Watching Golf this Week: Cadillac Championship and Rory’s Apology

March 7, 2013 by Paul Kapustka Leave a Comment

Are we all clear about the great toothache now? With a no-excuses apology Wednesday for his sudden departure last week, No. 1 Rory McIlroy cleared the decks of controversy (for now) ahead of the World Golf Championship Cadillac Championship this week at Doral.

Since there’s no cut for the select field this weekend, McIlroy will have to grind it out over four rounds at the TPC Blue Monster at Doral, bad molars or not. As of Thursday afternoon it didn’t look like much fun, as McIlroy was flirting with last place. Expect more questions over the weekend about his switch to Nike clubs, which so far this year has been a disaster.

Putting Rory aside, there’s still plenty of good golfers in the pack this weekend, including Sir Eldrick. No Live@ video this week, but you can still catch simulcasts online if you are a Comcast cable subscriber. NBC picks up on the weekend, for you Johnny Miller fans.

WGC CADILLAC CHAMPIONSHIP

(all times Eastern)
TV COVERAGE

Thursday, March 7 — Golf Channel, 2 p.m. — 6 p.m.
Friday, March 8 — Golf Channel, 2 p.m. — 6 p.m.
Saturday, March 9 — Golf Channel, 12 p.m. — 2 p.m.; NBC, 2 p.m. — 6 p.m.
Sunday, March 10 — Golf Channel, 1 p.m. — 3 p.m.; NBC, 3 p.m. — 7 p.m.

LIVE ONLINE COVERAGE

Thursday and Friday, Golf Channel TV simulcast coverage via PGATour.com and GolfChannel.com; Saturday and Sunday, NBC coverage via the PGA site and from NBC sites, which include Golf Channel. Right now only Comcast cable subscribers can watch live online video on weekdays. NOTE: If you are using the PGA Mobile app to watch the Golf Channel online video, be advised that it only works with iOS phones and with some (not all) Android phones. There is no fix planned for the immediate future.

RADIO
SIRIUS XM (Satellite) 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. The live broadcasts are also available to subscribers on the SiriusXM Internet Radio App and online at SiriusXM.com.

FACEBOOK PAGE
Use the PGA Facebook page for the WGC event this week.

TOP TWITTER FEEDS TO FOLLOW

Geoff Shackelford — well known golf writer. If you’re not following Geoff you are missing the online boat.
Golf Channel — official Golf Channel feed
@PGATOUR — official PGA Twitter feed
@StephanieWei — great golf writer who is a Twitter fiend.
Doug Ferguson is the lead golf writer for AP. Good Twitter insights that often aren’t part of your wire-service lead.

WHAT’S THE COURSE LIKE?
Here’s a hole by hole description of the TPC Blue Monster at Doral.

WHO WON THIS THING LAST TIME?
Justin Rose.

Watching Golf this Week: Rory and Tiger Return at The Honda Classic

February 28, 2013 by Paul Kapustka Leave a Comment

It’s back to Florida time for the PGA Tour, and the stars are definitely out, with defending champ Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods heading the full-force field. If you watch on TV or online, get ready for a full weekend of references to “The Bear Trap,” the finishing three holes at the Jack Nicklaus-designed PGA National course in Palm Beach Gardens.

I’m not sure if the full press promo will move “The Bear Trap” into golf lore — personally I think it will take some real history, like a mano a mano showdown over the last three holes with some spectacular shots to really make the Bear Trap something real. But the good news is, with a full field and a high profile tourney we get the return of @Live, the PGA’s own extra online coverage of a couple holes. Good stuff for those of us who watch more on the PC than on the couch.

THE HONDA CLASSIC

(all times Eastern)
TV COVERAGE

Thursday, Feb. 28 — Golf Channel, 3 p.m. — 6 p.m.
Friday, March 1 — Golf Channel, 3 p.m. — 6 p.m.
Saturday, March 2 — Golf Channel, 1 p.m. — 3 p.m.; NBC, 3 p.m. — 6 p.m.
Sunday, March 3 — Golf Channel, 1 p.m. — 3 p.m.; NBC, 3 p.m. — 6 p.m.

LIVE ONLINE COVERAGE

The PGA’s @Live returns this week for the Honda Classic, with exclusive coverage of the par-5 third and par-4 ninth at PGA National. Here is the @Live link.

RADIO
SIRIUS XM (Satellite) 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. all four days. The live broadcasts are also available to subscribers on the SiriusXM Internet Radio App and online at SiriusXM.com.

FACEBOOK PAGE
Here is the Honda Classic Facebook page.

TOP TWITTER FEEDS TO FOLLOW

Honda Classic Twitter feed.
Geoff Shackelford — well known golf writer. If you’re not following Geoff you are missing the online boat.
Golf Channel — official Golf Channel feed
@PGATOUR — official PGA Twitter feed
@StephanieWei — great golf writer who is a Twitter fiend.
Doug Ferguson is the lead golf writer for AP. Good Twitter insights that often aren’t part of your wire-service lead.

WHAT’S THE COURSE LIKE?
Here’s an interactive look at the PGA Resort and Spa’s Champion Course.

WHO WON THIS THING LAST TIME?
Rory McIlroy.

Filed Under: Golf, Golf Channel, NBC Sports, PGA, Tiger Woods Tagged With: Golf Channel, Honda Classic, Mobile Sports Report, NBC Sports, Paul Kapustka, PGA, Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods

PGA: On-Course Tweeting OK, Play-by-Play Tweets are Not

January 29, 2013 by Paul Kapustka 1 Comment

After last week’s Twitter brouhaha caused a lot of folks — including us — to call out the PGA Tour for its apparent heavyhanded threats, Tour officials have reached out to media to better explain its policy, which can be pretty much summed up as: No play-by-play real-time tweeting.

PGA Tour vice president Ty Votaw, who called us here at MSR headquarters Tuesday morning, said the policy isn’t new, even though I could swear I saw a bunch of unpenalized play-by-play tweeters during last year’s tournaments. What Votaw stressed throughout our short conversation was that the Tour loves having media tweet about tournaments — just as long as they don’t veer into real-time, shot-by-shot coverage.

“It’s OK to say ‘Tiger just made birdie’ or have some other description of what’s going on,” said Votaw. “We want people to tweet from tournaments. But you can’t go shot by shot and duplicate what’s on the scorecard. That’s compromising our broadcast partners and our own [PGA] digital platforms.”

Though the message sent by the Tour to prolific on-course tweeters like reporter Stephanie Wei seemed heavyhanded, Votaw said the prime target of the policy is to eliminate situations where media outlets may have people following the Tour’s own digital information streams, like its excellent Shot Link technology and Shot Tracker feature, and then siphoning that information into a Twitter stream or some other commercial digital output.

“Some outlets have interns in an office following ShotLink and tweeting from that source,” claimed Votaw, though he didn’t name any specific outlets doing such things. For the on-course reporters, the rules seem to be a bit hazy and subject to Tour judgement; Votaw, for example, said it’s OK to tweet something about a single player on every hole, but “if it’s more than one or two a hole, you’re pushing the edge.”

One thing we also saw a lot of last year (and enjoyed) was seeing Twitter-linked Instagram or other social-media photos taken by people we regard as “writers” who were using their cell phones to snap quick shots (usually scenic views from particular holes). According to Votaw, those picture-tweeters are also potentially in violation of their media credential agreement, unless they are registered as on-course photographers. Our guess on this matter is that it’s probably another judgement call, because like with the Twitter ban, it’s a complete guess as to how the PGA is going to actually monitor what reporters do online.

Votaw also said that the Tour has its own Twitter streams, and that Shot Link is available online, but the Tour doesn’t focus on one player with its official Tweets and when Tiger is winning (or even when he’s just in a tournament) there is a large segment of the population of golf fans who want only Tiger information, as much as they can get. The Tour is not going to satisfy that desire, but smart Tweeters like Wei and others can easily fill the void. There are also cases like last weekend’s two-course setup, where the Shot Link technology isn’t in place — so why not let the private tweeters fill the info gaps? Who loses?

The bottom (140-character) line on all this? The Tour is certainly in bounds with a policy that prevents people from using the Tour’s own data to construct commerical outlets. Everyone gets that. What still isn’t clear is what the Tour considers “play by play” since sometimes there is more than one or two things going on per hole (imagine, for instance, the Twitter stream of anyone covering something like Jean Van de Velde’s meltdown at the British Open in 1999, had Twitter been around then). I think the tour needs to lighten up and keep its policy in place but don’t enforce it unless those egregious situations Votaw described occur. Smacking down reporters who spend their time on the course providing fans with more details? What they are doing is only good for the sport, and if anything it will increase, not decrease, the viewership for the important paid-for video and other sponsored outlets.

Did television give a sense of how Tigers ball landed on the first green? Oh right they aren’t on yet. #whattwitterwasmadeforexcepttoPGATour

— Geoff Shackelford (@GeoffShac) January 25, 2013

Filed Under: Golf, PGA, Tiger Woods, Twitter Tagged With: Mobile Sports Report, Paul Kapustka, PGA, Tiger Woods, Twitter, Ty Votaw

Watching Golf This Week: Phil’s Tax Advice, the Farmers Insurance Open and More Golf Online… if you have Comcast

January 24, 2013 by Paul Kapustka 2 Comments

Too bad Phil Mickelson’s such a nice guy — nobody can really stay mad at him for long, even if he makes Latrell Sprewell-type remarks about the money woes of a millionaire. Maybe you heard about Phil’s kinda tax-rant from this past weekend? Wednesday the guy everyone loves to love in golf rebounded with a press conference where he blamed himself for saying dumb things, tossed in a few jokes and everything was OK. But we know the golf media — just watch the next time Phil wins, there will be a lame lead about “his tax burden increasing.” You read it here first.

What else did you read here first about golf? How about our worldwide scoop from last summer, about how the PGA Tour was going to simulcast all its live TV coverage online this season? Well that story comes true this week with the official kickoff of expanded live online coverage of pro golf’s top tour… that is, if you are a Comcast cable subscriber.

Confused? So are we after reading and re-reading the PGA’s official announcement of its new live streaming feature. Safe to say, the PGA is moving in the direction of having all its live TV available online, but there are a lot of moving contractural parts that haven’t quite been sorted out yet. But hey! It’s moving in the right direction, of MORE GOLF ONLINE. Thank you PGA Tour.

To put it simply: Starting with CBS’s coverage this weekend, all weekend broadcast coverage this season from CBS and NBC should be available online; weekday coverage from Golf Channel is also available online right now IF you have a Comcast cable subscription — and later in the year for other broadband video providers. The lucky Comcast subscribers and others later will also be able to watch live video via mobile devices, through the NBC Sports Live Extra and Golf Live Extra apps. Your best bet if you have questions about where to find live online video is to check out PGATOUR.com every week until this all gets solved and is easy.

No word yet on the Majors but we expect those properties to bust out online extras like they did last year — and since we never got around to giving out our 2012 awards, let’s just say that the online golf coverage champ is still CBS and the Masters, with the U.S. Open and the PGA a close tie for second. (The British Open needs to step up its game, in our opinion.)

And golf this week? That guy Eldrick returns to his favored stomping grounds of Torrey Pines. Now that the Phil “controversy” is out of the way we can go back to the story of the forthcoming year, that of Tiger vs. Rory. And the anchoring ban! Let’s ignore that for now. The overworked golf media can only stand so many controversies at one time.

FARMERS INSURANCE OPEN

(all times Eastern)
TV COVERAGE

Thursday, Jan. 24 — Golf Channel, 3 p.m. — 7 p.m.
Friday, Jan. 25 — Golf Channel, 3 p.m. — 7 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 26 — Golf Channel, 1 p.m. — 2:30 p.m.; CBS, 3 p.m. — 6 p.m.
Sunday, Jan. 27 — Golf Channel, 1 p.m. — 2:30 p.m.; CBS, 3 p.m. — 6 p.m.

LIVE ONLINE COVERAGE

Thursday and Friday, Golf Channel coverage via PGATour.com and GolfChannel.com; Saturday and Sunday, CBS coverage at CBSSports.com. The PGA will also show live coverage of the 10th and 13th holes at Torrey Pines South at its Live@ page. You can also get live video via the PGA’s mobile apps, for tablets and smartphones. Cable contracts and wireless plans necessary. Right now only Comcast cable subscribers can watch live online video on weekdays.

RADIO
SIRIUS XM (Satellite)
1 p.m. to 7 p.m., Thursday-Friday and Sunday, 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday. The live broadcasts are also available to subscribers on the SiriusXM Internet Radio App and online at SiriusXM.com.

FACEBOOK PAGE
Here’s the Farmers Insurance Open Facebook page. Like it.

TOP TWITTER FEEDS TO FOLLOW

The Farmers Insurance Open Twitter feed. Beware of links to CEO speeches. You’ve been warned.
Geoff Shackelford — well known golf writer. If you’re not following Geoff you are missing the online boat.
Golf Channel — official Golf Channel feed
@PGATOUR — official PGA Twitter feed
@StephanieWei — great golf writer who is a Twitter fiend.
Doug Ferguson is the lead golf writer for AP. Good Twitter insights that often aren’t part of your wire-service lead.

WHAT’S THE COURSE LIKE?
If you’ve never played, you should hit this bucket list course hard by the Pacific coast north of San Diego — one of the great classics that is open to public play. (And even at $229 a round, it’s a bargain.) And the scene of Tiger’s great 2008 U.S. Open win. Here is the Torrey Pines site, complete with its mystical music.

WHO WON THIS THING LAST TIME?
Brandt Snedeker. Remember him?

Filed Under: Apps, CBS Sports, Comcast, Golf, Golf Channel, Live sports via mobile, Live Sports Video Consumption, NBC Sports, PGA, The Masters, Tiger Woods, Twitter Tagged With: CBS Sports, Farmers Insurance Open, Golf Channel, Live Golf Online, Mobile Sports Report, Paul Kapustka, PGA Tour, Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Torrey Pines

Watching Golf this Week: Get up Early for the CIMB Classic in Malaysia

October 25, 2012 by Paul Kapustka Leave a Comment

Quick, turn the channel on now! If you are up way late or up really early there is a chance you may catch live golf this week — including Tiger Woods and Jason Dufner — at the CIMB Classic in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (I was wondering why big media hitters like Alan Shipnuck were in China this week.) It might not be an official season event (it is sanctioned) but with a $6.1 million purse and $1.3 million to the winner, yeah you’ll get a lot of guys on long plane rides. And the Tour gets exposure in China, where as you can expect there is a lot of golf gear to sell. Win-win. So who will win? Who knows, here’s a link to the field. And remember, it’s live on the Golf Channel every day this weekend from 1 a.m. to 4 a.m. Eastern. Think I’ll go catch up on Tiger’s short game before I turn in here on the West Coast, Wednesday evening.

CIMB CLASSIC

(all times Eastern)
TV COVERAGE

Thursday, Oct. 25 — Golf Channel, 1 a.m. — 4 a.m.
Friday, Oct. 26 — Golf Channel, 1 a.m. — 4 a.m.
Saturday, Oct. 27 — Golf Channel, 1 a.m. — 4 a.m.
Sunday, Oct. 28 — Golf Channel, 1 a.m. — 4 a.m.

FACEBOOK PAGE
CIMB Classic is on Facebook.

TOP TWITTER FEEDS TO FOLLOW

WHAT’S THE COURSE LIKE?
Here’s the deets on the The Mines Resort & Golf Club.

WHO WON THIS THING LAST TIME?
Bo Van Pelt.

Filed Under: Golf, Golf Channel, PGA, Tiger Woods Tagged With: CIMB Classic, Golf, Jason Dufner, Mobile Sports Report, Paul Kapustka, PGA, PGA Tour, Tiger Woods

Watching Golf this Week: TOUR Championship, aka the $10 Million Tourney

September 20, 2012 by Paul Kapustka 1 Comment

If you decided to watch golf instead of football two weekends ago, you may have caught the star-studded leaderboard (Tiger! Rory! Phil!) at the BMW Championship, which ended with POY top candidate Rory McIlroy winning his second straight tourney, and third of the last four. Going into this week’s TOUR Championship in Atlanta, Rory the lad is the favorite to walk away with the big playoff prize, $10 million to the FedEx Cup champ.

Please don’t ask us to explain the convoluted points system, which “reset” after the last event so that theoretically any of the 30 players in the field this weekend could win the final prize. That is supposed to introduce drama but I think it’s a waste. There are several theories floating around about how to change the “playoffs” to make them exciting or original — why not do playoffs like all other sports, make it head to head (aka match play), and the losers go home? Instead of 30 guys and weirdo mathematical combinations (like last year when Bill Haas didn’t even know he’d won the big enchilada after winning the weekend), why not a “final four” weekend where there are singles match play on Friday and then again on Sunday?

Really, no charge for my ideas. You’re welcome PGA. And FedEx. Though we are going to need to ramp up that online coverage while we’re at it. The last three tourneys of the playoffs have been great since the PGA’s Live@ coverage has been around, but it’s been severely limited — usually only showing a couple holes, still not up to the multiple cam/group choices offered by the Masters online. Ah well, there’s always next year. Just be sure to tune in to the last 15 minutes on Sunday, when the great tension of the playoffs comes to an end and one of the millionaire golfers gets to add another 10-spot to his career earnings. A construct, but $10 million makes you watch.

Bonus TV coverage this week on Golf Channel, starting at 1 p.m. Eastern on Thursday and Friday, and then at 12 p.m. Saturday and 11:30 a.m. Sunday before the NBC broadcasts; also on ESPN3 for those who follow at work; ESPN3 will mimic the Live@ coverage times, 1-6 p.m. each day.

TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP / FEDEX CUP PLAYOFFS

(all times Eastern)
TV COVERAGE

Thursday, Sept. 20 — Golf Channel, 1 p.m. — 6 p.m.
Friday, Sept, 21 — Golf Channel, 1 p.m. — 6 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 22 — Golf Channel, 12 p.m. — 2 p.m.; NBC, 2 p.m. — 6 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 23 — Golf Channel, 11:30 a.m. — 1:30 p.m. NBC, 1:30 p.m. — 6 p.m.

RADIO
SIRIUS XM (Satellite)
12 p.m. — 6 p.m. every day

ONLINE
Live@ video is back this week —
Live@ coverage — 1 p.m. to 6 p.m., every day

ESPN3 will offer live action from 1-6 p.m. each day with unique views of the Par 4 No. 1 hole and the Par 3 No. 11, plus the Par 3 No. 18 each day when play finishes on No. 1.

PGA SHOT TRACKER
If all you want is shots and distances (which can be addicting) get your fix via Shot Tracker, which will definitely be in action at the Barclays.

FACEBOOK PAGE
We don’t know why it’s an all-caps TOUR Championship but here is their FACEBOOK PAGE.

TOP TWITTER FEEDS TO FOLLOW

The TOUR Championship Twitter feed.
Geoff Shackelford — well known golf writer. If you’re not following Geoff you are missing the online boat.
Golf Channel — official Golf Channel feed
@PGATOUR — official PGA Twitter feed
@StephanieWei — great golf writer who is a Twitter fiend.
Doug Ferguson is the lead golf writer for AP. Good Twitter insights that often aren’t part of your wire-service lead.

WHAT’S THE COURSE LIKE?
Here’s the deets on East Lake GC in Atlanta.

WHO WON THIS THING LAST YEAR?
Bill Haas, with his amazing chip from the waves. Then he had to be told that he won the overall playoffs too. So don’t feel bad, the players are as confused as you are. But they’re also a lot richer.

FEDEX CUP PLAYOFF LEADERS
1. Rory McIlroy, 7,299 points
2. Tiger Woods, 4,067
3. Nick Watney, 3,586
4. Phil Mickelson, 3.420
5. Brandt Snedeker, 3,357

RESET POINTS (used to calculate final FedEx payoff)
1. McIlroy, 2,500 points; 2. Woods, 2,250; 3. Watney, 2,000; 4. Mickelson, 1,800; 5. Snedeker, 1,600.

See the playoff full standings at the PGA site.

WORLD GOLF RANKINGS
1. Rory McIlroy; 2. Tiger Woods; 3. Luke Donald; 4. Lee Westwood; 5. Adam Scott.
See the official World Golf Ranking list.

Filed Under: Golf, Golf Channel, NBC Sports, PGA, Tiger Woods Tagged With: FedEx Cup, Mobile Sports Report, Paul Kapustka, PGA Tour, Phil Mickelson, Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods, TOUR Championship

Watching Golf this Week: Cadillac Championship and Rory’s Apology

WGC CADILLAC CHAMPIONSHIP

Watching Golf this Week: Rory and Tiger Return at The Honda Classic

THE HONDA CLASSIC

PGA: On-Course Tweeting OK, Play-by-Play Tweets are Not

Watching Golf This Week: Phil’s Tax Advice, the Farmers Insurance Open and More Golf Online… if you have Comcast

FARMERS INSURANCE OPEN

Watching Golf this Week: Get up Early for the CIMB Classic in Malaysia

CIMB CLASSIC

Watching Golf this Week: TOUR Championship, aka the $10 Million Tourney

TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP / FEDEX CUP PLAYOFFS

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