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You should have seen Phil Mickelson

Sun, 05 May 2013 20:22:00 GMT

Golf was not meant to be a contact sport, though Phil Mickelson has turned it into one through the years. He beaned a woman at the Wells Fargo Championship on Saturday. As compensation, she received a signed glove from the stash of them he must keep on hand for such occasions.

Mickelson was asked the last time he hit a spectator. "Oh, yesterday," he said, jokingly. "I don't know. It happens a lot."

Even had he been exaggerating the frequency with which he fells spectators, it is a fact that he tends to hit to all fields. It is this confounding inconsistency, and the incomparable brilliance with which he often responds, that makes watching him so compelling, though you are advised to do so at your own risk. And bring a hard hat. Or stay home and watch it on television.

Alas, the latter was not an option, not for those who prefer their sports be televised live. The likelihood is that this was an inconvenience only to hard-core golf fans. Still, in the modern era of television, when even a wide array of college baseball games are aired live, it seems a reasonable expectation that the final round of a PGA Tour event with an impressive international leader board could be viewed live.

A nasty weather forecast in the Charlotte, N.C., area caused tee times to be moved up in advance of the worst of the weather in an effort to complete the tournament without it spilling into Monday. The tournament, as a result, ended more than an hour before the delayed telecast began on CBS.

We reached out to a CBS representative for an explanation. "We have the rights to the final round," she wrote in an email. "Our broadcast window is from 3:00-6:00 pm ET. Due to affiliate and/or other programming commitments, we can not move the broadcast window when tee times are moved up."

What then would compel anyone to watch had they already known that an obscure tour rookie, Derek Ernst, had won in his ninth career start? They might logically conclude that they hadn't missed anything.

This brings us back to Mickelson, who over the course of four days gave us his career in microcosm, a mix of bewildering misfires from which he magically recovered to bring him to the brink of his 42nd PGA Tour victory, a spectacle worth viewing, live.

"I would say there's no way anybody can play four rounds and hit it as poorly as he has and win a golf tournament, with the exception of him," Golf Channel's Brandel Chamblee said. "Nobody can hit the ball that bad. It's not that the ones he hits good are close. It baffles."

Mickelson led most of the round, and at times was one ahead of Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood, before bogeys at 16 and 17 derailed his bid. While much of this was going on, Golf Channel (an NBC property, incidentally) was showing a telecast of the European Tour's Volvo China Open. Delayed.

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Media: 'He's the wizard of Oz'

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 00:24:00 GMT

By John Strege

The thought surely occurred to anyone recalling Adam Scott's inability to close out the British Open the summer before and CBS' David Feherty eloquently put it to words.

"The game of golf owes him one," Feherty said with Scott putting out on the 15th green in the final round of the Masters on Sunday, "but as we know the game of golf is a deadbeat debtor. It does not care."

Maybe it does after all. Scott erased the demons he took away from Royal Lytham & St. Annes last year and became the first Australian to win the Masters with birdie putts at the 18th hole in regulation and at 10 on the second playoff hole to beat Angel Cabrera.

When Scott holed the birdie putt at 18 in regulation that looked, for the moment, like it might deliver a victory, he shouted for joy.

"Did I just lip-read him, 'come on Aussies?'" Faldo asked. A slow-motion replay confirmed it.

"There's a great song at home called 'Come On Aussie, Come on,'" Australian native Ian Baker-Finch said. "That's what we've all been saying."

Here's the first verse, a fitting ode to Scott and Australian golf:

"It's been a long time comin'
"To silence all that drummin'
"To show them that it wasn't just a dream."

Aussome

It was a day for Aussies, from start to finish.

Early, Jason Day holed a bunker shot for eagle on the second hole. "A few of the tea cups fell off the breakfast tables down in Australia on that one," Faldo said. "That will get everyone rocking."

When Scott holed the winning putt in the rain, Faldo summed it up neatly. "It's now official," he said. "He's the wizard of Oz."

An emotional Baker-Finch, who has known Scott since he was a kid, added this: "From down under to the top of the world."

They weren't there for tennis

When CBS cut to Masters starter Toby Wilt to announce the final pairing of Brandt Snedeker and Angel Cabrera, Wilt was overhead asking the players, "All right, guys, ready to play a little golf?"

Wilt, incidentally, is a member at Augusta National, and a friend of Snedeker's. They partnered to win the pro-am at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

Put down that phone

When Angel Cabrera was brushing leaves with his practice swings beneath a tree right of the 10th fairway, Jim Nantz and Nick Faldo seemed to be calling off the rules experts watching at home and waiting to catch players in infractions.

"He'd better be careful back there with those practice swings," Nantz said.

"He can't knock a leaf off," Faldo said. "Now with HD, we can see a leaf falling."

The HD reference is to high definition television, responsible for the new rule designed to protect the player from inadvertent rules infractions spotted on television, the same rule that kept Tiger Woods around for the weekend.

"You're really flirting with a penalty," Nantz said. "One of those leafs fall it would be a penalty."

None fell.

He used to play like that with pressure

Peter Kostis after Tiger's second shot from the pine needles to the green at 13, leading to his third birdie in five holes: "Once Tiger kind of was out of it, there's been a freedom about his attitude and golf swing that has really taken over."

On Twitter

Dennis Miller, comedian and radio talk show host: "re CBS opening montage. Has the Masters become too meaningful to actually play it? Is Nantz performing Extreme Unction or announcing golf?"

(Getty Images photo)

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Media: A trifecta of Tiger, Masters, controversy

Sat, 13 Apr 2013 23:13:00 GMT

(Getty Images photo)

By John Strege

It is no small task to fill 5 1/2 hours of pre-game show and sustain interest, but on that note Golf Channel on Saturday morning was handed a winning trifecta ticket: Tiger, the Masters and controversy.

The news that Tiger Woods was assessed a two-stroke penalty for taking an illegal drop on the 15h hole in the second round of the Masters provided ample fodder to fill the time with analysis and debate.

The leader in that clubhouse was Brandel Chamblee, who at the outset of the show, even before the penalty was assessed, argued that Tiger should "call this penalty on himself, to disqualify himself for signing an incorrect scorecard."

Woods had failed to take a drop as near as possible to the point from which he had hit his previous shot that wound up in a pond. Woods instead took his drop at least a yard behind the spot, while later admitting he did so for a competitive advantage.

Even after the two-stroke penalty was assessed, Chamblee held his ground.

"This is going to be the most controversial thing that follows him around for the rest of his career," he said. "This is a flagrant, obvious violation. Tiger, if he has read the rule and I'm sure he has by now, and he has seen the video and replay on it, it is incumbent on him to say he is in violation of 27-1A and disqualify himself. Anything else is frankly unacceptable."

He was not alone. David Duval wrote on Twitter that, "I think he should WD. He took a drop to gain an advantage."

Nick Faldo's opinion echoed Chamblee's, at least initially.

"This is dreadful," Faldo said. "Tiger is judge and jury on this. He said he moved the ball back two yards to gain the right yardage. The rule clearly states you have to drop it as close as possible to the original point of play. There was absolutely no intention to try to drop that as close to the divot. That's a breach of the rules, simple as that.

"He should really sit down and think about this and the mark this will leave on his career, his legacy...I think Tiger would gain massive brownie points if he stood up and said, 'you know you're right guys. I have clearly broken the rules and I'll walk. See you next week.'"

Each member of a studio panel -- Brad Faxon, Olin Browne and John Cook, the latter a close friend of Woods -- also agreed with Chamblee. "Even if they said you could play, I'd go [put the clubs away and] slam the trunk," Cook said.

Dissent came from Frank Nobilo, who argued that rules call for a two-stroke penalty and that, perhaps awkwardly the tournament committee ultimately got it right.

Chamblee had the final word: "Three players this year on the PGA Tour have been disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard. It happens all the time."

Whatever side on which you come down, it was a spirited analysis and debate on a complicated issue that in an odd way simply heightened intrigue for a tournament that needs no hype.

Faldo on CBS

Late in the CBS' telecast of the third round, Faldo offered this on Tiger and the ruling:

"My instincts as a pro from my era, and I know some of my fellow pros would agree, that if you break the rules, sign an incorrect scorecard you're disqualified or you disqualify yourself. But we're in a new era now under new rules. Tiger's playing rightly under the new rules. I know myself, and some of the old pros, we have to accept that now."

On Twitter

Butch Harmon: "I believe he should have been DQ, he broke a rule and signed his card. They gave him a 2 shot penalty"

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Media: 'I'm stupefied by the slow penalty'

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 23:30:00 GMT

By John Strege

News unfolds at a languid pace in golf, but a languid pace was the news in the second round of the Masters, introducing a note of controversy that provided a seamless segue from the end of the Golf Channel's "Live from the Masters" show to the beginning of ESPN's telecast.

Tianlang Guan, the Chinese teenager who earned widespread admiration for his poise and ability a day before, again was the center of attention on Friday when on the 17th hole he was assessed a slow-play penalty that jeopardized his making the cut. He made it on the number.

Near the end of its show, Golf Channel's Steve Sands interviwed Ken Schofield, the former executive director of the European PGA Tour, regarding the penalty called moments earlier by European Tour rules official John Paramor.

"John Paramor was my first recruit in 1976," Schofield said. "I didn't regret it then and I would not have regretted it in all of my time. John will have applied the penalty in accordance of the competitions of the 77th Masters tournament. Clearly this is very, very unfortunate, but it's a fact of life. Whether the guy is 14 or whether he would have been 60-year-old Tom Watson, John would have applied the rule."

ESPN's Mike Tirico, meanwhile, paid homage to Guan. "The 14-year-old handled it with class, saying afterwards, quote, I respect the decision [end quote], his maturity the equal of his ability, adding to the global admiration for an eighth-grader half a world from home."

Otherwise, opinion was largely the domain of those on Twitter, most coming down on the side of Guan, some curiously so. For instance, Joe Ogilvie, whose Twitter avatar bemoans slow play (a cap with a red circle, the words SLOW PLAY inside them, and a red line through it), wrote: "I'm stupefied by the slow penalty. Hope he still makes the cut."

Ogilvie is among golf's faster players, incidentally, is ardently anti-slow play, and seemingly would be expected to applaud the penalty.

Then there was tennis star Andy Roddick, who wrote, "I understand everyone saying he was warned etc....... My stance is simple to all of those arguments. He's 14."

What does his age have to do with the rules?

Speaking of age...

Given seven hours to fill on its "Live from the Masters" show, Golf Channel featured a couple of interesting interviews, one with Raymond Floyd, once a mentor to Fred Couples. Even at 53, Couples believes he can contend in the Masters, and, indeed, he finished Friday tied for second.

"He has a very good chance to win here because he has maintained his length," Floyd said. "That is paramount. Experience is huge. Huge. The more you play here the better you get a feel for the golf course. I see where Freddie's coming from. I agree with him totally. He has a chance to win here where he might not at any other tour event."

The big question, however, was posed by ESPN's Curtis Strange: "Can his nerves hold up?"

Speaking of slow play....

When the ESPN telecast began, the first we saw of Tiger Woods was on the tee at the par-3 fourth hole, where there was a backup. Rickie Fowler and Jason Day, playing in the threesome following Woods' group, were standing near the tee box and visible in the background.

'The most sin...'

That was all of the sentence that David Feherty got out when Jim Furyk chunked his third shot into the water at the 15th hole.

He was about to say, he said moments later, "the most sinister 75 yards in golf."

Tiger Woods might concur, his third from a similar distance striking the flagstick and bounding back into the water, a stroke of misfortune that would demoralize lesser players. Instead, he took a drop, hit it to within four feet and made the putt for a bogey.

"And that right there is why he is who he is," Arron Oberholser posted on Twitter. "#15th club strongest mind in the game."

On Twitter

David Duval: "The only way to deal with slow play is simple. Give the rules officials the ability to time players without warning them."

(Getty Images photo)

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Media: No TV for Tiger on Thursday

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 19:45:00 GMT

By John Strege

All eyes will be on Tiger Woods on Thursday...or would be were the Augusta National Golf Club not so stubbornly resistant to change.

So Tiger Woods will play the bulk of the first round of the Masters out of view of audiences with access via television or computer. Woods tees off at 10:45 a.m. EDT on Thursday. Coverage of the Masters on ESPN begins at 3 p.m., or four hours, 15 minutes after Tiger's tee time.

Live coverage of two featured groups will be shown at Masters.com or via a Masters app, neither of them featuring Woods. One has Peter Hanson, Charl Schwartzel and Webb Simpson, the other has K.J. Choi, Zach Johnson and Graeme McDowell.

Tiger won't make his first appearance on the web until he arrives at Amen Corner (the 11th, 12th and 13th holes), and then at the 15th and 16th holes, each part of live coverage at Masters.com.

Augusta National did the same thing last year, too, inexplicably. Woods is the greatest player of this, and perhaps any, generation, seems to have recovered his game and his confidence, and is elevating already heightened anticipation of the Masters, and the masses are deprived the opportunity to see most of his first round.

Johnny Miller chokes (up)

On Golf Channel's Live from the Masters show Wednesday morning, Steve Sands, noting that "you're famous on television for saying that people choke," asked Johnny Miller whether he choked in the 1971 Masters.

"I made a big mistake," Miller said. "I shot the low round on Saturday, a 68. I shot the low round on Sunday, a 68. But, I was six-under par through 14 and looked over at the leaderboard and it showed me two shots up and I had this swell of adrenaline and all I could think of was all those amazing hours my dad put in with me."

Miller became visibly emotional at the memory of his father, before continuing. "I had a chance my first time as a pro. Just 23 years old. I was feeling pretty good, saying, I'm going to win. That was my best chance as it turned out...Did I choke? I choked with my thoughts. I didn't really choke tee to green. I don't remember yipping any putts. In some ways I did choke because I put the cart in front of the horse."

Miller on...

...Tiger vs. Rory: "When his game is on, when he's got his A game and Tiger has his A game, I would say it's about a dead heat, because Rory's a little bit more aggressive than Tiger. I really think if Rory plays his best golf he's got some real A game plus. He's got that ability to go against Tiger, to look him in the eye, and I think he can handle him."

...Tiger: "He knows his game is back now, but the question mark is, can he make those same putts that he's been making lately, can he make them at Augusta, where he has not been making them for several years. If he can win at Augusta, he is going to be a tough guy to handle the next few years. I think this makes his year if he wins the Masters. It shows he's back on track to go after Jack's record. He has to go through Augusta, though.

...Rory: "I can tell his giddyup is back in his step. The first round is key. If he can shoot a 69 or 70, he is going to be tough to handle."

(Getty Images photo)

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Video: Max Adler talks with Jimmy Roberts about Golf Digest story

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 18:20:00 GMT

By GolfDigest.com Staff

The debut episode of "In Play with Jimmy Roberts," on Golf Channel on Tuesday told the story of Valentino Dixon, a prisoner in Attica Correctional Facility who discovered an unlikely pastime drawing golf holes.

Dixon's story first appeared in the July issue of Golf Digest, in a feature co-written with staff writer Max Adler. In this video extra with Roberts, Adler reflects on Dixon's case -- his murder conviction still very much remains in question -- and how it first came to his attention.

"It was a great surprise," Adler tells Roberts of receiving his first correspondence from Dixon. "I came to the office one morning and there was a plain white envelope with a return address for Attica Correctional and I had no idea what was going to be inside."

Gulbis does have malaria, withdraws from Founders Cup

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 13:31:00 GMT

By John Strege

Natalie Gulbis does have malaria, contrary to previous reports, the LPGA and Gulbis' agent IMG confirmed in a statement Wednesday. She has withdrawn from the RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup that begins Thursday in Phoenix.

Gulbis became ill at the HSBC Champions in Singapore, an event from which she withdrew. Initial reports cited the flu. "She's not feeling well," David Livingston, Gulbis' IMG agent told the Golf Channel. "She does have flu-like symptoms, but, to be clear, she has not been hospitalized and there is no diagnosis of malaria."

Gulbis is home and receiving treatment, the statement said, "and is expected to be at full strength in three weeks. LPGA doctors have been consulted and believe she is on appropriate medications, under great care, and her prognosis is excellent."

Meanwhile, Scottsdale Healthcare, the founding partner of the RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup, will be on site today "to provide blood draw for players, caddies and family members wishing to be screened."

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Five questions with Holly Sonders

Derek Evers — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 15:00:00 GMT

A member of the Big Ten champion Michigan State golf team in 2007, Holly Sonders has been part of the Golf Channel's "Morning Drive" team since January 2011. Here she handles five questions from...

Finchem, Nike's Davis among 50 most powerful in sports

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 14:43:00 GMT

(Getty Images photo)

By John Strege

PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem and Nike Golf President Cindy Davis were the only two golf representatives on Sports Illustrated's list of the "50 Most Powerful People in Sports."

Finchem was ranked 25th and Davis 46th on a list headed, not surprisingly, by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. Those on the list with peripheral ties to golf include NBC Sports Chairman Mark Lazarus (the Golf Channel is part of the NBC Sports Group), CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus and IMG Worldwide CEO Michael Dolan. Lazarus is ranked seventh, McManus 13th and Dolan 14th.

Given golf's niche status in the world of sports, it perhaps is not surprising the list included only two from golf. BusinessWeek once had Tiger Woods listed No. 1, ahead of Goodell and NBA Commissioner David Stern, in its list of the "100 Most Powerful People in Sports."

There were no active athletes on Sports Illustrated's list (Michael Jordan, now the owner of the NBA's Charlotte Bobcats, came in 50th).

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Podcast: Golf World's cover story on David Feherty

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 17:13:00 GMT

Listen to the podcast

Did you know David Feherty auditioned to be Andy Rooney's replacement on "60 Minutes"? Or that Feherty, sober since 2006, takes nine different medications to keep his various maladies in check? These are some of the many details Franz Lidz shares in his cover story about the European-Tour-pro-turned-golf-TV-celebrity appearing in the Feb. 18 issue of Golf World.

Chatting on this week's Inside Golf World Podcast, Lidz, a former senior writer at Sports Illustrated, discusses interviewing golf's favorite interviewer. Lidz contends Feherty's schtick is genuine and that he really is comfortable talking about pretty much any topic. That doesn't mean he doesn't want to have a mulligan on some of the things he says, as Lidz relates with a story about how a few pages from his reporter's notebook went missing after their interview.

--Ryan Herrington
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(Photo by Bob Croslin)