Shriners Hospitals for Children final leaderboard here
" Did you hear about the cut over in America ?... Yes I did, 7 under par.. what a joke "
These words from the veteran broadcast crew at the BMWPGA Championship at Wentworth's west course where Tyrrell Hatton won with 66 67 69 67 -19.. The cut fell at E par.
At TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas in perfect weather Ted Potter Jr shot 71, 65 and missed the cut by a shot, Scott Harrington 63,73 missed on the number.. That is a joke.
Pro golfers are remarkably talented. Millions of us play the game, 500 or so men around the world are good enough to make a great living as pros. Martin Laird is one of them, a Scot who lives in Florida, hasn't won in seven years, but grinds it out week in and out with various degrees of status and shot 65 63 65 68 -23 and survive a 3 man playoff to hit the Vegas jackpot on Sunday. No problem, he had to play very well, make putts, hit the shots better than the other 156 players and the score of -23 is around the norm for this event.
Here's my problem, and I admit I am a veteran Scot, steeped in the tenets of the game my father, my country of birth instilled in me.
Christie O'Connor the legendary Irishman was surveying the first hole at St Andrews in the 1960 Open, with the rain pelting the brim of his cap, the wind cutting in from the North Sea. He turned to his poor caddie, about to be soaked to the skin for the next 4 hours, "Let me sign right now for 3 over, and we'll go a watch from the bar and be on top by the end of the day!"
Golf has par 3's, 4's and 5's for a reason. The par 5's are supposed to need a helluva' drive and then another helluva' 3 wood to reach in 2 shots. This week at TPC Summerlin and at many other PGA Tour courses, average players were hitting driver, 7 iron and less ... That is a joke.
Players were driving or nearly driving the short par 4's, DeChambeau drove one with a long iron... That is a joke...
What Bryson DeChambeau is doing, as Matthew Fitzpatrick put so succinctly this week "is a bit of a joke, he's taking all the skill out of the game"
If you want to let this great game, with all of it's history and legendary courses reduced to a drive and a flip, with a ball that the now retired Paul Lawrie says " just goes for miles", and equipment that makes mishits a thing of the past, then you are on the right flight as things stand today.
You will also want basketball scores to end up 178-176, with no defence, nobody hustling back, You'll want the NFL scores 61-60 with passing on every down, little pass rush and your NHL team winning 9-8 with no hitting or back checking, just shinny.
The R&A and USGA issued findings of their report on distancing last February where amongst the recommendations was encouraging a restriction on equipment that was compromising the par courses were intended to be played on and the final touches on their investigation into of all of this is due in March 2021 and remember the Open is at St Andrews in 2022.
Should Mother Nature not give the Old Course the protection she needs, the course record of 61 could be obliterated. Amateurs are already driving the 18th with ease, Jack had to take off his sweater in 1971 when he was the longest on tour.
The PGA Tour has issued their statement, talking nicely about how all parties will serve the game best, being on the same page, however remember they don't set the rules, but are the driving force in the popularity of the game and are responsible for the financial well being of their members. They are heavily invested in all the companies who make the equipment, (balls, clubs) that are at issue, and the TV giants who televise it all.
We are all eagerly awaiting March for the next step in the process.
The R&A will never let the game they oversee, never mind their historic home course become a joke..
That's what I'm counting on, they really have no other choice..
Bryan Angus
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