The Golf Thread

[Molehill]

The funny thing is, I think Koepka would go back to the PGA Tour if he could. And if the PGA had any sense, they'd work out a way to do that because it would kill off LIV pretty quickly if they did.

Is Koepka the best golfer at the mo? He's been the best at US Majors definitely. Three of his majors have been in NY State and there's no doubt he's suited to that kind of brutal test. Even the Masters this year played in tough conditions making the course much longer was suited to him. It's noticeable that his record at The Open has been less impressive (4 Top 10's is still good but he's never really threatened to win it yet). The trouble is, his style of golf is just not something you can get excited about. It's effective on Major style courses but it's not the most inspiring (Scheffler is somewhat similar).

Maybe he is the best golfer at the mo, doesn't make him the most watchable. Rahm, Rory, Spieth miles ahead.

 

[Anil]

Just for more perspective

Koepka’s win would ordinarily earn him a 5 year exemption on the PGA Tour and he would be virtually guaranteed a Ryder Cup spot

and who had said that he will be excluded from the ryder cup? i am fairly sure at this point that he will be in the team.

I just watched the tournament post tournament show & they all said that he’s the world’s best player

Forget about Rahm, Rory, etc

he is definitely one of the best in the world again but rahm and scheffler have been pretty great all season, rahm has won 4 times including the masters and has come close in a couple of other tournaments, scheffler has won twice including the players and has come close on 2-3 other occasions including this week so it's not so cut-and-dried...for me and purely based on results over the past few months, rahm is still the best player in the world right now, koepka and scheffler coming in a close 2nd and 3rd...

 

[social]

Why would Koepka go back to the PGA Tour when he earns much more at LIV on an easier schedule and is pre-qualified for the majors?

More likely to be a player who is frustrated at not being able to play majors because they can’t earn ranking points IMO

 

[social]

Phil doing his bit to increase US Open ratings

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1661879934300684288

 

[Shady Slim]

Phil doing his bit to increase US Open ratings

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1661879934300684288

lmao

 

[Molehill]

This is the bit about LIV that is so frustrating. If they just concentrated on playing golf (like Koepka) and stopped the incessant whinging then they'd have a lot more supporters. When they all played on the PGA Tour, how many of them would have claimed Koepka's win as part of their team? Koepka never really cared much about PGA Tour events (except Phoenix seemingly) and nothing has obviously changed for LIV. He's a single minded guy who wants to win Majors. I feel fairly certain that once the Open is done, you won't be seeing him anywhere near the top of a LIV Leaderboard till about next March.

 

[social]

Think you’ll find that most of it is a media creation

Rory was portrayed as the unofficial PGA spokesman but reality is that LIV was only a small part of virtually any interview

I am no fan of Norman the person but they only report controversial stuff he says

He gave an entirely sensible interview in Adelaide and it was hardly mentioned in golf media

Brandel Chamblee has a vested interest in bashing LIV so keeps doing it as that’s the party line

Most of the players are friendly with each other and the only remaining issue are ranking points which is driven by the PGA Tour

 

[Anil]

Chamblee is a preening, pretentious hack, a self-declared moral authority on humanity in general and golfers in particular, can't be bothered to defend him even if I agree with some of what he says regarding LIV...

 

[Molehill]

Most of the players are friendly with each other and the only remaining issue are ranking points which is driven by the PGA Tour

Yep, I know Koepka plays a lot of practice rounds in Florida with his old mates on the PGA. But then he hasn't gone out of his way to annoy his former associates, like Mickelson or Poulter etc. The likes of Reed were already disliked (probably by most of LIV too) and remain so.

The ranking points are owned by the OWGR, not the PGA (there are countless Tours included in these calculations). They set rules regarding what counts as a qualifying tournament. LIV knows what these are and could easily rectify the situation (I'm surprised the players have not requested this). Get rid of Shotgun starts would probably do it (I reckon they could get the 54 hole thing changed). It's not like the Shotgun thing is helping their viewing figures.

Will be interesting to see how the LIV guys do at The Open. Heading to Valderrama and an inland UK Course in the 2 weeks preceding doesn't strike me as the perfect prep (PGA plays the Scottish Open on a Links the week before).

 

[social]

The OWGR is controlled by the PGA Tour and there’s more than enough evidence now to suggest that it’s not particularly accurate anyway due to some scheduling anomalies (meth

Yep, I know Koepka plays a lot of practice rounds in Florida with his old mates on the PGA. But then he hasn't gone out of his way to annoy his former associates, like Mickelson or Poulter etc. The likes of Reed were already disliked (probably by most of LIV too) and remain so.

The ranking points are owned by the OWGR, not the PGA (there are countless Tours included in these calculations). They set rules regarding what counts as a qualifying tournament. LIV knows what these are and could easily rectify the situation (I'm surprised the players have not requested this). Get rid of Shotgun starts would probably do it (I reckon they could get the 54 hole thing changed). It's not like the Shotgun thing is helping their viewing figures.

Will be interesting to see how the LIV guys do at The Open. Heading to Valderrama and an inland UK Course in the 2 weeks preceding doesn't strike me as the perfect prep (PGA plays the Scottish Open on a Links the week before).

The OWGR is controlled by the PGA Tour and there’s more than enough evidence now to suggest that it’s not particularly accurate anyway due to some scheduling anomalies (methodology was changed recently and it impacts results achieved before then)

Ignoring LIV results is absolute nonsense when you consider that virtually every other professional tournament on the planet is eligible irrespective of format

I actually like the shotgun start as it ensures that everyone is playing the course in the same weather plus gives the broadcaster the opportunity to show more golf as there’s more players on the course at any given

54 holes is neither here nor there to me

Matchplay isn’t played over 72 holes so there’s no reason why stroke play should be plus there’s no cut anyway

 

[Molehill]

The OWGR is controlled by the PGA Tour and there’s more than enough evidence now to suggest that it’s not particularly accurate anyway due to some scheduling anomalies (methodology was changed recently and it impacts results achieved before then)

Ignoring LIV results is absolute nonsense when you consider that virtually every other professional tournament on the planet is eligible irrespective of format

I actually like the shotgun start as it ensures that everyone is playing the course in the same weather plus gives the broadcaster the opportunity to show more golf as there’s more players on the course at any given

54 holes is neither here nor there to me

Matchplay isn’t played over 72 holes so there’s no reason why stroke play should be plus there’s no cut anyway

54 holes makes no difference to me either (plenty of tournaments get reduced by the weather), but the Shotgun Start is a huge difference. Just look at last night's tournament on the PGA and how the 18th hole influenced the result. There had been no balls in the water all week, yet 2 of the top 3 managed to find it when the pressure was on. Now imagine if one of them played it as their say 5th hole instead of 18th and wonder if the same thing happens? It's not playing the course in a fair way.

Broadcasters have a limited amount of shots they can show due to the time taken to actually make them. More golfers on the course actually reduces the amount of key shots that can be seen. Now I would add that the US TV coverage is generally abysmal anyway, but that's uncontrollable and certainly wouldn't change by what Tour it's showing.

The other issue LIV have when trying to get their tournaments ranked is that basically the same 48 guys are playing each other every week. There's between 120 and 160 on the PGA Tours and they differ week in week out. Golf throws up freakish results all the time as players get hot for a week (see Grillo's putter for example this week). It's far easier to beat a 48 man field than a 150 no matter what the perceived quality of it.

 

[social]

Good win for Hovland who is playing as well as anyone this year

Rory’s chipping is as good as Scott’s putting these days

 

[Anil]

Glad an elite player won this weekend! Also Rose Zhang, what a spectacular pro debut!

 

[Molehill]

Good win for Hovland who is playing as well as anyone this year

Rory’s chipping is as good as Scott’s putting these days

Really chuffed for Hovland, one of golf's good guys, deserved a big one.

Did you watch on Saturday? Rory's chipping was the only thing keeping him in it (and he holed another good one last night). His issue is his wedge and iron play. He seems to have lost his distance control. He got away with it in the 3rd round because he managed to miss in the right places, but in the 4th he left himself in impossible places where you couldn't chip to inside 15ft.

Also worth noting Scheffler, if that boy could putt he'd have won this by about 10. Best in the field tee to green by a huge margin, worst in the field with the putter. If the US Open is a tough test that makes putting less essential he could win it by a mile.

As for Rose Zhang, I think we're about to see Tiger like domination in the women's game. The fact that they're both Stanford alumni is probably no coincidence.

 

[Molehill]

And one more point regarding Hovland, is he out on the lash today celebrating the biggest win of his career? Or is he caddying for his old College Room Mate in US Open Qualifying???

 

[Anil]

Did you watch on Saturday? Rory's chipping was the only thing keeping him in it (and he holed another good one last night). His issue is his wedge and iron play. He seems to have lost his distance control.

Yep, this was exactly it for Rory at Memorial..

 

[social]

And one more point regarding Hovland, is he out on the lash today celebrating the biggest win of his career? Or is he caddying for his old College Room Mate in US Open Qualifying???

I know what you’re referring to but those guys are rarely on the lash anyway

Times have changed

 

[Molehill]

I know what you’re referring to but those guys are rarely on the lash anyway

Times have changed

Tell that to Shane Lowry. You'd think he might celebrate it a bit, but credit to him for honouring his agreement with his old buddy.

Also, I love the fact he won the tournament despite only hitting the front after he'd finished. I think Golf is the only sport you could win something despite never leading (or even being level) at any point whilst playing.

 

[Aidan11]

Sky Sports News saying PGA Tour, DP World Tour & LIV Golf to merge under one common ownership.

 

[honestbharani]

Sky Sports News saying PGA Tour, DP World Tour & LIV Golf to merge under one common ownership.

The Saudi Prince's?