Kickstarter Or Something ASAP: The Duf Plaque at Oak Hill

"Positively frightening" is how Alex Myers put it at GolfDigest.com and who is going to argue with that assessment of Jason Dufner's Oak Hill plaque commemorating his 2013 PGA win.

To put it another way, you know it's bad when the person who the plaque is based on Instagram's a photo of himself with a Lord Of The Rings character.

Reader Charlie saw the Myers item and suggested that we need to do something. While normally I would say that there are bigger issues in the world--Syrian refugees, Biblical South Carolina storms, Oak Hill calling itself a Donald Ross design--the sheer horror of this plaque requires immediate and bold action.

Look, I'm a lover of golf history. Not depicting things accurately bothers me, but this calls for special measures. After all, Duf has shed a few pounds, cleaned up his look, and definitely does not resemble Laura Davies with dark hair (as the artist apparently thought).

Charlie's rallying cry: Dat Ain't Duf!

The post from Dufner his ownself:

When your course record plaque has a not so flattering similarity to a fictional movie caricature. #bilbo #hobbit #igotsmallears #nohairyfeettho #shirelife

A photo posted by Jason Dufner (@j_duf142411) on Oct 5, 2015 at 6:19pm PDT

Video And Poll: Who Is Your 2013 World Player Of The Year?

We discussed the player of the year on the Grey Goose 19th Hole and I was outvoted 2-1 with Mssrs. Fay and Feinstein picking Adam Scott on the strength of his great run in Australia. While I admire all things Australia, those wins weren't enough to catapult Scott above Phil Mickelson's win at The Open as the defining victory of the season. Throw in his Scottish Open win and near-miss at the U.S. Open, and Phil got my vote.

But what an incredible year it was to have four players with such stellar resumes. A case could be made for each, which brings me to the ultimate tiebreaker: who was the Champion Golfer of the Year (winner of The Open)?

Here's our discussion:

Cast your vote here:

Who is the 2013 world player of the year?
	Mickelson
	Scott
	Stenson
	Woods
pollcode.com free polls

PGA Prez On USGA News: "It’s just not the right way to do things.”

I linked it yesterday, but bless Ed Sherman for transcribing other key parts of Ted Bishop's interview with Matt Adams for us scribblers who like our quotes in writing.

You can listen to the show here, but note what Bishop said about announcements in the window of big events, strongly denying any relationship between the Golfweek story on Bethpage and the U.S. Amateur, whether there's bad blood between the organizations, and other stuff. Tip of the cap to Adams for strong questions, too.

Adams:  “Is there an unspoken rule among golf governing bodies that when they have an event going on that is so important that you kind of leave it alone?”

Bishop:  “Well obviously there’s not. (laughs)  There’s not at least within the circles of one of golf’s governing bodies.  But I don’t think that anybody would have made that announcement during the Masters.  I don’t think the USGA would have made that announcement during the Open Championship, and I can unequivocally tell you that the PGA of America would not make any kind of a major announcement that would upstage any one of our major championship partners, nor the PGA TOUR.  It’s just not the right way to do things.”

Now, in the defense of some of these groups, golf has very few windows to announce news. Still, as I outlined here thanks to Adam Schupak's reporting, the dates for the bid process were long set to wrap up during PGA week. The USGA long knew it would reach this decision and announce during the PGA Championship. Low, low class stuff.

Video: Dufner Waggle Supercut & A Past Story

Thanks to reader Charlie for nice retro link on PGA Champion Jason Dufner from Jim McCabe.

The story first appeared on Golfweek.com in April, 2012, and documents Dufner's rise from obscurity to burgeoning talent on the PGA Tour following his playoff loss at Atlanta Athletic Club.

How Dufner even got his foot into the PGA Tour door speaks volumes for the man’s commitment to his craft. No hand-outs, no slew of tournament exemptions, just an old-fashioned determination.

Having graduated in the spring of 2000, Dufner played the Golden Bear Tour that summer and fall and was going to do likewise in 2001 when he decided to do a Monday qualifier for a Nationwide Tournament in Hershey, Penn.

He finished T-12, which got him into the next week’s tournament in Wichita and when Dufner edged out David Gossett, Todd Rose, and Jeff Gove for that victory, he was at least in the PGA Tour family. For the rest of ‘01 and all of the next two years, Dufner toiled in the minors, then he had a forgettable 2004 season on the PGA Tour. Back on the Nationwide Tour for two seasons, Dufner continued to improve and when he finished eight on the money list in 2006, he earned a return to the PGA Tour.

He’s never looked back, but mostly because that’s his nature. He prefers to keep the focus on now and how that can take him forward.

Michael David Murphy pieces another super cut together, this time of Dufner's waggles. And while that may seem silly, it's fun to see how he varies them in his routine, each time only pulling the trigger until he's settled in as opposed to having a rigid pre-shot routine.


The video:

Update on Wednesday, August 14, 2013 at 11:34 AM by Geoff

**Thanks to reader Rob for Dufner's appearance on Howard Stern.

'13 PGA Final Round Ratings Up 13%

Last year the London Olympics were on the other network. But Time Warner customers in Dallas, New York and Los Angeles were out of the equation this year.

For Immediate Release:

CBS SPORTS’ RATINGS RISE 19% FOR WEEKEND COVERAGE OF 2013 PGA CHAMPIONSHIP
 
Final Round Earns Increase of 13% in Metered Markets

CBS Sports’ weekend coverage of the 2013 PGA Championship on Saturday, Aug. 10 and Sunday, Aug. 11, which Jason Dufner won his first career major title, saw ratings rise 19% earning a two-day average overnight household rating/share in the metered markets of 3.7/9, up from last year’s 3.1/7; and up 6% from a 3.5/8 (2011) in the metered markets.
 
CBS Sports’ final-round coverage earned an overnight household rating/share of 4.4/10, up 13% from last year’s 3.9/8; and up 2% from 4.3/9 in 2011.

Final-round coverage on the CBS Television Network peaked with a rating/share of 6.0/12 between 7:00-7:15 PM, ET.

CBS Sports' third-round coverage of the 2013 PGA Championship on Saturday, Aug. 10 earned an overnight household rating/share in the metered markets of 3.0/8, up +30% from last year’s coverage which earned a 2.3/5; and up +15% compared to a 2.6/6 in 2011.

Quick Roundup: Dufner Wins The 2013 PGA

Doug Ferguson's game story on Jason Dufner's workmanlike 2013 PGA Championship win at Oak Hill.

Dufner can't think of any other athlete who plays with so little emotion.

"But those sports are a little more exciting - big plays in basketball, home runs in baseball, big plays in football. That will get you pumped up," he said. "For me, golf is a little bit more boring. I hit it in the fairway or I didn't. Usually I'm struggling with the putter, so there's not too much to get excited about with that."

His name on the Wanamaker Trophy?

That was worth a smile.

"Nobody can take that away from me," Dufner said after he closed with a 2-under 68 for a two-shot win over Furyk. "It's a great accomplishment for me, and I'm really excited about it."

Fun stuff from golf.com's Cameron Morfit on Dufner:

Among Dufner’s most prized possessions is a signed, framed photograph of Hogan that his wife gave him for a wedding present. Dufner has been fascinated by excellence ever since he was a teenager following Vijay Singh around the course as a standard-bearer at the Honda Classic. Who succeeds? Who doesn’t? And why? For Dufner, the difference has been not just working with instructor Chuck Cook but also using visualization techniques he found in a small book about Russian weightlifters.

This is pretty classy all the way around.

From David Dusek's Golfweek.com wrap on the win that's also accompanied by a swell Getty Image:

He and his wife, Amanda, recently purchased 50 acres of land and are in the process of building a home. They were given an oak tree sapling by the general manager of Oak Hill Country Club and plan to plant it, along with several acorns they’ve collected this week, on their property.

“It will be a neat experience, the first major championship at Oak Hill and hopefully having some of their oak trees out there on the property,” Dufner said.

GolfChannel.com with a nice roundup of the Twittersphere reaction.

What's in Dufner's bag, courtesy of PGATour.com.

The official highlights.



Dufner's post-round interview:

Update on Monday, August 12, 2013 at 08:26 AM by Geoff

**Gene Wojciechowski has some nice behind-the-scenes stuff from Sunday and this:

If Dufner saw the ghosts of 2011, you'd never know it. He'd be great at impersonating someone in a coma. Only twice Sunday -- when he left a birdie putt short on the par-5 13th, and when he had to do one more photo op -- did you know he even had a pulse.

But the memory of that blown lead in Atlanta served its purpose. According to Amanda, who held a tin of dip for her husband as he finished up his postround winner duties, the 2011 PGA loss "was really important. I think it helped make him the golfer he is today."

Tim Rosaforte's Golf Channel sitdown Sunday night with Dufner.

Overton's Takes To Twitter To Highlight (Well, Complain Vigorously About...) PGA Special Exemptions

An unbylined AP story on Jeff Overton, first alternate in the PGA Championship, reveals the since-deleted Tweets railing against the PGA of America for exempting questionable invitations that went largely uncriticized.

Overton has a point since he plays the PGA Tour, is a former Ryder Cupper and lost out to some European (Challenge) Tour players and Ryo Ishikawa, who is behind Overton in the world rankings. I'm not sure about the money making part, but the overall point is a fair one.

One tweet mentioned the PGA Championship had two sponsor's invitations. "Who did you give your invites to? Not the guy that helped make you 50 million in Wales," he tweeted.

He followed that with two more shots at the PGA of America.

- "(at)PGAChampionship I'm just saying. Ill play ur political picks whenever for wherever."

- "So. In other words u help make a corporation 50 to 100 million dollars. 3 years later they put u on a chair n treat u like a piece of ..."

Overton eventually deleted the series of tweets.

Adam Scott And Jason Day Tie For Best '13 Majors Combined Score

But safe to say Scott wins the tiebreaker with his Masters win.

Still, an impressive feat for the two Aussies. Brian Wacker reports.

Tiger: "Is it concerning? No."

Yes it's been five years and Steve DiMeglio shares some disconcerting numbers about Tiger's weekends in the majors, but I still think the overanalysis will be a tad excessive in the coming weeks. Most will disagree.

But for now, here's Tiger's assessment of his 2013 in majors. From DiMeglio's USA Today story:

"Is it concerning?" a dejected Woods said when asked about not winning a major in more than five years. "No. I've been there in half of them. So that's about right. If you are going to be in there three-quarters or half of them with a chance to win on the back nine, you have just got to get it done.

"I was right there and certainly had a chance to win the Masters and the British this year. The other two, I just didn't hit it good enough. Just the way it goes."

For the year, he broke 70 once in 16 rounds of majors and hasn't broken 70 in 16 consecutive weekend rounds in majors. Putting woes have been his major nemesis in the last two rounds of majors for some time. This week, however, he fought his swing, saying his takeaway was a fraction off.

The firm of Lerner, Chamblee, Nobilo and Montgomerie broke down Tiger's week on Live From.

Furyk: "They pinched the fairways down. Everyone was playing from the same spots."

2013 PGA runner-up Jim Furyk unintentionally and innocently said something that I find to be an indictment of the Oak Hill setup which, as we know now, is merely in response to distances overwhelming architecture due to regulatory complacency of the USGA and R&A.

You get four pops a year; this golf course set up very well for my game.  I love the golf course.  I played pretty well the last time here.  I was excited to come in.  They pinched the fairways down.  Everyone was playing from the same spots.  It's set up very well for someone like Jason or I for our game.

Furyk and Dufner hit more fairways and deserved to separate themselves from the rest, but he's also admitting that the course negated an advantage someone might have for being able to use distance and accuracy to their advantage.

Again, that's not the fault of Oak Hill or even the PGA's Kerry Haigh who want to keep things sane.  This imbalance is the fault of the USGA and R&A for not protecting the role of skill and the meaning of architecture.

What Are We Going To Do About The Post Tee Shot Yelling?

One of the big takeaways from the 2013 PGA: what are we going to do about the yahoos who yell after a tee shot. I think the Rochester crowd--which was otherwise amazing in their passion, attendance and cordiality--took the post tee shot obnoxious scream to a new level.

Luke Kerr-Dineen reports and posts a GIF of Jim Furyk's reaction to one yell.

Since the start of the tournament fans have been yelling everything from the old standbys to" Chewbacca," "Baba booey" and "mashed potatoes."

Ian Poulter was one of the many who took issue with it on Twitter, writing: "This baba boo sh-- & mash potato crap shouting wouldn't happen at Augusta, The Open, nor would it happen at Wimbledon. Tazer the thrushes." Things even got so bad at that after Furyk hit his drive on 16, he turned around to the crowd, pointed, and looked to tell them something that didn't exactly appear to be a stamp of approval.

Poulter's epic Tweet, in case you missed it: 

This baba boo shit & mash potato crap shouting wouldn't happen at Augusta, The Open, nor would it happen at Wimbledon. Tazer the thrushes.

— Ian Poulter (@IanJamesPoulter) August 11, 2013

So what is golf to do? Ejections? Tazer the thrushes? What? Because this has to be dealt with as it's a turn-off to anyone with a pulse.

Update on Sunday, August 11, 2013 at 08:51 PM by Geoff

**I should have known that the "Baba Boey!" comes from a Howard Stern type, as Mike Walker explains.

USGA: Timing Of Fox Sports TV Deal "was consistent with good organizational practice"

The USGA appears to be working feverishly while quietly punching back throughout the weekend nights, trying to penetrate the (mostly) negative coverage of their despicable (but completely planned) decision on a new 12-year television contract in the middle of the PGA Championship.

Out of respect for the PGA of America, I'm not going to address some of the big picture issues related to the sport as revealed in this Ron Sirak story until tomorrow.  But for giggle purposes, this corporatespeak from USGA flak Joe Goode is right out of the Bank of America playbook and should brighten your Monday.

(Before you read how the money people have kidnapped and tied up the golf people at Far Hills, I remind you that the USGA is a non-profit organization running a few golf tournaments...err...championships...shaping the rules of a game, and doing some nice turfgrass research when the Executive Committee isn't chopping away at that research budget.)

From Sirak's story:

"The timing of our announcement was consistent with good organizational practice, a commitment to transparency, and involved a national governance organization and several large media companies whose stocks are traded publicly and applicable to disclosure laws and requirements," USGA spokesman Joe Goode said in a statement.

"The USGA and FOX Sports Media Group promptly made public our agreement, just as we made other applicable news throughout the day public," Goode said. "It would not have been proper, nor realistic, to withhold this news from the public in these circumstances."

As we learned in Adam Schupak's story, the USGA structured the timing of their decision to coincide with the PGA, so right off the bat they were going to be un-gentlemanly unless the 15-person committee that voted decided to sit on the news.

So again, this means the USGA Executive Committee could not be trusted to keep a secret.