Category: PGA Tour

PGA Tour: Heckling is Here to Stay

“Please, stop yelling Brooksy” Photo courtesy of Skysports.com

The PGA Tour has enjoyed very much privilege since the Covid-19 pandemic started.  As people were mandated to stay at home, the PGA Tour was busy running tournaments while padding themselves in the back.  They bragged about been the first sport to come back while American families were suffering.

The PGA Tour didn’t care, and they had individuals at PGA Tour Radio and The Golf Channel carry their dirty water.  As a golf fan, and a player, I have pretty much written out Jay Monahan and the Tour for their hypocritical stance on many issues, from race to the state of the game.

Watching golf has been painful in the last two years. I didn’t miss much the fan experience, not having to hear “Mash Potatoes” or “Get in the Hole” was refreshing.  Once the fans returned, I knew exactly what to expect. 

I always thought the Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau rivalry was cool and interesting.  I don’t know what the Tour thought it was going to happen once the fans were allowed back in.  You have fans who love Koepka, like me, and you have those who love DeChambeau.  It was only natural that fan heckling was going to be part of the rivalry.

It is obvious Koepka has managed this drama much better while DeChambeau has melted down on national television and stormed press conferences. 

Some commentators, like Michael Collins of ESPN.com, are going as far as blaming the fans for DeChambeau state of mind.  Is he serious?  If DeChambeau can’t handle a few fans yelling “Brooksy” perhaps he needs to find another line of work.

Heckling has been part of sports, and golf, for a long time, dating back to WW2.  Sam Snead was heckled at the 1942 PGA Championship while playing against Jim Turnesa.  The reason behind it was the fact that Turnesa had enlisted in the United States Army and fans didn’t know Snead had enlisted with the United States Navy. 

Tournament marshals could not control it and Snead ended up telling the marshals to ignore it and allow the fans to say whatever they wanted to say.  Many of the hecklers were soldiers stationed at Ft. Dix and they were cheering for the Army guy, Jim Turnesa.

At the end of the day, the PGA Tour has brought this upon themselves.  This is the price of growing the game and now Jay Monahan wants to put the genie back inside the bottle by telling fans they will be ejected from events if the yell “Brooksy”.

I’m all about decorum on the golf course but yelling someone’s name is not heckling and I think is ridiculous to suggest a player can get rattle by such a thing.  Or maybe they are that fragile, who knows. I guess DeChambeau is too mentally fragile to handle it and needs Monahan to justify and Monday morning quarterback his behavior.

Excuse me PGA Tour, we have young men and women dying in Afghanistan, so forgive me if I can’t feel sorry for a professional golfer who can’t handle a little bit of heat.

On Tuesday’s press conference, before the Tour Championship, Monahan was even more ridiculous.  He goes on to suggest that fans were acting that way because of Covid-19.  He says fans are “frustrated” and have “brought extra and unwelcomed energy to tournaments”.

No way!  Fans are acting the same way they did before Covid.  The problem with Monahan is this time is affecting the PGA Tour’s bottom line, meaning revenues.  DeChambeau is a star and when your star doesn’t want to talk to the press, well, it becomes a problem.

Heckling is part of the game, and it will be part of the game for years to come.  Thankfully the PGA Tour has nothing to do with the Ryder Cup because the heckling is going to be loud and clear at Whistling Straits.

I agree, fans who are disrespectful need to be dealt with immediately.  That type of behavior should not be tolerated at any level, but who determines that is another thing.

Finally, I do have several questions for the Commissioner.  Who’s going to enforce this policy?  The eighty-year-old volunteer?  Are they willing to kick out every fan who says something stupid?  Good luck with that. 

As long as they keep selling alcohol at these events, and not some suggested Covid induced rage, they will always have alcohol induced behavior, is inevitable. 

I don’t dislike DeChambeau, but it appears he needs to book a couple of sessions with Dr. Rotella.

Clown of the Week: Golf Channel’s Rich Lerner

Clown of the Week: Golf Channel’s Commentator Rich Lerner

Rich Lerner has earned the Clown of the Week award for questioning professional golfer Bryson DeChambeau’s stance on the Covid-19 vaccines.

Mr. Lerner was absolutely wrong in suggesting fans were against DeChambeau because of his thoughts about the Covid-19 vaccines and his decision not to take it until further testing were conducted. Mr. Lerner alluded to this during the broadcast of the BMW Championship final round.

As a matter of fact, DeChambeau is not the only American who feels this way. Many Americans have decided not to indulge on a vaccine which has not been properly tested. Perhaps Mr. Lerner should hangout a bit more with real Americans instead of elite athletes and Hollywood types.

You can read more on DeChambeau’s position and his statement on this article by Townhall.

https://townhall.com/columnists/douglasmackinnon/2021/08/29/in-defense-of-bryson-dechambeau-and-his-choice-regarding-the-covid-vaccine-n2594935

Bonehead of the Week: Columbus Dispatch Opinion Writer, Rob Oller

“I’m not a doctor, but I play one for the Columbus Dispatch” Rob Oller, Photo courtesy of buckeye.com

Rob Oller wrote an opinion column for the Columbus Dispatch stating Professional Golfer Jon Rahm lost a $1.6 million dollar paycheck because he wasn’t vaccinated against Covid-19.

First, it wasn’t a guaranteed Rahm was going to be the winner on Sunday, despite his 6 stroke lead going into the final round.

Second, there’s no medical evidence that will suggest Rahm wasn’t going to produce a positive test if he was vaccinated. To say otherwise, like Mr. Oller suggests, is a lie and misinformation. There have been many cases of Covid-19 positives despite the fact the individuals were vaccinated.

Many people haven’t been vaccinated for all sort of medical reasons, but that’s something to be discuss between a patient and his or her doctor.

Mr. Oller is not a doctor, and epidemiologist, nor an expert on infectious diseases. He doesn’t know what Jon Rahm discussed with his doctor regarding the vaccine.

It has been reported that he received the first shot once he found out he became in a contact with an individual who tested positive. As with any vaccine, they are not a guarantee nor a cure.

Mr. Oller gave his uniformed “opinion” and as the say goes; opinions are like (fill in the blank), everyone has one. For that Oller gets “The Bonehead of the Week” award.

The Not So “Memorable” 2021 The Memorial Golf Tournament

(Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images)

Once again, the PGA Tour sticks their head up their rear end.  This time by making Jon Rahm withdraw from The Memorial Tournament due to a positive Covid-19 test.

In a week when emails from Anthony Fauci surfaced putting into question the handling of the pandemic and the truth behind its origins, you would think the PGA Tour would have used a commonsense approach when addressing this issue.

After all, the fans are back, and who knows how many of those walking around, without masks and any type of social distancing, were positive themselves.  There’s common knowledge Covid-19 testing is spotty at best and unreliable at worst.

Rahm was leading the tournament by 6 shots, a tournament record for a 54-shot leader.  At the start of the week, Rahm was advised by the Tour that he became in contact with a person who was Covid positive and therefore he was subject to contact-tracing protocols.

According to the Tour, Rahm tested negative all week, but a recent test, conducted after the end of the second round, had come back positive.  Mind you, Rahm was still playing and was asymptomatic.

If this was such a big deal, to the point of withdrawal; why was Rahm not notified immediately and removed from the golf course, along with his two playing partners? 

The Tour medical adviser requested a second test from the original test which came back positive.  Knowing the importance of the situation the Tour medical adviser should have requested a second sample from Rahm.  It has been proven, time and time again, Covid testing is not 100% reliable.

Instead, the Tour waited until Rahm completed his round to notify him of his misfortune.  Unfortunately, the tour continues to implement some ridiculous protocols and Rahm had no choice but to withdraw from the tournament.

This is sickening to the core.  Not only has the CDC and Anthony Fauci been wrong all along about Covid-19, but if the tour was really that serious about it, they should have not allowed fans back into its venues.  It is all about the money for Jay Monahan folks. 

What about his four playing partners, Scheffler, Cantlay, Morikawa, and Schauffele?  The PGA Tour cleared them to play, but they do not tell you why or under which protocols they were cleared.  Again, if the Tour was that serious about it, the other four players should have been removed and quarantined.

My biggest disappointment comes for the tournament host, Jack Nicklaus.  Nicklaus should have been more vocal about it and intervened on behalf of Jon Rahm.  Instead, he just gave some empty words of encouragement and moved on with business as usual.

Regardless of who wins this tournament, to me, and many fans, the champion will not be a legitimate champion.  This was poorly handled, and my heart goes out to Jon Rahm.

The PGA Tour has become a sport product not worth buying. 

This Memorial Tournament will not be a memorable one and for a good reason.

Should Professional Golfers receive Special Exemptions into the Major Championships?

The Masters, U.S. Open, The Open Championship, & The PGA Championship Trophies

Absolutely not!

Making the field in a Major Championship is earned, is not a “gimmie”.  The Major Championships are the Mount Everest of golf.  Players spend hours training and working hard on their games to reach the world ranking necessary to qualify for these tournaments.

Through the years, Championship Committees have given special exemptions to players for all kind of reasons.  Do I think is right?  No, I do not.  I have never been a fan of special exemptions.  I think it cheapens the tournament and is a slap on the face of players who worked hard to earn the spot.

Enter Rickie Fowler.  Fowler received an exemption by the PGA of America to play the 2021 PGA Championship.

Fowler has been off his game for quite some time.  He missed The Masters and did not qualified for the PGA Championship.  Do not ask me why the PGA of America gave Fowler an exemption, other than they used some obscure category; been a member of the 2018 Ryder Cup team.  2018?  Are they serious?

They also gave an exemption to American John Catlin who has been playing in the European Tour.  In my opinion, Catlin was more deserving than Fowler.  For one thing, Catlin has won once this season in the European Tour while Fowler had 0 Top 10’s in 17 starts this season on the PGA Tour. 

Fowler has been pretty much an afterthought this season in every single tournament he has participated.  Sure, he seems like a nice guy, but personality does not win tournaments. 

Listening to PGA Tour Radio commentators insisting Fowler “deserved” the exemption was laughable. Based on what? Because he’s a social media sensation? If that’s the new standard, heck, Tony Romo should be given full exempt status on the tour. Be serious, please.

Well, at least Fowler did not embarrass the PGA of America.  He made the cut, and registered a T-8, sneaking into the top 10 for the first time in quite some time.  Perhaps Fowler still be able to buy himself a good game this year.  He can sell you a cheap mortgage, but his game needs some serious refinancing.

In my opinion, the PGA of America got this one wrong. 

You want to play in a Major Championship?  Earn it!