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Check out each week the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors as they break down the hottest topics in sports, and join the conversation by tweeting to us @tweet. This week we’re discussing Tiger Woods’ breakup with Joe Lacava, Rory McIlroy’s penalty for skipping an event.DP World Tour Resignations and more.
1. Joe LaCava has been Tiger Woods’ reliable caddy since 2011, but with Woods out, the tall lounger has now joined Patrick Cantlay’s bag full-time, making his debut with a T21 finish at the Wells Fargo Championship last week. Do you see this immediately improving Cantlie’s prospects in the future? How can a can like LaCava help him?
Josh Berhau, Managing Editor (@tweet): It will be interesting to see what this move does for Cantlay, aka one of the best – if not the better? – Current pros without a headline. Sometimes it’s the little things that jumpers get over that hump. It hasn’t been like he’s been carrying his own portfolio before, although he’s had a good vulnerability in Matt Minister, but sometimes a change of scenery is good for all parties. LaCava’s CV speaks for itself. They will definitely be a great pair to watch going forward. It can’t be a bad thing, right?
Dylan Diether, Senior Writer (@tweet): Predicting the dynamics of cans is a clumsy task. I think caddies are very important but there are so many different ways to be a good camper that it’s hard to know how that goes. Still, this pairing makes sense. LaCava is a true professional, which I’m sure Cantlay will appreciate. But he also seems to have a great sense of when to keep things light and when to dig in his heels. I’m excited to see what happens.
Ryan Barath, Senior Editor, Equipment (@tweet): With the NHL playoffs in full swing, the thought of caddies has me drawing a beeline to coaches and the old saying “They are hired to be fired.” There are certainly some very long-term relationships on the tour but in most cases the end result is for the golfer and not the man with the clubs. Do I think it helps Cantlay’s chances – honestly not, but I was wrong before.
2. Woods and LaCava have won together 11 times, including a five-win 2013 season and the 2019 Masters, which was Woods’ 15th major title. What’s your favorite moment or memorable interaction between the two? And how bad will this hurt Tiger’s chances of getting healthy and following through thereafter?
Birhau: Loyalty was a word thrown around a lot last week, as in the loyalty LaCava forced Woods to stay in his briefcase despite Tiger missing significant time with injuries. Now there’s a good chance LaCava will still get paid during this absence, but there’s always that strong will to compete between the ropes for player and caddy. He had to miss the opportunity, and I think such a move was only a matter of time. I will always think of the pep talk he had with Woods during the final round of the 2019 Masters — “He was saying some things that I can’t really repeat here,” Woods said — which ultimately led to Woods changing his game and earning his fifth green jacket. As for what this means for tigers? I’m not sure he’s too worried about that right now. His first step is to get healthy, and when he’s ready, I think he’ll have a long list of candidates lining up to see if they can find lightning in a bottle one more time or two.
Dither: I posted this video last week from ESPN’s Tiger doc Return of the Roar and the line from LaCava has stuck with me ever since: “If I could live another 100 years, I’d wait another 100. I would never work for Tiger as long as he He’ll get me.” LaCava’s departure signals the end of an era, but there is still much to celebrate from his partnership with Woods.
Parath: I think the 2019 Masters should be my moment as a whole, but I can remember vividly earlier this year at the Genesis Invitational Tiger was starting in the pro on Wednesday and was one of the few players early on. Lacava. It was still dark, almost freezing, and he was up there with a bag of Tiger poised for the 18th hole. There can be a lot of people in the big moments, but for me, small moments like that show how important it is to be there for Tiger.
3. Rory McIlroy will be penalized $3 million for missing his second designated event of 2023, as McIlroy skipped Hilton Head the week after the Masters. He previously missed the first designated event of the season (playing the Dubai Desert Classic at the Dubai World Tour instead of the Sentry Tournament of Champions). Under the current policy of the tour, players can only miss one particular event before it starts cutting into their PIP winnings. Two questions: Is it a bad look for McElroy, who primarily served as a player/commissioner on the PGA Tour, to now miss two of those? Or is McIlroy’s absence evidence that this current model is not working?
Birhau: No, it’s not really a good look, but it also shows that these guys are human, just like us, who have bad days and weeks and need some time apart. (McIlroy’s also probably quite loaded, so the extra $3 million in his pocket doesn’t mean the same thing as it would to us.) The tour’s designated event model is still fresh and a work in progress, but I’ll give the guy a break because we know how much the gurus mean to him. His and I’m not going to act like I know what’s going on in his life, but yeah, it proves that there will always be hiccups no matter the formula. “Tis the life. However, if he misses a third without a hit, then Jay, we have a problem.
Dither: Yeah, it’s kind of a bad sight for McIlroy to skip after designing a system where the best players show up. But 1. This rule will change next year, allowing pros to skip, and 2. He’s also penalized heavily financially for missing an RBC. The current model works. More concerning was McIlroy’s game, which looked uneven all week in Charlotte en route to a T47 finish.
Parath: Given all the things Rory has said about having to stick to a schedule, it comes off the wrong way, but like Dylan said, changing that rule next year would make that a moot point at the end of the season.
4. The DP World Tour has confirmed that it has received membership resignations from Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Richard Bland, which comes after they were sanctioned for playing in a conflicting LIV event last June (and after the DP World Tour recently won an arbitration). It also means no Ryder Cup for Sergio, Poulter and Westwood, three players with a long history in the event who are all set to be captains at some point. Will it affect their legacy, and is the Ryder Cup the biggest loser here?
Birhau: Their legacy as great Ryder Cup players has already been established on dominant European Ryder Cup teams, and while a captain would have been a nice feather in their caps, I don’t see it being too detrimental to their body of work in their careers. And yes, I feel bad for the Ryder Cup, for the fans, but this is on both sides, the US and Europe. Obviously, the event will still feature stars and good players, but it’s no secret that it won’t feature all the best players. stinks. But come this fall in Rome, it’s not like we’re going to have to fill out NCAA player rosters. It will still be a blast. Put it this way: I keep them circled in my calendar.
Dither: It’s certainly strange that these guys wouldn’t be Ryder Cup captains given that their careers have been defined by their Ryder Cup performance. But that was part of the deal when they jumped to LIV; The decision to leave was always a complex calculation and that’s part of what they gave up on. Will this change the makeup of this year’s roster too much? I’m not sure. It certainly makes the captain’s choices less exciting. This means Team Europe will have to find a different group of leaders in the future.
Barath: In general, there are a lot of great Ryder Cup players who weren’t leaders previously, so I think from a gameplay perspective that doesn’t change much. What hasn’t been cemented in history yet is what LIV does and takes money for these players when their careers are really over, and what happens to LIV over the next few years.
5. The lineup for the next made-for-TV game is here as Steve Curry and Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors and Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelsey of the Kansas City Chiefs face off on June 29 at Wayne Las Vegas. Thoughts on match 8 talent? What is your interest level?
Birhaukisa: I don’t mind the lineup. I like the change, though I’d prefer professional golfers to at least add some consistency and credibility to each aspect. This is the first time it’s teammates vs. teammates, so it’ll be interesting to see if their names alone – Carey and Homes are two big draws – will be enough to draw viewers in, or if they just fit in well.
Dither: I like the fact that they tend to be natural partners. Mahomes/Kelce and Steph/Klay are two of the most dynamic duos in all of sports right now. There are a lot of different directions they should continue to explore with these, but this works for me – it feels like a high-value YouTube challenge match. I’m a sucker for those; I’ll be fine, no doubt.
Parath: It’s okay, and that’s really all I can say. What I really want to see is more participation on the LPGA Tour than anything else. I said it last time and I’ll say it again, exposure to the women’s game can bring more interest and I don’t understand producers not getting involved or more pressure from the LPGA Tour.