Justin Rose On Channeling His Federer Speed

Defending Farmers Insurance Open champion Justin Rose has returned to Torrey Pines in search of his first win since last year’s incredible 21-under-par performance.

While his press room sessions are always enlightening, the reflections on the state of his game, the Presidents Cup and where he’s at with game analysis proved most interesting.

This is in response to a question I asked about his successful pursuit of “speed” while not letting other parts of his game to suffer. His thinking provides a stark contrast to some peers pursuing speed.

What do you attribute your ability to do that, gain speed, and not have it hurt the rest of your game?

JUSTIN ROSE: Well, I think, yeah, I definitely had a Project 300 in play since 2015, 2016, and although it didn't help my game, maybe it did help my body. I think I paid for it actually in 2016. The back wasn't that great, so I've had to learn to go about it a slightly different way.

I look at it now in terms of, I look at Roger Federer. There's guys that serve at 135, but he serves at 121 in the corners. He's at the back end of his career, so it's incredibly effective.

So yeah, I'm not going to be a 185 ball speed guy and if I chase that, it is going to hurt me and it's going to hurt my swing and body because you've got to reabsorb that force. But I can serve it 121 in the corners is kind of where I'm at. And for me, that's like 172, 175 ball speed. I carry the ball 300. If I can carry the ball 300 in the air, I can compete on any golf course against any player. So that's kind of my benchmark.

A Window Into Golf's Gambling Future: How Tuesday Observations Might Go Over With PGA Tour Players

I’ve heard from a few folks not understanding my views expressed on recent podcast about pro golf gambling. They have not seen me turn a Daily Racing Form into a whip or turn to my Bovada app as a PGA Tour Sunday unfolds and a 20-1 shot sitting three back has an eagle putt.

Gambling could be a great thing for PGA Tour coffers, their media partners and fan interest. With “fantasy” stakes invested in players, fans will find a way to sit through the tedium that is the five-hour round (and growing). But even if the focus is building a lineup each week and rooting for your selections based on research, today’s players seem unlikely to handle the scrutiny well. All too many have come to believe that their every move is a private matter where the exercise of playing in front of fans and media is nothing but an annoyance. And this is without legalized gambling.

Say, in 2021, many states have legalized sports bettering and you can wager on PGA Tour golf, consider what fans will want to know and what media will be obligated to report: every observable pre-tournament detail that will be of interest to fantasy players and gamblers.

Today, during the closed-to-the-public practice round at the Farmers Insurance Open, I observed things that would be of interest to those making a lineup this week. Names will not be included, but imagine how upsetting these observations would be if names were involved and social media employed to help gamblers make a wagering decision. A sampling:

—________, who was once addicted to his Trackman, was seen hitting balls without it and talking to someone who is not the instructor he has been officially linked to.

—_______ cancelled a planned nine-hole practice round to keep working with the new driver he’s trying to put in his bag. Tour team members were busy making adjustments and trying to find him a gamer.

—_______looked lost on the practice putting green, using alignment tools, instructing his caddie to record every putt for video review, and appearing utterly confused.

—________came to the course today but appeared under the weather and instead went to the fitness trailer for medical aid.

—Because of a balky back, ________ was heard saying he can practice his putting for more than 30 minutes and hasn’t been able to hit balls how he’d like as he prepares to kick off his 2020 season on a course he’s played well at.

I could go on and on but you get the drift: players will face a new kind of scrutiny. It’s hard to see them liking any of this shared by a media member, or worse, through private channels by insiders observing facts of interest of handicappers.

Maybe the riches that come with the PGA Tour’s stake in gambling will offset the new invasion of their privacy. But given the decline of media, the potential for non-media to cash in on insider information, and the thirst for insight into any wagering edge, I remain doubtful that players are ready for what is yet to come.

Sigh...Keven Na Roots For His Backstopping Ball To Help Another Player

Just when we thought the whole backstopping thing was over, along comes Kevin Na adding a new layer.

To be clear, no violation of the rules took place. But the spirit of the rules? That’s another story.

Russell Knox was in golf’s deepest bunker and later took to Twitter clarifying he had Na idea what was going on 25 feet above him. But as we see in video posted by the PGA Tour Twitter account, Na has hit his approach, left it, is standing just a few feet off the green and can be heard rooting for Knox’s shot to hit his ball (“hit my ball”). Thanks to reader Gray for noting this shot, only seen while Playing Through during second round American Express action:

Come on, @rooknox.

Teach us, please. 🙏 #QuickHits pic.twitter.com/p3CocoZj5G

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 17, 2020

You know the drill by now. Backstopping is the scratch-my-back-I-scratch-yours weirdness that has been endorsed by those yearning for some sort of club membership in the world of professional golf.

The practice seemingly subsided since last February’s embarrassing episode featuring Amy Olson and Ariya Jutanugarn. But as fans have come to understand the strange little practice, they don’t like it.

Just check out the overwhelming number of to a magnificent bunker instead focusing on Na’s actions. A sampling screen capture:

In a week where cheating in sports has been dominating news and social media as the Patrick Reed situation lingers, logic dictates that players and officials are on heightened alert for anything that could be misconstrued. Nope.

Now imagine in the near future when sports gambling is legal and Na is heard rooting for another player’s ball to hit the one he purposely left near the hole. Given the reactions to this shot to the PGA Tour’s Tweet there will be an outcry or worse, gamblers wanting inquiries and refunds.

All of this would be a non-issue if Na merely walked the six or seven paces to slap a coin down behind his ball. But pretty soon, if not already given what’s going on in sports, this bizarre cultural practice will be put in a different spotlight. And not one with soft lighting or minor consequences.

Did The Brooks V. Bryson Ab Spat Awaken Shirtless Shark To Resurface?

IWhy anyone gets in a spat with Brooks Koepka and thinks they’ll win, I have no idea.

But here are details of Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau’s escalating ab spat, well documented here by the Golf.com Fortnight/DeChambeau monitoring squad. For those over 40, just go with it.

And if you really don’t care, everything you need to know about Bryson and Brooks’s second public spat, is summed up here:

You were right @b_dechambeau I am 2 short of a 6 pack! pic.twitter.com/aCJ1jimId6

— Brooks Koepka (@BKoepka) January 16, 2020

All of this talk of golfers and their abs appears to have awoken the Shark to return to his past—ok, it’s been three months since his last shirtless shot.

View this post on Instagram

Haven’t done this in awhile.

A post shared by Greg Norman (@shark_gregnorman) on Jan 16, 2020 at 1:35pm PST

Cam Smith Facing Fine Threat For Ever Calling Out Patrick Reed Again?

The PGA Tour does not comment on any fine situations as we all know, and Cameron Smith might get fined for commenting on whether he was fined or threatened to be fined for calling out Patrick Reed’s Hero World Challenge lie improvement fiasco.

So the recent Sony Open winner wisely took a rain check when Golf Digest’s Brian Wacker checked in post-Sony and asked if he had been threatened with future fines for discussing Reed’s antics.

The comments caused a stir, on social media and beyond. According to a source, an official from the PGA Tour spoke to Smith about the remarks, essentially issuing a warning that he would be fined in the future if he made similar statements. The tour, through a spokesperson, said it does not comment about disciplinary matters, though the player handbook does include a section with language that states a player can face sanctions for public attacks on fellow players. Smith, for his part, would not comment on the Reed matter, preferring to move on and put it behind him.

You know what they about the cover-ups and crimes…

At least Smith was not fined since it appears he was merely issued a warning. A fine for him, but not for Reed, would be scandalous.

Here is the PGA Tour policy courtesy of Robopz:

Yes... "The system", within which PGA Tour players make millions upon millions of dollars has rules for its members to protect its image. Gee, ya think? From Section 6 of the Tour regs... pic.twitter.com/pNH6H4Ti7q

— Robopz (@Robopz) January 16, 2020

Patrick Reed And The Astros: Smoltz On The Parallels And Differences Between The Cheaters

Is this a bad time to remind everyone of the PGA Tour’s Houston Open brought to you by the Astros Foundation? Eh, it’s in the fall. We’ll deal with the cheating Asterisks then. Hopefully Patrick Reed is not their headliner. Oh right, Brooks Koepka has to play.

Anyway…

The LPGA kicks off its 2020 season with the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions where a celebrity tournament within the tournament draws many of Major League Baseball’s recent greats. Former Brave and current Fox broadcaster John Smoltz was asked about the breaking Astros scandal and Patrick Reed’s recent brush with integrity.

Randall Mell with the full story for GolfChannel.com and Smoltz’s view that both golf and baseball are struggling to manage technology. But this was a nice quote:

“What makes golf unique is that it's up to the integrity of each person to determine whether they want to apply the rules as they're meant, and that's why golf has always been known as the gentleman's game. But it's frowned upon, and we all know enough people, and play with enough people at our clubs, that just can't help themselves by getting an advantage and an edge, because they want to compete, and they want to be successful. That bothers me, but it's not immune from anywhere.”

While the Reed fallout continues because fans do not feel he got the punishment deserved for so blatantly bending the rules last December, Major League Baseball may face a similar issue if fans and players feel the Astros punishment did not fit the crimes committed.

Patrick Reed's Lawyer Tries To Silence Chamblee's Suggestions Of Cheating

While anyone who has played the game is uncomfortable with the actions of Patrick Reed—at best—his obvious effort to improve his lie at December’s Hero World Challenge has also involved behind-the-scenes efforts to squash free speech.

Eamon Lynch reports on a cease and desist letter Reed had his attorney send to Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee demanding and end to accusations of cheating.

“The purpose of this letter is to obtain assurance that you will refrain from any further dissemination, publication or republication of false and defamatory statements concerning Mr. Reed, including any allegations that he ‘cheated’ at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas,” wrote Peter Ginsberg, a partner at the New York City law firm of Sullivan & Worcester.

Ginsberg, who previously represented Ray Rice and has sued the PGA Tour on behalf of Vijay Singh and Hank Haney, confirmed to Golfweek that he represents Reed and sent the letter.

Chamblee’s comment drawing the most ire from Team Reed: “To defend what Patrick Reed did is defending cheating. It’s defending breaking the rules.”

Since the letter was sent in December, fans have continued to taunt Reed at the Presidents Cup and in his first 2020 PGA Tour start. Having served no suspension and having been deemed a gentleman for accepting his two-stroke penalty presumably for not trashing the scoring trailer, appears to have only outraged a majority of fans who value the integrity of professional golfers.

Sending such a letter on top of whatever other efforts Team Reed are pursuing behind the scenes would seem to only be keeping memories fresh of Patrick Reed’s recent and distant past issues with the law.

The rest of the story includes comment from Chamblee on the apparent claim by Reed’s lawyer, Peter Ginsberg, that video captured by Golf Channel cameras exonerated his client. This, even though it was the video that became the only way we learned of Reed’s nefarious actions.

GWAA: Writers Name Brooks Koepka, Jin Young Ko, Scott McCarron 2019 Players Of The Year

On the wings of his T2-1-2-T4 finish in the 2019 majors, Brooks Koepka was named the Golf Writers Association of America player of the year. Also on the ballot with Koepka were Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods, who made strong cases for the award. But Koepka’s consistency in the majors ultimately got him the nod, it would seem.

McIlroy was named player of the year by his PGA Tour peers.

The full release:

KOEPKA, KO, MCCARRON VOTED 2019 GWAA PLAYERS OF THE YEAR

HOUSTON (January 7, 2020) – World No. 1 Brooks Koepka’s impressive record in last year’s majors propelled him to his second consecutive Golf Writers Association of America’s Player of the Year Award, while Jin Young Ko and Scott McCarron won their respective 2019 Player of the Year honors.

Koepka is the first player to win back-to-back since Tiger Woods won back to back in 2006-2007 (he also won in 2005).  Koepka got 44 percent of the vote to world No. 2’s Rory McIlroy’s 36 percent while Woods, who has won the Player of the Year honor 10 times, was third.

Koepka, who was sidelined with a knee injury in the fall, crushed the majors in 2019. In addition to winning his second consecutive PGA Championship, he finished in the top four at the other three majors. He was tied for second at the Masters, second alone at the U.S. Open and T-4 at The Open. In addition to the PGA, he won the WGC FedEx St. Jude Invitational and T-2 at the Classic, T-3 at the TOUR Championship and fourth at the AT&T Byron Nelson.

"I am extremely humbled to receive this award for a second year in a row,” said Koepka. “The GWAA does so much for the game we all love, so to be their Player of the Year again is a real honor.’’

Ko, in just her second season on the LPGA Tour, ran away with the Female POY race with Nelly Korda finishing a distant second. 

The South Korean star won four times, including two majors and swept every major LPGA award. She won the ANA Inspiration and Evian Championship and posted 12 top-10 finishes and ended the year winning the Rolex Player of the Year, the money title and Vare Trophy. Her 69.052 average was the second-lowest mark in LPGA history to Annika Sorenstam’s record of 68.697 in 2002.

She made headlines, too, for playing 114 holes without a bogey, besting Woods’ record by four holes.

"It is a great honor to win this prestigious award,” said Ko. “To be recognized by golf writers, who cover our sport of golf all year long, makes it even more special. I'm really proud and excited to be named alongside all the other recipients of this award in the past."

 McCarron won three tournaments and the Schwab Cup and had 14 top-10 finishes in 26 events to edge twin-tour wizard Steve Stricker. The 54-year-old McCarron won The Mitsubishi Electric, Insperity Invitational and Mastercard Japan.

 "To be selected Senior Player of the year by the Golf Writers Association of America is truly a great honor," said McCarron.

Koepka, Ko and McCarron will receive their awards at the 48th ISPS HANDA GWAA Annual Awards Dinner on Wednesday April 8 in Augusta, Georgia.

Some Players Take The Blame For Mistakes, Some Get Gusted

The memorable 2020 Sentry Tournament of Champions featuring a playoff and eventual win by Justin Thomas will go down as one of the more memorable PGA Tour events in some time. The combination of elite players, Kapalua’s finishing holes regaining some of their danger and a nice dose of wind set up a wild conclusion.

Of course, none of it happens without Justin Thomas bungling the 18th in regulation, carding a six after a weak tee shot and poor decision to hit 3 wood. Plenty of factors threatened to stop Thomas from hitting a quality shot, as Luke Kerr-Dineen noted here for Golf.com.

And then there was Justin’s thinking.

Thanks to Jeremy Schilling from highlighting this answer in Thomas’ post round press conversation:

Q. Two things on 18 in regulation, a nice moment to reflect on. On the second shot you had, did you hit a bad shot or was it a bad lie?

JUSTIN THOMAS: It was a really bad lie. It was the wrong club. I should have hit a 5-wood. It just -- I had no chance to get it to the green. The only good thing about a 3-wood was that it was going to cover more if I slightly pulled it, not hit it as far left as I did. But I mean, as steep as -- the thing is the farther down you get it, the flatter it is. I hit that drive so bad and so far off the toe that I didn't get it far enough down to be flat. It just was -- with a one-shot lead that was so stupid. I would have been better off hitting a 6-iron than a 3-wood. It doesn't make sense.

If I just would have made 4 there I would have won the tournament in regulation. Obviously if I made 5 I would have, but standing on 18 tee, I'm like, we make 4 we're probably going to win this thing, and boy, I botched it up pretty badly.

In an era of “we” making a bad call or “we” hitting a bad shot, Thomas’s comments will endear him to golf fans.

Contrast that with those who got “gusted.”

Unbeknownst to many, this is a thing.

Patrick Reed wheeled out the term for his missed playoff putts during a post round interview, not long after Xander Schauffele used the term.

From Dylan Dethier’s noble attempt to respectfully consider the act of being gusted.

“Unfortunately I had two putts really to close it, and one of them I got gusted on, and then this last one with the wind and the break, just got me again,” Reed said. There it is again: “gusted.” (Remember to save this phrase for your weekend game!) He expanded on the point, describing his birdie try on playoff hole No. 2. “The wind picked up right when we hit it and it made the ball stay straighter because it was more downwind and it actually didn’t break at all,” he said.

Certainly wind can affect a putt, but as I recall watching the putts live, they appeared off pretty early on. Maybe that’s where the gusting too place. Or maybe former tour player Chris DiMarco likely summed up the feelings of most in a Tweet that now sleeps with the fishes, notes GolfWRX’s Gianni Magliocco.

Major Championship Performers: McIlroy Tops The 20 Best Of The Decade

Thank you to Golf Channel’s John Antonini for taking the time to consider who the best players were of the last decade. Using a points system, it’s illuminating to see who performed best and how. Rory McIlroy peaking in the mid-portion, while Brooks Koepka landing second on the list with no success in the first half of the decade.

Check out the list here and note in the second ten how many major winners did not enjoy much success beyond their victories.

Antonini also explains how McIlroy tops the list despite not winning a major since 2014.

Why Rory? Because even though he missed the cut at Royal Portrush, he was a successful major performer throughout the decade. His four wins tied for the most in the decade with Koepka. His 18 top-10 finishes were the most of any player. And he was the only player to have at least one top-10 in a major in every year from 2010-19. Although Rory didn’t win a major after the 2014 PGA, he did have 10 top-10s over the second half of the decade, including a runner-up finish at the 2018 Open. Ultimately, that’s what set him apart. McIlroy was there at the beginning of the decade and was still a star at the end.  

Captain America, No More: Where Does Patrick Reed Go From Here?

Team events have boosted careers and killed plenty of others. They can be cruel that way. They can also let someone like Ian Poulter buy Ferraris like you and I buy bananas.

Patrick Reed seems destined for poster child status as the most buoyed and most exposed by inclusion in a Ryder or Presidents Cup. Where does this combination of hardworking, supremely talented enigma and embarrassing rule-breaker go from here?

Beats me. I never would have guessed he’d be picked again for a Cup team after having the audacity to complain about getting saddled with Tiger Woods, all while playing horrifically at the 2018 Ryder Cup. But the Task Force and specifically, Woods, gave him another shot at the 2019 Presidents Cup. A singles win didn’t make up for his dramatic and turbulent presence.

Some of the best writers in the business took a crack at trying to figure out where Reed—who plenty of fans and writers think deserves time away from the game for his Hero World Challenge cheating—goes from here.

Eamon Lynch at Golfweek wonders who will have the courage to bench “Captain America”.

It’s like you always say: you make birdies, you don’t hear much.

Investing in Captain America comes at a cost, of course. Everyone understands that accounting. Longtime allies will melt away. Reputations built on probity will be blemished. Men of character will sit on the sidelines while one with none takes the field. But payment for that will be due someone else. Captain America’s end, when it comes, won’t be amid the raucous cheers and backslapping that defined his victories. It will be a somber affair, decided in some nondescript office when powerful men, an eye trained on their disillusioned core supporters, say simply, enough.

GolfChannel.com’s Ryan Lavner notes that Reed is now on his own again after surviving the post-Hero backlash within “the protective cocoon of team play.”

No more captains and teammates shrugging off his misbehavior for the sake of team unity. No more reporters being held at arm’s length. No more hiding behind a red, white and blue banner. It’ll be Reed, alone, facing fan criticism and absorbing daggers from his peers.

How Reed navigates the next nine months, until the 2020 Ryder Cup, will be an insight into the rest of his career – and to this point, he’s shown zero remorse or any interest in image rehabilitation.

ESPN.com’s Bob Harig thinks it may just be time for Reed the relentless world traveler to shut it down for a bit of reflection.

Not just because in Reed's nine events since the Tour Championship in August, he's played in nine different countries -- none of which is the United States. (Germany, the Netherlands, England, Japan, China, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, The Bahamas and Australia.)
No, perhaps it is time for some reflection, some introspection. Reed is a unique talent, a guy with plenty of moxie.

But his brashness has gotten him into trouble, and the way he doubled down on the rules incident without acknowledging remorse only served to make things worse. Seems the next few weeks, prior to the start of 2020, might be a window to sort some of that out, perhaps returning with a new perspective.

Tripp Isenhour and I discussed Reed on Golf Central, considering whether he will ever be picked again. I was not about to play the never card given the events of Paris last year.

Reedgate: Colt Knost Provides What The Proper Angle Would Have Looked Like

Never good when other pros are mocking you…

View this post on Instagram

@preedgolf how did I do? Or was the camera angle bad? Asking for a friend

A post shared by Colt Knost (@coltknost) on Dec 9, 2019 at 2:25pm PST

Checking In On Can't-Miss Akshay Bhatia After Four Starts

Through four PGA Tour sponsor invites, former world No. 1 junior Akshay Bhatia bypassed college golf after playing for the U.S. Walker Cup team, turned pro and has yet to make a cut. Granted, it’s not kind to fair on a teenager and most remain bullish on the 18-year-old as prototype of future greats by focusing on speed (Bhatia finished 36 holes leading the field in driving distance and was second-to-last Strokes Gained in putting).

Still, as Alex Myers writes for GolfDigest.com from the RSM Classic, the early signs are discouraging for those pinning their hopes on Bhatia as the next way young golfers develop and break through. He reports after talking to instructor George Gankas:

Bhatia was making his fourth PGA Tour start on a sponsor's exemption since turning pro, but is still in search of a first made cut. He's also got an uncertain schedule after failing to make it past the second stage of Korn Ferry Tour Q-school.

"I'm not sure, I'll sit down with the team and we'll see," Bhatia said of his upcoming schedule. "But I have three (PGA Tour) starts left and I'll definitely do some Mondays and maybe go to Europe and play some golf over there."

While Gankas was glad to fill-in on the bag, the in-demand instructor who also coaches Matthew Wolff says it won't be a common sight.

"But I did enjoy it and he's a great kid," Gankas said. "And I think he's going to be one of the best players in the world."

Shouldn’t teenagers only be referring to their college “team”?

Garrigus: "It’s OK to take Oxycontin and blackout and run into a bunch of people, but you can’t take CBD and THC without someone looking at you funny."

While he has his facts wrong on a few fronts, recently suspended CBD user Robert Garrigus scores a few points with his very legit gripes about the consistency of suspension penalties and the overall treatment by WADA and the PGA Tour of various substances.

From Adam Schupak’s reporting for Golfweek:

“I get suspended in the middle of the year. Matt Every gets suspended at the end of the year and he misses three tournaments,” Garrigus said. “There also needs to be some discrepancy there. There’s a gray area there, but the Tour has always been black and white.”

He needs to spend more time in California, because this sure isn’t the case, but I don’t doubt it is the way things are in most areas:

“The fact that it is socially unacceptable for cannabis and CBD right now blows my mind. It’s OK to take Oxycontin and blackout and run into a bunch of people, but you can’t take CBD and THC without someone looking at you funny. It makes no sense,” Garrigus said.

It's (Not Really) The Gym Time, Files: Kuchar Picks Up 10 Yards After Ball Switch

It’s all about the speed and gym work these guys put in these days. Oh, and some Trackman time, product development and bizarro regulatory complacency helps too.

From Golf.com’s Jessica Marksbury on Matt Kuchar putting a new ball into play at last week’s Mayakoba Classic and reaping noticeable benefits by switching to a Bridgestone Tour B X prototype.

During testing leading up to Mayakoba, Kuchar, who ranks 247th of 248 on Tour in driving distance (276.5 yards), found an additional 1.5 miles per hour ball speed with the ball, which equated to an additional 4 yards. With the rollout, Kuchar was consistently seeing an increase of 10.5 yards per drive.

Naturally what Kuchar done is undoubtedly within the rules, which begs the question: what’s the point of having rules if they can’t regulate the equipment to ensure an improvement in skill achieves the distance gain?