Capelle On Golf

The three possible combinations for playing Pebble Beach in the AT&T are (assuming a player makes the 54 hole cut) -  rounds 1 and 4, 2 and 4, or 3 and 4. When the players who make the cut are done with the third round, all will have played each of the three courses - Pebble Beach, the Shore Course, and Spyglass Hill. That would seem democratic enough, but it is not.

While no stats (at least none that I know of) confirm this theory, it has got to be an advantage to play Pebble Beach on days 3 and 4. This rotation enables a player to get in sync with the conditions, and use that knowledge the next day, whereas those who play Pebble Beach in their first or second rounds then play the other course, lose the feel of Pebble and it’s crusty greens, then have to come back to it in the fourth round.

Another quirky aspect of the pairings is that they are so obviously rigged for Saturday’s telecast. There are six combinations of course and starting tee (first or tenth). Only one of those six - Pebble Beach/first tee on Saturday  - will show a player on TV and as he finishes his round on the 18th hole. Now take a moment and see if you can come up with a few names who TV would like to show on Saturday.

Times up. Here are the key players the TV people (CBS and the Golf Channel) must have told the PGA Tour they must have on camera on Saturday. Some of their selections for this valuable exposure are most deserving, while others are strictly a ploy to hype ratings. In the deserving category we have Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh, Sergio Garcia, Brian Gay, and Rory Sabbatini. Among those who are getting a shot at prime time because they are of interest to the public and they have shown immense potential are Ryo Ishikawa and Rickie Fowler.

Bringing up the rear is John Daly, who was assigned to the Saturday/First Tee at Pebble Beach segment for painfully obvious reasons that have nothing to do with the quality of his game, which is totally lacking. (After two rounds he’s in 99t and likely won’t make it to Sunday.) CBS and the Golf Channel have undoubtedly conspired to promote Being John Daly, which is scheduled to premiere on March 2, so those of you who can stomach Saturday’s celebrity infested telecast will, when not watching these hackers, get to ogle Daly’s god awful game and wardrobe.

So mark your calendars, because 2/13/10 is the day when the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, thanks to Daly and the rating starved networks, turned this venerable sporting event into reality TV.