18 observations, thoughts and predictions for the week in golf…
- The Solheim Cup is the crown jewel of the LPGA and therefore every finite detail is amplified when you have the most attention you can get as a sports organization. Which makes the abject fiasco of the shuttle service on Friday morning and then again when fans were leaving that night a mind-blowing failure. The infrastructure of the club, RTJ, the years of planning and the necessity to execute the entry and exit of your fans expertly should prompt a complete overhaul of the policies and procedures of the LPGA’s Solheim Cup planning team. Lastly, offering free general admission tickets to fans who already have tickets and just had a miserable experience is not the right concession. Simply put, a complete disaster.
- The pre-determined decision made by Jack Fulghum, Megan Khang’s caddy and Taylor Takada, Alison Lee’s caddy to rip their shirts off if either of their players holed out a shot from the fairway is one of the dumbest things I’ve seen in a team competition. After audibling from a 500 dollar wager the caddy duo took center stage after Lee holed her second shot on the 2nd hole. The 2nd hole, that alone is ridiculous, but compounding the imbecilic behavior was the reality that Madelene Sagstrom still had a shot from the fairway. The American team was let off the hook when Suzann Petterson, the European captain, took a lighthearted attitude towards the caddy buffoonery. Let’s all agree that caddies being a part of any team competition story now or ever is not the objective.
- Speaking of Petterson, if this is the end of her direct involvement in the Solheim Cup as a front facing figure in the competition she will go down as one of the true legends of the event. Her walk off win into retirement will likely never be duplicated but it was always her appetite for the confrontation of the competition that made her the perfect Solheim Cup antagonist.
- Despite getting dusted in Sunday singles 6&4 by Charley Hull, the week for Nelly Korda was a rousing success. She was the centerpiece of the American team and was fantastic in team play with Megan Khang and Allisen Corpuz with superior shot making and timely eagle putts that put a charge into the home crowd. She was also the chief hype person for the team. Additionally, she was the most sought-after photo op amongst the celebs on the first tee including Jessica Alba, whose Solheim Cup fandom I was not aware of. Nelly was a big winner.
- Megan Khang was a superstar for Stacy Lewis’ team. She was a part of three blowouts including her singles win of 6&5 over Emily Pederson. Certain players are built for the environment of a Solheim Cup where you don’t ease into the competition. You are tossed into the blender on the first tee and you either get oriented to it or you will get overrun. Khang was basking in the blender.
- The news of Tiger Woods’ sixth back surgery didn’t hit with much surprise. It was simply a reminder that the focus on one ailment or physical issue, naturally neglects the other significant physical challenges Tiger deals with as he approaches his 49th birthday in late December. We all hope he can play some golf with Charlie and at his own event before the new year but the plausibility of Tiger ever really being able to win again gets even more remote. It doesn’t change the interest and curiosity in his pursuit of being competitive in the majors but the likelihood that he will have a chapter in the twilight of his career like Phil, Jack, Watson and Snead is hard to fathom. If you can’t play enough around those weeks, you just can’t win.
- PGA Tour you have to know that scheduling a meeting with the principles of the public investment fund of Saudi Arabia in New York City on the eve of 9-11 or on 9-11 is at minimum a very bad look, and at worst, a sloppy and tone-deaf gesture void of awareness. Have the meeting almost anywhere, but NOT there and not on 9-11. Do we really even have to ask?
- Rory McIlroy has had many examples of the duality of his career. Extraordinary accomplishment and mind-bending heartbreak. I have no idea if the conclusion of the Irish Open summed up his year or his career. McIlroy possessed a two-shot lead late on Sunday at Royal County Down only to see Rasmus Hojgaard post 65 with a birdie-birdie-birdie finish to deny McIlroy a truly sweet victory in his home country of Northern Ireland. Rory bogeyed the 15th and then 3-putted the 17th to be forced to make eagle on the last hole to tie Hojgaard Rory produced two majestic shots only to burn the right edge with his eagle putt and experience once again a searing loss at home. All historic players have chapters of heartbreak, but Rory has a rolodex of heartache in the last couple years unmatched by any player of his ilk. He also never has a title gifted to him.
- Declaring any golf course, the best in the world is a fool’s errand. However, I think most well-traveled golfers can construct a relatively short list and Royal County Down would be on that list. Seeing it presented from the sky with drones and getting a week of brisk and dry conditions only showcased the wonder of RCD even more. The collage of the Mourne mountains, the dundrum bay and the routing of the holes on the championship course is a golf nirvana.
- Alex Fitzpatrick posted his fourth top 10 on the DP World Tour and the younger brother U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick looks the part. At 25 after a full college experience at Wake Forest behind him Alex is likely not going to thrust himself into the Ryder Cup conversation for 2025 but his future is bright and his girlfriend, Rachel Kuehn, also an All American at Wake Forest, is just beginning her professional journey.
- This past week the founder and owner of the Ohoopee Match Club welcomed 24 kids from The First Tee and Underrated Golf. 12 boys and 12 girls given three full days of golf, fellowship, and time with a collection of mentors who have experienced enormous success in a variety of fields from business to sports to music. To be there to witness the joy and gratitude of these young people was one of the highlights of the year. Additionally, every kid received a significant contribution towards their college experiences. The Indigo and Gopher matches is being annualized and its impact on young people invested in golf is just beginning.
- The addition of Brandt Snedeker to Jim Furyk’s Presidents Cup staff is the latest indication of the big pivot in the team USA brain trust. It’s not unreasonable that Snedeker could be a captain of either USA team in the immediate future. Continuity amongst the voices in the room between the Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup captains’ rooms should be used to the Americans advantage. It will be interesting to see if Tiger will want to be present at Bethpage knowing how his place there will naturally take the attention away from Keegan Bradley. His decision not to captain the team next year likely means he will stay away altogether.
- Max Homa missing the cut in Napa is not a nightmare scenario for his position on the Presidents Cup team but his inability to find some form and good thoughts at a place with great personal memories is not what Homa and captain Jim Furyk were hoping for this past week. Homa has thrived in his two cup appearances, but his form was decidedly better than it is currently.
- Jimmy Walker played in the Irish Open this past week and shot 65 on Sunday to finish tied for 7th place. Walker was among the best players in the world when he won the PGA in 2016 and soon after was stricken with Lyme’s disease which stripped him of his competitiveness on the PGA tour almost altogether. The story of what happened to Walker has received little attention and the story should be told of the years of neurological unrest Walker dealt with.
- Lexi Thompson’s Solheim Cup career concluded Sunday with a difficult 1 down loss to Celine Boutier. Thompson had a decent week and it’s inevitable that she will captain the United States team, the question is when. The U.S. has a number of marquee players from the past 15 years who are likely to get the nod over the next decade. Where does Thompson fall in the line and the bigger question is will Michelle Wie get the appointment? Emphatically yes and you can expect it before Lexi gets her own captaincy.
- The next six weeks of golf in the northeast and Midwest are the best days. Lower temperatures, lower humidity and an abundance of color on the ground and in the trees. From Northern Michigan to Plymouth Massachusetts, to East Hampton New York this is the greatest playing window of the year.
- Lilia Vu making the winning putt for the United States is appropriate. She has become the most reliable big game hunter in the sport. Unwavering ability to thrive under intense pressure and her putt to force the extension of her singles match to the 18th hole symbolized who she is, a total stud.
- International Team golf competitions are the most enthralling form of golf entertainment. Primarily because we see it infrequently, it’s confrontational, the players emote unlike any other time that they are playing, and we know we are getting resolution every four hours with matches. The Solheim Cup managed a tricky situation with back-to-back editions, but it is now on the International Presidents Cup team to bring the fight to the United States or the cries for a radical reconstruction of the format will get louder than they already are.