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Fallout Bradley was right -- and wrong -- at Solheim Cup
At least the LPGA finally found a way to help promote -- and get people talking about -- the Solheim Cup. Of course, to do it, Pat Bradley had to invoke a totally correct but cheesy ruling and the U.S. came off looking like diaper-wearing losers. You probably know the story. Europe's Annika Sorenstam chipped in during last week's Solheim Cup in Scotland but her American opponents, Kelly Robbins and Pat Hurst, noticed that they were actually away, not Sorenstam, and should have played first. After an official confirmed it, captain Bradley stepped in and was within the rules to force Sorenstam to play the shot over since she'd played out of turn. A livid Sorenstam cried, her teammates fumed, and then the British media jumped on the bandwagon and compared this to the ugly Americanism displayed at the Ryder Cup when players and wives ran onto the green following Justin Leonard's big putt last year. Of course, if the Brits had forced an American to replay a shot, they'd have written about what shrewd captaining it was on Dale Reid's part and how you have to play the game by the rules. As it was, one cheerleading Brit writer all but accused the Americans of cheating. What a laugh. The fact is Sorenstam screwed up. You never play out of turn, especially in match play. If it's even close, you ask the opponents if you're away or if it's OK for you to play. She made a mistake, a real rookie error. However, forcing Sorenstam to replay the shot was weak. It's in the rules, I know, but I'd never call that penalty on an opponent. I would have picked the ball out of the cup, handed it to Sorenstam and said, "Nice shot but next time, wait until it's your turn." Throw a little guilt trip on her. With any luck, it would have thrown her off her game just as effectively and you wouldn't have put yourself in the position of looking like Slobodan Milosevic trying to win the election on a cheap technicality. There's gamesmanship and there's pettiness. They're two different things. Too bad one of the American players didn't have the guts to tell Bradley to back off and let them win the match with their clubs, not the rulebook. Now that would have been classy. Anyway, here's this week's mail:
I've been a casual fan of the LPGA for many years (well, since Nancy Lopez
first hit) and it's frustrating to see the lack of exposure it receives. On the
other hand, I don't believe it has a true marketable star. I thought Dottie
Pepper might be that person a few years ago but she seems to have lost her fire.
Annika Sorenstam and Karrie Webb? Hardly. They're fantastic golfers, but you
have to have the complete package in today's world, and they both lack star
power. This is going to sound extremely tacky, but the LPGA needs someone who is
attractive. I don't mean physically attractive, but someone who has that passion
and persona that makes others excited about watching the
sport. You're wading into treacherous water, Dale. The LPGA faces the basic fact that men generally aren't interested in women's sports. There are exceptions but many of them are of the Anna Kournikova kind. She's a star for her looks, not her play. What LPGA players -- and PGA Tour players, too -- need to understand is that golf is about entertainment, not just about hitting a ball with a stick. Bruce Crampton was a superb ballstriker who turned off fans with his personality and ultra-finicky habits. You'll never be a true superstar no matter how often you win if the fans and the media don't like you. The fans (and even the media) want to like you. Just give them a reason. Smile. Act like you're having fun. Spare us a couple minutes and throw some cliches our way. It's simple. Tiger Woods figured that out early. A lot of others haven't.
I am writing in response to your answer about Tiger being exempt only through
2007. I thought that he now has a lifetime exemption based on winning
more than 20 Tour events. Am I wrong in this assumption? Eric, I'll tell you something I never tell my wife: You are right. While I was busy examining the trees and figuring out which major title lasted longest, I didn't notice the forest. Any Tour player with 20 wins has a lifetime exemption. Of course, that immunity doesn't come into play until every other exemption runs out. Technically, Tiger is exempt now due to his '97 Masters win, as I said. But I failed to add up Tiger's numbers and realize he had already hit 20. Thanks, Eric.
Nowadays it seems like every player who can't hack it out on Tour heads
straight to the broadcast booth (i.e. Chip Beck, Charlie Rymer and Curtis
Strange). Some of these guys are just as bad with a microphone in their hands as
with a driver. How do the networks have room for all these burnouts? Who's in
charge of hiring them? And have any of them ever gotten fired for being as bad
in the booth as on the course? Look, we could spend several mailbag columns dissecting the TV guys. To be fair, it's a job that looks 20 times easier than it is. But to be honest, Geoff, you're right about how many of these ex-players are simply awful. Nobody seems to get fired, they just don't get renewed. Or they leave to pursue other interests (like the slow-talking Ben Crenshaw and the fast-talking Mark McCumber ) . While network golf guys are in love with hiring these ex-journeymen and such, the result is often laughable when they're called on to attempt journalism, such as a post-round interview. Golf instructor and rookie announcer Gary Smith, faced with interviewing Sergio Garcia at an early-season event, came up with this desperate attempt for his third question: "Uh, Sergio, so how did Fanny do today?" How did his caddie do? I think most of us, as golf viewers, have problems with a number of unprofessional, pollyanna ex-players who spew cliches, misinform and, unlike Johnny Miller, can't or won't tell it like it is. One of these slow weeks, we'll start naming names.
How many players on Tour can shoot a two-iron with any consistency? All of
them? Half of them? Just Tiger? And which players on Tour have the reputation of
being the best with their long irons? All of them, Charles. Hale Irwin was known for his long iron play. So was Jack Nicklaus. And these days, of course, every list begins with Tiger.
After watching Bob May extend Tiger Woods at the PGA Championship, I was
wondering whether a sponsor would enlist the services of an unheralded (and
unsponsored) player if he were playing in the last group with Tiger simply for
the exposure the sponsor would be sure to gain? Sure. It's been known to happen that some rookie without a deal who plays his way into one of the last groups on the weekend, suddenly scores a hat deal on the weekend. It would happen more often if pro golfers weren't already walking billboards, about two notches below sport's ultimate shills, NASCAR drivers.
Click here to send your golf question to Gary Van Sickle.
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