Las Vegas should’ve jumped at hosting golf Slam
It was last Thursday morning and the flotsam and jetsam of the Tom Brady announcement had just begun to swirl when the PGA of America put out a terse one-paragraph statement: The Grand Slam of Golf, a fairly popular exhibition match featuring the winners of the four majors — or in the case of this year, the three major winners and a capable alternate — would not be held in 2015.
I do not believe the timing of the terse one-paragraph statement was a coincidence.
“Due to the timing and logistics needed to stage the PGA Grand Slam of Golf to the highest standards, we are disappointed that we will not be able to conduct the event this year. This was a memorable year for major championship golf and the PGA of America congratulates Jordan Spieth, Zach Johnson and Jason Day on their impressive wins. We look forward to conducting the PGA Grand Slam of Golf in 2016.”
That was it. One paragraph. No mention of Donald Trump.
This year’s event was to have been held at Trump National Golf Club in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif. But in July, after Trump made controversial comments about Mexican immigrants while on the political stump, the PGA put down the billionaire turned reality show host turned Republican front-runner for president for a triple bogey on its politically correct scorecard.
That’s one issue.
The other issue is the implication the PGA of America could not find one golf course willing to host Masters and U.S. Open champion Jordan Spieth, British Open titleholder Zach Johnson, PGA winner Jason Day and Germany’s Martin Kaymer, this year’s capable alternate, for 36 holes of friendly stroke play competition.
I’m not buying the part of the one-paragraph statement about timing and logistics.
Put it this way: If it were July, and you were planning a golf outing with the aforementioned foursome — and you weren’t planning on playing until October — how hard could it be to nail down a tee time?
Perhaps that’s simplifying things, because in addition to keeping the caddies away from the swimming pool, you’d have to lay down TV cable and put up a cherry picker above the 16th fairway, so viewers at home could see the trajectory of the golf shots. The majestic arcs and whatnot.
But there are nearly 50 golf courses in Las Vegas. Many of them have immaculate grooming. I’ll bet one would have been willing to work with the PGA in laying down cable and putting up a cherry picker and arranging for courtesy cars for Spieth and Johnson and Day and Kaymer — and a masseuse, and anything else they might need.
The Shriners Hospital for Children Open at TPC Summerlin would trade its Big Bertha and a couple of those long putters you see on the Champions Tour to have those four in its final group, or in any group.
Last year, a guy named Ben Martin took home the big check from our annual PGA Tour stop. This is what it says on his Wikipedia biography: “Ben Martin is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour.”
There was no mention of Hogan or Nicklaus. In a sidebar, it said Martin finished tied for 26th in the 2014 British Open.
I have this theory, formed by watching Las Vegas sporting events come and go over the past 28 years, that the ones that play well here feature people with whom the average sports fan is familiar. And the ones that struggle feature guys who finish tied for 26th at Royal Liverpool when an impending third-round thunderstorm never developed.
And that when it comes to these one-off sporting events, Las Vegas has a reputation like TV’s Ray Donovan. We’re The Fixer.
Take these World Wrestling Championships that begin today at The Orleans, for instance. When the International Olympic Committee decided that Brazil 2016 would be the last Olympics with amateur wrestling because amateur wrestling was getting boring, the amateur wrestling World Championships were awarded to Las Vegas, a place that is not boring.
Just like that, the IOC had a change of heart. And now amateur wrestling is back on the list of approved Olympic sports until further notice or the next IOC scandal.
This is why the next time Donald Trump says what’s on his mind, the local golfing community must be ready to pounce like Paul Lawrie when Jean van de Velde had his meltdown at Carnoustie.
Apply liberal grease to the PGA’s palm. Lay some TV cable, put up a cherry picker, arrange for those courtesy cars. Watch Jordan Spieth and his pals lift approach shots in majestic arcs.
Listen to how many people in the party tents shout, “It’s in the hole!”
— Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ron Kantowski can be reached at rkantowski@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0352. Follow him: @ronkantowski
