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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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:

Poll: Should Golf's Governing Bodies Accelerate The Distance And Skill Discussion?

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Before you vote, here is why I’m asking.

R&A Chief Martin Slumbers said in a new interview with the MailOnline that his organization is as focused as ever on implementing some sort of equipment rules changes. However, the current pandemic has caused the governing bodies to be “conscious of the golf industry having the time to recover.” He goes on to say the topic of distance will be back, “because it does need to be discussed.”

While the world does have more important things to focus on, we know now that the pandemic has already accelerated trends and expedited disruptions. If rulemaker minds have been made up, why not act sooner than later, he asks rhetorically?

That’s the point golf architect Tom Doak makes in this Golf Club Atlas thread.

If they wanted to make changes, what better time to make them than when everything is in upheaval?  That's exactly when capitalists pounce on the opportunity to do things they want to do.

But when you DON'T want to make changes, that's when politicians say "it's too soon" to consider new policies and that "we don't want to be reactive," or "people need time to grieve."  So we might as well start grieving, because it sounds like this report is going to limit the options for change.

One other point: the game has seen a surge in popularity and rounds as courses reopened and golfers fled to safe places to exercise. Getting to get back and search (or buy) ten more yards has not fueled this newfound golf popularity, so what better time than now?

So I think you know how I voted. But as someone has has found it hard many days of late to treat golf news with any seriousness, I can relate to the opposing position. (But Wally, only one vote a day!)

Pandemic: Should the governing bodies accelerate the distance and skill discussion?
 
pollcode.com free polls

R&A Chief: "You can do things with the ball. But it's the relationship between ball and club which is most important"

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Mailonline’s John Greechan has posted a lengthy set of quotes from R&A Chief Executive Martin Slumbers reviewing the decision to cancel The Open Championship, normally played this week.

But it’s his comments on technology and skill that will get the most attention. While the headline writers love the Bryson DeChambeau remarks, Slumbers makes clear that when times improve the topic of distance will be revisited.

It’s the specifics on how they may act that advance the discussion more. While the specifics should not surprise anyone who reads the R&A and USGA Distance Insights report, the regulatory approach is now pretty clear.

”Once we feel that the industry is stable again, which isn't going to be tomorrow, because we don't know what's going to happen over autumn and winter, we will be coming back to that issue in great seriousness.

”It is too simple just to say change the ball. Way too simple. You can do things with the ball.
'But it's the relationship between ball and club which is most important, to me.

”The fundamental change in the golf ball since 1999-2000, with the introduction of ProV1 technology, is the ball spins less.

”And drivers have been designed so it spins even less, which makes it go further.”

Or, farther. Either way, it’s good to know the intent is to target both ball and clubface.

Rose Series: Dryburgh Wins Again Over Charley Hull, Georgia Hall At 2021 Open Host Royal St George's

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Beth Ann Nichols reports on the Rose Series event wrapping at Royal St George’s, which next week was to host the 2020 Open Championship and now will host in 2021 after the R&A’s pandemic-driven cancellation.

Winner Gemma Dryburgh of Scotland held off English stars Charley Hull and Georgia Hall, the 2018 Women’s British Open winner.

The win is notable in giving Scotland a rising star who will make her Open debut next month at Troon after playing the two Ohio LPGA events.

Dryburgh has history at Royal St. George’s, having competed there at the 2014 British Ladies Amateur, the same year she represented Great Britain and Ireland at the Curtis Cup. The previous trip helped with the fact that she didn’t have a practice round at Royal St. George’s this week. She instead warmed up with a Clutch Pro Tour event at Sunningdale Health, finishing tied for ninth in a mixed tournament won by Will Percival.

On Wednesday after an LPGA player meeting, Dryburgh booked her ticket to the U.S. She’ll quarantine for two weeks in Texas before heading up to Toledo, Ohio, for back-to-back events as the LPGA reboots its 2020 season. She’ll then travel back home to Scotland for two more events, a most welcome homecoming in these uncertain times.

The tournament and what images we can see on Instagram give us a glimpse of what might have been at Royal St George’s. In a nutshell: the links would have been very green.

Women's British Open At Royal Troon A Go, Will Include A "Bio Secure Zone"

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The R&A has confirmed plans to move ahead with the Women’s British Open in Scotland (now under their control but curiously still not subjected to The Open branding). From this wire story, it sounds like a very strict zone is being created to make this happen in late August, including all staying in one hotel.

As part of COVID-19 safety protocols, the Championship will create a "bio secure zone," and allow a reduced number of people who are essential to the operation including: players, caddies, officials, and staging staff.

To be allowed on-site, a negative COVID-19 test from an authorised testing centre must be returned, and in addition to limited movements between the golf course and the hotel, all players and staff will be subject to further tests and temperature checks "to maintain the integrity of the zone and the health of those within it."

The preceding week’s Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open is also forging ahead at the Renaissance Club in East Lothian. Players have have been briefed are already bracing for very limited movements beyond playing the tournament.

Open Week To Feature "The Open For The Ages"

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Let’s ignore the fan vote component (Rory inevitably opens as the 3-1 favorite!) and instead enjoy the R&A’s fresh approach to pandemic “content”. The Old Course! A tournament! On national TV! Better than most!

For Immediate Release…

THE R&A TO MARK ‘OPEN WEEK’ WITH CELEBRATORY BROADCAST OF ‘THE OPEN FOR THE AGES’

6 July 2020, St Andrews, Scotland: The R&A is inviting golf fans around the world to take part in a very special celebration of golf’s original championship following the cancellation of The Open this year.

‘The Open for The Ages’ will bring together many of golf’s greatest champions for the first time to compete against each other over the Old Course at St Andrews in a compelling and innovative three-hour broadcast production. 

This exclusive edition of The Open features 50 years of archive footage expertly edited and woven together with modern graphics and new commentary to imagine a Championship contested by the legends of the sport including Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Seve Ballesteros, Tom Watson, Sir Nick Faldo and Rory McIlroy.

‘The Open for The Ages’ will culminate in a final round programme that will air on Sunday 19 July when it will be broadcast globally to fans around the world on TV, TheOpen.com and The Open’s social media channels. The broadcast is being supported by HSBC and NTT DATA, both Patrons of The Open.

Anticipation and excitement for the final round programme will build up from Thursday 16 to Saturday 18 July when coverage of the first three rounds of ‘The Open for The Ages’ will be provided by in-play clips, live leaderboards and end of play highlights across The Open’s social media channels.

The winner of ‘The Open for The Ages’ will be determined by a fan vote, which has registered more than 10,000 responses, and a data model developed in partnership with NTT DATA that utilises player career statistics alongside the input by fans to calculate the Champion.

Martin Slumbers, Chief Executive of The R&A, said, “Golf is one of the very few sports where this concept can be created and brought to life. The way in which the sport is filmed allows us a truly unique opportunity to reimagine history and bring together the greatest players from many different eras on a scale which has not been done before, either in golf or in other sports.

“We are all keenly feeling the absence of The Open from the global sporting calendar this year and so we hope that this broadcast will generate real interest and enjoyment for the millions of golf and sports fans who closely follow the Championship every year.”

Laurence Norman, VP Sports Technology at NTT DATA UK, said, “Technology is synonymous with modern sport, helping athletes compete at optimum performance levels. What’s even more exciting is the new emphasis on technology being utilised to enhance fan experiences.

“Building stronger fan engagement through technology is the future of sports, and while it will never replace the thrill of live events, The Open for The Ages demonstrates how technology can keep pushing the boundaries of what it is possible in sports broadcasting."

The R&A’s international TV broadcast partners, including Sky Sports in the UK, NBC Sports and NBC Golf Channel in the United States of America, and TV Asahi in Japan, will televise ‘The Open for The Ages’ to fans all around the world.  It will also be made available via TheOpen.com and The Open’s YouTube and Facebook channels.

Commentators, including Ewen Murray, Nick Dougherty, Butch Harmon and Iona Stephen, will bring the Championship to life using a compelling narrative that will provide a fascinating spectacle at the Home of Golf.

‘The Open for the Ages’ will be supported by a digital and social media campaign featuring ‘in-play’ clips, leaderboards and statistics in the lead up to the final round being played when the outright winner is revealed.

The trailer:

R&A: Revamp Plans Revealed For Golf's Most Famous Clubhouse

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The Courier’s Craig Smith explains plans for expanding the R&A Clubhouse (underground) along with other security updates. The building opened in early 1854 and now must accommodate the club’s inclusion of female members. Of course, none of this is open to the public so I’d understand your lack of interest. But it is golf’s most iconic clubhouse so…

However, the R&A’s new application for listed building consent for the proposed works represents one of the biggest changes in living memory.

It has not yet been revealed how much the redevelopment will cost but it is anticipated to be well into seven figures.

According to the proposals, 450 combined male and female lockers, providing adequate bench and hanging space, will be created along with showers and toilet facilities.

Bag storage areas catering for up to 500 golf bags and trolleys are planned, as are a drying room, a family-friendly meeting area to assist in the promotion of junior golf and a new arrival/drop off layby to improve the road network.

First Review In For Hoylake's New 17th And Prediction Of Its Next Open Rota Appearance

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Royal Liverpool clubhouse, photo by Geoff Shackelford

Royal Liverpool clubhouse, photo by Geoff Shackelford

In his weekly Daily Mail golf column, Derek Lawrenson says news may be coming soon on Royal Liverpool getting pushed back in The Open rota so that Royal Troon can retain its 2023 centenary date.

The cancellation of the 2020 Open has pushed the schedule back a year, with Royal St George’s hosting in 2021 and The Old Course in 2022.

Lawrenson also tested out what will be the courses new par-17th hole whenever The Open returns (photo below). The new hole was created in addition to other adjustments by Mackenzie and Ebert.

Leaving aside the two new holes showcased when Portrush returned to the rota last year, this will be the first time we've seen a brand new hole on one of the established Open courses in recent memory.

It's good to report, therefore, it's a beauty, with dramatic views over to Hilbre Island, and quite a talking point too in these days of ever-longer courses, given it measures under 130 yards.

R&A Launches £7 million Support Fund For Golf In The UK

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The R&A has launched a £7 million funding package called The R&A Covid-19 Support Fund, with a focus on helping “national associations and other affiliated bodies in Great Britain and Ireland.”

While regional associations will have final say over the funds, it appears the program is designed to assist UK golf clubs facing total losses of outside revenue or existing members.

The full press release:

The R&A today launched a £7 million funding package, The R&A Covid-19 Support Fund, to help golf deal with the impact of the pandemic.

The fund will be largely aimed at national associations and other affiliated bodies in Great Britain and Ireland.

Assistance for clubs and facilities

With the global pandemic leading to widespread temporary course closures and drastic reductions in domestic and international travel, many golf clubs and facilities are facing serious financial difficulties. The fund is being provided to help The R&A’s affiliated national associations to support those clubs and facilities, although some of the money may be used for other activities key to the future health of the sport.

Martin Slumbers, Chief Executive of The R&A, said, “The pandemic is having an unprecedented impact on golf and many clubs are facing dire financial situations through no fault of their own. Golf is in our DNA and we want to see the sport continue to thrive from grassroots right through to the top level on the professional tours. We have a responsibility to do what we can to help in such a crisis.

“The R&A Covid-19 Support Fund will enable national associations and other key bodies to provide support to some of their members. We know that many challenges lie ahead but club golf is the bedrock of our sport and hopefully this fund will help to begin the process of recovery.”

How to access The R&A Covid-19 Fund

The R&A is working with its national associations and other selected organisations on communications, with each body being responsible for controlling and allocating its share.

The R&A reinvests the proceeds from the success of The Open, golf’s original championship, in growing and supporting golf and already provides financial support to a wide range of organisations in addition to national associations, including the European Tour, the LET, the PGA of Great Britain and Ireland and the Golf Foundation.

England Can Resume Golf With Household Members, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland Cannot

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Elliott Heath reports on the UK Prime Minister’s lifting of some restrictions on recreation, with only England allowing golfers to return as long as they are playing with a household member. The plan begins Wednesday and apparently caught many by surprise.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s quote in Heath’s Golf Monthly report is going to confuse golfers.

“From this Wednesday, we want to encourage people to take more and even unlimited amounts of outdoor exercise,” UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.

“You can sit in the sun in your local park, you can drive to other destinations, you can even play sports but only with members of your own household.”

Governments continue to try ease restrictions and golf seems to be caught in the middle, as Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales will not be part of this “unlimited exercise” restriction lift due to continued lockdown orders.

The R&A’s statement and guidelines page, included this:

As a sport we must work together to resume play responsibly as and when the relevant Government determines it is safe to do so. We must ensure that the safety and well being of everyone involved from golfers, to club staff and greenkeepers is maintained at all times. Golf clubs and golfers have observed the lockdown very well and must keep it up and act responsibly as play resumes.

Royal And Ancient Captain To Repeat Term, First Since

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In another sign of the (first world) times, the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews will have Clive Edginton continue as captain for another year. This makes him the first to do so since John Murray Belshes in 1835-36.

I know you all know about Murray Belshes, but first, for Immediate Publication.

THE ROYAL AND ANCIENT GOLF CLUB ANNOUNCES CLIVE EDGINTON WILL CONTINUE AS CAPTAIN FOR 2020/21

6 May 2020, St Andrews, Scotland: The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews has announced that Clive Edginton will continue as Captain for 2020/21.  

Mr Edginton took office last September as Captain for 2019/20 but due to the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic the Past Captains of the Club have nominated Mr Edginton to continue as Captain for another year from September 2020.

This is only the second occasion since the Club was founded in 1754 that a Captain has served two successive terms. The first was Major John Murray Belshes, who held the position in 1835 and 1836.

Mr Edginton said, “It is an honour to be Captain of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club and I feel very privileged to be asked to continue in the role. This is a difficult time for all of us in the midst of this pandemic but I am happy that I can continue to serve the Club as we look positively to the future.” 

Born in Walton-on-Thames, Mr Edginton was educated at Malvern College and Oxford University, graduating in 1973 with a degree in law and a Blue for golf.  After a successful business career in the City of London, latterly as Chief Executive and then Chairman of Tindall Riley, a specialist insurance management company, he retired in 2014.  He has since been a non-executive director and is now a consultant to the Medical Defence Union.

Mr Edginton became a member of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club in 1997.  He served on the Rules of Golf Committee from 2000 to 2004 and was its Deputy Chairman from 2002 to 2004. He was Chairman of the Amateur Status Committee from 2007 to 2011 during which time The R&A and the USGA produced the first unified Amateur Status Code.  He was elected to the General Committee of the Club in 2014 and became Chairman of the General Committee and of the R&A’s principal companies from September 2015 until September 2018.

Mr Edginton’s home club is St George’s Hill in Weybridge, Surrey where he became a member at the age of eight.  He has served St George’s Hill as Committee Member, Captain, Director and Trustee.  He has been Club Champion on four occasions and is a nine-time winner of the club’s scratch Gold Medal.  At various times he has also been Captain of the South Eastern Junior Golfing Society, the Oxford and Cambridge Golfing Society, the Moles Golfing Society and the Old Malvernian Golfing Society, for whom he played more than 100 matches in the Halford Hewitt.

Aged 68, Mr Edginton currently plays to a handicap of eight. He is married to Debbie, who is a member of both St George’s Hill and The St Rule Club.

Now about Belshes.

Check out Scott Macpherson’s item for Links on the royal (golf) title and its history. Captain B, an 1800’s man who looked like, well, every other 1800s elite type, put the stamp on a very important application back in those roaring 1830s.

With the union of the Scottish and English crowns in 1603, golf moved south; but when the House of Stuart fell 100 years later, so did golf’s royal link. It wasn’t restored until Lord Kinnaird, captain of the Perth Golfing Society from 1832 to 1834, addressed King William IV during a trip to London. Kinnaird asked His Majesty if he would become patron of the Society, and if the club might call itself The Royal Perth Golfing Society. When the King agreed to both requests, the royal rush was on.

Perth!

William IV granted the royal title to only one other golf club, but it was a big one—the Society of St. Andrews Golfers. Major John Murray Belshes put forward the application in 1834, and His Majesty was happy to have the club restyle itself The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews. But it took some gentle persuasion before he would agree to become its patron, acquiescing once it was pointed out that one of his many titles was Duke of St. Andrews.

There you go, he’s the man who got Royal in the title of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews. Definitely worth a second year.

Wait, so who tacked on the “and Ancient?”

Hey, I have something to do tomorrow! Macpherson here I come!**

**He offers this:”

“They added the ‘ancient’ when devising the new club name was to do with the fact the club was 70 years older than the Royal Perth Golfing Society, who had a year earlier in 1833 been granted the royal title. The wanted to differentiate themselves and not just be a royal club, but make it very clear they were the senior club. John M Belches led the charge for the royal title for the St Andrews club by writing to the King etc, despite (as many of them were) also being a member of the, now Royal, Perth club. It was oneupsmanship on a grand scale. So the club went from the St Andrews Society to the R&A GC of St Andrews. There was no ‘The Royal Golf Club of St Andrews'.”

RandA's Post-Golf Lockdown Guidelines: Pass On The Card And Pencil If You Can

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The “card and pencil” mindset lamented by early 20th century golf leaders remains high on the list of values needing a reset, and after reading the R&A guidelines for golf course presentation post-COVID-19 lockdown, they beat us to it.

From National Club Golfer’s Steve Carroll reporting on the extensive suggestions and recommendations:

e. Rules of Golf Related Matters

Until further notice, the following provisions are considered acceptable on a temporary basis:

Forms of Play and Scoring

  • It is recommended that non-competition play is used during the initial period of golf being played, and that stroke play competitions involving players in different groups are avoided.

  • If competitive stroke play is played, a method of scoring needs to be used that does not require any handling or exchanging of scorecards.

This was less appealing:

  • Committees may choose to allow methods of scoring in stroke play that do not strictly comply with Rule 3.3b, or do not comply with the normal methods used under Rule 3.3b. For example:

    • Players may enter their own hole scores on the scorecard (it is not necessary for a marker to do it).

    • It is not necessary to have a marker physically certify the player’s hole scores, but some form of verbal certification should take place.

    • It is not necessary to physically return a scorecard to the Committee provided the Committee can accept the scores in another way.

  • As provided in the Rules of Golf, scorecards can be electronic, which could include emailing or texting scores to the Committee.

And this is just pathetic:

  • Bunkers

    • If golfers take due care when smoothing bunkers, there should be no need to provide a Local Rule for bunkers. But if the Committee feels that the enjoyment of the game is being significantly affected by there being no rakes, it may introduce preferred lies in bunkers and provide that a player may place a ball in the bunker within one club-length of the original spot and not nearer to the hole than that spot.

Stay strong Committees! The first world has faith you can stand up to the whining.

Today In Necessary Diversionary Reading: That Time The Open Was Cancelled Over A Strange Dispute

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With The Open Championship’s official cancellation coming just moments before the oddly-timed fall schedule rollout, there was not much room to consider the implications of such a stunning move. As Ewan Murray notes for The Guardian, it happened for a range of sound reasons and ends a steady run since 1946.

The Open will return next summer at Royal St. George’s and the 150th will now move to 2022 at the Old Course. The other three cancellations involved World War’s I and II, and an 1871 dispute.

John Antonini at GolfChannel.com explains how the 1871 Open at Prestwick was delayed and ultimately never played. There is all sorts of fun stuff to learn about those early day bickerings over the proposed rota, the claret jug’s birth, and also a couple of fun side notes. Starting with this fun reminder that they once contested the Open at 12 holes and somehow the game identified the best player and survived.

Young Tom didn’t disappoint, touring Prestwick in rounds of 47-51-51 to win by 12 strokes. “It will thus be seen that Young Tom Morris was yesterday the successful competitor for the third year in succession, and consequently carried off the belt,” reported the Herald.

Then this related to the Claret Jug’s lineage…

A stipulation stated that the new claret jug would never become permanent property of the winner no matter how many times in row the tournament was won. It was a prescient proviso considering that within the next decade both Anderson and Bob Ferguson would win The Open three straight times.

It wasn’t until the 1950s that anyone else won three consecutive Opens when Peter Thomson won it from 1954-56. By that time, the original jug was long retired.

Following the 1927 tournament won by Bobby Jones, the Royal & Ancient’s Championship Committee took the 1873 jug out of circulation, and has awarded a replica to the Champion Golfer of the Year. The first claret jug, as well as the original champion belt, is on display in the R&A Clubhouse.

In Week Predicted To Rival Pearl Harbor And 9/11, Golf's Leading Organizations Roll Out 2020 "Revised Calendar Of Events"

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We are all clamoring for things to look forward to. It’s already been too long without sports and the dearth of competition stings a bit more as Masters week arrives with no Masters. That the planning has gone on behind the scenes is perfectly understandable. There is no playbook for dealing with a situation like this and golf will undoubtedly be the first major sport back.

However, the Surgeon General of the United States warned just yesterday that this week would be “the hardest and the saddest" for Americans.

"This is going to be our Pearl Harbor moment, our 9/11 moment, only it's not going to be localized, it's going to be happening all over the country and I want America to understand that," Vice Admiral Jerome Adams said on "Fox News Sunday."

There was this from the President of the United States on Sunday, too:

"This will be probably the toughest week between this week and next week, and there will be a lot of death, unfortunately, but a lot less death than if this wasn't done but there will be death," Trump said.

Worldwide, 70,000 people have died and as of this post, at least 9,600 in the United States where there are 337,000 confirmed infections. More than 3000 may die in a single day this week. Hospital bed shortages are prompting makeshift hospitals in multiple American cities. Another 600 lost their lives to the COVID-19 coronavirus in Britain yesterday, surpassing Italy’s death toll for the second day in a row. The Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, is in intensive care.

Yet, the leading organizations of golf—typically associated with charitable efforts more than all sports combined—have been working hard behind the scenes to help stop the spread by wheeling out a new fall schedule. Even as nearly all experts suggest large gatherings to not be on the table any time soon and doing so on a day when thousands more will succumb.

Feeling the need to share this information publicly, for no rational reason as every other sport quietly waits out this terrible time and with only faint regard for the threats posed by not taking every protective measure possible, diminishes the efforts of those attempting to stop this pandemic.

For Way Too Immediate Release:

Golf World Presents Revised Calendar of Events for 2020

Safety, Health and Well-Being of All Imperative to Moving Forward

April 6, 2020 – United by what may still be possible this year for the world of professional golf, and with a goal to serve all who love and play the game, Augusta National Golf Club, European Tour, LPGA, PGA of America, PGA TOUR, The R&A and USGA have issued the following joint statement:

“This is a difficult and challenging time for everyone coping with the effects of this pandemic. We remain very mindful of the obstacles ahead, and each organization will continue to follow the guidance of the leading public health authorities, conducting competitions only if it is safe and responsible to do so.

“In recent weeks, the global golf community has come together to collectively put forward a calendar of events that will, we hope, serve to entertain and inspire golf fans around the world.  We are grateful to our respective partners, sponsors and players, who have allowed us to make decisions – some of them, very tough decisions – in order to move the game and the industry forward.

“We want to reiterate that Augusta National Golf Club, European Tour, LPGA, PGA of America, PGA TOUR, The R&A and USGA collectively value the health and well-being of everyone, within the game of golf and beyond, above all else. We encourage everyone to follow all responsible precautions and make effort to remain healthy and safe.”

Updates from each organization follow, and more information can be found by clicking on the links included:

USGA: The U.S. Open, previously scheduled for June 15-21 at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York, has been officially rescheduled for September 14-20 and is confirmed to remain at Winged Foot. For more information and comments from USGA CEO Mike Davis, click here.   

The R&A: The R&A has decided to cancel The Open in 2020 due to the current Covid-19 pandemic, and the Championship will next be played at Royal St. George’s in 2021. The Open was due to be played in Kent, England, from July 12-19, but it has been necessary to cancel the Championship based on guidance from the UK Government, the health authorities, public services and The R&A’s advisers. For more information and comments from The R&A Chief Executive Martin Slumbers, click here. 

PGA of America: The PGA of America is announcing today that the PGA Championship is now scheduled to take place August 3-9 and will remain at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco, California.  The PGA Championship was originally slated for May 11-17 but was postponed on March 17.  

Furthermore, the PGA reconfirmed the Ryder Cup remains as originally scheduled, September 22-27, at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisconsin.  For more information and comments from PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh, click here.

Augusta National Golf Club: Augusta National has identified November 9-15 as the intended dates to host the 2020 Masters Tournament, which was previously scheduled for April 6-12 and postponed on March 13. For more information, and comments from Chairman Fred Ridley, click here.

PGA TOUR: While collaborating with the PGA of America to find a viable date for the PGA Championship in August, the PGA TOUR worked with its host organizations and title sponsors to move the Regular Season finale – the Wyndham Championship – and all three FedExCup Playoffs events one week later, starting the week of August 10 and concluding with a Monday, September 7, Labor Day finish for the TOUR Championship.

The TOUR will seek to reschedule tournaments into the weeks formerly occupied by the U.S. Open, The Open Championship and the Men’s Olympic golf competition in June and July.  The TOUR will make further announcements about this potential, as well as its fall schedule, in the coming weeks.  For more information and comments from PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan, click here.

European Tour:  Due to the many complexities involved, the European Tour is currently working through various scenarios in relation to the rescheduling of our tournaments for the 2020 season. The European Tour will make further announcements on these in due course.

LPGA: On April 3, the LPGA released a revised look at the LPGA Tour’s 2020 summer schedule, beginning on the week of June 15 with the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G. In addition, the LPGA Tour announced that they have successfully rescheduled their first two majors of the year (the ANA Inspiration moves to the week of September 7 at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California; and the U.S. Women’s Open conducted by the USGA moves to the week of December 7 at Champions Golf Club in Houston, Texas). For more information, click here.

Summary:

A listing of the revised schedule of events announced today follows:

  • TO BE CONFIRMED: June 15-21 (formerly U.S. Open week) – potential PGA TOUR event

  • CANCELED: July 13-19, The Open Championship, Royal St. George’s GC, Sandwich, Kent, England

  • TO BE CONFIRMED: July 13-19 (formerly The Open Championship week) – potential PGA TOUR event

  • TO BE CONFIRMED: July 27-August 2 (formerly Men’s Olympic Competition week) – potential PGA TOUR event

  • CONFIRMED: August 3-9 – PGA Championship, TPC Harding Park, San Francisco, California

  • CONFIRMED: PGA TOUR’s season-ending event/FedExCup Playoffs

    • August 10-16 – Wyndham Championship, Sedgefield Country Club, Greensboro, North Carolina

    • August 17-23 – THE NORTHERN TRUST, TPC Boston, Norton, Massachusetts

    • August 24-30 – BMW Championship, Olympia Fields CC, Olympia Fields, Illinois

    • August 31-September 7 (Labor Day) – TOUR Championship, East Lake Golf Club, Atlanta, Georgia

  • CONFIRMED: September 14-20 – U.S. Open, Winged Foot Golf Club, Mamaroneck, New York

  • RECONFIRMED: September 22-27: Ryder Cup, Whistling Straits, Kohler, Wisconsin

  • CONFIRMED: November 9-15: the Masters Tournament, Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, Georgia