2014/2015 PGA Tour and Champions Tour Thread

[nfotiu]

Generally I thought it was okay. ESPN does some silly stuff too. I think the ball was awfully tough to find with the cameras in the dead grass, so I do think they get a pass on that. However there were a few times their mixing was pretty suspect where they'd cut back and the ball running somewhere without showing the shot or saying who shot it. Or they'd be commentating a shot while showing a picturesque scenic view of the course and the water.

The single most annoying thing was the completely awkward post round interviews. I can't believe they didn't redo that setup after the first round.

[Senator Clay Davis]

I thought the coverage was alright, not great but not horrific. The biggest issue I had is they really got stuck on staying with situations way longer than needed, which led to less overall coverage of golf. Like Adam Scott shot 64 yesterday but there might have been coverage of a total of 5 shots from his round, even as it was borderline historic. But they found time to spend 3 minutes following Jason Day from one green to the next tee. NBC and CBS obviously are much better at maximizing coverage of golf and maybe Fox can get there in time. Overall I'd give them a 6/10 for the coverage.

The problem with Fox is they won't get many chances to improve in the year as of course this is the only PGA event they will cover all year. I don't know how they can get more events, but the level of coverage will not improve without more chances to do so. I thought the pro tracer usage was excessive but they didn't really have a robust team of on-course people to describe the shots so they probably need to use it more. And the post round interviews were mostly awful but I really never pay much attention to those anyway.

[Muffins]

I'm a big fan of the pro tracer. I think it gives a much better visual of how they are shaping their shots.
The old, see the guy swing, cut to a wobbly camera trying to follow the ball in the air then landing. Then having the on course guy comment on how they drew/cut the ball in there just doesn't do it for me.

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

I want to see their coverage on a normal course, like this weekend at the US Senior Open.

That course yesterday was stupid. I could not tell one hole from another, it's no wonder they could not find the ball.

Course was beyond stupid. I went for Saturday, and it was just crappy all the way around. Huge hills, DUSTY as hell clogged up your nostrils, brown as hell. The spectator areas were miles away from the action, you couldn't see jack. The course being so brown made it harder to track balls.

Luckily we had tix for the trophy club so basically spent all day up there drinking beer and watching on TV. But even that was just a temporary tent thing you had to climb a mountain to get to. The entire experience was so unpleasant. I don't blame the players one bit for bitching about it. It was a horrible course for both player and fan.

[darklord700]

Originally Posted by Muffins

I'm a big fan of the pro tracer. I think it gives a much better visual of how they are shaping their shots.

I like the tracer as I normally couldn't see anything after the tee off. I hope they continue using it.

[Bobblehead]

The tracer was one of the few things I really liked. I really enjoyed being able to see the shape that they are able to get.

Perhaps the course was to blame, but if the cameraman covering the fairway can't pick up the ball, why even cut to that camera feed? And there were times when a put was still rolling on the green, in peril of rolling off and someone didn't notice so they cut away.

I'm sure a number of the issues might get ironed out with experience, but overall I wasn't impressed. I'm not sure why the USGA lets these 3rd parties in for their premiere event - it seems like they should want as professional a presentation as possible and instead they picked someone learning on the fly. Give ESPN or Fox a few smaller tournaments to get their feet wet before granting them a major.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

The tracer was one of the few things I really liked. I really enjoyed being able to see the shape that they are able to get.

Perhaps the course was to blame, but if the cameraman covering the fairway can't pick up the ball, why even cut to that camera feed? And there were times when a put was still rolling on the green, in peril of rolling off and someone didn't notice so they cut away.

I'm sure a number of the issues might get ironed out with experience, but overall I wasn't impressed. I'm not sure why the USGA lets these 3rd parties in for their premiere event - it seems like they should want as professional a presentation as possible and instead they picked someone learning on the fly. Give ESPN or Fox a few smaller tournaments to get their feet wet before granting them a major.

1.1 billion!!!!!

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

While I liked how much Fox used the tracer and how they showed the yardages to different things (355 to carry bunker, etc) overall I really think they were overmatched. A bunch of time the cameraman couldn't find the ball rolling down the fairway and we had a camera panning the fairway. The cameramen following the golfers seemed really intrusive - I don't recall ever actually seeing the camera people following so closely in so many shots.

They may get those wrinkles ironed out, but I'm not sure their first broadcast being a high profile major was a good decision. They needed a couple smaller tournaments to figure out the bugs. Seeing the shot shapes and everything was great. The way they had no commercials for the end was great. They caught some good moments, but some of the sensationalism seemed a bit out of place.

Unless this is just the way Fox intends on doing it, in which case I am not a fan.

I also found their ability to track balls in flight and rolling to be far worse than other broadcasts. I'm pretty sure that is why they heavily utilized the shot tracker.

[Zarley]

I liked Fox, but I'm pretty sure they had the camera on the wrong guy when Speith was talking about his dad at the end.

[DoubleK]

That was so painful to watch. Golf is such a cruel sport.

[DoubleK]

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

Give ESPN or Fox a few smaller tournaments to get their feet wet before granting them a major.

Fox televised the Franklin Templeton Shootout in November 2014.

[Flabbibulin]

Watching the Senior Open. Woody Austin is such a clown. Always has been. Really motivates you to be calm and cool on the course, because you look so foolish when you lose your temper in golf.

[GirlySports]

tuned into the Senior Open on FOX. Would be something if Tom Watson won this.

[killer_carlson]

De Laet in the mix at the PGA tour.

[Flabbibulin]

The baba booeys and mash potato screams have gotten old, no?

[Senator Clay Davis]

Hmmmm...

Nearly $3 million transferred from golfer Phil Mickelson to an intermediary was part of "an illegal gambling operation which accepted and placed bets on sporting events," according to two sources and court documents obtained by Outside the Lines.

Mickelson, a five-time major winner and one of the PGA Tour's wealthiest and most popular players, has not been charged with a crime and is not under federal investigation. But a 56-year-old former sports gambling handicapper, acting as a conduit for an offshore gambling operation, pleaded guilty last week to laundering approximately $2.75 million of money that two sources told Outside the Lines belonged to Mickelson.

Gregory Silveira of La Quinta reached an agreement with prosecutors and pleaded guilty to three counts of money laundering of funds from an unnamed "gambling client" of his between February 2010 and February 2013. Sources familiar with the case said Mickelson, who was not named in court documents, is the unnamed "gambling client." Silveira is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 5 before U.S. District Court Judge Virginia A. Phillips and faces up to 60 years in prison, though the sentence will likely be far shorter.

Mickelson could not be reached for comment. His longtime personal attorney, Glenn Cohen, declined to comment, saying another attorney -- whom he would not name -- assisted Mickelson in the matter. Silveira could not be reached for comment directly and his attorney declined to comment.

According to court documents, in March 2010, Silveira -- a participant in "an illegal gambling operation which accepted and placed bets on sporting events" -- accepted a wire transfer of $2.75 million, which he knew was part of "illegal sports betting." The money, according to the documents, came from a "gambling client" and had been transferred into Silveira's Wells Fargo Bank account. Three days later, Silveira transferred $2.475 million and then $275,000 into another of his Wells Fargo accounts. The next day, Silveira transferred the $2.475 million to another account he controlled at JPMorgan Chase Bank.

http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/...ling-operation

[killer_carlson]

Hearn in a 4 way playoff right now.

[killer_carlson]

Hearn drops a bomb to push it to a second playoff hole, and then proceeds to chunk it to the rough, boots across the fairway to the rough on the other side, chips down the fairway, hits a good approach which doesn't stick and rolls off the green. Puts up a 6 on the par 5 to lose on the second playoff hole.

But with this T-2 finish he now sets a career high in season earnings on the tour and gets an invite to the British Open. He is a good putter so I would expect him to make the cut at the British Open provided he can bump the ball fairly straight off the tee for the first 2 days.

[DoubleK]

Hearn played awesome down the stretch. I think he wins before DeLaet.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Jordan Speith's path to the calendar slam just got easier thanks to Rory tearing a ligament in his ankle playing soccer. Will obviously be out for a bit.