Sybase Classic Now 54-Hole Event: Thumbs Up or Down?

Hound Dog and I give the LPGA's decision to erase the morning rounds at the Sybase Classic and reduce the event to a 54-hole tournament a big thumbs down. Is it so hard to get from Clifton to Corning that a Monday finish is unthinkable? What say ye, Wagglers?

over 3 years ago The Constructivist 6 comments 0 recs |

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you gotta do what you gotta do

Nobody wants a shortened tournament, but if conditions force the organizers to shorten the tournament in order to have a Sunday finish – then that’s what they have to do.

The LPGA is growing in popularity, but not yet to the point where they can draw Monday TV time and viewers, and the galleries would be very disappointed if they didn’t get to see a finish.

Until the LPGA has built up enough popularity, they are best served by finishing on Sundays to keep the TV people happy.

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on May 16, 2008 4:48 PM EDT reply actions

but but but

The TV people will still get their weekend and if ESPN2 and the LPGA are serious about starting a long-term relationship-and there’s a Lorena-Annika showdown to boot-why not see if it’s possible? At the very least, it solves that whole overlap with the PGA thing MS was mentioning about last week…. And if it isn’t aired, so what? This is a winner’s event, with entry into the ADT Championship and a $2M purse at stake—this is supposed to be one of the big events of the season. 54 holes suggests to me they just aren’t taking themselves seriously enough.

by The Constructivist on May 16, 2008 5:03 PM EDT reply actions

don't forget...

...we’re stuck in the days of ESPN and highlight packages getting more attention than the flow of the game itself…

...AND…

...the LPGA Tour is no stranger to 54 hole events. They have been a part of the tour since they got started.

It’s more important to have a champion on TV on Sunday, with the biggest possible galleries, than to hope that they can find someone to broadcast on Monday with a fraction of the gallery.

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on May 16, 2008 11:30 PM EDT up reply actions

good points but...

...the galleries at the NYC events have never been good, even for the PGA, and mercurial spring weather makes them quite irregular; the forecast isn’t that great for Sunday, so they may be going to Monday anyway, unless they decide to make it a 36-hole event; and I have a feeling that ESPN would find a way to get highlights of a Monday showdown between Annika and Lorena on a broadcast somewhere.

The LPGA official who explains the decision to wipe the Friday rounds isn’t at all clear and the reporters apparently weren’t paying enough attention to ask good follow-up questions to her non-answers on the 72-to-54 reduction. Yeesh.

by The Constructivist on May 17, 2008 5:53 AM EDT reply actions

Mother Nature Wins

Lots of IF’s, with Mother Nature. She’ll do what she wants to do.
If the LPGA feels that they need to shorten the event, then why not finish the second round and then play the last round. It’ll be more equitable. Why do they have to ‘wipe out’ the rounds that were played in the second round?

by gotcha on May 17, 2008 3:26 PM EDT reply actions

basically,

with weather conditions that extreme, the idea is to have the entire field start over under better conditions for everybody. The problem is always the small handful of exceptions when a couple of players have outstanding rounds in amazingly bad conditions.

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on May 17, 2008 5:24 PM EDT up reply actions