Category Archives: Golf

Tiger effect, No. 1,862: CBS to air finish of today’s golf tournament

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The normal procedure is to push coverage to the Golf Channel when regular a PGA Tour event spills over to a Monday. And if it was Brandt Snedeker or Nick Watney holding a commanding lead today, CBS would say, “It’s all yours, Golf Channel.”

So why is CBS airing the final holes of the Farmers Insurance Open Monday afternoon? Two words: Tiger Woods.

Woods carries a six-shot over Snedeker and Whatney with 11 holes left to play. CBS wants to show Woods either marching in for the victory or folding down the stretch, which still is a possibility with the new-age Tiger. Either way, the network wasn’t about to miss a chance to air Woods in the hunt during the final round of a tournament.

As a result, the Golf Channel will handle the earlier holes today, beginning at 2 p.m. ET. Then it will hand off coverage to CBS at 4 p.m. The Tiger Show will give the network a nice lead-in to the evening news.

From the San Diego Union-Tribune:

“CBS wanted to put it on and wanted to finish at 2:30 p.m. local time,” said Mark Russell, PGA Tour tournament director. “They’re our partner, so we went with it.”

Asked if he knew if the network’s decision was based on Woods, Russell took a mulligan.

“I have no idea,” he said. “I’m not a network executive in New York. “They’re our partner and they wanted to show it and we accommodated them.”

No need to ask, Mark. It’s all about Tiger.

Note: If you’re out or stuck at work, the coverage will be streamed live at CBSSports.com and via its mobile app.

 

 

 

Norm Macdonald writes about golf for Grantland

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Yes, Norm Macdonald. Who knew?

Macdonald has posted a 2013 PGA Tour season preview on Grantland. I’m not exactly sure how this came about, but if Norm Macdonald is writing about golf, I’m reading.

Guess what? The guy seems to know his stuff. Here’s Norm:

Tiger, reinventing his game yet again, served notice that he was keeping the wolves of irrelevancy at bay by winning a sort of Legends Slam: first Arnie’s tourney, then Jack’s and finally his own.

Jason Dufner went on a short and exciting winning streak of his own before deciding to marry and cut out all that winning nonsense. It was quite a year. Even Sergio managed a win. This after holding the oddest presser by any athlete ever, directly after the Masters, where the young Spaniard announced to the world that he was a washed-out bum. “I need to play for second or third place,” he said. Had Jim Kelly made such an announcement in 1990, he would be considered the greatest QB in history.

And more Norm:

Which made what Rory did in 2012 all the more spectacular. Remember, when Tiger appeared on the scene some two decades ago, he was paired with the likes of Duffy Waldorf? It was like watching Rebel Without a Cause and seeing Jim Backus trying to keep up with James Dean. Last year, week in and week out, there were a good 25 players that had great game. But Rory was always the one being chased. Surprisingly, the one doing the chasing was Tiger Woods.

And Norm’s pick for No. 1 in 2013. A surprise entry:

1. Louis Oosthuizen I know, this is crazy. Louis is hurt right now, and he is a 30-year-old man who has never won on American soil. And his name is hard to pronounce, almost foreign-sounding. But in the spring of 2011, after Charl Schwartzel birdied the last four holes at Augusta to win, and Rory had the worst Sunday meltdown in Masters history, I tweeted, “Rory is not only the future of golf, he is the near-future.” I nearly closed my account because of all the Rory-hate I was receiving. Sometimes you just have a feeling, you know. Louis, Louis, Louis, Louis. Louis, Louis, Louis, Loueye. Louis, Louis, Louis, Louis. Louis, Louis, you’re gonna win.

It’s not totally far-fetched. Oosthuizen has plenty of game.

Wonder if Macdonald will join the Golf Writers Association of America?

Also from Norm, a column on gambling.

 

 

 

 

 

Ready or not: 2013 PGA Tour season kicks off today in Maui; Golf Channel hopes to build on momentum

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It is 16 degrees in Chicago right now. So yeah, I wouldn’t mind seeing a little golf. At least the thought might warm me up.

The 2013 PGA Tour season kicks off today (Golf Channel, 5:30 p.m. ET) with the Hyundai Tournament of Champions. The event is at Kapalua’s Plantation Course on the island of Maui, otherwise known as my favorite place in the world. During my days at the Chicago Tribune, I actually got paid to cover the tournament. If there’s a better assignment, I can’t think of one.

The Champions won’t include Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy or Phil Mickelson, but Bubba Watson, Keegan Bradley, Dustin Johnson, Jason Dufner, and Webb Simpson are among those in the field. And the downhill 18th hole always is fun to watch.

It’s golf in Hawaii. That’s enough for me.

******

The Golf Channel is on a good run. The synergy created by NBC’s purchase of the network has produced record ratings.

From the Golf Channel:

In 2012, Golf Channel scored its most-watched year ever in the near 18-year history of the network.This marked the second consecutive most-watched year after a record breaking 2011. This continued surge in viewership since joining the NBC Sports Group early in 2011 has retained Golf Channel’s status as the fastest-growing network on U.S. television (among networks serving 80 million or more homes throughout that span), according to data released today by The Nielsen Company.

 “We share in celebrating this milestone with our partners and most importantly, with our increasingly loyal family of viewers who have watched in record numbers to help us achieve these consecutive record-breaking years,” said Golf Channel President Mike McCarley. “While we’re grateful for this recent success, we continue to set our goals high and are committed to serving our passionate fans with more and more high-quality golf content in the New Year and years to come.”

Golf Channel averaged 95,000 viewers in 24-hour Total Day (6AM-6AM) during 2012, an increase of six percent more than a record-breaking 2011 (90,000) and 36 percent more than 2010 (70,000). Contributing to a banner 2012 were seven PGA TOUR events on Golf Channel reaching audiences in excess of 7 million unique viewers, led by the BMW Championship with 8.4 million unique viewers. Additionally, an unprecedented 14 million Golf Channel viewers watched some or all of the PGA TOUR Playoffs, which was the most-watched ever in the PGA TOUR Playoffs’ six-year history.

 

 

Sunday books: Q/A with Nick Faldo on his new instruction book; It’s all in the knees

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I didn’t realize I was setting up Nick Faldo for an easy line.

In Faldo’s new book, A Swing for Life, he talks about the important of stable knees in the golf swing. Not that this 15-handicapper knows much about the game, but I told him that I’ve been trying to get my wife to focus on her knees on the rare occasion she plays.

“It helps her from swaying all over the place,” I said to Faldo.

Not missing a beat, Faldo quickly replied, “It’s not a good thing to have a wife that sways all over the place.”

Rim shot.

If you’re looking for a Christmas gift for your swaying golfer, you could do much worse than getting instruction from a six-time major winner. Technically, Faldo updated his 1995 version of the book.

However, the 2012 version features new pictures of Faldo demonstrating the swing. And here’s something you wouldn’t have found in 1995: The book includes at least one Microsoft Tag. When readers scan these tags with their smart phone, they’re taken directly to a video of Faldo giving a lesson within that section of the book.

Also, Faldo has a different perspective of the game since sitting in the tower at CBS. He has learned a thing or two through the years.

It’s interesting to see how Faldo breaks down the swing and his approach to the game. If only it was that easy.

Here’s my Q/A with Faldo:

If there’s one thing you emphasize over and over, it is the knees in the swing. Why?

If you stand correct at address and go to impact, you see how little the knees move. But boy, do people make it difficult. Their right knee might move a foot.

When I do clinics, I ask, ‘do your buddies say your head is moving in the backswing?’ They all put their hands up. I demonstrate the knees going over all the place. What happens to the head? It bobs up and down. If your knees move the right way, it’s quite amazing how everything works more efficiently.

Do golfers make the game too complicated?

When I walk the range, what are the pros working on? 7 of 10 will say grip, set-up, posture, alignment. They’re trying to get it to all click in place.

It all goes back to the building blocks. It’s like a building. If the brick are crooked, good luck. It’s the same thing for golf. You better get good building blocks.

I didn’t want to do a book on 1,001 ways to fix your swing. I’m trying to condense your thoughts. There are a half-dozen main areas that if you get right, it will make a big difference in your game.

How much has he learned in the booth?

Not a lot. I’m blessed that I picked golf. One of the great things is that you learn something about the game every day. Every round is different.

How has the booth changed your perspective?

You see the great players hit great shots. Yet they’ll take a bogey with a wedge in their hands. You think, ‘I’m the only person that’s ever done that.’ You beat yourself up playing this game.

When you sit in the tower, you see mistakes happen all the time to the great players. Then it’s about the guy who can recover from that and bounce back the best. You see the scramblers. You understand how everyone makes a score differently.

 

 

 

 

Watch Tiger Woods’ last interview with CNBC for a while; different from Bartiromo than Rovell

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I’m pretty sure Tiger Woods won’t be popping up on CNBC any time soon. His recent appearance in an “exclusive” interview with Maria Bartiromo was awkward to say the least.

Woods’ agent Mark Steinberg always has liked having his client appear on CNBC. He viewed it as a great way for Woods to reach corporate America.

Last November, Steinberg arranged for CNBC’s Darren Rovell to interview Woods live in Florida. Now Woods gives put exclusive live interviews almost as much as he gives reporters his cell phone number. So clearly Steinberg had an agenda here.

Of course! They discussed Woods’ endorsement of Fuse Science, which has something to do with energy and performance. Note that Rovell said it was “an equity deal” in prefacing a question to Woods.

Rovell said, “This is an equity deal. Would you have done an endorsement deal like this two or three years ago?”

Woods merrily said yes.

Well, Rovell has moved on to ESPN. So when the former world No. 1 went for another Fuse hit on CNBC Tuesday, the interview duties were handled by Bartiromo.

The end result probably didn’t go as planned for the Woods camp. Bartiromo’s first question was, “What are your financial interests in the company?”

Woods danced around the question.

Bartiromo then asked again, “Do you have an ownership in the company, Tiger?”

Woods declined to answer even though Rovell noted in the November interview that he had an equity stake. To be fair, I’m not sure why Woods couldn’t admit he owns part of the company.

Later, Bartiromo tried to compare Lance Armstrong’s situation to Woods’, at least as far as endorsements are concerned. Totally different situation: Armstrong cheated in his sport; Woods cheated on his wife. Armstrong is finished as an athlete and an endorser; Woods still is performing and winning again and getting endorsements.

Woods took out his tap shoes again and danced around the Armstrong question as best he could. You could feel Steinberg cringing in the background. The last thing he wanted was for his client to be dragged into a discussion about Armstrong.

Then Bartiromo asked why Woods wasn’t winning more majors. Woods had to remind her that he won three times in 2012 and that he still has plenty of golf left in him at age 36.

All in all, probably CNBC’s last “exclusive” with Woods for a while.

 

 

 

 

 

Post-Ryder Cup press conference an embarrassment for golf; winners too far into ‘celebration’

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For a sport that guards its image with such zeal, you have to wonder why golf allows the Ryder Cup press conference for the winners to resemble a college frat party.

Sunday, the comeback Europeans seemed to be intoxicated with more than victory when they finally met the media at Medinah Country Club. In fact, they made no effort to hide it, with Sergio Garcia passing along beers to his mates. At one point, he even spit out some brew while trying to take a gulp. Lovely.

Meanwhile, Lee Westwood was making siren noises and interrupting his fellow players. It appeared he was well into his enjoyment of the victory.

Now, I’m not advocating Prohibition here, but you tend to view things differently when you have two high school age boys. You become more sensitive to scenes of big-name athletes drinking on television.

The problem is the timing of the press conference. The players didn’t come in until after 8 p.m. Central, more than three hours after Martin Kaymer made the clinching putt.

They had their wild celebration in front of the fans, spraying and drinking Moet. Garcia was swilling it as if the champagne were Gatorade on a 95-degree day.

You only could assume the party continued as the players dressed for the closing ceremonies. Then the Europeans waited even longer while the glum Americans appeared first in the media room. More time to “celebrate.”

Finally, it was Europe’s turn for a session that aired live on the Golf Channel.

Name me another sports where the winners do a formal session with the press three hours after the end of game? If they did, you would get the same type of sloppy scene from the World Series and Super Bowl champions. And I shudder to think what it would be like for the Stanley Cup champions.

The closing ceremony for the Ryder Cup does complicate matters, as far as doing a press conference right away. I don’t know what the solution is. That’s for others to figure out.

However, I do know that golf goes to such great effort to present their players in the best light possible. That didn’t occur for the victorious Europeans Sunday, and it was embarrassing for the game.

Their press conference belonged in a pub, not the media center.

******

The press conference for the Ryder Cup loser is easily the most awkward in sports. All 12 players, plus the captain, appear together, seated across a large table.

The set up creates a situation in the players who sucked have to answers about why they sucked in front of their teammates. It couldn’t have been easy for proud veterans like Jim Furyk and Steve Stricker to explain their shortcomings during this Ryder Cup with the rest of Team USA looking on.

Officials should examine this format too.

 

 

 

Ryder Cup: Epic comeback one for the books at Medinah

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My report for Crain’s Chicago Business.

Birdies and bogeys from a historic day at Medinah.

Birdie. Medinah Country Club. Aside from the result,  it couldn’t have been a more perfect Ryder Cup.

The weather was a late-September gift, showcasing the city to a worldwide audience. Medinah No. 3 performed beyond expectations. U.S. captain Davis Love III wanted to set up the course for birdies, and there were many of them. But it also penalized for poorly-hit shots, providing the players with the kind of exacting test you want in a big event.

The crowds were huge and Chicago loud, creating a memorable atmosphere. They did give the U.S. a home course advantage. While there always are a few idiots, the crowds generally were respectful.

Chicago embraced the spirit of the Ryder Cup with a passion usually received for late-stage playoff games. And they were rewarded with tremendous theater.

Last week, the Golf Channel aired a documentary on the memorable 1991 Ryder Cup at Kiawah. In 20 years or so, somebody will do a documentary on the 2012 Ryder Cup at Medinah.

Bogey. U.S. team. Not quite on the Bartman level, but this will go down as one of the biggest collapses seen on Chicago sports turf.

Bogey. Davis Love III. Thanks to the collapse, the U.S. captain was grilled for sitting out his hot team of Keegan Bradley and Phil Mickelson Saturday afternoon. Mickelson took  Love off the hook somewhat by saying he wasn’t up for another match. Still, Bradley clearly was ready to go out again, and perhaps he could have helped win another point.

As for Sunday, I thought Love did Steve Stricker a disservice by placing him in the No. 11 slot. With the big lead, the captain probably figured Stricker’s match wouldn’t mean anything. Well, it ultimately meant everything.

With Stricker struggling on Friday and Saturday, he had no business being thrust into one of the anchor roles. He clearly wasn’t up for the task.

Bogey. Illinois sports. Stricker goes 0-4, and Illinois gets drubbed 35-7 to Penn State. Not a good weekend for the Illini.

Bogey. Jim Furyk. He went 1-3, and as he did in the U.S. Open and Bridgestone, he folded down the stretch. Certainly not a good year for his legacy.

Birdie. European team. Coming soon to book stores near you: Brookline II: The European version. Somewhere Seve Ballesteros is smiling.

Birdie. Jose Maria Olazabal. He stacked his singles lineup with his best players at the top, hoping to create some early momentum. And it worked. Europe won the opening four matches, and suddenly 10-6 turned into 10-10.

Regardless of who you were rooting for, you have to feel good for Olazabal. He now gets to walk in the footsteps of his mentor, Ballesteros, as a victorious Ryder Cup captain.

Birdie. Ian Poulter. With a 12-3 mark, he is emerging as the new Ballesteros for Europe.

Birdie. Luke Donald. He kicked off the comeback with a huge opening victory over Bubba Watson. The local favorite came through, even if it was for the other team.

Birdie. Justin Rose. His bomb putt at 17 led to a stunning comeback victory over Phil Mickelson. Suddenly, Europe had more than hope.

Birdie. Phil Mickelson. Showed great sportsmanship in applauding Mr. Rose’s great finish. That’s what the Ryder Cup should be all about.

Bogey. Tiger Woods. Went 0-3-1 and his singles match became irrelevant when Europe clinched the victory. Still a mystery why he doesn’t play better in the Ryder Cup.

Birdie. Keegan Bradley. Lost to Rory McIlroy Sunday, but he was an inspired 3-1 for the match. A fan favorite, he could emerge as the new face of American golf.

Birdie. Sergio Garcia. After finishing second to Mr. Woods at the 1999 PGA Championship, he finally got to taste victory at Medinah.

 

 

Ryder Cup report: U.S. rides ‘rock star’ Bradley; Sunday drama could be lacking for NBC

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My report for Crain’s Chicago Business on Day 2 of the Ryder Cup:

Birdie. U.S. Tiger Woods? Who needs Tiger Woods? Never in anyone’s wildest dreams, especially U.S. captain Davis Love III’s, did it seem possible that the Americans could hold a 10-6 lead with Mr. Woods sitting at 0-3 for the matches.

The U.S. played brilliantly in the morning, winning three out of four matches, and only a late European rally in the afternoon prevented things from getting completely out of hand.

Love now has to get his team focused on finishing the job Sunday. If he does, he will be lifting the Ryder Cup on Sunday night.

Bogey. Playing the role of the Chicago Cubs: The European Ryder Cup team.

Jose Maria Olazabal now needs to cue the Ben Crenshaw “I’ve got a good feeling about this” speech from the 1999 Ryder Cup, when the U.S. rallied to win from a 10-6 deficit on Saturday. However, it also might be a good idea if he practices his concession speech.

Bogey. NBC. Besides the Europeans, the other people who don’t like the one-sided score are the NBC executives. The biggest ratings come when there is suspense. That likely won’t be the case Sunday unless the Europeans pull a repeat of the U.S. in 1999.

Birdie. Last 90 minutes. How good was that? The last two matches went to No. 18  with players on both sides hitting incredible shots. That’s what the Ryder Cup is all about, friends.

Birdie. Keegan Bradley. Luke Donald said it best about Bradley. “He’s a rock star out there,” Donald said.

Donald made that comment after he and Sergio Garcia were on the wrong end of a 7 & 6 thrashing by Mr. Bradley and Phil Mickelson. Yes 7 & 6 in a Ryder Cup.

Bradley has been flawless in winning all three of his matches. And the crowd and U.S. are feeding off his emotion and intensity.

“It’s just an unbelievable event, an unbelievable experience as a player and fan,”  Bradley said.

On a day when Michael Jordan, both presidents named George Bush, and Woods were on the course, the biggest star was Bradley.

Birdie. Phil Mickelson. The 41-year old has found the fountain of youth in playing with  Bradley. “Phil is a smart guy,” Love said. “He picks good partners.”

Bogey. Tiger Woods. He got benched in the morning, the first time he ever sat on the sidelines during a Ryder Cup. Then he and Steve Stricker lost to Luke Donald and Sergio Garcia in the afternoon.

Woods did play terrific on the back 9, registering five birdies to nearly pull off the comeback. But as has been the case during the matches, he struggled again on the front side, failing to record a bogey. It led to a 4-down deficit at the turn, and ultimately Woods looking for his first point in singles Sunday.

Bogey. Steve Stricker. He’s playing as if he’s not 100 %. Also 0-3, Stricker made only two birdies, and failed to convert on 18, losing to the Europeans.

Birdie. Ian Poulter. He has been Europe’s equivalent to Bradley. Talk about clutch. He made birdies on the final five holes to give Europe a crucial point and some hope going into Sunday.

Birdie/bogey. Luke Donald. He and Lee Westwood were terrible in getting blitzed by the Bradley-Mickelson team. However, Northwestern’s very own did redeem himself with three birdies in the final five holes to win the match over the Woods-Stricker team. Huge clutch shot into the par 3 to record a critical birdie.

Bogey. Rory McIlroy. The No. 1 player has yet to show up at this Ryder Cup. He lost in the morning and needed Poulter to bail him out in the afternoon. Even worse, his body language is terrible. He seemed whipped for most of the day. That’s hardly the look you want from your big gun.

Birdie. Chicago golf fans. The roar for Dustin Johnson’s birdie putt at 17 rivaled anything heard at the United Center, or the old Chicago Stadium for that matter. “The 13th man” has delivered for the U.S. team.