Hunter Mahan and Jay Williamson).

But maybe the best matrix to measure the Travelers’ success was at the turnstile, where ticket sales tripled in 2007.

The math is simple enough. If Woods continues to average 18 events per year, that means some 30 stops will enjoy something less than a must-see tee sheet.

The off-Broadway events can wave the “Where’s Woods?” flag like Vickers, or they can make lemonade out of their scheduling lemons, like Grube.

B-Listers, CEO's Will Continue To Aid In AT&T Brand Messaging Through 2014

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...

AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am Set to Continue Through 2014

Title Sponsorship Agreement Provides AT&T the Opportunity to Deliver Brand Messaging to 500 Million Households in 200 Countries

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 5, 2008 — AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T), the PGA TOUR and Monterey Peninsula Foundation Inc. today announced that AT&T has extended the title sponsorship of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, one of the nation’s premier golf tournaments, through 2014. AT&T has been the title sponsor of the tournament since 1986. The AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, which will be held Feb. 4 – 10, 2008, provides AT&T with a unique platform to showcase products and services to a worldwide audience. As the title sponsor, AT&T will receive benefits, including:


Exclusive naming rights. AT&T will remain the exclusive title sponsor of the event through the 2014 tournament.

Promotional Benefits. For each of the next six years, AT&T will receive on-site benefits, including name and/or logo placement on scoreboards, caddie bibs, tee markers, pin flags, tee back signage and the official tournament trophy; advertising in the tournament program and on daily pairings sheet and event tickets; and involvement in all press conferences and media events. In addition, the company will receive in-market promotional rights and technology integration throughout the tournament.

Media Exposure. AT&T will receive significant title sponsor branding within network and cable broadcasts, promotional spots and news coverage. The AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am will be broadcast to more than 500 million households in more than 200 countries.

The AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am is one of several golf tournaments sponsored by AT&T; others include the Masters Tournament and the AT&T National, hosted by Tiger Woods.

AT&T Masters? I didn't get that press release. Here I was just thinking they had the privilege of buying ad time on the Masters.

AT&T Amateur Field Reveals Who's Who List Of Who Has Too Much Time And Disposable Income On Their Hands

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PGATour.com posts the listing of major Hollywood talent and CEOdom taking part in this week's AT&T National Pro-Am. Not a single name jumped out to me as even remotely interesting until the very last man: Jerry Yang.

Somehow I think the Yahoo founder and current CEO is going to have to WD so he can figure out whether to fight Microsoft's hostile takeover bid.  If not, expect a major shareholder revolt. 

By the way, which Golf Channel/CBS announcer will be the first to refer to a CEO as Mr. (Fill in name)? 

Holmes Take Lead At Scottsdale; CBS Crew Set To Make Absurd Tiger Comparisons Again?

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Quite possibly the best reason to watch the FBR is the opportunity to hear the CBS maestros make breathless comparisons between J.B. Holmes and Tiger Woods. You may recall that David Feherty all but declared his fellow Cobra staff member Holmes the second coming of you-know-who when Holmes won in 2006.

So hopefully they'll be more restrained Sunday should third-round leader J.B. win.

"It's getting a bit narrower."

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Geoff Ogilvy was dragged into the inkslinger's lair at Scottsdale and offered this about the TPC:

Q. What is your impression of this golf course right now?

GEOFF OGILVY: It's pretty good. It's probably tougher than we've seen it for a while. They've narrowed some of the fairways. I've hit a couple of drivers off the tee and I thought they were fine and they've actually cut the fluff on about three or four holes than they used to, so it's getting a bit narrower. The ball goes short when it's cold like this, so it's playing quite long especially after all that rain on Sunday. It's usually quite firm here. It's actually quite soft off the tee which makes it play long, so it's tougher than it has been previously. I think the forecast is going to get a bit warmer on the weekend and it dries out pretty quickly because we're in the desert. Could be back to normal by the weekend, but today it was longer and a little bit tougher than it has been, very easily.

If You Took "Under" Super Bowl Sunday In Cuts Rule Review Pool: You're A Winner!

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Doug Ferguson reports that it's now "under review" and undergoing debate during the Northern Trust Open.
"The players I've heard from are generally upset with any reduction of guys playing on the weekend,'' Finchem said. ``On the other hand, a lot of guys don't like it, but would be in favor of something else.''
And...
"What I said to the PAC was there's a lot of interest in this, we ought to have a thorough discussion the week of L.A. and made sure we're looking at all possible alternatives,'' Finchem said. ``I wouldn't predict we would change anything.''

"If you want to see how utterly silly the PGA Tour's new policy of "made cut, did not finish" is..."

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As silly as the player complaining is over not knowing about the new cut rule caused by slow play, the big picture view says it still is cheating fans and could be solved with a Saturday cut, as Larry Bohannan writes.

If you want to see how utterly silly the PGA Tour's new policy of "made cut, did not finish" is, look no further than the story of Justin Leonard at the Buick Invitational over the weekend.

Leonard struggled in the first two rounds of the tournament at Torrey Pines in San Diego, making the cut at even-par 144, 12 shots behind Tiger Woods. But he was one shot from the 19 golfers who tied and made the cut but weren't allowed to play on the weekend.

Leonard then put together a strong weekend with rounds of 65 and 72 and moved up from a tie for 48th to fifth. He earned 3,450 FedEx Cup points and a check for $208,000.

But if Leonard had missed a single putt in those first two rounds, the chance for those points and that money would have been denied to him by a rule change that just seems unreasonable at best, short-sighted at worst.

 

"Obviously, it was a blowout, but it will still end up being one of the highest-rated tour events on a Sunday."

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Reader Al wonders what to make of the lower Buick ratings spin by CBS, and I would have to agree that it doesn't make much sense. Someone help us please...

In the first network golf coverage of the year, CBS got a 4.6 overnight rating from Sunday's final round at Torrey Pines, where Woods led by as many as 11 shots before winning by eight for his fourth consecutive Buick Invitational title.

It was golf's highest rating since the PGA Championship last August, but still down 18 percent from the Buick Invitational a year ago, when Woods held off Charles Howell III over the final holes to win by two. The final round last year drew a 5.6 overnight rating.

The overnight rating for Saturday was 3.2, up 28 percent from the third round last year.

"We were up Saturday," said Rob Correia, senior vice president of programming for CBS. "Obviously, it was a blowout, but it will still end up being one of the highest-rated tour events on a Sunday. We have no complaints."

Is that all time? Or a Sunday in January 2008? 

"I think after what the USGA probably witnessed on 18 yesterday, that ball staying up, that will be shaved."

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Tiger18SatBeck_600x400.jpgTiger's post Buick final round chat with the media guys and gals who had to brave holes in the tent top (my condolences)...

Q. Freddie said you just screwed the U.S. Open up for everybody. Are you sorry about that?

TIGER WOODS: Well, I only did it on one hole. I think after what the USGA probably witnessed on 18 yesterday, that ball staying up, that will be shaved. Just like Augusta, you see Freddie's ball stayed up, next year it's all shaved.

Actually, before anyone goes scribbling about that, the plan was to shave the lake before today.

And this is downright funny...

Q. What about LA?
TIGER WOODS: What about it?

Q. Any thoughts yet, yes or no if you're in yet?
TIGER WOODS: I don't know.

Give it up! He's not coming back. Paraphrasing Taupin, I think it's going to be a long, long time. 

"Bettering the field average by almost 10 feet"

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From Alex Turnbull, the PGA Tour's ShotLink guru, after Tiger's bogey-free 66 at Torrey Pines:

Leading the field in greens in regulation this week, Tiger was very accurate today with his irons. Hitting 17 of 18 greens in regulation today, he averaged 26 feet 3 inches from the hole on all approach shots bettering the field average by almost 10 feet (Rd 3 average: 35 feet 0 inches).