Storyline Pairings, Clarification Edition

A few of you have emailed to ask why the tour is getting a free ride on modifying its longtime pairings policy by putting together a few marquee or storyline-driven groups on Thursdays and Fridays. Jeff Rude explains the concept that has been in place since last spring but only noticed this week with the Tiger-Rocco pairing at Torrey Pines.

Last April, the PGA Tour quietly deviated from a random draw and began arranging one to four Thursday-Friday pairings in an attempt to create more interest. It was a wise choice, and the concept is getting attention this week at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines.

In the first two rounds, the two protagonists from the 2008 U.S. Open here, Tiger Woods and Rocco Mediate, are paired together, along with Anthony Kim. Woods, winner of his past five starts at Torrey Pines, is making his first appearance here since beating Mediate in that Open playoff.

Two players known for sending tweets on Twitter, Stewart Cink and Bubba Watson, will be paired, along with newly named Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III. Love will wear a wireless microphone.

What some took exception to was the tour's willingness to budge on this issue, when it was long rumored that any potential deal with ESPN during the last TV negotiations was purportedly killed by refusing to budge on pairings. However, the ESPN request was thought to be a demand to deviate from the morning-afternoon pairings formula, something the tour will never (thankfully) consider.