Monday morning quarterbacking...
Spieth critics claim 13th hole debacle ultimately derail Kuchar
Some seem to be criticizing the amount of time it took for Spieth to deal with the unplayable lie situation on the 13th hole. Lots of contributing factors were involved, and kudos to the rules officials for understanding the significance of that particular moment, which required them to help determine how Jordan could proceed within the rules going forward with the immovable obstruction line-of-sight relief. Which, mind you, required several additional minutes to reposition fans and media from the line of play. Unfortunate for Kuchar, to be sure, but had Kuchar himself been in that situation, in contention and trying to win his first major championship - he would've likely proceeded no differently. As far as the delay factoring into the final outcome - only Matt Kuchar himself could offer a legitimate opinion suggesting as much, which he hasn't, and given his character likely won't. It is worth noting that Kuchar played the next four holes at 2-under par, which would suggest to most people that the outcome had less to do with the prolonged wait versus Jordan's incredible gut-check finish. And if Kuchar isn't openly using that as a valid excuse, perhaps the knee-jerk from Jordan's critics should defer to the guy who ultimately has the final say. It makes for great "what-if" debate, but it doesn't change the fact that Spieth's performance following that episode was one that very few people who witnessed will ever forget. And kudos to Kuchar for recognizing that aspect as well. And kudos to Jordan for at least acknowledging/apologizing to his opponent and his opponent's caddie for how long it took for that debacle to play out. Tiger wouldn't have felt the need to apologize. Or Mickelson. Or Nicklaus for that matter. But Jordan is cut from a different cloth, which is why many of us appreciate this kid so much. He just seems to get it.
John Rahm earning a bad reputation
John Rahm.... on the heels of a questionable remark of his ball on the green at the Irish Open a few weeks earlier, the young Spaniard once again found himself embedded in a rules controversy during the opening round of the Open Championship. On the 17th hole, Rahm was doing some "gardening" around his ball, which caught the eye of fellow playing partner Lee Westwood. Rahm assumed that the "thorny vine" behind his ball was dead and not attached to the ground, but after realizing it was still attached to the ground, simply moved the weed to the side to avoid obstruction of his club impacting the ball. Westwood saw what happened and confronted him about it, saying that it was his "obligation to protect the field."
Westwood: “I just saw him moving it around to about three o’clock from where I was stood and I could see it was attached. So I said, ‘That’s attached.’ That’s all I saw and I’m not going to comment on anything else.”
Rahm: “I got there and I thought it was a loose impediment because it looked dead, so I just moved it to the side,” Rahm said. “And that’s when Lee came and he realised it was attached. “It was like a reaction. It was automatic. I thought it was dead, so I just moved it to the side. It would not have affected my swing unless I hit a 50-yard slice, which was not the case for any player in the world in that situation.”
Although the rules official on-hand declared Rahm's gardening a breach of the rules and warranting a 2-shot penalty for improving his lie, afterward the R&A investigated the situation, talking to both Rahm and Westwood, and absent camera footage that would've otherwise incriminated the young Spaniard - decided that no penalty was warranted given the circumstances.
Rahm said afterward that he didn't hold any ill-will toward Westwood for bringing the issue to light, which is naturally to be expected coming from someone who broke a rule and got away with it because of a lack of video evidence. Had the 2-shot penalty stood, naturally he wouldn't be quite as willing to withhold any ill will towards his playing partner.
Rham, as talented as he is, has been compared to another famous Spaniard named Seve Ballesteros. But for the wrong reasons as of late, most notably pushing the envelope for what is/isn't allowed in the rules. The young Spaniard would be well-served to not assume and read up on the rules going forward. At least if he wants to forgo the chatter behind the scenes that he's at-best reckless with how he approaches the rules and at-worst trying to gain every advantage he can, even if it possibly runs contrary to what is permitted within the rules.
Two instances in as many weeks doesn't paint him in much of a favorable light, regardless of the ultimate rulings that have given him the benefit of the doubt. There is a pattern developing with him that warrants a fair degree of concern.
McIlroy's caddie has had enough
On Thursday during the opening round of the Open Championship, Rory's caddie JP Fitzgerald had finally seen enough of his player's lethargic, uninspiring play that was risking his 3rd straight missed cut. After playing his first 5 holes at 4-over in the opening round, his caddie couldn't sit by and take it any longer. “‘You’re Rory McIlroy,’” the golfer recalled Fitzgerald saying Thursday, after an opening round in which he went out in 5-over 39 and came in with a 4-under 32. “‘What the f*** are you doing?’”
When your caddie is having to remind you that you should have a little more pride to play for, then something is obviously amiss. To his credit, Rory rallied and not only managed the weekend at Birkdale, but ended up finishing inside the top-5. But the underlying concern remains: why did it take his caddie berating him to motivate him to play better? And an underlying question remains as well: have we already seen the best of a 28-yr-old who has won 4 majors over the past decade?
"Happy-go-lucky" takes backseat to gutted disappointment
As popular and endearing as Jordan Spieth has become in golf, very few people would've been upset to see Matt Kuchar win his first major championship Sunday. After all, Jordan already had two majors under his belt, at the ripe old age of 23. And then there's the 39-year-old who everybody likes, who has never been known to say anything bad about anybody, who by all accounts seems to be one of the most likable personalities in the game during his 17 years on tour. Who, by the way, persevered through an early-career drought, reinvented himself as a golfer, and would go on to become one of the most consistent players over the past decade, carding 7 PGA Tour wins, including the Memorial and the Players Championship. But the happy-go-lucky, take-it-in-stride personality that we've come to appreciate over the years definitely felt deflated Sunday evening after coming up short in what will likely be his best shot ever at joining the list of major championship winners.
“It’s hard to explain,” the 39-year-old said, still looking for his first major championship victory. “It’s crushing. It hurts. And it’s an excitement and a thrill to have played well, put up a battle, put up a fight. You work so hard to get to this position. And to have a chance to make history and win a championship, you don’t get that many opportunities. And to be this close, to taste it with five holes to go, it’s a hard one to sit back and take.”
Kuchar (reportedly) didn't know that his family had flown over from the states at the last minute to be there should he prevail, which probably made it a little more disappointing after the fact. To be that close, and then to experience that degree of hopelessness that final hour of play - having absolutely no control over what his opponent was in the process of doing? We're not talking a huge blow to the gut, but more like being overrun by a freight train. Great effort, he did everything he was supposed to do. It just wasn't meant to be his day of glory.
Best media quote Sunday evening
Bob Harig, ESPN: "If ever there was a need for pictures on a scorecard, this was the day. Numbers do not come close to telling this story, a 1-under 69 looking so mundane in the record books."
And lastly:
Some bogeys are better than others
Was Jordan's bogey on 13 at Royal Birkdale Sunday one of the best in the history of major championships? Granted, he was the beneficiary of a line-of-sight ruling and had a great lie to hit his 3rd shot. But he still had to gather himself, execute the shot and move on. The putt from about 10 feet, which led to only dropping a single stroke to Kuchar on that hole, was ultimately the turning point in the match.
Undoubtedly the most remarkable bogey I've seen in major championship history in a long, long while. Perhaps ever. And definitely the most significant.