Well, we’ve always known Tom Watson was a man with strong principles (not to mention stubborn) — he sticks to his guns and he’s unwavering in his convictions. He’s also apparently very loyal.
Watson declined an offer to join the PGA of America’s Hall of Fame, according to a Golf World report.
Whaley a winner
It’s about time. Following the PGA of America’s 98th Annual Meeting, Connecticut golf instructor Suzy Whaley was elected as secretary, becoming the first female officer in the organization’s history.
Whaley’s victory was not only historic, but it was also decisive, according to GolfChannel.com’s Rex Hoggard.
Ted Bishop joined Golf Channel’s Gary Williams on Morning Drive on Tuesday in his first television interview since making his insensitive gender-based remarks last week on two of his social media outlets, and thus, resulting in his swift removal as president of the PGA of America.
In his Twitter and Facebook posts, Bishop was attempting to defend Ryder Cup captains Tom Watson and Nick Faldo in response to excerpts from Ian Poulter’s new book, “No Limits,” where the outspoken Englishmen (God forbid!) criticized two of the legends in the game. The former PGA president listed Watson and Faldo’s major wins, along with their Ryder Cup records, and then he called Poulter a “Lil Girl” on Twitter and expanded on those thoughts on Facebook, writing, “Sounds like a little girl squealing during recess.”
In the interview with Golf Channel, Bishop explained the background behind his postings and expressed regret over the ensuing consequences.
PGA of America president Ted Bishop has been removed from office. Bishop was given the option to announce his resignation and chose to accept that route, according to GolfChannel.com’s sources. He was scheduled to step down from office on November 22, with vice president Derek Sprague to take his place as the incoming president.
PGA of America president Ted Bishop isn’t one to mince words, but he took it too far on Thursday when he launched an attack at Ian Poulter via two of his social media channels. Bishop called Poulter a “Lil Girl” in response to his comments on Nick Faldo and Tom Watson as Ryder Cup captains.
Task force, who you gonna call?
The PGA of America is infamous for forming its “task forces.” We’re not quite sure what they exactly accomplish yet, rather than getting a group of people together to chat and charging the expenses to the PGA. The task force will reportedly examine the U.S. Ryder Cup process — from how the captains and players are selected to how the team prepares for the matches. Hopefully this one will get the American Ryder Cup team back on track after the U.S. has fallen to Europe in eight of the last 10 biennial dogfights against the two continents.
Just over a week removed from the U.S. team’s eighth loss to Europe in the past 10 Ryder Cups, the PGA of America is already in the process of a major overhaul to its current system. PGA of America President Ted Bishop is planning to create a task force dedicated to examine the Ryder Cup structure — from how the captain’s picks are selected to the qualification of the 12 team members and even the schedule of events during the matches — according to GolfChannel.com’s Rex Hoggard.
In the aftermath of the actual golf played at the Ryder Cup, there’s been quite a lot of drama that’s unfolded, to say the least. First, there was the best reality TV I’ve seen in a while — which was Phil Mickelson’s critique of Captain Tom Watson in the post-match team press conference at Gleneagles. Then, six days removed from that, an ESPN.com report was published describing the ugly tension in the team meeting the night prior to the Sunday’s singles matches — it detailed Watson criticizing players, failing to take any culpability and scoffing at a gift from the players.
Following that report, Watson issued an open letter, taking “complete and full” blame for his lack of communication and even defended Mickelson’s very public attack of him. Here’s the letter in full:
Oh, YES! …or NO…?!
In a joint press conference on Wednesday, PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem and PGA of America President Ted Bishop announced that next year The Players Championship and the PGA Championship will share the luxury of having the richest purses in golf, with each tournament offering $10 million in prize money.
Ryder Cup + PGA + NBC Sports
The PGA of America and NBC Sports revealed a massive deal on Thursday, with the most newsworthy component being the extension of Golf Channel/NBC receiving the TV rights of the Ryder Cup through 2030.
Naturally, PGA of America President Ted Bishop pointed out that they wanted to respect the PGA Tour and its big event, the Presidents Cup, so they waited until the following week to make their announcement (unlike the USGA during the PGA Championship in August when they unveiled the Fox deal).
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