Pars still matter at a U.S. Open, even after Gil Morgan’s round shook the USGA

OAKMONT, Pa. —  His name is Gil Morgan. Dr. Gil Morgan. He was an optometrist. He was also a good enough pro golfer to win tournaments. And to be the first golfer 10-under par halfway through an Open.

That was 1982 at Pebble Beach. And although he didn’t win—Tom Watson did, chipping in for a birdie on the 17th to beat Jack Nicklaus—that round had an effect on the set-up of the tournament. 

The Open was supposed to be brutal. No one was supposed to be 10-under par, as Morgan was for a while. When Ben Hogan won in 1951, he called Oakland Hills in Detroit a monster, and the late Tony Lema once said the Masters is fun, the Open is not.

The Open still is a difficult test but no longer impossible. The golfers that tee off Thursday in the 125th U.S. Open at Oakmont, just east of Pittsburgh, are so skilled that virtually nothing can stop them from scoring.  

When you have players such as the world’s number one, Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy—who just completed his own grand slam by taking the Masters—and Jon Rahm, who has a U.S. Open and a Masters, expectations are for great competition.

Scheffler, who won the PGA at Quail Hollow a month ago, to go along with his two Masters, played in the 2016 Open here and missed the cut.

“That was a tough pill to swallow,” said Scheffler, “missing the cut by one.”

He was learning then. Now others are learning from him.

“But what I really remembered was coming back the next year (he meant coming back to the Open which in 2017 was in Erin Hills in Wisconsin) and I think I made like a putt on 18 to get into a playoff in qualifying, ended up getting through the playoff and qualifying and coming in finishing low am.”

Now he just finishes low in everything.

Scheffler was the favorite coming into this Open, understandably, and has the consistent game worthy of an Open choice.

Yes, the setup requires accuracy and good putting, but what else would you expect from the nation’s championship?

“I’d say there’s definitely a strength factor coming out of the rough,” said Scheffler. “This golf course, there’s not many trees out there, but there’s so many bunkers. I don’t really know if this is a golf course you can necessarily just overpower with a kind of bomb and gouge type strategy, especially with the way the rough is.”

Two weeks ago, at the Memorial, McIlroy spent more time explaining why he didn’t come into the Media Room for interviews at Quail Hollow than talking about his game. But now he seems to have that problem corrected. It’s golf that concerns him.

“You have to have your wits about you this week,” said McIlroy, who did play here in the ‘16 Open. “It’s still a big brute of a golf course, and you’re going to have to have your wits about you this week throughout the bag, off the tee, into the greens, around the greens.” 

That’s no surprise at a U.S. Open.

Oakmont memories: Jack, Arnie, O.J., and Johnny Miller’s 63

OAKMONT, Pa. — This is a tale of a kid from San Francisco who became a champion, Johnny Miller. 

And, of a kid from San Francisco who became a pariah, O.J. Simpson. 

And of a kid who became probably the best golfer in history, Jack Nicklaus.

And of a kid, when no longer a kid, helped turn the game into the intriguing and popular sport it has become, Arnold Palmer.

And of a golf course above the Allegheny River in Pennsylvania, to which all the individuals are linked.

And also has a unique connection with a sportswriter, me.

For the tenth time, the golfing championship of our nation, the U.S. Open, will be played at historic, captivating Oakmont starting Thursday. It’s unlikely the future can match what happened there during the Opens of the past. On the course where, in 1973, Miller set a record low score that lasted some fifty years, 63. Or off the course, where OJ’s memorable pursuit by the police on the Southern California freeways. That happened on June 17th, which was my anniversary. 

Now come the personal references. 

Until 1965, the US Open schedule required the final 36 holes to be played on Saturday, which meant that if there was a tie, there would be an 18-hole playoff on Sunday. 

Which is what happened in 1962. In that playoff match, it was the big guy from Columbus, Ohio, Nicklaus, and the local favorite, Arnold Palmer, who lived just thirty miles away in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. I was at the Santa Monica Evening Outlook. I saw Jack winning on TV. I couldn’t cover it because I was getting married that day.

But I know that Arnie, a bit shaken, said, “Now that the cage is open, everybody better run for cover.”

Arnie had another chance at Oakmont in 1973. He was one of the leaders going into the last day. But Miller, six shots behind and in 13th place, started with four consecutive birdies, and had closed to within two before the leaders had even teed off.

When I was a golf writer for the Chronicle, Miller finished eighth in the 1966 US Open at San Francisco’s Olympic Club. We became friendly at a time when writers and athletes had no problems talking to one another.

Johnny’s triumph at Oakmont was great news in the Bay Area, of course, and I was fortunate to be peripherally linked. What stays in my mind that day was John’s wife, Linda, who had stayed back to pack for their trip home, dashing to the course in time to watch her husband win.

That other guy, O.J. Simpson, I covered when he was at USC and later with the Bills and Niners. He was always cooperative during interviews. Who knew?

Miller, the one-time boy wonder at San Francisco’s Lincoln High—the same school that produced another U.S. Open champion, Ken Venturi—turned 78 a few weeks ago. Always outspoken and painfully honest, he went from the fairways—he also won a British Open—to the airwaves, starring as a TV commentator for a long while. He wasn’t afraid of taking a shot or taking credit.

That last round at Oakmont in ‘73, he not only overtook Arnie, but also stars such as Jerry Heard, Tom Weiskopf, Lee Trevino, and Julius Boros.

“It was just all the who’s who in golf who were vying for that U.S. Open,” Miller told Bob Harig, then of Sports Illustrated, a couple of years ago. “I had to go through all those guys to win it outright. That’s what makes the story of the round honorable. Makes it cool.”

It was more than that. For decades, it was untouchable.

About Rory McIlroy, leaked stories and late deadlines

So Rory Mcllroy insists he will approach interviews as carefully as he approaches his golf shots, meaning perhaps telling us nothing.  

Which is exactly what he did after each of his four rounds at last month’s PGA Championship at Quail Hollow, and after the final round of the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst. 

McIlroy was perturbed about a media leak from a Sirius XM reporter stating that at the PGA, Rory had a driver that, during pre-tournament testing, was declared non-conforming.

Again, the question arises, what, if anything, a competitor is obligated to say after play.

A few years ago, I was at a soccer match in England, and with deadlines approaching, I said to a British writer, “It is so late you are going to have a tough time getting any quotes in about the match.” 

He virtually sneered at me, “My paper pays me for what I say, not what the players say. Most of them don’t understand the game anyway.”

The athletes often make the same point about the journalists and particularly about fans. But wisecracks aside, in sports, all sides benefit from the questions asked and the answers given.

There was a time when the whole idea of sports writing was to tell us what happened. Now more than ever, because of television—replay after replay—know what has happened.

What we wish to know is how and why.  

And every word spoken or written about a sports star or a game, positive or negative, keeps us attentive and keeps ticket sales booming.  

Rory always was one of the best. Along with Jordan Spieth, he could fill a notebook or a recording disk almost without taking a deep breath. And all that exposure did nothing to hurt anyone’s commercial appeal.

Maybe the ballplayers from past decades were the strong, silent type, responding to a question with a grunt or a snort. The kids today grew up watching television. They know how to deal with a microphone as well as they do a five iron, a bat, a basketball, or a hockey puck.

And yet there always is going to be unhappiness, misunderstandings, or misconceptions. People like good news. Not all the news is good, but what the media must do is tell the story, good news or bad news.

Collin Morikawa is a two-time major golf champion. He grew up in the Los Angeles area, hardly isolated, and graduated from Cal. All that said, he refused to do an interview after blowing a three-stroke lead with five holes to play at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March.

“I don’t owe anyone anything,” he said a week later at the Players Championship. “No offense to you guys, but for mec in the moment, I didn’t want to be around anyone.”

Agreed. The response is understandable but, in a way, unacceptable. The crowds these golfers draw, the paychecks these golfers earn are both a direct result of the exposure in the media. 

The way one handles the difficulty and disgust is no less important than in the method he or she handles success.  

There is no rule that a PGA tour golfer must speak after a round. Doing an interview is voluntary.  And also, in the scheme of things, necessary.

The great Ben Hogan, noting writers rarely stepped on the course to watch, once said, “If we didn’t come in to talk to you guys, nobody would know what was going on.”

What’s going on right now is Rory McIlroy becoming wary of those who tell his story and the story of the game he plays.

Of Mr. Irrelevant, Steph, and Gael Monfils; how do we define greatness?

So Mr. Irrelevant has become Mr. Permanent—at least for the next five years, the length of his contract extension with the San Francisco 49ers. And if Steph Curry is healthy enough to make putts in that tournament at Tahoe, then make baskets next fall when the season starts, the Warriors will be fine.

Yes, it is a summer of near sporting silence in the Bay Area other than the Giants, and, of course, the newly arrived Valkyries of the WNBA.

Everybody needs a few days off, including athletes and general managers, but for fans and journalists, it’s a period of near boredom. Plenty of sports on television from the wee small hours—the French Open, Roland-Garros, comes on at 2 am Pacific time zone—through midday, golf tournaments, to evening, the NBA playoffs. And don’t we miss the Warriors?

They tell us the future is a myth, but at this time of the year, and when the local teams have not produced as hoped, the future is all we have.

One would think that for Brock Purdy and his $265 million contract extension, the future is quite promising. You must have defenders and offensive linemen—the Niners went after the latter group in the draft—but it always comes down to the man who takes the football when it is snapped.

When the great John Elway retired, after leading the Denver Broncos to two Super Bowl victories, longtime NFL coach Norv Turner was asked how much Denver would miss Elway.

“I can’t say exactly,” said Turner, “but a great quarterback will win two games his team probably would have lost without him.”

Does winning reflect greatness, or does greatness reflect winning? The debate can be carried to every game we play competitively.  

At the French Open, the 39-year-old Gael Monfils won his first-round match and then on Thursday lost his second to a younger man, Jack Draper. Monfils has never won a Grand Slam tournament, but does that mean we shouldn’t call him great?

Whether some day Brock Purdy, who was unwanted until the last round of the ’22 draft, will be called great is to be determined by his play and the results of his team. Purdy will be under greater pressure than ever, from the outside. However, maybe to the contrary, he will feel less pressure because he knows where he will be for a long while.

“Pressure is a privilege,” said the legend Billie Jean King, a quote posted at the home of the U.S. Open, Arthur Ashe Stadium. “It’s only through embracing it that we achieve our most significant breakthroughs.”

The privilege has belonged to Steph Curry, Gael Monfils, and dozens of others. Now it belongs to Brock Purdy. Summer can’t end fast enough.

Scheffler has his third major, and the future is captivating

CHARLOTTE, N.C. —  The question about Scottie Scheffler should be less about what he has done, and he is already number one in the world rankings, than what he is capable of doing.

Scheffler won his third major Sunday, the PGA Championship, at Quail Hollow Club. At age 28, he has years and years of golf and success remaining. Although the final round turned out a bit more dramatic than many suspected it would be, in the end, the result was exactly what was expected: Scottie finishing first by a significant margin, five shots.

He came in with an even par 71 that, after a few bogeys and a hot streak by Jon Rahm, briefly dropped Scottie into a tie for the lead. But as winners do, Scheffler held control and before darkness was able to hold the Wanamaker Trophy, adding that to the two green jackets from his Masters triumphs in 2022 and 2024.

Scheffler finished with a seventy-two-hole total of eleven under 273. Tied for a distant second at 278 were Harris English (who had the day’s best, 65), two-time U.S. Open champ Bryson DeChambeau (70), and Davis Reilly (72).

To celebrate after the final putt, Scheffler flung his hat on the green, reminding us of Arnold Palmer’s similar tactic.

“It was a long week,” said Scheffler. “I felt like this was as hard as I battled for a tournament in my career. This was a pretty challenging week.”

It was a week of rainstorms, double bogeys (remember, Scottie made one Thursday on 16), and a collection of different leaders, many with non-American passports that at times made you wonder what was going on.

Then Scheffler gave the tournament a star and gave himself more than a chance.  

“The first two days, I did not swing it my best, and I was able to post a score somehow. Outside of the last five holes (Saturday), that’s where I really kind of put myself ahead in the tournament. I mean, the back nine today (Sunday) was pretty special as well.”

Scheffler, who graduated from the University of Texas, has a wonderful perspective about a game that can be as painful as it can be rewarding. 

“I love coming out here and trying to compete and win golf tournaments, and that’s what I’m focused on,” said Scheffler. “After this week, I’m going to go home and get ready for next week’s tournament, and the show goes on. If I show up and miss the cut next week, I’m going to have to answer questions of what went wrong and just start over again on Thursday. That’s one of the things that can be frustrating about our game, and it’s also what’s great about our game. If I had a tough day today and came in with a loss, I could step back up on the tee Thursday next week and have another chance to win a tournament.”

“It’s an endless pursuit, and it’s a lot of fun. It’s definitely one of the great joys of my life to be able to compete out here.” 

He’s halfway to his personal grand slam. Although it is doubtful, he might achieve it in the next two months, with the U.S. Open in June at Oakmont and the British Open in July at Royal Portrush.  

We hardly can wait.

After the shifting stops at the PGA, no surprise Scheffler leads

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A wild third round of the PGA Championship that included everything from a morning thunderstorm that delayed play to a United Nations selection of different leaders Saturday, came to a quite predictable ending.

When the rain and the shuffling had stopped at Quail Hollow Club, the man who was number one, not surprisingly, is also the one who is number one in the world, Scottie Scheffler.

After the guys had their moments at the top of the leader board—whether alone or tied— including Jhonattan Vegas, Bryson DeChambeau, Alex Noren, John Rahm, and Si Woo Kim, it was Scheffler all alone in first place, by three shots. 

His third round score of 6-under par 65 gave him a total of 202, 11-under par. And assuming he stays on track—yes, you should assume nothing in golf, but this guy is great—he will add another major to his two Masters victories.

Second at 66-205 is Noren, the Swede who went to Oklahoma State, while tied for third at 206 are Davis Riley and J.T. Poston.

Vegas, of Venezuela, who was in front after the first and second rounds, shot a 2-over 73, and slipped into a three-way tie for fifth at 207 with Kim and Rahm. 

The final three holes on Quail are known as the Green Mile, although they total a bit less than that distance. Scheffler fell victim in that stretch with a double bogey on 16 on Thursday, but he more than made up for that Saturday. He had a couple of bogeys, including the 13th hole. Then he responded with a wonderful 3-wood from the 14th tee that carried some 300 yards. He made the putt for an eagle 2.

“I came out with a nice low spinning draw and hit it really solid and was fortunate to get up there on the green,” Scheffler said. “From that distance, yes, I executed the shot. There’s a little bit of luck involved.”

He followed that immediately with a birdie three at 15.

When asked how big the two bounce-backs were after the bogeys on the back nine to keep the momentum going, Scheffler said, “They are really important. I mean, especially after the bogey on 13 to respond the way I did on 14, it’s a really hard shot.”

Spectators and golf writers are obsessed with what happens on the scoreboard. The pros often contend they do not pay attention. 

So when Scheffler was asked whether he knew about the constant shifting of lead, he said, not unexpectedly, “I was trying to post the best score that I could shoot today, and that’s what I was concerned with out there.”

The start of play Saturday was delayed some four and one-half hours by the weather. That might have made some golfers impatient and upset. But Scheffler just went about his usual routine.

As champions always do.

Vegas is the Venezuelan who left the diamond for the course

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — He started by hitting rocks with a broomstick. Now what Jhonattan Vegas is trying to hit is the jackpot.

Halfway through the PGA Championship that was to be the showcase for Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, and Rory McIlroy, it’s Vegas who’s in the spotlight and in the lead.

Not by much, a single stroke, but when play comes to an end Sunday evening, the margin would be plenty. Then again, with 36 holes remaining at Quail Hollow Club, where the rough is thick and the greens are slick, the one shot may not hold up. 

Vegas shot a one-under 70 Friday in the second round of this 107th PGA Championship, maintaining the lead he had surprisingly taken Thursday as one of the last players to complete his round. He's at 8-under 134 and two shots ahead of Matthieu Pavon, Matt Fitzpatrick, and Si Woo Kim.  

Max Homa, the Cal grad, and Scheffler are both another shot back at 137. Scottie, a two-time Masters Champ, remains very much a presence at this PGA. 

When you think of sports stars from Venezuela, you think of shortstops such as Luis Aparicio, Omar Vizquel, and Ozzie Guillen. But Vegas, although he did play baseball growing up, stepped away from the infield and onto the tee. He perfected his game with what implements were available, that broomstick and the rocks, near the oil field camp where he lived.

No one from South America has ever won a PGA Championship, which makes the 40-year-old Vegas even more of a focus than others high on the leaderboard.

“I had a solid round (Friday), a little bit up and down," Vegas said. “I feel like finishing so late yesterday, not getting a great sleep, and having to come back early kind of put me not in the best mood all day.”

Still, Vegas, who would play for the University of Texas before turning pro, kept his game enough in control to stay in first.  And found a proper measure of satisfaction.

“Every chance you get to lead a major and play with the lead is never easy,” said Vegas. “You’ve got to keep the pedal down, keep your head down, and keep working hard. So I feel proud of a solid round today.”

Pavon, from France, had played on the DP World Tour before coming to the United States and winning the 2024 Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. 

Someone wondered if the PGA “felt like a big-time tournament”—a silly question about one of the game’s four majors. Pavon responded, “I was able to play Wells Fargo (at Quail) last year, so I knew what test of golf this tournament could be. I think it’s even bigger now being a major.  The atmosphere is great, and the golf course plays tough.”

It's supposed to. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be a major.

Mudballs, double bogeys, and a shared lead at the PGA Championship

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The 107th PGA Championship began Thursday at Quail Hollow Club with two of the stars whining about muddy fairways, a local club pro who didn’t whine about anything sharing the lead, and the guy who won on this course four times so miffed by his score he refused to talk.

In other words, it was a properly imperfect beginning to the second major of the year. The top of the leaderboard was shared at 5-under par 66 by a player who was a surprise, Ryan Gerard, and a player who probably wasn’t, the 2022 British Open Champion, Cam Davis, the Aussie.

But the most intriguing part of the round was the way the defending champion, Xander Schauffele, and the world No. 1 and favorite, Scottie Scheffler, were bewildered and angered by what they found to be a soggy fairway they believed was anything but fair— the 529-yard par-4 16th fairway.  The sun was high and the temperature was in the 80s on this historic opening day, but the leftovers of the thunderstorms earlier in the week proved a bit too much for Schauffele, Scheffler, and the man who recently won the Masters to complete his personal slam, Rory McIlroy. Each double-bogeyed that hole. 

Schauffele and Scheffler were hitting what they claimed were mud-covered balls into the permanent water hazard, and McIlroy was pulling his tee shot into the wet rough. Scheffler would finish well enough, a 2-under 69, while Schauffele shot a 1-over 72. McIlroy came in with a 74, his worst score at a place another player nicknamed “McIlroy Country Club.”

Asked if he could comment about the round, Scheffler, who rarely shows emotion and is almost never critical, said, “It’s going to be a challenge.”

He meant not bad-mouthing the course. 

“It’s one of those deals where it’s frustrating to hit the ball in the middle of the fairway and get mud on it and have no idea where it’s going to go,” said Scheffler. “I understand it’s part of the game, but there’s nothing more frustrating for a player. But I don’t make the rules. I just have to deal with the consequences of those rules.”

And dealing with them is the primary part of golf. Everyone is playing the same course, and the player who can handle the difficulty and frustration usually is the player who performs better. 

Schauffele, who won the PGA last year at Valhalla, also turned 16 into a mini-disaster.  

“I had a ridiculous mud ball on 16 with Scottie. We were in the middle of the fairway, and we had to aim right of the grandstands, probably. I aimed right of the bunker, and it whipped in the water, and Scottie whipped it in the water as well.” 

While it is true that mud or dirt clinging will alter the shots’ direction, it is also true that you don’t necessarily have to hit the club you would use if the ball were clean.

As the great Jack Nicklaus once said, “If you can’t get the ball in the fairway with a driver, use a 3 wood. If that doesn’t work, use a 5 iron.” 

And if you can’t control it with a club you want, use a different club, one that may cost distance but will not cost a double bogey.

McIlroy is wonderfully popular, but at times can be immature. He refused to come to the media center after botching closing holes at the U.S. Open at Pinehurst in 2024 and then went silent Thursday after his troubles.

Nicklaus never would have done that, nor would Arnold Palmer. Learning to deal with defeat is no less important than learning how to deal with success.

A second straight PGA? Only Xander has the chance

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The two words should never be underestimated. Defending champion carries a mark of success, no matter what the activity.  

And for the 107th PGA Championship, which began Thursday, that is the description of Xander Schauffele.

He’s also eyeing another major title—the Open Championship—but that’s still a bit down the road in July. For now, this is the merry month of May, where the golf focus is on Quail Hollow Club in America’s south.

The pros rarely win one of the big four championships, much less two in a row. However, it was most recently done by Brooks Koepka, who won this tournament in 2018 and 2019, and the U.S. Open in 2017 and 2018.

Whether Schauffele is capable of back-to-back victories in the PGA will be evident before the weekend, but he has proved to be a winner since his days at San Diego State. Checking his background, you might say Schauffele, 31, was certain to become a champion.

He grew up in Southern California, coached and encouraged by his German-born father, Stefan, whose own dream of becoming a decathlon star was cut short when a drunk driver hit him on the way to a national training facility. 

Xander, short for Alexander, developed quickly enough, winning numerous tournaments, including the prestigious California State Amateur Championship in 2011. So, perhaps it should be no surprise that once he turned pro, Schauffele would win the Players Championship and then two majors in the same year. The latter hadn’t been done since Jordan Spieth in 2015.

Schauffele had a difficult few months this winter recovering from a rib injury, only coming back in March. “Game’s coming along slowly but surely,” said Schauffele.

At times, Schauffele seems to receive less recognition than deserved, despite his record. 

The attention this week has been on Scottie Scheffler, the world number one, and of course on Rory McIlroy, who not only took the Masters at last to complete his slam, but has won four times at Quail.

If that bothers Schauffele, you wouldn’t know it.  He’s just thinking about what the conditions will be and what he must do.  

“Delays and rain and things of that nature, they can kind of fool you a little bit on this property,” said Schauffele about a layout that is deep in the woods. “Just because they haven’t been able to get the mowers out on the fairways, and the greens are exceptionally firm for getting a few inches of rain the last three or four days.”

Wet or dry, mowed or unmowed, the course will be the same for every man in the tournament.  You just need to bring your best game.  

Schauffele did exactly that last year when the PGA Championship was at Valhalla. That’s the reason he is the only player in the field who can be called the defending champion.

The PGA at Quail: Rory, Spieth and lightning

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It’s the course where Rory McIlroy has won four times. The course where Jordan Spieth has yet another chance for the Slam.

It’s Quail Hollow Club, in the woods outside Charlotte, and while there may not be any quail around, but on Tuesday, two days before the 107th PGA Championship, there certainly was an alarming thunderstorm.

Players scattered from practice rounds, which eventually were cancelled, and lightning struck one of the tournament support trailers, briefly knocking out communications.

Scottie Scheffler, number one in the world rankings, made it through with little more than wet shoes, but he did mention that play this week may be affected by an all too typical Southeast Spring. 

“The golf course is going to play really long,” said Scheffler. “This may be more of a 5-wood week just because the golf course is going to play really long, the rough is thick, and the run-up areas after this kind of rain are going to be really soft, and the greens are still going to be really firm because they’re new.” 

Which is why, perhaps, all of the major golf championships held in the United States should be played in California, where exactly the 2028 PGA Championship will be held, at San Francisco’s Olympic Club.

For so long, we kept wondering if McIlroy would get the Masters and complete his own slam, which he did in April after a gap of 10 years. Now Spieth, who has wins in the Masters, the U.S. Open, and the British Open, again attempts to become the seventh golfer to ever win all of the big four. A victory in the 2017 British—or, if you prefer, The Open Championship—was his third major. And with Rory having reached his goal, the focus turns to Jordan.

“It’s funny, I think,” said Spieth. “If Rory didn’t win (the Masters), then it wouldn’t have been a storyline for me here necessarily. I mean, it’s always a storyline if I work my way in, but at least ahead of time, I just feel like I’ve been asked about it more than other years.” 

Of course, you think journalists aren’t aware of the possibility? 

“For me,”  Spieth added, “if I could only win one tournament for the rest of my life, I’d pick this one for that reason. 

If McIlroy could only play one tournament, it probably would be at Quail, whatever the event was called. He may be from Northern Ireland, but nobody has performed as consistently as McIlroy at this course in North Carolina.

“They ought to call it the Rory McIlroy Country Club,” said Spieth.

McIlroy set the Quail Hollow record with a 61 when winning in 2015. He is a combined 102-under par at a place where his enormous length proves advantageous.  

“Some holes become far easier when you can take the bunkers out of play with your length off the tee,” said Oliver Wilson, who plays on the DP World Tour.

“I think I'm in a good place,” McIlroy said after last week’s Truist Open at Philadelphia. “I didn't feel like I played all that well, but I still finished seventh.”

“A couple little improvements and little tweaks, especially going to a place I love like Quail Hollow, and I feel like I'm in a really good spot.”

Especially if he can avoid the storms.

Draymond sets the tone, and the aged Warriors take a step forward

You’ve probably heard the line. Old age and treachery will always overcome youth and exuberance.

A little bit of self-confession added to the mix doesn’t hurt either.

Yes, the aging Golden State Warriors have moved into the second round of the NBA playoffs, if the task was a bit more difficult than they seemed to make it.

The Warriors defeated the Houston Rockets, 103-89, in the deciding seventh game of the first round Sunday night, not so deep in the heart of Texas but deep in belief that experience and an unexpected contribution from a guy who the previous game did not have a point.

That would be Buddy Hield, who scored 33 points, and they were very needed because Houston’s zone defense stymied Steph Curry for the longest time, if not for the entire time.

The Warriors now move on to Minneapolis, where they play the Minnesota Timberwolves in the best-of-seven second round starting Tuesday.

That the Warriors made it that far was perhaps more difficult than their fans believed, especially after Golden State built a 3-1 advantage. They couldn’t lose three in a row to the Rockets, could they? No, but they came close enough.

The confession came from Draymond Green at a team meeting Saturday. According to what Warriors’ coach Steve Kerr told NBC Bay Area, Green apologized for his lack of performance and leadership in game six at Chase Center in San Francisco. 

“Draymond set the tone (Saturday night),” Kerr said of the man who is the heart of the Warriors defense and usually the key piece in their motivation. “He said I have to be poised and I have to be better.” 

Which he was. And which the Warriors were. Draymond, in what some would think is a role reversal, scored two quick baskets for the Warriors—yes, Green can shoot as well as defend—and the younger, less experienced Rockets never caught up.

One of the reasons is that while Houston made life and mobility for Steph Curry difficult, Buddy Hield, a man not afraid to fire up shots, was making baskets. Hield had seventeen in the first half and had thirty-three for the game. Curry had only six points before halftime, but when Houston loosened that defense to try to get its own men open, Steph had sixteen more in the second half for a total of twenty-two. Green finished with sixteen points.

“Can’t say enough for these guys,” Kerr added. “I was very impressed. It was always matchup-based. If you can find a player or two, Houston did a great job of taking away the pick and roll.”

“Curry was fantastic. That’s the reason we had a twelve-point lead at the half.”

The thirty-seven-year-old Curry is more than a man who can score points. He understands the subtleties and demands of the sport. He can make passes as well as make field goals. He can defend, and he can find the little openings that a younger player might not be able to find.

Another veteran who, as hoped and expected, provided stability and also twenty points was Jimmy Butler. He was very necessary against the zone that forced the Warriors, who would prefer to run, to play the Rockets’ more deliberate style.

Through the seasons, four of them ending in NBA titles, the Warriors have been through a great deal, learning how to respond, and maybe most importantly, when the situation is tough, knowing how to win.

They took the first step in the playoffs, which the Lakers and LeBron James, and the Clippers and Kawhi Leonard, were unable to do. Those old guys were delightfully successful and pretty exuberant for their age.

With Jimmy Butler playing as expected, Warriors in great shape

Of course Jimmy Butler is tough. How else would he have been able to survive after his mother threw him out of their home as a high school senior?

How else would he persist in that long holdout while under contract to the Miami Heat?

Tough and stubborn and gifted with an athletic talent that has enabled him to advance as far as he has, and now has enabled the Golden State Warriors to advance in the NBA playoffs as far as they have.

True, the Warriors heading into Wednesday night’s game against the Rockets at Houston, still need one more victory to get past the Rockets.

But they’ll get it.

Especially with Butler performing the playoff magic on which his reputation has been built. And was one of the reasons the Warriors traded for him in February, giving up Andrew Wiggins.

Butler may be 37 and was hurting so much from a back contusion he couldn’t play the previous game, however he was a star in the 109-106 victory Monday night. Maybe the star, although that’s dangerous to say on a franchise led by Steph Curry and Draymond Green.

Butler, although seemingly showing the effects of his injury early on, was productive in the second half, when the need was greatest. He had 27 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists. His presence allows the Warriors to play the slower tempo style on which the Rockets thrive.  

“First three quarters he couldn’t move,” Draymond Green said of Butler. “Yet he never complained. He stuck with it. I think what was most important, when the time was right, everybody on our side looked to get him the ball. When you get the ball, he made great things happen for himself or for others. It was huge.”

The Warriors' Steve Kerr, who has seen it all and been through it all as a player—yes Michael Jordan’s teammate on the Chicago Bulls—called Butler’s game both rewarding and necessary.

“We had to have him,” said Kerr. “If this were the regular season, he’d probably miss another week or two. But it’s the playoffs. He’s Jimmy Butler, so…this is what he does.”

The basketball in the playoffs is more physical and wearing than during the season. Usually fewer fouls are called, leading to more than occasional confrontation and technical fouls. That Draymond was called for a T was no surprise, but that Kerr also was called for one, for yelling at the referees, certainly was a surprise.

Tensions are higher when the playoffs begin.  And as a veteran team the Warriors should be aware. You’d also think that the headline writers, referencing the old mystery stories, someplace would say “the butler did it.”

Most likely he’ll need to do it again and again.

NBA Playoffs: Warriors shoot, Rockets shove

The sport is often portrayed as ballet in sneakers, all grace and beauty. But as we know too well, there are times when the NBA would seem to stand for National Boxing Association, especially in the playoffs. The history of physical play, as it is known—more accurately described as quasi-rough—is very much a part of the game.

When the Golden State Warriors played and defeated the Chicago Bulls in the 1975 postseason, there was plenty of shoving and grabbing by guys like Cliff Ray, as well as Chicago’s Norm Van Lier and Jerry Sloan. And that was the series when the Bulls coach Dick Motta offered the infamous observation, “it ain’t over ‘til the fat lady sings.”

There wasn’t music of any sort when the Golden State Warriors defeated the Rockets, 95-85, on Sunday night of the first game of their Western Conference series. There weren’t many points either, another reminder that in the postseason, defense takes charge. Fittingly, “charge” is also the perfect word for the kind of foul you’re likely to see.

As the best-of-seven series against the Rockets heads into game two Wednesday night in Houston, the probability is that there will be even more physical play, especially from the Rockets, who can’t shoot very well and try to keep the opponent from shooting very well. 

Warriors coach Steve Kerr referred to the style as 1990s basketball, but it doesn’t matter how you do it; just get the job done.

The Warriors can also play defense. In fact, that was their method of winning the four championships. Stop the other team, grab the ball, and go.

The going was a bit erratic Sunday night. The Warriors built a twenty-three-point lead, which late in the game was trimmed to four. That in itself is not surprising. Pro basketball is a sport of runs, teams scoring in bunches, and then not scoring. Also not surprising was the Warriors’ Steph Curry leading both teams in scoring with 31 points on 12-of-19 shooting, including 5-of-9 from beyond the arc.  

The new guy—well, almost new—Jimmy Butler added 25, seven rebounds, six assists and five steals. The trade from two months ago keeps looking better and better.

The Warriors also had offensive support from two others: Brandin Podziemski, who tallied 14 points, eight rebounds, and five assists, and Moses Moody, who added seven points. “Pods,” as he is known, and Moody kept Golden State in touch—and in the lead—when the two big guns, Steph and Butler, were given a needed break. 

The prediction was that the series would go at least six games, maybe the full seven. The issue always is the ability to adjust. A team responds and then makes the changes it hopes will be the proper ones.

Draymond Green, the heart of the Warriors’ defense, insisted the team needs to play better, even though it was a winner in Game 1.

“We need to correct a lot of things,” said Green, pointing out about the Rockets, “they rough you up, they grab, they hold, they crash the boards, very, extremely physical team.”

Curry, Butler get Warriors into playoffs

It’s all about matchups in the NBA. All about how the pieces fit. And sometimes about getting lucky.

Did the Warriors really want Jimmy Butler? Or would they have preferred Kevin Durant—or someone else? Either way, when the trade deadline came in February, the player they ended up with—traded for Andrew Wiggins—was Jimmy Butler.

So far, so very good. The move by the front office general manager, Mike Dunleavy Jr., has worked perhaps better than imagined but at least as well as required.

Butler goes by the nickname “Playoff Jimmy.” Maybe it should be Play-in Jimmy. He’s a very big part of the reason the Golden State Warriors will be playing the Houston Rockets in the first round of the playoffs starting Sunday.

Butler provides what the Warriors need. A balance to Steph Curry, a guy to draw the opposition defense away from Steph, not to mention someone who can score, rebound, and play defense. What teams try against the Warriors is to keep the game slow and physical, contrary to the Dubs' preferred style of speed and spacing. If you want to call it a one-two punch that is acceptable. And also acceptable is the way Butler performed in the play-in game. Golden State, because of a tailspin late in the regular season, was forced into the play-in. Nerve-wracking, but nothing worse, because Golden State was 0-3 in play-ins. With Butler scoring 38 points and Steph Curry 37, the Warriors, Wednesday, made it past the Memphis Grizzlies, 121-116.  

“For us to finally get on the other side of it,” said Curry, “and to play, hopefully, a solid seven-game series—it’s exciting.”

Even more exciting, of course, would be for the Warriors to win another championship. But with a challenging road ahead—possibly facing the Oklahoma City Thunder and, farther down the line, the Boston Celtics—one dare not get too confident.

The Warriors had a 3-2 record against Houston during the regular season, which would offer a reason to think positively about this coming series. And now with Butler, they should be able to play the grind-it-out, bang-around style the Rockets will present.

Houston, with a stronger bench, surely would like the series to go the maximum. The shorter it might go, the better it would seem for Golden State, although strange things happen once the ball is tipped off.  

Age could become a factor for the Warriors if the series stretches out. Curry is 37 and Butler is 35. Curry is a little beat up—though it hasn't affected his shooting—playing through a sprained thumb on his shooting hand. He also missed games earlier due to a pelvic contusion.

Yet great athletes—and great defines Curry—inevitably overcome the aches and pains to get onto the court and into the competition. The Warriors are right where they wanted to be: still playing. Curry is very much responsible. So is Jimmy Butler.

It took an extra hole, but Rory at last ends his Masters agony

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Rory McIlroy fought back tears Sunday after fighting off more than a decade of Masters agony, finally grabbing his long-missing major when he holed a three-foot putt in a playoff that ended a day which wavered between disappointment and elation.

McIlroy had thrown away an opportunity to win this event 14 years ago with a terrible final round, an 80, that left him stunned and through the years a target for critics.

Although McIlroy had shrugged off the idea he was haunted by the failure that cost him what would be the missing piece of a career grand slam, he was more forthright after the victory.

So when reminded by CBS announcer Jim Nantz, during the traditional Butler Cabin ceremony, where the champion is presented the green jacket, of his frequently falling short, McIlroy conceded, “It was all worth it.” 

And always heartbreaking until the extra hole of the final round of this 89th Masters. McIlroy began a crazy, at times confusing, last round with a two-shot lead, lost it immediately with a double bogey on the first hole—he would end up with four doubles during the entire tournament, fell behind first, Bryson DeChambeau, and then later Justin Rose. 

But McIlroy showed the courage and skill that have made him perhaps the most popular golfer since the retirement of Tiger Woods, tied Rose with a birdie on the 72ndhole, and then beat him and the belief he couldn’t close the deal with that birdie on the first extra hole, the par-4 18th at Augusta National. 

“Look, it’s a dream come true,” said McIlroy. “I have dreamt about that moment for as long as I can remember.”

“You know, there were points in my career where I didn’t know if I would have this nice garment (the green jacket) over my shoulders, but I didn’t make it easy today. I was nervous. It was one of the toughest days I’ve ever had on the golf course. In a funny way, I feel like the double bogey at the first sort of settled my nerves.”

McIlroy shot a one-over par 73, which left him with 277, 13-under par, the same as Justin Rose, who has experienced his own frustrations at Augusta, now finishing as runner-up a third time. Rose, the first-round leader with a 65, closed with a 68.

Third at 279 was 2017 Masters Champion Patrick Reed, while defending champion Scottie Scheffler ended up at 280.

DeChambeau shot 72 and ended up tied at 281 with Sungjae Im.

While McIlroy reveled in at last chasing the demons, Rose, who has a major of his own, 2013 US Open, was able to see the big picture. Not surprising for an Englishman of 44 years who has played everywhere in his quite impressive career.

“I just said, listen, this is a historic moment in golf,” said Rose. “Isn’t it? Someone who achieves the career grand slam. I just said it was pretty cool to be able to share that moment with him.  Obviously I wanted to be the bad guy today, but still, it’s a momentous occasion for the game of golf.”

Rory on the verge of finally winning his Masters

AUGUSTA, Ga. — This was the Rory McIlroy golf had expected, powering long drives, knocking in putts, a man in full flight on a golf course he’s long tried to conquer.

And at last seems destined to succeed.

McIlroy shot a 6-under 66 on a sparkling and historic Saturday afternoon at the Masters. He roared out of the gate with the first of what would become an unprecedented six consecutive threes, one of those an eagle and three of those birdies. That gave him a 54-hole score of 194, 16 under par.

He’s two shots ahead of Bryson DeChambeau going into Sunday’s ultimate round. Surely he will break through at last and finally grab the one tournament needed to complete a grand slam.  And yet, in the tantalizing, often agonizing game of golf, where strokes are lost as quickly as they may be gained, unpredictability is a constant factor. 

As the 35-year-old McIlroy is often reminded, he had a four-shot lead going into the last day of the 2011 Masters, collapsed to an 80, and finished in a tie for 15th. 

Asked about that difficulty, McIlroy said, “That was 14 years ago. I have no idea. Again, I’m glad I have a short memory.”

The rest of us don’t, however. We’ll keep harping about that failure until it is corrected, which it may be in the next few hours. The people chasing him are hardly inexperienced. DeChambeau has won the U.S. Open twice, including last year. Canada’s Corey Conners sits in third, four shots back, while Patrick Reed, the 2018 Masters champion, holds fourth place. 

McIlroy was the man many thought would be the next Tiger Woods.  But, expectations did not evolve into reality. Rory has done a great deal, and yet it’s always appeared not to be enough.  However, his popularity is remarkable.

There was little doubt who was the favorite of Augusta fans—or patrons, as they are called.  The crowd Saturday made Rory feel as if he were from Georgia and not Northern Ireland. Or Florida, where he lives much of the winter.

“It’s amazing to have the support,” said McIlroy. “You know, these Patrons and these galleries are a pleasure to play in front of, each and every year we come back. They are some of the most knowledgeable golf Patrons that we play in front of.”

And, yes, some of the most loyal. Rory, long ago, ingratiated himself with the golf public, and it has stayed with him forever. The fans were enthralled by the way McIlroy began the third round, and the roars rocked through the course. 

“Such a great way to start,” affirmed McIlroy. “Just to come out of the blocks like that, I think, as well from finishing yesterday afternoon to teeing off today. It’s quite a long time. You know, there’s a lot of anticipation and sort of anxious energy that builds up. You just want to get out there and play. So you know, with all of that, to go out and start the way I did was amazing.”

If he thinks that way, who are we to disagree?

Demise of McIlroy’s Masters chances greatly exaggerated

AUGUSTA, GA. — Rory McIlroy? We begin by paraphrasing one Mark Twain, another golfer whose long walks occasionally were spoiled.

The chatter about the demise of McIlroy’s chances to win the Masters after his semi-disastrous opening round have been greatly exaggerated. 

McIlroy shot the day’s low round on Friday—a 6-under-par 66—that brought him out of frustration and squarely back into contention, joining a leaderboard stacked with big names and even bigger games. McIlroy, the acclaimed favorite to finally add the Masters to his other three championships, seemed doomed after finishing Thursday’s round with double bogeys on two of the last four holes that dropped him figuratively into Ray’s Creek and dropped him down the list. But as we were reminded once again, golf is the most unpredictable of sporting ventures. One swing, you are despondent; the next, you are elated. Or vice versa.

Halfway into the 89th Masters, Justin Rose retained the lead. He earned the first round. Rose, a very young 44—look at how he is playing—is at eight under 136, after Friday’s 71. Second at 137 is Bryson deChambeau, the two-time US Open Champion, who had a 4-under 68 Friday at Augusta National. 

McIlroy is at 138, tied with Cory Conners for third, while defending champion Scottie Scheffler, who had a 71 today, is at 139 with Shane Lowry, Tyrell Hatton, and Denny McCarty.

After his opening-round collapse, McIlroy, usually a talkative sort, refused to do interviews. But, not surprisingly, Friday he said a lot after he gained a lot of strokes. Asked his mindset after Friday’s round, McIlroy said, “Not as frustrated obviously. But I mean, it’s only halfway. You know, we’ve got 36 holes to go on a very, very tough golf course. Anything can happen.”

What happened Thursday when he chipped into the water on 15 and then 3 putted 18, for the two devastating double bogies, left McIlroy more stunned than shaken. 

“I hit two good shots into 15 (Thursday),” said McIlroy. “And I felt like I hit a pretty good chip shot. I was really surprised at not so much the speed—I knew it was a fast chip. It was just the first bounce was so firm.” 

McIlroy, the Irishman, has been a golfing star since before his teenage years. The expectations have been as large as his talent. Early on, he won a PGA championship, a US Open, and a British Open. But the Masters has been elusive.  

Most famously, he had the lead at Augusta in 2013 and then shot 80 in the fourth round. That failure is brought up every time he comes here. 

McIlroy met with six-time Masters Winner Jack Nicklaus, arguably the greatest player ever, and listened to Jack’s advice on how to finally get that Masters victory. Jack told him the key is as much in the way he thinks as in the way he plays. And McIlroy mentioned that after his comeback Friday. 

“I was so frustrated last (Thursday) night because I played so well, and you can make these big numbers from absolutely nowhere on this golf course, just like the most benign position.  So it was a good reminder that you have to have your wits about you on every single golf shot.”

Rose rises to Masters lead while Rory sinks with late double bogeys

AUGUSTA, Ga. — The golf people—and the odds people—told us if this 89th Masters isn’t won by Rory McIlroy, then it will be won by Scottie Scheffler. 

Perhaps we better save a space for Justin Rose. He twice has finished second in the Masters, and after shooting a 7-under par, 65, Thursday, he has the lead in this year’s opening round.

You know the famous advice that the Masters won’t be decided until the back nine Sunday.

We have many miles to go and holes to play just to get to Friday, so it is a bit premature even to think that Rose is finally going to get the victory he just missed in 2015, when Jordan Spieth won, or 2017, when Sergio Garcia came out on top.

However, he certainly is going to be a factor and even more than Scheffler, who going for a second consecutive title at Augusta, shot a 4 under 68, and McIlroy, 72, who ruined his round with double bogeys at both 15 and 17.

There is no sport quite like golf where you can give back what you just took, as befell McIlroy, who chipped into the water on the par-5 15th, a frequent birdie hole, and then three-putted 17.

That the 35-year-old McIlroy refused to talk to the media after the round was both unfortunate and normally unusual.  He’s usually quite communicative and promotionally minded, although he went silent after blowing short putts that cost him a chance at the US Open at Pinehurst.

True, with 54 holes remaining, he is not out of this Masters. Still, as he tries to win the one event that has kept him from completing the personal grand slam, Rory again seems befuddled. His disappointment has persisted even since he held first place in the 2011 Masters and then shot 80 in the final round.

So, if this is not to be more of the same, Rory must regain his composure and his touch.  

Rose has gone through his own bit of frustration here at Augusta. But Thursday, when the temperature climbed to 70 degrees, Justin had only one bogey, at 18. 

“It was a really good day’s golf on a golf course that was a stern test,” said Rose. “I think if you look at the overall leaderboard, not many low scores out there. A lot of quality shots, and delighted the way I played.” 

As he should be. 

His prison days behind him, Angel Cabrera steps back into the Masters

AUGUSTA, Ga. — He earned a green jacket. Now, Angel Cabrera has something no less important in a life of success and failure: a second chance. Or, since Cabrera was, and is, a golfer, maybe we should call it a mulligan — the links term for an unpenalized do-over. 

Cabrera was in the field for the Masters, which began Thursday — an achievement in itself, considering all he has been through, largely due to his troubles off the course.

He served 30 months in prison in his home nation, Argentina, after conviction for domestic violence. Although some women’s organizations had protested his return, Cabrera, now 55, is able to return to the sport that lifted him from the bottom of life to the top.

“Life has given me another opportunity. I got to take advantage of that,” said Cabrera. “And I want to do the right things in this second opportunity.”

That Cabrera even became a golfer was against the odds. His parents separated when he was 4, and he was left in the care of his paternal grandmother. He had no formal schooling and found work as a caddie at age 10. 

He learned the game after learning the proper way to carry clubs for others. With natural athletic talent, he quickly rose through the ranks, winning the 2007 U.S. Open at Oakmont — where the tournament returns this year — and then capturing the 2009 Masters.

But his personal life hardly was as rewarding. He was accused and convicted of harassing his former partner and the mother of his children. After his release from prison, Cabrera began practicing once more, and last weekend he won the James Hardy Invitational, a non PGA tour event, in Boca Raton, Florida. 

This will be his first Masters since 2019, and because of the complaints of some women’s groups, Augusta National Chairman Fred Ridley was asked during Wednesday’s press conference what he thought of the situation. 

“We certainly abhor domestic violence of any type,” said Ridley. “As it relates to Angel, Angel has served the sentence that was prescribed by the Argentine courts, and he is the past champion, and so he was invited. 

Golfers, among athletes, are a particularly close group. In an individual sport, they turn to each other for support. They view Cabrera as their long-time fellow competitor. Gary Player, winner of each of the four majors, remained a friend and supporter of Cabrera.

“The only one I’ve always been in contact with is Gary Player,” Cabrera said of the famed South African, who is now 89. “He wanted to give advice that things were going to happen and things would get better, and that’s what’s happened.”

The Masters: a pretentious name, a great sporting event

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Was it the great Dan Jenkins who once wrote that the Masters is the championship of nothing?  What he meant was that no country, state, or organization gained recognition from the title. 

Masters? Who was so subjunctive to apply that label?

And yet, as Jenkins—who covered more than 220 major golf tournaments—was quick to admit, to the sport of golf, the Masters has become, if not everything, then almost everything.

The name itself implies a sporting event limited only to the best.

As the 89th Masters starts on Thursday, debates swirl on who the winner might be—perhaps Rory McIlroy finally grabbing the missing piece to complete his own grand slam, or Scottie Scheffler repeating for a second straight year, or one of the other names familiar even to those who don’t follow the game. 

Unquestionably the Masters—it wasn’t originally named that—and the city, Augusta, where it is held, have become almost interchangeable. There is an Augusta in Maine, but they don’t have a competition there where the winner gets a green jacket or headlines. And surely that Augusta’s motel rooms are not jacked up during the week from the normal price of $150 a day to $1,000 a day.   

Yet despite the negatives and not the undeserved criticisms, the Masters has become very much a part of both springtime and American sports.

That is in part attributable to Bobby Jones, the only golfer to win four majors in a calendar year (yes, two of those majors were the Amateurs, the British and the US) and who helped establish the tournament; to Arnold Palmer, who won it four times; to Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods, who dominated the tournament in their time and certainly in this television era, to CBS and Jim Nantz’s signature phrase, “A tradition unlike any other.”

Consider our sporting icons: the Rose Bowl, the Super Bowl, the Final Four, the Kentucky Derby, the World Series, and no less, the Masters. Annually and to a nation looking to escape all the woes of society, importantly.

Long ago, when the Super Bowl was growing into the monster it has become, the then NFL Commissioner, Pete Rozell, shrugged off complaints, insisting, “we are just entertainment.” 

So too are all big sports events, including the Masters, although in the revised outlook where odds are posted on everything, there also are gambling options, where someone can lose dollars as quickly as a pro might lose strokes.

How Bobby Jones might have done when there were numbers besides his name, other than the ones posted on the course, must remain speculation. 

But the current golfers contend they don’t worry what others predict or wager. McIlroy and Scheffler are this Masters’ co-favorites. That makes sense, but it may not make the bettor a lot of money.

What truly helped make the Masters legendary was Gene Sarazen’s stunning double eagle—an albatross two—on the 15th hole in 1935.

“It only took five minutes after that to become a major,” wrote Jenkins, somewhat humorously. 

It doesn’t matter if Jenkins was serious. He was absolutely correct.