|
 PGA of America president Ted Bishop has been vocal about his opposition to the proposed rule that would ban the anchored stroke used for long putters. Royal & Ancient chief executive Peter Dawson last week referred to Bishop's public comments as a "campaign."
"The PGA of America knows my views about this and I'm disappointed at the way that campaign was conducted," Dawson said. "It put rule-making onto the negotiating table. The negotiating table is no place for rule-making to take place. Obviously, the feelings are strong. We shall have to see where it goes."
Bishop took it one step further in an interview and exchange of emails with Golf World magazine, in which he revealed details of his encounter with Dawson during the Masters and questioned the R&A's male-only membership.
"I find that to be very curious and perplexing given the fact that the R&A has not been inclusive, as evidenced by their unwillingness to accept women as members to the R&A," Bishop told the magazine. "This is a much different approach than we have taken in America."
Bishop said when he told Dawson that the PGA of America was looking after the best interests of the amateur golfer, Dawson pointed a finger at him and said, "That's not your role." He said they met again at a reception that night that was more civil.
But he continues to challenge Dawson, particularly the 90-day comment period that ended two months ago.
"The PGA of America has gotten the impression from the R&A that we should have just accepted the proposed rule change and not issued any comments," Bishop said in an email to Golf World. "Then why have a comment period at all? If you remember, Dawson stated on Nov. 28 that he doubted if any new evidence would surface during the comment period that would result in the ban on anchoring being dropped. That hardly set the stage for an
'open' comment period."
Bishop also made a comment that won't make this issue any less divisive, saying the differences between the PGA of America and the R&A came down to cultures.
"Europeans have a tendency to accept the things that are imposed by their respective governments, while Americans will debate, argue and vote on issues," Bishop said in the email. "I think that is the fundamental premise that America was founded on."
The PGA Tour and PGA of America are opposed to the new rule. The European Tour is in favor of it. A decision whether to adopt the rule is expected by the end of May. If it's approved, it would not go into effect until 2016.
___
RUB OF THE GREENS: For a golf club that strives for perfection, Quail Hollow has its hands tied this week by Mother Nature.
Due mainly to an unusually cool spring, the home of the Wells Fargo Championship has struggled so mightily with its greens that two of them (Nos. 8 and 10) have had to be resodded in recent weeks, and tournament officials have asked players to hit only one shot into Nos. 12 and 13 during practice round.
The rest of the greens are spotty at best, most with several patches of brown. And it's not just looks. Some players say the greens are running at different speeds.
"It's tough to see," said Webb Simpson, the U.S. Open champion who lives at Quail Hollow. "I think their biggest challenge is going to try to get it to be the same firmness and speed of the other greens."
The practice green might have been in the best shape of all, and putts were bouncing more than they were rolling.
"The good news is everybody's playing the same golf course," Simpson said. "So there will be no excuses this week."
___
GUAN MORE: Guan Tianlang isn't done with the PGA Tour just yet.
[to top of second column] |
Guan accepted a sponsor's exemption into the Byron Nelson Championship next month. That will be his third PGA Tour event in a span of six weeks, more golf than Tiger Woods will have played in the last month or so. Guan made history at the Masters as the youngest to play all four rounds on the PGA Tour, and he made the cut in Zurich Classic last week in New Orleans.
Still to come is qualifying for the U.S. Open.
___
A DIFFERENT QUESTION: A popular question to most players at the Masters was about Guan Tianlang, and what players were doing at age 14. Bubba Watson heard the question again in New Orleans last week and decided to turn it around, with a dose of perspective.
"Let's got a different route," he said. "If you looked at every sport through time, everybody has gotten better -- bigger, better, stronger, fast, no matter sport it is. In golf, there are kids nowadays that are learning at a younger age. They're working out at a younger age. They're eating better. They know what to practice because they've watched Tiger Woods. ... So you can just see it."
He then mentioned the LPGA Tour, where the players seem to be getting younger. And he mentioned LeBron James, who went to the NBA straight from high school.
"So you look at every person in sports, it's growing that way," Watson said. "Pretty soon they're going to be younger, and 20 years down the road, it's probably going to be younger than 14. But records are already broken."
___
NEXT QUESTION: Maybe it's time to stop asking Jack Nicklaus if he thinks Tiger Woods will break his record of 18 professional majors.
An answer last week during a Q&A at the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley explains why.
Nicklaus for years has said essentially the same thing. He thinks Woods will break his record, but that Woods still has to do it. Golfweek magazine was there when the question came up again. The answer didn't change -- "I still think Tiger will break my record," he said -- except for what Nicklaus tacked on to the end of it.
"If I said anything different, there would be headlines in the newspaper tomorrow," he said.
Can you imagine?
___
DIVOTS: The U.S. Open received a record 9,860 entries this year, smashing the mark of 9,086 for the 2009 U.S. Open at Bethpage Black. The U.S. Open returns to Merion this year for the first time since 1981. ... Hideki Matsuyama, the two-time Asia-Pacific Amateur champion (and 2-for-2 in making the cut at the Masters) won the Tsuruya Open last week on the Japan Golf Tour in just his second start as a pro. Matsuyama is now No. 108 in the world, 10 spots ahead of Ryo Ishikawa. ... Billy Horschel winning and D.A. Points finishing second put both of them inside the top 50 in the world, and knocked Matteo Manassero out of The Players Championship. Manassero would have to win at Quail Hollow this week to get into the richest tournament in golf. ... Nassau native Georgette Rolle has been given a sponsor's exemption into the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic next month at Atlantis Resort. Rolle is a graduate assistant coach for the men's and women's golf teams at Texas Southern, and she teaches at a First Tee program in Houston. She also hosts a two-day junior camp in The Bahamas once a year.
___
STAT OF THE WEEK: Tiger Woods has averaged $97,126 per round from official events in his PGA Tour career.
___
FINAL WORD: "He was responsible for all the bogeys I made. I made the birdies." -- Angel Cabrera, on having Angel Jr. caddie for him at the Masters.
[Associated
Press; By DOUG FERGUSON]
Copyright 2013 The Associated
Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
