If Gannett ran the British Open

TURNBERRY, Scotland (AP) -- British Open leader Tom Watson was among 24 competitors let go today by golf tournament operator Gannett Co. Inc., parent company of the British Open as part of a move to streamline operations and cut costs ahead of what it termed a "potentially challenging" fourth round.

Bob Dickey, president of the division, told employees in a letter distributed today on the first tee of the 149th Open that the majority of the layoffs will occur on the day's front nine. Watson, 59, was given the news at the sixth tee while leading the event but the 45-year veteran of the business finished out his duties for the day.

The company said his position was being eliminated and that remaining duties would be assigned to caddies, who work for as little as one-tenth what veteran golfers can earn.

Though the company has employed various cost-cutting initiatives -- including furloughing its highest-earning employee from June 2008 to March 2009, to offset the effects of a weak economy, "we will need to implement job reductions to align our resources with the revenue realities we face," Dickey said.

"There have been some promising signs of a recovery, but the reality is the improvements are not broad-based and the economy continues to be fragile," he said.

If economic conditions consider to disintegrate, Dickey said, the company would consider renaming itself "The LPGA" as the first step toward Chapter 11 proceedings.

 

Solid.

 

Outstanding.

 

Awesome.

 

Don't forget that Gannett would also probably run the 2010 Open on a computer simulation of St. Andrews on Tiger Woods '10 than the actual Old Course.

 

You're fired. There's no mainstreaming anywhere in that report.

 

D'Oh !!!

 

You also have a couple of Moments of Life (remember those!) in that story:

Watson leading the Open.

Watson being fired.

 

Try Tiger Woods "05 on the PS1.

 

You beat me to it! Well played.

 

My first laugh out loud moment of the work week. Thanks for that.