First things first.
Tiger and J.T. needed to take care of some business before they even begin to think about this playoff stuff.
Tiger Woods and Justin Thomas took a little detour on Monday. Instead of heading for Boston, it was time for a pit-stop in Mamaroneck, New York. That would be the location of Winged Foot, the site of next month’s playing of the U.S. Open.
The U.S. Open is 30 days away but you know Tiger — he’s all for early scouting trips to major venues.
Word is that the USGA is wanting to go old school this go-round. It might not be “The Massacre At Winged Foot” Part II, but it is going to be tough and “rough” literally.
“It’s really hard,” Thomas said after his outing with Tiger. “I absolutely loved it. It’s one of my favorite, if not my favorite courses I’ve ever played. It’s right there in front of you. It’s not tricked up. Nothing is hidden. You just stand on the tee and you’re about 490 yards away and you have a really narrow fairway and a pretty severe green. There’s a lot of holes like that.”
J.T. added that Winged Foot is “probably the most U.S. Open venue that I’ve seen. It checks all the boxes. It’s long. It has narrow fairways. It’s going to be long rough and severe greens.”
Tiger has some experience at Winged Foot. He finished tied for 29th at the 1997 PGA and missed the cut there at the 2006 U.S. Open.
Bones Mackay Stays On Thomas’ Bag:
Maybe they have some chemistry going but Jim “Bones” Mackay will caddie for Justin Thomas through the FedEx Cup playoffs.
Apparently Thomas’ regular caddie — Jimmy Johnson — is still dealing with some health issues. He could be back for the U.S. Open next month. But in the meantime, it will be Bones on the bag. He’s been pretty busy — he was the on-course reporter last week at the U.S. Amateur and was the first one to see the caddie-testing-the-sand incident at the 18th hole in Tyler Strafaci’s round of 16 match.
Tough Times? PGA Tour Cutting Staff Members:
Seems the PGA Tour knows that with no fans on site, its revenues aren’t quite up to par, so to speak.
Last week at the PGA Championship, the Tour announced layoffs:
PGA Tour Vice President of Communications Joel Schuchmann (aka One of The Sheriff’s Henchmen) said the layoffs will help position the Tour moving forward.
“As a result of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the PGA Tour – much like many other organizations – has had to identify ways to streamline our operations,” Schuchmann said in a statement.
“While it is never easy to say goodbye to valuable members of the Tour family, this week’s targeted job cuts will allow us to most efficiently deal with the current climate and prepare for 2021 and beyond.”
Reports have come out saying that the number of layoffs is around 50 and many were long-time staffers.
The PGA Tour hurting? Not so fast.
Earlier this year, the PGA Tour signed a new $700 million a year television deal with CBS, NBC and Golf Channel commencing in 2022. And in 2018, a $2 billion deal with Discovery for international streaming rights.
