ESPN's Most Dominant: Brooks Koepka Still Feeling Snubbed And He Certainly Has A Point

There have been some odd media-related slights of 2018’s two-time major winner and Floridian Cup champ, Brooks Koepka, including at the U.S. Open, PGA Championship and Tour Championship.

The winner of two majors and three of the last seven has rightfully been a bit peeved. The latest snub came with publication of ESPN The Magazine’s list of Most Dominant Athletes of 2018 not including Koepka, he simply posted the list on Twitter:

🧐🧐🧐 pic.twitter.com/hboyNl753P

— Brooks Koepka (@BKoepka) December 11, 2018

With Ariya Jutanagarn winning one major to Koepka’s two, he’s understandably annoyed at the lack of respect given to his year.

Underrated in his season is how late he started due to a wrist injury. While “dominant” isn’t the first word that comes to mind, his play given the inactivity the first four months of the year suggests it could have been even better.

Furyk On Ryder Cup, State Of The USGA

Michael Bamberger covers a lot in this Golf.com interview of 2018 Ryder Cup Captain Jim Furyk, from the infamous 2014 press conference to this year’s team

But this diplomatic answer on the USGA is worth noting.

What’s your take on what’s going on with the USGA?

Well, they’ve made it so easy to pick on them. The greens at Chambers Bay [in 2015]. How they handled Dustin Johnson’s situation at Oakmont [in 2016]. Then, with that gal [Anna Nordqvist] that same summer, in the Women’s Open. That was a travesty. Some of the pin placements at Shinnecock, on Saturday, on 13, 15 and 18. Plus, they changed the course so much from the last time we were there. The anchored putting ban. Now the green maps. But it was the USGA that let putting get there, let the maps get there. Then they want to turn it back. So it’s tough. But what I think people don’t realize is that they’re trying. They’re trying to do what’s right for the game. I know [USGA CEO] Mike Davis. I like Mike. But I don’t have a good relationship or a bad relationship with the USGA. I just don’t have much of a relationship. I’m not trying to be critical of the USGA. They have the best interests of the game at heart. They really do.

PGA Overnight: 6.1, Up 56% And Peaks At 8.3! PGA Second Highest Rated Major Of 2018

Tiger Woods should have another gift basket waiting on his doorstep today, this time from Sean McManus to go with the ones from Mark Lazarus, Mike McCarley and Fred Ridley. Okay, maybe The Masters doesn't do gift baskets. 

Anyway, Tiger helped deliver a 6.1 overnight final round rating for the 2018 PGA Championship. The audience peaked at 8.3 late in the round. 

From Paulsen at Sports Media Watch, who has several other anecdotes about the ratings this year:

Sunday’s final round of the PGA Championship earned a 6.1 overnight rating on CBS, up 69% from last year (3.6), up 56% from 2016 (3.9) and the highest since 2009 (7.5). The previous mark was a 6.0 for the 2014 final round.

The 6.1 is tied as the highest golf overnight outside of the Masters since the final round of the 2012 U.S. Open (6.6).

Some might point out that the 6.1 much better than 2014's 6.0 at Valhalla featuring the unforgettable Rory-Rickie-Phil finish.  However, sports ratings have been on a decline and sizable numbers have moved to streaming, making the rating that much more impressive for CBS.

Also worth noting: the strong final round means the U.S. Open was the lowest rated final round of the four majors this year. The overnights for 2018:

Masters: 7.9
U.S. Open: 3.6
The Open: 5.0
PGA: 6.1

Phil Chimes In On Shinnecock, Carnoustie, Le Golf National And More

Joking that he would only talk about the last month and would not discuss his opening 70 at Gullane, former Scottish Open winner Phil Mickelson chimed in on a number of topics. Including, under fairly steady questioning from the UK's finest, his 2018 U.S. Open.

My roundup from Gullane for Golfweek.

Is Rocco Mediate Angling For A USGA Executive Committee Seat?

Because I’m not sure how else to make sense of his rant about player suggestions that Shinnecock Hills was out of control when it got…out of control. And included an on-air USGA apology regarding several hole locations, prompted by Paul Azinger's question and a discussion on national television Rocco evidently missed.

Kevin Casey with Rocco’s post-round U.S. Senior Open rant.

Apparently Mediate wanted to throw up and still managed a 2-under par opening round at The Broadmoor that has him in second place. 

Let me ask you this question, too. Remember the one about the golf course changed from the morning – have you ever played one that didn’t? Of course it’s going to change. That’s what it’s supposed to do.

Sometimes it can get softer in the afternoon. Sometimes it gets firmer.

What I heard that week made me want to throw up, basically. Just shut up, play. 

State Of The Game 79: Ramifications Of The 2018 U.S. Open, Other Stuff Too

Rod Morri, Mike Clayton and yours truly reconvened to consider the residual issues from this year's U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills as well as a little backstopping talk, some Ryder Cup and more on the late Peter Thomson.

As always, check your preferred podcast subscription outlet or the iTunes store.

Phil Admits: It Really Wasn't About Saving Strokes

In Chicago to help KPMG kick off the Women's PGA Championship, Randall Mell reports that Phil Mickelson had a fun time promoting junior golf and took time to answer a few questions from Golf Central's Todd Lewis.

Regarding this 13th hole meltdown at Shinnecock Hills:

“I certainly wasn’t thinking of that at the time, but I have pretty thick skin,” Mickelson said. “I will probably hear about this for some time.

“Fortunately, I can take it and hopefully at some point we will be able to laugh about it.”

Mickelson intimated his intentionally hitting a moving ball wasn’t really about saving strokes.

“At the time, I didn’t really care about the stroke difference,” he said.

The full interview:

Does USGA's Response To Mickelson Mean We Need A New Rule Of Golf?

That's the case Golf.com's Dylan Dethier makes quite well. It comes after Lee Westwood posted this Tweet in response to hearing Phil Mickelson say he'd been thinking of stopping his moving ball at Augusta National's 15th over the years.

The Tweet:

Here’s a scenario. Thoughts everyone???  here you go..... over the back on 15 at Augusta. Chip it too hard, run over before it gets to the water and knock it on the green so you don’t have to hit it again or go the drop zone! 🤷🏽‍♂️@USGA ?

— Lee Westwood (@WestwoodLee) June 17, 2018

Dethier writes of the USGA ultimately citing 14-5 over 1-2, rightfully so based on a strict interpretation of their rules and the "precedent now set". 

The so-called Phil Rule will be simple: anyone who intentionally strikes a moving ball will be disqualified.

Mickelson entered the week hoping to add his name to the USGA's record books — he'll have to settle for its rulebooks. Otherwise the awkward jogging alley-oop will just be left hanging there as a strange loophole option, tempting players in tight spots. "I took the two-shot penalty and moved on," Mickelson said.

I would normally argue that the honesty of the players and fear of being ostracized by their peers would make this unnecessary. But with the USGA coming to Mickelson's rescue week without even a single word of disdain for his behavior, and in a world of backstopping and players snickering at Mickelson's actions, it's time to cook up the new rule before this shameful stuff happens again. 

But this is the place we've reached in golf: to explore such a decision in the next rules of golf, the USGA would first have to come to terms with not condemning the behavior in any way that might deter repeat offenders. Strange times.

McIlroy Retools Swing After U.S. Open Missed Cut, Shoots 64

Jordan Spieth and Zach Johnson leading understandably led Mike McAllister's PGATour.com roundup of day one at the Travelers, but one back is Rory McIlroy.

It seems the lad spent his post-U.S. Open performance further refining his seemingly-great swing to get back to a certain year, enabling him to work the ball both ways.

From an unbylined Reuters report:

“I’m trying to get back to the way I swung in 2010, 2011 and it’s sort of hard because my body’s changed quite a bit since then,” the 29-year-old, whose muscular frame now is a far cry from the scrawny teenager of days gone by, told reporters. 

“The feeling I have now is the feeling I had in the middle of 2009. 

“That’s basically what I did over the weekend. I got a feeling that really resonated and brought me back to a time when I was swinging really well, and sort of went with that feeling."

Okay so it's like 2009-11, but still fascinating that he'd drifted that far from his swing of seven years ago and that he could get it back in a weekend. 

"No one talks about karma. And no one talks about the Curse of Shinnecock Hills"

Move over Chief Leatherlips. Some believe there is a Curse of Shinnecock Hills and writer Bruce Buschel makes his case in the East Hampton Star.

He shares several anecdotes about the back and forth between the USGA and the Shinnecock, who did receive some last minute concessions including a USGA pledge for a golf facility to be built on their land.

It seems there were also discussions about the 2018 U.S. Open logo which, to people of a certain generation, is already looking like a relic from a different world. 

It’s insulting — it’s a cartoon Indian with a big hook nose wearing a war bonnet festooned with an arrow and a putter. Like a kindergarten coloring book circa 1955. So the tribe requested a redesign or a flat-out removal. They got neither. Shinnecocks don’t have much luck when negotiating with the white man, not here, there, or anywhere. 

Buschel's case for a curse in light of another wacky U.S. Open at Shinnecock, proves more interesting given his rationale for the uneventful Opens there. You'll have to hit the link to read them all in context.

He sums up his case this way:

The Shinnecocks take no glee in the public disasters that have befallen Shinnecock Hills since the tribe was excommunicated, since the indigenous people were removed as caretakers of their own land.

No one talks about karma. And no one talks about the Curse of Shinnecock Hills.

Someone should.

Now That We Have Phil's Statement We Can Move Along, But First...

Phil Mickelson, a tad late in summing up his 13th green boondoggle at the 2018 U.S. Open, but better late than never:

“I know this should've come sooner, but it's taken me a few days to calm down. My anger and frustration got the best of me last weekend. I'm embarrassed and disappointed by my actions. It was clearly not my finest moment and I’m sorry.”

So in review: 

(A) he was not forced into his behavior

(B) it was not that funny

(C) it was potentially legacy-tainting

(D) there is no need for detractors to toughen up

(E) this was a disastrous look for someone with an untarnished track record of playing by the Rules of Golf

(F) the USGA will still not condemn his actions for reasons unknown

(G) children, don't try this at home

Jason Day Finds Phil's U.S. Open Antics Disappointing, Spieth Finds It Really Funny

Will Gray's Travelers report on  Jason Day's views of the U.S. Open and Phil Mickelson's 13th green meltdown.

“It’s obviously disappointing to see what Phil did,” he said. “I think a lot of people have mixed reviews about what he did.”

And from Dylan Dethier's Golf.com item on Jordan Spieth's Travelers Championship press conference where the defending champ commented on Mickelson's antics.

"I laughed, I thought it was really funny," he said. In the aftermath of the incident, much was made about Mickelson's intent, but count Spieth among those who believes Mickelson's explanation that there was a strategic element to the decision. "Phil knows the rules," he said. "There was a chance it was going to go back behind the bunker and he's got to chip back, or he was going to play off the green anyways, so he was potentially saving himself a shot. So if that was the intent, then what's the harm in that? He's playing the best score he can."

Fascinating to admire someone for using a technicality to get out of taking personal responsibility for a really bad putt. But this is where we are in the game. 

"Golfer Phil Mickelson Invests in Robot-Delivered Food"

I'm not sure this was the best-timed news release I've ever seen given the weekend's events, the quotes and the job-killing passion behind the venture. But, it's Phil!

Golfer Phil Mickelson Invests in Robot-Delivered Food

Geration NEXT Franchise Brands, Inc. announced that its flagship subsidiary, Reis & Irvy’s, has inked a deal with five-time major championship golfer and World Golf Hall of Famer, Phil Mickelson, and his career-long business manager and business partner, Steve Loy, for 30 new Reis & Irvy’s locations to be installed throughout San Diego County (where Phil is a native and resides with his family).

Reis & Irvy’s-branded signature robot characters of the same name can dispense servings of frozen yogurt, ice cream, gelatos and sorbet topped with a selection of six delicious toppings in under 60 seconds. With self-checkout touch screen ordering and payment options, video animation, music and delicious frozen dessert provided exclusively by Dannon, robot vendors meet consumer demand for convenience, entertainment and a superior quality product.  

Phil Mickelson and Steve Loy continue to expand upon their business portfolio with the investment in Reis & Irvy’s that is challenging the status quo in food retail by catering to this generation’s expectations of immersive, entertaining and on-demand shopping experiences.  “We have seen the development of Reis and Irvy’s over the last eight months and became intrigued with the advancement and benefits of robotics which enhance the delivery of quality products to the consumer while reducing overhead cost,” says Steve Loy.

People are expensive! Right Phil?

“I’m absolutely thrilled to be part of such transformative industry change,” says Mickelson. “I’ve pushed boundaries my whole career and that mindset carries over into the business world. The energy and passion from the Generation NEXT team to both deliver a quality product and disrupt food retail is exciting.”

Like disrupting the spirit of the rules because you hit a (really) bad putt.

Describing “the new arms race in retail,” John Bird of Forbes wrote that “unattended retail storefronts”—with their speed, flexibility and improved customer experience — are the future of retail. Brands like McDonald’s are successfully innovating their customer experience and “it will change forever the landscape” of casual dining, with “Gen-Xers, millennials, and successive generations already used to a computer interface for making most of their daily choices.”

With over $130 million in franchise and licensing contracts, Generation NEXT Franchise Brands, Inc. is leading the way with frozen desserts, fully autonomous robotic delivery, visual and audio entertainment, and a unique retail experience.

"For the season, the U.S. Open...ranks behind the final rounds at Tampa Bay and the Players"

Paulsen follows up with a few more numbers putting the U.S. Open's ratings decline into perspective. From Sports Media Watch:

The past five years have produced the five lowest final round ratings on record. Until 2014, the record-low was a 4.5 rating. Since, ratings have not exceeded a 4.2.

The reasons for that will range from declining ratings in all sports, to additional telecast time to a general reduced interest in the U.S. Open. (The championship's sellout streak is also over despite a limit of 30,000 tickets a day.) 

Then there is this:

For the season, the U.S. Open not only trails the third and final rounds of the Masters, but also ranks behind the final rounds at Tampa Bay (4.4, 6.9M) and the Players Championship (3.6, 5.8M).

Finishing behind Tampa Bay, even with Tiger, is astounding especially given the packed leaderboard heading into Sunday. 

Paulsen also reports an additional 36,000 viewers streamed the final round on Fox Sports GO.

Yep, streaming has arrived!

Ratings: Fox Up All Four Days Of 2018 U.S. Open Coverage, Still At Historic Lows

Good news! U.S. Open ratings were up all four days. 

Bad news: once the second-highest rated tournament of the year continued an eye-opening downward trend since Martin Kaymer's runaway at Pinehurst, reports Paulsen at Sports Media Watch.  A 3.6 overnight for the final round--an hour longer telecast window than in the NBC days--was up from last year's 3.5 rating for Brooks Koepka's 2017 win.

This year was the fourth of the past five in which final round coverage had less than a 4.0 overnight. From 1989-2013, the final round had at least a 5.0 each year. That 25-year run included a 6.1 five years ago and an 8.5 ten years ago (when Tiger Woods won in a playoff).

Certainly the extra length of the Fox telecasts softens the number, but with only World Cup as sports-viewing competition in the United States, the USGA has not seen audience growth with their move to Fox and faces the possibility of being the least-watched of the four majors again in 2018.

From FoxPR: 

.@FOXSports' final round coverage of the 2018 U.S. Open was Sunday's top-rated sporting event, capping four consecutive days of year-over-year growth for the @usopengolf on @FOXTV pic.twitter.com/63sswCxg1q

— FOX Sports PR (@FOXSportsPR) June 18, 2018

For the opening round featuring Tiger Woods, Fox registered a 3-year high for its network coverage Thursday:

Fox U.S. Open Golf – Thursday First Round (S) (Fox, 4:30 PM, 191 min.)

• 2.149 million viewers
• 1.5/4 HH
• 0.4/3 A18-49 (0.2/2 F18-49, 0.5/5 M18-49)
• 0.3/3 A18-34 (0.1/1 F18-34, 0.4/4 M18-34)
• 0.5/3 A25-54 (0.3/2 F25-54, 0.7/5 M25-54)

Meanwhile Saturday's Live From The U.S. Open drew it's largest audience in seven years on the back of Phil Mickelson's dust-up at 13 and the greens getting away from the USGA, registering a .23 for Golf Channel.

RATINGS: @GolfCentral Live From the U.S. Open highest-rated Saturday night Live From the U.S. Open telecast in seven years: pic.twitter.com/omeW1YBigo

— Golf Channel PR (@GolfChannelPR) June 17, 2018