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The Interviews They'd Like Back

Alex Myers and Sam Weinman — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 GMT

Bad jokes, snubs, and fits of brutal honesty in golf history that have merited a mulligan.

David Graham still waiting for his Hall call

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 19:26:00 GMT

Former U.S. Open and PGA champion David Graham read with keen interest Raymond Floyd's recent published comments critical of the World Golf Hall of Fame. Perhaps because it hit so close to home.

"It's an interesting scenario because Raymond basically said some things that I have thought all along," Graham said by phone from his home in Whitefish, Mont. "The thing is Raymond has big boots in golf. He's a purist, and for him to say something like that was quite a statement."

Photo by Getty Images

Floyd, a four-time major champion who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1989, recently was quoted by Golf Magazine as saying, "the bar has been lowered" on qualifications. "Guys get voted into the Hall of Fame who don't belong, who lack the numbers. I'm very upset at the Hall of Fame for that. . . . I'll just say that you should have at least two majors. . . . There are guys in there that it's a joke. It takes integrity away from the term, 'Hall of Fame.'"

This year's inductees include Fred Couples, who won the Masters among 15 PGA Tour titles, and Colin Montgomerie, who won the Order of Merit on the European Tour a record eight times but neither captured a major nor won an official event in the U.S.

Graham, meanwhile, competing in his prime when the eras of Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson overlapped in the 1970s and early '80s, won eight times on tour, including the 1979 PGA Championship at Oakland Hills CC and the '81 U.S. Open at Merion, the latter with a punctilious final round of 67 that was so impressive that Ben Hogan called to congratulate him on the performance.

With 25 other worldwide victories, Graham, a native of Australia, joins Gary Player as the only men to win tournaments on six continents. He teamed with Bruce Devlin to capture the 1970 World Cup for Australia, and in 1994 he captained the International Team in the first Presidents Cup. He also earned five Champions Tour titles before congestive heart failure in 2004 ended his competitive career.

"It's hurtful," Graham, 66, said of his omission from the Hall of Fame. "When you have a record that should mean something and it doesn't, you have to wonder what's going on."

Graham isn't even on the Hall of Fame ballot, having fallen off in 2000 after failing to garner five percent of the vote in consecutive years. His only avenue to Hall inclusion is the veteran's category -- the route through which Ken Venturi will be inducted in May with Couples, Montgomerie, former European Tour executive director Ken Schofield and Willie Park Jr., who won two Open Championships in the late 1880s.

According to Brody Waters, director of museum operations at the World Golf Hall of Fame, Graham also has fallen off the ballot on the veteran's category because of lack of voting support. He can be reconsidered either by a nomination from a current Hall of Fame member or a member of the hall advisory board.

Other multiple major winners yet to be voted in include Dave Stockton, Padraig Harrington, Retief Goosen, Mark O'Meara, Fuzzy Zoeller, John Daly and Andy North. The latter two men also have fallen off the main ballot, Daly in 2007 and North in '97.

This is a big summer for Graham, who will return to Merion in June to host the past champions dinner with Nicklaus, Lee Trevino and Arnold Palmer prior to the 113th U.S. Open on Merion's East Course. The Open was last played at Merion in '81, when Graham overcame a three-shot deficit to George Burns and won by three strokes with a 7-under 273 total.

"I'd had a conversation with (USGA executive director) Mike Davis about the possibility of being reconsidered this year with Merion hosting the U.S. Open," Graham said. "I don't know what happened to that. I don't really understand how it all works. In my mind, it's a bit of a fiasco. It's been disappointing to not even be considered, and I think Raymond made some very good points. But for me to say it doesn't carry the same weight as a player who already is in the Hall of Fame. All I have is my record, and it'd be nice if someone could explain to me how it's not good enough."

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McGinley's selection as Ryder Cup captain a natural one for Europe

Tue, 15 Jan 2013 19:58:00 GMT

By John Huggan

Abu Dhabi, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES -- After all the talking, all the speculation, all the toing and froing, all the other names in the Ryder Cup frame, it took the European Tour's tournament committee only an hour to decide that Paul McGinley was the man they wanted to lead Old World against New at Gleneagles next year.

Five men were considered: Sandy Lyle, Colin Montgomerie, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Paul Lawrie and McGinley.

"But we are 100 percent behind this captain," said Thomas Bjorn, chairman of the 15-strong committee. "It was obvious very early that a consensus was forming. We had all listened to the players on tour and it was obvious who they wanted to represent them. In the end, it was a unanimous decision and we are all 100 percent behind him."

Photo by Getty Images

Certainly, McGinley was pleased with the outcome. He arrived on stage for the late night press conference held in the Regal Ballroom inside the St. Regis hotel here with the widest of smiles across his expressive face. And the first thing he did was reach across and fondly caress the famous gold trophy, one that Europe has won in seven of the last nine encounters with the United States.

Related: Recent U.S. Ryder Cup captains

"I'm thrilled," he said. "It's a great honor to be chosen to lead the cream of the crop from what is arguably the strongest European Tour in history. I'm humbled to be sitting here as Ryder Cup captain and I'm looking forward to the opportunity to go up against one of my golfing heroes in Tom Watson."

Certainly, it was obvious that the 46-year old Dubliner had the support of the vast majority amongst the tour's rank-and-file. So if the committee members took any account of that level of feeling -- and they did -- there was only ever going to be one winner.

Perhaps even more importantly, McGinley had the public backing of world No. 1 Rory McIlroy and three other key members of the 2012 team -- Ian Poulter, Justin Rose and Luke Donald. Throw in the fact that Irishmen McIlroy, Padraig Harrington, Shane Lowery and Peter Lawrie all appeared during the new skipper's press conference and it is clear that Europe has perhaps never before had a more universally-popular leader.

"Common sense prevailed," tweeted the world No. 1. "Paul McGinley 2014 European Ryder Cup captain. Couldn't be happier for him. Roll on Gleneagles."

"I stand by what I said earlier this week," continued McIlroy. "And it would be great to see Darren Clarke get the job in 2016. I played under Paul in the Seve Trophy and had such a good time. He made us all feel so comfortable. He's the best captain I've ever played under."

Such an unprovoked recommendation did not go unnoticed by McGinley, who was noticeably and sensibly silent throughout the convoluted and sometimes near-farcical build-up to the committee's decision. "It's amazing what you can learn when you listen and don't talk," he said with a smile. "Besides, the players were speaking for me so there was no need for me to say anything. But I will say that Rory is in good shape for a pick if he doesn't make the team."

Cue yet another grin as wide as Galway Bay.

Three times a Ryder Cup player -- three times on the winning side -- McGinley memorably holed the winning putt at The Belfry in 2002 and twice served as vice-captain in the biennial contest, as well as twice led the Great Britain & Ireland side against the Continent of Europe in the Seve Trophy. It was there that he developed the reputation for thoroughness and attention to detail that undoubtedly contributed most to his selection.

Still, with only four European Tour victories on his resume -- he and Padraig Harrington also won the World Cup for Ireland in 1997 -- he does at first glance have the look of a diminutive David against the golfing Goliath that is the eight-time major champion, Watson. And yes, he is surely the least-distinguished player to land the role since John Jacobs in1981. But don't be fooled. McGinley was ultimately the right man for the job --ask almost anyone on the European Tour and they'll tell you so.

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Golf World Monday: What golf can learn from baseball's Hall of Fame

Mon, 14 Jan 2013 16:48:00 GMT

From the Jan. 14 issue of Golf World Monday:

By E. Michael Johnson

Golf needs to take a lesson from Major League Baseball. Last week its Hall of Fame chose to take a pass, failing to elect a single new member as no player was named on the 75 percent of ballots needed for induction.

Yet in 2004 the World Golf Hall of Fame added the proviso that -- after already dropping its hall standards from 70 percent to 65 percent in 2000 -- "in the event that no candidate receives 65 percent, the nominee receiving the most votes with at least 50 percent is elected." That amendment will let Fred Couples and Colin Montgomerie, both named on 51 percent of their respective ballots, into the hall this May.

Although it is easy to understand the desire for star power to attract fans and media to the ceremony, doing so by inducting players on what is essentially a technicality is unfair to the hall, the fans and, to some extent, the player.

Take Vijay Singh, who got in with 56 percent in 2005. Singh is a sure-fire, deserving Hall of Famer with 34 PGA Tour victories and three majors. Would it have been so awful to wait until he got the required number of votes?

Golf's hall should practice what so many instructors of the game preach: patience.

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(Photo by Getty Images)

Stingers: Colin Montgomerie is a Hall of Famer?

Tue, 18 Dec 2012 17:35:00 GMT

By Alex Myers

I'll admit, I was never much of a Colin Montgomerie fan. But that changed -- at least, briefly -- when I drew the plum assignment of following the Scot around Winged Foot in one of Sunday's final groups at the 2006 U.S. Open.

A week shy of his 43rd birthday and with his career in its twilight, Monty managed to hold things together as well as anyone that day on the treacherous A.W. Tillinghast track, and I, a young reporter rooting for a great story, believed I had lucked my way into covering this unlikely major championship win from inside the ropes. Then, Montgomerie pulled, well, a Montgomerie.

Photo by Getty Images

Pumped up from draining a 50-footer for birdie on No. 17 to take a share of the lead with Phil Mickelson, Montgomerie found the 18th fairway (something Phil famously wouldn't accomplish minutes later), but chose a 7-iron for the uphill, 172-yard shot. He didn't come close. A pitch and three putts later, Monty, like Mickelson, wound up one shot behind winner Geoff Ogilvy. Unlike Phil, Monty didn't collect his runner-up trophy at the awards ceremony, instead storming off and reportedly having an altercation with a New York state trooper.

Just like that, Montgomerie's final opportunity to capture a major championship was gone. One would think his chances at being inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame had vanished as well. I was wrong.

On Tuesday morning, Montgomerie was named the latest player to earn entry into the Hall (receiving just 51% of the vote on the international ballot), despite the fact he will never win one of its four biggest tournaments. Even more stunning? Montgomerie has never won a single PGA Tour event. I guess I missed the announcement that the Hall of Fame is now just the "Hall of Very Good"?

The case for Montgomerie? A sterling Ryder Cup record and 31 wins on the European PGA Tour, which he dominated during the 1990s to the tune of four Player of the Year awards and finishing first on the Order of Merit (money list) seven times, adding an eighth in 2005. Those are impressive accomplishments, but keep in mind that tour's depth wasn't nearly what it is now -- when it is still a distant No. 2 to the PGA Tour.

Meanwhile, Montgomerie played his fair share of tournaments in the States and often came close to winning, including losing playoffs at both the U.S. Open and PGA Championship. But he never got the job done. Not in a major. Not in a Honda Classic.

Related: Ryder Cup heroes & goats

Earlier this year, Fred Couples, with his 15 PGA Tour wins and one major, was also selected to the Hall. Like Monty, Freddie was no slam dunk to get the nod, especially so soon. But the pair's speedy selection, while others with similar credentials like Ken Venturi have had to wait so long, is just the latest case of Hall of Fame standards -- not just in golf, but in all sports -- being lowered.

If guys with no major titles are going to start being inducted, what's going to happen to all the one-time winners, who have become so abundant during this recent era of parity? Good thing there's plenty of space on that St. Augustine property.

Maybe it's a little harsh, but I had a front-row seat for Monty's chance at true golfing immortality. Like that ill-fated approach shot, he came up short.

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Media: Johnny Miller and the missing C word

Sun, 30 Sep 2012 22:26:00 GMT

(Getty Images photo)

By John Strege

The word with which Johnny Miller, broadcaster, is most closely associated went conspicuously missing at the Ryder Cup on Sunday, even as the U.S. team methodically unraveled, its insurmountable lead surmountable after all.

Miller never mentioned the word "choke," though the U.S. team squandered a 10-6 lead and lost 14 1/2-13 1/2. We can only surmise the criticism he has taken for using the word freely over the years has had an effect on him.

He flirted with the word, at least. "You could say this is the colossal collapse in Chicago," Miller said after Steve Stricker fell behind Martin Kaymer on the 17th hole in the penultimate match, putting the U.S. at a disadvantage. "America has played really poorly on the finishing holes today, which has allowed this to happen. It really is a collapse."

Mark Rolfing also ventured into the vicinity of the word, when after a poor bunker shot by Jim Furyk (shown above) in a tight match at the 17th hole he faced a 15-foot par putt to maintain a 1-up lead over Sergio Garcia.

"It's been a long summer for Jim Furyk in terms of finishing things off in big situations," Rolfing said.

Furyk missed the putt, then lost the 18th hole and the match.

Monty: 'Absolutely ridiculous'

Rory McIlroy was savaged for arriving at Medinah Country Club only 11 minutes prior to his Ryder Cup tee time on Sunday. Good thing for his sake he won his match against Keegan Bradley.

The outspoken Colin Montgomerie was most critical, eviscerating McIlroy as well as European captain Jose Maria Olazabal and his assistants and his caddie J.P. Fitzgerald.

"That's absolutely ridiculous on this level," Montgomerie said during his stint in the NBC booth. "Quite unbelievable...the world number one golfer. How this happened I do not know.

"Where's the captain? Where are the vice captains? Where's his caddie? We were fortunate that he's the one guy, the most natural player on our team, that didn't need to practice. If we had a Faldo or Langer we'd be in trouble."

NBC's Roger Maltbie, meanwhile, was waxing on how impressed he was that McIlroy arrived so late, yet "walked onto the first tee with a smile and went about his business."

"It was embarrassing though," Miller said.

"I wouldn't argue with that," Maltbie replied.

Shanks for the memory

It's no secret that Miller often invokes his own experiences in his analysis, but he had two prime opportunities to do so on Sunday and said nothing.

-- When Webb Simpson shanked his tee shot at the eighth hole, Miller said, "That was one of the fastest swings I think I've ever seen. That's a bad feeling when you've got national TV, Ryder Cup, all these fans, and to think, 'oh, am I going to do it again.' You hit with a shank and people never forget it."

He was speaking from experience, though he failed to inform the audience of that. In the 1972 Bing Crosby National Pro-Am, Miller was in contention on the 16th hole of the final round, when he shanked a shot. He went on to lose to Jack Nicklaus in a playoff.

-- Instructor Jim McLean, who counts Keegan Bradley among his students, posted this on Twitter regarding McIlroy's tardiness and inability to hit balls prior to the starting his round:

"A number of great players hit no balls prior to teeing off. One was Johnny Miller. Wonder if Johnny will mention this?"

He did not.

A graphic reminder

NBC put up a graphic showing those who have gone undefeated in Ryder Cups, and Larry Nelson appeared twice, once going 5-0, once 4-0.

It was a reminder of a glaring oversight on the PGA of America's part, that it never made Nelson a U.S. Ryder Cup captain.

Nelson won two PGA Championships and a U.S. Open and played on three Ryder Cup teams.

On Twitter

Steve Flesch: "I still can't help but to think how big a mistake it was sitting Phil and Keegan yesterday. Every point matters. Strick and Tiger 1-7"

Michelle Wie: "Watching the tv while covering my eyes. I cant watch this....so nervous!! #rydercup #gousa"

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Advantage hype (or why we should follow Seve's advice)

Thu, 27 Sep 2012 17:09:00 GMT

By John Strege

The popularity of the Ryder Cup has become such that it is capable of standing on its own, a fact that seems lost on the PGA of America. It relentlessly props it up with a drumbeat of hype that threatens to overwhelm the event itself.

The Ryder Cup Gala is just one of the many events adding up to the events itself. Photo by Getty Images

The hype for this Ryder Cup began nearly two years ago, when Davis Love III was named the U.S. Captain in January of 2011, and it has culminated with a Ryder Cup week that features four days of hype, three of competition. Advantage hype.

The schedule includes a U.S. Past Captain/Celebrity Scramble, a Ryder Cup Captains Challenge Reception, a Junior Ryder Cup Exhibition, a Ryder Cup Gala, Opening Ceremonies and, our favorite, Bagpipes and Blues, which is described as an "Officially Sanctioned Ryder Cup Pep Rally," the words all capitalized to emphasize their importance.

Let the games begin. Please.

They finally will do so Friday morning, not a day too soon, but rather a day too late. A better idea (and not an original one) is to start the competition on Thursday, making it a four-day affair, thus eliminating a day of hype in favor of the event it is hyping.

This idea was advanced by the late great Seve Ballesteros three months before his death in May of 2011. Ballesteros made the case that it was in everyone's best interest to begin playing on Thursday.

"The event could go to four competition days, which would be good for everyone," he said. "From the players' point of view because being at a venue from the Monday and waiting four days to play it is sometimes very long, in my opinion. You really want to play and start the competition. For the audience it is also good because they see more golf, and it's good for the sponsors and television. I think that would be a positive change."

It would have the additional benefit of building in time in the event of weather delays, as Colin Montgomerie has been advocating since at least 2008, while looking ahead to the Ryder Cup in Wales in October of 2010. Recall that that Ryder Cup was pushed to Monday by inclement weather.

Meanwhile, there was this bit of dispiriting news arriving via email Thursday morning: The 2013 Presidents Cup hype will resume on Tuesday. The PGA Tour has announced it will have a news conference featuring Commissioner Tim Finchem, U.S. captain Fred Couples and International captain Nick Price.

Sigh.

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Final Say: Open Success Often Hinges On The Ability To Handle Failure

Geoff Ogilvy — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Closing at Olympic will favor those who can stay consistent.

Equipment: Options Are On Players' Minds Heading Into Olympic, Lytham

E. Michael Johnson — Tue, 29 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Roger Cleveland's prototype long-iron replacements for Callaway offer choices for 260- to 270-yard drives on tight doglegs. Tweaking for majors is all part of the game.

Photo Illustrations: Backward Hats, Forward Thinking

GolfDigest.com — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Photo Illustrations: How the icons of the game might look with their hats turned around