The Tarheel Tour Interview with Tommy Dee

Tommy Dee is the Associate Editor for Golf Magazine and Golf.com. He joins today to discuss the PGA Tour, specifically the last two majors of the 2007 season, the British Open and the PGA Championship.

Tommy, it seems like every time the Open is held at Carnoustie we have an exciting and unpredictable finish. The golf isn’t always great but the drama usually is. This year Sergio Garcia, Andres Romero, and Padraig Harrington all coughed up leads down the stretch. What are your reactions to the carnage we saw in the final round at Carnoustie?

Tommy Dee: Carnage is a great word. I think the first thing that comes to mind is it just makes me wonder why ratings actually go down when Tiger isn’t in the field. When Tiger plays well it’s a foregone conclusion and there really isn’t a lot of drama. Secondly it makes me think how difficult it is to get that first major monkey off your back. Paddy Harrington is as steady as you get out there and to do what he did on 18 is certainly surprising, but to be able to refocus and overcome that in the play-off is something very astounding. It made for great television but certainly not as great television as Sergio melting down. I’m sure Phil Michelson was saying, “You see guys, it really isn’t that easy.” Who gets more heat put upon them than Michelson for not being able to close? It makes you realize just how great a closer Tiger is in those situations and how those other guys aren’t.

It seems like these links courses all set themselves up for exciting finishes and great drama every year. Do you think that the PGA Tour would ever consider holding a regular PGA Tour stop at a links course in the UK?

Tommy Dee: That’s a good question. I just can’t see it ever happening. Obviously when you have a sponsor like Barclays who is so entrenched in the PGA Tour, as are other European companies, it makes it problematic. For me, I don’t think there’s a big need there from the PGA Tour standpoint because they already get the bigger names from the European Tour. I think it would cause a rift with the European tour, but frankly I just don’t think spoiled American players really like to travel that much and wouldn’t make the trip. Of course, if you can’t get those big names to play then the PGA Tour wouldn’t consider it.

Sergio Garcia entered the final round with a 3-shot lead. He blew the lead fairly early but still had multiple opportunities to win the tournament. All he needed to do was par the 18th and he would have been holding the Clarett Jug. But he made bogey and lost in the playoff. What kind of an effect will this loss have on Garcia, and will he ever win that elusive first major?

Tommy Dee: It’s too early to say that he is not going to win a major but I think in the foreseeable future it’s going to have a huge impact on him. How can it not, specifically after listening to him whine and gripe about it afterwards. I appreciate a guy like Michelson who is able to stand up there and really face the music and say I did this and I did that and I should have done this and I should have done that. Sergio was very immature about the whole situation and that shows me that he hasn’t grown up yet. He really needs to have that thick skin to be able to get there consistently and win one. From Sergio’s standpoint, I think that it could stick with him for a long time. I think it will stick with him every time he turns to his caddy and his caddy says to him “It’s a three iron.”

Do you think it’s fair to say that Sergio won’t win a major until he starts to admit some blame for not winning these events?

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Tommy Dee: I think that’s definitely fair. I think that at this point, with Sergio’s game, his best chance to win one is the British Open. I like what he did anchoring himself with that belly putter. He just has too much ability not to win one. I think his best chance certainly will be at the British Open and this past week obviously proves it. Maybe he can win a PGA Championship or if he can figure out a way to handle the greens at Augusta, there’s a possibility at the Masters. But the US Open for the foreseeable future; I just can’t see his game ever being able to shine there. It’s just one of those things where, for the next couple of years you just have to watch him at the British Open and see how he responds. I can see him winning a British Open in the next couple of years, but again, his maturity level has to get to a different level.

Carnoustie is obviously one of the most difficult golf courses in the world. Back in 1999, the course was nearly unplayable because of the way it was set up. This year the players were universal in their praise of the somewhat easier set up. Do you think that perhaps the USGA will take note of this and maybe make Torrey Pines a little bit more forgiving at next year’s U.S. Open?

Tommy Dee: In a word no. I speak to Mike Davis regularly. Mike basically sets up the golf course for the US Open. I love what the USGA has done in the last couple of years in instituting the graduated rough system. If you hit the ball further offline, in theory you’re going to have a worse lie than if you barely miss the fairway. The shorter par fours will have higher rough closer to the fairway. If you decide to hit driver on a short par four, you will be penalized a little bit more than on the longer par fours, which is very fair in my opinion. Torrey Pines is an interesting situation. To me, it’s kind of a PGA Championship type of golf course where it really relies on length and not so much of the old classic traditional Tillinghast or Donald Ross type golf course design. I can see them setting the golf course up where level par or one or two under is going to win. It’s just what the USGA is. They are not going to change for anybody. They’re certainly not going to change for the R&A, and they are definitely not going to change for the players.

What are your thoughts on Tiger’s play at Carnoustie? He hasn’t had a lot of success there. Is it the golf course or is it the new baby?

Tommy Dee: That’s a good question. I think Tiger just isn’t in form to be honest. I think we’re kind of waiting to see with Tiger becoming a father and entering that next level of his life what impact that will have on his golf. Lee Trevino said that Jack Nicklaus, if he didn’t have a family, would have won 50, 60, 70 majors whatever the number was. I just think Tiger, for somebody who is so in control of his life, is in an adjustment period right now. I think that if he didn’t hit that snap hook off of the first tee on Friday he would have been right there at the end. If you hit a bad shot on the first tee or hit one out of bounds, you’re kind of in shock before you even get going so I’m sure that even as powerful as Tiger is mentally, it still had to impact him in some way. I really think that affected him this week.

Lets turn our attention to the PGA Championship coming up at Southern Hills. In your mind, who are the favorites going into the tournament and who are a few of the guys that might be overlooked by the media and the public that you think might have a chance at Southern Hills?

Tommy Dee: I think one guy who is a little bit overlooked is Bubba Watson. He didn’t play at the British Open, but was extremely impressive at Oakmont in finishing 5th. I can’t imagine a guy being a worse fit at Oakmont than Bubba Watson yet he still found a way to manage his game and get it around. For a power player he has great finesse. I think that is a combination that fits this PGA Championship very well. I also think that Southern Hills is a thinking man’s golf course, so certainly some of the names that come to mind are Jim Furyk and Mike Weir. Another dark horse to think about is Boo Weekly. Tee to green he is as good as anybody and I think his play at the British Open has given him a taste of what success in a major is like. I’m not sure if he is somebody who is going to compete in every major every year, but when you cover the ball as well as he does you have to consider him in that group of second tier guys who pose a threat to win.

You bring up Boo Weekly, obviously most people talk about how strange of a guy he is and what he wears and what he talks about when he’s interviewed. How much of Boo Weekly’s persona is made up by the media and how much is it just Boo being a weird dude?

Tommy Dee: I think it’s a combination of both. Paul Azinger said in talking about him this week that “golf needs characters like Boo Weekley” and I agree with that in a sense. Having characters out on tour is great, but unless he can consistently finish in the top 10 at majors nobody really cares. If he wins a low level tour event, golf fans will say, “Oh he won, big deal,” but when you see him at the British Open or maybe at a PGA or at the Masters, that’s when these storylines develop and you get to hear the announcers talking about him and his background. I heard a funny quote that they likened him to a combination of John Daly and Larry the Cable Guy. That gives you an idea of what the perception is of Boo Weekley.

They say that if Boo Weekly didn’t exist you couldn’t make him up which also gives a little insight into his personality. Let’s talk a little bit about Gary Player’s comments about steroid abuse on the PGA Tour. Do you agree with him that there are a handful of players out there on steroids? Do you think that this is a legitimate problem on tour?

Tommy Dee: I think it’s a concern. Apparently it is in all sports. Obviously you can’t mention steroids without Barry Bonds and certainly we all know what’s going on with Barry Bonds in his quest to get 756. From a golfer’s standpoint, certainly a guy who doesn’t hit the ball long can create more club head speed by getting into the gym and enhancing himself physically. Ten years ago it was beta blockers which allowed golfers to stand over a putt without feeling nerves. Rumor had it that Nick Price was using them. I think that was a far bigger problem than steroids. As far as what Gary Player said, Gary’s kind of the Dean of European golf and carries a big voice. I really appreciate a guy like Retief Goosen stepping up and saying “Listen if you have names, name them or don’t say anything.” I think it was more of Gary Player saying “Listen you guys need to pay attention. There’s stuff going on. I’m not going to be the one to tell you who’s doing them but it’s out there.” I think at this point its just speculation, but I do think Player has a point in trying to make people pay attention to a potential problem.

What would be the advantage to using steroids? You talked about distance, but aren’t there disadvantages as well?

Tommy Dee: I agree there are. From playing at whatever level I played at, it’s one of those things, and boy I could have used more length as much as anybody, that the more muscle you pack on, the less flexible you are. I think flexibility, club head speed, and torque are more important than bulk for sure.

Look at a guy like Sergio Garcia. Nobody thinks he is on steroids and he’s hitting 3-iron off the tee on 500-yard par-4’s. How much more distance do these players need? Maybe distance isn’t the issue anymore.

Tommy Dee: I just think it’s a hot button issue that’s going around again, certainly because it’s baseball season and people want to talk about the tradition of the game and how records are being broken. People want to know if this is having an impact on golf. If it were proven that a player had a top five finish because he was on steroids then there would certainly be something to discuss in terms of protecting the field. People would have to be punished. Until then I don’t see there being much to it. Another thing about Player is that he goes through a regiment of 500 sit-ups and push-ups every day so he doesn’t want anyone to get by using any shortcuts.

Thanks for joining us today Tommy. We look forward to chatting with you after the PGA Championship at Southern Hills.

Tommy Dee: Thanks. I enjoyed it and look forward to speaking with you then.