2014 PGA Championship- Valhalla

Corsi

isn't shy about blowing his wad early
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Nantz preempted by an Empire Today commercial before he can sign off.  Beautiful.
 

Corsi

isn't shy about blowing his wad early
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Bob Montgomery's Helmet Hat said:
If they don't let Rory play up, Rory could have just said fine, I'll finish tomorrow morning.  Then Phil has to stay overnight for the very small chance of a playoff.  How is that a good thing for Phil?
free breakfast?
 

ezemerson

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Rory = easy kid to root for too.....side not..I wonder how much his dad made off him today
 

Deathofthebambino

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If Phil had been a complete douche and said no to letting them play up, and Rory said "Fuck it, we'll finish tomorrow.." Wouldn't play have stopped for everyone on the course at that point, including Phil?  So, he too would have had to come back in the morning to finish the hole?  At any point, Phil could have said it was too dark and they would have stopped play.  But, he'd rather get to finish in the day light and make Rory play in the dark, in the hopes that it causes him to fuck up, so Phil could get himself into a tie is the epitome of an asshole move.  Fuck you.  If you can't beat the guy under the same conditions that you are playing in, and need to get some sort of advantage from the weather or time of day,  you don't deserve to win.
 

ivanvamp

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Jul 18, 2005
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Craziest ending I've ever seen. I really wanted them to finish in a true foursome.

Which reminds me... Does anyone know (and I've been playing golf for more than 30 years) if there would be a competitive advantage for Phil or Rory if they had played in a foursome versus two twosomes?
 

radsoxfan

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Papelbon's Poutine said:
 
 
And I think Fowler got fucked the most. It obviously rattled him and cost him a 2nd and a lot of money. 
 
 
Rory's ball sitting in the green side bunker caused Fowler to 3 putt from 40 feet in the dark?  Um, OK.  Whatever you say.
 
It made all the sense in the world to play the 18th as a foursome, or at least let them play up, given the darkness.  If Phil wanted to use the letter of the law to force Rory to wait, I agree he probably shouldn't have been told otherwise by the officials.  Doesn't make it any less of a dick move. 
 

Freddy Linn

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radsoxfan said:
 
Rory's ball sitting in the green side bunker caused Fowler to 3 putt from 40 feet in the dark?  Um, OK.  Whatever you say.
 
It made all the sense in the world to play the 18th as a foursome, or at least let them play up, given the darkness.  If Phil wanted to use the letter of the law to force Rory to wait, I agree he probably shouldn't have been told otherwise by the officials.  Doesn't make it any less of a dick move. 
It's not about the letter of the law, playing up is literally unprecedented (I think, rather than watxhing TGC I'm watching Anchorman with my eleven year-old, which is very questionable) and magnified by being a tournament these guys actually give a shit about.
 

radsoxfan

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Freddy Linn said:
It's not the letter of the law, it is literally unprecedented,
 
 
Is it common for the last hole of a major to be played in near dark conditions with thunder and lightning just on the other side of the clubhouse? 
 

Oil Can Dan

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I was a little disappointed to see the big rush to finish. It was entertaining in its own right, but this is a major and I'd rather see things wrap up in a normal, non-rushed fashion.

I don't think Rickie misses that putt in a normal setting. And I don't think Rory comes that close to the hazard either. Of course who knows? I just would have preferred to let the golf be the main attraction on the 72 hole instead of it being a rush job in the dark.
 

radsoxfan

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Oil Can Dan said:
I was a little disappointed to see the big rush to finish. It was entertaining in its own right, but this is a major and I'd rather see things wrap up in a normal, non-rushed fashion.
 
 
I agree it would have been nice to see a non-rushed finish.  I'm sure Rory would have appreciated it as much as anyone.
 
The rush was created by the weather delay, not by Rory or the tour officials. It was unavoidable. 
 

Freddy Linn

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Bob Montgomery's Helmet Hat said:
Well, they dealt with an unprecedented situation by making an unprecedented move
Yes, but the protocol is to play out in order. Phil/Rickie let Rory tee off so that he had an option to finish, not so he had the option/ability to play up with them.

I'm sure the pundits have chimed in, but I am more occupied explaining Champ Kind's fixation with asses to a fifth grader.
 

Oil Can Dan

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I agree. I don't really blame anyone. Certainly none of the players. I guess I'd have preferred of the network/ PGA made the call to call it before Phil/Fowler teed off on 18.

If Rory pars 17 instead of the birdie, does anyone think it plays out differently than it did in terms of completing 18 today?
 

radsoxfan

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Freddy Linn said:
The weather was pre-round. They knew it was going to be dark for five hours prior to the finish.
 
Right…. that's why everyone knew there was a chance there would be a rush to get the final hole in.  And that's exactly what happened.  
 
The fact that the weather delay was 5 hours prior, (as opposed to right before) doesn't change anything. 
 

Freddy Linn

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radsoxfan said:
 
Right. that's why everyone knew there was a chance there would be a rush to get the final hole in.  And that's exactly what happened.  
 
The fact that the weather delay was 5 hours prior, (as opposed to right before) doesn't change anything. 
The PGA of America and CBS knew at the turn that this was going to finish in very questionable light. They chose to move forward. If I was Ted Bishop or whomever the fuck heads up the PGA I would have pulled the plug after 15.
 

Zomp

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I dont think pace of play was an issue, especially for the last two groups.  I agree about threesomes though.  Also if they were really concerned about the weather they could have started the day using split tees and have the guys go off earlier.
 
Either way, I don't think the decision to rush through the final holes made a difference in the outcome.  Phil still birdied the last.
 

johnmd20

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Zomp said:
I dont think pace of play was an issue, especially for the last two groups.  I agree about threesomes though.  Also if they were really concerned about the weather they could have started the day using split tees and have the guys go off earlier.
 
Either way, I don't think the decision to rush through the final holes made a difference in the outcome.  Phil still birdied the last.
 
If anything, them rushing the last hole led Rory to almost put one in the drink because he was so jacked up. I have no problem with the way they handled it, it was an extraordinary situation.
 

Number45forever

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BigSoxFan said:
In case anyone is wondering, Mickelson now has 9 second place finishes in a major tournament:

US Open: 6
PGA Championship: 2
British Open: 1

The US Open is the last tournament he needs for the career salami.
The best part of this is he still trails Nicklaus by 10 in career second-place major finishes.  Jack was first or second in 37 majors.  That's more than nine straight years of majors, basically, all in the top 2.
 

DJnVa

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Papelbon's Poutine said:
 
It also could have literally allowed Rory to finish. If he had had to wait, he might have gotten to the point where he said, sorry, it's too dark, I need to come back tomorrow, so he comes back in the morning, cold to play the last hole of a major. Or he tries to play it out and makes a big mistake from the darkness. I think he had every right to be pissed and I would have told them to fuck off, not my fault it rained. 
 
The flip side is it allowed Phil and Ricky to see what Rory would do and maybe adjust their games if needed. There's a reason going last is a benefit. If the golfer's ahead of that guy get more info as to what the leader is doing, it could help.
 
I do understand Phil's argument though, that it should be his call, but I also think that the more info he had about Rory's shot was only going to help him.
 

cshea

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Fowler and Mickelson had nothing to gain by having Rory play up. Their only hope was making eagle. Birdie wasn't going to do it once Rory's tee shot stayed dry. The ideal scenario for Mickelson and Fowler would've been to go to the green and make eagle while Rory was watching from the rough waiting to hit his 2nd shot. The result of Rory's 2nd shot wouldn't have affected Mickelson or Fowler's strategy at all. They needed eagle regardless of what Rory was doing.