Getting In The Mood For Kingston Heath, 2016 World Cup

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Nothing evokes Thanksgiving memories like Kingston Heath, which returns to the tournament golf spotlight for the first time since the now infamous 2009 Austalian Masters. Even better, the return comes with the historic World Cup of Golf sporting a fun format featuring two rounds of four-ball and two rounds of foursomes.

John Huggan shares a few fun facts from the history of an event that was once more prominent.

The field has some very intriguing teams.

But it's Kingston Heath, the glorious sandbelt masterpiece, which is the star of proceedings starting Wednesday evening in the United States (Golf Channel 8 pm ET). Steve Keipert shares the views of many who believe this is Australia's best course.

What do I love about it? As much as any course on the planet, it checks off all the boxes: memorable, walkable, beautiful, bizarre at times and looks like no other course in the world. Many of its many subtleties probably don't translate well to television, but as these visual show, the bunkering most certainly does:

7th Hole @worldcupgolf (6th) @kingston_heath #sandbelt @visit_melbourne_victoria 393m Par 4

A video posted by Kingston Heath Golf Club (@kingston_heath) on Nov 1, 2016 at 11:05pm PDT

10th Hole @worldcupgolf (9th) @kingston_heath 330m Par 4 #sandbelt @visitmelbourne

A video posted by Kingston Heath Golf Club (@kingston_heath) on Oct 31, 2016 at 5:19pm PDT

15th green @kingston_heath 142m Par 3 @worldcupgolf 24-27 November #melbournesandbelt #sandbeltgolf @visitmelbourne @pgatour

A photo posted by Kingston Heath Golf Club (@kingston_heath) on Oct 21, 2016 at 8:09pm PDT

@kingston_heath 1934 & 2016 thanks to our course architect @cockingmike . Host of 2016 @worldcupgolf @melbournesandbelt 24-27 November

A photo posted by Kingston Heath Golf Club (@kingston_heath) on Nov 9, 2016 at 2:28am PST

Here is a nice promo video from the club website:

Kingston Heath Promo from Collier Creative on Vimeo.

 

Slow Play Files: McGladrey Monday Playoff Edition

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Because 2016 apparently never wants to end, the last fall PGA Tour event will continue a sudden death playoff on Monday morning after failing to finish Sunday night. While two holes of sudden death were played and frankly, based on the number of mentions by all about the darkness, the second hole probably should not have been played.

Most telling was Rich Lerner's mention from the booth that the final round threesomes took five hours on what appeared to be an almost wind-free, crisp fall day at St. Simons Island.

If the Golden Bear had been watching, and he almost surely wasn't, but Jack Nicklaus would have heard that number and said, I just talked at the PGA annual meeting about 5 hours as the death knell for our sport.

Yet on Sunday there was Tim Finchem's vision at its most glaringly tired: players seemingly in slow motion, lacking any fear of penalty, taking their sweet time even as the sun was setting. But all was well because hats came off and hands were shaken to reaffirm that this was a (slow) genteman's game. While this provides a the visual that stirs the souls of Finchem's favorite corporate chieftains, it doesn't move a single sports needle and scenes like this reaffirm that golf is for only those with enough free time to return on a Monday morning.

So the RSM Classic wraps up a day late, minus Billy Horschel, who served up a short putt miss he refused to attribute to the dark playing conditions.

Sean Martin at PGATour.com with this from one of the four still in the playoff:

Hughes considered halting play instead of hitting his 11-foot birdie putt on the second extra hole. Norlander said he couldn’t see the hole once his caddie removed the flagstick. Play will resume at 8 a.m. Monday on the par-3 17th hole. They’ll return to the 18th again if the playoff continues."

“People don't know how dark it is right now,” Villegas said. “It's going to be nice and cold in the morning. We'll be back and try to take another trophy home.”

Here is the Horschel miss, for those who were watching something else (most of you)...

 

 

What Happens When PGA Tour Pros Swing And Hit Their Bag, Smart Phone Edition

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Ian Poulter says he's not the culprit and given his ability to photograph and Tweet, he has a strong case. But he's wisely not identifying the Mayakoba Classic contestant who slammed his bag with a club and took out TWO phones. After all, that would earn the player a fine on top of the cost to replace his phone and that of his bagman.

The Tweet:

More Stroke Play! PGA Tour Adds "The CJ Cup" In South Korea

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I held out hope that the PGA Tour adding an event in Korea with "cup" in the title might give us something to get excited about. Instead it's following the same old script beyond the massively unsustainable ($9.25 million) purse: limited 78-player field, 72-holes of stroke play.

The CJ Cup "@" Nine Bridges does bring us closer to our first tournament title including an Emoji in the title, and as far away as possible from a format that will inspire interest. It also just adds more clutter to the fall wraparound that isn't working well for players or fans, as we discussed on Morning Drive.

From the PGA Tour release on what we first learned about last week from Doug Ferguson, only with not as many CAPS.

THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES will feature a field of 78 players, with 60 coming from the PGA TOUR FedExCup points list. The remaining players, with many of the best Korean players represented, will come from a number of different exemptions to be named at a later date.

“This announcement is a historic landmark for the PGA TOUR as we add another tournament in Asia. We had such a phenomenal experience in Korea last year at The Presidents Cup, and we hoped an official, permanent event in this great country would be the result of that success,” said Monahan. “Partnering with a respected business leader like the CJ Corporation means this tournament will be on the Korean sports landscape for years to come. We have a tremendous population of Korean golfers on the PGA TOUR, and we anticipate that will continue as THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES inspires a new generation of players, not only in Korea, but also around the world.”

And...

The 72-hole tournament will feature competition Thursday through Sunday, with a pro-am on the Wednesday of tournament week. The host site of the tournament will be announced at a later date.

“The addition of  THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES to our schedule gives us three strong tournaments in consecutive weeks in Asia, and they will play a significant role in shaping the early part of the FedExCup season and the FedExCup chase overall,” Monahan continued. “The CJ Group is well-trusted and highly valued in the global marketplace. We couldn’t be happier to partner with such a strong, vibrant company that taps into the lives of consumers worldwide through food and food service, bio pharmaceuticals, homeshopping and logistics, entertainment and media, and now golf.

“South Korea is a beautiful country with a rich golf tradition,” Monahan added. “Many of our players who have been to the country already know that, and those who haven’t are in for a treat. The fact that valuable FedExCup points will be offered only enhances this tournament’s position on our schedule.”

As long as the Nine Bridges folks aren't hoping for big ratings, the event should succeed though prove utterly unremarkable beyond the purse.

Last week's CIMB Classic drew dismal ratings for the first three rounds (here, here, here) with the usual competition (baseball, football) and unusual (debate coverage) drawing viewers elsewhere.

Would a different tournament format boost audience sizes into six-figures? Probably not, but we'll never know apparently, either.