The Card – Volume XXXII
18 observations, thoughts and predictions for the week in golf…
- This was an outstanding week for NBC/Golf Channel’s team. The Live From crew and their aggregate of writers and reporters filled early week hours. The decision to bring Gary Koch and Roger Maltbie back was nostalgic and they were what they’ve always been, excellent. That should be duplicated at the U.S. Open. The combination of Mike Tirico and Dan Hicks made the broadcast feel weightier. The limited commercials and enhanced graphic packages raised the TV product and Kevin Kisner and Brad Faxon meshed. All together it was very well done start to finish.
- Great chemistry doesn’t need reps. The Live From team of Rich Lerner, Brandel Chamblee and Paul McGinley have not been together since last fall, and they did not miss a beat. It is a superior television product and the lack of recognition from those responsible for handing out Emmy nominations should be ashamed. I consume, and have consumed, studio shows in all sports for decades and there are not five better studio programs in all of sports. Lerner is a world class host, McGinley has depth and righteousness, and Chamblee is a true lethal weapon of eloquence, quantitative data and historical context. This is not a golf bias; this is a bias toward great television work.
- The 5 Clubs team knows how good Johnson Wagner can be at the golf gasbagging job. He knows it and he loves it. This past week under the direction of senior coordinating producers Matt Hegarty and Alan Robson of Golf Channel, Johnson was unleashed to show his range. They expertly put him in a variety of roles from an early walk and talk with Justin Thomas to his nightly re-enactments of events from the day at the Players. Expect more of “What Would Johnson Do” going forward at the PGA, the U.S. Open and beyond. We hope the co-host of “The Wagyu Filet Show” will still have time for 5 Clubs duties.
- The annual debate of the merits of the 17th hole at the stadium course are always going to be interesting. I think it’s the most appropriate hole for the Players and especially where it is on the golf course. It is provocative, controversial (not to me at all), telegenic and captivating. What more could you possibly want from a televised golf hole in a professional event. Alice Dye, you nailed it.
- Jordan Spieth missed the cut at the Players. No shock, that’s his sixth missed cut since his debut T4 in 2014. Spieth is in the top 10 in strokes gained total for the season and his chipping and putting have been have excellent. He needs to improve his iron play between now and Masters week. I remain very bullish on him at Augusta because nobody has been more consistently good since his first three starts at the Masters produced a 2-1-2 area code. He’s my Masters pick until further notice.
- Jay Monahan’s Tuesday press conference was neither damaging nor fortifying to his current persona amongst the fans and the media. Kevin Van Valkenburg of ‘No Laying Up” wrote an excellent piece summarizing the challenges and dynamics at work right now for the commissioner but the biggest challenge I see and feel facing Monahan is the ongoing vibe that he has been irretrievably diminished.
- This past week you heard more opinions on the path forward for the tour from the stars to the “rank and file”. The common conclusion is that the house is divided and that’s not only at the top between the likes of Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy.
- Speaking of Spieth and McIlroy, the drop ruling on the 7th hole on Thursday of the Players along with Viktor Hovland got a ton of attention. Three stars taking that amount of time is uncommon, but one thing was unequivocally true. It was an adult and professional discussion. It never got contentious or confrontational. If I’m a fellow competitor I want Rory’s group to not be pushovers or disinterested in what he is doing. All parties wanted to get it right. It was a good lesson.
- Anthony Kim played in his first event since his return with a cut and he missed it by eight shots. I’ll remind you what I said in advance of his first start on LIV, let’s give a thorough assessment at the end of the year. He’s been exactly what you’d expect him to be. Overmatched.
- Shane Lowry had T4 at PGA National and 3rd at Bay Hill and just added another solid finish at the Players with a final round 66. Add to that his last four starts at the Masters have produced four results in the top 25 punctuated by a T3 in 2022. He is doing a proper build to the first major of the year.
- The world’s best junior golf tournament will be held this coming week. The Junior Invitational at Sage Valley was created in 2011 and winners in the modest history include Scottie Scheffler, Austin Eckroat, Joaquin Neimann, Akshay Bhatia, Caleb Surratt, and Aldrich Potgieter. Sage Valley wanted to make a contribution when the club was founded, and they’ve cultivated an event that provides the biggest stage for junior golfers. They have more recently added a girl’s division and Anna Davis is the reigning girl’s winner.
- Sam Ryder put together one of the greatest roller coaster rides in Players Championship history. Ryder set an all-time Players at the stadium course record by recording 27 birdies for the week. He also added 10 bogeys, 2 double bogeys and a triple bogey. If you were a friend of Ryder and walked all four rounds with him, you will be equally exhilarated and nauseous.
- When he concluded his final round, Patrick Cantlay confirmed that members of the PGA Tour’s policy board will have a meet and greet with members of the Public investment Fund of Saudi Arabia. How substantive the get together will be is hard to say but the sharing of ideas beyond Yasir Al-Rumayyan and Jay Monahan had to happen if they expect to truly advance the dialogue.
- Rory McIlroy recorded 26 birdies for the week, but he offset that great stat with too many double bogeys. He has yet to record a top 15 in five starts on the PGA Tour but he did get a win in the Middle East to start the year. He committed to more golf in advance to the Masters and his personal Rubicon, but the build has not fired yet. It may mean very little when he gets to Augusta National but not being in contention one time in the United States for three months would be odd and not ideal.
- Scottie Scheffler in his own words said he slapped it around on Saturday because of the neck discomfort. That line will stand up for a long time. He is doing historical stuff and if he putts reasonably well, he is going to win. The other thing about Scheffler is that he is not distracted. He’s not attending clandestine meetings with the PIF or sparring on social media. He plays golf for a living and does it better than anyone.
- Brian Harman will leave the Players proving once again that he is among the best. His shot shaping and insistence on being in the mix bodes well for him as we head into major championship season. He would not be among the Masters favorites, but he is carving out a reputation in a bombers era as a throwback.
- Wyndham Clark did not have his best stuff on Saturday and gutted out a 70. Sunday his putter failed him and yet he hit monster shots on 16, 17, and 18 and his violent lip out on the closing hole will be a lasting image of the championship. He’s got as much big tools as anyone, and he looms very large at Augusta National.
- The Players was the type of event that the PGA Tour desperately needed. The best stood tall, and the golf course is always a costar. The men’s professional game needed a boast and the best player and the stage delivered.
