Category: Golf

Professional Golf; You have been Canceled

Image courtesy of golfmagic.com

I remember the first time I was introduced to the game of golf.  It was back in 1994 and my first set of clubs were a used set of Beryllium Cooper Dunlop blades.  Ever since, I have loved the game and have been a loyal follower of the Tour, be the regular tournaments, the Majors, or the Ryder and President’s Cup.

I was fortunate to have witnessed the “Golden Era” of Tiger Woods and how he changed the game, not only for us as fans, but for the Tour.  Tiger Woods made me want to watch and play a rather boring sport.

The PGA Tour has been a very entertaining endeavor until 2020.  In 2020, the PGA Tour made the decision to morph their entertainment business with politics.  Probably because they did not have the guts to stand to pressure groups or because they believed they owed something to society, only they know the real motives.

As a fan, it has been a very disappointing year and frankly I have not watched much of it.  Like the NBA, NFL, and other sports, the PGA Tour decided to become a social lecturer instead of doing what they did best, sell a great apolitical product.

Most Americans watch sports to get away from the realities of everyday life and this has been taken away for the sake of politics.  Like many people I know, I do not follow any of these sports and professional golf has been the latest sport entity to join the ranks. 

The PGA of America latest shenanigan was to cancel the 2022 PGA Championship at Trump National over the violence at the Capitol.  The PGA of America is blaming President Trump for the riots.  Are you serious?  What evidence does the PGA of America has President Trump was responsible for the mayhem that ensued at the Capitol?  I will give you the answer, none, because non exist.

The R&A also decided to join the nonsense by stating they will not use Ailsa Course at Trump Turnberry in Scotland.  Cheers!

Once again, the PGA of America, the PGA Tour, and the R&A, have jumped the gun and joined the crazy liberal mob, without information, without facts, and without thinking of the consequences their actions are going to bring to their wallets and audience.

Under these circumstances, I have decided to boycott the PGA of America, the PGA Tour, the USGA, and the R&A, The Golf Channel, and any television or radio transmission that has anything to do with professional or amateur golf.  Perhaps, one day, they will come to their senses and return to entertain instead of lecturing on social issues.  Until then, they will never get a rating or a dime from me, period.

Fortunately, I love the game and have a rather good game of my own.  So, why watch when I can play?  I thought golf was the last sport to stay away from politics and social nonsense, but I guess they were too weak and succumbed to a false sense of social pressure.  They should have stuck to supporting charities and stayed away from politics which they do not understand.

They decided to cancel me out as a fan, therefore I am canceling them.

The Hypocrisy of the PGA Tour

The no so magnanimous PGA Tour Image courtesy of golfandcourse.com

I love golf!  Ever since I was introduced to it by a co-worker and a cheap set of golf clubs.

I remember watching Tiger Woods winning the 1997 Masters and Jack Nicklaus’ last stroke at St. Andrews.

Lately, the PGA Tour has chosen to interject themselves into the “social justice” business.  From saving tee times for George Floyd while saving none for the fallen heroes of the law enforcement community.

They made the decision to play tournament golf in states that are currently under strict Covid-19 restrictions.  Meanwhile, common folks in those same states can’t go to work, visit family in nursing homes, attend funerals, go out without having to wear a useless mask (by the CDC 2018 study). Meanwhile, the cities have been burned down to the ground by bands of thugs, by the same “social justice” crowd the PGA Tour is pandering to.

While the PGA Tour wants to lecture Americans on so called “injustices”, we still have hundreds, if not thousands, of golf courses in America where a Hispanic like me is not allowed to play.

This week the United States Golf Association is hosting the United States Open at Winged Foot G.C., a private club where a person like me would be confused for a locker room attendant.  Playing our national championship in a private golf course is an irony, especially when it is supposed to be a tournament open to everyone, even a Hispanic like me.

I would like to ask the PGA Tour if they are going to fight for me.  Are they going to get me some “social justice”, so a Hispanic like me can play in private golf courses like Cypress Point, Oakmont, Winged Foot, Augusta National, or the likes?

Probably not!  For the PGA Tour “social justice” means pandering from afar.  Giving the appearance of caring, but without getting more involved than required.  Enough for them to feel good about themselves and enough to fool you.

In the meantime, this Hispanic who proudly served his country for 29 years, didn’t loot and didn’t burned down businesses, is going to keep playing public and semi-private clubs until private clubs allow a guy like me to play their courses and stop their discriminatory practices endorsed by the PGA Tour.

This is the hypocrisy of the PGA Tour!

The PGA Tour’s Disconnection

Image courtesy of golfmagic.com

This past weekend we witness Collin Morikawa win the PGA Championship at the tender age of 23 years old.  I am sure it will be considered a great achievement by the young gun and in any other time I would have felt the same way; but I do not.

The PGA of America and the PGA Tour chose to play the PGA Championship in, of all places, California.  California has been on lock-down since the Wuhan Corona Virus arrived in America.  Californians have not been able to go to work, go outside without masking themselves, children have been out of school, restaurants have been closed and some have even gone out of business.

If the virus is so bad that Governor Gavin Newsome must keep the State shutdown; why did the PGA of America think that it was okay to play a golf tournament in such a place?

I sent an email to the PGA of America asking this same question and never got an answer, so they left no option but to speculate as to why they made this decision.   Was it television money, advertising, or sponsors?  Only the PGA of America and the PGA Tour know the real motive.

The PGA of America could have chosen a better venue or postpone all together due to the pandemic, instead they decided to go with it with complete disregard for the people of California.  This is the disconnect of the PGA of America and the PGA Tour.  They live in their own little bubble forgetting that many Americans are still without jobs and fighting to stay afloat, while they go around jet setting playing golf.

I understand that this is their job, but they also must be sensible to the situation of ailing Americans, and they are not.  They think that by honoring common criminals with tee times or pandering to a sector of the population based on false narratives and innuendos, it takes care of everything.

The United States Golf Association has also decided to hold their annual national tournament in another State that has been ravaged by the pandemic and are facing the same restrictions as those of the people in California. 

The USGA is playing the tournament in the State of New York of all places.  Thousands of New Yorkers have died due to the pandemic, mostly because of the governor’s failure to act properly, and people have not been able to resume their lives with some type of normalcy.  I also contacted the USGA for comment, but they did not answer my email.

What are these people thinking?  These professional organizations are completely disconnected from the reality facing America and they have chosen to go on.  The PGA Tour wanted to be the “first” sport to come back and they did, but their return has been driven by sponsor’s money and television deals.

As a golf enthusiast and player, I will remember this season as the “Season of Disconnect” by the PGA Tour.

The PGA Tour was the first, but their disregard for fellow Americans makes them last in my book.

The Not So Open United States Open Golf Championship

Not “Open” for Joe Q. Public Photo courtesy of USGA.com

The USGA has decided to host the 120th United States Open at Winged Foot Golf Club from September 17-20, 2020.

Today, they announced their exemption categories with some interesting changes to include one that will qualify certain players who otherwise would have not qualified.  Phil Mickelson comes to mind, who is currently #66 in the World Golf Rankings and is not qualified to play the tournament. 

The USGA knows better, so they changed the exemption from the usual top 60 to 70.  I believe this was done to bring back Phil Mickelson to Winged Foot where he lost the opportunity at the 2006 U.S. Open title to eventual winner Geoff Ogilvy.

Is this fair?  Not by a long shot.  This is typical USGA money grubbing market value garbage.

What makes the United States Open Championship an “Open” championship is that is supposed to be opened for qualification to anyone who wishes to qualify if they meet the minimum requirements.  Otherwise is nothing more than a tournament full of professionals and elite amateur players. 

This was the rationale given by the USGA, which is poppycock. 

“The decision to cancel local and final qualifying for this year’s U.S. Open was deeply disappointing, but we are pleased to still provide the world’s best professional and amateur players the opportunity to compete for this historic and coveted championship,” said John Bodenhamer, senior managing director, Championships”.

“The exemption categories for this year’s championship at Winged Foot Golf Club were carefully developed to mirror a representative U.S. Open field, and we are excited that players will still have an opportunity to earn a place in the field through a variety of categories.”

“A representative U.S. Open field”; is he kidding?  This is nothing more than a PGA Tour event on steroids.  A U.S. Open without local qualifiers is not an “Open Championship”.  This is garbage and should be called out for exactly that.

Let us go back to the Phil Mickelson conundrum.  Mickelson is currently #66 in the official World Golf Rankings as of the cutoff date of March 15, 2020.  The USGA did not have to change this exemption category, but they did, in my opinion, to accommodate a player who would not have qualified otherwise.  Were they afraid Mickelson would not accept a special exemption invitation?  What if he didn’t?  He did not earn the spot, is that simple.

Therefore, I am not a member of the USGA and will never be.  I refuse to give my money to an organization who claims to care about the game, but instead is all about the money.

The USGA should have done the right thing and cancel the tournament until that time in which “Joe Q. Public” could locally qualify for the tournament.  This is the spirit of an “Open Championship”.

The Open Championship, a.k.a. The British Open, understood this and the Royal & Ancient made the right decision by cancelling the tournament.

Once again, the USGA has made a bogey when they could have made an Ace.

https://www.usopen.com/content/us-open/2020/articles/exemptions-for-2020-u-s–open.html

The PGA Tour wanted to be the First

Golf Professional Nick Watney Photo courtesy of Titleist.com

It was bound to happen, and it happened without fans.  The first PGA Tour professional to test positive for the Wuhan Corona Virus.

Golf Professional Nick Watney tested positive on Friday for the Wuhan Corona Virus and had to withdraw from the tournament.  Thankfully, he is feeling relatively well and has self-quarantined in accordance with “CDC Guidelines”.

Having said all that, I do not get how he tested positive on Friday after testing negative upon arrival to Harbor Town.  The virus has a 14-day incubation period which means Watney was either already positive, and the test was faulty, or the Tour dropped the ball royally and now are trying to cover their tracks. 

If I am going by the science, I will have to say the Tour screwed up.  Otherwise, there is no way Watney could test positive in just a couple of days.  I will leave that to the so-called experts, but it should be mentioned these testing kits are not 100% accurate.

I am also curious as to why the Tour disclosed the identity of the player and if this is in violation of HIPAA Privacy Rules.

https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/privacy/index.html

For months the PGA Tour, and their television and radio pundits, have been bragging about been the first ones to come back to action after the interruption caused by the Wuhan Corona Virus.  Well, they got their wish.  Not only they were the first professional tour to come back but got the first positive.

All along the Tour and Commissioner Jay Monahan were reassuring the public, but some things cannot be controlled, and this is one of them.  It was bound to happen, and it will happen again and again.  The virus will run its course and that is that.

What is next?  The Tour has a couple of choices.  Either continue the season knowing that it will happen again or cancel the season.  I think they should continue the season and they should allow fans back in.  Without tracing chips and with tons of common-sense practices.

The Wuhan Corona Virus may become a part of our lives, like the seasonal flu, and that is something the Tour is going to have to grapple with and decide. 

Congratulations PGA Tour, you won this Championship.

Nick Watney is first on PGA Tour to test positive for coronavirus
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