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Morning 9: McCord speaks out (strongly) on firing | Is Tiger already the GOAT? | LPGA POY

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6 years ago

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By Ben Alberstadt
Email me at ben.alberstadt@golfwrx.com and find me at @benalberstadt on Instagram and golfwrxEIC on Twitter.

October 29, 2019

Good Tuesday morning, golf fans. A very Happy Birthday to my dad, who took me to Gospel Hill Golf Club in Erie, PA for my first round of golf some 25 years ago. 
 
**Just a reminder we’re looking for advertisers for 2020. Drop me a line if you’d like to talk about getting your message in front of the M9 readership.** 

 
1. McCord: I was fired
Golf Digest’s Dave Shedloski on the sacking of Gary McCord…
“This is not how I would have preferred to see it end,” McCord said. “I’m going on 72. I’ve been doing this for 30-odd years. I knew I was coming to the end of the deal, but I was going to go out on my terms. That’s not happening now.:
  • “Bottom line, they fired me.”
  • “McCord, who began his CBS career at the 1986 Memorial Tournament, had an inkling what was coming after learning close friend and colleague Peter Kostis, who has been with CBS since 1992, was informed last Wednesday that his option was not being picked up, either. “I looked at my phone, and I had a message from a 212 area code Wednesday night and thought, Uh oh,” said McCord, who got the news from McManus on Thursday.”
  • “He [McManus] tells me, and he told Peter the same thing, that ‘We think CBS golf is getting a little stale, and we need to go in another direction,’ ” McCord told Golf Digest by phone from his home in Scottsdale. “I’ve been called a lot of things, but one thing I’ve never been called is stale.”

Full piece.

Geoff Shackelford’s take is worth noting as well….”There was a great deal of sniping in recent years over McCord’s act having grown thin, but never felt that way. He was often the one person trying to inject some life into telecasts, but without his old foil David Feherty or many opportunities to exhibit his knowledge of the swing, McCord was often limited to the role of 16th hole traffic cop.  Therefore the notion of “stale” strikes me as more a statement about the CBS production elements (Yanni?) or overall energy than the work of any one announcer.”
2. Typhoons, Joker, and shaking off the rust 
Bob Harig takes a backward glance at Tiger Woods’ winning week, which included some interesting elements (in every sense of the word)…”A typhoon, of all things, interrupted Tiger Woods’ unlikely brush with history. As the rain hammered down Friday, postponing play at the Zozo Championship and causing considerable upheaval in the region, Woods and several others ventured to a Narita movie theater to catch “Joker.”
  • “Woods called the film “dark,” and he knows all about that word: from the scandal of a decade ago to the numerous back surgeries and the pain medication issues and the struggles to even assemble a golf game again.”
  • “I know what it’s like to have this game taken away from you,” Woods said in a telling moment on the 18th green Monday, where he soon would be taking part in an awards ceremony to celebrate his 82nd PGA Tour victory, some 8,000 miles from his home in Florida.

Full piece.

3. A Tiger in the Olympics? 
Golf Channel’s Will Gray…”Woods’ record-tying 82nd career win also vaulted him back into the mix for the U.S. Olympic team, with only the top four American men qualifying for next year’s event in Tokyo. While countries are capped at two players per nation, there is a provision to allow up to four players from the same country to play if all are ranked inside the top 15 in the world.”
  • “Woods’ victory moved him to No. 6 in the latest world rankings, and he’s currently the fourth-highest American behind Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson and Justin Thomas. But the Official World Golf Rankings utilize a two-year rolling points system that currently dates back to October 2017, while points for the official Olympic rankings only began accruing in July 2018.”

Full piece.

4. LPGA POY 
Golf DIgest’s Ryan Herrington…”In contrast, who would pick up the LPGA player-of the-year award has been a foregone conclusion for a few months. Jin Young Ko’s stats speak for themselves: four victories, including two major titles (ANA Inspiration and the Evian Championship), three runner-ups, five additional top-10 finishes and no missed cuts in 20 starts.”
  • “And with a T-9 finish on Sunday at the BMW Ladies Championship, the 24-year-old from South Korea officially ended the discussion. Despite three events remaining on the LPGA schedule, Ko’s edge in points over Jeongeun Lee6 (241 to 123) makes it mathematically impossible for anyone to catch Ko.”
5. The knee is key 
Tiger Woods quoted in the Independent…”The knee wasn’t allowing me to rotate and because of that it put more stress on my lower back and hip,” he said.
“I didn’t really know I’d come back and play at this level but the fact I could get down and read putts again is something I hadn’t done in months. Something pretty subtle makes a difference. I felt more comfortable with my putter just because I was able to make a better stance.
“Ironically my back has been less sore. I’ve been able to rotate better. The way I started this week, who would have thought, bogeying the first three holes, I’d shoot the number I shot. I made a few mistakes this week but they weren’t bad.”
6. East Lake Cupdate
Golfweek’s JuliaKate E. Culpepper…”After Mark Power made a birdie putt on the 18th hole at East Lake Golf Club on Monday, he pumped his fist and smiled. The freshman from Wake Forest was leading the East Lake Cup and in a good position to win the individual honors trophy.”
  • “The passion Power emitted stemmed from the thought of earning his first individual win as a collegiate athlete, but he also smiled because he remembers what it took to get him to this point: disappointment, hard work and a little luck.”
7. Already the GOAT?
Golf Channel’s Randall Mell makes the case…”You don’t need to be a world class litigator to make a convincing case that Tiger Woods is already the greatest player of all time.”
  • “The argument is laid out in the formidable nature of the foes strewn in his path.”
  • “The guy is golf’s version of Keanu Reeves blowing past an onslaught of enforcers in the John Wick movies.”
  • “With his 82 PGA Tour titles, Woods has Nicklaus, Hogan, Palmer, Nelson, Casper, Hagen, Mickelson, Sarazen, Middlecoff and Watson in his rearview mirror. He’ll have Snead behind him with his next title, which doesn’t seem such a daunting task with the form Woods showed tying Snead’s victory mark in Japan.”

Full piece.

8. Tiger’s Rolex
In case you were wondering…from our WOTW report…”Tiger Woods was wearing what looks to be a Rolex Sea-Dweller Deepsea D-Blue (ref: 126660-0002) on his wrist after winning his 82nd event, the ZOZO Championship! Finally, we get to feature Tiger Woods on WOTW. It feels like it took forever, but after a rain-soaked ZOZO Championship Tiger gets his legendary win, and we get to look at the Rolex he had on his wrist.”
  • “…Rolex created the first water and dustproof watch in 1926, protecting the watch movement from any damage. The Rolex Sea-Dweller debuted in 1960 as the more rugged and capable dive watch compared to the Submariner. Where the Submariner can dive to 300 meters, the standard Sea-Dweller goes to 1,220 meters, and the Sea-Dweller Deepsea will survive the wild depth of 3,900 meters! The Sea-Dweller Deepsea was introduced in 2008 and its water-resistance rating of 3,900 meters is more than 100 times deeper than any human could survive.”

Full piece.

9. Full Bubba 
Did you see the line Bubba took off the tee at the Zozo?
 

Check out the video on Golf Channel.

Related Topics:

Ben Alberstadt is the Editor-in-Chief at GolfWRX, where he’s led editorial direction and gear coverage since 2018. He first joined the site as a freelance writer in 2012 after years spent working in pro shops and bag rooms at both public and private golf courses, experiences that laid the foundation for his deep knowledge of equipment and all facets of this maddening game. Based in Philadelphia, Ben’s byline has also appeared on PGATour.com, Bleacher Report...and across numerous PGA DFS and fantasy golf platforms. Off the course, Ben is a committed cat rescuer and, of course, a passionate Philadelphia sports fan. Follow him on Instagram @benalberstadt.

4 Comments

4 Comments

  1. G

    Oct 29, 2019 at 5:30 pm

    CBS thought they were too stale? So their way of fixing that was to fire the least stale guy on their team? Huge miss, golf on TV got even worse with this change.

    Reply Report comment

  2. James

    Oct 29, 2019 at 12:01 pm

    Tiger is hardly a GOAT. He couldn’t even keep his harem of dogs in line.

    Reply Report comment

    • A. Commoner

      Oct 29, 2019 at 7:45 pm

      Picking the greatest of all time in any sport or activity is beyond nonsensical. Such an exercise ignores innumerable variables as to make it farcical.

      Reply Report comment

  3. Ryan

    Oct 29, 2019 at 11:14 am

    McCord got on my nerves sometimes, he would talk over others, caddie conversations etc, but he knew his stuff and was a solid announcer. Kostis is in the same boat. He is very knowledgeable when it comes to the swing. They will both be missed. I don’t really know who they are going to pull in to replace them.

    Reply Report comment

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Tour Rundown: Bend, but don’t break

Published

3 weeks ago

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Aug 4, 2025

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I’m going to gush in this intro paragraph, to get the emo stuff done early. I’ve not pulled harder for a professional to win, than Cameron Young. I coach golf in New York state, and each spring, my best golfers head to a state championship in Poughkeepsie. I first saw Cameron there as a 9th grade student. I saw him three more times after that. I reconnecected with Coach Haas from Wake Forest, an old interview subject from my days on the Old Gold and Black, the Wake newspaper. He was there to watch Cameron. After four years at Wake Forest, Young won on the Korn Ferry Tour, made it to the big tour, almost won two majors, almost won five other events, and finally got the chalice about 25 minutes from the Wake campus. Congratulations, Cameron. You truly are a glass of the finest. #MotherSoDear

OK, let’s move on to the Tour Rundown. The major championship season closed this week in Wales, with the Women’s Open championship. The PGA Tour bounced through Greensboror, N.C., while the PGA Tour Americas hit TO (aka, Toronto) for a long-winded event. The Korn Ferry lads made a stop in Utah, one of just two events for that tour in August. The many-events, golf season is winding down, as we ease from summer toward fall in the northern hemisphere. Let’s bask in the glory of an August sunrise, and run down a quartet of events from the first weekend of the eighth month.

LET/LPGA @ Women’s Open: Miyu bends, but she doesn’t break

Royal Porthcawl was not a known commodity in the major tournament community. The Welsh links had served as host to men’s senior opens, men’s amateurs, and Curtis and Walker Cups in prior years, but never an Open championship for the women or the men. The last-kept secret in UK golf was revealed once again to the world this week, as the best female golfers took to the sandy stage.

Mao Saigo, Grace Kim, Maja Stark, and Minjee Lee hoped to add a second major title to previous wins this season, but only Lee was able to finish inside the top ten. The 2025 playing of the Women’s Open gave us a new-faces gallery from day one. The Kordas and Thitikulls were nowhere to be found, and it was the Mayashitas, Katsus, and Lim Kims that secured the Cymru spotlight. The first round lead was held at 67 by two golfers. One of them battled to the end, while the other posted 81 on day two, and missed the cut. Sitting one shot behind was Miyu Yamashita.

On day two, Yamashita posted the round of the tournament. Her 65 moved her to the front of the aisle, in just her fourth turn around a women’s Open championship. With the pre-event favorites drifting off pace, followers narrowed into two camps: those on the side of an underdog, and others hoping for a weekend charge from back in the pack. In the end, we had a bit of both.

On Saturday, Yamashita bent with 74 on Saturday, offering rays of hope to her pursuing pack. England’s Charley Hull made a run on Sunday closing within one shot before tailing off to a T2 finish with Minami Katsu. Katsu posted the other 65 of the week, on Saturday, but could not overtake her countrywoman, Yamashita. wunderkind Lottie Woad needed one round in the 60s to find her pace, but could only must close-to’s, ending on 284 and a tie with Minjee for eighth.

On Sunday, Yamashita put away the thoughts of Saturday’s struggles, with three-under 33 on the outward half. She closed in plus-one 37, but still won by two, for a first Major and LPGA title.

PGA Tour @ Wyndham: Young gathers first title near home

Cameron Young grew up along the Hudson river, above metro New York, but he also calls Winston-Salem home. He spent four years as a student and athlete at Wake Forest University, then embarked on tour. This week in Greensboro, after a bit of a break, Young opened with 63-62, and revved the engine of Is this the week once more. Runner-up finishes at the Open, the PGA, and a handful of PGA Tour events had followers wonder when the day would come.

On Saturday, Young continued his torrid pace with 65, giving him a five-shot advantage over his closest pursuer. Sunday saw the Scarborough native open with bogey, then reel off five consecutive birdies to remind folks that his time had, at last, arrived. Pars to the 16th, before two harmless bogeys coming home, made Young the 1000th winner of an official PGA Tour event (dating back to before there was a PGA Tour) throughout history. What’s next? I have a suspicion, but I’m not letting on. Mac Meissner closed with 66 to finish solo 2nd, while Mark Hubbard and Alex Noren tied for third.

Korn Ferry Tour @ Utah Championship: Are you Suri it’s Julian?

Who knows exactly when the flower will bloom? Julian Suri played a solid careet at Duke University, then paid his dues on the world’s minor tours for three years. He won twice on two tours in Europe, in 2017. Since then, the grind has continued for the journeyman from New York city. At age 34, Suri broke through in Beehive state, outlasting another grinder (Spencer Levin) and four others, by two shots.

Taylor Montgomery began the week with 62, then posted 64, then 68, and finally, 70. That final round was his undoing. He finished in that second-place tie, two back of the leader. Trace Crowe, Barend Botha, and Kensei Hirata made up the last of the almost quintet. As for Suri, his Sunday play was sublime. His nines were 32 and 31, with his only radar blip a bogey at ten. He closed in style with one final birdie, to double his winning margin. Hogan bloomed late…might Suri?

PGA Tour Americas @ Osprey Valley Open presented by Votorantim Cimentos – CBM Aggregates

Some tournament names run longer than others. This week in Toronto, at the Heathlands course at TPC Toronto, we might have seen the longest tournament title in recorded history. The OVOPBVCCBMA was a splendid affair. It saw three rounds of 62 on Thursday, but of those early risers, only Drew Goodman would stick around until the end. 64 was the low tally on day two, and two of those legionnaires managed to finish inside the top three at week’s end. Saturday brought a 63 from Patrick Newcomb, and he would follow with 64 on Sunday, to finish solo fourth.

Who, then, ended up winning the acronym of the year? It turns out that Carson Bacha had the right stuff in TeeOhhh. Bacha and Jay Card III posted 63 and 64, respectively, on day four, to tie for medalist honors at 23-under 261. Nathan Franks was one shot adrift, despite also closing with 63. If you didn’t go low on Sunday, it was about the check, not the championship.

Bacha and JC3 returned to the 18th hole twice in overtime. Card nearly chipped in from the thick stuff for birdie, while Bacha peeked and shoved a ten-feet attempt at the win. On the second go-round, Card was long with his approach, into the native grasses once more. He was unable to escape, and a routine par from the fairway was enough to earn the former Auburn golfers a first KFT title.

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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2025 Wyndham Championship

Published

4 weeks ago

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Jul 29, 2025

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GolfWRX is live this week from the final event of the PGA Tour’s regular season, the Wyndham Championship.

Photos are flowing into the forums from Sedgefield Country Club, where we already have a GolfWRX spirit animal Adam Schenk WITB and plenty of putters for your viewing pleasure.

Check out links to all our photos below, which we’ll continue to update as more arrive.

General Albums

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See what GolfWRXers are saying and join the discussion in the forums.

 

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BK’s Breakdowns: Kurt Kitayama’s Winning WITB, 3M Open

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4 weeks ago

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Jul 28, 2025

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Kurt Kitayama just won his 2nd PGA Tour event at the 3M Open. Kurt is a Bridgestone staffer but with just the ball and bag. Here are the rest of the clubs he used to secure a win at the 2025 3M Open.

Driver: Titleist GT3 (11 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD VF 7 TX

3-wood: Titleist GT1 3Tour (14.5 degrees, A3 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 8 TX

7-wood: Titleist GT1 (21 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 9 TX

Irons: TaylorMade P7CB (4), TaylorMade P7MB (5-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (52-12F, 56-14F), Vokey Design WedgeWorks (60-K*)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Style Newport 2 Tour Prototype
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy 1.0PT

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

Ball: Bridgestone Tour B XS (with Mindset)

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