Dollars & Sense - US Open Brings Big Money to Philadelphia Area

The 2013 US Open tees off from Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, P.A. this morning, but the impact has already begun to be felt.  With three days of practice rounds already in the books, the Philadelphia area has likely already seen a boost in the local economy.

Earlier this month, the Philadelphia Inquirer took a look at amount of money that the area is set to take in.  They pegged the figure between $100 and $120 million and about 190,000 spectators, volunteers and staff over the course of the week.  To set a standard for comparison, the article used the 2002 X Games, which brought in $40 million and 235,000 spectators over ten days.

This kind of eight to nine figure economic impact within a week to two week span is something that professional teams cannot offer.  Teams tout their impact on the local economy, but study after study shows that in most cases there is simply a shift in where the the impact is felt within a certain region, not necessarily resulting in an overall gain.

However, major events like a US Open bring in people from outside of the country and sometimes from outside of the United States.  Hotels have reported that they have seen reservations from foreign countries like Germany, Ireland, and Japan, according to the Inquirer.

With Monday's practice round a washout, it is uncertain how much the impact will be, well, impacted.  If you only had tickets to Monday's practice round, would you have left early, hung around and checked out the area, or hung around and tried to get tickets to another practice round?  Maybe the combination would result in no change to the overall estimated impact.

Either way, the pros are ready to take on one of the most historic courses in the country, Merion Golf Club.  Though short, Merion will prove to be a difficult test for many especially when it comes to making disciplined decisions and club selections.  The pros are ready to play, but are you ready to spend?


Follow Kevin Rossi on Twitter @kevin_rossi.

U.S. Open Week Television Coverage

As an avid golf fan, this time of year is exciting to me. It is U.S. Open Week! On Thursday the players will be teeing off on a quest to become the 113th winner of the U.S. Open (well, if the weather holds out...)

At the beginning of the week, coverage of the U.S. Open started. In total the Golf Channel and NBC will be delivering over 70 hours of coverage for the tournament. Included in the coverage is news, live chats, features, highlights, live coverage and more. The Golf Channel will have about 56 hours of coverage and NBC will have about 19 hours.

Included in the Golf Channel's coverage will be Live From the U.S. Open which will air before and after live coverage to show highlights and bring any breaking news stories. A popular Golf Channel show, The Golf Fix, will also be airing from the driving range of Merion. The Golf Channel will also be airing a feature titled "1971 U.S. Open: Lee Trevino an American Champion." This documentary will look at Trevino's shocking victory over Jack Nicklaus in the 1971 U.S. Open at Merion.

NBC's coverage will focus on live action. NBC plans to bring live U.S. Open coverage on Thursday and Friday from 3:00pm to 5:00pm. On Saturday and Sunday coverage is expected to take place from 12:00pm to 7:30pm. For NBC it will be interesting to see how many viewers tune in. Last year's U.S. Open saw final round coverage that earned a 6.6 overnight rating. This was up 29 percent from the final round of 2011. The increase in viewership last year can be somewhat contributed to the location of the tournament. The U.S. Open's that take place on the west coast (like last year) typically see higher television ratings because of the ability to broadcast in primetime on the east coast.

Final Thought
As a golf fan any major is exciting. This year brings a little extra excitement because they are playing so close to home. All I can ask for is an exciting tournament that has my eyes glued to the television on Sunday afternoon.... A Tiger victory would be nice too.

@dmrosen7

Dramatic Masters Finish Draws Big TV Ratings

Tiger looked to be surging toward the top of the leader board at the Masters on Friday. When he hit his third shot on the par five 15th hole, everything changed. Tiger hit what looked to be a great shot but he caught a terrible break. The ball hit the flag stick and then proceeded to ricochet into the water. After Tiger took his drop and proceeded to make bogey, he thought the hole was over. After review, Tiger was penalized the next morning two strokes because of an illegal drop.

Despite the unfortunate break and the penalty, Tiger was still able to put himself in the conversation on Sunday. After playing average golf on the front nine, Tiger put together a run on the back nine but fell short in the end on Sunday. Tiger being in the hunt at the Masters was critical to CBS's high television ratings.

Not only was Tiger brining excitement to the Masters. A tight leader board filled with names going into Sunday's final round included Angel Cabrera, Jason Day, Marc Leishman, Brandt Snedeker, Adam Scott and more. The tournament remained close throughout.

Adam Scott looked to take control when he birdied the 18th to give him a one stoke lead over Angel Cabrera whose was waiting to hit from the 18th fairway. Cabrera proceeded to hit a close shot into 18 and make his birdie put to force a playoff. After both players made par on the first playoff hole, Adam Scott made a birdie putt on the second playoff hole to win the Masters. All the excitement was evident and reflected in the television ratings.

Sunday's final round drew a 10.2 overnight rating which was up 26% from last year. Ratings were expected to be up because last year's tournament was held on Easter weekend. Last year's tournament did also feature a playoff, so the increased ratings were a good sign for the sport. The high point for ratings was seen (not surprisingly) between 7:00 and 7:30 Sunday night when ratings hit a 13.4.

Final Thought
The tournament was great to watch with so much drama down the stretch. Tiger is a huge part of the success and TV ratings in the sport of golf. I would be curious to know what the Sunday ratings would look like if Tiger was not in contention. If the tournament was as exciting as it was, I tend to believe that ratings would still have been up from last year even without Tiger in the hunt. There is no doubt however that Tiger Woods is a huge factor in controlling how popular the sport of golf is at any given time.

@dmrosen7 

Big Ticket Prices at the Masters

Golf's most prestigious tournament is set to start on Thursday. The Masters. For me it is one of the most exciting weekends in sport. Many who do not enjoy the game of golf may think it is crazy that four days of golf can be so exciting to me, but it is...

On my bucket list is a trip to Augusta National to watch the Masters. It would truly be a remarkable experience. That remarkable experience is coming at a hefty price to many this year.

The combination of Tiger Woods playing good golf and the final four of the NCAA tournament being played only a couple hours away in Atlanta, has made the Masters even more desirable than usual this year. In order to purchase tickets, most must use the secondary ticket market. For the four days of golf the only way to get an original ticket is to be on the list of recurring buyers who get asked every year. Those who are fortunate enough to be on this list pay a minimal $250 for the four day badge.

The practice round is also a difficult ticket to purchase. In order to be lucky enough to attend the practice round, you must win a lottery or be a patron of Augusta National. The practice round tickets go for a mere $50.

The big ticket money for the Masters can be found on the secondary market. Those who have waited until the last minute to purchase a four day badge have been paying around $7000 for the four days. Even the practice round tickets are getting a lot of money on the secondary market. Recently a practice round ticket sold for $1000. After doing a quick Stubhub search, you can buy a practice round ticket for about $500 today.  A single ticket for Sunday at the Masters would cost more than $2000 on the secondary ticket market.

The ticket prices for the Masters are insane. Too costly for most of America's public. Most of the high prices being paid on the secondary market are related to corporate American's who are already in the area watching the final four.

There is some good new as far as prices go for the Masters. Once you get inside, you can eat and drink for minimal cost. For the famous pimento cheese sandwich and a beer, it will only cost you $4.50 (and you get to keep the cup with the Masters logo on it).

Final Thought
The perfect storm has made the secondary ticket market for the Masters hot this year. Even in a usual year, ticket cost would be extraordinarily high. There is a reason why tickets to the Masters is one of the hardest tickets to get in sports. I will keep a trip to Augusta National on my bucket list, but for now watching on television will have to do.

@dmrosen7

Dollars & Sense - PGA Tour is Thriving

Tiger Woods has not won a major since 2008, but the PGA Tour is thriving financially and in the area of sponsorship stability.  The transition from the years of Woods’ dominance to an era of much more competitive balance was an intriguing one for the Tour with fluctuating television ratings and an overall confusion on how to continue reaching the younger demographics.  Rory McIlroy is a great player and one worthy of grabbing the proverbial torch, but he certainly has a long way to go to reach the golden-Woods standard.

According Michael Smith’s article “Title sponsors in hand, PGA Tour eyes digital international growth” in this week’s Sports Business Journal, the PGA Tour has sold all but one of its tournament title sponsors.  45 of 46 ain’t too bad.  The lone tournament without a title sponsor is the Tampa Bay Championship held from March 14-17 at Innisbrook Resort.  Transition Optical was the previous title sponsor but was the only company out of 11 not to renew their deal.

The most sought after title sponsor ships are those for tournaments that are televised on either CBS or NBC as opposed to the Golf Channel.  Sponsorship for these types of events runs for $6 million to $8 million per year.  Part of this money goes to the television network and part of this money goes directly to the tournament.  Tournament money could potentially go toward paying the exorbitant purses.  The title sponsor-less Tampa Bay Championship has a total purse of $5.5 million with last year’s winner, Luke Donald, taking home $990,000 of it according to the PGA Tour schedule.

Furthermore on the PGA Tour’s stable sponsorship assets is the fact that only Hyundai’s title sponsorship deal expires after the 2013 season.  With FedEx’s recently extended deal, Web.com signing on as the sponsor of the old Nationwide Tour, and broadcast deals with CBS and NBC that run reportedly through 2021, the PGA Tour is able to leverage their current deals further and look for a product more global in nature.

Aided by the established World Golf Championship events including the uniqueness of the Accenture Match Play Championship, the PGA Tour has been looking towards global growth for a while.  Now with PGA Tour Canada under their control and a new tour in Latin America, the PGA Tour continues its expansion

. 

Digital media growth is what ultimately caught eye with the article because typically when you think golf, you think older generations and older generations are not particularly digital media savvy.  Here are a few key digital media points that the PGA Tour is doing in the upcoming season:

-          - Streamlined Apps – Currently apps are on a tournament by tournament basis, but with the PGA Tour undertaking a single aggregated platform, apps will have much greater consistent quality.

-         -  Internet Simulcasts – The PGA Tour plans to simulcast CBS, NBC, and Golf Channel broadcasts on their website as an added viewing platform in hopes to add sellable advertising inventory and drive site traffic.

-          - Digital Division Growth – After taking over control of their digital division from Turner Sports, the PGA Tour looks to grow their digital division and expand on Turner’s successes.

(Quick aside on golf television broadcasts: Golf is often criticized by its haters for being slow and boring, even on television.  Personally, I think that assumption is way off base.  Golf broadcast productions always bring the viewer straight to the action.  How often do you see a guy walking the fairway as opposed to hitting a shot in the middle of a round?  Virtually never.  Golf broadcasts have an element of NFL Red Zone to them that was there before the thought of NFL Red Zone was even conceived.)

The PGA Tour is in an incredible position going forward.  In the United States we have seen unrest and instability in our major sports over the past few years.  Golf and the PGA Tour has remained strong.  Just imagine what a dominant American-born player could do for television ratings!

(Read the SBJ Original Article)

Follow Kevin Rossi on Twitter @kevin_rossi.

14 Year Old to Play at the Masters

When I heard the possibility that 14-year-old, Guan Tianlang, had a chance to qualify for the Masters I did not believe it. 14. That is hard to believe. Guan's win at the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship qualified him for the Masters. The age of players playing professional golf keeps getting younger and younger but it is unexpected to most that an eight grader would have the opportunity to play in one of the most prestigious golf tournament in the world.

Guan Tianlang

Guan will be the youngest player to play in a major by a month. Last summer at the US Open, Andy Zhang who was also 14 teed it up with the best in the world. The youth in golf is hard to believe but it is a good sign for the game. Many wonder where the future of golf is heading especially with recent struggles of Tiger Woods. The more talented youth in the game will make the sport more competitive and keep viewers watching.

Andy Zhang

Tiger was the clear catalyst for the popularity in the game of golf. With young talented players coming into the game, it is difficult not to watch them on TV. For many who play golf recreationally, it is nearly impossible to image someone at the age of 14 being able to compete with the best golfers in the world. That fact will make people want to watch.

Another positive from young golfers playing professionally is the impact on the demographics of the game. Many consider golf to be a sport that is only played recreationally by older individuals. If kids have golfers they can look up to that are only a few years older than them, they are more likely to go and try to play the game themselves.

Final Thought
For all the positives that come out of young talented golfers, we must be careful on possible negatives. Guan is obviously extremely talented, but he is only 125 pounds. Therefore he can drive the ball only a mere 250 yards. At many challenging professional golf course, that will cause trouble. The last thing that golf wants is to put young men on national TV on the biggest stage and embarrass them. Although these golfers must have extreme confidence to make it to the point where they are, it is difficult to imagine what one horrendous tournament can do to someones confidence. That being said, I can't wait to watch Guan at the Masters.

 @dmrosen7

Big Pay Day Coming for Rory

At the end of 2012, Rory McIlroy will end his endorsement deal with Titleist/FootJoy. At the age of 23, Rory has shown great promise in the sport of golf. He has won two major tournaments and is near the top of the list of most marketable athletes. Working to Rory's advantage is the fact that he is a global athlete. The sport of golf allows athletes to be viewed in a wider spectrum than in most sports.

Speculation over who Rory will endorse in 2013 and going forward is heating up. Rumors have surfaced saying Rory may join Nike in an unprecedented deal. Some rumors say Rory may receive a 10 year contract with a value of $250 million. In comparison, the deal that Tiger Woods signed with Nike in 2001 was a 5 year deal worth a reported $100 million.

If these rumors end up being true, the deal would be huge for both Rory and Nike. Rory is at a time in his career when he is still very young. A decision to sign a long term contract could help to shape Rory's career. Rory McIlroy's prime in the sport of golf is likely to come within the next 10 years, Rory's endorser could benefit greatly from having him a part of their brand during this time. This also comes at an interesting time for Nike. For years, Tiger Woods has been the face of Nike golf. Turning 37 years old soon, Tiger Woods is most likely past his prime in the sport of golf. It is time for Nike to get on board with the next big thing in golf, and as of now that looks like Rory McIlroy.

There is a significant risk for Nike in signing a long term contract with so much money committed to one player. Rory seems to be the best young golfer with a very promising career ahead of him yet there is no guarantee on his success. If Nike agrees to a long term deal with Rory and his play doesn't meet expectations, Nike may be caught having to deal with a lackluster face of Nike golf for many years.

Final Thought
Although there is some risk, I think a potential long term lucrative deal would be beneficial for Rory McIlroy and Nike. Rory is most likely going to be the face of golf for a long time. It is a worthwhile risk for Nike to sign Rory. Nike has proven that they are interested in having the best player in golf as the face of the Nike brand. This is a good decision. Who would not want to have the best player in a given sport as the face of their brand? Rory is about to get PAID.

@dmrosen7 

Tiger Earns $100 Million

With Tiger Woods third place finish in the Deutsche Bank Championship he earned $544,000. This win pushed his career earnings on the PGA tour to over $100 million, $100,350,700 to be exact. Tiger has been the face of golf for many years, and it is not surprising that he is the first man to ever earn $100 million on the golf course.

The dominance of Tiger Woods against people playing in his era, can be viewed not only through wins, but through money earned. After Tiger, next on the list is Phil Mickelson who has earned nearly $67 million. Although a nice amount of money, Phil is nearly $30 million behind Tiger.

The era of golf in which Tiger has played has a lot to do with the enormous amount of career earnings. Sam Snead is the career leader in PGA Tour wins with 82. Snead's career earnings were $620,126. Sam Snead started his career in 1937 and money in golf was no where near the value of todays game. Snead's most earnings in an individual tournament was in 1968 when he came in second place in Milwaukee. He earned only $28,000 in that tournament. Tiger Woods has won $1 million dollars or more 38 different times.

The huge increase in dollars for the game of golf can be attributed to Tiger. When Tiger entered the sport as a professional, he brought with him huge crowds to the tournaments and big crowds watching on TV. Tiger spoke on the time of golf in which he played, "I won fewer tournaments than Sam Snead has, but obviously he was in a different era. It's just that we happened to time it up right and happened to play well when the purses really had a nice spike up."

Tiger is currently in contention of winning his third FedEx Cup. The FedEx Cup bonus pays $10 million. The two times that Tiger previously won the FedEx Cup, have not counted toward his career earnings.

Final Thought
It is no surprise to anyone that Tiger Woods has earned a lot of money playing golf. His dominance has been clearly witnessed by any golf fan. I think the $100 million dollar milestone is just another remarkable achievement by Tiger. His career earnings is only a fraction of the total amount he has earned because of golf. Endorsement money for Tiger Woods is in the hundreds of millions. Whether or not people like Tiger because of his off the course drama is up to them, yet there is no denying what he has accomplished on the golf course is truly amazing. As for the rest of Tigers career.... he might not be done just yet.

@dmrosen7

FedEx Playoff Approaches With Little Buzz

Wait… Did you hear that?  Neither did I.

That silence is the lack of buzz that the PGA Tour’s FedExCup playoff is generating. 

The FedExCup playoff system is very similar to NASCAR’s playoff system in that competitors earn points based on finishes in regular season events.  After the final event of the regular season, the top 125 golfers in the standings qualify for the first playoff event.

Last week’s Wyndham Championship (won by Sergio Garcia on the same day that Augusta announced their acceptance of their first woman members) was the final event of the PGA Tour’s regular season.  A big reason that the lack of buzz is surprising (at least to me) is the fire power among the top five in the standings.  Fifth place currently belongs to Bubba Watson who really became a crowd favorite this year at The Masters.  Third place belongs to Rory McIlroy who is coming off of an impressive eight stroke victory at the PGA Championship.  First place belongs to none other than Tiger Woods.  Enduring intense scrutiny for not winning a major championship this yes, Tiger has put together a solid season winning three events (more than any other player on the PGA Tour this year). 

This week’s event The Barclays will be the first event of the FedExCup playoffs.  Bethpage Black in New York will play host to event and is widely considered to be one of the tougher courses on the PGA Tour schedule.  It is at The Barclays this week that Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy will be paired together in a group for rounds one and two for the first time in their careers.  You can bet the house that that group will be the most followed grouping on TV.

After The Barclays, the second leg of the FedExCup playoff moves to the Deutsche Bank Championship played at TPC Boston.  TPC Boston typically sees lower scores with tournament winners shooting around 20-under.  Unlike the first round at The Barclays where the top 125 players compete, the Deutsche Bank Championship whittles the field down to the top 100. 

The BMW Championship is the third leg of the playoff where the field is cut even further down to the top 70 players in the FedExCup standings.  The BMW Championship will be played at Crooked Stick in Carmel, Indiana after a run at Cog Hill Golf and Country Club. 

Finally, the FedExCup playoffs come down the Tour Championship which takes the top 30 players in the standings.  Taking place at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, GA, the winner of the season long PGA Tour FedExCup is crowned.  Last year Bill Haas took the Tour Championship which won him the FedExCup in dramatic fashion.

Prize money is a huge reward of the FedExCup playoff.  With total prize money in the neighborhood of $35 million, the winner takes home a whopping $10 million for the season’s worth of work.  The second place finisher brings in $3 million; third place gets $2 million all the way through the top 150 players. 

 Although the prize money is big, the stakes just don’t seem to be taken too seriously by the fans and media.  There is very little build up going into these playoffs.  Moving into next year, the stakes could be raised to a point that could garner more attention among golf fans.  Starting in 2013, the FedExCup standings will essentially replace the PGA Tour Money List as the determining factor for the Tour cards the following season.  This raises the stakes much, much higher because now the top 125 spots matter as opposed to maybe the number one spot.

FedEx’s dealings with the PGA Tour began back in 1986, where it started out as a tournament sponsor (FedEx St. Jude Classic).  The FedExCup began in 2007, and prior to this year, the PGA Tour and FedEx extended the agreement containing the FedExCup playoffs through 2017. 

The change for the future that will place importance on the top 125 spots will probably not bring too much extra coverage to the playoff.  However, if the big names at the top of this year’s FedExCup standings can stay in contention (Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, and Bubba Watson), then the playoff is sure to gain media and fan momentum by the time the Tour Championship rolls around on September 20 to 23.  For now we can enjoy The Barclays because I think most of us can agree that any golf is better than no golf at all.

--Information gathered from PGATour.com and Sports Business Journal.

Follow Kevin Rossi on Twitter at @kevin_rossi.

PGA Championship Preview

Although Kiawah Island is only 10 miles long and no more than 1.5 miles wide, the small island on the shores of South Carolina is set to host the PGA Championship this weekend. 

Kiawah Island’s small stature has proven to be a major obstacle at the PGA Tour’s final major.  Because of the lack of size, the PGA Tour had to limit ticket sales to around 25,000 per day.  When volunteers, course workers, media are factored in, the island will be forced to hold and transport about 30,000 people per day.  With one single two lane road to do so, there could potentially be major complications.  The course and the PGA Tour have worked on a comprehensive plan that should combat the issue.  According to Sports Business Journal, the course staff can park 1,600 cars per hour at maximum efficiency and they expect a traffic flow of about 1,400-1,500 at peak hours.  It’s going to be tough, but it could be done.

The PGA Tour’s final major will surely be a popular one with the season winding down and Tiger Woods coming in as the odds-on favorite to win.  Keegan Bradley looks to defend his 2011 PGA Championship crown while carrying the momentum of winning the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational last weekend at Firestone.  Although it is great to have Keegan Bradley with momentum coming into the tournament, the PGA Championship’s TV ratings will be driven by Tiger Woods’ place in the field per usual.  You can bet the house that TNT and CBS executives will be cheering hard for Tiger to at least be in the hunt on Sunday and throughout.

The PGA Championship will be played at The Ocean Course; a beautiful 7676 yard par 72 course located along the shores of the Atlantic Ocean.  Players could potentially face huge challenges with rain and wind.  This coming weekend will see a 40% chance of thunderstorms everyday and could experience some heavier wind gusts.

With the smaller ticket allotment, the high demand allowed the PGA Tour to charge premium prices for tickets.  Friday, Saturday, and Sunday single day tickets are sold out and single day Thursday tickets are $125.  A four day Championship Round ticket will get you access to all 4 days of competition but will run you $500.  For the more corporate tournament goers, there are one day Champions Club tickets for $700 with a 4 day Champions Club pass for $2700. 

Boasting a purse of $8,000,000 last year, Keegan Bradley took home $1,445,000 of that purse cashing in on a beautiful 4 day display of golf.  If we see anything like the battle between Bradley and Jason Dufner from last year, then the golf world is surely in for a treat regardless of whether Tiger Woods in the mix or not. 

Although it may be the least prestigious of the 4 PGA Tour majors, the PGA Championship is nothing to ignore.  The PGA Championship is hosted by one of the most beautiful course in America at The Ocean Club, and that southern hospitality will surely be felt. 

Tune in to TNT at 1 pm tomorrow to catch the start of the television coverage of the PGA Championship.  The final round will be broadcasted on CBS from 2-7pm on Sunday.  Don’t miss out on the PGA Tour’s last major of the year.

--Information from PGATour.com, Weather Channel, Sports Business Journal, PGAChampionship.com, KiawahIsland.com

TV's Tuned in for the Open Championship

Before the start of the Open Championship (British Open), Kevin Rossi wrote a preview post. Although he missed on the winner, he was correct in saying that Tiger would be in contention. Tiger Woods being in contention at a major championship is one of many factors that plays into TV ratings for the sport of golf. Other factors include the time of the tournament and the competitiveness of the tournament.

Tiger Effect
No matter what the public perception is of Tiger Woods, there is no denying that he is critical to the game of golf and critical to TV ratings. Tiger Woods missed half of the 2008 season due to a knee injury. In the tournaments that he missed while hurt, TV ratings feel 47% compared to 2007 when he played in those tournaments.

For the 2012 Open Championship, Tiger was a contender throughout. In 2011, Tiger announced that he would miss the Open Championship because of injuries. The TV ratings show the "Tiger Effect." The 2012 Open Championship saw TV ratings on Friday that were up 50% from 2011, ratings were up 67% on Saturday from 2011 and ratings were up 50% for Sunday's final round compared to 2011. There is no hiding what Tiger means to the game of golf.

Fans love the fist pump

Tournament Time of Day
Time of day is a considerable factor in the ratings of golf. The Open Championship is on very early in the morning (for I-95ers) with coverage beginning as early as 4:30AM. The West Coast is better off staying up all night if they want to watch coverage of the tournament. Then there are tournaments like the US Open, where location varies. When the tournament is held on the East Coast, we can expect the final round to end around 7pm eastern. When the tournament is held on the West Coast, we can expect a prime time finish for the east coast at around 10pm. The 2012 US Open took place on the West Coast and finished in prime time, the 2011 US Open took place on the East Coast and finished considerably earlier. The results of the time difference were clear. Ratings were up 29% this year from last year. 

Competitiveness of the Tournament

Competition in a tournament is a result of the players who are playing, the importance of the tournament and how close the top players on the leader board are to each other. The players who are in a tournament is an important factor. We saw earlier the effect of Tiger Woods on the game, in tournaments without key players ratings are naturally down. When it comes to the importance of a tournament it is obvious that viewers rather watch majors over any other tournament. Unless a record is on the line, people want to see a close tournament. When a leader takes over a tournament, people tend to tune out. In 2011, Rory McIlroy won the US Open. Rory blew away the field, but ratings were down 26% compared to the  2010 Open.

Final Thought
I consider myself a big golf fan, but a bigger Tiger fan. I was glued to the TV as Tiger had a shot at winning another major. Once Tiger was out of the tournament, I lost most of my interest. In fact, at that point I went and hit the links myself. Fortunately for the viewers still watching, the tournament had an exciting ending. Ernie Els played solid golf and made a clutch (ended up being REAL clutch) putt on the 18th green to post a score of 7 under. Els post of 7 under plus an Adam Scott collapse gave Ernie his fourth career major championship. Quite an accomplishment.

Ernie Els takes home the hardware for the 2012 Open Championship

 @dmrosen7




Statistics from ESPN.com, Forbes.com, USAtoday.com, CBSsports.com

Quick Hits

You all know that the I-95 SportsBiz staff is always looking to give the people what they want. As requested, here are your Quick Hits for the week.


The New Yorker’s sports section The Sporting Scene featured a Gladwell-esque piece looking at whether birthplace effects chances of going professional.

Dan Wetzel continues his hold on the Penn State situation, this time coming for former PSU President Graham Spanier.

Tiger Woods criticizes course conditions early in the week going into The Open Championship at Royal Lytham.

Reds prospect Billy Hamilton is really really fast.

A survey conducted by Quinnipiac University favors the renaming of Beaver Stadium in honor of Joe Paterno.

Eagles quarterback Mike Vick says he was “better at reading dogs than defenses” in an interview with USA Today.

A menacing fan (or a menacing individual who is NOT a fan) throws tacks on a road used for the Tour de France route.

A note of caution to all our readers who train for various sporting events outdoors: Look out for angry otters!

If you love basketball and you love analytics, then you have to check this out!

The Poynter Review takes a look at ESPN’s coverage of the Freeh Report.

Deadspin breaks down how the Flyers’ offer sheet to Shea Weber gives a big middle finger to the NHL CBA.

Was letting Jeremy Lin walk to Houston a good idea by the Knickerbockers?  Grantland weighs in.

Troy Polamalu admits to hiding injuries to get back into games.

After some command issues, the Diamondbacks are sending their star prospect, Trevor Bauer, back to Triple A.

Jeff Caple writes a piece about The Incline at the London 2012 Olympics.

Bud Selig says that Major League Baseball is in no rush to put ads on jerseys.


How MLB teams are beginning to find diamonds in the rough as late-inning flamethrowers.

Not necessarily the caliber of a Jeff Passan piece, but this ESPN.com feature on Pittsburgh Pirates hometown hero Neil Walker does the trick.

Preview: The Open Championship

It is that time of the year again!  Another major championship on the PGA Tour is upon us and this time it is The Open Championship.  This year’s edition of the British Open will be played at the Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf Club in Lancashire, England.  Last time the British Open was held at Royal Lytham, the champion went by the name of… wait for it… yes you guessed it, David Duval. 

Going into the PGA Tour’s weekend in England, let’s take a look at three key elements:

1) Sponsors

We know about the players and their personal endorsement deals.  We know that Tiger Woods is sponsored by Nike.  We know that Rickie Fowler is sponsored by Puma.  The visibility of player sponsors has never been in question.  What is in question is the visibility of the tournament sponsors.  Do they get enough television visibility during the broadcast?  Is their on-site activation done well enough to interest the largely corporate crowd that attends PGA Tour events? 

Here is the list of sponsors for The Open Championship:

Doosan (South Korea – Infrastructure Support Business)

HSBC (England – Bank)

Master Card (United States – Credit Card)

Mercedes-Benz (Germany – Automobile)

Nikon (Japan – Technology)

Ralph Lauren (United States – Clothing)

Rolex (Switzerland – Technology)

Clearly, when you look at this list, you can see that there must be widespread interest in the British Open.  Companies from all over the planet come to be a sponsor of the tournament.  It will be interesting to watch and see how well they can activate through the weekend.

2) Weather

As we have all come to expect with the British Open every year, the weather is never too nice.  Weather is one of the big reasons that American golf and European golf is so different.  European players learn how to play golf in a different way.  They must hit lower shots and they can adjust to winds much better.  That is part of the reason that the British Open is one of the toughest majors to predict.  Anyhow, the weather for the weekend in Lancashire, England is looking to be similar to what we expect of The Open Championship.  It looks like it will be a cool weekend with temperatures staying in the low to mid 60s.  In typical English fashion, it also looks to be rainy for three of the four days which should make for an interesting start.  Luckily for the players, it does not seem like the wind will be as bad as it can sometimes be.

3) Champion

As with any tournament, everyone feels the need to try to predict a winner.  To be honest, I have no idea who will win.  If I had to put my money on somebody, I would go with a European player.  Why do you think Darren Clarke was able to win it last year?  It is a different game in Europe.  The courses are links style, which is different from most courses in the United States.  Also, as mentioned previously, the European players are more used to the poor weather conditions. 

When it comes to PGA Tour tournaments, many people immediately turn to Tiger Woods when asked to pick a winner.  Are his chances good?  Sure they are, but when it comes down to Tiger versus the field, I will take the field 98% of the time.  The odds are against him.  You’re picking a guy who hasn’t won a major in close to a handful of years and you’re picking him to win a tournament that is out of any American player’s element.  I love Tiger, but I’ll take the other 100-plus guys playing alongside him.  Don’t just go with the easy big name guy who the media picks almost every single week.

Two guys that I’m looking out for this weekend at The Open are Lee Westwood and Rickie Fowler.  I’m looking at Lee Westwood because he is a native of England and frankly I believe that he’s just too good to not have a major victory.  Before Westwood missed the cut at last year’s British Open, he finished T3 in 2009 and 2 in 2010.  The 39 year old is known for his consistency, so it will be interesting to see if Lee Westwood can bounce back this year and remain in contention through the weekend. 

Rickie Fowler intrigues me, not because I think he will win, but because he finished 5th last year.  Fowler is a guy who can become a face of golf and bring the game to the younger generations, but he hasn’t been able to stay at the top on a consistent basis.  I’m watching Rickie Fowler this weekend to see if he can capitalize on last year’s British Open top 5 and compete through the weekend.  Ok, I’ll be honest, I’m also watching to see what blinding colors he dons this week.

So, it looks like I’m going Lee Westwood this week at The Open Championship.  And yes, I do expect Tiger Woods to be in contention.  Then again, golf has a funny way of being completely unpredictable sometimes.  Tune into the first round bright and early tomorrow at 5am on ESPN for the first round!

2012 US Open of Golf

The 2012 US Open of golf teed off yesterday from The Olympic Club in San Francisco, California.  There was a group of golf stars playing together in Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, and Bubba Watson.  There was a group of the top three players in the world playing together in Luke Donald, Rory McIlroy, and Lee Westwood.  There was even a 14 year old boy in the field in Andy Zhang.  Teenage girls followed the group of Rickie Fowler, Dustin Johnson, and Ryo Ishikawa.

14 year old US Open qualifier Andy Zhang

Last time the US Open was held at The Olympic Club it was 1998.  Lee Janzen beat Payne Stewart by one stroke after being down by six going into the final round.  Historically, The Olympic Club may be most well known for Arnold Palmer's epic collapse in 1966.  Going for his first career major, Arnie blew a seven shot lead with nine holes to go. 

It's OK. He washed down the defeat with one of these.

The US Open is consistently one of the toughest tournaments each and every year.  Last year Rory McIlroy won with an unheard of score of 16-under.  Under normal US Open circumstances, like one that doesn’t feature a super-powered Northern Irishman running away from the field, second place finisher Jason Day thought his 8-under would be good enough to win. 

No other tournament on the PGA Tour schedule tests golfers the way that the US Open does.  The Open Championship, better known as the British Open, is unique and tough, but it is a different style of play than your typical American golf.  The Masters is tough but it is played at Augusta National every year.  The PGA Championship switches courses, but the courses are just not as difficult as the US Open courses. 

Attendance at the US Open has been perfect over the past quarter of a century.  Going into the 2012 Open, there had been 25 consecutive sellouts.  This year’s US Open is no different, giving the PGA Tour its 26 straight sellout at one of the biggest tournaments in the United States.  The US Open may not have the prestige of allure that The Masters has, but it sure runs like a well-oiled machine.

Tickets for the each day of competition were capped at 33,500 per day.  The price of a daily ticket to walk the grounds, general admission more or less, was $110 for either the Thursday or Friday round and $125 for either the Saturday or championship Sunday round.  There were daily passes to the practice rounds for $50 per day. 

For the higher end of you 95ers, there are two different clubs at the US Open.  There is the Trophy Club which is the US Open’s hospitality pavilion that features the US Open television coverage.  There is also the famous 1895 Club that is the US Open’s trademark high end club that is an all-inclusive ticket to the festivities.  Your pockets must be deep to afford these tickets.  The Trophy Club will run you $185 to $200 for one championship round and the 1895 Club will run you $370 to $385 for one championship round.

The Olympic Club clubhouse

Despite the high ticket prices, people will buy up the tickets.  The ticket prices are specifically tailored to the higher end crowd that the PGA Tour targets and attracts.  The PGA Tour is exclusive in nature, so the ticket prices are doing what they set out to do.  Would you attend a US Open?  For you 95ers who live near Philadelphia, PA you may be answering that question yourself next year when the US Open comes to The Merion Club in Ardmore, PA.

Tiger Woods is the favorite to win among most fans.  Many may go with Rory McIlroy but there has not been a back-to-back winner since 1988-89 when Curtis Strange pulled of the accomplishment.  The field is full of strong contenders with everyone ranked in the top 50 of the World Golf Rankings competing this Father’s Day weekend. 

Curtis Strange

My two picks for the US Open are Lee Westwood and Matt Kuchar.  For the $1.26 million that will be going to the winner on Sunday, who ya got?


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Pick Up the Pace!

Alright…

OK…

Wait, no…

Ahh…

OK…here we…

Ugh…

GO!

Kevin Na at The Players Championship

Sorry about that, took a minute, but I’m ready to go now! I just had to go through my pre-writing routine quick.  It’s kind of annoying, I know, I get the same feeling whenever I watch professional golf (or at least attempt to watch).

If you’ve ever watched a golfer just before he (or she) takes a swing, you’ve probably noticed the obsessive compulsive-esque pre-shot routines they each respectively go through. As if the pace of golf wasn’t slow enough, pre-shot routines are dragging out play even more. In a sport that is already calm-mannered, and tedious, further slowing the pace in any way risks dulling the entertainment that golf provides viewers. Bottom line, it hurts the sport.

Pre-shot routines typically go something like this…waggle, waggle, step up, half-swing, step back, re-grip, waggle, practice swing, step up, waggle, half-swing…If you’re anything like me, you find yourself sitting there saying, “Come on already, just hit it!”

Throughout the existence of the PGA and LPGA, slow play and pre-shot routines have been perpetual issues. Earlier this month, the age-old discussion was ignited once again, when PGA golfer Kevin Na and LPGA golfer Morgan Pressel caused a stir on mainstages of their respective associations.

At The Players Championship, PGA golfer Kevin Na was scrutinized for his painfully slow play, which included a lengthy pre-shot routine and intentionally whiffing shots just to re-set (if you don’t know what I’m talking about, just watch this video). Fortunately for Na, he wasn’t penalized, but the criticism poured in from the likes of fans, media, and fellow golfers. Na later recognized his struggles saying, per USA Today, “There’s no point in trying to cover anything up. You could see I was having problems.” He also explained that following his sluggish performance at The Players, he has taken time to adjust his routine. By his own count, he has cut the routine down to only 15 seconds (uhm, yay?).

As for LPGA golfer Morgan Pressel, her slow play at the Sybase Match Play Championship resulted in a far worse outcome. Pressel was cited for slow play by rules officials, which caused her to lose a hole that she thought she had won. The penalty ultimately cost her a first place finish as well. It was a tough loss and Pressel made it pretty clear that she disagreed. Referencing Azahara Munoz’s first place finish, “…she was definitely slower than I was,” declared Pressel. (side note: the last slow play penalty assessed in the PGA was about two decades ago)

Let’s admit it, Pressel has a good point. The vast majority of golfers play slow and almost no one is cited or penalized for slow play. While there are rules in place, the application of such rules seems to be fairly arbitrary. Professional golf has a very obvious problem that has persisted for far too long. Something has to be done before the sport suffers even more than it has already. If the fact that Na, a golfer who was not penalized, felt enough of a problem to make an adjustment to quicken his play on his own, and the fact that Pressel was penalized when plenty of others played as slow as, or slower, than herself isn’t enough to make you think the sport has a problem…how about these remarks from the most prolific golfer the sport has ever seen…

“I certainly think we need to speed up play…I certainly can see there being some type of adaption somewhere. There’s got to be some kind of change.” –Tiger Woods

@sethbreeden