James Hahn takes a jab at the USGA over possible golf ball rollback

With one more win, Tiger Woods will tie Sam Snead for most career PGA TOUR victories at 82. Each time Tiger tees it up, we’ll take a look at his chances for that particular week. Here’s a CHASING 82 preview entering this week’s Open Championship at Royal Portrush. RECENT FORM Difficult to say what his form is, given the fact that his last competitive start was the U.S. Open. From that final round to Thursday’s first round at Royal Portrush, 32 days will have passed. And in the 95 days since winning the Masters in mid-April, he has played just 10 competitive rounds – a missed cut at the PGA Championship, a T-9 at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide, and a T-21 at the U.S. Open. NBA players could learn a lesson from Woods about load management. But that’s not to say Woods has avoided preparing for the Open. Earlier this month, Nike posted a video in which Woods discusses waking up at 1 a.m. ET in order to prep for the time change for the Open, which is five hours ahead. “If you want to succeed, if you want to get better, if you want to win, if you want to accomplish your goals, it all starts with getting up early in the morning,â€� Woods explained in the video. Although Woods has never played a competitive event in Northern Ireland, he has played practice rounds there while prepping for previous Opens. But this will be the first time he’s seen Royal Portrush. “I’ve only played (Royal) County Down, I’ve never been up to Portrush and I’m looking forward to getting up there and taking a look at the golf course and trying to figure it out,” Woods said. “I’ll get there early and do a little bit of homework – see if the golf course is going to be dry, fast or not. “Hopefully I’ll get practice rounds with different winds to try and get a feel for the golf course.â€� TOURNAMENT HISTORY Woods is making his 21st start in the Open Championship and has won three times: 2000 – At St. Andrews, Woods won with a final score of 19 under, eight strokes ahead of Thomas Bjorn and Ernie Els. The 19 under was the lowest score, in relation to par, of any major winner (eventually surpassed by Jason Day at 21 under at the 2015 PGA Championship). Woods’ win also completed the career Grand Slam. “It may be years before I fully appreciate it, but I’m inclined to believe that winning the Open at the Home of Golf is the ultimate achievement in the sport,â€� Woods said. 2005 – At St. Andrews, Woods won by five strokes over Colin Montgomerie, leading wire to wire. It was the 10th major win of his career. “When I first started playing the Tour, I didn’t think I’d have this many majors before the age of 30,â€� said the then-29-year-old Woods. “ There’s no way. No one ever has.â€�  2006 – At Royal Liverpool, Woods won by two strokes over Chris DiMarco, an emotional victory as it was his first major win after the death of his father Earl two months earlier. “To win your first tournament after my father had passed away, and for it to be a major championship, it makes it that much more special,â€� Woods said. “And mom was watching, I’m sure she was bawling her eyes out.â€� It was the first time a player had won consecutive Opens since Tom Watson in 1982-83. Since his last win, Woods’ best finish was a T-3 at Royal Lytham in 2012. Last year at Carnoustie, he was in contention midway through the final round until a double bogey-bogey stretch on his back nine, eventually finishing T-6. TEE TIMES Tee times for the Open can be found here.

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Stranded in his vast and barren surroundings, the pilot told his young traveling companion, a prince, of his love of the desert. “One sits down on a desert sand dune, sees nothing, hears nothing,� he said. “Yet, through the silence something throbs and gleams.� Clearly, the iconic French author Antoine de Saint-Expuery, writing in his classic novella “The Little Prince,� had a more romantic notion of the desert than did Gary McCord, whose view of the arid Arizona landscape in 1983 left him admittedly less inspired. “I mean, I stood there near a burn, looking out at the only thing I could see, Scottsdale airport, and there was nothing. No matter where I looked, nothing but tumbleweeds,� McCord recalled. He thus returned to PGA TOUR executives who had dispatched him on this scouting mission of their new purchase with this: “You guys are nuts.� Nearly 35 years later, McCord can laugh. “Thankfully, I wasn’t the futuristic leader the TOUR was looking for.� That’s because PGA TOUR officials respectfully brushed aside that blunt assessment by McCord, then a member of the Player Advisory Council. The massive chunk of property in the Scottsdale, Arizona, desert would go forth as the future site of TPC Scottsdale and the annual Phoenix Open. Deane Beman – then the PGA TOUR commissioner with impeccable visionary skills – was convinced there was great promise in this desolate land. In all due respect, Beman did not imagine what TPC Scottsdale has become during the week of the Waste Management Phoenix Open – a veritable magnet for hundreds of thousands of fun-loving people and a multi-million-dollar provider to local charities. Nor did the golf course architects, Tom Weiskopf and the late Jay Moorish, draw up the par-3 16th as it currently presents itself – a hole enclosed by grandstands where fans generate the sort of madness and frivolity that is part college football, part comedy central and part rock concert. “The only credit I can give myself,� Weiskopf said, “is where I located the hole.� So, to whom do we offer thanks for all this entertainment, commotion and uncanny craziness? How about a civic-minded group formed more than 80 years ago – the Thunderbirds. Their care of the Phoenix Open, which dates to 1932, is unequivocal and like the pilot in “The Little Prince,� the desert doesn’t unsettle them. They also feel “the throbs and gleams.� Before it became “the greatest show on grass� and before Padraig Harrington kicked footballs into the crowd and James Hahn brought down the house by dancing Gangnam-style and before Tiger Woods ignited a 5.5 on the Richter scale with his 1997 hole-in-one and McCord’s robot – named “Eldrick� – aced the 16th during the pro-am 19 years later and before the hillside gathering spot gave way to some grandstands that morphed into a dozen or so corporate boxes that transformed into a one-hole stadium enclosed by three stories and 278 suites . . . there was Clarence Rose and total serenity. “I’m guessing there were less than 50 people watching – and that’s including the volunteers,� said Rose, who was the first to play the 16th in competition when the Phoenix Open debuted at TPC Scottsdale. It was the morning of Jan. 22, 1987, “and it was chilly – and quiet,� he said. Then in the sixth year of a PGA TOUR career that stretched from 1982 to 1999, Rose was paired with Johnny Miller and Lon Hinkle and had the honors at 16. All three made par at the 162-yarder and Rose assumes they all hit the green, though it doesn’t matter; there wasn’t any booing back then for missing the green, something that’s a huge part of the levity that envelopes 16 now. Forgettable. That’s pretty much how Rose and others describe the 16th, which was squeezed between a par-5 15th that players loved and a tough but exciting risk-reward par-4 17th. “It was just desert with a few fans,� longtime caddie Jim “Bones� Mackay said. “At 16, you’d have to look through a cloud of dust to find the pin if the wind was left-to-right.� In those early years, there was another view from the 16th tee – if you looked back. “There was a (TGI) Friday’s behind the tee,� said Mark Calcavecchia, who in 1987 made the first of 27 starts at a tournament that was arguably his favorite. “That’s where everybody got their drinks. It was a happening spot, fans got a little rowdy, they’d even boo – but it wasn’t like it is today.� What fans gravitated to at the 16th was a hillside area behind the green, the sort of manufactured viewing spot that Weiskopf and Moorish were instructed to build all over TPC Scottsdale. “Beman’s concept was to eliminate the need to build bleachers,� Weiskopf said. “He said to (give people) mounding to watch from.� Working with land that “was flatter than a pancake,� Weiskopf and Moorish moved tons of desert and gave Beman his “stadium golf course,� with a plethora of great viewing areas. But when it came to the 16th, Weiskopf said the only consideration was “I needed a second par 3 on the back, I wanted it going in an easterly direction, and I intended it to be the shortest of the four par 3s.� He settled on what it still is – a 162-yard shot with four bunkers guarding the green – and while TPC Scottsdale is a very good golf course and holes 15, 17 and 18 provide for a thrilling finishing stretch, no one would ever nominate the 16th as one of golf’s greatest par 3s. And yet, here it is, arguably golf’s wildest and most unique hole. “All it needs is Cirque du Soleil to enclose it and you’d have a Las Vegas act,� McCord said. “I never was consulted, I had no input,� laughed Weiskopf. “It was not my idea to build a stadium around the hole so 15,000 people could make noise.� The 1973 Open champion played in just four Phoenix Opens (1987-89, 1992) before his playing days ended. He didn’t make a cut on his design but played the par-3 16th in 1-under, two birdies against one bogey and five pars. Of course, those appearances came before the grandstands went up three stories and the noise level went even higher, which prompted the question: Known for his competitive fire, would a 1970s Tom Weiskopf have liked today’s 16th hole environment? “I would have tried it one time, but probably not again,� he said, laughing. Ah, but a 75-year-old Weiskopf is mellower and more accepting. He’s quite OK with it and thinks today’s players are, too. “Who benefits? Fans, the (Phoenix, Scottsdale) area, players. There are so many positives,� said Weiskopf. “You have to give credit where credit is due. (The Thunderbirds’) job is to give to charity, and they do.� In other words, Weiskopf only built the hole. The Thunderbirds built the phenomenon. Golf is a game of numbers, right? So here they are for the 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale during Waste Management Phoenix Open week: The enclosed stadium goes three stories high in some sections, features 278 suites and 3,700 general-admission seats, all of which accounts for 16,000 fans just at that one hole. How the 16th contributes mightily to a bigger picture is eye-opening stuff – last year, 200,000 fans attended on Saturday alone, more than 600,000 for the week, and $10.1 million was given to charity. “We’re the fourth largest city in Arizona for that day (Saturday, when crowds reach 200,000),� said Jim Frazier, chairman of the 1983 Phoenix Open and longtime executive director of the Thunderbirds. Digest and savor the numbers for a moment. Even long-time members of the Thunderbirds do, with humility. “I don’t think if you asked our members you’d find many who would say, ‘Yeah, I knew it would turn into this,’ � said John Lewis, Thunderbird chairman of the 1995 tournament. “But we’ve discovered the ‘Power of 16.’ � It was a process that did not come without hiccups, a few bumps, and most definitely a sense of dare. After all, from its debut in 1932, the Phoenix Open was a staple at Phoenix Country Club in the downtown area, but if the Thunderbirds wanted to remain caretaker of the event, they needed to go along with Beman’s plan to move to TPC Scottsdale. “We were naked on that deal,� said Frazier. “We didn’t have a sponsor. We put family money into the deal.� Truth is, “we were very comfortable at Phoenix CC.� Michael Kennedy, who served as chairman of the 1994 tournament, reminds people “this move wasn’t done without risk.� Frazier, Lewis, Kennedy and the rest of the Thunderbirds likely would have agreed with McCord, who returned from his scouting mission to see tumbleweeds and told PGA TOUR officials: “How in the world are you going to leave downtown Phoenix where we get 25,000 people a day, everyone’s having a ball, and come out (to Scottsdale)? No one will show up.� But Beman’s vision wasn’t foolhardy; fans did come out, perhaps not in droves right away, though enough to give the Thunderbirds hope. Lewis said Calcavecchia has great recall; there was a TGIF tent behind 16 tee and “fans were drinking way more Long Island Iced Teas than they should have.� It got the Thunderbirds thinking. You know, throbs and gleams. “Around 1992, a couple of us looked at 16 and talked about the possibility of putting (corporate) boxes there,� said Frazier. Like that, 11 were built. “And the fun part was, all 11 sold immediately.� A few more went up in 1993, then in 1994 some grandstands were added to the mix. Then, in Round 3 of the 1997 tournament, something happened that “totally put 16 over the top,� said Calcavecchia. He was on another part of the golf course when he heard thunderous roars. Woods had made his hole-in-one. “There’s never been a scene on a golf course like that one,� said Calcavecchia. “Beer cans came down like it was the Fourth of July,� laughed Frazier. “It was absolutely nuts.� By 2006, it was estimated that the tournament in its 20 years at TPC Scottsdale had had a $175 million economic impact to the community and in 2009 the Thunderbirds introduced the first fully enclosed hole in professional golf. The 16th was officially iconic by now and fans flocked there be the thousands. True, they came for the “adult beverages,� but so, too, did they come to turn the tables on the players and try to entertain them. “They do their homework,� said McCord. “They know each guy’s dog’s name and who their next-door neighbors are. It’s hilarious.� Sometimes, even players can’t help but laugh, like the time Pat Bates, who wore his hair long and flowing, hit a wildly errant shot at 16. “They kept calling him Fabio,� said Calcavecchia. “I admit, I laughed.� But give the Thunderbirds credit. First, because they took on millions in cost to build all these structures, with no guarantee they would realize a return on their investment. And two, they listened when players voiced concerns – like in 2000 when Phil Mickelson was upset with what he heard directed toward David Duval. “I’m going to challenge the Thunderbirds to get rid of the (trouble spots),� said Mickelson. The Thunderbirds found an answer where others may not have looked. “Going up (two and three) decks was a solution,� said Kennedy. Having those fans who flock to 16 seated and not squeezing in behind ropes has helped cut down on the rowdiness, while at the same time enhancing the unique arena atmosphere. It’s hard to argue, because in recent years, players have embraced the 16th with more warmth than ever before. Offering a sentiment that a long line of PGA TOUR members would second, Steve Flesch told reporters several years ago that “if you don’t want to play, don’t come, but I think it’s an awfully cool way to advertise the PGA TOUR, showing people having fun.� Kennedy said he agrees that a guy like Weiskopf and those from his era wouldn’t have understood or accepted this stadium hole. But he loves that today’s young stars such as Rickie Fowler, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and Jon Rahm “are all in on this.� So, too, are other dates on the PGA TOUR schedule. “The energy of our 16th is found in other tournaments today,� Lewis said. “Sponsors want this energy on their courses. They’re not directly copying us, but it’s nice to see and it’s good for golf.�

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When Pauline Nocon was growing up in the Philippines, most of what she knew about the United States came from television shows. First, it was “Blue’s Clues,” the animated educational show aimed at preschoolers on Nickelodeon. Later, she got caught up in movies like “Mission Impossible” and “Die Hard” that her parents liked to watch. “And I was like, wow, that’s what America’s like,” Nocon says, laughing at her naivete. “And I do remember thinking like it snowed everywhere year-round.” RELATED: AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am host organization, Monterey Peninsula Foundation, will be first to reach a charitable milestone among PGA TOUR tournaments But the America of the silver screen was hardly the reality Nocon found in 2006 when she and her mother came to the United States to join her father, who had immigrated eight years earlier in search of a better job and a path to higher education for his only child. Nocon’s family settled in Salinas, an agricultural hotbed of California known as the “salad bowl of the world.” Her father, who had recently become a U.S. citizen, had a job as a forklift operator for Fresh Express and her mother soon found work at the elementary school her daughter, who was 9 when they left the Philippines, attended. Today, just over 15 years after coming to America, Nocon is a college graduate with a degree from San Jose State in environmental science that includes double minors in sustainability and climate change strategies. She works at Tesla as an environmental health and safety technician. Nocon credits First Tee – Monterey County and her internships at the Monterey Bay Aquarium with helping her acclimate to the United States and grow into a confident, poised 25-year-old with a John Daly-esque backswing and dreams of going to law school. Both organizations are among the many supported by the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, which begins Thursday and will be played on three of the most iconic courses on the Monterey Peninsula. And today the tournament’s charitable arm, the Monterey Peninsula Foundation, announced it will top $200 million in all-time donations – a first for any event on the PGA TOUR. At the same time, the TOUR is reporting that it garnered more than $173 million in charitable donations for 2021, bringing the organization’s all-time total to a remarkable $3.37 billion. The significance is not lost on Nocon – even if wrapping arms around those numbers is difficult. “It’s certainly an incredible thing to hear,” she says. “But when you really think about what that money translates to it does bring me a lot of joy because maybe there’s another little girl who has a weird overswing living in Salinas, experiencing culture shock who can benefit it from that.” Steve John, who is the tournament director of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and CEO of the Monterey Peninsula Foundation, was heartened by the possibilities that are inherent in Nocon’s story. “It really puts a smile on your face, and you feel great about giving and providing for these organizations that do so much for the future leaders of the world,” he says. “And she’s obviously one of them. “And it’s great to share that story because there might be someone else out there that’s thinking, you know, that could be me.” Nocon first was introduced to First Tee – which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year – when she was in fourth grade, during recess one day. There was an area set up outside the gym with plastic clubs and balls and a Velcro backstop, and one of the coaches was there to help. “I had the time of my life,” she recalls. “… I had seen it in cartoons before in TV shows and read about it, but I’d certainly never seen a golf club in real life. I was like, that sounds really fun.” Soon Nocon was enrolled in the First Tee’s summer program. And she kept coming back – turns out, the First Tee facility was just seven minutes from her house – day after day. She worked on her game, eventually volunteering as a junior coach and later getting her first paying job as an assistant. But it was more than just the game that set the hook, so to speak. Nocon learned to set goals and take responsibility through First Tee’s nine core values and correlating life skills programs. She even remembers filling out college admission applications there. “I mean, where do you want me to start?” Nocon says when asked what the program meant to her. “I don’t know. I feel like it was certainly a transitionary period in my life. Not just, you know, kind of growing from child to preteen to teenager — they saw all of the awkward stages. “But it was a lot of setting me up for success. … They taught me how to use the wonderful, wonderful game of golf, because that’s how they get you. They’re like, look at this fun game; we’re going to learn some life skills with it. So, it’s certainly something that I still think about — those nine core values and life skills — every decision I come to, every teachable moment that I have for my nephews, for my young cousins, for whoever it is I’m mentoring … everything is still applicable. “There’s not a day that passes that I make a decision for myself that I don’t think about those things that I’ve learned from that program.” Nocon’s involvement with the aquarium was equally impactful. As an eighth grader, she joined the Young Women in Science program that introduces teenage girls to marine biology. She went kayaking and scuba diving and later volunteered with the sea otter rescue program. “When I was growing up in the Philippines, I never really realized like, wow, I was really lucky to have that kind of biodiversity in the ocean that was near me,” she says. “I never realized the kind of pollution that was affecting us. I mean, I did, but I didn’t. It was something that we just knew was there and dealt with it, but I never really considered, like, how do we fix this? “So, when I was Young Women in Science, I kind of got an introduction to the aquarium, the work that they do. … And it was just all of this exposure with the most incredible group of passionate people who will just get you to fall in love with this stuff.” Nocon also went through a two-week training program to become a Teen Conservation Leader that was so intense she says it “felt a lot like drinking out of a fire hose.” The TCL candidates learned about the various habitats in the aquarium, and they even had sleepovers at the aquarium. When the training was over, she began working as a guide and mentor. “You walk out of that two-week training, like I’m going to change the world,” she says. “It’s the most amazing, amazing experience.” Nocon is quick to point out that she was able to get her start in the Young Women in Science program – and ultimately her involvement with the aquarium — thanks to a scholarship that very well might have come from money donated by the Monterey Peninsula Foundation. “And knowing that more of those students are going to benefit from this money that we’re generating from this (tournament) I can’t even say how grateful I am for that,” she says. Nocon has attended the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am several times and once even handled social media duties for First Tee – Monterey County. The kids would get in the van in Salinas and head down the coast to Pebble Beach, which is about 30 minutes away. “You get out of the van, and you’ve got this, like. the iconic Monterey fog, like you see the ocean there and just the energy that comes with tournaments, like that is always so palpable,” she says. “I don’t even know how to describe it. It feels electric in the air.” Interestingly, while she does have favorite players – Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods and Dustin Johnson, to name a few – Nocon’s most vivid memories are of the beauty of Pebble Beach Golf Links. Or maybe, given her interest in the environment, that’s not such a surprise, after all. “I remember the first time I was at No. 18,” she says. “Man, it’s beautiful. … I remember standing there and being like, wow, this is the most amazing like hole in golf. And I’m just here at the fairway, watching someone tee off. … It was very, very much a standout moment for me. I think it was because it was such a beautiful day. The sun was out, and you could hear the waves just to the left of the tee box.” John has seen that same beauty from inside the ropes. He played in the unique event that features the PGA TOUR’s best playing with businessmen and celebrities from the world of sports and entertainment nine times before becoming the tournament director and MPF CEO. John notes it took 65 years to raise the first $100 million but only a decade to reach the second. He credits that growth to the support of the tournament’s title sponsor, as well as its secondary partners and the amateurs and celebrities who believe in the mission. “It’s such a wonderful collaborative effort on everybody’s part,” John says. A year ago, restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic forced the tournament to make some dramatic changes. For the first time, no amateurs played, and there were no spectators. Still, the tournament was able to give over $10 million back to the community and John and his staff soon realized a milestone no other TOUR event had reached loomed large on the horizon. Over the years, the charitable dollars have gone to support food security, which was particularly important during the pandemic, education, equity and health and human services, as well as to conquer the digital divide. The tournament even bought body cameras for the Salinas Police Department and helped with relief efforts after natural disasters like the area’s fierce wildfires, too. PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan says the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am is an example of the good works made possible by the support and partnership between the TOUR’s best players and its tournaments and sponsors. “The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am has for decades combined the best in sports and entertainment for our fans along with a charitable impact that positively affects thousands of lives in Monterey and the surrounding communities,” Monahan explains. John has lots of great memories of the years he’s been involved with the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am but setting this week’s TOUR charitable-giving standard is special. And hearing the impact the tournament has had on people like Nocon brings the hard work full circle. “Well, this obviously is at the top of the heap,” John says. “I mean, when you hit something, when you’re part of something that is eclipsing the first-ever milestone, 200 million, I would say that’s definitely on the top of the highlight reel. “But there’s so many. I think just knowing everybody’s efforts of our team — we have small team, 11, 12 people — and to know that we’re able to be part of something that’s so successful and just continuing to grow. We’re always trying to raise the bar and the experience for the players here, which in turn raises, much, much needed funds for the community — life changing funds for the community. “So, I think that’s kind of what, if you sleep well at night, that’s makes me sleep really good to know that what we’re doing really makes a difference in lives, changing lives.”

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