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Many a business deal has been struck on the links and golf fans will be hoping that’s the case at the Dunhill Links.
The DP World Tour’s annual pro-am takes place this week over St Andrews’ Old Course, Kingsbarns, and Carnoustie – and there’s one tee time at the latter that’s caught everyone’s eye.
At 9am on Thursday, Billy Horschel and Dean Burmester will be joined on the tee by none other than PGA Tour commissioner, Jay Monahan, and the governor of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Yasir Al Rumayyan.
The pair are the lead characters in the Framework Agreement, a tragicomedy that’s gone on at least three seasons too many, with both parties reportedly refusing to back down in the negotiations. Now I won’t go into any detail here. You almost certainly already know it – and have been bored to tears by it.
So what’s the best outcome? Well an end to the sport’s so-called civil war is the obvious one.
But perhaps the pair could set up a little wager before they get underway at Carnoustie.
“Right, Yasir, let’s make it interesting. Say, ten bucks a hole?”
“What are we talking, Jay? Skins? Acey Duecey? Bingo Bango Bongo? Sandies? Barkies? Arnies? Wolf? What?”
How about, chaps, we keep it a bit more simple.
The winner over 18 holes on Thursday gets their way in the negotiations.
No cheating. No takebacks. Just two men, playing off scratch, in a winner-takes-all match.
And the loser has to keep Ian Poulter.
Either way – just get it done. As Sir Nick Faldo quite rightly points out, golf at the top level has had “a bit of a walloping” and, as a result, fans are switching off.
Maybe this could be the beginning of the end. Or the beginning of the beginning – depending on how your glass looks.
New Old Tom
As statues of legends so often do, this could have gone horribly wrong.
Thankfully that is not the case for Old Tom Morris.
My word, this is special 👏🏼👏🏼
Old Tom Morris finally – finally! – has a statue in St Andrews and it’s perfect, right down the view he has of the 18th green and his old shop.
Wonderful. pic.twitter.com/msRxkApYcw
— Michael McEwan (@MMcEwanGolf) October 2, 2024
A masterpiece.
All the President’s men
Another Presidents Cup, another victory for the USA. That’s ten in a row now, so does something need to change?
If the topic comes up, all I here is: “Oh, the Ryder Cup was one-sided for 50 years!”
Yeah. And guess what? They changed it.
Then, gradually, it became more exciting. More compelling. And – most importantly – more competitive.
So why are we so adverse to change when we literally have a tried and tested and successful case study in a much older and more established competition?
Now, I should add that I don’t really know what the answer is. That’s why I don’t get paid million of dollars to make these decisions.
I don’t like the suggestion it should be a mixed event. There absolutely should be a mixed event – it’s criminal that there isn’t a tournament on the Ryder or Presidents or Solheim Cup for Asian LPGA players, which has been the dominant force in the women’s game for so long now – but it shouldn’t come at the cost of the Presidents Cup.
Add Europe into the mix? I’m not sure the players would be that bothered, and it would run the risk in some years of being a Ryder Cup-light. A Diet Ryder Cup, if you will. If the teams are going to change, make it the Americas – so North and South – versus the rest of the world.
But other than a format change, by which I really mean making it three days, I don’t think anything needs to be done. The International team are really coming together as one playing under that Shield. And as that identity beds in, and the younger players come through, they will bleed black and gold.
However…
Scenes of the players chugging beers and soaking captain Mike Weir in the aftermath of their seven-point defeat in Montreal earned a raised eyebrow from this corner of Yorkshire.
You know the Internationals have fostered a good team spirit when you see Hideki downing beer and pouring it over the captain.
🎥: @MoneyMichelle pic.twitter.com/0P57jmgHcM
— Sam Harrop (@sam_golf) September 30, 2024
To quote Roy Keane: “Imagine if they ever win anything.”
The Keegfather
Just one more thing on the Prez Cup, this video really tickled me…
This is the best 60 seconds in Presidents Cup history and it’s not even close
— Alex Perry (@byAlexPerry) September 29, 2024
It’s almost a shame that Wyndham Clark’s strange behaviour takes away from the real star of the clip, which is Keegan Bradley – the whitest man on the planet – calling Patrick Cantlay – an insurance salesman with an other-worldly talent – a “gangster”.
Euroflash
Isn’t it funny that everyone starts realising just how good the DP World Tour is once the PGA Tour’s regular season is over?
Sure, incredible finishes at the Irish Open, BMW PGA Championship and Open de Espana have helped, but – hello! – it’s like this a lot, guys.
The powers that be deserve a lot of credit. It was a huge risk to move their biggest events to later in the year where they wouldn’t clash with major season, and it’s paid off.
And finally…
I finish, as always, with some of the excellent work of my colleagues over the past few days.
With one year to go, Ben Parsons has seven big questions ahead of the 45th Ryder Cup, and John Turnbull got out his calculator to crunch some numbers on the PGA Tour’s biggest winners this year.
At the Dunhill, Lewis Fraser got the lowdown on Andy Murray’s swing, while Michael McEwan followed Rory McIlroy for 18 holes and managed to compose himself for long enough to write some lovely words about the experience.
As for me, you’ll catch me on the latest episode of The bunkered Podcast talking about something I’m incredibly passionate about…
Play well.
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