Ryder Cup Should Be Fun: Rory On Phil & Rickie High-Fiving

The Feherty airing next Monday should be a keeper judging by this early snippet of Rory McIlroy telling David Feherty he wasn't too enamored with Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler rooting each other on at the 2014 PGA Championship.

"I was on a mission. I was chasing down Phil and Rickie, who were playing in front of us," McIlroy told the host. "They both got on a run. And I saw on the front nine they started to fist bump each other and high five each other. And that sort of annoyed me… You're both trying to win a major championship...I know I would never do it in a major. If someone started to play well, I’m trying to beat you. I’m not going to start fist bumping and high fiving you. I want to beat you."

Anyone up for a Phil/Rickie vs Rory/Anyone match?

The full clip:

Fowler Says PGA Prez Apologized For Strange Valhalla Finish

With forecasted storms and a history of having to come back the next day, the PGA of America chose not to change the late start at Valhalla and it led to a bizarre 18th hole scene.

Rickie Fowler and Phil Mickelson reluctantly waved up Rory McIlroy, who was spared having to stand on the 18th tee or worse, come back the next day to finish off his win. Rex Hoggard reports that PGA of America president Ted Bishop has apologized to Fowler about how things went down and has exchanged text messages with Phil Mickelson.

“We were fine with them hitting their tee balls up, but we were not in a position where we were going to let them hit their approach shots,” Fowler said. “Will it ever happen again in a major championship? No.”

Video: 2014 PGA Championship Final Round "Quad Supercut"

Michael David Murphy's supercuts of major final rounds are always revealing, but this one combining McIlroy, Fowler, Mickelson and Stenson is mind-blowing. How he came up with this I have no idea but it's fascinating viewing. And btw, nice consistency on the overlay of first tee announcer Derek Sprague's calls.

You can follow Michael here.

The video:

Bubba Apology Tour Kicks Off In New Jersey, Future Dates TBA

He's seen the light! He's on a mission...to repair the damage. And the beauty of Bubba Watson? For all of his peculiar ways and sometimes pathetic ranting, he does good apology!

Steve DiMeglio with Bubba running through the list of mistakes he made at the PGA Championship, starting with the Long Drive championship pouting, and ending with his effort to clear the air.

"Then you look at it from my attitude on the golf course. Because I want something so bad, that's not the reason to do that. You still just bite your tongue and compete at a high level, don't show emotion, and I take it overboard because I want something so bad. I want to be considered a great player. I want to win golf tournaments and I've got to learn on that.

" … And then my language was not good. That's a different topic, and childish again. It's all childish stuff and I'm trying to mature and become a better man. I take it on the chin. It was my fault. Everything's my fault and I should be bigger and stronger and better than that."

Tringale DQ's Self Week After PGA, Forfeits $53,000

Bob Harig reports on the rather remarkable act of sportsmanship by Cameron Tringale, who felt he may have broken a rule at the PGA and called in to report himself a week after the championship.

Ryder Cup standings would not have been impacted by his DQ.

"We are very appreciative of Cameron coming forward to inform us of this situation," said Kerry Haigh, chief championships officer of the PGA. "It again shows the great values and traditions of the game and the honesty and integrity of its competitors."

Rickie Fowler (-32) Wins Majors In Aggregate Scoring

Continuing the final major mop up, Doug Ferguson wrote that the PGA Championship salvaged the major season in the excitement department after the first three delivered resounding and deserving winners.

Kyle Porter featured the list of best scores in the majors of the 13 golfers who made the cut in all four. Not only did Rickie Fowler win at a staggering 32-under in the majors, but look at the separation he had from the last place finisher of the elite list.

Looking beyond the main numbers, Alex Myers notes this among other factoids.

With an aggregate score of 1,108 in the four events, Fowler matched Mickelson's total from 2001. Remarkably, the two are tied for the third-best combined score in major championship history and yet neither player took home one of golf's most coveted titles during those seasons.

CBS Shows All Of Phil & More Shots Than The Other Networks

Jeff Hager of Classic TV Sports broke down the shots shown by CBS during the PGA Championship as he does for all of the majors and reveals that all of Phil Mickelson’s shots were shown, while five of eventual winner Rory McIlroy’s were not.

Before the chart showing how many shots each player had shown, Hager writes:

CBS showed all but 5 strokes by winner Rory McIlroy, skipping some tap-in putts. CBS televised all 66 shots by runner-up Phil Mickelson. Playing partner Rickie Fowler got air time for all but 2 swings. With several players in contention early in the round, CBS spread its coverage out. But once the eventual top 4 finishers created separation from the field, CBS focused almost exclusively on that quartet including Henrik Stenson who was seen for 52 strokes. Ernie Els made an early birdie run and appeared on screen for 28 strokes. The highest finisher not shown was Hunter Mahan who tied for 7th.

Alex Myers crunched Hager's numbers a bit more and found a weird network bias against Adam Scott and that CBS shows more shots than NBC or ESPN, though they are obviously aided by the Masters with its limited commercial interruptions.

CBS crushed the competition when it came to showing action. The network aired 1.18 shots per minute during the Masters (Yes, having limited commercials helps) and 1.16 shots per minute during the wild final round at the PGA. In comparison, NBC showed 1.12 shots per minute at the U.S. Open and ESPN came in a distant fourth place with just 1.02 shots per minute at the British Open.

Loved Louisville...Valhalla? Not So Much...

Need ammo? Guns? Looking for a car audio sale this week?  Stewart's Pawn Shop of downtown Louisville has you covered!

Maybe some "duds"? Or catch a high-quality, uh, independent film? The Love Boutique has all your needs!

Entrance to the Louisville Slugger Museum and FactoryYou see, as the scribes can tell you, the block next to the 2014 PGA media hotel has you covered. And across the street from this convergence of culture? The Louisville Convention Center.

But thanks to readers John Mayhugh and Josh, I had a splendid time experiencing the resurgent parts of downtown Louisville, where outstanding, world-class farm-to-table restaurants await as do several very enjoyable tourist spots.

Most impressive was the East Market District, referred to around there as NuLu, an unofficial-official district situated along Market Street between downtown to the west and the Highlands area to the east. Standouts included the exquisite Harvest restaurant and the uber-hip Garage Bar that would make SoHo types feel like time has passed them by.

The Evan Williams Bourbon ExperienceJust outside NuLu is Varanese, set in an old car garage and serving John Varanese's exquisite local farmer-inspired Italian food.

Closer to the city center's new arena is Milkwood, a Southern-Asian-Bourbon inspired small plates spot set in a basement of the Actor's Theatre building and home of Top Chef's Edward Lee and Chef Kevin Ashworth.

Fun tourism opportunities await at the Evan Williams Bourbon Experience, where an operating artisanal distillery allows you to see bourbon being made.

Just down the street was the highlight of the week for me: the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory, where you can see Major League Baseball bats being made. The attention to detail in bat quality, in production efficiency and the smell of wood is a reminder of what has been lost with persimmon woods exiting golf. Even if you aren't a huge baseball fan you'll want to go here.

Frankly, I can't wait to go back to Louisville--presumably for the 2021 PGA since it sounds like the PGA of America will be back soon--to experience more of the revitalization.

As for Valhalla Golf Club, that's a less compelling revitalization story.

Garage Bar's outdoor area includes glowing ping pong tablesIgnore the high power lines, because at one time this was an excellent site for a golf course with varied terrain and some truly beautiful features. The design, however, is severely overbuilt with some downright offensive stadium mounding that turned unsafe for fans when the rains and mud emerged.

Oddly, two holes at Valhalla resonate with nearly everyone--15 and 16--and not coincidentally, they have the least amount of shaping and mounding, perhaps because of their proximity to the natural creek separating the two long par-4s. Either way, it's a study in how nature-based design resonates so much more than manmade.

Several other design elements annoy, like the 10th tee set about 20 yards right of an ideal looking spot from the parking lot. A hideous mound backing the otherwise beautiful par-3 third. The par-4 sixth plays over a beautiful creek but somehow got worse after the most recent redo. And several of the front nine par-4s are so utterly devoid of strategy that Kerry Haigh had no choice but to move the fourth tee up to what was probably too short of a yardage.

And those mounds! Instead of making spectating easier they added nothing but headaches. They compete with nice in places where the property is genuinely pretty, such as on the third, fifth, sixth and seventh holes.

As a tournament venue the site certainly fulfills all of the PGA's needs thanks to space and the course's ability to produce consistently exciting golf. The fans there are real troopers, coming from all over the region and bringing outstanding energy to the proceedings. As dreadful as I find many of the holes due to such excessive man-made shaping, the ability to hit driver and the variety of shot shapes called upon elevates the course just enough to produce quality winners and exciting finishes.

I just wish Valhalla contained more of the character, coolness and craftsmanship found in Louisville's resurgent downtown scene.

What If Sunday's Weird PGA Finish Had Affected Rory?

Last month the R&A made history by splitting Saturday tee times for the first time in The Open to ensure the completion of a round in timely fashion. There were also safety matters to consider because of the severity of the forecasted storms, but the move primarily left time in the day should thunderstorms cause a long delay in play.

The unprecedented move was widely applauded, but some lamented the effect on the outcome, sparing Rory McIlroy of having to play a few holes in a downpour or having to wait out what would have been a delay of no more than an hour.  Even most of you felt the leaders got a huge advantage.

Sure, Rory was lucky. And he was lucky with tee time draws at The Open and the PGA. But he capitalized on his luck in both. There is little to lament about his victories other than the unsatisfying sense that Sunday’s rushed finish to the PGA was unnecessary.

Many have looked at this from the perspective of Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler. Neither man looked particularly thrilled with the situation for any host of legitimate reasons—too dark, too chaotic, unfair by putting them on the spot, and worst of all, allowing McIlroy to avoid the 18th tee wait they endured.  Rory did not have to stand on that imposing 18th tee for the same amount of time under the pressure of a major. And it's a tee shot where he had flirted with the lake multiple times, including that final tee shot.

So instead of focusing on the peculiarity of the situation for Mickelson and Fowler, consider what would have happened if things had gone the other way: McIlroy gets the approval of PGA officials to hit and his tee shot lands in the water. He loses the PGA after playing a brilliant stretch on the back nine. Maybe afterwards he laments rushing the shot even though it was absurdly dark. He realizes in the chaos of the moment he was not set and cost himself a major. All of this was brought on by delays and a rushed finish precipitated in part by late starting times to get the best possible television rating.

The PGA is not alone in this practice. The Masters, USGA and R&A all push the boundaries of sanity with late starts, but the R&A has now shown they are willing to budge to protect the integrity of their tournament. The others have emphasized the late television window and mostly have escaped a disaster.

Bill Fields wrote about the PGA conclusion for the New York Times and included this:

Mickelson and Fowler stood to the side of the 18th fairway, short of the landing area, while the final pairing teed off.

“We were cool with them hitting the tee shot,” Fowler said of McIlroy and Wiesberger. “We weren’t expecting the approach shots. Typically if it’s getting dark and they are going to blow the horn, you at least get the guys off the tee, and it gives them the opportunity to play.”

McIlroy said the timesaving idea was his. “I suggested that we play up as a foursome,” he said. “Then I was told we could hit right after them. They didn’t need to do that. They showed a lot of class and sportsmanship. If they hadn’t done that, we might not have gotten it in. It was getting really dark out there.”

So yes, it would have been McIlroy's fault if he had lost the PGA after asking to play up the 18th, but the larger point is this: no player should be put in this position or involved in these kinds of decisions at the major championship level.

Hindsight may seem the lazy way out here, but it was clear very early on that the 8:25 am start was too late with a dodgy forecast. If the integrity of the championship supersedes the needs of television, as I believe the PGA of America feels, this was an easy one to prevent by starting earlier.

Begin the round at 7:25 and here's the worst case scenario: forecasted rain doesn't arrive, CBS has to kill an hour after play and the rating isn't quite as high because some Nielsen families aren't lured into watching something interrupting the show they really wanted to watch.

Isn't that scenario always better than having an epic weekend showdown by McIlroy, Mickelson and Fowler tainted by questions about the circumstances surrounding the finish?

Fivethirtyeight: "Rory McIlroy Could Be A Bigger Threat To Jack Nicklaus Than Tiger Woods"

Fivethirtyeight.com's Benjamin Morris looks at a few different stats and presents graphs both fascinating and above my pay grade.

Thanks to reader Steve D for passing along a piece that asserts "McIlroy has built up one of the best starts to a career in modern golf history, essentially matching the Golden Bear through age 25, and each day Woods moves farther away from his prime."

30.9 Million Watch PGA Final Round, Rating Up 30%

The last three PGA Championship final round overnights: 4.4 2013 (Dufner Oak Hill), 3.9 2012 (Rory Kiawah), 4.3 (Keegan Atlanta). Sunday at Valhalla was up 30% (6.0) according to Deadline (thanks reader Pat).  The refusal to move up tee times and finish into east coast prime time was a huge help, as was the dynamic finish.

For Immediate Release from CBS:

ESTIMATED 30.9 MILLION WATCH ALL-OR-PART OF CBS SPORTS’ 2014 PGA CHAMPIONSHIP, UP 30% AND HIGHEST IN 5 YEARS
 
Estimated 26.3 Million Watch All-or-Part of Sunday Coverage, Up 48% and Highest in Five Years
 
An estimated 30.9 million viewers (Persons 2+) watched all-or-part* of CBS Sports’ two-day coverage of the 2014 PGA Championship according to Nielsen Media Research, up 30% from last year’s 23.8 million; and up 42% from 21.8 million in 2012 when Rory McIlroy won his first PGA Championship.  The 30.9 million was the highest number of viewers to watch all-or-part of the Network’s weekend coverage in five years (2009; 35.7 million).
 
CBS Sports’ coverage of the 2014 PGA Championship on Sunday, Aug. 10 was viewed in all-or-part by an estimated total audience of 26.3 million (Person 2+), up 48% from last year’s 17.8 million; and up 58% from 2012’s 16.6 million.
 
This year’s 26.3 million marks the highest number of viewers to watch all-or-part of the Network’s PGA Championship Sunday coverage in five years (2009; 29.0 million; Y.E. Yang won with Tiger Woods finishing second).
 
CBS Sports’ coverage of the 2014 PGA Championship on Saturday, Aug. 9 was viewed in all-or-part by a total audience of 12.9 million.

First 2014 PGA Championship Roundup Until The Next Roundup

A few of the first PGA related reads worth checking out, until I sleep, talk about this wacky day on Morning Drive at 8:10 a.m. ET, and have a chance to do a better wrap up WiFi permitting on the way home.

Enjoy...

Dave Kindred on the untidy finish, salvaged by Rory McIlroy.

Todd Lewis on Rory's post-PGA party plans (video), which include no major media appearances in New York, just a few days of fun. What could go wrong for Rory in New York City! Tim Rosaforte also weighs in on Phil Mickelson.

Sam Weinman with a GIF of Rory McIlroy saving the Wannamaker Trophy lid after it slipped off during the hand over from PGA President Ted Bishop.

Bob Harig on the strange situation on 18 that figures to get fleshed out more in the coming days. 

My item on Phil Mickelson lamenting his game, not the weird finish. He was taking the high road.

Jay Coffin on Rickie Fowler actually finding himself disappointed with Sunday's finish after leading at one point.

Rex Hoggard talks to players who were not pleased with the playing conditions Sunday at Valhalla.

SI/golf.com's photo gallery has some stellar shots by Fred Vuich, which also illustrate how dark it go Sunday night.

Dave Shedloski reports on the flak CBS's David Feherty has received for helping Australia's Jason Day find his ball Saturday while battling Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy.

From Shedloski's GolfDigest.com item:

“I got some crap on social media about it, that I shouldn’t have been helping him,” Feherty said, shaking his head. “And then I caught some flak from the Northern Ireland people asking me why I should help Jason against Rory. The reason is because I would help anybody. That’s how we do this in this game. That’s the spirit of it.”  

Jay Coffin reports that Rory McIlroy's iPhone password was stolen...courtesy of a CBS camera and translated by the Twittersphere. 

As CBS went to a commercial during break late in the delay it showed a clip of McIlroy inside the clubhouse. At the very end McIlroy picked up his iPhone and tapped in his passcode. Within mere seconds Twitter was abuzz with the fact you could tell his passcode was 4589, which happens to be his birthday – May 4, 1989. (Note: Europeans record dates differently than Americans and list it by day, month, year.)

McIlroy got word and sent out a tweet: “Passcode changed… Now time to play some golf!"

Passcode changed... Now time to play some golf! 😉💪⛳️

— Rory Mcilroy (@McIlroyRory) August 10, 2014

And Darren Rovell's report on the McIlroy ball from The Open going for a whopping $52,000 at Green Jacket Auctions.

The auction company's co-founder, Ryan Carey, said that the price paid for the ball is the second-highest ever paid for a golf ball, narrowly missing what a collector paid in April 2011 for a vintage Bobby Jones autographed ball ($55,865).

"There was a lot of interest in this ball," Carey said. "We had 22 different bidders from countries across the world, including Ireland, Australia and countries in Asia."

Carey said the buyer wanted to stay anonymous, but did disclose that it was won by an American.
The ball, which has the word "RORS" printed on it, was confirmed to be McIlroy's ball by his sponsor Nike.

Update on Monday, August 11, 2014 at 05:49 AM by Geoff

**Luke Kerr-Dineen with the mutual admiration society meeting breaking out on Twitter between Rory and Rickie.