Quick 2018 WGC Dell Match Play Primer And Notes

The forecast is mostly good--hold your hats Friday apparently--and the match play friendly Austin Country Club is back along with a strong field for one of my favorite events on the calendar.

PGA Tour Live kicks things off at 10:15 am ET, while Golf Channel's ET air times Wednesday are: 2-8 p.m. (Live) / 9 p.m.-3 a.m. (Replay)

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You still have time to sign up for the PGA Tour's official Bracket Challenge. You can also see the bracket there.

For intel, the PGATour.com staff broke down all 16 groups.

Jordan Spieth is suspicious of the Reed Group 4 draw, reports Rex Hoggard. 

Spieth also talked gamesmanship and how he ultimately thinks its a fun part of match play, writes The Forecaddie.  Hoggard tackles that topic of gamesmanship for GolfChannel.com.

Dustin Johnson is defending and ramping up his Masters preparation this week, writes Bill Speros.

Lance Ringler uses Golfweek's Sagarin rankings to figure out which groups are the toughest.

For me, Group 7, which came up the easiest numerically (!?) features Garcia, Schauffele, Fritelli and Sharma is a must watch either way. For Matt Adams it's Group 4 with Spieth, Reed, Schwartzel and Li is the most competitive.

Golf Gods Working Overtime: Reed And Spieth In Same Match Play Pod

Naturally, a day after citing Jordan Spieth in a whiny effort to get a free drop, Patrick Reed has been drawn into the same match play pod as the man whose name he invoked in rather pathetic fashion, as Brendan Porath notes.

Sadly, the Tweeted video that spawned Internet intrigue was dinged by the PGA Tour's censors--gee I thought they liked fans sharing things on social--but there's YouTube!

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Rex Hoggard at GolfChannel.com breaks down this week's WGC Dell Match Play pods, with Group 4 featuring Reed and the player who he thinks gets free drops because he's Jordan. 

3.6: 2018 API Sunday Ratings up 136%, Highest In Six Years

Steiny to Tiger today: "do you need a Late Night With Jimmy Fallon mug? Or some Colbert merch? Maybe some Pyeonchang logoed ski caps? I've got gift packages pilling up here from Lazarus and McManus..."

The latest ratings bump courtesy of Tiger Woods:

NBC SPORTS’ FINAL-ROUND COVERAGE OF ARNOLD PALMER INVITATIONAL PRESENTED BY MASTERCARD SCORES HIGHEST-RATED OVERNIGHT AT EVENT IN SIX YEARS

Arnold Palmer Invitational and Valspar Championship Post Two Highest-Rated Final Round PGA TOUR Telecasts (Non-Majors) on Any Broadcast Network since the 2015 Wyndham Championship

ORLANDO, Fla., March 19, 2018 – Record viewership of the PGA TOUR continued this weekend for NBC Sports Group at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. Sunday’s final-round coverage on NBC (2-6:45 p.m. ET) delivered a 3.6 overnight rating, +136% vs. 2017 and the highest-rated final round at this event in six years. Combined with last week’s final round viewership at the Valspar Championship (5.1 overnight rating) these rank as the two highest-rated final-round PGA TOUR telecasts (non-majors) on any broadcast network since the 2015 Wyndham Championship. Golf Channel’s Sunday final-round lead-in coverage earned a .97 overnight rating, the highest at this event in five years. Across NBC and Golf Channel’s coverage, more than 12 million minutes were streamed, +683% vs. 2017.

ADDITIONAL SUNDAY NOTES

·         Sunday’s final-round coverage on NBC peaked to a 4.89 from 5:15-5:30 p.m. ET.

·         Golf Channel’s lead-in coverage peaked to a 1.24 from 1:30-2 p.m. ET.

SATURDAY

Saturday’s third-round coverage earned a 2.29 overnight rating on NBC (2:30-6 p.m. ET), +92% vs. 2017 and the highest-rated at this event in five years. Golf Channel’s lead-in coverage (12:30-2:30 p.m. ET) earned a .95 overnight rating, +126% vs. 2017. Nearly 5.3 million minutes were streamed, +511% vs. 2017.

Rory Vaults Himself Into The Masters Discussion With Resounding API Win

Rory McIlroy entered the Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by Mastercard 124th in Strokes Gained Putting. He left Bay Hill 23rd in the category and also takes home a new red cardigan, a pile of cash and loads of confidence just two weeks from the Masters.

Golfweek's Dan Kilbridge with the nuts, bolts and quotes from Sunday's dynamic finale.

Ryan Lavner reminds us just how long it's been since McIlroy has won and what the victory means.

Eamon Lynch with lots more on Brad Faxon's putting lesson and contest with Rory earlier in the week that helped turn things around for McIlroy. 

Will Gray at GolfChannel.com with a fun Rory anecdote from a dinner with Arnie.

A fun comparison with Rory's 18th hole birdie putt to shoot 64 and one from Tiger's greatest hits collection:

No wonder that putt on 18 looked so familiar…

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Pulling off the Alpaca cardigan:

A perfect fit! 😁 #ArniesArmy

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The round four highlights from PGA Tour Entertainment:

More Impressive? Bryson's API Runner-Up Or His Use Of Big Words?

Big words gets my vote, though if there was any question about former U.S. Amateur Champion Bryson DeChambeau's ability to play with the big boys, he settled that by hanging in with a -15 2018 Arnold Palmer Invitational performance, as Will Gray reports for GolfChannel.com. 

But as Kevin Casey notes at Golfweek.com, DeChambeau's post-third round answer on his recent injury could be equally as important. The quote from Bryson about his back issue:

"Well it was the QL and that really got inflamed for me. It was because my quadratus lumborum wasn’t working, my iliacus, longissimus thoracis, they were all kind of over working, if you want to get technical on that. But they weren’t working very well and I overworked them. Pretty much my lower right back was hurting and I rested it. How about that?"

Oh to have seen the looks on press room faces!

BTW, the back looks to be just fine in this shot posted by his friends at Cobra:

Tiger's Ratings Influence Continues During First Two 2018 API Rounds

He even makes people watch the days he's not in the television window!

Rory: Time To Limit Alcohol Sales On Course

Rory McIlroy offered a constructive solution to the loud-loser issue that has crept up in recent weeks (well, and years at the Ryder Cup): limit alcohol sales.

I've suggested a cut off hour is badly overdue at tournaments featuring loud and abusive fans. But since most of golf's leaders would give their grandmothers the Heisman for the chance to belly-flop on a loose penny, we've yet to see a golfing equivalent of the 7th-inning cutoff.

Bob Harig of ESPN.com reports on McIlroy's comments following a round where one fan kept yelling out his wife's name.

"There was one guy out there who kept yelling my wife's name," said McIlroy, who shot 67 on Saturday to pull within two shots of leader Henrik Stenson. "I was going to go over and have a chat with him. I don't know, I think it's gotten a little much, to be honest. I think that they need to limit alcohol sales on the course, or they need to do something because every week, it seems like guys are complaining about it more and more."

Instagram Roundup: Tiger's Heroic Recovery, Arnie's Tractor, Bobby Jones's Birthday And A Creative Masters Teaser

A vintage Tiger Woods shot Saturday at Bay Hill. He trails Henrik Stenson by five heading into Sunday's 2018 Arnold Palmer Invitational finale, Dan Kilbridge reports. A fantastic leaderboard should make for a great last day.

V I N T A G E 🐅

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The tractor belonging to Arnold Palmer's dad was brought down from Latrobe and parked at Bay Hill this week to commemorate the influence of his father.

Arnie’s Tractor.

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Saturday was Bobby Jones' birthday. The USGA posted some images of the amateur golfing great.

The Masters has begun their social media efforts earlier than normal and feature this look at the club's co-founders.

Forecaddie: Rory #1 In Strokes Gained Putting After Lesson From Brad Faxon

The Bears Club, Brad Faxon, Rory McIlroy, a putting "meeting," and T11 heading into the weekend? The intrigue! The drama!

The Forecaddie with details that might explained how McIlroy has gained almost six shots (First in SG!) on the Arnold Palmer Invitational field with his balky putter.

This sounds like more than a simple meeting and given the looming Masters, the desperate times did call for something...

One immediate change McIlroy made this week after seeing Faxon was in the length of his putter. He is back to using a 34.25-inch model, the same as he used in winning his four majors. Kenyon had McIlroy using a 33-inch putter.

Roundup: Tiger's Bay Hill Round One 68 Makes It Seem Like He Never Left

Golfweek’s Kevin Casey with the nuts and bolts of Tiger’s opening round 68 on the course where he has won eight times.

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ESPN.com’s Jason Sobel focuses on the 71-footer Woods made at the 7th, his 16th hole, and Tiger’s description is pretty fun.

Karen Crouse focuses on different reactions from players to having Tiger and his crowds back in the mix, including some fun comments by Paul Goydos.

Jay Coffin of GolfChannel.com on the drive hit out of bounds that annoyed Tiger because of the shot quality and not having hit a provisional while at the tee.  A side note: the second shot after his provisional tee shot was particularly stout and one of the more impressive I’ve seen in his comeback bid. He had to cut it around a tree from the rough, with water left and already lying three. A slight double-cross and he makes seven or eight.

Eamon Lynch at Golfweek puts some of the hype and excitement into perspective with help from Graeme McDowell.

The reality is that this week is just another staging post on Woods’ climb back to the top, not the destination. And nor is it an omen for what might follow three weeks from now in Georgia. Woods has won the Arnold Palmer Invitational four times since he last slipped on the green jacket in 2005.

Form here does not beget form there.

None of which detracts from the excitement Woods’ strong play has brought to the sport. “It doesn’t say much for the world of golf. We were all saying how healthy things were when he was gone, and now he’s back beating us all up again. Maybe we’re not as good as we thought we were,” McDowell says, laughing. “It’s pretty impressive. And it’s good for us all.”

ESPN.com's Bob Harig profiles Joe LaCava, patient looper who waited until Tiger's return.

And the shot of the day captured during the PGA Tour Live broadcast:

"A sad journey for Paul Casey after holding Tiger Woods at bay at the Valspar"

After winning the Valspar Championship with a final round 65 and moving to 12th in the world, Paul Casey boarded a flight to England for a sad goodbye instead of a planned API appearance. 

The Daily Mail's Derek Lawrenson talks to him after the Valspar win sunk in for a player who has top six finishes in the last three Masters but who played with a heavy heart after learning of Mary Colclough's passing.  Her husband Ian was one of Casey's early supporters from his days at Burhill Golf Club. 

Lawrenson writes in his weekly golf roundup:

Once he received the sad news of Mary’s passing, there was never any question of that. And so he spent the long flight home reflecting on his conflicting emotions, and life’s fateful concoction of magic and loss.

‘I played with a heavy heart, and maybe that helped,’ said Casey, who had tossed away plenty of chances to win in America during a nine-year victory drought. ‘Ian was one of my best friends when I joined Burhill. He always looked after me and still does to this day, and Mary would always tag along for the ride.

‘One of those sad stories, and we all know one. Cancer sucks.’

Tiger, Bay Hill Could Not Be Better Set For A Fun Week

Perfect weather, amazing course conditioning by Chris Flynn's team and Tiger continuing to round into form after another business-like pro-am round, suggest a fantastic Arnold Palmer Invitational awaits.

The Bay Hill greens are firm and fast after several dry, cool days, a characteristic Tiger and other tough-course types love. A birdie shootout will not happen.

Crowds are expected to be huge and Woods round 1/2 playing partner Jason Day believes, contrary to the view of other young players, that Tiger feeds off the energy to his benefit. Kevin Casey reports for Golfweek.com.

As much as Tiger would love to win his 9th API, as Bob Harig writes for ESPN.com, the target remains the Masters.

Rex Hoggard at GolfChannel.com considers the many instructors Tiger has worked with and swing philosophies as he settles back into a more artistic, feel player phase.

"Tyrrell Hatton reveals rules official left him "raging" over Mickelson incident"

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Tyrell Hatton joins Andrew Coltart and Josh Antmann on the Sky Sports podcast and expresses his displeasure at perceived preferential slow play treatment for Phil Mickelson (thanks reader SE for sending).

Michael McEwan summarizes the beef Hatton had with an official for putting everyone in the WGC Mexico City final round grouping but eventual winner Phil Mickelson.

A rules official approached Mickelson, Hatton and the third member of their three-ball, Shubhankar Sharma, after they had hit their tee shots at the 15th hole. Hatton and Sharma were informed by the official that they were on the clock – but Mickelson was not.

Hatton explained: “Sharma wasn’t that slow, to be honest. He was fine. But I feel like Phil was taking quite a lot of time on certain things. We’d had a warning earlier on in the round to speed up and we kind of did but not massively.

“I’d just birdied 14 to tie with Phil and, you know, you’ve got four holes to go and it’s kind of crunch time. We had all hit good tee shots up 15 when one of the officials charged over and said, ‘Phil, you’re exempt but Tyrrell and Sharma, I’m going to start timing you.’

“Phil goes, ‘Oh, he obviously likes me’. I was raging.

5.1: Valspar Final Round Highest Rated Golf Telecast Since 2015 PGA

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Many (thank you Tiger) ratings milestones matched at Sunday's 2018 Valspar (thank you Tiger) even with out purportedly greater, more amazing, more popular, generally wonderful next generation near the leaderboard top.

For Immediate Release:

Final Round Coverage of Valspar Championship on NBC Earns 5.11 Overnight Rating;
Highest-Rated (Non-Major) Golf Broadcast Since 2013 PLAYERS
 
Yesterday’s final round coverage of the Valspar Championship on NBC (3-6p ET) earned a 5.11 Overnight rating (+190% year-over-year), becoming the highest-rated (non-major) PGA TOUR broadcast in nearly five years, dating back to the final round of Tiger Woods’ win at the 2013 PLAYERS Championship (5.7). Sunday’s final round Overnight also is the highest-rated golf telecast (outside of the Masters) since the 2015 PGA Championship (5.14) according to data released by The Nielsen Company.
                                                                                          
Golf Channel’s final round lead-in coverage (1-3p ET) earned a 1.65 Overnight, becoming the highest-rated Golf Channel PGA TOUR “lead-in” telecast on record (2009-’18).
 
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
·       Coverage peaked at a 6.62 from 5:30-6p ET on NBC and a 2.12 from 2:30-3p ET on Golf Channel.

·       Final Round coverage of the Valspar Championship on NBC was +28% vs. final round of the 2015 Wyndham Championship (4.0), the last time Tiger Woods contended on a Sunday, and +73% vs. final round of The Honda Classic a few weeks ago.

·       The Valspar Championship saw 27.2 million minutes streamed across Golf Channel / NBC Sports’ Digital platforms, becoming the most-streamed PGA TOUR event ever for the network, and the fourth-most streamed golf event overall for NBC Sports behind the 2016 and 2017 Open, along with the 2016 Ryder Cup. (source: Adobe Analytics)

·       Sunday’s coverage saw 15.4 million minutes streamed, +1060% vs. 2017.

·       In the event’s home market of Tampa, the final round Overnight rating was a 10.98.

The numbers could explain why, contrary to the cries of Golfweek's Martin Kaufmann, we did not see a single shot from Jason Kokrak, Branden Grace, Rory Sabbatini or Webb Simpson. How will we carry on having not seen their wizardry?

Roundup: Casey Pulls Off Valspar Win, Tiger Finishes Second

Steve DiMeglio leads with Tiger in his USA Today game story, but quickly turns to Paul Casey's rewrite of the fairytale script. 

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Doug Ferguson in his AP gamer says a long victory drought was broken...Paul Casey's. But you have to love Casey, one of golf's best interviews, openly acknowledging the joy brought by merely sharing leaderboard space with Woods.

Bob Harig recounts the final day at Innisbrook Tiger's quotes about not playing the par-5s better stands out and the likely difference between second and a win. 

Jason Sobel has no doubt Tiger will win again

Golfweek's Dan Kilbridge focuses on Casey's remarks about the joys of winning as an old guy in a young man's game.

Alex Kirshner of SB Nation has the roundup on Patrick Reed's last hole, uh, what's the word I'm going for here...uh...miscalculation. Sadly his first shot is not posted anywhere officially but you can see it in the Twitter replies. For now. 

As Rex Hoggard reports for GolfChannel.com, even Casey was rooting for Tiger.

“I actually thought he was going to win today before the round started. I thought it was just teed up beautifully for him,” said Casey, who birdied three consecutive holes starting at the 11th and scrambled for pars at the three closing holes on his way to a 6-under 65 and a 10-under total.

Karen Crouse of the New York Times on caddie Joe LaCava finally getting to see signs of the old Tiger, and his bosses praise for his work.

Casey explained what all of the 17th tee discussion was about and Hoggard reported on a mistaken yardage rectified in time

Some of the more important Tweets, starting with Tiger's.

The tour did a roundup of celebrity Tweets and other excitement over Tiger's return to contention.

Highlights, both of the round four variety and Tiger's putt on 17.