Changes announced to PGA TOUR’s COVID protocols

At long last, the R&A has released the qualifying criteria for the 150th edition of The Open Championship in 2022. Although it feels like it was delayed, it actually wasn’t long ago when the R&A confirmed the criteria right around the second week of December regularly. After the considerable, painstaking attention was required weekly to customize the 2021 field (because the 2020 edition was canceled), this season’s bonus is a return to the procedure of revealing all criteria at once. All familiar (read: expected) criteria has been renewed since the last pre-pandemic staging in 2019. The Open Qualifying Series underwent a few adjustments, but it’s always been fluid given how tours’ schedules change every season. The only notable pivot concerns the automatic qualifier from the Asian Tour. In place of its season-ending Order of Merit leader (that will not be granted an exemption with just eight tournaments contributing to a combined 2020-21-22 season), the winner of the Asia-Pacific Open Diamond Cup Golf will receive it instead. As noted in the section dedicated to The Open in REMAINING QUALIFYING CRITERIA below, the date for that tournament is “TBD.” Like all projections for which the exact date to fulfill exemptions is unknown, it’s slotted in the area of when it’s expected to be contested, which is its most recent regular date in May. More than six dozen golfers have been added to the alphabetical list. Because former Open winners who remain eligible but who haven’t appeared in recent editions have been known to give it one more go at St. Andrews specifically, it wouldn’t be surprising if 1997 champion Justin Leonard returned to the event for the first time in six years, but he and Ben Curtis (2003) remain omitted. The last exemptions to be distributed in 2021 will be determined by the final edition of the Official World Golf Ranking. Once it’s released, the top 50 will qualify for the Masters. Currently, the following 10 golfers are not yet exempt into the major: Tyrrell Hatton (22nd in the OWGR), Matt Fitzpatrick (24th), Matthew Wolff (31st), Lee Westwood (38th), Mackenzie Hughes (39th), Tommy Fleetwood (40th), Ryan Palmer (47th), Christiaan Bezuidenhout (48th), Takumi Kanaya (49th), Min Woo Lee (50th). The first three in order outside the top 50 and not yet exempt into the Masters are Ian Poulter (53rd), Cameron Tringale (54th) and Carlos Ortiz (55th). NOTE: Golfers are omitted if they recently haven’t competed in majors for which they are eligible (e.g. The Open Championship=Justin Leonard). TPC = THE PLAYERS Championship MAS = Masters PGA = PGA Championship US = U.S. Open OPEN = The Open Championship Recent Additions TPC — none MAS — none PGA — none US — none OPEN — (all currently exempt have been added below) REMAINING QUALIFYING CRITERIA Criteria are listed in chronological order where possible. Best estimates are given but all are subject to change. THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP (TPC) @ TPC Sawgrass (Stadium) – March 10-13 • Winners of PGA TOUR events thru the final week before THE PLAYERS. • Top 10 in the FedExCup at the conclusion of The Honda Classic (Feb. 27). • Top 50 of Official World Golf Ranking (Feb. 28). • If necessary to complete the field of 144, golfers outside the Top 10 in the FedExCup at the conclusion of the Honda Classic on Feb. 27 will gain entry in order of position. MASTERS (MAS) @ Augusta National Golf Club – April 7-10 • Winners of PGA TOUR events that award full FedExCup points allocation for the TOUR Championship. • Top 50 of Official World Golf Ranking (Dec. 31). • Winner of the Latin America Amateur Championship, if still an amateur (Jan. 23). • Top 50 of Official World Golf Ranking (March 28). • Special invitations to international players per Masters Tournament Committee as its discretion. PGA CHAMPIONSHIP (PGA) @ Southern Hills Country Club – May 19-22 • Winners of PGA TOUR events through the final week before the 2022 PGA Championship. • Top 20 from PGA Professional National Championship (April 20). • Top 70 from special money list (i.e., “PGA Championship Points”) on PGA TOUR from 2021 AT&T Byron Nelson thru 2022 Wells Fargo Championship (May 8). • *All 2021 Ryder Cup members inside Top 100 of Official World Golf Ranking (May 9). • Special exemptions per PGA of America. (This likely will include all golfers from Top 100 of Official World Golf Ranking on May 9.) • If necessary to complete the field of 156, golfers outside Top 70 from special money list (three lines above) will gain entry in order of position. U.S. OPEN (US) @ The Country Club – June 16-19 • Winners of multiple PGA TOUR events that award full FedExCup points allocation since the 2021 U.S. Open. • Winner of THE PLAYERS (March 13). • Winner of the Masters (April 10). • Winner of the PGA Championship (May 22). • Top 60 of Official World Golf Ranking (May 23). • Sectional qualifying (late May-early June). • Top 60 of Official World Golf Ranking (June 6). • Special exemptions per the USGA. THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP (OPEN) @ St. Andrews Links (Old Course) – July 14-17 • Top 4, not otherwise exempt, inside the top 12 at the SMBC Singapore Open (Jan. 23). • Winner of the Latin America Amateur Championship, if still an amateur (Jan. 23). • Money leader on the 2021-22 Sunshine Tour (TBD). • Top 3, not otherwise exempt, inside the top 10 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard (March 6). • Winner of THE PLAYERS (March 13). • Top 3, not otherwise exempt, inside the top 10 at the New Zealand Open (April 3). • Winner of the Masters (April 10). • Money leader on the 2021-22 Australasian Tour (TBD). • Winner of the Asia-Pacific Open Diamond Cup Golf (TBD). • Winner of the PGA Championship (May 22). • Top 4, not otherwise exempt, inside the top 12 at the Mizuno Open (May 29). • Top 3, not otherwise exempt, inside the top 10 at the Dutch Open (May 29). • Highest-ranked, not otherwise exempt, from the Order of Merit on the Japan Golf Tour at the conclusion of the Japan Golf Tour Championship (TBD). • Top 50 of Official World Golf Ranking (TBD). • Top 2, not otherwise exempt, inside the top 8 at the RBC Canadian Open (June 12). • Winner of the British Amateur, if still an amateur (June 18). • Winner of the U.S. Open (June 19). • Winner of the European Amateur Championship, if still an amateur (June 25). • Top 2, not otherwise exempt, inside the top 8 at the KOLON Korea Open (June 26). • Top 5 and ties, not otherwise exempt, inside the top 20 in the DP World Tour Rankings at the conclusion of the BMW International Open (June 26). • Top 5 and ties, not otherwise exempt, inside the top 20 in the FedExCup at the conclusion of the Travelers Championship (June 26). • Final Qualifying. Top 3 at each of four sites: Fairmont St. Andrews, Hollinwell (Notts), Prince’s, St. Annes Old Links (June 28). • Top 3, not otherwise exempt, inside the top 10 at the Irish Open (July 3). • Top 3, not otherwise exempt, inside the top 10 at the John Deere Classic (July 3). • Top 3, not otherwise exempt, inside the top 10 at the Genesis Scottish Open (July 10). • Top finisher, not otherwise exempt, inside the top 5 at the Barbasol Championship (July 10).

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The first draft of the script for “Caddyshackâ€� was 200 pages long – which was nearly twice the norm for Hollywood screenplays at the time. And believe it or not, the character named Carl Spackler, the wacky and wacked out assistant greenskeeper so central to the movie in its final form, was nowhere to be found. Oh, and what about that gopher? Well, Spackler’s nemesis started out as a mere sock puppet, appearing in just one scene where the rodent pops up and steals Al Czervik’s golf ball. Those are just two of the many interesting nuggets that can be found in Chris Nashawaty’s new book, “Caddyshack: The Making of a Hollywood Cinderella Story.â€� Nashawaty’s book came out in April of this year. It was born of a six-page oral history he wrote about the cult classic for Sports Illustrated in 2010, three decades after its release. The book is meticulously researched – witness the 27 pages of notes at the end of the book – and pays homage to a film that tops nearly every list of funniest sports movies. But Nashawaty, who has been the film critic for Entertainment Tonight for the last 20 years, does more than just take his reader behind the scenes of an 11-week shoot filled with drama and debauchery in south Florida. Nashawaty’s book also sets the stage, so to speak, for the movie by examining the friendship between Harold Ramis, who directed the film, and his co-writers and co-conspirators, Doug Kenney and Brian Doyle-Murray. Their bond had been cemented about a decade earlier when National Lampoon was at its zenith and NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” was turning traditional comedy on its collective ear. Kenney and Ramis were fresh off the success of “Animal House,â€� which they had written with Chris Miller, when they pitched a series of irreverent comedies to Orion Pictures and Jon Peters, who was married at the time to Barbara Streisand. The one that got the greenlight became “Caddyshack,” which had its genesis in Doyle-Murray’s memories of his teenage years spent caddying at Indian Hill Club on the north shore of Chicago. Once Nashawaty turns the focus to the movie, which comes about 100 pages into the narrative, the book gains momentum. And with comic geniuses like Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, Ted Knight and Rodney Dangerfield on board, there were plenty of stories for him to tell. When Murray was hired to complete the “foursome,â€� as Nashawaty puts it, his character still didn’t exist, despite numerous rewrites to the script. Not to mention, with SNL about to resume production, he only had six days to devote to “Caddyshack,” but his brother, Doyle-Murray, promised him everything would work out. Much of Murray’s oft-imitated performance was ad-libbed – most notably the iconic “Cinderella Storyâ€� monologue. All the script said was: Carl, the Greenskeeper, is absently looping the heads off bedded tulips as he practices his golf swing with a grass whip. After changing the flowers to mums at Murray’s suggestion, the cameras rolled. And he did the entire sequence in one take. “I was good back in those days,â€� Murray tells Nashawaty. “I could do something when they turned the camera on. I was wired into what I was talking about. Improvising about golf was easy for me.â€� Anyone who has seen his antics at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am would certainly agree. And while he only had that one scene with the gopher puppet, Murray was frequently filmed trying to flush the critter out with a firehose he dragged around the course. It wasn’t until after filming was complete that the gopher took on a life of its own – eventually being created by a special effects company and at Peter’s suggestion assuming a bigger “roleâ€� to help to tie together the movie’s many disjointed but funny scenes. Murray loved doing battle with the gopher. “It was a time when people were making movies like the Deer Hunter and Apocalypse Now,â€� Murray recalls in the book. “And that was my Vietnam movie. The ridiculously inappropriate firepower I used to kill a small rodent.â€� Speaking of firepower, there was plenty at Bushwood, aka Rolling Hills Golf Club, in Davie, Florida when the final scene was shot. Peters had taken the unknowing high-ups from the club to dinner and on an evening cruise as a diversion – but the proverbial jig was up when the explosions made the TV news and prompted a pilot to radio the nearby Ft. Lauderdale airport to report a crash. The damage to the Rolling Hills — which once hosted the likes of Jackie Gleason, George C. Scott, Johnny Unitas and Joe Namath — was minimal, though. Nashawaty’s book also delves into the complicated relationships between Chase and Murray, highlighting a fight between the two at 30 Rock during the SNL days, and between Knight and Dangerfield. Knight, a decorated war hero who won two Emmys for his work on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” wasn’t exactly thrilled with being the straight man to Dangerfield’s ribald style of comedy. In the end, “Caddyshack,” wasn’t the comedic blockbuster Ramis, Doyle-Murray and Kenney had hoped, that distinction, instead, going to the movie “Airplane.” As the years have gone on, though, “Caddyshack” has more than found its niche and this book is a tribute to its popularity.

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SYDNEY, Australia – When South African legend Ernie Els accepted the job as International captain for the Presidents Cup, he assumed he’d be leading a handful of his countrymen into battle. Traditionally, Australian and South African players have dominated the International team and Els would have expected at least three, perhaps even four, of his brethren to be there with him in the trenches. But all the pre-orders of biltong and boerewors will now have to be consumed by Louis Oosthuizen, the lone South African in the 12-man squad. Well… Els and his assistant Trevor Immelman can help, of course. But, perhaps there is a good omen brewing. Related: Internationals hoping to turn loss into gain | U.S. Team first-timers an unusually accomplished group The last time an International team had just one South African was in 1998 at Royal Melbourne – the same course the two teams will do battle on next week. That player was Els and he was part of the lone International team to ever win the Presidents Cup. “That is a good omen,â€� Els said with a smile. “Obviously Louis is in form and hopefully he can keep that up. “It is certainly a surprise we have just one, but the strength of South African golf is still something to be proud of. Quite a few guys came close… but I’ve picked guys who have played well for a long time.â€� Indeed, a year ago, there were several South Africans in the mix. First, former Masters champion Charl Schwartzel, a member of the last four International teams, came down with a long term wrist injury. Then Branden Grace – an 11-time European Tour winner and champion at the 2016 RBC Heritage on the PGA TOUR – lost any semblance of form. Grace went 5-0 in the 2015 Presidents Cup in Korea with Oosthuizen as his partner. But after a runner-up finish at the Waste Management Phoenix Open in February, he had just one top-10 in 23 worldwide starts prior to the captain’s picks. “It was unfortunate that Gracie couldn’t make it,â€� Oosthuizen said. “I know he was trying really hard at the end there and pushing and pushing, but the other guys just played so well. I think Ernie wanted to pick Gracie, but he couldn’t because the other guys were just playing too good and Branden understands that.â€� Other South Africans on the periphery of selection at times also failed to force Els’ hand into a pick after showing flashes of brillianc,e but not maintaining it. Justin Harding won the Qatar Masters in March and followed it up with a runner-up at the Kenya Open. After he was T10 at the AT&T Byron Nelson in May, he reached 42nd in the world rankings. But from there, his results petered out, and he sits 66th now. Erik Van Rooyen thrust himself into the mix with a win at the Scandinavian Invitation in August and was on a short list to come into the team once Jason Day withdrew given four top-15 results since before Els ultimately went with Byeong Hun An. Dylan Fritelli won the John Deere Classic in July but failed to really back it up with much consistency, and Shaun Norris rich vein of form came late, and was on the Japan Tour, which didn’t carry as much weight in Els’ decision process. And so the weight of a nation falls to Oosthuizen, the only team member with an individual winning record at 7-5-3 over the last three Presidents Cups. While he will fly the flag with pride, Oosthuizen also has a close watch on the next breed coming from his homeland, thanks to his Louis57 Foundation that has been fostering junior talent for the last 10 years. Three of his players will be on the International Team this weekend in the Junior Presidents Cup to be also held at Royal Melbourne. “It will be strange being the only South African in the team but I’ve been with Leish and Scotty in all the other teams that I’ve played in, so they feel just as close as what the South Africans would feel to me,â€� Oosthuizen says. “And we have Christo Lamprecht, Jordan Duminy and Martin Vorster from my academy playing next week. Vorster is going to be the next big thing out of South Africa… Duminy as well… they’ve been in my academy from get go and are great ball-strikers. Martin has won in South Africa and overseas and is on a great path. “So there is plenty of potential coming for future Presidents Cups.â€� For this Presidents Cup, Oosthuizen says he won’t be a lone wolf. “Everyone always says that we don’t have team spirit or don’t have enough. I can promise you, when Thursday comes, we’re like 12 brothers in that team. We’ve bonded, we’re ready to go, we want to win,â€� he said of the International team. “We need to get our name on the trophy again and show the Americans we’re here to play. We’re here to win the trophy, to win the Cup and not just show up to just have a good week.â€� SOUTH AFRICA’S HISTORY AT PRESIDENTS CUP 1994: Fulton Allem, David Frost 1996: Ernie Els, David Frost 1998: Ernie Els 2000: Ernie Els, Retief Goosen 2003: Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Tim Clark. (Captain Gary Player) 2005: Tim Clark, Retief Goosen, Trevor Immelman. (Captain Gary Player) 2007: Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Trevor Immelman, Rory Sabbatini. (Captain Gary Player) 2009: Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Tim Clark. (Captain Gary Player). 2011: Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Charl Schwartzel. (Tim Clark Captain’s Assistant) 2013: Ernie Els, Branden Grace, Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel, Richard Sterne. 2015: Branden Grace, Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel. 2017: Branden Grace, Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel. (Ernie Els Captain’s Assistant) 2019: Louis Oosthuizen. (Ernie Els Captain, Trevor Immelman Captain’s Assistant)

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