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07/18/2022
Cameron Smith With a Win for the Ages
Add-on posted early Wed. a.m.
The Open Championship…a final look
--Rory McIlroy was the only player ever to hold a 54-hole lead in a major, hit every green in regulation on Sunday and still lose, at least as far back as recorded stats go.
--Since 1996, no player has had more than two rounds of 8-under or better in a major in their entire career. Cam Smith did it twice this weekend.
--On the LIV Golf front, European Ryder Cup captain Henrik Stenson is joining LIV, so make that ‘former European Ryder Cup captain.’
But this is a typical LIV move and no golf fan gives a s--- about 46-year-old Stenson, and he doesn’t move the needle in terms of ticket sales.
Stenson played 13 events on the PGA Tour this 2021-22 season and missed the cut in eight of them, with no top tens. He hasn’t won in five years (the 2017 Wyndham Championship).
But what a classic hypocrite. When he was named Ryder Cup captain, he said: “I am absolutely thrilled and delighted to be the European Ryder Cup Captain. It’s a huge honor and I was humbled to get the call confirming the news. I will do everything in my power and leave no stone unturned in the quest to get the Ryder Cup back in European hands.
“The Ryder cup is golf, and sport, at its very best. I got goose bumps every time I pulled on a European shirt as a player and that will be magnified in the role of captain….”
Stenson then chose the Saudi money over legacy. Luke Donald is next in line to replace him.
American captain Zach Johnson has already stated that no LIV players will be able to play any part in next year’s match.
So LIV has a bunch of washed up European Ryder Cup stalwarts…Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Paul Casey, Martin Kaymer and Graeme McDowell.
Speaking of Garcia, the 42-year-old went off after his final round at St. Andrews, telling Spanish reporters that he planned to resign from the DP World Tour (European Tour) because he doesn’t “feel loved.”
You aren’t, Sergio. No one loves you…save, maybe, your wife…but I’m not plugged into her for verification.
--Jason Kokrak is leaving for LIV and good riddance. Nice player, 37 and 3 wins, but no one will miss him.
--So for now, this leaves Cam Smith.
I posted right after the end of the tournament and didn’t see his press conference comments before doing so, and he was asked to address rumors that he is on the verge of joining LIV Golf.
“I just won the British Open, and you’re asking about that?” Smith responded. “I think that’s pretty, not that good.”
Pressed further to confirm or quash such talk that has been circulating in golf circles all week, Smith instead did neither.
“I don’t know, mate,” he said. “My team around me worries about all that stuff. I’m here to win golf tournaments.”
That doesn’t sound good for those of us who don’t want to see Smith go. This one would hurt a lot.
I’ve told you he’s a simple guy, with a very humble upbringing, and when you hear he’s leaving it up to his team, I’m thinking his team just wants their cut of the pie.
--One more…for today. Tommy Fleetwood is apparently ready to jump to LIV. This would hurt a little. Fleetwood has never won on the PGA Tour, but he’s had his moments and is a gallery favorite.
And then there’s the rumors concerning Hideki Matsuyama. The Mirror reported he will announce his decision after the FedEx St. Jude Championship next month.
Gaining the Japanese star would be a boon for LIV’s efforts to grab an international TV deal, especially in Japan.
--Donald Trump posted on Truth Social, following reports that families of 9/11 victims were outraged the former president was welcoming LIV to his golf club at Bedminster.
“All of those golfers that remain ‘loyal’ to the very disloyal PGA, in all of its different forms, will pay a big price when the inevitable MERGER with LIV comes, and you get nothing but a big ‘thank you’ from PGA officials who are making Millions of Dollars a year,” Trump wrote Monday.
“If you don’t take the money now, you will get nothing after the merger takes place, and only say how smart the original signees were,” he wrote.
Merge with what? A format?
It is unknown to what extent there will be protests from the 9/11 families next week at the LIV event.
More next time from sage Ernie Els.
--Meanwhile, David Feherty is departing NBC Sports and Golf Channel for LIV Golf.
Whatever. I liked Feherty, he was different. But he’s a broadcaster. I’m not losing sleep over not being able to listen to the guy.
The stories about Charles Barkley and LIV are stupid.
--Last weekend the alternate-field event was the Barracuda Championship in Truckee, CA (always wanted to go to that area), and the winner was 40-year-old Chez Reavie, who picked up his third PGA Tour title (the others in 2008 and 2019).
This was a Modified Stableford format (Eagle 5 points, Birdie 2 points, Par 0 points, Bogey -1…).
It was a huge tournament for Michael Thompson, who moved up to 116 from 129 in the FedEx Cup standings with a T9.
But our friend Bill Haas, while making the cut, only managed a T26 and moved from 165 to 160.
Folks like Haas only have three events left before the playoffs start…the 3M this week, the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit, and then the Wyndham in Greensboro.
As in you have to get in the top 125 to make the playoffs, as well as earn your 2022-23 tour card.
As in someone like Haas has to rely on exemptions to get into, say, 2 of the next 3, and then get a top 5 or 6 to have a shot at cracking the top 125.
MLB
--Juan Soto beat Julio Rodriguez in the Home Run Derby Monday night. Soto won $1 million, J-Rod $750,000, which is more than his $700,000 salary this season.
Soto looked like a $500 million man, as the talk intensifies around the sport over his trade potential.
Rodriguez, who took advantage of the night to earn some Q ratings points, ousted two-time defending champion Pete Alonso.
I watched the entire event and to my fellow Mets fans, was I the only one a little miffed that Starling Marte didn’t show Pete any love and instead was a way too vocal supporter of the D.R. contingent? Edwin Diaz was visible in his support of Alonso, after all. Marte’s act just irked the hell out of me.
Then again, if he hits.290 with 12 home runs in the second half, I really won’t care about Monday night.
--In the game Tuesday, the American League won its ninth straight Midsummer Classic, 3-2, with Giancarlo Stanton homering into a spot of Dodger Stadium where he used to sit and watch games with his father. Byron Buxton then followed with another blast.
Clayton Kershaw started for the N.L., the first time he had done so, a special moment, and Shohei Ohtani hit a soft liner off the first pitch for a single to open the game. A cool moment. Kershaw then picked Ohtani off and completed a scoreless inning.
Stanton, with his 457-foot blast was named MVP.
Otherwise, I was irritated by the constant chatter with the players on the field, often to the detriment of the action, and it was farcical at times.
I also seem to be the only one who kind of liked the uniforms.
--In his pseudo ‘state of the game’ chat with the Baseball Writers Association of America on Tuesday prior to the All-Star Game, Commissioner Rob Manfred made it clear the Oakland A’s need to act fast and come up with a stadium solution or they’ll be moving on.
“I was at the Coliseum myself recently,” said Manfred. “The condition…is a really serious problem for us. I’ve said it, this is not news. It is not a major league-quality facility at this point.”
There are two potential sites in Oakland, but the team is also exploring a new ballpark in Las Vegas.
Most are in agreement that Vegas just doesn’t work as a major league baseball site.
Tampa Bay is another issue, but the lease at Tropicana Field in St. Pete doesn’t expire until after the 2027 season. Manfred wants the Rays on the Tampa Bay side (of the causeway), not St. Pete.
--I have to admit I don’t follow the baseball draft at all because it is so different from football and basketball…99.5% of these guys don’t make an immediate impact, and many first rounders never make an impact at all.
But for the record….
Baltimore went first and selected Jackson Holliday, a shortstop out of Stillwater HS in Oklahoma (home of Oklahoma State), as well as the son of All-Star Matt Holliday.
Arizona, with the second pick, the took Druw Jones, CF, Wesleyan HS (GA), son of All-Star outfielder Andruw Jones.
And Texas, with the third selection, took former reliever John Rocker’s son, Kumar Rocker….OK, just making sure you were paying attention. Kumar, who the Mets tabbed in the first-round last year and then opted not to sign because of his medicals, hung in there and reentered the draft after making some starts to prove himself with Tri-City (New York) of the Independent Frontier League.
Rocker was a stud at Vanderbilt and now he’ll join former Vandy teammate Jack Leiter in the Rangers’ system.
--Here we go again, Mets fans…Jacob deGrom’s return will be delayed further. From a tweet from MLB insider Anthony DiComo on Tuesday:
“News: Jacob deGrom experienced mild muscle soreness around his shoulder on Sunday. He played catch on Monday and Tuesday without issue, but the Mets pushed back his simulated game to Thursday ‘out of an abundance of caution.’”
Previously, it was felt deGrom would return against the Yankees next week.
DiComo also tweeted:
“This obviously pushed deGrom’s timeline back at least a bit. It’s now difficult to see him returning for the upcoming Yankees series. If the Mets decide, given this new information, that he needs another rehab start after the sim game, his return wouldn’t happen until August.”
World Track and Field Championships
--Sunday night, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce took her fifth world championship in the 100-meter dash, in world championship record time of 10.67 seconds, fueling a Jamaican sweep, as expected.
Shericka Jackson took silver in 10.73, and two-time Olympic 100-meter champion Elaine Thompson-Herah won bronze in 10-81.
Fraser-Pryce, 35, has had one of the more remarkable careers in track history. I mean think about it…she first won Olympic gold in the 100 in 2008. She has won five of the last seven world titles and stands as the only person to win more than three in the 100. Usain Bolt won three.
--In other results of the past few days….
Women’s Pole Vault
Katie Nageotte / USA…Gold
Sandi Morris / USA…Silver
Men’s Shot Put
Ryan Crouser / USA…Gold
Joe Kovacs / USA…Silver
Josh Awotunde / USA…Bronze
Women’s Shot Put
Chase Ealey / USA…Gold
Women’s Hammer Throw
Brooke Andersen / USA…Gold
Men’s 110m Hurdles
Grant Holloway / USA…Gold
Trey Cunningham / USA…Silver
Women’s 1500m
Faith Kipyegon / Kenya…Gold
[Kipyegon is one of the greatest middle-distance runners ever, with back-to-back Olympic titles in the 1500 as well. This was her second world championship title in the distance.]
--In the men’s 110m hurdles, we had a heartbreaking incident, as only happens in track and field. Devon Allen, the former Oregon receiver who at age 27 is trying to make the Philadelphia Eagles, hoped to win the world championship in this event, though his father had died suddenly just weeks ago.
So he was a big local favorite at Hayward Field but then he was disqualified, as the electronic measuring system ruled Allen had started .001 seconds faster than humanly possible.
“I’m one one-thousandths slower, and everybody’s happy – ‘Hey, great race, world champ,’” Allen said. “It’s a little frustrating. It’s so absolute, which kind of sucks.”
When Allen heard the gun stop the race, he had no concern that he had been flagged. He thought perhaps Holloway hadn’t been set and they would restart the race. He was stunned when the public address announcer proclaimed Lane 3 – his lane – as the culprit.
“I know for a fact I didn’t go until I heard the gun,” Allen said.
Holloway went over to Allen and told him, “Go protest.” Allen pleaded his case to no avail. World Athletics relies on a system that measures how fast a runner leaves his blocks. If an athlete leaves his blocks in less than 0.1 seconds, it’s an automatic false start. Allen left in 0.09.
What an awful break. It also deprived the U.S. of another sweep. Now Allen will turn his attention towards making the Eagles, Philadelphia signing him after he ran a 4.35 in the 40-yard dash during a pro day.
--On to last night, Tuesday, which was to be a big one for Norway. Jakob Ingebrigtsen was Olympic gold medalist in the 1500, ditto countryman Karsten Warholm in the 400m hurdles.
Only a 28-year-old journeyman from Great Britain, Jake Wightman, who had never won a global championship medal, stormed past Ingebrigtsen halfway through the final lap – with his father, Geoff, calling the face as the in-stadium announcer.
Wightman was the first Brit to win the event at the worlds since 1983. Ingebrigtsen hung on for silver.
And minutes later, Warholm, who had not lost a 400-meter hurdles race that he finished since 2018, failed to medal in his biggie with American rival Rai Benjamin, who lost out to Warholm in Tokyo.
So Benjamin won, right? Wrong. Brazilian Alison dos Santos won it, taking the gold, Benjamin the silver, and countryman Trevor Bassitt surged to take the bronze. Warholm, “The Terminator,” faded to seventh. [He has been dealing with a hamstring injury this year.]
Benjamin, dos Santos and Warholm now own nine of the 10 fastest times in the history of the event – all of them recorded in the past two years.
College Football’s Big Mess
Rick Reilly / Washington Post
“And now, class, it’s time to catch you up on college football, the sport that brought you the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl. Please open your textbooks to ‘Madness.’
“College Football is slaying its history. It’s selling all its tradition and fans and rivalries down the river on an out-of-control steamboat with a drunk donkey at the wheel. The lunacy really kicked in on June 30 when USC and UCLA bolted the Pac-12 conference for the Big Ten (which now will have 16 teams, if that makes any sense)….
“Big Ten teams are now conveniently located near their banks, not each other. Take USC, which is near Hollywood, and their new conference foe Rutgers, which is somewhere near ‘The Sopranos.’ This is going to be such an exciting new rivalry. One team has six Heisman Trophy winners, can claim 11 national championships and over the years has spent 91 weeks as the No. 1 team in the country. The other is Rutgers.
“Then you have the University of Maryland – a Midwest-by-the-Chesapeake Big Ten team since 2014 – soon to be taking on UCLA, which is a six-hour flight away. The winner of the game will take possession of the coveted Dead Polar Bear trophy. Imagine that: The flyover states they’ll be flying over are where their conference resides. College football really needs to get Google Maps….
“All anybody really cares about is college football’s Godzilla, the SEC, which has won 12 of the last 16 national championships – six of them by Alabama alone. One SEC team or another has been in the final game for 15 of the past 16 years. Put it this way: The SEC just rejected the New York Jets for membership.
“Next earthquake up is Notre Dame, which is somehow still an independent, but not for long. It will almost certainly soon jump to the Big Ten or the SEC – the Big Ten can pay Notre Dame $65 million more per year than it was getting out of its creaky old NBC deal. Do you know how many golden domes that would buff?
“Meanwhile, if you’ve seen the NCAA anywhere, will you have them call the office? They’re supposed to be in charge of all this insanity but can’t seem to stop it. Reminds me of the time we came home to find our kids running crazy inside the house and the babysitter locked out, sitting on the porch – crying.
“But don’t fret, college football fans. None of this is permanent: It’s going to get worse, until what we’re left with is two superconferences – the Big Ten and the SEC – with maybe 40 teams total. The superconferences, controlling all the watchable college football in the country, will then put the NCAA out of its misery, take over the game and hold their own national championship.
“And the egghead teams that aren’t at all watchable, such as Vanderbilt in the SEC and Northwestern in the Big Ten? They’ll get kicked down to one of the JV conferences and eventually become accountants for TaxSlayer.”
Stuff
--Christopher Bell picked up his second career NASCAR Cup Series win on Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, first of the season, best Chase Elliott. So with six races left in the regular season, that makes 14 drivers to earn a spot in the 16-driver playoff field, as in there is a real possibility that more than 16 drivers could win a race and the final playoff spot or spots would be decided on points.
Bubba Wallace had his best finish of the year, third, since his opening second at Daytona.
Next Bar Sunday p.m.
-----
[Posted early Sunday p.m.]
Brief Add-on up top by noon, Wed.
*I posted the following quiz before the final round…so, not as challenging as it was intended to be…if you were listening at the end of the broadcast.
Golf Quiz: Post-World War II…1) Name the four South Africans to win The Open Championship. 2) Name the four Australians to win a Claret Jug, prior to Cam Smith. 3) Name the lone New Zealander to do so. Answers below.
The Open Championship
After the first round….
Cam Young -8 (64)…lowest round ever by a player in his first British Open round
Rory McIlroy -6
Cam Smith -5
The LIV golfers got off to a good start….
Lee Westwood -4
Talor Gooch -4
Dustin Johnson -4
Bryson DeChambeau -3
But Tiger Woods shot a 78, +6.
Cam Smith then took charge in round 2, firing a 64 of his own, while Young and Rory played well. Viktor Hovland eagled No. 15 on the way to a 66….
Smith -13 (67-74)
Young -11
Rory -10
Hovland -10
DJ -9
Scottie Scheffler -8
Tyrell Hatton -8
And so heading into round 3, the weather was spectacular, and warm, befitting the heatwave sweeping much of Europe (with catastrophic effects in Portugal, Spain, Italy and southern France).
It ended up being the Rory and Viktor show, as both carded sterling 66s to share the lead, while Young and Smith stumbled badly on a single hole on the back nine that could cost them a shot at the Claret Jug.
Rory -16
Hovland -16
Young -12…71, atrocious four-putt, double-bogey on 16…total brain cramp
Smith -12…73, double-bogey on 13
Si Woo Kim -11…69-69-67
DJ -10…bogeyed 13, 14 and 16 down the stretch
Sunday we thus had Rory and Hovland paired again, Rory attempting to get that elusive fifth major, his last in the 2014 PGA Championship at Valhalla, after which he’s had eight, top-five finishes in majors.
But with 99.9% of the crowd behind Rory, will the support aid or help him?
Hovland, 24, has three wins already on the PGA Tour but his best finish in the majors is a T-12.
Lastly, before they teed off, it’s noteworthy that every Open winner at St. Andrews has been within four shots of the lead after 54 holes.
And we got off to a slow start, Rory parring his first four, Hovland bogeying No. 4, and then Rory with a birdie on 5 for a two-shot lead.
Rory -17…thru 5
Hovland -15…5
Smith -14…5
Young -14…5
And after eight holes…
Rory -17
Young -15
Hovland -15
Smith -14
Then things began to change on the back nine…like really change…
Hovland hit a bad approach on the short No. 10
Smith birdied Nos. 10 and 11 to get to -16
Rory birdied 10 to move to -18
Hovland made a clutch par putt on 10 to stay -15
Smith made it three in a row, birdieing 12, now -17
McIlroy -18…thru 11
Smith -17…12
Young -15…12
Hovland -15…11
Hovland birdied 12 to move to -16
Smith made it four in a row with a birdie at 13…-18! …tied with Rory
Young birdies 13…-16
Cam Smith then makes it five in a row, birdieing 14 to move to -19, taking the lead over Rory, who can’t get anything to drop.
Young birdies 14 and is at -17
Rory then gets a disappointing par on the par-5 14th to stay at -18
Smith makes a clutch par putt on 15 to maintain the one-shot lead
Young hits an awful approach from just 71 yards on the par-4 16th but pars it to stay at -17
Smith pars 16…-19
Smith’s approach on No. 17 is not good, but makes a terrific par putt
Young, on the other hand, hits a splendid approach but blows the birdie opportunity
McIlroy misses a birdie opportunity on 17
Young hits a great drive on 18 and suddenly has a legitimate shot at eagle
Smith has a tough 2nd on 18, but hits a great lag, giving himself a birdie putt
Young eagles 18 to finish -19!
Smith now has to make his short birdie putt, converts, and he’s at -20.
It’s up to Rory, who doesn’t hit the dream drive on 18 that might have rolled up onto the green, a la Cam Young, and instead is left with a shot off the green he has to convert to tie Smith, Rory doesn’t…game over.
Cameron Smith fires a 64…his second of the championship (first in a major to do so), and outside of his stumbles on Saturday, it was another putting clinic for the lad from Down Under who my brother first called “The Assassin” at The Players Championship. Actually, Smith does resemble Daniel Craig a bit.
The Final Leaderboard
Smith -20
Young -19
Rory -18
Hovland -14…a highly disappointing 74
Tommy Fleetwood -14…great recovery from opening 72
Brian Harman -13
DJ -13
DeChambeau -12
Patrick Cantlay -12
Jordan Spieth -12
Every single golfer who finishes second or third in a major can point to one or two bad holes for being the reason they didn’t win, and that was the case with Cam Young on Saturday and Sunday, but his “Q Score” is rising. He has six, top-3s this tour season!
Tommy Fleetwood now has five, top-5 finishes in majors.
Hovland gets his first top ten in a Big One.
But for Rory, you saw the disappointment on his face and heard it in his voice after. He didn’t have a blowup hole today…no bogeys…but just birdies on Nos. 5 and 10. His putting wasn’t bad, he just didn’t make anything. That’s what he’ll have a few sleepless nights over. He gave himself opportunities, he just didn’t convert. And so the wait for that fifth major continues.
[Rory finishes the year in the majors with a 2nd in the Masters, 8th in the PGA, T5 at the U.S. Open, and today’s 3rd.]
As for Cam Smith, I wrote a while ago that he was one guy I was worried would go the LIV Golf route. His comments on the topic will be interesting over the coming weeks and months. He had a very humble upbringing in Australia, but you’d also think he’s now hit the sport’s peak (a major and a Players Championship in the same year is pretty freakin’ awesome), and this guy can now create his own schedule, and pick his spots, for the next ten years. That’s real security.
[For the record, the win was also No. 6 on the PGA Tour.]
Speaking of LIV, with the first round I decided I wasn’t going to let it bother me, once it also became clear that Dustin Johnson wasn’t about to win the whole thing. Some of the LIV golfers did well, as in top 20 (Abraham Ancer was T11), and many sucked.
I wonder how thrilled DJ and Bryson are to have to tee it up in two weeks for the next LIV event?
--Will Zalatoris’ run of top tens in a major ended this week, Cam Young’s Wake teammate finishing T28. He missed the cut at the Scottish Open so he should know what it takes to play better links golf the next few years.
--Among those missing the cut aside from Tiger were defending champ Collin Morikawa, Louis Oosthuizen, Max Homa, Webb Simpson, Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson.
The Saudis really can be idiots. They are paying Mickelson a reported $200 million to suck. Lefty would be lucky to sniff the top ten on the Champions Tour these days.
He had the world by the balls…and he blew it. This money is not buying him happiness.
--As for Tiger, you knew he was in trouble when he butchered his second shot on his opening hole Thursday, dropping it in the Swilcan Burn…and then missing a short bogey putt.
What we’ve all noticed more than anything since his comeback at Augusta is his short game has been atrocious, which is so surprising given that this was all he could work on for months and months. The guy who was automatic from six feet in is no better than you or me from that distance today.
But this is a guy who really is in constant pain…24/7…and doesn’t sleep well because of it. We’re just lucky we got to see him on a course again, even if it was far from his best. Personally, I hope he plays one of the lesser events in the fall, near his home, just to get a normal tournament in him before the winter, make a cut, and finish the year with some positive thoughts.
Michael Rosenberg / SI…Morning Read
“Tiger Woods said ‘we had winter this morning and summer this afternoon,’ and as he played the 18th hole at the Old Course, the sun ducked behind the clouds and the temperature seemed to drop 10 degrees again. He did not seem to notice, and he sure didn’t care. What he saw was Rory McIlroy on the adjacent first hole, tipping his cap, and Justin Thomas, on the first tee, nodding. What he heard was the crowd applauding, not like at the peak of Tigermania, but the way you might hear when the cast of a musical comes out and bows. What he felt were tears in his eyes. What he sensed were his playing partners, U.S. Open champ Matt Fitzpatrick and Max Homa, hanging back so he could walk over the Swilcan Bridge alone and salute the crowd. They knew, Tiger knows, everyone knows: The winter of his golf life is coming, and it’s coming fast.
“Tiger used to run away from the field. This week, the field ran away from him. …Woods, who famously played all 72 holes here in 2000 without landing in a bunker, found three of them Friday. His putting was awful.
“He was adamant that his career is not over: ‘I’m not retiring from the game.’ But he talked about ‘the three events I played this year,’ like his season is over, which it probably is – on July 15. He said, ‘I have nothing planned. Zero. Maybe something next year.’
“We might see him at the Hero World Challenge in November, because he hosts it, or PNC Championship in December, because his son Charlie loves playing with him in it. But a real tournament? He wouldn’t even commit to playing before next year’s Masters.
“ ‘I understand being more battle-hardened, but it’s hard just to walk and play 18 holes,’ he said. ‘People have no idea what I have to go through and the hours of the work on the body, pre- and post-, each and every single day to do what I just did.’….
“(Tiger) does not have the game he once did. He just can’t practice enough. He can’t hone his skills under tournament pressure. What he does have, though, is an inner peace that seemed out of reach when he was a young man conquering the world. He used to say, without a hint of a smile, that he expected to win every tournament he played. This year, he said with 82 PGA Tour wins and 15 majors, he is comfortable with his achievements, even if he never wins again.”
By the way…these are Tiger’s nine rounds this year.
Masters…71-74-78-78
PGA…74-69-79…then WD
Open…78-75
As in IF he really thinks he can compete, he needs more tournaments, with lesser-quality fields, if his body could hold up.
--There were 24 LIV Golf players in The Open, including former major champions Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, and Louis Oosthuizen.
R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers elaborated on earlier comments he made about LIV golfers and whether they should be eligible to play in future Open Championships at his press conference Wednesday.
“I firmly believe that the existing golf ecosystem has successfully provided stable pathways for golfers to enter the sport and develop and realize their full potential,” Slumbers said. “Professional golfers are entitled to choose where they want to play and to accept the prize money that’s offered to them. I have absolutely no issue with that at all. But there is no such thing as a free lunch.”
“I believe the model we’ve seen at Centurion (London) and Pumpkin-Ridge (Portland) is not in the best long-term interests of the sport as a whole and is entirely driven by money,” Slumbers said. “We believe it undermines the merit-based culture and the spirit of open competition that makes golf so special.
“I would also like to say that, in my opinion, the continued commentary that this is about growing the game is just not credible and, if anything, is harming the perception of our sport which we are working so hard to improve.”
Slumbers said LIV players were allowed to compete in The Open this year because they had already met qualifying criteria or had been awarded exemptions. He said the R&A would reassess the qualifying standards before the 2023 Open at Royal Liverpool in England.
“I never said the best golfers will not be able to play,” Slumbers said. “We will hold totally true to The Open being open to anybody. But we may well look at how you get into that, whether it’s an exemption or a need to qualify through our qualifying process.”
Addressing, again, his decision to ban Greg Norman, Slumbers noted that Norman hadn’t been to St. Andrews since 2010 and hadn’t attended The Open in many years.
In light of wanting the 150th Open to go down in history, “We decided that there would be, based on noise that I was receiving from multiple sources, that that was going to be potentially unlikely.
“We decided that we didn’t want the distraction. We wanted to ensure that the conversation was all about this week and playing golf and balls in the air [on Thursday] and the champion golfer on Sunday.”
It’s going to be all about Official World Golf Ranking points going forward and how the secret group that decides on such things opts to treat the LIV exhibitions. That’s the story for months to come. Without the points, the LIV golfers won’t be playing in many majors.
--With the next LIV event in my neighborhood in two weeks at Trump Bedminster, I had to look it up. The cost for a Grounds Pass on the final day, a Sunday, is $113. A Grounds Pass at the final round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic that weekend, a real event, is $80.
--Congratulations to Wake Forest Demon Deacon Billy Andrade for being named the winner of the 2022 Payne Stewart Award. Fellow Deacs Arnold Palmer and Jay Haas are past winners.
The Payne Stewart Award is presented annually to a professional golfer who best exemplifies Stewart’s steadfast values of character, charity and sportsmanship.
Andrade, who is from Bristol, Rhode Island, has lived in Atlanta since 1988 when he first joined the PGA Tour. As an Atlanta resident, he developed an affinity for the history of East Lake Golf Club, which will soon add his name next to the other Payne Stewart Award recipients on a plaque located in the clubhouse’s Great Hall.
Andrade has raised over $30 million for charity during his career.
--Finally, my friend David P. up in the Boston area alerted me to a terrific human-interest story in the game of golf. At the Massachusetts Amateur Final, 19-year-old Conner Willet from Wellesley defeated Ryan Downes 4 and 2 at Concord Country Club. What makes this a story worthy of this space is that Conner’s father, Richard, just 52, died unexpectedly five days earlier, last Sunday, when he choked to death while eating.
Conner opted to play in the first round of the Mass Am the next day, Monday, and made Tuesday’s stroke play cut by four shots, won a pair of matches on both Wednesday and Thursday, then outlasted Downes to become the second-consecutive Wellesley golfer to win the title after Michael Thorbjornsen’s victory last summer.
Recall that Thorbjornsen, still an amateur, finished fourth at The Travelers three weeks ago.
Willet said his goal for the week was to keep playing golf, the course becoming a sanctuary during a time of tragedy.
“I didn’t want to go home,” he said. “I just wanted to play as much golf as possible and be out here as long as possible. I haven’t been able to eat. It was just a battle of grit.” [Boston Globe]
Willet is a rising sophomore at Georgetown.
***I’ll discuss the alternate-event PGA Tour stop, the Barracuda Championship, next time…it’s important, but won’t end for a while as I post.
MLB
--Clayton Kershaw may have cinched the opportunity to start the All-Star Game next Tuesday at Dodger Stadium with his spectacular 8 inning, one-hit, no walks, 6 strikeouts performance Friday night at Angel Stadium, the Dodgers beating the lowly Angels 9-1.
Kershaw threw only 89 pitches, 63 strikes, and the guy is 7-2, 2.13 ERA. He’s 192-86 lifetime, the best career winning percentage in the history of the modern game at .691.
Nothing better in sports than seeing the ‘greats’ perform at a top level.
As for the pathetic Angels, who once again are playing without Mike Trout, out with another injury (and just saw he won’t play in the All-Star Game), I do have to note last Wednesday Shohei Ohtani threw six innings of one-run ball against the Astros, striking out 12, and also contributed a two-run triple (one of two hits) as L.A. beat the Astros 7-1.
Ohtani is 6-0 in his last six starts, 0.45 ERA over that span, and 9-4, 2.38, overall. He also became the second pitcher in Angels history to record 10 or more strikeouts in four consecutive starts. The other one? Nolan Ryan.
--The Mets went to Wrigley Field for four and won the opener 8-0 Thursday, then after a rainout Friday, swept the Cubs in a day-night doubleheader Saturday, 2-1 and 4-3, both in extra innings, the wind blowing in, thus the low scores.
It was clutch all the way around…critical defensive plays that saved the day and just enough offense and terrific pitching.
But they lost today, a toughie, 3-2. Nonetheless, the Metropolitans hit the break 58-35, 2 ½ ahead of the 56-38 Braves, who lost to the Nationals today, 7-3.
--The Yankees’ Aaron Judge, who I don’t consider one of the ‘greats’ because he doesn’t have an MVP award and has played just two full seasons, is in a bad slump that has coincided with a poor stretch by the Yanks, their worst of the season, losing five of six after Friday’s awful 5-4 loss to Boston in 11 at the Stadium before 47,573 fans; New York leaving the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th, Aaron Hicks caught looking to end the game. The Yanks were just 2-for-15 with runners in scoring position.
Judge was hitless in five at-bats and is batting .183 his last 29 games (20-for-109).
And then there is outfielder Joey Gallo, who was booed heavily Friday night, as he has been for most of his Yankee career.
You can’t make this stuff up. Gallo, in the midst of a 4-for-55 run, is batting .161 in 217 at-bats with 98 strikeouts through Friday, and after being acquired mid-season by New York last year, overall, Gallo is hitting .160 in 405 ABs with 186 strikeouts. One of the worst stretches in baseball history.
Then again, despite the fact he had back-to-back 40 home run campaigns with Texas in 2017 and 2018, the guy has a .202 career batting average.
So the Yankees are looking to move Gallo at the trade deadline and were hoping, perhaps, to somehow send him parcel post to Kansas City as part of a package for the Royals’ Andrew Benintendi, but the Yankees were not thrilled to learn that Benintendi missed the Royals-Blue Jays series in Toronto because he was unvaccinated.
The Yankees have three more in Toronto end of September, but they could easily face them in the playoffs, and with the Covid subvariants still very much in play, there is zero reason to believe Canadian authorities are going to change their policies.
Well, I wrote up all the above early Saturday (I have to put a dent in these columns on Saturday, you understand), and last night, the Yankees bombed the Red Sox 14-1, Judge busting out, 3-for-3, two home runs, giving him 33, while the amazing Matt Carpenter hit two homers and drove in seven for the second time in about five weeks!
Carpenter, who the Yanks took a shot on after he hit .169 for St. Louis last season, and the Rangers released him in May, has 13 home runs and 31 RBIs in 30 games!!!
The guy had 36 home runs for the Cardinals in 2018 and then his career spiraled downward. He’s 36 years old…time to get into broadcasting or coaching.
Until the Yankees made their move to pick him up. Rather brilliant, I think you’d agree.
And the Yanks crushed the BoSox again today, 13-2, Judge 2-for-3, Matt Carpenter three more RBIs…even Gallo homered. New York is back to 64-28, 13 ahead of Tampa Bay.
As in, to quote Roseanne Roseannadanna… “Never mind…”
But on a serious note, Boston lost Chris Sale to a fractured finger after taking a liner to his pitching hand off the bat of Aaron Hicks in the top of the first inning.
Sale had just returned the other day after three injury-riddled campaigns, including Tommy John surgery, and looked good in his first outing. From 2012-2018, he was as good as there was in the game. My sympathies to Boston fans.
The Red Sox, 48-45, now trail Toronto and Seattle for the last wild card slot.
Back to the Yankees, earlier in the week they may have dodged a bullet when starter Luis Severino was found to have a low grade lat strain and will probably miss just three starts, nothing worse than that.
Severino is 5-3, 3.45, 86 innings, after largely missing three seasons due to injury.
--The Astros’ amazing Justin Verlander went six scoreless, striking out 10, in a 5-0 win over the A’s Saturday in Houston…the 39-year-old now a MLB-leading 12-3, 1.89 ERA. Phenomenal stuff after an almost two-year absence due to Tommy John surgery.
--Back to Andrew Benintendi and the Royals…they went to Toronto for a four-game series this weekend without 10 players! The Royals had to call up AA and AAA players to fill the roster.
And K.C. lost 3 of 4.
Bob Nightengale / USA TODAY
“OK, let’s get this straight.
“You want to stick to your convictions and refuse to get vaccinated.
“You’ll tell everyone who will listen that getting vaccinated for Covid-19 is against your moral principles, maybe even religious beliefs.
“You believe it’s simply a waste of time to get vaccinated since you’re young, healthy and believe you’re immune to Covid-19.
“You’re even willing to forfeit money.
“We can certainly disagree with your stance, just like the 10 Kansas City Royals’ players who are abandoning their teammates…but it’s their right.
“But what is ludicrous, infuriating, and hypocritical is how a players’ beliefs dramatically change depending on the circumstances.
“Royals second baseman/outfielder Whit Merrifield had a college friend who died from Covid-19, but now says, ‘I don’t feel like Covid is a threat to me… Don’t think the risk was worth it, honestly.’
“Oh, and at the same time, he says he’ll leave open the possibility of changing his mind if he’s traded to an American League contender who could play postseason games in Toronto.
“ ‘That might change down the road,’ he told Kansas City reporters. ‘Something happens, and I happen to get on a team that has a chance to go play in Canada in the postseason, maybe that changes.’
“Beautiful.
“So, if you’re on a team that stinks, why bother getting vaccinated? But if traded to a contender, where’s the nearest pharmacy for that shot?”
There are so many freakin’ idiots and assholes in the world.
Nightengale:
“It was the vaccination status of infielder Trevor Story that nearly torpedoed the Red Sox’s pursuit before giving him a six-year, $140 million contract.
“Story was not vaccinated, and informed teams he was not going to get vaccinated.
“Well, when the Red Sox came calling in spring training, they told him that with nine regular-season games scheduled in Toronto, they had no interest in signing him unless he was vaccinated.
“Apparently, his vaccination belief wasn’t worth $140 million.
“Story got the shot.
“And fired his agent.”
--Speaking of Toronto, they fired manager Charlie Montoyo Wednesday. After going 91-71 last year and barely missing the playoffs, the Blue Jays were just 46-42, barely in a wild card spot, and having lost 18 of 28.
Montoyo finishes 236-236 in three-plus seasons in Toronto. Joe Girardi and Joe Maddon were the other managers fired this season.
The Blue Jays have had their share of injuries but they also have too much talent to be basically playing .500.
--Baltimore saw its 10-game winning streak end Friday at Tampa Bay, 5-4. It was the Orioles’ longest streak since they won 13 straight in 1999.
--The Mariners won their 12th in a row on Friday night in Arlington, the second-longest streak in the majors next to Atlanta’s 14 straight, and now three behind the franchise mark of 15 set by the 116-win 2001 Seattle club.
Reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Robbie Ray struck out 12 without a walk over 6 2/3 for Seattle in Friday’s 8-3 win over the Rangers.
And the Mariners made it 13 yesterday with a 3-2 win in 10 innings, J.P. Crawford the game-winning single.
And today, make it 14, 6-2 over Texas. Wow! Who wudda thunk it?
--I have to go back to Friday night in San Francisco, when the Giants shocked MLB saves leader Josh Hader, hitting three home runs off him in the bottom of the ninth, six runs in all, the last four on a game-ending grand slam by Mike Yastrzemski, the Giants defeating the Brewers 8-5.
It was Hader’s second straight loss, two nights after giving up a walk-off-, three-run homer to Minnesota’s Jose Miranda in the ninth inning.
--I have seldom given a damn about the All-Star Game Home Run Derby, but with the Mets’ Pete Alonso gunning for three-in-a-row, and Seattle phenom Julio Rodriguez in it, gotta catch at least some of it.
Joining these two are Kyle Schwarber, Corey Seager, Juan Soto, Jose Ramirez, Ronald Acuna Jr., and Albert Pujols.
--Meanwhile, I’ve been writing about this for weeks, but now it looks like it’s coming to fruition. The Nationals are in the market to trade Juan Soto after the 23-year-old superstar turned down a 15-year, $440 million offer made recently that just emerged on Saturday.
Soto can reach free agency after the 2024 season, meaning the Nats can keep him the rest of 2022 and the next two, but with his emphatic decision to turn down a sweet deal, it’s best for the franchise, which remember will soon have new ownership, to do all they can to receive a monster package in return.
Most fans of the game immediately think the Mets and Yankees are the two who could sign Soto to an even better contract after giving up the farm, but others say the Padres have the farm system, and money, to nab him.
The Nats are in a horrendous slump, and for his part, Soto said he was very frustrated the story of the contract leaked out because he was trying to keep it quiet. It’s not easy being manager Dave Martinez either, with all of Soto’s teammates distracted.
Soto’s offer is $29.3 million per, significantly lower than Mike Trout’s $36 million average annual, which Soto at least wants to match over double-digit years. He wants to stay a National, but for today, this is the most they are willing to pay. It’s kind of sad.
And now, I also brought up the other day that Shohei Ohtani could be traded. It’s not unthinkable at all, especially with the Soto disclosure.
As for the Mets, they have five key prospects in their farm system they are loath to give up in a deal and otherwise really have little to offer in a massive package.
World Track and Field Championships
For ten days, the world’s best will be in Eugene, Oregon, at fabled Hayward Field.
Allyson Felix finished her sterling career with a bronze in the 4X400 mixed relay. She ran a scintillating second leg, but the United States lost its lead and ended up taking third behind the Dominican Republic and the Netherlands.
Felix received a huge ovation from the crowd, marking the end of a career that saw her win 11 Olympic medals, 13 world championships (19 WC medals in all), giving her 30 world and Olympic medals.
“It’s been an incredible journey,” Felix said prior to her last race. “I’ve really enjoyed my time over the years. It’s been a lot of ups and downs. I love this sport so much. It’s broken my heart many times. But I’ve also had many joyous moments. For me, it’s completely full circle. For me, to be able to come here, to end at home is just going to be very special. I’m going to miss it so much, but I can’t think of a better way to go out than with a heart full of gratitude.”
Saturday night, we had something special for the U.S. men. Fred Kerley led the charge, headlining the first U.S. sweep of the sport’s marquee event, the men’s 100, in 31 years at the worlds.
“We said we were going to do it and we did it,” Kerley said after, the crowd chanting “USA! USA! USA!”
Kerley powered through the line at 9.86 seconds and beat both the leaning Marvin Bracy and the 2021 U.S. champion, Trayvon Bromell, by less than 0.02 seconds. The difference between second and third was 0.002.
It marked the first American sweep at the world meet since Carl Lewis, Leroy Burrell and Dennis Mitchell went gold-silver-bronze in 1991 in Tokyo.
I can’t believe that was that long ago…those are three legendary names in track and field.
Also yesterday, Letesenbet Gidey of Ethiopia, the world-record holder in the women’s 10,000 meters, was missing a world title, after a silver at the 2019 world championships and bronze at last summer’s Tokyo Olympics.
She delivered Saturday, in a very exciting finish, holding off two Kenyans – Hellen Obiri and Margaret Chelimo Kipkemboi.
You go, Letesenbet!
But f’n NBC! As Dr. W. and I wrote each other, the network inexplicably went to commercial, for like two minutes, and came back with just a last lap to go. May the executives responsible rot in hell. [Really…I mean they deserve it…]
This morning we had the men’s marathon and Ethiopian Tamirat Tola won it in world championship record time, 2 hours 5 minutes 36 seconds. [That was a good time for me in the half-marathon, back in the day. But I drank a lot more beer afterwards than these guys do!]
American Galen Rupp, whose career I have personally witnessed in great detail, running in the city where he attended college, and in the state where he has lived all his life, faded at Mile 19 and finished 19th.
NBA
--The Phoenix Suns matched the Indiana Pacers’ four-year, $133 million offer sheet for restricted free agent center Deandre Ayton, so he’s returning to Phoenix. It was the largest offer sheet in the history of the NBA and ended the Pacers’ pursuit of Ayton. If the Suns hadn’t matched, they would have lost Ayton for nothing.
Under the rules, Phoenix can’t trade Ayton until Jan. 15 – and cannot trade him for a full year without his consent. Ergo, so much for Phoenix being able to package him in a trade for Kevin Durant.
Some of us who follow the league a little are kind of curious why Phoenix took Ayton back after the team seemed to sour on the guy end of the season, which ended in disappointing fashion when the Suns, with the league’s best record in the regular season, flamed out against the Mavericks in the Western Conference semifinals.
--Knicks fans are on pins and needles…can the team work out a deal for Utah All-Star Donovan Mitchell? They have lots of draft capital, and some young talent to send to the Jazz, but you don’t want to give up the store.
Mitchell would be a huge hit in New York, being from the area and clearly expressing he’d love to play here. [He’s been a frequent attendant at Mets and Yankees games and is an avowed Mets fan.] A Mitchell-Jalen Brunson backcourt would also be as good as any in the NBA.
--LeBron James makes the December file for “Jerk of the Year” and “A-Hole” consideration after this stupid comment concerning the imprisonment of Brittney Griner.
LeBron questioned why Griner would want to return to a country that has taken so much time to aid in a resolution for her.
“Now, how can she feel like America has her back?” James said in a trailer for the latest episode of his talk show, “The Shop: Uninterrupted,” which airs on YouTube. “I would be feeling like, ‘Do I even want to go back to America?’”
James later tweeted that his comments were not meant to disrespect “our beautiful country” but that he was stating how Griner was “probably feeling emotionally along with so many other emotions, thoughts, etc inside that cage she’s been in for over 100+ days!”
--In College Hoops, the No. 1 recruit in the 2023 class, GG Jackson, shocked Tar Heel Nation in decommitting from North Carolina. According to reports, he is supposed to reclassify to 2022 and join South Carolina.
That, apparently, makes him eligible for the 2023 draft as a 19-year-old at least a year removed from high school.
NHL
--The Devils, who lost out on free agent winger, and Jersey boy, Johnny Gaudreau, who opted to sign with Columbus, instead signed former Tampa Bay winger Ondrej Palat, the veteran who is so clutch in the playoffs.
Palat, a good two-way player, doesn’t light it up in the regular season, but he was a star in the Lightning’s back-to-back Cup wins, and then last postseason had 21 points in 23 games as Tampa Bay lost to the Avalanche in the Final, including three game-winning goals.
Stuff
--The American Athletic Conference reached an agreement with Cincinnati, Houston and UCF for the three to depart and join the Big 12 Conference on July 1, 2023. The three join BYU as new Big 12 members, meaning the league will field at least 12 members for the first time since realignment in 2011.
As for where realignment stands in terms of say some attractive schools in the ACC and Pac-12 (Clemson, Miami, Florida State, and Oregon), it’s not like any of these bring a monster media market with them to the SEC or Big Ten like USC and UCLA did.
For the ACC it’s all about the complicated grant of media rights agreement that is in effect through 2036. As in ACC schools have given the league their broadcast rights to sell collectively. That sum of money could be less than half the television revenue of their Big Ten counterparts.
USA TODAY’s college football expert Dan Wolken thinks that the SEC and Big Ten could end up in a holding pattern, perhaps for years. But it seems as if the key factor is the ACC’s media deal. Right now, the ACC is locked into an unfavorable agreement with ESPN and the league needs to get ESPN to renegotiate it so that the difference between the monies taken in by the conference isn’t roughly half what schools in the Big Ten and SEC will receive today.
As for the Pac-12, the departure of USC and UCLA crushes the league’s television value as it enters negotiations for its next contract.
For the Big 12, adding Utah, Colorado, Arizona and Arizona State would make geographical sense and give the league added pop.
Bottom line, when looking at where we stand, the Washington Post’s Sally Jenkins put it well the other day:
“The current state of college football is this: Across the nation, paunchy over-exalted ticket managers who title themselves athletic directors are racing in ungainly circles trying to find a padded, covering seat for their butts in a game of musical chairs. For years they cried that name, image and likeness payments to players would be a threat to the game’s tradition and uniqueness. It’s nothing compared to the destruction wrought by these administrative gluttons with their combination of treachery and ineptitude, who would give away a century to grab a television minute.”
Jenkins recalls a “devastating expose of college sports fiscal practices in 2015” by her colleague at the Post, Will Hobson.
What’s the problem with college athletics today? You only need to know this. The other day I talked about UCLA running up a $102.8 million deficit in its athletic department. It’s mostly the inheritance left by former athletic director Dan Guerrero who retired rich in 2020.
From 2004 to 2014, Guerrero “increased his salary from $299,000 to $920,000, though his duties remained the same.”
--Oregon tight end Spencer Webb died Wednesday near Triangle Lake, Oregon, a popular spot for cliff jumping and natural rock waterslides. Police responded to a call and learned Webb had fallen and struck his head. Paramedics were unable to revive him. Officials later ruled it an “accident.”
Webb, 22, started three games last season for the Ducks with 13 receptions. He had 31 receptions and four touchdowns in his college career.
--Finally, years and years ago I was in New Zealand and picked up a very cool All Blacks shirt, they being the historic rugby team.
But this week, Ireland became just the fifth country to beat the All Blacks on New Zealand soil in a series, taking it 2-1.
The All Blacks have hosted some 62 series, and this is only the fifth time they have lost one, and the first since France in 1994.
By the way, I don’t wear my All Blacks shirt around town. Only one in 100 would understand what it represented, the other 99, including some blacks, might question my decision to don such garb.
Top 3 songs for the week 7/13/68: #1 “This Guy’s In Love With You” (Herb Alpert) #2 “The Horse” (Cliff Nobles & Co. …the bane of all high school marching bands…) #3 “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” (The Rolling Stones)…and…#4 “Lady Willpower” (Gary Puckett and The Union Gap…no relation to Kirby Puckett) #5 “Grazing In The Grass” (Hugh Masakela) #6 “The Look Of Love” (Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66) #7 “Angel Of The Morning” (Merrilee Rush & The Turnabouts) #8 “Stoned Soul Picnic” (The 5th Dimension) #9 “Here Comes The Judge” (Shorty Long) #10 “Indian Lake” (The Cowsills…some clunkers blow up this week…B- …)
Golf Quiz Answers: Post-World War II…1) Four South Africans: Bobby Locke (4), Gary Player (3), Ernie Els (2), Louis Oosthuizen. 2) Four Australians: Peter Thomson (5), Greg Norman (2), Kel Nagle, Ian Baker-Finch…and now Cam Smith. 3) New Zealand: Bob Charles (1963).
Of course, I did the quiz for the sake of Locke and Nagle.
Brief Add-on up top by noon, Wed.