Bernhard Langer's new putting stroke has people talking (but not for all the right reasons)
En
route to Bernhard Langer's win at the Chubb Classic two weeks ago, the
similarity of his non-anchored putting stroke to his previous anchored
stroke was called into question. (Chris Trotman/Getty Images)
FROM GOLF DIGEST.COM By TIM ROSAFORTE
Bernhard Langer is known as a man of great integrity.
But
when it comes to the Jan. 1 anchoring ban and the adoption of Rule
14-1b, the 58-year-old Hall of Famer’s new method is being scrutinized.
The debate relates to the technique Langer has adopted for his practice
stroke (anchored) versus his actual stroke (non-anchored but close
enough—to some—to be questionable).
The
discussion heated up after Langer’s victory two weeks ago at the Chubb
Classic, his self-described “first win unanchored” and his 26th on the
PGA Tour Champions circuit.
But it has been a situation Brian Claar,
vice president of competition for the 50-and-older tour, has monitored
since the season-opening Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai.
“I
don’t want Bernie to think we’re spying on him, but at Hualalai I had a
couple phone calls, so I did go in the Golf Channel [production] truck,
and [had cameras] zoomed in from three angles,” Claar told me.
“It was
very windy that day, so I could see his shirt slapping between his
forearm and his chest. I could definitely see him separate. It’s just a
little bit, but that’s all it has to be.”
The
next day, Claar received a call from Thomas Pagel, USGA senior director
of Rules of Golf and Amateur Status. Pagel asked Claar to write a
report on Langer’s explanation. Two weeks later, at the Allianz
Championship in Florida, Claar rode up to Langer during a practice round
at Broken Sound Golf Club and began the conversation by saying, “Boy,
you’re keeping the USGA busy,” before asking Langer to explain, once
again, exactly what he was doing.
The
explanation was simple. As Langer said to me in a text message, “I am
aware of my left arm and hand, and my hand is definitely not touching my
body. I anchor when I address and then move my hand away from the
chest, till it is not touching anymore.”
The
interpretation of 14-1b, as Pagel pointed out to Matt Adams on SirusXM,
is that without incontrovertible visual evidence, the rule is
“intent-based,” meaning conversation with the player becomes the crucial
determiner.
In
Langer’s case, Claar admits to having a handful of PGA Tour Champions
players say things like, “It really looks suspicious.” Claar assures
those players that he is convinced that Langer is playing by the letter
and the spirit of the rule.
Olin
Browne, a respected voice among senior players, doesn’t question
Langer’s integrity. Still, he worries the tour’s No. 1 player will face
an inquisition in every tournament he plays.
“Everybody
should give him some slack, but the problem is, he’s the poster boy for
us,” Browne said. “There’s never been any kind of impropriety as it
relates to him and his game.
"Unfortunately, we’re in a situation where
there’s enough gray area in the interpretation that it lacks clarity.
The intent thing clouds the picture to me.”
Billy
Andrade doesn’t like the idea of Langer’s playing partners playing cop.
Because of his belief that the R and A and the USGA “never imagined
players would be doing this [the adaption that Langer made]” when 14-1b
was written, Andrade thinks the rule should be abolished. “Honestly,
you’re never going to go to Bernhard Langer and say, ‘Hey, I think you
were touching back there,’ ” Andrade said. “That’s just not right.”
It’s
Langer’s integrity—and the insistence of two prominent golf officials
that he isn’t doing anything wrong—that should uncloud the picture.
The Ladies’ Golf Union (LGU) and The R and A are to proceed with a merger of the two organisations.
Following an extensive
consultation exercise, agreement has been reached on the merger of the
two St Andrews-based bodies with the process due to be completed in the
coming months.
The LGU organises a series of
prestigious championships and international matches including the Ricoh
Women’s British Open and the Curtis Cup and the merger will be an
opportunity to further develop these world class events.
An announcement was made in
February 2015 that a potential merger between the LGU and The R and A
was under consideration.
Since then discussions have taken place between
the respective Boards and the LGU’s shareholders - England Golf,
Scottish Golf, the Golf Union of Wales and the Irish Ladies Golf Union -
and there has been unanimous support for the proposal.
Trish Wilson, the Chairman of
the LGU, said, “The LGU has a long and proud tradition of supporting
women’s and girls’ golf. Funded by the lady golfers of Great Britain
and Ireland, the LGU has positioned golf as a game for all women and
girls.
"My gratitude is due to our shareholders for their foresight and
support in this move.
“I would like to thank the
Chief
Executive of The R&A and his team, and the foresight of his
predecessor, for their initiative and conviction in achieving this
outcome. Building on the strong relationship it already enjoys with The
R and A, the LGU looks forward to realising the potential of this
merger.”
Martin Slumbers, Chief Executive
of The R and A, said, “The LGU and The R and A have a wealth of
experience in running successful championships and we have a shared
focus on supporting the development of golf.
"The merger will enable us
to capitalise on the strengths of the two organisations for the wider
benefit of the sport, including the development of golf for women and
girls.
“This is a historic move and an
important step forward for golf on these islands. I would like to thank
the LGU Board for their commitment and enthusiasm throughout this
process and their stakeholders, including Ricoh and IMG, for their
tremendous support.”
Planning is underway to
integrate the staff from both organisations and to implement the agreed
governance structure.
The LGU’s championships and international matches
will run as normal this year with the existing LGU team managing those
events. The business operations of the LGU will be brought into The
R and A group of companies with effect from 1 January 2017.
That’s
entertainment, as they say in the neighbourhood, steps from Sunset
Boulevard, California, adjacent to Hollywood, and does anyone put on a better show than
Bubba Watson, one man playing two roles, protagonist and antagonist
alike?
Only two weeks
after again running afoul of those with an aversion to an athlete
speaking his mind (“I don’t like it at all,” he said of the TPC
Scottsdale), Watson won the Northern Trust Open with a dazzling close at
the Riviera Country Club, his second victory there in three years.
“I
love it because of the history,” Watson said early in the week, but
also because “you can imagine a bunch of shots around the trees and
around the greens.”
No
one navigates a course with greater imagination than Watson, and with
Riviera’s fairways that bend and pin positions that require shots that
do so as well, he is in his element.
He
hit a perfect draw to a tight right pin at the par-3 16th to three feet
for a birdie that moved him into a tie for the lead with Jason Kokrak.
Then he reached the green in two at the 590-yard par-5 17th, made a
two-putt birdie to take the lead and held it with a routine par at 18 for a 15 under par total of 269 to
prevail over a star-studded cast. Adam Scott and Jason Kokrak tied for second place, a shot behind on 270.
Early
in the round, Watson, Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson and Adam Scott were
tied for the lead. Only Scott kept pace, and he holed a chip shot for
birdie at 18 that briefly tied the lead. McIlroy had an error-strewn closing round of 75 for a T20 finish on 278. Scotland's Martin Laird, in T11 position, was the leading Brit with a 69 for 276.
“For me to come back and win and pull one out in a tough way it means a lot,” Watson said.
More
to the point, he overcame his most formidable opponent. Himself. He
never lost his composure, even when he made a mess of the 13th hole and
fell two shots behind.
“We’ve
been working on it hard,” he said. “Slow process. Instead of swing
thoughts and swing, it’s all about the mind. And so for me it’s staying
patient and Teddy [Scott, his caddie] in my ear. And Teddy’s been a
blessing with that. It’s been a struggle over five years, but it’s
working in the right direction.”
Watson
is the most entertaining player today, with a swing that did not come
from the country club assembly line, and an array of shots that never go
straight in a game requiring marksmanship.
But
he also is given to fits of frustration on the course and misspeaking
off it. With Watson, better to take the good with the bad and simply
enjoy the show.
And
what a show it is. This victory was his ninth, and, at 37, he is moving
down a path that leads to the World Golf Hall of Fame. Two of the nine
wins have come in the Masters, the first in 2012, the second in 2014.
Incidentally, he won the Northern Trust Open (which used to be called the Los Angeles Open), in 2014, too. Is there a pattern here that suggests a third green jacket in 2016?
Stay tuned. With Bubba in the mix, however it turns out, it won’t be dull.
