Jay Rigdon
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Articles by Jay Rigdon
Tour Guide: John Deere Diving
Welcome to this week’s edition of Tour Guide! Below you’ll find some analysis on former John Deere champ Jordan Spieth’s precarious points situation, and what that might mean for how the PGA Tour operates going forward. Plus a look back at a great shot from the Rocket Mortgage Classic as well as a trip down memory lane to a John Deere moment that ended up mattering a great deal at the Ryder Cup.
Tour Guide: The Pros of Jack's Place
Welcome to Club TFE’s Tour Guide, where we tackle both the serious and unserious from the world of pro golf on a weekly basis. There’s a major on the horizon, but first we have a stalwart PGA Tour stop in Ohio to discuss, which we’ll try to do without poking the Golden Bear. By Joseph LaMagna Muirfield Village Golf Club is one of the best tests on the professional golf schedule.
Tour Guide: Under One Umbrella
The Tour heads to Bay Hill for a tournament that’s both a signature event in terms of new corporate speak and a signature event in terms of being one of the longstanding historical stops on the calendar. By Joseph LaMagna For some of you, Bay Hill is probably a highly anticipated week. For anyone who takes exception to some of its architectural shortcomings, though, this may be a week that inspires less enthusiasm. I’m writing this from Orlando after walking nine holes on Tuesday afternoon.
Presidents Cup Notes, Thoughts, and Takeaways
After a stirring Friday comeback that saw the Internationals post a 5-0 sweep of their own to send the Presidents Cup tied into the weekend, the American depth won out in the end, as the United States retained the cup with a final score of 18.5 to 11.5. That’s a fairly common narrative for this event, and Sunday was sleepy, but Saturday was fun while it lasted. The Americans won both Saturday sessions 3-1, taking six of a possible eight points and opening up a four-point cushion for Sunday.
Tour Guide: Wyndham Clark vs. Le Golf National
It’s an Olympic-level Tour Guide, as we get set for the golf world to return to Le Golf National. In honor of that, Joseph takes a look at why Wyndham Clark is a player to watch this week (even if it’s for trainwreck potential.) We also take a trip down Memory Lane to one of the strangest strategic calls in recent Ryder Cup history in 2018.
Tour Guide: Playing the Mile
It’s a signature event for the PGA Tour, while Nelly Korda returns to LPGA action in New Jersey. So we’re breaking down Quail Hollow quirks, taking a look at one player who might be able to stop Nelly, and flashing back to the PGA Tour’s surprisingly long David Toms Era. By Joseph LaMagna Distance is an advantage on every golf course, but it’s particularly advantageous at Quail Hollow. Quail is a long golf course, with a plethora of beefy par 4s and three par 5s that are reachable for long hitters.
Recapping the Third Round of the 2024 Masters
With firm conditions and a difficult setup, the third round of the 2024 Masters was a complete test of golf. Despite a rocky Saturday, Scottie Scheffler holds the 54-hole lead as he looks for his second Masters title. Here’s what to expect for the final round: By Joseph LaMagna Sunday at the Masters sets up to be a doozy. Through three rounds, we’ve had nearly ideal conditions, a tremendous course setup, and a stellar display of golf from the best ball-strikers in the world.
Tour Guide: The Pirate Goes to Mexico
Welcome back to Tour Guide, a Club TFE weekly preview, review, and ramble around the pro golf scene. This week we try to find some positives about the Mexico Open venue, examine a telling conversation between player and caddie, and uncover some personal history on a former Mexico Open winner. By Joseph LaMagna There are plenty of weak-field PGA Tour events where I still enjoy watching golf shots thanks to a compelling venue.
Tour Guide: Checking in at the Wyndham
It’s tough to follow the show we had last week in France for the men’s Olympic competition, but the PGA Tour will try its best this week in Greensboro for the Wyndham Championship. To honor the occasion, this week’s Tour Guide features Joseph LaMagna on what it takes to play well at Sedgefield, and one player to watch. We also look back at the 2015 edition, which featured a rare then (and even rarer now) Tiger appearance at an event not usually on his schedule.
Tour Guide: Non-Nelly Storylines at the Chevron
You would think that once the Masters ends that the golf world would slow down. Instead, we have another major, a signature event, and Scottie Scheffler wrap-up to somehow fit into a single Tour Guide. We figured out how to do it, but what would a Club TFE introduction paragraph be without a little setup and complaining?
Club TFE Tour Guide: The Pros of Jack's Place
Welcome to Club TFE’s Tour Guide, where we tackle both the serious and unserious from the world of pro golf on a weekly basis. There’s a major on the horizon, but first we have a stalwart PGA Tour stop in Ohio to discuss, which we’ll try to do without poking the Golden Bear.
Tour Guide: Up in Michigan
Tour Guide heads to the Motor City, home of the Lions (good), Tigers (not good), Red Wings (not bad but just missed playoffs), and Pistons (). For this week’s Tour Guide, we tackle the ins and outs of Detroit Golf Club and take a trip down Memory Lane to a historic moment in golf television at Southeast Michigan’s previous long-running PGA Tour stop: the Buick Open.
Quick Thoughts on the Masters Coverage Window Expansion
Augusta National dropped some fairly impactful news about their flagship tournament on Tuesday. Starting in 2025, the weekend will see the Saturday broadcast window on CBS expanded by an hour, meaning it will now mirror Sunday’s 2-7 p.m. coverage slot. Beyond that, though, the tournament will feature an extra two hours on both weekend days at noon, albeit streaming on Paramount+.
The U.S. Open Being “Open” Matters More Than Ever
At this rate, Golf’s Longest Day might need to rebrand to Golf’s Best Day. Granted, the competition for that title has thinned out over the last few years, at least on the men’s side of the game. The majors are still the majors, sure, but those four weeks are now also tied to the PGA Tour/LIV Golf schism, as they’re the only events where we see the world’s best players in the same spot.
Absence Has Made Late-Career Tiger Even More Compelling
Quick, how many competitive tournaments has Tiger Woods played over the last two calendar years? It’s six. Six tournaments. (The PNC Championship, fun as it is, does not count.) He’s completed three of them, withdrawing (2022 PGA, 2023 Masters) or missing the cut (2022 Open) in the remainder. When I visited the OWGR site to view his recent playing history, I wasn’t surprised by the number. That the number felt high did surprise me.
PGA Tour player reacts to making a hilarious mistake
Golf is insanely difficult. There’s no real other way to put it. It’s deceptive, in that it’s one of the more feasible sports for an average person to try out. But there’s such a massive world of difference between what the players at the very top of the sport are doing from what even good amateurs can do. Here’s non-golf fan Spencer Hall from last summer, laying out exactly how hard it is: Spencer is very correct there.
USFL’s approach to first down measurements looks cool
By Jay Rigdon A longtime and justifiable complaint about a core tenet of NFL action: no one really knows where a ball should be spotted. It’s impressive that officials can even approximate it as accurately as they manage most of the time; it’s sort of like how home plate umpires calling balls and strikes are doing as well as humans can do in the face of a very difficult task.
Watching Phil Mickelson turn back the clock at Augusta a reminder of legacy he abandoned
Watching Sunday’s coverage of the final round at the Masters has been a treat. But beyond seeing two legitimate superstars in Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka dueling it out while players like Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed make runs up the leaderboard, viewers were treated to Phil Mickelson putting up a ridiculously good 65 to surge to -8 for the tournament. When Mickelson birdied 18 to take the clubhouse lead, it was hard not to get excited.
The Big Ten got their Coach of the Year very wrong
Northwestern’s Chris Collins entered the season on the back of a string of very disappointing years. Yes, Collins has so far been the only coach to ever take Northwestern men’s basketball to an NCAA Tournament, which he accomplished back in 2016-17. They’re in the field this year, having captured the #2 seed in the Big Ten conference tournament; most bracketologists have them hovering around the 6-7 seed line.
The NFL Draft can't get here soon enough
As a young Chicago Bears fan/general sports obsessive, I spent a lot of time watching the NFL Draft. I’m not sure why it had so much appeal to me, or why I vividly remember being ten years old and watching Orlando Pace be taken first overall in 1997. (As an aside: what an awful draft for the Bears! They traded the 11th overall pick for one year of Rick Mirer. Picks #12 and #13 that year: Warrick Dunn and Tony Gonzalez.
CBS debuted tech that predicts where a golf shot lands
CBS made plenty of strides with their golf coverage last year, and 2023 has only further demonstrated their commitment to refreshing American golf presentation. Sunday’s final round coverage at Pebble Beach included yet another innovation, with technology designed to predict where tee shots would land on one of Pebble’s iconic collection of par 3s.
Brandel Chamblee took an incredible dive into Patrick Reed’s latest rules controversy
Patrick Reed is absolutely no stranger to controversy, especially when it comes to the rules of golf . This weekend brought just the latest example, with Reed generating plenty of speculation after claiming to have identified an errant tee shot in a tree in Dubai. This claim saved Reed from having to hit another ball off the tee, declaring it instead an unplayable and essentially reducing a stroke and distance penalty to a stroke penalty.
CBS debuted a live mic hole with Max Homa and it was predictably awesome
It’s hard to describe how quickly CBS has revamped their golf coverage. Long a plagued by a staid feel, CBS has now quickly risen to the top of network golf coverage thanks to being willing to innovate and push for more different views, new technology, and other tweaks that have legitimately enhanced the viewing experience under new chief Sellers Shy. This year also features Trevor Immelman sliding into the lead analyst chair vacated by Nick Faldo.
Let’s talk about how much Joe Buck has improved
The narrative arc of Joe Buck’s career has provided a few decades worth of fodder for this site and many others. Early accusations of nepotism were inevitable, and Buck also faced criticism for his work on the air, especially calling football. His infamous Randy Moss chastising was a low point along the path to Buck developing a reputation for being uptight, robotic, and possessing the overall air of a serial killjoy.
More real sports insight from panel shows, please
A wild thing happened on ESPN’s NBA Today on Tuesday: actual, informative on-court analysis. That’s not to say that shows like this one never offer anything interesting. If anything, ESPN’s sport-specific daily programming is almost always a step up from the morning debate shows that still reign across cable by virtue of the people involved usually seeming to like each other.
The Chicago Bears should shut things down
The tanking conversation in sports is overplayed beyond belief. For one thing, there’s often a fundamental misunderstanding of what tanking actually is. At no point during even the most egregious tanking seasons (the Process Sixers probably hold that title) do players try to lose games. That’s not what it is.
LIV Golf considering shocking leadership change
With the inaugural season in the books (and plenty of controversy in its wake), LIV Golf is reportedly looking at a surprising executive shakeup. According to a report from James Corrigan at the Telegraph, LIV’s Saudi overlords might be looking to put someone else in the executive chair.
John Daly casually fires incredible ceremonial first pitch
John Daly continues to carve one of the more unpredictable athletic careers of any modern athlete. Daly only won five times on the PGA Tour, but two of those were major championships, the 1991 PGA and the 1995 British Open. Since then, Daly has continuously turned up in the news, thanks to a wildly disparate yet somehow on-brand sequence of off-course activities/infamies/etc.
Golf legend rips players for joining LIV
After the conclusion of the PGA Tour season at last weekend’s Tour Championship, a new round of players announced they were defecting for LIV Golf. That included reigning British Open champion (and current world #2) Cam Smith, arguably the best young player so far to make the leap to the Saudi-backed upstart league. Many who have made that jump have come under fire from the press and some of their fellow players, but today saw one of the game’s all-time greats weigh in on the subject.
Golf world reacts to Patrick Reed's controversial $750 million lawsuit
The golf world was rocked Tuesday night by news that Patrick Reed has sued Golf Channel commentator and analyst Brandel Chamblee for defamation. The complaint seeks at least $750 million in damages. Given that current tensions in the world of golf between LIV and the PGA Tour have already led to court proceedings, adding Reed’s wild lawsuit to the mix only served to stir up the world of golf Twitter on Tuesday night.
Golf Channel’s Shane Bacon reunited with lost clubs thanks to kindness of Twitter strangers
In one of the most feel-good sports media stories in recent memory, Golf Channel host Shane Bacon was reunited with his lost golf clubs thanks to the kindness of strangers. Bacon, in Scotland for this week’s Open Championship at St. Andrews, had been without his golf clubs since making the trek across the Atlantic, with his airline claiming to not have any idea where they were located.
Charles Barkley and Tony Romo will be playing televised golf this weekend
Charles Barkley and Tony Romo are two of the biggest stars in sports media. That’s not their only connection, though. Both men also really love to play golf, albeit with vastly different degrees of success. Romo has actually won high-level amateur events, and competed in professional tournaments (thanks to various sponsor’s exemptions) without embarrassing himself.
Billy Horschel’s strong LIV criticism also highlighted the value of a press conference
Billy Horschel has been a good soldier for the PGA Tour for a long time, but that service has never been more necessary than during recent months. With the Tour under siege from LIV Golf, the Saudi-backed sportswashing venture that just held its second event (and first in the United States), voices like Horschel’s are even more important.
ESPN’s Fenway billboard for The Captain is solid trolling
ESPN’s Derek Jeter docuseries The Captain is finally about to be released. Long in the works (we’ve covered it for months now at various points), The Captain is the latest example of the deep-dive documentary trend focusing on one legendary player discussing his career. It premieres on ESPN and ESPN+ July 18th, the night of the MLB Home Run Derby, which means the promotional cycle is in full swing. That includes one conspicuously placed billboard outside Fenway Park.
Is the LIV Golf media center robot cute or terrifying? An investigation
Most of the LIV Golf discussion has been on the more serious side, focused on the human rights implications and the general empty ickiness of the entire thing. So let’s focus on something else: the refreshment delivery robot that’s hanging out in the media center this week during LIV’s second-ever event at Pumpkin Ridge, outside Portland, Oregon.
LIV Golf 'basically destroying golf' says Rich Eisen
9 hours ago PGA Tour players were informed of wholesale changes to the tour schedule and FedEx Cup that will begin in the fall of 2023, according to multiple players present at a mandatory meeting ahead of this week’s Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Conn. Starting next year, the PGA Tour schedule will …
Why the 2022 U.S. Open TV broadcast sparked viewer outrage
Reading Brendan Porath’s ode to the 2022 U.S. Open from The Country Club sent me into a spiral of cognitive dissonance. He described the event with such reverence, holding it up as an example of the kind of thrilling, satisfying competition men’s professional golf can still deliver at its best in a fraught time for the game as a whole.
John Daly put Donald Trump on speakerphone during rant about Russia
GolfBy Jay Rigdon on March 4, 2022March 4, 2022 Former President Donald Trump has always maintained a close-knit relationship with the world of golf. After his election in 2016, he played rounds with pro legends like Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, and his organization sponsored Bryson DeChambeau until that partnership dissolved following the events of January 6th, 2021. Those same events led to Trump’s Bedminster golf course losing this May’s PGA Championship to Southern Hills.
PGA Tour reaches multiyear extension with SiriusXM
© Provided by Awful Announcing The PGA Tour and SiriusXM announced Tuesday that they’ve reached a new multi-year agreement to continue their broadcasting relationship. The deal runs through 2024. This is probably not surprising news, as the satellite radio network features a PGA Tour-branded channel. But it’s certainly a welcome one for golf fans who might rely on the radio for their Sunday fix from time to time.
Announcers fired after mocking weight of female high school basketball players
Charley Walters: Tony Oliva’s election to the Hall of Fame was long overdue Denny McLain won two Cy Young Awards and remains the last pitcher to win 31 games in a season. He and Tony Oliva faced each other many times during …
Golf world reacts to Hideki Matsuyama’s ridiculous shot that won the Sony Open
Hideki Matsuyama is the reigning Masters champion, and has already put together a ridiculous resume on the course despite being just 29. © Provided by The Comeback He added another PGA Tour win to that career total today at the Sony Open in Hawaii. It wasn’t an easy win; Hideki had to fend off Russell Henley (who always plays well in Hawaii) in a playoff. On the par 5 18th hole, though, Matsuyama unleashed this three wood up into a blinding sun.
Golf world reacts to Hideki Matsuyama's ridiculous shot that won the Sony Open
GolfBy Jay Rigdon on January 16, 2022January 17, 2022 Hideki Matsuyama is the reigning Masters champion, and has already put together a ridiculous resume on the course despite being just 29. He added another PGA Tour win to that career total today at the Sony Open in Hawaii. It wasn’t an easy win; Hideki had to fend off Russell Henley (who always plays well in Hawaii) in a playoff. On the par 5 18th hole, though, Matsuyama unleashed this three wood up into a blinding sun.
Nabil Karim joins Turner Sports as NBA and NHL studio host
Nabil Karim announced earlier in January that he was leaving ESPN after a three year run on SportsCenter. © Provided by Awful Announcing Now, we have news of his next stop: Turner Sports, where the broadcaster will host programming across multiple channels and sports.
PGA Tour announces promising list of players involved in upcoming Netflix all-access docuseries
© Provided by Awful Announcing A few months ago, we wrote about news that the PGA Tour was partnering with Netflix and the team behind the wildly successful and entertaining F1: Drive to Survive for their own all-access documentary. At the time, there were a few key questions still to be answered: which players would be participating? Would the major championships get on board to allow access? And, maybe most importantly, who would have editorial control?
PGA Tour announces promising list of players involved in upcoming Netflix all-access docuseries
A few months ago, we wrote about news that the PGA Tour was partnering with Netflix and the team behind the wildly successful and entertaining F1: Drive to Survive for their own all-access documentary. © Provided by Awful Announcing At the time, there were a few key questions still to be answered: which players would be participating? Would the major championships get on board to allow access? And, maybe most importantly, who would have editorial control?
Longtime golf reporter and analyst Tim Rosaforte dies at 66
© Provided by Awful Announcing Longtime golf broadcaster and journalist Tim Rosaforte has died. He spent decades covering the game of golf, including a long run at Golf Channel from 2007 to his retirement in 2019, after he began suffering memory loss that was eventually diagnosed as Alzheimer’s. Rosaforte was remembered immediately and fondly by members of golf media and media in general. Our colleague Tim Rosaforte passed away today after a battle with aggressive Alzheimer’s. Just 66.
For the second Hall of Fame ballot in a row, Dan Shaughnessy only voted for Jeff Kent
MLBNewspapersBy Jay Rigdon on 01/11/202201/11/2022 For the third year in a row, Boston Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy cast what amounts to a protest Hall of Fame ballot, naming just one player. For the second year in a row, that player was Jeff Kent. Ballot #154 is from Dan Shaughnessy. For the second consecutive year, he submits a Kent-only ballot. He is the only voter from the Boston Globe to not vote for David Ortiz.
Golf Channel audio picks up someone audibly cracking open a can
© Provided by Awful Announcing The Tournament of Champions, annually the first PGA Tour event of the calendar year is currently ongoing in at Kapalua in Hawaii. Always one of the more pleasant watches in golf thanks to the primetime coverage and scenic vistas (especially if you’re, say, dealing with freezing rain and cold temperatures right now), the limited-field event usually unfolds with a very relaxed overall vibe.
Who will the Vikings start at quarterback against Green Bay with Kirk Cousins out?
NFLBy Jay Rigdon on December 31, 2021 The Minnesota Vikings play one of the highest-stakes games of the season this Sunday against Green Bay. How important? Well, by one metric, their playoff hopes basically ride on the outcome: Minnesota's chances of making the playoffs: 46% with win at Green Bay 2% with loss at Green Bay Per ESPN's FPI.
The Lakers send Rajon Rondo to the Cavs for a surprising return
NBABy Jay Rigdon on December 31, 2021 The Cleveland Cavaliers lost Ricky Rubio to a torn ACL this week. That was a big loss for the Cavs and their playoff aspirations this year. Currently fifth in the East, Cleveland had relied on Rubio as a do-it-all veteran ballhandler, and Rubio had delivered, putting up 13.1 points, 6.6 assists, and 4.1 rebounds per game, while taking a lot of pressure off of Darius Garland.
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