JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — They remain separated by a common language.
But for once, they are not divided by the Atlantic Ocean.
Our weekly Pond Scrum contributors, if not combatants, usually are checking in with their insight and insults from positions on opposite sides of the biggest ocean of all, but not this week as the season’s final major approaches.
European Tour correspondent John Huggan and CBSSports.com senior writer Steve Elling are parked side by side, separated by only a few feet in the media center, as they bang out their musings as the 93rd PGA Championship is set to begin this week at Atlanta Athletic Club.
They can kick around the hot topics, then kick each other under the table.
Hopefully they’ll keep it more civil than the biggest topic du jour, the self-aggrandizing bit of bluster offered by caddie Steve Williams on Sunday night in Ohio. For 12 years, he was Marlene Dietrich and never talked. Who knew he had so much to say?
As for Huggan and Elling, words come easily. And sometimes, far too often.
Never before has a caddie been the most-discussed figure in the game of golf, but that’s certainly been the case with bagman Steve Williams, who was looping for winner Adam Scott on Sunday during his victory in Ohio. Has the blowback been, well, overblown?
Elling: Woods’ divorce from Steve has been as brutal on the public-relations front than the one from Elin? Who saw that coming?
Huggan: The despicable Steve Williams hasn’t always caddied for great players like Ray Floyd, Greg Norman and Tiger Woods. Back in the 1980s, one of the New Zealander’s less-heralded employers was journeyman Chris Moody. Indeed, the Englishman, now 57 and long retired from competitive play, was “hailed” as probably the worst ball-striker on the European Tour over the course of his career. Even back then, the younger despicable one was showing signs of the unfounded arrogance and bluster that last Sunday evening saw him make an ill-conceived and self-serving attack -– “this is the greatest week of my life” — on his most famous former boss, Woods. And Moody, one of the most erudite professionals on the circuit, was having none of it. After one particularly obnoxious outburst from his egotistical and mean-spirited bag-carrier, the former European Masters champion was moved to comment: “Steve, never forget that, while I can easily do your job, you cannot do mine.”
Elling: Steve Williams went from being a bully, to a sympathetic figure, to a raving egomaniac in the span of what, a week? How can that story possibly be underplayed? Besides, how often does anybody from the Woods camp elect to kiss and tell? CBS Sports has been taking a ton of crap for putting a microphone in Williams’ face after the round, but nobody could possibly know what he was going to say, or that he would start crooning me-me-me like an opera singer.
Huggan: The advice from Moody was sound and something that Williams clearly forgot, or unfortunately, never heard in the first place. In fact, I think I’m going to change my name for him. Instead of “despicable,” let’s call him “delusional.”
Elling: Lee Westwood, for one, questioned why Williams was interviewed at all. Well, because he had just helped a talented, but underachieving, player win in his first start since the news broke that he had been sacked by Woods. Caddies are interviewed all the time, just not on live network TV. Doesn’t the fact that people are still talking about it prove that it’s newsworthy? Case closed.
Huggan: Westwood also touched on the three basic things a caddie needs: a strong back and legs, an ability to count and a personality compatible with the player he is working for. That’s all.
Elling: My biggest takeaway is that Woods and Williams were a dream pairing. What a confluence of egos, alpha males and narcissists. Williams is, without question, one of the best loopers on tour. But he pretty much burned all the positive currency he had gained by being unfairly fired — that seems to be the general perception, anyway — by taking off on a megalomaniac riff about winning 145 tournaments.
Huggan: The delusional one should keep that in mind next time he opens his big gob.
Elling: How many putts did Steve make in those 145 wins? I forget.
Huggan: Exactly. I feel sorry that Adam’s terrific play has been largely overshadowed. A less nice person — let’s say, me — would have fired Stevie on the spot after his tirade.
Elling: I suspect that at least half the PGA Tour would have booted him after that self-serving speech. He is one irate Kiwi. He could have made his point without being nearly so … vindictive. Spiteful. I can go on, of course. That was venting at the highest order and he made himself look classless in the process.
Huggan: One last Stevie story: Years ago he was in a locker room at a tournament when a young player walked in. Over the next few minutes, Williams told the lad how he would never make it on tour and that he would be better off giving up and going home to work on the farm. Unknown to the delusional one, however, Greg Turner, another New Zealand pro, was listening. When Stevie was finished, Greg put him right on a few things. Like, “you’re just a caddie, shut up.” Again though, he clearly wasn’t listening.
It was a week of comebacks, with Tiger Woods playing his first full tournament since April and Rory McIlroy announcing he was almost certainly taking up his PGA Tour card in 2012. Which is more newsworthy in your opinion?
Elling: Boy, did I take some shots last week for asserting that the McIlroy news was the biggest of the two. Look, people, here’s the deal. We knew Tiger was coming back. It was a matter of “when.” With Rory, it was a matter of “if.” He is the best player in the world under age 30. Tiger draws the sidewalk fans to broadcasts, at least at the moment, but Rory is the future of the game.
Huggan: Definitely Tiger. Whether we like it or not, he is still the man when it comes to moving the media’s needle. People who know nothing about golf — and care less — know the name Tiger. Maybe we got a little spoiled by having the world’s most famous sportsman be a golfer, something that has never happened before and likely won’t happen again anytime soon. So Tiger, for all his faults, deserves some credit for raising the profile of our little game, even if it does appear that we are headed back to where we were pre-Tiger right now.
Elling: I will concede, freely, that there are no transcendent players at the moment. It’s muddy at the top, with a rotating cast of very good players. But for McIlroy, it’s crucial to the game’s financial health in the States for him to be in the mix here.
Huggan: Rory, as you say, is the future. But the future is not now. On the subject of Rory specifically, while it was understandable that he would again change his mind and re-join the PGA Tour next year, his reason for doing so were a little disturbing and disappointing. Like many before him, he is discovering that celebrity and all that comes with it can be less than fun. I suspect that the days of him joining his mates down at the pub in Belfast are over.
Huggan: Plus, the PGA Tour needs Rory more than he needs the PGA Tour. Although should Tiger return to something like his old form — a big if — I reserve the right to withdraw that last statement.
Elling: The interesting part of the equation is that McIlroy is heading to the States completely of his own volition. His management firm has advised against it. I had an interesting conversation with Rory’s dad at Firestone. “Can I tell you something?” Gerry McIlroy said. “Rory is his own man. He is over 21 and he makes his own decisions. He likes it over here and I think it’s the right decision.” It’s a huge move for golf fans in the States, for sure. Tiger is the big draw, but he was always going to return at some point. McIlroy is a future No. 1.
The last time the PGA Championship was staged at Atlanta Athletic Club, David Toms won with a four-day score of 265, the lowest number ever at a Grand Slam event. Will it be a track meet this time as well?
Elling: If by track meet, you mean marathon. That’s a whole lot of golf course out there for a par 70, almost 7,500 yards worth. Anybody who reaches 15 under this week, the winning score of Toms here in 1991, deserves a parade, not a trophy.
Huggan: Not having been here last time, I don’t have much of a reference to go on. But the numbers say that the course is 254 yards longer this time and there are 14 new tees. That’s about par given how the equipment and ball have altered the way the game is played at the highest level over the past decade.
Huggan: What that suggests is that it will be much harder for a less-powerful, Toms-like player to win here. I hope I’m wrong, but this looks like a course where you have to be a bomber to win.
Elling: The PGA has only blown the setup a couple of times over the years — Oakland Hills in 2008 was a torture track — but the tournament tracks at this event are usually fair. In fact, the PGA has consistently produced the most entertaining endings of all the majors over the recent past, dating to the incredible Tiger-Sergio duel 12 years ago. This week, with the wide-open nature of trying to identify a winner, it could be something special. I sense it could be memorable.
Huggan: I certainly don’t see a Darren Clarke-type figure winning — an experienced man with a lot of shots in his locker. This is a place made for a young gun.
Elling: The young guns were certainly riding high last week, eh? After Scott, a 31-year-old, it was Jason Day, Rickie Fowler and Ryo Ishikawa right behind him on the board. None is older than 23. I think it comes down to the last hole, like it did when Jerry Pate won the U.S. Open here and Toms laid up and won in 2001. Can’t wait to see how they sort it out.
Huggan: That is true about the terrific string of PGA Championship endings. Maybe the other majors should start copying the PGA, get Rees Jones in to re-do the courses and build bunkers surrounded by rough. If they do, by the way, I may kill myself.
We’ve saved perhaps the biggest question, at least in the minds of general sports fans, for last. How did Woods look at Firestone and does he have a shot at the PGA title in Atlanta?
Elling: Woods looked pretty strong in his opening 18, but seemed to run out of adrenaline as the week wore on, which is understandable. But there’s no question, there are gaping holes that need filling. For a guy who claims he spent the last two months working on his short game — it was all he was allowed to do under doctor’s orders — his putting and chipping last week were average at best. Once again, he was using multiple putters, the sign of a guy looking for answers. That said, a million people will plunk down money on him when he says he expects to win this week. Lemmings.
Huggan: I thought he looked just like he did before the injury. Certainly, the numbers would indicate that his driving and putting remain problems. If neither or either does not improve significantly over the next few months, a lifetime of mediocrity awaits the great man.
Elling: Keep in mind that Woods finished T29 at Atlanta Athletic Club when the PGA was played here in 2001, which matched his worst finish in any Grand Slam over his first 27 professional starts. Put that in your betting pipe and smoke it.
Huggan: I really don’t see him even contending here this week. He hasn’t got enough “reps” under his belt, either on the range or in competition. Quite simply, he’s run out of time as far as 2011 is concerned.
Elling: There were two very positive developments for Woods last week. Firstly, he seems healthy for the first time in months, perhaps years. Second, and it doubtlessly relates in part to the first point — he was murdering the ball in terms of distance. Over the first two days, he never hit a tee shot that caused anybody to cringe or seek medical attention. He was missing fairways by only a few feet. But at the end, he ranked dead last in fairways in regulation, and if he isn’t in the short grass this week, he’ll be headed home on Friday night.
Huggan: Hopefully — and I say that as a golf fan rather than a journalist — he will be back to something like his best next year. I remain, like most people and despite all that he has revealed of his seedier side, a huge Tiger fan — on the golf course. I still can’t take my eyes off him when he’s playing.
Elling: Think there’s some pressure on the guy? Woods is four spots outside the top 125 in FedEx Cup points and says he isn’t playing next week in Greensboro, the last event in which to accumulate points. If he fails to make the cut and finish decently, he can’t play in any of the four FedEx events, which means his season in the States is effectively over. Bet the PGA Tour is loving that. Ditto the TV networks.
We’re at the season’s final major and you guys have eyeballed these guys since January. Who wins this week and why? Will a Yank break the international stranglehold at majors?
Elling: I have been pushing this guy for two years and I am not stopping now. I still think Westwood is the best player in the world. He’s coming off a strong week at Bridgestone, he’s sought some help with his putting, and he’s been working in the gym like a man possessed. He’s the best player in the world without a major. Go ahead, identify a better candidate for that title. I’ll wait.
Huggan: As for my pick, Donald’s public image is a bit of a myth. As I’ve pointed out before, his long game isn’t as metronomic as many people seem to imagine. And his short game is light years better. He is a brilliant putter. And if there is a better bunker player on the tour — only Ogilvy and Els are his peers in the sand — I have yet to see him. So, bottom line, if Luke drives well this week and is hitting consistently from the short grass, he will win. You heard it here first. Oh yes … and he’s half-Scottish, you know.
Elling: I guess we answered the question indirectly. We just picked two Englishmen — guys who happened to miss the cut at the British Open, where we also were touting their prowess. Trying to predict form is a foolish business. Even Tiger can attest to that.
