Day: August 4, 2021

Phil Mickelson and Memphis make a perfect matchPhil Mickelson and Memphis make a perfect match

August 4, 2021August 4, 2021| 14:29

In a Hall of Fame career where he has found success at venues all over the world, Phil Mickelson has found a surprising fit in Memphis, Tennessee. This week will mark the tenth career start at TPC Southwind for Mickelson, and the ninth time he’s teed it up here since 2013. In those previous eight starts, he’s finished in the top-three four times and finished worse than 12th only once. Mickelson has played eight or more rounds on more than 25 PGA TOUR courses since 2013. In that span, his best scoring average (68.47) and Strokes Gained: Total per round (+1.92) have come at TPC Southwind. So what is it about this course that brings out the best in the reigning PGA Champion? THE BENEFIT OF BOMBS We all know Lefty’s love of hitting – in his words – both bombs and hellacious seeds. That can be a good thing when playing in Memphis: aggressive choices off the tee have been beneficial to players at TPC Southwind over the years. Distance has proven to be more valuable than hitting the fairway at TPC Southwind. Over the last six years, players who hit one more driver off the tee than normal gain about two-tenths of a stroke on the field. In the last eight years, Mickelson has averaged just over three misses left per round with his tee shots at TPC Southwind, and just over two misses right per round. Both of those averages are more than what he’s done on every other PGA TOUR course in that span. Despite that, his Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee numbers are almost identical – 0.35 per round on this course, 0.37 everywhere else. Mickelson’s aggressive play is unlikely to come back to bite him at TPC Southwind – in fact, it’s helping him succeed. SIGNIFICANCE OF APPROACH PLAY Since 2013, Mickelson gains about twice as many strokes per round on approach at TPC Southwind (+0.57) than he does on all other courses in that span (+0.29). That is important on a golf course that rewards strong approach play more than normal. Traditionally, the greens in regulation rate by the field at this course are between 3-6 percent lower than the PGA TOUR average that given season. Since 2010, players who have won at TPC Southwind rank about 29 percent better in Strokes Gained: Approach than the average PGA TOUR winner during that same span. Four of the previous six winners at TPC Southwind ranked either first or second that week in Strokes Gained: Approach. Mickelson has had positive Strokes Gained: Approach in 68.8 percent of his rounds at TPC Southwind since 2013. Everywhere else in that span, it’s a rate of 57.3 percent. PUTTING NUMBERS SKYROCKET “I think it’s (TPC Southwind) the most underrated course we have on TOUR,” Mickelson said in 2015. “It’s such a straightforward, fun test of golf. And if you hit good shots you get rewarded with good putts and birdies.” Mickelson would know – he’s made a ton of birdies at TPC Southwind. He’s averaged 4.41 birdies-or-better per round, in fact, since 2013, the third-highest average among players in that span. And while his performance through the bag has been stellar at this course over the years, it’s his putting that really takes off when he gets to Memphis. Mickelson consistently makes more short to mid-range putts at TPC Southwind. From four to eight feet, Mickelson has made 82.3 percent of his attempts since 2013 at this course. Everywhere else, it’s 70.1 percent. From five to ten feet, it’s an improvement of 12 percent. From ten to fifteen feet, his make rate jumps 5.1 percent. The strokes really add up over the course of the week. Since 2013, Mickelson has averaged 0.92 Strokes Gained: Putting per round at this course, the second-highest average of any player in that span with a dozen or more rounds played. That is more than three-and-a-half times more Strokes Gained per round on the greens than he’s racked up on all other PGA TOUR courses during that same stretch (+0.24 per round). There are 193 players with ten or more PGA TOUR rounds at TPC Southwind since 2010 – the summer Mickelson turned 40 years old. Of that group, only three players have a better scoring average than Mickelson (68.5). Less than 13 percent of those players have averaged a full stroke or more gained tee-to-green per round at TPC Southwind in that span – Mickelson is one of them. Aggressive tee shots and agreeable putting surfaces have made Mickelson and Memphis a perfect match.

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Andrew Putnam takes deep dive for good cause at Barracuda ChampionshipAndrew Putnam takes deep dive for good cause at Barracuda Championship

August 4, 2021August 4, 2021| 14:18

Normally when Andrew Putnam goes scuba diving, he’d be watching tropical fish weave their way in and out of the nooks and crannies of colorful coral reefs. He might notice a few sharks in the distance, too. Tuesday was different, though. Two days before he’ll tee off in the first round of the Barracuda Championship, Putnam was diving in the cool waters of nearby Lake Tahoe. The setting was nothing short of spectacular. The water was clear, and the visibility couldn’t have been better. But Putnam was picking up trash. And the avid conservationist and outdoorsman calls it “by far the most interesting dive I’ve ever done.” Putnam was working with a group called Clean Up The Lake in an effort to bring awareness to the importance of sustainability and protecting the environment. He was surprised to see what he found at the bottom of the lake, saying it was “eye-opening.” There were beer cans and soda cans – some that were 40- or 50-years old judging from the various shapes and designs. The divers found an anchor and some old tires, as well as different kinds of fishing tackle. And in a sad sign of the times, Putnam even found some COVID masks. When the dive was over, Putnam was exhausted, but the winner of the 2018 Barracuda Championship called the experience “rewarding” because he felt like he’d made a difference. “I’ve always been a big believer in going and seeing and doing things that you’re maybe not aware of that are happening,” Putnam says. “And in terms of sustainability going in and looking at seeing the trash and the impact that’s having on this lake definitely helped me gain a new perspective. … “I’m glad I did it and glad I could be part of it all and feel like this experience will help change me and change how I consume and use obviously cans and plastics and being more responsible to dispose of them correctly or not using them at all.” But Putnam, who has a business degree in economics from Pepperdine, has thoughts on the broader issues of sustainability, conservation and climate change that go beyond clean air and water and recycling and coexisting with nature. He says trying to solve the climate crisis from an economic system of inflation is not unlike getting stuck in a revolving door. Our money isn’t worth as much tomorrow as it was today and at the same time, technology has made things cheaper and cheaper, so we consume more and produce more – hence the abundance of goods we have today. With inflation, Putnam says, people aren’t as incentivized to save for the future. That’s where he thinks a decentralized currency like Bitcoin could be an answer since it’s deflationary, which increases buying power over time and as a result, encourages people to save in the present. “Having a degree in economics and playing a sport that I’m outdoors, enjoying nature, I think it’s a combination of the two that kind of led me to have my eyes opened and want to be a part of the conversation around this,” says Putnam, who is an avid reader of books on finance. Reducing water consumption, as so many golf courses are making an effort to do, obviously is a huge help. Recycling and driving electric cars are making a difference, too. But Putnam is trying to reimagine the future and figure out a way to stop the “constant treadmill of growth.” He feels finding the right economic model will be the key to fostering sustainability and solving climate change. “I’m not saying that Bitcoin is the end all, be all or the answer,” he says. “I think it’s just opened up a lot of people’s minds to think outside the current system, the current box, especially when it comes to sustainability and climate change. “I think everyone can agree that we kind of have to go down a different path than we’ve been going on the last 50, 60 years to make this planet sustainable for my kids and grandkids.” While golf is his first love, Putnam grew up in the Pacific Northwest and enjoys basically any outdoor activity. As a kid he went hunting with his father and grandfather. He and his wife Tawny, who now live in Washington, enjoy hiking, and he recently got a mountain bike. Their adventures have taken the couple all over the world, including the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in southwestern Uganda, home to about 400 of endangered silverback gorillas – which sadly, is about half the world’s population. They were sitting completely still, just as their guides had cautioned them, when one of the animals decided to check Putnam out. The imposing gorilla passed close enough that his weathered hand grazed Putnam’s foot. “They had a couple of babies who are playing around in the trees,” he recalls. “Then of course you’ve got the big silverback who is kind of the leader and who’s keeping an eye on you, making sure you’re not threatening any family or anything. “That was really, really, really special.” Putnam also saw giraffes and lions in their natural habitat on that trip several years ago. In fact, one lion – who was about 150 yards away – roared so loudly he remembers that the sound “rattled our rib cages.” And when the group got between a mother elephant and her baby, she began to flop her ears and charge and “you quickly realize how small you are,” he says. Putnam wants those experiences to be available for his two children and his grandkids. He knows that if conservationists hadn’t start protecting the silverback gorillas 50 or 60 years ago, he wouldn’t have had the opportunity to see them. That’s why he’s trying to think outside the box – and why he hopes to bring attention to sustainability and conquering climate change. “It’s all interconnected,” Putnam says. “I love ideas and I love to continually learn. And so, it’s all connected for me – whether it’s picking up trash in Reno in the lake or going to see silverback gorillas and Bitcoin. As random as it is it’s all part of the same story for me. “It’s fun to kind of keep learning.”

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