Phil Being Phil Files: Laying Up On Muirfield Village's Par-3 16th

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Since the designed hole debuted in 2012, Phil Mickelson has never been a fan of Muirfield Village’s 16th. I’m not sure anyone is.

Two years ago in the Memorial final round, only nine players hit the green in regulation.

It’s time for a change.

Turns out, that time started Sunday as crews were shown digging up greens at Muifield Village while the final round of the Memorial played out.

Should DeChambeau And Caddie Get Some Time Off For Friday's Conduct Unbecoming Antics?

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During Friday’s Memorial, Bryson DeChambeau made a mess of the 15th hole. While his 10 is not available to be watched on the PGA Tour app (brand protected!), most of the conduct unbecoming was captured nicely here in this roundup by Jay Rigdon at Awful Announcing.

Three elements were particularly troubling, starting with Dechambeau’s patting down of rough before and after taking a drop. While this dreadful practice continues to be commonplace way too often, this is just not a good look:

Then there was his subsequent treatment of the PGA Tour rules staff members who were called out to issue a (correct) ruling. (Golf.com’s Dylan Dethier went through the shots here.)

This is DeChambeau’s conversation with the first official:

While the second conversation with Ken Tackett would never match an Earl Weaver meltdown, DeChambeau’s disrespect and disdain for the official was evident (video on the Rigdon link). Tackett is a pretty stellar official and individual, as profiled here by Karen Crouse.

Then, after teeing off at the 16th, DeChambeau caddie Tim Tucker went out of his way to block a CBS cameraman from recording images of his player as they walked off the tee. (Rigdon has the video here.)

We all get that golf is infuriating and leads people to do strange things. And the pro sport needs drama at times. DeChambeau is a character and brings much-needed intrigue. But there is one huge problem that has come with his body transformation: he’s openly rude on national television to people who are just doing their job. And in the case of reduced television crews who are working long days in hot weather and in a pandemic, players should be thanking them, not encouraging their caddies to approach them in hostile fashion.

The Friday incidents came just two weeks after DeChambeau’s ridiculous berating of a CBS cameraman at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. And remember, he subsequently asserted that his brand was not protected.

Now with a second episode under his belt in only two weeks, Team DeChambeau is not doing the PGA Tour any favors. (His increasingly angry ways have, however, done wonders for those campaigning to roll back distance, so there’s that!)

Fines will not do the trick if a player and caddie so openly feel free to berate or threaten television crews. Time off to think about who pays for the this playing-golf-for-money business might do wonders.

Tiger Then And Now: Memorial First Round Most Watched Since 1997

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Tiger’s back, again! And I believe we know who was responsible for the 1997 ratings too.

For Immediate Release from Golf Channel:

MOST-WATCHED FIRST ROUND AT THE MEMORIAL SINCE 1997                                                            

DUBLIN, Ohio (July 17, 2020) – GOLF Channel’s first round coverage of the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide (2:30-6:30 p.m. ET) saw 1.08 million average viewers, +152% year-over-year. Thursday’s telecast became the most-watched opening round at the Memorial since 1997 (1.18M average viewers, ESPN), and the most-watched weekday PGA TOUR telecast on GOLF Channel since the opening round of the 2018 TOUR Championship (1.25M average viewers).

Additional highlights:

  • Coverage peaked from 5:15-5:30 p.m. (1.25M average viewers).

  • GOLF Channel was the No. 1 cable sports network (2:30-6:30 p.m.) by 355%, and No. 4 of 114 Nielsen-rated cable networks.

  • Thursday evening’s encore telecast (7:30-11:30 p.m.) earned 337k average viewers, becoming the most-watched PGA TOUR replay telecast on GOLF Channel in more than five years (2015 PLAYERS Championship RD2, 364k average viewers).

  • Thursday became GOLF Channel’s most-watched day in 2020, and most-watched Thursday since The 2019 Open.

Memorial Weekend: Will Finau's "Inspired By Bryson" Approach Work?

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Daniel Rapaport at GolfDigest.com explains how Tony Finau and coach Boyd Summerhays decided to borrow from Bryson DeChambeau’s ball speed approach, leading to the 36-hole Memorial lead.

“Kind of in the middle of last week, my coach Boyd Summerhays and I decided to crank some up a little bit after being inspired by Bryson,” he said. “Seeing how straight he was hitting it and how hard, and so I decided to crank it up and work on hitting a really hard fade.

“I’ve let a few go so far this week, and it’s been pretty fun for me to kind of reach back more so than I have in the past.”

The Athletic’s Brendan Quinn also looked at Finau’s decision to unleash more speed and notes this in the numbers (again, through 36 but still):

For the year, Finau ranks 26th on tour in driving distance (305.9) and 40th in strokes gained off the tee (.331). This week, he ranks second in driving distance (321.0) and fifth in strokes gained off the tee (1.360).

“I’ve let a few go so far this week, and it’s been pretty fun for me to kind of reach back more so than I have in the past and kind of open up and hit some,” Finau said.

For Strokes Gained fans, the difference compared to his season rank is already noticeable:

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Here’s where this weekend’s clash gets interesting: Muirfield Village is exuding a major championship look. Will the approach hold up on a course with greens browning/yellowing/purpling? (They get ripped up next week so no need to worry about the superintendent.) Throw in running fairways, tough hole locations healthy rough and this is our best chance yet since the restart to see if Bryson Ball will work on an extreme setup designed to reward precision.

Nicklaus To Governing Bodies: "Guys, stop studying it and do something, will you please?"

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While there is no video posted of Jack Nicklaus opining during a lengthy Memorial round one telecast visit, the disdain in his voice was evident.

As Kyle Porter notes for CBSSports.com, the tournament host put the USGA and R&A “on blast” with his latest comments imploring action sooner than later.

"The golf ball is a very simple thing to fix and I've been preaching about it for ... 43 years I first went to the USGA," Nicklaus said in the Golf Channel booth during the first round of the Memorial Tournament on Thursday. "I mean, that's a long time to be studying something. Guys, stop studying it and do something, will you please?"

The man is 80, he should not have to be this exasperated.

The comments stood out because Nicklaus had complimented Bryson DeChambeau for playing stellar golf after his transformation.

And the remarks came on a day when players were routinely placing tee shots in locales unimaginable not long ago, perhaps aided by July’s warmer weather, winds and firmer ground than the Memorial’s traditional May date. Yes, agronomy played a role, but the carry distances, start lines and overall silliness of flip wedges into long par-4’s made the issue pressing.

DeChambeau registered the most incredible of the many long tee shots:

Which reminds me. Earlier this week following R&A Chief Martin Slumbers’ comments about putting the distance decision on hold, we have a clear verdict on the website poll on this very question of whether the governing bodies should act during the pandemic:

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ESPN.com Deep Dive: "How the PGA Tour is trying to help its players avoid COVID-19 and the common injury"

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ESPN.com’s Stephanie Ball takes a pretty extensive look at the PGA Tour’s successful start and highlights everything that’s gone into the COVID-19 testing protocols.

While there have been hiccups, questions about the legitimacy of the traveling “bubble” and recent signs that transparency is diminishing, the program has been a remarkable success in restarting golf and along with NASCAR, setting a solid example the world of major sports. (No players tested positive this week, a minor miracle given the country around them.)

Especially as other major leagues have restarted in bumpy fashion and now face questions about whether they are gaining unfair lab testing priority. (That issue was solved by the PGA Tour having an on-site, mobile test lab.)

It’s not clear if ESPN.com’s Ball saw some of the elements in person, but the story does indicate a foregone conclusion element to at-home testing before events (we know one player did not partake and traveled a good ways just to test positive and spend 10 days in quarantine).

Anyway, one component of the story still sets off alarm bells given what we know about the virus and people exercising indoors: the Tour’s fitness van. That’s where players are now asked to workout instead of hotel or home gyms, seems like a spreader event waiting to happen.

"We decided to limit it to no more than five players in the trailer at any one time, so eight people total (including PTs and chiropractor)," said Stodelle. "Normally pre-round could have 10-12 guys. Guys might occasionally have to wait a bit, so they just need to allow a little more time.'

"There's a bench outside (waiting area), there are masks, hand sanitizer, wipes available. When a player comes to the truck, we scan their temperature, just to make sure they're under 100.4. Assuming everything else is good, then he can proceed into the trailer."

Players are to arrive dressed in workout attire as they are no longer allowed to change inside the trailer. All medical personnel are wearing masks and scrubs while working inside the trailer. The staff has marked-out quadrants using athletic tape as boundary markers so that the athletes can independently stretch or exercise while maintaining proper physical distancing.

Since the players apparently can’t wear masks inside, maybe we can think about moving those outdoors in future weeks? Maybe some yoga mats and a little tent covering? Just a thought!

Harding Park To Give Up Future Presidents Cup In Return For Annual Steph Curry-Hosted Tour Stop

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As far as trades go, this is huge win for San Francisco, Harding Park and the PGA Tour from what I’m reading in Ron Kroichick’s San Francisco Chronicle story.

In a nutshell: the PGA Tour and City of San Francisco contract called for several events, including the 2026 Presidents Cup (one year closer to Olympic Club hosting the 2028 PGA). Instead, the already-once-failed attempt at a Steph Curry-hosted fall event has been resurrected. Originally slated for Lake Merced the first go-round, Kroichick says next month’s PGA Championship host will end up the regular site instead of the Presidents Cup.

Workday, sponsor of last week’s one-off “Charity Open” at Muirfield Village was the likely sponsor the last time a Curry-hosted event was considered and seems the likely sponsor for the new fall stop.

Bryson: "No matter what rules they give me, I'm going to try and do my best to maximize my athletic ability."

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How refreshing to see Bryson DeChambeau tackle a question about distance, equipment rules changes and Martin Slumbers’ recent remarks with both class and wisdom.

Many players might bristle or give signs of a narcissistic blow. Mercifully, DeChambeau is confident that the recent advantage he’s gained would likely remain if the governing bodies ever did something to lessen the role of technology over skill. He seems fine with any rule change and willing to take responsibility for adjusting to the rules. Many a lesser man would have taken all of this personally.

From today’s pre-Memorial Tournament presser:

Q. I wanted to ask, Slumbers talked about the fact that they're going to have to address what's going on, and you seem to be now the newest poster boy for this. Would you be upset if they rolled things back in regards to equipment because you've shown them that you can hit the ball as far as you can hit it?

BRYSON DECHAMBEAU: Hmm. No, I wouldn't. No matter what rules they give me, I'm going to try and do my best to maximize my athletic ability. They can't take working out away from me. I know that. At least as of right now. Whatever -- look, 1998 the COR test was put in stone where you couldn't have a certain number off the face, and they've used that ever since. It's now a CT test. The ball speeds coming off the face are what they are, and they really haven't changed that much. If anything, the clubs have gotten longer, the shafts have gotten stiffer, and we can swing it faster with more control. Back in the day, the shafts were a little more flexible, and LA Golf Shafts has provided me with a shaft that's super stiff, super stable and allowed me to swing at the speeds while retaining the same control with the face.

Yeah, it's a lot of work on my end, too, to gain strength and to swing it hard, to train. It's a lot of hard work. People don't realize how hard I've worked to get here. It's been working out for at least an hour every single day for the past five, six months, fixing my body when it breaks down. I have to go, okay, I've got to go fix my body and work out and train in the right way to be able to tolerate all these forces going through my body and out of my body.

So in regards to whoever is saying we're going to have to look at equipment, I've got no problem. I'm, again, just going to look at my game and how I can improve it in the best way possible, no matter if they roll the ball back there's still going to be a percentage difference. Even if it gets rolled back there's still going to be a gap. Whether it's closer now, it is what it is. I'm not really worried about it. I'm just going to keep trying to make those athletic gains so that I can be the best golfer that I can possibly be.

Commissioner Jay Monahan, who is on the record as pro-distance, was asked about DeChambeau and distance in his pre-Memorial session with reporters on hand. He mentions how DeChambeau disrupted himself (his bacon and milkshake supplier would concur) and then largely dances around the R&A/USGA position.

Q. Jay, two things. Obviously the discussion most of the time seems to be on COVID, but the other part of the equation has been a lot on the length of Bryson DeChambeau. I know that you've had what I assume is the policy in the past of saying you're very comfortable with the golf ball, where it's going, so forth and so on, but slowly but surely you're starting to hear the critics say, this is something that we have to address again. Just to confirm, what is your position on the length issue?

JAY MONAHAN: Well, my position hasn't changed. You asked really two questions. You raised Bryson, I think, what Bryson has done. Bryson was able to use the time off in a way that I don't think anybody could have envisioned, and what he's done has been remarkable, in a short period of time. I go back to what he accomplished at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, and there's a ton of focus on how far he's hitting the ball, and rightfully so, and how he has disrupted himself to be able to put himself in the best -- himself and his game to put himself in the best position to compete and to win, but look at his putting statistics, finest putting week I believe on TOUR this year, and to me it was a great demonstration of his skill.

As it relates to distance, I think the fact of the matter is that we always have looked at distance. We look at it over a longer term horizon, not in a short-term horizon, so if you look at our data right now, average driving distance is up slightly year to date, it's down relative to two years ago, and I think that the USGA and the R&A came out with their report, they issued that report, they said that they're going to work with their industry partners, including us, to identify solutions.

That process has obviously stalled. When it takes itself back up, we're going to be a part of that conversation and make certain ultimately that we represent what we think is in the best interest of PGA TOUR, our players and our fans.

But I think that any time you have a player that is doing what Bryson has done, I think it does call attention to driving distance. But I think you have to look at the manner in which he prepared himself to do that, and some of the remarkable things that he's doing in the process, some of which other players talked about over the last couple days

DeChambeau and Monahan’s sessions can be viewed here:

Tape-Delayed Workday Charity Open Wins The Sports Weekend

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Even with the outcome having been determined, the fill-in Workday Charity Open on CBS edged FS1’s prime time NASCAR to rank as last weekend’s top rated sports broadcast, notes Sports Media Watch.

Showbuzzdaily.com has the full listing here.

The Workday final round from Muirfield Village, won in a playoff by Collin Morikawa over Justin Thomas, competed against NBC’s live airing of the American Century Championship.

Compared to the same weekend in 2019, the Workday easily beat the John Deere Classic while the American Century held steady.

Even Tiger Watched Last Week's Workday Thriller On His Computer

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Tiger Woods returned to Muirfield Village for a practice round with Justin Thomas and spoke to media soon after. The session didn’t reveal much, though the big buried lede came when discussing last week’s Workday Charity Open at Muirfield Village when Collin Morikawa and Thomas went to a playoff.

Tiger revealed that he was watching on his computer like most after CBS successfully produced excellent live early round coverage for Golf Channel, then sent viewers to its app and website to watch continuing live coverage all so the final round could be shown on tape in its regularly scheduled time slot.

Q. You've been in this situation before, too, but I'm sure you saw on Sunday J.T. holes a 50-footer. If there's a crowd around like Memorial usually gets and they react to it, how much harder is it for Collin to make his putt?

TIGER WOODS: A lot more difficult. I just think that the energy -- even it felt weird as I was watching on my computer at home, like 14, when Collin hit the ball on the green there, and granted, they've never had the tees up there during the Memorial event, but if they were and had that same situation during a Memorial event, to have someone drive the ball on the green that close to the hole, I mean, that whole hillside would have been going nuts.

Now, I’m speculating here, but work with me: Tiger Woods went to Stanford, he has a big yacht, he loves sports, and watches a lot of those sports on TV in the comfort of his home. I’m thinking he has a pretty nice TV setup, maybe even a “guy” who set up a sweet system complete with surround sound, Sonos through the estate and every channel known to man.

And he went to his computer to watch the live stream because, well, it was just easier.

Yep, streaming still stinks.

Anyway, speaking of going nuts: imagine if Tiger’s in contention for historic win No. 83 this week and storms again force tee times to move up (50% chance for Sunday as of now).

Could this mean a repeat of last week’s complicated and unsatisfying approach to serving viewers?

“Going nuts” is one way to think of how the sports viewing public will behave if it’s deja vu all over again.

Nicklaus On Memorial Winner's Tradition: "I'm going to shake their hand...I'm not going to give them COVID-19"

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ESPN.com’s Bob Harig reports on Jack Nicklaus’ most intriguing pre-Memorial Tournament press conference comment: the 80-year-oldlegend intends to maintain the tradition of greeting the likely winner with a handshake after they’ve completed 72 holes.

"I'm going to shake their hand. I going to walk right out there and shake your hand," Nicklaus said during a virtual news conference at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio. "If they don't want to shake my hand, that's fine. I'll give them a fist bump or an elbow bump, but I'm not going to give them COVID-19, so that's -- I wouldn't put anybody in that position. I wouldn't do that, and if I was in any danger of doing that, I wouldn't shake their hands.

"And incidentally, I like shaking their hand, too. I think that's a great tradition, but it was as much fun for me as I hope it is for them."

The PGA Tour has repeatedly asked players, caddies and officials not to shake hands or even fist bump, though Commissioner Jay Monahan and Rory McIlroy couldn’t help themselves at Harbour Town. But the view of Nicklaus stands out because he had recorded a PSA back in March imploring younger generations to protect those of his age group.

"Many of you kids, you're going to a lot of places that may bring that home to a senior citizen. I don't think that's what you want to do," Nicklaus said. "Let's all make sure we wash our hands. Let's make sure we're very smart about where we go, and when we go, let's try to stay away from public places. Let's just be smart. Americans have always been smart, and Americans have always gotten through these things, and we'll get through this one."

The PSA:

Memorial To Feature Strongest Non-Major Field On Record Even With Some Dead Weight

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With the world’s top nine players and Tiger Woods turning up in Dublin, Ohio for the rescheduled Memorial, strength of the 133-player field appears set to be historic (see above embed).

That said, as a few pointed out on Twitter today (below), the field features several sponsor invites of former champions from long ago who haven’t shown signs of relevance in a some time. Namely, Carl Pettersson and Vijay Singh.

Singh, 57, has yet to make a cut in 2020 in seven starts, has on top ten the last four years on the PGA Tour, and has made just 12 cuts in 42 starts during that time.

Petterson, 42, has made one PGA Tour start the last two years and since 2016, has made eleven made cuts in 60 starts with three WD’s and one top-25.

They apparently received these invites, Singh having won in 1997 and Pettersson in 2006.

There is also the curious invite of recent BYU senior Peter Kuest. He is the 2020 Memorial field instead of this year’s Jack Nicklaus Award winner, Pepperdine’s Sahith Theegala. The move is particularly odd since the current Nicklaus Award winner typically attends tournament Sunday to meet Jack Nicklaus. Usually the Nicklaus Award winners are unable to play due to conflicting dates with NCAA golf.

For those hoping to see Tiger Woods referree a wrestling match between Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau the first two rounds, the ole Featured Groups role of the dice didn’t deliver:

Shack Show Episode 19: Does anybody CARE about the VIEWER?!!

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I don’t want, in any way, to diminish Collin Morikawa’s exciting win in the Workday Charity Open. It’s pretty thrilling for golf to have a young star who has so much upside delivering such consistency and also showing that playing four years in college, the Walker Cup and, in general, the old fashioned way to the pro ranks.

However, it was a bit of a broadcasting placement debacle compounded by the pandemic and opportunity golf has to gain new fans. I was hardly alone in this assessment. (To be clear, CBS’s crews are doing amazing work in the midst of pandemic constraints.)

So, here’s a short Shack Show rant about Sunday’s weirdo tease of early live golf hinting at a fantastic young gun showdown in early Golf Channel coverage, only to be interrupted by beancounters, clashing corporate interests and those ironclad contracts that forget about the viewer.

Morikawa Secures Signature Win At Workday Charity Open

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First off, great job by the PGA Tour staff and forecasters who correctly got the final round finished with an early start to the one-off Workday Charity Open at Muirfield Village.

Second, thanks to Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas and Viktor Hovland for a great show of some young-gun golf. Thomas had a weird day and, well he’s still a PGA Championship winner with twelve PGA Tour titles, huge upside, amazing drive, and undoubtedly many more wins the way he delivers most weeks. He said this one “will hurt” (Steve DiMeglio reports from Dublin, Ohio) but I’m not sure anyone who knows golf views this as anything but a tiny blip in Thomas’ career arc.)

But the win by Morikawa—assuming you could stomach the disastrous live golf handoff to streaming and which I addressed on an emergency Shack Show rant—was impressive. A 23-year-old who has been on the Tour just a year, and only a few weeks removed from a heartbreaking loss, and, most amazingly, a winner at storied and difficult Muirfield Village his first four competitive rounds there, speaks to the SoCal/Cal/Walker Cup star’s absurdly promising career start.

I loved the Golf.com Confidential thoughts on Morikawa’s incredible ballstriking and steadiness:

Dethier: Morikawa hit four or five truly spectacular golf shots from over 200 yards on Sunday. Two near-aces. A kick-in eagle. A driver to 15 feet. He’s an absolute sniper and it was really fun to see him get rewarded, despite almost missing from 18 inches just to get into that playoff.

Sens: You hit it as close as he does over and over, you’re going to be in the mix. A lot. Dead-eye ball-striking aside, he also has a calm about him. At the first event back in Texas, he hit some glitches throughout the week but each time was able to right himself and keep himself in the mix. The putter betrayed him, ultimately. But clearly he’s got something special going on between his ears as well.

Bamberger: Great fundamentals. Cool manner. Seems to have no distractions in his life. He’s about the golf. We’ve seen it before most recently with Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth. He follows in that tradition.

Final round highlights from PGA Tour Entertainment:

In the final round of the 2020 Workday Charity Open, Collin Morikawa defeated Justin Thomas in a three-hole playoff to claim his second-career win on the PGA...

Golf Channel Report: PGA Tour Events To Continue Without Fans, Pro-Ams Through Playoffs

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Rex Hoggard reports on what was inevitable given the COVID-19 situation and pro golf showing it’s functional without spectators. The lack of fan energy down the Sunday stretch is a loss, especially at the upcoming PGA Championship and U.S. Open where we have seen roars through a course influence the outcome of a major.

That said, anecdotal evidence suggests television viewers are not missing the commentary of drunken idiots and enjoying some of the picturesque views through courses.

On a business side, the loss of pro-ams through September will be devastating for charities given that most tournaments use pro-am and spectator revenue to fund their donations.

With the Masters 16 weeks away, The Guardian’s Ewan Murray wondered earlier this week how and event protective of many cherished traditions—Sunday roars through the pines high up the list—can be played this November without fans.

Yes, Augusta could invest in the most advanced technology that checks the temperature – or pulse, or aftershave – of spectators upon entry, but this resource might really be better deployed elsewhere.

Next weekend, the world’s best golfers should have been lining up at Royal St George’s for the Open. Given the ongoing scale of coronavirus, the R&A unquestionably made the right call in postponing for 12 months. In the absolute best-case scenario, the Claret Jug would have been awarded to the winner of a vastly diminished event, even before needless pressure on public services is contemplated.