When you come to think of it that is the secret of most of the great holes all over the world. They all have some kind of a twist. C.B. MACDONALD
This isn't of interest to most of you, but here in Los Angeles there's a sense that Tiger's tournament at Sherwood has undermined the Northern Trust Open (formerly LA Open) because they fall within 10 or so weeks of each other.
The Sherwood event certainly has become Tiger's lone stop in the market and there's no reason to think that will change anytime soon given his non-answers on the subject.
The tour put this event on its fall silly season schedule and mans the event with its scoreboards and field staff. This happened at a time Tiger could dictate terms to Tim Finchem even though any commissioner would tell you it's bad business to be in a market twice in such a short timespan, especially this commissioner who is typically sensitive to tournament needs. I'm sure a suit in Ponte Vedra would counter that Thousand Oaks and Los Angeles are different markets and I'm just bitter because the LA stop doesn't figure to see Tiger anytime soon.
Yet I just find this year's Chevron ad campaign, oh, how do I put this nicely...unseemly.
The PGA Tour continues to hear about their decision to raise Northern Trust Open tickets $20. John Strege in his Golf World game story:
The $20 increase over the cost of a walk-up ticket a year ago was, said Bone, necessary to offset the cost of some of the improvements made. "I wouldn't say the tournament has slipped as a golf tournament, but the sports landscape has changed everywhere, certainly here in Los Angeles. Everybody has suites now -- Staples Center, UCLA, the Angels, Dodgers, everybody. The sports landscape changed underneath the feet of the L.A. Junior Chamber. In today's market you need to make some significant investments."
The event focused on being more fan-friendly, which might have been accomplished with the Grove, an interactive area featuring food, a putting green and a pro offering swing analysis. For the first time, the tournament had branded food on site, a California Pizza Kitchen. It also increased the number of bleachers it erected around the course from two to seven, Bone said.
But is a barbecue chicken pizza adequate recompense for the tournament raising its ticket price from $30 to $50?
Bob Harig also raises this fine point, one that sails over the heads of the Ponte Vedra Value Proposition Police:
Golf tournaments ultimately do not depend on gate sales for their survival. It is about selling sponsorships, corporate hospitality, pro-am spots, etc. Those are the big-ticket items that pay the bills.
But the guy on the street is what gives a tournament its life, its buzz. Economics 101: Would you rather have one spectator paying $50 or two paying $25 each? Obviously those guys paying $25 are going to pay to park their cars and might buy souvenirs and concessions. You collect the same amount at the gate, but you give yourself a chance to make more on the back end.
More important, however, it means you create more excitement with more people attending the tournament.
2010 NTO winner Steve Stricker approaches No. 18 (click to enlarge)The 2010 Northern Trust Open will not be remembered for the dessert-free lunches in this week's media center, but instead, for Steve Stricker's workmanlike performance and rise to No. 2 in the official world golf ranking. It was also the most uneventful final round since Kirk Triplett spellbindingly outlasted Jesper Parnevik, Robin Freeman and Russ Cochran in that epic 2000 showdown.
J.B. Holmes approaches the 15th green (click to enlarge)Stricker's sense of on-course urgency and his inevitable emotions upon winning would have proven more memorable if not for J.B. Holmes' pathetic pace of play along with the combination of Nationwide Tour-light attendance and the odd propensity of name players to post some unusually high weekend scores, leaving us with Luke Donald and Holmes as contenders who looked more than content to secure a top-5. And while those two played nicely, neither seemed as anxious to add his name to the list of accomplished Riviera champions as Stricker.
Stricker in the interview room after winning (click to enlarge)Easily the highlight of the week proved to be Stricker's press conferences. They couldn't be more different than just about any press gatherings I've sat in, all thanks to Stricker's engaging, genuine character and desire to treat every question as if it's the last one he'll ever be asked in his life.
That said, a few miscellaneous thoughts from the week:
Stricker putts on the final hole to a sparse gallery (click to enlarge) Tournament officials estimated attendance at 30,000 for the week. At its high-water mark in 2007, 151,417 attended, just edging 1999's 151,281. On the low end, 44,147 attended the 36-hole rain-shortened 2005 edition. 
A poorly placed scoreboard on 17 (click to enlarge)
Luke Donald played beautifully en route to a second place finish. He even looks mellow through impact. (click to enlarge)Q. On 10, was that your intended line where you laid up, or was that a mistake?
STEVE STRICKER: No, I played --
Q. That's where you play it for that hole location?
STEVE STRICKER: I would have rather have been a little further to the left where Luke was over there. The mistake was, and I did it in I think it was the pro-am round, too, they had the same pin location and I flew it past the pin there and it rolled down in that chipping area and I did the same thing today. I told myself not to do it, and I did it again.Shotlink Scatter chart for all rounds on No. 10 (click to enlarge)
I'm on the course so consider this your open microphone. Johnny Miller griping welcomed (expected), too.
This is about the extent of the live golf I watched due to other viewing commitments. It's Phil Mickelson's 2nd hole drive up against the media center.
(Click image to enlarge)Below is round 1's ShotLink scatter chart from the 10th hole, for your consideration.
(Click to enlarge)
Adam Scott approaches the par-4 second hole.
Phil tees off on No. 11.
The revamped 8th.
Round 1, 2010 Northern Trust Open, morning play. All three players laid up (a rarity in the era of improved workout programs).
Based on the lay-up position, see if you can guess which player made a 9 footer for birdie, which missed his 14 footer for birdie and which player had to get up and down from the left bunker for par? (And no ShotTracker cheating, please.)
Luke Donald's approach shot:
Rocco Mediate's approach angle:
Jason Dufner's approach angle:
For more on No. 10, enjoy some of Doug Ferguson's morning Tweets from the scene.
**Those who guessed Dufner made birdie were correct.
More like "most" drivable par-4s, but either way a nice use of ShotLink by the PGATour.com staff and a fine warm up to the annual 10th at Riviera watch. I'll do my best to hang out there this week and share what I see. And for those of you watching at home, NBC has installed a "speed shot" tower about halfway down the hole (see photo for angle), so figure on seeing bonus coverage of the hole.
Geoff Shackelford is a Senior Writer for Golfweek magazine, a weekly contributor to Golf Channel's Morning
Copyright © 2022, Geoff Shackelford. All rights reserved.
