Lists are back. Here's a new Top 10
Comedian Bill Murray's recent top-10 list on SNL's 50th reunion show prompts Gary Van Sickle to create his own list of Top 10 Things That Moved The Needle last week.
Maybe, just maybe, lists are back. Comedian Bill Murray provided a highlight of the “Saturday Night Live” 50th reunion show last weekend when he revealed his top-10 rankings of SNL news hosts.
It was a nod to Murray’s popular bit from decades ago when he made predictions about which actors and movies would win Oscars. He usually clawed half the nominees off each board, dismissing them because he hadn’t seen those movies. It was bitingly funny, just like this new one was.
His SNL news host list finished with a jab at current co-host Colin Jost, who is married to actress Scarlett Johansson. “Number one is funny, got a great smile,” Murray said, looking at Jost. “He's currently sleeping every kind of way with the lovely actress, Scarlett Johansson …”
Then Murray revealed the name of his brother, Brian Doyle-Murray. Hilarity ensued. Although Kevin Costner, sitting adjacent to Cher in the audience, didn’t seem amused throughout the show, possibly because he didn’t get a call-out like other celebrities such as Jack Nicholson, Ryan Reynolds and even Cher. Who knew she was still alive? C’mon, Costner just came off the smash hit, “Yellowstone.” How long are they going to hold “Waterworld” against him?
Here is another list, minus the ensuing hilarity, of the Top 10 Things That Moved The Needle last week in golf.
No. 10: TGL
Did anyone watching on TV actually sit through all six hours of the TGL Presidents’ Day triple-header? And if so, did any one figure out which Bay the Bay Club team is named after? San Francisco Bay? Chesapeake Bay? Green Bay? The Bay of Mexico?
This was tougher to watch than Westminster Dog Show reruns. I like playing simulator golf and I really wanted to like the TGL product. But there are so many problems. It starts with the atmosphere. The simulator is five stories tall so the SoFi Center, where the matches are played in South Florida, is big and hollow and full of echoes and it creates all the atmosphere of a bus terminal. There is the occasional cheer for a great shot or a holed putt but even then, it sounds puny.
The holes themselves are the stuff of video games so it is hard to take this competition seriously, assuming we are meant to. The giant video screen is amazing, but the players keep shaking their heads about the result of their shots. Clearly, the Full Swing simulator has an accuracy issue, at least in the eyes of the players. They know how exactly how far they hit a gap wedge, for instance, and when it flies 10 yards farther, all they can do is shake their heads.
The TGL has been a disappointment. The shot clock is a winner. The format might need work. I’d rather see more one-on-one matches instead of three-man alternate-shot. The league has already changed a few rules on the fly, such as how The Hammer (essentially a press bet) can be applied. The league needs work, it’s still new. As Tiger Woods used to say, “It’s a process.”
No. 9: Trevor Immelman
The former Masters champ is unfailingly polite and upbeat with a beautiful, lilting accent (he’s from South Africa). Imagine Chip Beck meets Ian Baker-Finch. Immelman has been a solid analyst in the TV tower next to CBS icon Jim Nantz. So it was funny when Tiger Woods joined the two in the tower Sunday during the Genesis Invitational. Woods was candid (at least by his standards) and supplied pertinent Torrey Pines intel. When Woods left the tower, Nantz showered him with praise and suggested Woods could have a bright future in broadcasting. Immelman immediately pretended to take offense and jokingly told Nantz to wait a minute, slow down, in regard to pushing him out of the analyst seat in favor of Woods. It was good, clean fun, just warm-hearted ribbing. But check back in three years.
No. 8: Denny McCarthy / Patrick Rodgers
A field entry. The Genesis Invitational featured four rounds of assorted commentators harping on the fact that neither McCarthy nor Rodgers had ever won on the PGA Tour in 1,170 tries. (OK, that’s not the official number.) Shouldn’t one of the producers tell the announcers “Hey, we’ve already mentioned that six times in the past hour, let’s lay off that and cough up something else about those two guys from the prepared cheat sheet each host is handed?”
No. 7: Justin Leonard
You’ll have to decide which is the bigger surprise — that Leonard is back playing competitive golf again or that PGA Tour Champions is still a thing. I’ll go with the former because most ex-players who go the TV commentating route see how much easier it is than playing competitive golf that they never go back. Leonard did and it was cool to see him get emotional about winning, something he hasn’t done since … 2008. Geez, George W. Bush was still president then.
As for PGA Tour Champions, that tour has never had a lower profile. It gets no coverage other than its official broadcast. Even on the Internet, it’s difficult to find anything more than a brief blurb about the results. This tour needs a shot in the arm. Where’s Phil Mickelson when you need him?
No. 6: Justin Thomas
It’s funny how certain TV networks clearly have favorite players. During the weekend telecast of the Genesis Invitational, two players who weren’t really in the hunt got a lot of air time. One was Rory McIlroy, understandable, given that he is one of the game’s top three needle-movers. The other was Thomas, who kept being shown probably because he was more identifiable for the viewer at home than contenders McCarthy, Rodgers and Maverick McNealy. Actually, Thomas’ most memorable moment came from Monday’s TGL match when he curiously sat on the green while teammate Lucas Glover chipped. When Glover’s shot went in, Thomas rolled over backwards like he was in a gymnastics tumbling class.
No. 5: Molly Grace Thomas
Babies are always scene-stealers. Thomas-loving CBS pointed out that Woods had not yet met Thomas’ new family member, his daughter Molly Grace. Sure enough, Woods found the Thomas clan and was seen smiling widely and chatting baby-talk with little Molly. All right, it was adorably cute. Good on Tiger.
No. 4: Rory McIlroy
The thing about golf is, it’s always something. McIlroy was dead last in the putting stats one day during the Genesis Invitational and struggled with the putter all week. Just when he looked like Superman during his win at Pebble Beach, McIlroy showed up at Torrey Pines and putted like Bizarro Superman. If there’s one reason he’s never going to win the Masters, it’s the putter. The rest of his game has never looked better.
No. 3: Scottie Scheffler
The last thing Scheffler needs is more comparisons to Tiger Woods. But it is difficult to escape the conclusion that Scheffler, like Woods, is in contention on weeks even when he doesn’t play well. He needed to hole a tricky, downhill eagle putt on the final green at Torrey Pines to have a chance at getting in a playoff. Scheffler missed left and was surprised when his putt didn’t feed back to the right — which even Woods, in the CBS tower, also slightly misread. Give Scheffler one more event as he tunes up following the unusual incident in which he cut his hand on a broken glass. Then he will reel off a series of wins just in time for The Players and, oh yeah, the Masters.
No. 2: Ludvig Aberg
The Next Big Thing is already here. Sure, he came from behind to beat a trio of players who don’t have much experience with winning — Rodgers, McCarthy and one-win McNealy — but he looks like he stepped out of an instruction video. He’s tall and lean and powerful and his swing is picture-perfect. He drives it long and remarkably straight, like a guy named Nicklaus once did. Aberg was a Masters contender last year as a 24-year-old. He is on his way to winning multiple major championships in his career.
No. 1: Tiger Woods
The fact is, Woods is the greatest player in the modern era and whatever he does or wherever he goes it is a big deal, like it or not. He was the official host of the Genesis Invitational, normally played at Riviera Country Club near Los Angeles. It moved to Torrey Pines because of the fires that decimated L.A. He joined the CBS telecast in the final round and talked emotionally about his mother passing away last week, a surprise, and how she had always been his “rock.” Woods still moves the needle like nobody else. That’s just a fact.
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Ludvig will be very successful, no doubt. Will he rack up 3+ majors? That's not so easy, as Rory has shown. Straight and long is a great way to play golf. After that, it's about getting the ball in the hole and handling pressure. I like his chances, too.
golf is global game, there's more money on pga tour than dp world tour so european players commonly move here. i'd say it's non-news... but long-term, Aberg was-is a nice addition to euro ryder cup squad. that will be a close match at BethPage Black in Sept.