Arnold Palmer Reflections

At 8:36 p.m. on Sunday night I received a text from Alex Miceli, Publisher of Golfweek magazine. “Ted, Arnold passed away today.”

Five words. One Sentence. A message that I will never forget and always remember exactly when and where I was when I got the sad news that Arnold Palmer, The King of Golf, had died at the age of 87.

There are thousands of stories being written this week about Arnold and how he uniquely touched the lives of so many. Depending on your age, you remember him as a great golfer, a philanthropist, a celebrity and certainly the face of golf. Arnold is to golf what Babe Ruth was to baseball. Palmer transcended the sport of golf.

On Wednesday, March 27, 2013, I met with Arnold in his Bay Hill office to discuss the United States Golf Association’s proposed ban on the anchoring. Palmer had been a vocal supporter of the USGA over the years as you would expect from a former U.S. Open champion. He had the utmost respect for the rules and traditions of the game. The purpose of the meeting was not to change Palmer’s mind, it was simply to explain why the PGA of America opposed the proposed ban.

Palmer was relatively quiet on that day. As he listened intently to my thoughts on anchoring, he looked down at his desk top and pushed two of his trademark umbrella pins around the desk with his massive index fingers. When I finished he looked up, raised his hands in the air and said, “My fear is that all of this will lead to two sets of Rules in the game and that would be bad for golf.”

I figured that was my cue that this meeting was over. When I stood up from the chair directly in front of his desk, Palmer looked sternly at me and asked, “What’s your hurry?”

As I sat down he started talking about his family. He pulled out some pictures of his grandchildren. Then he pointed his finger at me and said, “Now I’m going to tell you some things about the PGA of America that you may not know.”   

The PGA Championship was the only major championship that Palmer never won, so his relationship with the PGA was different. But, on this day he wanted to talk about his father, Deacon, who in Palmer’s words was “a cripple.” Arnold said his dad was denied PGA membership for a time because of his physical handicap. Arnold bristled as he told the story. It was obvious that there were deep-seeded feeling of animosity towards the PGA. I listened to what he said and even though I knew the PGA never discriminated against the handicapped I felt compelled to research the matter.

A couple of weeks later, I sent him a two-page letter detailing the timeline of his dad’s career which ultimately did result in a PGA membership in 1946. However, there was clearly a nine-year time lag between when Deacon was eligible and when he actually became a PGA member.

A year went by and I still had not heard from Palmer. Eventually, I broached the subject of the letter at the 2014 Masters when I served as a rules official with Dow Finsterwald, the 1958 PGA champion and longtime friend of Arnold’s. Dow had lunch a few days later with Arnold at Bay Hill and asked if he had received the letter. When Palmer said he did, Dow asked why he hadn’t responded. Palmer said, “Because I don’t know what I want to say yet.”

I had become convinced that something did happen with Deacon Palmer and his attempt to be a PGA member. He only needed a couple of signatures from members of the Tri-State PGA in order to become a member. It was back in the 1930’s when this was in question. Unfortunately no one was still around who could shed any light on the situation. Was it because Deacon actually got into golf as a greenskeeper and he was looked down on by PGA professionals? Or, was it because he was handicapped? One thing was for sure, Arnold felt positive that the circumstances were unfair.

Ultimately, I returned to Bay Hill to present Arnold and his daughter, Amy Saunders, with the idea of creating the Deacon Palmer Award which would recognize a PGA professional who embodied all of the characteristics of Deacon. The annual award winner would be someone who was a servant to their golf club and community who went out of their way to teach and promote the game BUT most importantly the person had overcome a major obstacle in their life on the way to a successful career in golf.

When I explained what we wanted to do with the Deacon Palmer Award and asked for Arnold’s blessing it was a monumental moment in my life. He looked at me, tears streaming from his eyes and said, “Pap would have liked that.”

The relationship between the PGA of America and Arnold Palmer had been resurrected. As I reflect back to my PGA presidency, those two meetings with Arnold in his Bay Hill office were so special because it exposed a side of Arnold Palmer that very few people ever saw.   

      

He was The King, but he was also a man of the people. He was confident, but never cocky. Every autograph he signed was clear and legible. Arnold Palmer founded his own hospital, flew his own plane and concocted his own drink. And all of that was in his free time.

Tom Watson might have said it best when he talked about the impact Palmer had on today’s professional golf Tour, “Frank Beard said that we owe 80 cents of every dollar we earn to Arnold. That’s true.”

Today, the King is dead. But, the impact he made on millions who enjoy the sport of golf will truly transcend time. He wasn’t the greatest golfer who ever played the game, but he is without a doubt the greatest man ever associated with golf.   

“I’ll take any medal over a major championship”

Bubba Watson sat in the media center at the PGA Championship at Baltusrol two weeks ago and patiently answered questions. You never know what you might get from Bubba. The only guarantee is an honest answer.

Would you rather win an Olympic Gold medal or the PGA Championship?

“I’ve won two major championships, so that’s an easy question,” quipped Watson. “I’ll take the Gold. In fact, I’ll take any medal over the PGA Championship.”

Not all players felt that way leading up to the Summer Games in Rio. The top four players in the world all bypassed these Olympics for reasons that stemmed from the threat of the Zika virus to apprehension about safety and security in Rio. By now, the absence of Jason Day (1), Dustin Johnson (2), Jordan Spieth (3) and Rory McIlroy (4) is old news. Throw in denials by Adam Scott (7), Branden Grace (10) and Hideki Matsuyama (19) and it was a bitter pill for the International Golf Federation to swallow. The IGF had worked hard to get golf back in the Olympics.     

  

“Success will be measured on a number of levels,” said Peter Dawson this week. He is the president of the IGF. “First that we have a compelling and exciting event, that the spectators, many of whom have never been exposed to golf, learn a little about golf, and we’ll never know if someone who watches will be inspired to play golf, but statistically some of that must happen.”

As the players filtered into Rio in the past week, golf in the Olympics has really gained momentum and interest. Once they arrived it seemed that Zika and security were no longer in play. It reminded me of when I went to Sochi, Russia for the 2014 winter games. NBC Nightly News reported massive cell phone hacking and instructed visitors to not turn phones on in Sochi. 

The Washington Post reported that Al Queda possessed hand held rocket launchers and they could be positioned in the mountains near the Sochi airport with the ability to shoot down incoming and outgoing planes. I asked myself “Why am I going?” My family begged me not to make the trip. Once in Sochi, I never felt safer and thoroughly enjoyed the Olympic competition. It was American press propaganda at its finest and I think Rio is a target too.

Jaime Diaz of Golf Digest is in Rio and had this to offer, “Rio is naturally beautiful, as the television shots of the iconic coastline drive home, but other than the stadiums and the arenas where the games are played, the infrastructure and amenities are inferior quality and workmanship.

“The five-story media center was built in a rush, with unfurnished rooms everywhere and unreliable plumbing,” added Diaz. “In our apartment, built specifically to house visitors to the Olympics, a mirror over the bathroom sink shattered in the middle of the night. It had been held up by four strips of double-edged tape.

“But, simply that golf is in the Olympics will be a success. And really, for one, but essential reason. The players who bought in and came to Rio have seen their expectations exceeded,” concluded Diaz.

At #5 in the world, Sweden’s Henrik Stenson is the highest ranked player in the world to be in Rio. Stenson won the Open Championship at Troon last month and offered an interesting perspective. “Believe me, I’m proud to be the Open Champion. But around the world, not many know what that means. But, most people know what an Olympic Gold Medal is.”

Joining Bubba in representing the United States are Rickie Fowler, Matt Kuchar and Patrick Reed. Fowler arrived early and joined Michael Phelps in leading the U.S. delegation at the Opening ceremonies.

“I speak for myself, but I feel like I speak for the rest of the guys that if there’s a chance at winning the golf tournament or taking a risk possibly down the stretch to win the gold, I don’t think we are going to play it safe by any means,” said Fowler.

Watson was seated nearby and he interjected, “I’m going to layup and go for bronze,” he said which prompted laughter in the room. “There’s no money changing hands. It’s all about having that medal around your neck and being on the podium.”

The quality of the Olympic golf field is not up to normal PGA Tour standards, let alone a major championship. Sixty players will be represented by 34 countries. However, there are some well-known players in the field besides the ones I’ve mentioned.  Justin Rose, Martin Kaymer, Sergio Garcia, Padraig Harrington and Danny Willett are in Rio. And golf fans will get to some new faces like Marcus Fraser of Australia who jumped out to an early lead on Thursday.

At 45 years of age, Harrington has an interesting perspective. He took an active role back in 2009 to pitch golf to the IGF. Back then he was ranked seventh in the world and he is now 128^th. Harrington is representing Ireland because McIlroy, Shane Lowry and Graeme McDowell all elected not to play.

“I absolutely thought I would be here,” said Harrington. “But that’s the nature of the sport, when you’re at the top of your game, you don’t believe it’s ever going to change. You think it’s going to last forever. Hindsight says that’s not true.”

It makes you wonder what some of the players who chose not to go to Rio are thinking this week………… and four years from now.    

             

Andy Sanders, PGA Championship Victory at Baltusrol

One Shot at a Time- Andy Sanders, PGA Championship Victory at Baltusrol

On the Sunday night before the PGA Championship, Jimmy Walker and Andy Sanders, his caddie, showed up near Baltusrol after a 14^th place finish in the Canadian Open. To that point, Walker had zero wins for 2016 and he had missed five cuts in the nineteen tournaments that he had started. Many in golf have felt that the 37-year old Walker has been an underachiever of sorts given his overall talents which include great length off the tee and a putting stroke that is considered one of the best on Tour.

When I spent time with Walker at the 2014 Ryder Cup in Scotland his skills were evident. “If Jimmy Walker ever figures out how good he really is, there will be no stopping him,” Andy North, former U.S. Open Champ, remarked on multiple occasions when he served as a vice captain at Gleneagles.

But, on the dawn of the PGA Championship, it looked as if Walker might continue to toil in oblivion. Even Sanders, who knows Walker better than anybody, could not envision what was ahead in the next few days.

“We certainly showed up at the PGA Championship not expecting to win. I knew we were doing some good things and trending in the right direction,” said Sanders. “Jimmy’s confidence was growing and he was starting to gain some momentum. After seeing the course, I thought this would be another week of gaining more positives.”

When Sanders spoke about ‘trending’ he meant that Walker was starting to drive it better and hit more fairways. He was making more putts and his confidence level was getting better. In particular, Walker’s overall temperament was improving. Walker would appear to be somewhat unflappable, especially after last week’s PGA victory but according to Sanders that’s not necessarily the case.

“Jimmy wears his emotions on his sleeves. He is pretty intense. He plays hard all of the time and never gives up. Sometimes he wants it so bad- too bad. That’s the real Jimmy,” Sanders confided.

Even after Walker shot 65 on Thursday and grabbed the first round lead, Sanders admitted a PGA Championship was still not in the thought process.

“We weren’t really thinking about winning at that point. We had a long way to go to win the golf tournament. We just got off to a good start. Jimmy had never been there before. He had never led in a major championship,” remarked Sanders.

The weather soon became the story at Baltusrol. Rain forced long delays and forced players out of their routines and rhythm. Players react to these situations in different ways. It can be an obstacle or it can present an opportunity.

“It’s just golf. These are things you just have to deal with. We got a lucky draw in the fact that we played early/late in the first two rounds,” said Sanders. “You learn to accept it and deal with it.”

Walker fired a stellar 66 in round two and found himself atop the leaderboard again. With 36 holes remaining and weather being a big factor, Walker and Sanders left the course around 6 p.m. on Saturday night.

“I had dinner around eight o’clock and went to bed at 11 p.m. I really didn’t think we would be playing a lot of golf on Sunday. I guess that was a good thing because we still weren’t thinking that much about winning. I suppose it might have been a good thing that we really didn’t feel like we were sleeping on a lead Saturday night,” said Sanders.

Walker got off to a slow start on Sunday. He bogeyed two of his first five holes. Sanders knew his man was out of sync.

“Jimmy was a little quick all morning, even on the practice tee. When he gets that way it effects everything he does,” Sanders admitted. “He missed a couple of fairways and two makeable putts. The sixth hole is a big hole, a good par four. He hit a great drive, knocked to about 10-feet and made the putt for birdie. That might have been the key hole for the week. Jimmy got settled down and starting playing well.” 

Walker became workmanlike finishing his third round with a 67. It continued in the final round as he fought off Jason Day and Henrik Stenson. Walker did appear unflappable as he went through a 28-hole stretch bogey free. It seemed that he locked up the PGA Championship with a crucial birdie on the 17^th hole in the final round. That gave him a three shot lead with a hole to go.

“I definitely felt really good when that putt went in. We had a three-shotter and even if J. Day made eagle it didn’t matter,” said Sanders.

Day did make eagle as Walker watched from the fairway. All Jimmy had to do was make par on the final hole and the Wanamaker Trophy was his. Many questioned his decision to go for the green on his second shot rather than play a safe layup shot.

“If you lay up you bring the creek and the bunkers in play. It’s an awkward shot. It really only took 200 yards to clear all of the trouble. Jimmy suggested the 3-wood. We were playing lift, clean and place so the ball was basically on a tee,” said Sanders. “I would have rather seen him hit it left but with soft greens the pitch we had on the third shot was pretty easy. He took his medicine pretty good and left a longer putt than I would have liked.”

Sanders admits that he and Walker have taken “a fair amount” of criticism for how they played the final hole. Ultimately Walker had to make a three-footer to win the PGA. Was Sanders nervous?

“The ball rolled by the hole, so we knew what it would do going back. It was an inside right putt. In the past two weeks we started reading putts together. I think it helps release any doubts that Jimmy has when he is over the ball. I remember thinking ‘I can’t believe this is to really win the PGA championship.’” said Sanders.

Walker made the putt and walked away with a $1.8 million check. His total 2016 PGA Tour earnings had been $1.4 million. He and Sanders will now be at the Ryder Cup.

“I know it means a tremendous amount to Jimmy. We always say that we want the season to start in Maui (Tournament of Champions) and end at the Tour Championship. That means you had a good year,” said Sanders.

Walker and Sanders have a bond that goes way back. The two played collegiate golf against each other. They traveled together on the mini-tours until the effects of medication he was taking for Multiple Sclerosis ended Sanders’ playing career. That’s when Walker asked his good friend to caddie.

My final questions to Sanders was this. When Jimmy made the winning putt was there any bittersweet sensation maybe that could have been you winning the PGA?

“I’m so far removed from that. I never had the game to win a major. I’m happy for Jimmy and it was great to be a part of this. My health is great and all is good,” said Sanders who actually took my questions as he drove to his doctor for a routine check-up.

For those that don’t know, Sanders’ grandmother, Dottie, lived across the street from me in Franklin for 15 years. His dad, Greg, is a PGA pro and he was a standout golfer at Franklin High School. I’ve known Andy since he was a little kid. He is truly an inspiration on how to deal with adversity.

Walker and Sanders will take a week off and then get back at it.

“I can’t wait for the Ryder Cup. I really enjoyed that environment and we definitely have some unfinished business to take care of,” said Sanders.

    

Golf's New Era is Here

Golf fans awoke sometime last weekend and realized that the page had been officially turned on the Tiger Woods era. It was rather painless and not nearly as bad as all the naysayers had predicted. The good news is that the dawning of this new era had nothing to do with Woods. It was all about a host of other greater and younger players.

When did this transformation start? Rory McIlroy laid the foundation for the process last year with his stellar play late in the season including two major championship victories. He rose to #1 in the World Golf Rankings, a spot he still holds despite his ankle injury which could sideline him for the remainder of the 2015 season.

Jordan Spieth caught everyone’s attention with his win at The Masters. Rickie Fowler proved that he could win a big one with his phenominal finish in May at The Players Championship. Spieth’s second major title at this summer’s U.S. Open put him in a class few 21-year olds have ever seen. Guys like Jason Day and Dustin Johnson keep knocking on the door of golf’s biggest prizes.

In the meantime, Woods continues to flounder after another comeback. His play has been so pitiful that fans have lost interest making it easy to migrate to golf’s five hotshots- McIlroy, Spieth, Fowler, Day and Johnson.

“When he took off his hat on the 18th green to shake hands with Jason Day and Louis Oosthuizen, he looked as close to broken as I've ever seen a truly great athlete look. He entered this event thinking he had a real chance to contend. He wasn't even close to making the cut,” said Kevin Van Falkenberg of ESPN.com observing Woods after missing the cut.

John Huggan, another golf writer said, “Right this minute, Tiger is not capable of winning major championships. Nor is he capable of winning a regular tour event. He is, in reality, a well-below average PGA Tour player.

“The numbers are instructive. So far in 2015, Tiger has hit 52.86 per cent of the fairways he has aimed at. That would make him the 194th most accurate driver (out of 199) on the PGA Tour. In ‘greens in regulation’, his percentage is 61.11, “good” enough for 190th spot. But the most egregious figure is his stroke average of 72.796. Only former Masters champion Mike Weir is worse. Little wonder then, that Woods is ranked the 241st best golfer on the planet,” concluded Huggan.
Enough of the negative.

Zach Johnson won the Open Championship and he is now a two-time major champion who solidified his position in the World Golf Hall of Fame. He is 39-years old and hails from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Johnson is too old to be considered a young gun, but not old enough to be looked at as an old veteran. He is Midwest through and through. Loaded with guts and determination, Johnson should be an inspiration to anyone who ever attempted to play the game.

Few golf fans were not rooting like crazy for Spieth to win the Open Championship and continue his quest for the elusive Grand Slam- winning all four majors in the same season. But, he failed and joined Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer as the only players in the history of golf to win The Masters and the U.S. Open and lose the British Open by a single shot. That is an impressive club for Spieth to join.

Uncharacteristically, it was the putter that betrayed Spieth. He had five 3-putt greens in the third round and 4-putted the 8th hole in the final round. St. Andrews has fourteen double greens and players can find themselves with very lengthy putts, especially in windy conditions.
“My stroke was good. I had really good practice. On these practice greens you're not able to get a good feel for the touch. It's tough to get pace practice because they're so small, so I didn't have much of it this week, and I kind of had to go off my feels, when typically you've got enough room -- I did plenty of work on the golf course”, said Spieth.

“It's no excuse, but as far as right before the round getting a pace for that day and the conditions and how the greens are cut, it's tough. You have to kind of go with it after you have one long putt. That was the struggle for me in this tournament was what my -- I think my biggest advantage over anybody in the world is, and that's my first putt proximity, and that was -- I think on the lower half of the field this week, and it certainly cost me at least a couple shots,” Spieth concluded.

There are many impressive things about Spieth besides his abilities on the course. He speaks in a tongue well beyond his years. He has earned the respect of his peers and everyone in the game.
Jim “Bones” Mackay is Phil Mickelson’s caddy. When his final round with Lefty was completed, Bones went back to the 17th hole to watch Spieth finish.

"I just think the kid is special," Mackay said. "I think he's gifted between the ears. When I say gifted, I mean like Jack Nicklaus-gifted. Jordan is going to do amazing things because he's such a killer between the ears."

This is a special time for professional golf. Who would ever imagine that the Open Championship would provide such drama without McIlroy- the defending Open champ and top player in the world? This current cast of characters could be a legendary list in a couple of decades. Tiger who?
   

Trump

It’s been another eventful week for golf and the action has unfortunately again been off of the golf course. Donald Trump, who inside of golf, is viewed as a successful golf course developer and owner of premier golf facilities. He is also highly connected to all of golf’s major organizations as a host of events ranging from major championships to PGA TOUR events.

Trump is now a 2016 Republican candidate for President of the United States. He recently created a firestorm of controversy and criticism for the following comments he made a couple of weeks ago regarding illegal aliens entering the U.S. from Mexico.

“The U.S. has become a dumping ground for everybody else’s problems. When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”

Trump was referring to illegal aliens, not Mexican-American citizens who earned their right to live in this country. A few days after the highly controversial remarks, Trump tried to clarify his position.

“I like Mexico. I love the Mexican people. I do business with the Mexican people, but you have people coming through the border that are from all over. And they’re bad. They’re really bad,” he said. “You have people coming in, and I’m not just saying Mexicans. I’m talking about people that are from all over that are killers and rapists and they’re coming into this country.”

Interestingly, Trump has risen in the polls since speaking out on the immigration problems that face the United States. Currently, he is second in the Republican polls with 12% voter approval. He trails Jeb Bush who has 19%. If Trump fails to get the GOP nomination, there is a good chance that he might run as an Independent candidate. He claims to be worth $8.7 billion which gives him the financial foundation to complete the race.

This week, USA Today explored the Trump political appeal. Several things surfaced. “He says what everyone else thinks but is afraid to say because they want to be politically correct. For every candidate who is pushed and prodded by political consultants and polls, there is a Trump sound bite. Trump is not in it for the money. He doesn’t have to pander donors, because he is paying for his campaign himself. He just wants to fix the country.”

But it wasn’t all positive. “Trump will eventually say something destructive to his candidacy. Trump mocks and insults his opponents, from Mitt Romney (who he says is worth less than Trump’s Gucci store) to Rosie O’Donnell, whom Trump called “Fat Little Rosie” during a feud.

Safe to say, in many ways that you never know what you are going to get with Donald Trump. I was the President of the PGA of America when it entered into a business deal with Trump. That included the 2022 PGA Championship at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster, the 2017 Senior PGA at Trump National GC Washington DC, as well as a four-year Trump sponsorship of the PGA Grand Slam of Golf beginning in 2015. We were all happy to do business with Trump.

During my PGA Presidency I spent time with Trump. I have been in his office at 725 5^th Avenue in Manhattan. We have discussed renovation plans and looked at blue prints for Turnberry GC in Scotland which Trump acquired over a year ago. We played golf together at Trump National in Bedminster and I had the privilege to be his guest at Trump International in Scotland a year ago this week during the Scottish Open. I have spoken on the phone with Trump numerous times on a variety of subjects. I feel like I know the man and understand him- as much as anyone can.

I do not believe that Donald Trump is a bigot. I do believe that he shoots from the hip at times and he is certainly a polarizing individual. Trump is generous and well-liked by the people who work for him. He flaunts his successes which turns a lot of people off. Can he be the President of the United States? Voters will make that choice.

This week the PGA of America yanked the upcoming Grand Slam of Golf from Trump Los Angeles. However, it decided to let Trump properties continue to host the remaining three Grand Slams and both Majors. That is a curious reaction from the PGA who has been all about political correctness, diversity and inclusion. It’s surprising that the PGA’s approach to Trump was not “all or nothing at all.”

Trump was fired last week by NBC after his Mexican remarks. No more “The Apprentice” or any of the Trump-owned beauty pageants. In turn Trump is suing NBC for $500 million and he has banned network employees from the Doral resort which he owns. NBC/Golf Channel has the television rights to the PGA Grand Slam of Golf. NBC is also a major media partner with the PGA of America stemming from the Ryder Cup TV rights through 2030. NBC means more to the PGA than does Trump. Stayed tuned to see what eventually happens with the last three years of the Trump sponsored PGA Grand Slam of Golf.

Trump has certainly put the PGA Tour, USGA, PGA of America, the LPGA and the R&A in a tough spot. Some are saying that Turnberry may now be dropped from the Open Championship rotation and that would be a shame. The PGA Tour faces tough decisions with its WGC event at Trump-owned Doral. That event is sponsored by Cadillac which has factories in Mexico. The USGA is scheduled to play the U.S. Women’s Open at Trump Bedminster in two years.

Can Donald Trump be a Presidential candidate and stay active in professional golf? It doesn’t appear that will be the case. But knowing Trump, he has that figured out, too.