I put the word split in parentheses because while everybody is using the word, it doesn't sound like the right word to me. Their business relationship hasn't ended, not the way Phil and Bones ended theirs, or Rory and J.P. did, or even Lydia Ko and Gary Matthews (after a mere nine events). Cole is still Jason's coach, which he was before. He just isn't looping for him right now.
And Jason told GC that it might end up being temporary, but that he felt he needed the change to keep from possibly ruining their friendship. Remember, Cole has basically been Jason's dad since J-Day was 12. Jason also said it was ironic that, having made this choice, he was actually getting to spend more non-business time with him.
In other words, Jason has -- at least for the time being -- returned his relationship with Cole back to what it was when Jason was a teenager more in need of guidance than a caddie. And given all the upheaval in his life this year, including the stress of his mother's battle with cancer (again, remember that at one point he thought he was going to lose her), it sounds to me as if Jason has simply decided he needs his "dad" more than his caddie at this point in his life.
All-in-all, that sounds pretty smart to me. And I won't be surprised if Cole is back on his bag sometime next year, after Jason's back in a good place emotionally. We'll see. For now, let's see if Jason can make it to East Lake next week.
Sangmoon Bae still needs to shake a little rust off before getting back onto the PGA Tour when the new season starts. His first start since his discharge from the military was this week's Shinhan Donghae Open, a KPGA/Asian Tour co-sanctioned event. In the opening two rounds he shot 74-75 to finish at +7, well below the cut line which as I write this (5:17amEDT) is +2.
ReplyDeleteI'm not surprised at that. It probably won't take him long to get back in form though.
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