The Godfather and HR3 wrap up the weekend’s golf results and chime in on the hottest story of the weekend, Ted Bishop’s termination. The hottest story here locally in Myrtle Beach was Wil Weldon’s $10,000 hole in one at Azalea Sands during the Susan B. Komen Rally for the Cure Scramble. When Wil stroked a 4 iron from 190 yards into the sun, no one actually saw the ball go in the hole, but they knew it was headed toward the pin and heard it hit the green. No one else in the group hit the green. So as the group approached the green, they were disappointed to not find a ball somewhere on the green. TGD Radio’s George Honeycutt found the pitch mark and said, “That ball had to roll right over the hole.” He peeked in and saw Wil’s Titleist 3 looking back at him and the celebration began. Big thanks to East Coast Golf Management, Azalea Sands Golf Course, and the Kilted Caddy Club for hosting the well-attended event for a great cause.
Ted Bishop’s Termination
The results from the pro tours around the globe were overshadowed by the top story of the weekend, which was the termination of the PGA of America President. Ted Bishop’s Termination came just over 1 month prior to the end of his 2 year tenure at the head of the PGA of America. Apparently Mr. Bishop publicly shared his thoughts (on Twitter and Facebook) on some comments about Sir Nick Faldo and Tom Watson made by Ian Poulter. His posts (calling Poulter a ‘Lil Girl’) were in response to a new book from Poulter that criticized Tom Watson and Nick Faldo for their work as Ryder Cup captains. The comments even brought accusations calling Bishop’s actions ‘Sexist’.
The actions initially appeared to be just a back and forth between Bishop and Poulter. “Really? Sounds like a little school girl squealing during recess. C’MON MAN!” wrote Bishop to Poulter. The actions created a firestorm of criticism coming from many directions. Due to all the circumstances surrounding the issue, the Board of Directors of the PGA of America voted to terminate Mr. Bishop. The termination came just a month before his tenure as President was to end. According to statements from the PGA of America, he was given the opportunity to resign and refused to do so. His termination carries further ramifications, in that he will not be allowed to serve as honorary president, nor will he be afforded any of the other courtesies given former presidents, such as being invited to future PGA Championships and Ryder Cups. He is the first PGA president to be ousted.
Bishop, who is referred to as one of the most “colorful” PGA presidents, later told Golf Channel’s Gary Williams that he really didn’t realize the gravity of the situation until an hour and a half afterward when he began seeing some of the comments made in response. He took down the posts and began preparing for a public apology. Bishop clearly regrets his actions, and feels as if the PGA of America should have given him the opportunity to quickly apologize in his own words. Instead the organization opted to go silent on the issue which was not going away and began to gain momentum hour-by-hour.
Ted Bishop’s termination brings about much more discussion regarding actions appropriate for those in high level positions, such as president of the PGA of America. Bishop said he was commenting as Ted Bishop, not as the PGA of America, but agrees it was not an appropriate action.
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