Jon Rahm
In Jon Rahm’s presser on Tuesday, I asked him this question:
Brian Harman was in here yesterday, and he talked about how important it is to test his game at the PGA Tour event especially ahead of this week. Do you feel the same level of pressure to test your game in a LIV event? Is the intensity the same as a PGA Tour event?
“Yeah. To me, that’s an argument that if you haven’t experienced being playing in a tournament, you can’t really understand. I understand there’s less people. I understand the team format’s a little different. I understand we’re going shotgun and things are a little bit different to how they are in a PGA TOUR event. But the pressure’s there. Like, I want to win as bad as I wanted to win before I moved on to LIV.”
“So, yeah, going down the stretch when you’re in contention is the exact same feelings. That really doesn’t change. The same way it was when I went through the Spanish Open or many other events where the field might not be up to the level that it could be on a designated event, right, that doesn’t really — winning is winning, and that’s what matters.”
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One tradition on Tuesday is when players hit extra shots in front of the 16th green and try to skip their ball across the pond and ricochet onto the green. I watched the threesome of Jordan Spieth, Austin Eckroat, and amateur Christo “Lanky” Lamprecht all do it, but only Lamprecht found the green.
Lamprecht, the tallest player in the field at 6’8”, pulled off an amazing shot out of the pines on the 17th hole. Only 20-25 yards in back of tall pines, he faced an unlikely shot (for mortals) over the trees to get near the green. Before he hit the shot, he muttered to himself, “I’m gonna have to really get this up fast!” And he did, landing just short of the greenside bunker.
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Gary Williams
At the Tiger Woods presser, I sat next to Gary Williams, the former Morning Drive co-host on the Golf Channel. This week, he’s reporting for SiriusXM Radio. Williams said he wouldn’t be surprised if the PGA TOUR establishes its own TV network akin to the NFL, MLB, NBA and the major college sports conferences. He said the TOUR is already building its broadcasting studios, which should be ready by next year. By the way, Williams carries a .8 handicap index despite only playing 35 times last year. “I found those few really low rounds really mess up my index.” It’s an oft-heard complaint among good players when they’re struggling not to lose Nassaus.
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Jordan Speith
I try not to miss a Jordan Spieth press conference. He’s such an engaging and insightful player. It’s no surprise he’s on the PGA TOUR Policy Board, a sign of his peers’ respect for him as a player and as a person. I particularly liked his comments on the Masters policy of no cell phones on the course.
“It’s amazing. But I also understand how advantageous cell phones are for the growth of our sport. So, it’s nice for a week, but if it was every tournament, you know, we would — our growth would be limited.
“But what’s really cool about it is you just feel that everyone’s very, very present. They’re not focused on if they got the right shot that they’re sending and maybe they don’t even know where your ball went, right? And here the patrons are — just like at the Open Championship, they’re just highly educated, they’re very involved, they’re very present.
“So you end up having those kinds of roars and stuff that may be similar but might not be, you know, with the phones out. You know, it just — I think from a player in the ropes, which is the way you asked me the question, it’s very nice because you feel like everyone’s there with you all the time.”
Spieth also elaborated on his lingering wrist issues.
“It’s an ECU tendon issue that unfortunately I’ve not fixed, but when it flares up, it flares up for like 24 hours, and then it just slow low gets better, versus last May when I couldn’t play the Byron and then in October it was another week and a half or so.”
“And since then, since I’ve gotten more on top of it by December, I at least know what it is and how to get it quickly better.”
“But, yeah, it’s something that I don’t think there’s really anything I can do other than rest. And I’m not resting it anytime soon.”
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Spent some time at the putting green on Wednesday. Always curious to see the players’ putting drills. Joaquin Niemann, who’s a dark horse pick by many this year, used a moveable outline of a cup and then had his caddie place a ball marker 18 inches behind it. He practiced not only direction but speed by having his putts, if not holed, to finish inside the ball marker.
Taylor Moore practiced using the “gate method:” placing four tees in a box formation around his putter at address. He then rolled the ball through the gate at the hole, grooving his backstroke and follow through.
Phil Mickelson didn’t use any tangible aids. He practiced putts from 4’ to 10’ feet.
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Fred Ridley Jr.
In his State of the Masters press conference, chairman Fred Ridley Jr. made a number of announcements as well as provided answers to questions posed by the media. Major takeaways:
The Masters will continue to use the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) to serve as one criterion for qualifying for the Masters. However, Ridley reminded everyone the Masters is an invitational tournament and reserves the option to extend special invitations as it did with Joaquin Niemann. After finishing 4th at the Australian PGA and winning the Australian Open last year, Niemann, a LIV player, was invited to this year’s Masters.
Distance remains a concern for Ridley and the Masters. He doesn’t want an 8,000-yard Masters to combat the increasing length of drives and shots by Tour-level players. The club continues to support the R&A and the USGA in its plan to roll back the ball.
No change in length for the iconic par-three 12th hole, at least in Ridley’s tenure as chairman. Earlier this week, former Masters champion VJ Singh advocated for the 12th hole to be extended to 170 yards. Ridley compared making such a change to “touching up the Mona Lisa.”
A new 3-level building will be built and opened in 2026, which will serve as a gathering place for players, their families, and coaches. No mention of any player housing for this facility.
Last year’s limited data on the revamped 13th hole, demonstrated more players went for the green in two than the year before. More drives were not finding the trees on the right side.
Images courtesy of the Masters, PGA Tour
