PGA Tour: Mexico, Puerto Rico and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels: Notes from the Ballwasher

1).Great win by Adam Scott at Riviera. Definitely one of my favourite golfers to watch, and his double act with one-time caddie Tony Navarro was pretty entertaining. In the end the difference was the way he and Rory handled their respective brain farts on #5.

2).Interesting comment last Sunday from pedro: "I've never seen Rory climbing out of a hole that he's dug himself." There may be examples (his PGA at Valhalla comes to mind), but not many for sure - Harry Diamond needs to learn how to pick Rory up if he's not capable of doing that himself.

3).The pros always talk so well of Riviera, they very seldom bring the course to its knees, and not sure why it doesn't host more Majors. The course looked fab last week.
Though I still feel that #10 is an over-rated "short Par-4", especially when the green is baked as it was last weekend. Don't see why the Tour set-up guys can't make that green a bit more forgiving. But then: TV loves its train wrecks.

4).Over the wall to Mexico City for many of the world's best this week, though a disappointing turn-out by some elite players must surely give some pause. Chapultepec gets good reviews, but is it the long-term answer for this WGC?
And the journeyman cousins are in Puerto Rico, still recovering from the hurricanes of 2017. Interestingly, the top 8 players, as measured by this week's owgr placings are all non-Americans. Bizarre. More than any time in recent memory, I reckon some well known pros will miss out on the Top 125 this year, and they shouldn't be feeling that PR or the Dominican is beneath them to play - kudos to McDowell last year on that note.

5).The Patrick-Reed's-a-cheat kerfuffle was re-energised this week by Brooks Koepka (he must have quite the gripe, not sure why!) and Peter Kostis.
This follows January's Golf Digest which featured the follow-on from "Undercover Tour Pro" with Undercover Caddie.
And the lead-off article asked "Do these guys (pros not caddies, not necessarily anyhow) cheat?"

6).The conclusion was "Not really", with the caveat "guys often make unintentional mistakes that rarely happen twice".
"Well, save for one international guy. Just an absolute nightmare when it comes to law-breaking."
Any ideas who he's talking about??

7).Three years ago, the Undercover Tour Pro also addressed cheating and zoomed on on players who mis-mark their ball, one bloke in particular: "Ask any player about cheating and they'll all tell you the same name."
The culprit also uses a long putter: "He wears baggy shirts but I could tell he was anchoring. After the round I refused to sign his card . . . . . " which was eventually signed by an official.
Point is, if such shenigans are in the semi-public domain, as is the Kostis piece with Reed for instance, why doesn't the Tour, any tour, take action, send the offender down and publish the findings? I don't ever remember that happening. Oh well . . . . . . Wonder why they picked out Cam Smith for sanctioning but none of the others who have had their say?

8).Meanwhile, Garcia and Westwood are each playing their 61st World Golf Championship, without either having a win to show for it. Plenty of cash though, no doubt.
Sergio's record includes:
2nd: 1(!)
3rd: 3
Total Top 5: 8
Total Top 10: 17

lw1's record:
2nd: 3
Total Top 5: 5
Total Top 10: 10

9).NBC TV takes over network broadcast duties until CBS returns for The Masters.
Not sure what changes will show up in NBC's coverage, but I can't think that CBS's turnover of Nobilo (too many careless mistakes, as always in his commentating), Love and Immelman de jour (I like Trev, can't abide Mark) are a noticeable improvement on Kostis and McCord. Without significantly reducing the geriatric feel.
Meanwhile, the Gogels, Oberholsers, Walls, Beams, among others, get overlooked - though I imagine Wayne Riley would be a bar stool too far.

10).When they return, the pros will visit:
Honda
Bay Hill
The Players
Valspar
before heading to Texas for the WGC-MatchPlay

No cheating allowed.

Kyle Stanley leading Puerto Rico and Robert MacIntyre is T62nd in Mexico.

FORE!

Tom Lewis a couple shots off the cutline in Puerto Rico,

Checking the Oman Open field. They are reserving a spot in the field for this weeks WGC Mexico winner. (Fat Chance)

First place for the WGC (1.75 Million Dollars last year) is more than the total purse in Oman. (1.5 Million Euro)

GPB

You picking on Fat Bob? I reckon Super knows why he is struggling in the heat and altitude.

Kwini

The thing with Rory is that he hasn't quite worked out how to win when his game isn't firing on all cylinders on a Sunday. I certainly don't think of him as the grindy sort.


On Fatpricks cheating, it is all very well for Kopeka or anyone else to call it out after the fact but I want to see someone refuse to sign his score card or call the penalty on the hole as it happens.

Is it better to win or finish 2nd in the Puerto Rico Open?

since it became an official event, No one who has won the PROpen has "later" gone on to win a different PGATour event. Michael Bradley went onto win another PR Open.

While notables who have finished 2nd include Spieth, Jason Day, Danny Lee, Grillo, and DeChambeau.

Tom Lewis won't win PR, or even runner-up.
Another nail in the coffin of his PGA Tour aspirations - if he really ever had any.

And Alex Noren's trip looks like being in vain. Hopeless, he's running out of chances.

McLaren wrote:Kwini

The thing with Rory is that he hasn't quite worked out how to win when his game isn't firing on all cylinders on a Sunday.  I certainly don't think of him as the grindy sort.


On Fatpricks cheating, it is all very well for Kopeka or anyone else to call it out after the fact but I want to see someone refuse to sign his score card or call the penalty on the hole as it happens.

Mac,
The only recent exception to that was the 2019 Players where he grinded it out in pretty stoic style. And he wins enough that there must be others that don't easily come to mind - e.g. that Irish Open where he was paired with Russell Knox in the final round and he produced that spectacular fairway wood, to the last I think, to squeak his win.


I agree about the cheating thing, but it can often be difficult to see with certainty exactly what's going on. But the wood-from-the-rough that Kostis called at The Barclays must surely have been picked up by the Tour Police . . . . . . . . difficult to see why that was allowed to proceed with impunity.

I have heard that there are Champions Tour players who have refused to sign Scott McCarron's & Langer's scorecard because they think they are anchoring.

Billy Mayfair is rumored to be a player who is cavalier with his marking of the golfball.

There was the Lexi Thompson incident and Chella Choi incident.

GPB wrote:I have heard that there are Champions Tour players who have refused to sign Scott McCarron's & Langer's scorecard because they think they are anchoring.

Billy Mayfair is rumored to be a player who is cavalier with his marking of the golfball.

There was the Lexi Thompson incident and Chella Choi incident.

Too many incidents on the LPGA Tour to mention.
I reckon Scott McC (everyone's best mate until he started winning) and Langer are pulling the Tour's plonker; can only assume the Tour didn't see that coming, kinda hoist by their own petard now unless someone catches them in the act and holds them to account. On the spot.

Having a tough time getting in to the WGC, but hope Rory keeps his foot down.

Terrible front nine from Rory.
Needs to pick his head up and put his foot down.

There are some low scores to be had out there this day. BDC making some hay along with others. Rory can get right back into this.

Honda field has been released

https://www.pgatour.com/tournaments/the-honda-classic/field.html

Some notable Euros, IJP, Westy, Rose, Lewis, Paddy, Lowry, Wallace, Viktor, Lucas Bjerregaard, Knox, Fleetwood......and Rory. (the one from Slovakia)

Brooks and Rickie are playing and legendary TV Announcer, DL-III.

Some notable Europeans outside the Top 125. Not all of them are at risk at losing their PGATour status (like Franky, Sergio, Stenson)

FEX#
127 Matthew Fitzpatrick
129 Rory Sabbatini
131 Viktor Hovland
136 Rafa Cabrera Bello
139 Ian Poulter
154 Tommy Fleetwood
161 Francesco Molinari
168 Shane Lowry
183 Martin Laird
185 Sergio Garcia
187 Henrik Stenson
195 Justin Rose
211 Luke Donald
229 Matt Wallace
--- Tom Lewis


and Ryo Ishikawa (T70 after 36 holes in Mexico)

Tom Lewis must have got a sponsors invite, because his status doesn't get him into the tournament. As many European Tour members are in the field, they should look into getting co-sanctioned.

PD is projecting OWGR-46

Although JT will have the overnight lead, this tournament is wide open. I really like this course and (to me at least) shows how tree-lined tight fairways can be a fine architectural feature.

Holy Cow can Rory bomb drives.

Looks like another top 5 for a B-game Rory..

Looks like Rory, doesn't win this week, but he and Rahm will get another good result.

I'm unsure what's harder in golf, a win in amongst up and down finishes, or no win but consistently high finishes.

Shotrock wrote:Holy Cow can Rory bomb drives.

At altitude, don't forget. But long drives aren't necessarily the be-all and end-all of a good golfer. How many times does he fail to get his second shot close enough to the hole for the birdie which the "bomb" drive warranted?

Anyone else watch Rick Shiels interview with the PGL guy. It is not Frost/Nixon and you can see why Gardiner chose Shiels to speak to.

Shiels lack of journalistic talent aside, Gardiner speaks in what sounds like randomly generated BS.




The has to die, it sounds horrible. If all you want as a fan is the top guys to play together more often it could easily be fixed by turning a number of PGAT events into almost mandatory events. Maybe Honda, Memorial, Pebble, and something in summer. You then hopefully have the WGC's, Majors, mandatory PGAT events, play offs and The Players packed with the best fields. That would be around 16 events a year with a guaranteed top field. And that is without adding the team nonsense.


Also as super should have pointed out already one of the problems with f1 is running a team and individual championship concurrently. It has given rise to team orders where one member of the team is instructed to perform in a way the benefits the other team member. Does anyone really want to see JT throw a match late season to help McIlroy win? I think not.

The main point is this Gardiner character comes off as a complete snake oil salesman. We need the world of golf to apply all the critical thinking skills they have on this one because the PGL would spell disaster for pro golf. (not mention top pro golf would be owned by Saudi Arabia!)

One player who won't be drafted by the Saudis is Martin Laird, but he has a chance to win in Puerto Rico.
Oops, 3-putt double bogey at the first.
Oh, hang on: Eagle at the second.

Alongside Laird, Hovland has the chance for a viktory - it feels as if he needs something to kick his season into gear.


Underway in Mexico; given that we know there's a 61 out there, it's a 14-horse race.

Could be a short reign at number 1 for Rory.

Why Mac? He's already strengthened his lead over Brucie Boy and is sitting in 2nd place which will put even more distance between them.

A rahm win means rory needs top 3, I think.

Super

Keep up. And Ben is correct, if Rahm wins rory needs at least T3.

Hovland wins for Norway.

Time for Rory to come from behind.

kwinigolfer wrote:
Time for Rory to come from behind.

Dirty.

McLaren wrote:Super

Keep up. And Ben is correct, if Rahm wins rory needs at least T3.

Mac, stop being a pedant, he's one shot off the lead.

And down the stretch they come.

I'm liking the Yank BDC or Rahm at the moment. The Irishman is going to have to hunt and hit flags to have any chance. Not liking his chances, but Rory does have that extra gear.

Quite a good watch. Looks like bdc. Even though I'm not a fan. I love the course, and that it's getting harder and faster.

Bdc wins now. I'm done with that so time for bed!

That (Reed win) IS ironic . . . . . . . . . ! (Not your bedtime ben . . . . . . . . )

And they say cheats never prosper...

Viktory for Hovland.  Moves up to approx #20 in the Ryder Cup World point list.

Hope he does better than other winners of the Puerto Rico Open.  (See Post #5 above)

Read on Twitter (Doug Ferguson) that Reed is now leading the Race to Dubai.

Patrick could have given Tae Hae Lee 4 shots a side and still beat him. Beat him by 37 shots.

I take back what I said about the PGL. Just do whatever it takes to make sure Rory or Tiger win every week.

Even BDC would have been preferable to that.

This isn't wrong.


https://twitter.com/lawrencedonegan/status/1231756136098848768

McLaren wrote:I take back what I said about the PGL. Just do whatever it takes to make sure Rory or Tiger win every week.

Even BDC would have been preferable to that.  

Has Reed cheated much more than Botox Woods?

Reed is top 5 material... He's not only building sandcastles in the sky. Who will they pair him with at the Ryder Cup? Brooks?

And Rory is definitely top 5 material - every week - but not more.. he must be golf's equivalent of coitus interruptus.

You could pair him with De Chambeau. No one cares about either of them.

Good call. They could potentially p1ss off some of the Europeans.

Maybe Rory should take putting lessons from this lady?
https://www.golfchannel.com/news/watch-ole-miss-fan-84-sinks-94-foot-putt-basketball-game-win-car

beninho wrote:Bdc wins now. I'm done with that so time for bed!

That was my thought as well. Was amazed to see that Reed had won when I woke up this morning

Camilo Villegas is in the Honda field.

GPB wrote:Camilo Villegas is in the Honda field.

Goodwill I suppose for a past winner.
I don't know that I've ever seen a stronger Monday qualifier; I know he lives locally (Miami I think) but was surprised to see Gonzo in today's qualie - Noren was signed up too until he withdrew.

Noren seems to have gone cold lately.

super_realist wrote:Noren seems to have gone cold lately.

Agreed. He's only got "conditional" status here and has not made the most of those opportunities to have come his way. Terrible missed cut in Puerto Rico.

Kwini, Villegas is on a major medical.

He has 13 starts to make 287 FEX points.

I like him, always been a fan. But i think he works out way too much. Too lean for his own good.

2023 Open Championship goes to Royal Troon.
So: We have:
2020: RSG
2021: TOC
2022: Hoylake
2023: Troon

Kinda surprised that Troon has jumped ahead of Muirfield . . . . . .

Edit:
So: Ayrshire gets its Open, but with Tron in Turnberry's"slot".
Would think 2024 must go to Lytham, Muirfield or Portrush.

And: When will it return to TOC?

Charles Howell has earned over 1 million dollars this season. Not really a big deal anymore.

But it is the 20 straight season that he has accrued 1 million +.

2nd only to Phil Mickelson, who is working on his 25th season of Million dollars+. He has earned $686,094.

#3 Furyk has earned a little more than $19,000 more than #4 Singh (turned age 57 a few days ago). They are both in the Honda Field this week. Singh had a top 10 last year in this event.

GPB wrote:Charles Howell has earned over 1 million dollars this season.  Not really a big deal anymore.

But it is the 20 straight season that he has accrued 1 million +.

2nd only to Phil Mickelson, who is working on his 25th season of Million dollars+.  He has earned $686,094.

#3 Furyk has earned a little more than $19,000 more than #4 Singh  (turned age 57 a few days ago).  They are both in the Honda Field this week.  Singh had a top 10 last year in this event.

Charlie Howell was a post-commitment w/d this week, Kopkrak & Spaun too.

It's gong to be breezy/windy in the Bear Trap this week. Plenty of glum faces for Gay Koch to document for us.

kwinigolfer wrote:2023 Open Championship goes to Royal Troon.
So: We have:
2020: RSG
2021: TOC
2022: Hoylake
2023: Troon

Kinda surprised that Troon has jumped ahead of Muirfield . . . . . .

Edit:
So: Ayrshire gets its Open, but with Tron in Turnberry's"slot".
Would think 2024 must go to Lytham, Muirfield or Portrush.

And: When will it return to TOC?

Too early for Portrush again, that would be a TOC type rotation.
As for the most boring course on the rota, I'm sure that TOC will take it's customary 5 year slot from 2021,  so in 2026 you can expect an Open with zero drama at St. Andrews
It only took a 6 year gap instead of 5 because the old farts at the R&A put some sort of intrinsic value on it being the 150th holding of the event.

supes,
I know that (about the 2021 Open). But have been hopeful that, with the introduction of Portrush, they might at least go to a steady diet of 6 years interval. Which would satisfy a lot of critics - but not you possibly?

kwinigolfer wrote:supes,
I know that (about the 2021 Open). But have been hopeful that, with the introduction of Portrush, they might at least go to a steady diet of 6 years interval. Which would satisfy a lot of critics - but not you possibly?

I simply can't see it. The Open at TOC is their golden egg. It's profitable, if incredibly boring. The R&A aren't one for change, and as much as I'd like to see Portrush back in, they have this absurd infatuation with numbers, so expect TOC to be the 155th, 160th, 165th Open venue etc. They only changed it to six years so the 150th Open was at St.Andrews.

Unfortunately I think all the other venues will suffer for this ridiculous decision. It's criminal that places like Portrush and Carnoustie are likely to remain into the 8-9 year bracket just so the old farts can have The Open at easily the worst course on the rota every five years for the sake of history and numerical consistency.

They will also re-introduce Turnberry at some point too, so that's another one on the rota that will be fighting for the 4 years out of 5 that aren't TOC, basically means that every other course is on the rota every 8 years at best.

In fact, there's 9 of them, so when you factor in TOC having it twice a decade then each of the courses below will be lucky to have it once a decade.

Lytham
Hoylake
Birkdale
Sandwich
Troon
Turnberry
Carnoustie
Portrush
Muirfield.

Not looking good for any of them to be favoured more frequently than the others that aren't TOC.