Financial dreams, pinned to betting slips and Fantasy league success, met a swift end on the first day of the PGA Championship as the unforgiving reality of Quail Hollow, soaked by days of relentless rain, took hold.
Defying the norm of regular PGA Tour events, the PGA of America stood firm on Wednesday evening, declaring that preferred lies would not be in play for the opening round of the 107th PGA Championship. The move was hailed by golf purists but bemoaned by some of the game's biggest names.
“We do not plan to play preferred lies,” asserted PGA of America officials, optimistically noting the “outstanding” and rapidly drying playing surfaces, with fairways being mowed in the evening. This resolute stance flies in the face of the “lift, clean and place” protocol frequently adopted on tour after inclement weather, a practice that allows players to improve their lie in the fairway.
The Charlotte region has been battered by storms this week, leading to a complete washout of Monday's practice and severely limiting play on Tuesday. Despite Quail Hollow's sophisticated SubAir drainage system, significant portions of the course remained waterlogged.
Golf traditionalists often criticise the prevalence of preferred lies, arguing it dilutes the true test of the sport, and major championships typically resist the practice, upholding the principle of playing the ball as it lies. However, The PGA Championship controversially allowed lift, clean, and place during the final round at Baltusrol in 2016 after heavy rain.
Thursday's firm decision signals a return to core major championship values for the PGA of America. For Quail Hollow, already under scrutiny regarding course conditions, this ruling eliminates one potential source of contention while embracing the unpredictable nature inherent in major championship golf.
The impact of this decision was starkly illustrated on the course, most notably on the demanding 16th hole. In an extraordinary turn of events, the world's top three players – Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, and Xander Schauffele – all stumbled to double-bogeys on the opening hole of the notorious “Green Mile” closing stretch. This bizarre triple-six has ignited a fierce debate about the refusal to implement preferred lies.
World number one Scheffler, who had remarkably avoided a first-round double bogey in his previous 22 majors, and defending PGA Champion Schauffele both pointed to “mud balls” caused by the saturated fairways. Their errant approach shots both then found the water.
Both players voiced their discontent with the ruling. “It’s one of those deals where it’s frustrating to hit the ball in the middle of the fairway and get mud on it and have no idea where it’s going to go,” explained Scheffler. “You spend your whole life trying to learn how to control a golf ball, and due to a rules decision, all of a sudden, you have absolutely no control over where that golf ball goes.”
McIlroy's troubles on the 16th stemmed from a different misfortune – a slip on his approach shot from the right rough after a wayward drive. He eventually signed for a six.
Despite the challenging conditions that disrupted practice rounds and left standing water, the PGA Championship stood by its decision. Schauffele didn't mince his words, calling the situation “ridiculous” and predicting even worse conditions as the course dries, creating a “perfect cake zone” of mud. “I’m not the only guy. I’m just in front of the camera.” he said.
While the absence of preferred lies has sparked debate about fairness, the PGA has made its stance clear. I suspect, though, that there is also a point being made about the history and purity of the game compared, for example, to the arriviste LIV tour.
FA Cup: Do I care? The biggest drama has been the squabble between ITV and BBC about the time of the kick-off. The BBC initially wanted a 3:00 PM start to avoid clashing with later programming, while ITV preferred a later time for advertising revenue. A compromise was reached at 4:30 PM. Phew.
This is Crystal Palace’s third ever FA Cup Final, and they are seeking their first major trophy. They lost their previous finals in 1990 and 2016, both against Manchester United. Manchester City are in their third consecutive FA Cup Final. Despite what their forward Erling Haaland described as a “horrific” season by their high standards, they have the opportunity to secure another FA Cup title. I have trawled the Interweb and through my copious files on the sexual predilections and drug-habits of over 42m football and darts players. The best info I can come up with is that Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner is set to be the first Austrian to manage a team in an FA Cup Final; Erling Haaland has yet to score in any of his five appearances for Manchester City at Wembley Stadium, with three of those being FA Cup matches.
So a good time to go shopping, or to a local hound parade.
The F1 circus moves to Imola this weekend for the first of the European GPs. My man in the pit lane, former F2 driver Marcus Dunwaving, told me that Charles Leclerc missed the media day due to illness. Ferrari expects him to be out on track on Friday. Quite why Max Verstappen decided to pop over to the Nürburgring to help test a GT3 test with Ferrari under a false name remains a mystery. There was quite a lot of sniggering in the pitlane.
The sudden replacement of Jack Doohan by Franco Colapinto has raised questions about Alpine's driver management and the pressure on young drivers to perform quickly. Team principal Oliver Oakes has also resigned from his role. The reasons for his departure are officially “personal reasons,” but the timing has raised eyebrows and fuelled speculation about internal conflicts. Flavio Briatore, who rejoined Alpine last year as an executive advisor, is now “fully in charge of the team,” covering the duties previously held by Oakes. However, FIA regulations state that Briatore cannot be the official team principal, as he isn't a staff member and doesn't hold the required F1 licence. That has catapulted Racing Director Dave Greenwood into the seat, although one suspects that his seat on the pit wall remains at the far-end.
George Russell has called the ongoing debate about penalizing F1 drivers for swearing “all a bit suspect.” This follows recent discussions and adjustments to the rules regarding driver conduct on the radio. A director of the GPDA, George has been a vocal critic of the FIA's stance. He argued that penalising drivers for swearing during team radio communications, which are private conversations not intended for public broadcast, was particularly unreasonable. He emphasized that the broadcaster has the discretion to choose what audio to air. Furthermore, he suggested the drivers were “fed up” with the FIA's approach and the lack of dialogue on the issue. The FIA has amended and lessened the penalties, but at its heart this is a belief held by the drivers that the FIA leadership is simply bypassing the people doing the real work, to talk to those providing the money.
Audi has been tinkering with their boardroom, ahead of their entry into F1 in 2026 following their takeover of Sauber. Mattia Binotto takes on expanded responsibilities. The former Ferrari Team Principal, who joined Audi in July 2024 as Chief Operating and Chief Technical Officer, has now been appointed as the Head of the Audi F1 Project. This includes the development of a new Technical Centre for Audi in the UK and via Sauber is currently evaluating potential locations within “Motorsport Valley.” Specific areas under consideration include Bicester, Silverstone, and Milton Keynes. The goal is for the UK technical centre to be fully operational by the summer of 2025.
Away from the sports desk, the Government has finally listened to Boyds Own and its readers, and backed down on the Chagos deal. As we suggested from the beginning, handing over billions of pounds paid with the money raised by the forced sale of smallholdings and farms to meet IHT demands, for a base we already own, was madness. Especially when Pensioners and ISA savers are all in the front line to meet the unpayable demands of the NHS.
Talking of ludicrous suggestions whose credibility requires the triumph of hope over experience…
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