CBSSports.com senior writer Steve Elling and Augusta (Ga.) Chronicle golf writer and columnist Scott Michaux take a scattershot look at the week in golf.
| 1. Rory McIlroy evoked gasps in European golf circles by calling the Ryder Cup "an exhibition" and saying it was "not a huge goal" of his. Considering how the overseas press has consistently carved up Americans who expressed similar disdain, did the young Irishman get off lightly? | |
| Steve Elling | Scott Michaux |
 If memory serves, and it does, American Anthony Kim got poked and prodded by UK scribes because he hadn't noticed that Colin Montgomerie had been named the European Ryder captain for next year. So he's no student of the game or voracious reader. And when Hunter Mahan said in early 2008 that the Ryder was overrated, he got similar treatment -- both at home and abroad. Now the chosen one, McIlroy, has made it repeatedly clear that he hardly shares the Continental obsession with the Ryder, which is akin to heresy, yet he gets a free pass? Moreover, it appears that his opinions -- he has never played in the matches -- have been explained away as some sort of childlike innocence or little more than a passing unfamiliarity. Actually, this is what has helped make the Ryder Cup such a prickly competition over the past two decades -- the jingoism that exists, even in the press. They stick up for their guys, we stick up for ours. It will be interesting to see how long McIlroy's media grace period lasts over there. |  If Sean O'Hair, Anthony Kim or any other hotshot young American had said the exact same thing, he would have joined "The Unforgiven," a fraternity that includes the likes of Tiger Woods, Tom Lehman, David Duval, Mark O'Meara and most recently Hunter Mahan. But the European press is so enamored with McIlroy (and for some very good reasons) that they've given him a pass, citing the naiveté of the uninitiated. That's actually a good thing, because they've always taken this event way too seriously. They want this kid so badly to be the next Tiger they just never thought he would feel the same way about the Ryder Cup as Tiger does, with higher personal aspirations than a team event. The only flaw in McIlroy's assessment is calling the Ryder Cup an exhibition. It's a real competition, they keep score and the results count on your permanent record. Just ask a guy like Christy O'Connor Sr. (and eventually Colin Montgomerie), who owes a good measure of his Hall of Fame inclusion based on Ryder Cup performance. |
| 2. What's your take on the Kenny Perry controversy, which involves recently circulated videotape of his playoff win in Phoenix on Super Bowl Sunday where he tapped down grass behind his ball before hitting a chip shot? | |
| Steve Elling | Scott Michaux |
| Though it happened three months ago, the late-blooming controversy escaped notice until the week of the Players Championship, when it was a hot topic in the media center. While PGA Tour officials quickly released a statement after reviewing the televised clip saying that Perry had committed no violation, it certainly looks bad in the replay and some analysts and news outlets have said as much publicly. But after watching the video, ask yourself this question: If Perry had grounded his club behind the ball in the rough and proceeded to hit the pitch shot immediately, instead of walking away, would anything have been said? Darned likely not. Perry is an exceptionally conscientious guy, a deeply religious man, and since rules officials on two major tours have eyeballed the tape and cleared him, that is good enough for me. | I hate these kinds of belated controversies that unfairly call into question the character of the player involved. Perry was not intentionally trying to gain an unfair advantage with his actions, and on that point there's no doubt in my mind. No golfer in his right mind would attempt something like that in a playoff when you know every eye and the television lens will be focused on your every move. So any accusation of cheating is flat absurd. Intent matters and is part of rules adjudication. As for the replay, you'd have to call it inconclusive at best. What might look damning at first blush might be a trick of the camera angle. It's shot from directly behind the ball and gives no sense of perspective how close Perry was tamping his club down to check the lie. I'm with you on the ruling. It has been backed and verified by rules officials and is over and done with. Let's move on. |
| 3. Top golf officials spent last week in Washington, D.C., lobbying the government about the economic impact of the game. After taking huge PR hits in the aftermath of the Northern Trust debacle in Los Angeles -- the company spent thousands entertaining fans and clients with concerts after receiving federal bailout funds -- is this a winnable battle in the court of public perception? | |
| Steve Elling | Scott Michaux |
| If I was a legislator and saw Tim Finchem coming, I'd duck under my desk. He's a walking, talking cure for insomnia. And I'm not sure I'd want to hear his droning propaganda. The idea of late, reflected in the PGA Tour's recent decision to publicize its charitable efforts more forcefully, is to educate the masses -- especially those who make public policy -- about what the tour does for communities beyond staging tournaments and how it remains a good marketing vehicle for sponsors. The Northern Trust affair was a disaster, shredded by two prominent legislators, including Sen. John Kerry. But I'm not sure that laying low for a while might not be a better tack. After all, what's it say about the tour and our country's current financial situation when tournament sponsors keep electing to remove their names from event titles rather than be linked to a perceived flight of inessential fancy, like spending millions to stage a golf tournament? If Finchem can't convince his own sponsors that being publicly tied to the tour is a good thing, why should Capitol Hill care to hear about the worthiness of the tour's various endeavors? It's a delicate predicament. These are odd times, indeed. | I'm with Finchem and the tour on this one. Golf needs to fight the continuing attack, with critics perpetuating old and unsubstantiated stereotypes. Did the tour get a little too fat for its own good? Yeah. But does it deserve being singled out as the most frivolous marketing endeavor? Absolutely not. The tour's charitable impact in the communities it is part of should make all other sports blush. We're talking hundreds of millions of dollars a year. That charitable commitment should make every member of Congress applaud instead of attack. You don't see them standing up decrying all the corporate dollars getting thrown at other sports in terms of luxury suites or naming rights. Every college bowl is underwritten by some corporation and they don't give back a fraction of what the PGA Tour does. But has anybody swift-boated them with misleading attacks? No. Golf gets branded because of its elitist reputation -- some of it justified, most of it not. The PGA Tour and the golf industry in general need to stand up or they'll remain easy targets for people looking for a cheap scapegoat. They need to stand up for their sponsors who got spooked by the unwarranted attacks from a dimly lit court of public opinion. |
