PGA Tour: FedExCupus Interruptus: Notes from the Ballwasher

1).Quiet week for golf in the United States as the PGA Tour goes into self-imposed hibernation upon this, the first weekend of the NFL season. "No mas" from PGA Tour HQ.

2).Another week, another American young gun takes the spoils, last week Dustin (54 holes) Johnson, this week Webb (belly putter) Simpson, winning in a Play-Off from surprise package Chez Reavie. Chez Reavie enjoyed a decent enough "rookie" year in 2008 with a Canadian Open in his bag but not much else - a slight, shorter man, similar in build and physique to the 2008 Luke Donald model. And Luke Donald-ish he still is, having gone through injuries and playing this year on a Medical Exemption which expired without him winning the requisite ducats for Tour preservation, but enough FedEx points to qualify for the Play Offs. Like Lukey he's bulked up, complete with big arse, perhaps a bit porkier than Number One now, and the sky's the limit having qualified for the Tour Championship (and all 2012 Major Championships).
(Great win for Simpson but Luke Donald had the tournament in his hands after 63 holes. The post-mortems are in, but whichever way the autopsy is sliced, a disappointing loss for Luke.)

3).Nothing particularly surprising about the 70 FedEx Cup survivors who are taking this week off and moving on to the BMW Championship at Chicago's Cog Hill next week, but European followers will be disappointed at having lost three stalwarts, with Harrington's up-and-down season ending down, McDowell's finishing 5-5 when a 4-5 would have seen him progress, and Poulter's missed cut surrender. Expect to see the three of them next in "Europe".

4).This was the week that Phil went with the belly putter and he certainly has the belly for it. He seems uncommitted despite that, "I think I'll try and stay with it . . . . I think it had some merit," said Phil in the sort of lukewarm way some moderate Republicans might talk about Obama's jobs plan. In other words watch this space. But Brandt Jobe demurred one step further by carrying two putters, one long and one short, and dispensing with his four-iron. Which he then concluded he needed four times during his round.

5).pgatour.com reports that ShotLink has measured the greatest statistical improvements in the 2011 season. The one I found most interesting was the rather banal "strokes per round" stat. Guess who the only three players are who have improved their strokes per round by more than one shot:
Garcia: 2.00 shots per round,
Donald (1.3 shots)
Yang (1.04).

6).Sunday is the 10th anniversary of 9/11 and the cancellation of that year's AMEX WGC Championship at Bellerive CC in St.Louis. Characteristically the PGA Tour hasn't taken a WGC back to sports loving St.Louis, but it is a reminder of how the cast of characters has changed. And not changed. Mike Weir was planning to defend his title, won the previous year at Valderrama; Woods was there, Mickelson, Duval, Singh and Els. Montgomerie and Garcia, Langer and Verplank, Wisconsin buddies Stricker and Jerry Kelly, plus two young Aussies Baddeley and Scott. And Thomas Bjorn was the only absentee from the planned participants in the upcoming Ryder Cup, with a shoulder injury.

7).The PGA Tour begins its Q-School process next week with pre-qualifying. No particularly noteworthy names are entered but, following the FedEx feast, we'll be returning to the more banal task of identifying who gets to keep their card among this year's exempt players, hoping not to visit Q-School later on. Among prominent names in jeopardy of failing to secure the $800K of earnings and losing their "privileges" are Messrs:
DiMarco
O'Hern
Pampling
Trahan
Paul Casey
Curtis
Vaughn Taylor
Duval
Cejka
Wetterich
Austin
Weekley
Nathan Green

8).For real sports fans in the United States, this is the culmination of a fantastic fortnight (don't snicker) of tennis coverage from the US Open. No idea why, but tennis seems to attract the most articulate and knowledgeable commentators, men and women, to their US broadcasting booths. A pair of McEnroes (Patrick by far the better), Brad Gilbert, Cahill, Drysdale etc plus Evert, Fernandez and Shriver are just a pleasure to listen to. No crap, no nonsense, very empathetic, matter of fact commentary.
In stark contrast to the Baker Finch, Curtis Strange, Rolfing, Jacobsen drivel we have to listen to on golf. Not to mention the very late Tom Weiskopf. Just imagine Baker Finch commentating on tennis:
"Ooh, and an incredible rally sponsored by American Express, such wonderful people and a credit to our sport. That forehand is in the mayor's office and I must commend the superintendent for having the courts in such magnificent condition. Chrissie, you're so well presented, and there's Sammy Stosur from Australia, such a lovely stroke there. And what a wonderful job our military do, heroes every one of them." Who pays these people?

9).No-one pays Walker Cup players, or so we are led to believe, and Stiggy and his boys will face Spieth and the rest at Royal Aberdeen this weekend. Clearly Lewis and Can'tlay and others have made their mark in Open Championships but what can we expect two years from now?
From the 2009 Matches, it should be noted that Rickie Fowler and Cameron Tringale have already made their PGA Tour mark, both advancing this year to the BMW Championship in Chicago. No such luck for Team GB&I with those who have embarked on their pro career having struggled so far to make their mark.

10).No PGA Tour event this week, no Champions Tour, no Nationwide, no nothing. But let us not forget Surrey's very own, and most likely forgotten, Gary Christian who, at the ripe old age of 40, won last week's Nationwider and punched his card for the 2012 PGA Tour. Congratulations to him.

Great read as always.

Cheers Sand,
Just one more note:
JB Holmes underwent his "brain" procedure last week in Baltimore. All reports suggest it was successful and he will be fit to resume his Tour career in early 2012. Let's hope so.

Kwini,

I went out to watch Thursday's practice rounds at Royal Aberdeen. Warm, sunny and a cross breeze - perefect conditions for links golf.

The course is magnificient. I hope this comes across in the TV coverage.

The GB&I team took the practice round more seriously then the US team. They all played all the shots but were paired up so they simulated foresomes by swapping balls with their partner after each shot. GB&I started at the 1st and were on the back 9 when I left so they appeared to be playing the full 18.

The US team was far more relaxed. They played their own balls and took 10 minutes on each green to practice piching and putting. One group only played the first few holes and the last few holes. The other group only played the back 9. The captain took them off at 16 but two guys decided to play the last two holes. I'm glad they did. 18 was mostly into the breeze. 450 yards or so. Both hit it into the dip and I estimate they were hitting 7 iron for their seconds. Very impressive. Drive and 3 wood more most members.

Not sure which team had the best approach, just interesting to see the difference.

Back to the course. The changes over the last 20 years (a few new bunkers and a few old ones removed, some new back tees, a par 4 on the back 9 changed to a par 5 and the next green moved back a little and finally but perhaps most significantly a lot of the gorse has been cut back) have all come together to produce a very sympathetic re-vamp. The front 9 has always been alongst the very best 9 holes of links golf, but now the back 9 is greatly improved (removal of most of the gorse is on the back 9 so now both 9's have a similar feel).

The ticket sales were limited to 7,000 and I heard the plan was to sell all before the event with no tickets being sold on the day, but I understand the sales were recently only 2,000 and the local paper is today advertising ticket sales on the day. I can only assume David Law's non-selection has angered us locals. David started the year by winning the South African Championship and finished the year by winning the Scottish Amatuer for a second time, but his form in the middle of the summer was poor compaired to others. The talk is that Irish Golf Union politics contributed to his non-selection. A sad situation if true given David's home course is Royal Aberdeen! David's response to non-selection was to win a Scottish proeffesional event last week, the Northern Open, the first amateur to win since Sandy Pirie 40 years ago.

BBC are covering the event this weekend so no adverts (phew), but there did not appear to be too many stands for camera's so probably not the same coverage as Sky.

Scottie,
Seems like the public's loss will be your gain if crowds are fewer than expected - enjoy it!
If David Law and others are pretty much equal, it would be incomprehensible that local knowledge would not make him the first among equals.
Casual study of PGA Tour golf shows time and time again the success of local-ish golfers on certain courses. It's not infallible but a very good guide; can't imagine that wouldn't also be true in GB&I.

Kwini,

GB&I consists of four Golf Unions. Each Union will be pushing their best players and this often leads to a compromise. I am sure David Law did not want to get picked because it's his home course but I think he has done more than enough over the last three seasons to get a place on merit.

It might act to his advantage. An additional motivation factor for when he turns pro, it has got him as much exposure locally as if he had been picked (and plenty of sympathy) and might result in him securing some local financial backing which must be critical for the step-up to the pro ranks.

Although he won a pro event last week he did have a disappointing 78 in the 1st round of the KLM. I would not judge him on this single round. I can't image his mind is in the right place this week.

Kwini - I assume you will catch the coverage in the US. Would be interesting to hear your views and the Golf Channel's views of the course next week.

Great read again kwini.
And thanks to Scottie for the interesting report from the Royal Aberdeen. I haven't been really following the pre-selection process for the Walker Cup, but I've seen recently that there is some controversy building up around it... I think it's really unfortunate for David Law not being picked specially as this is taking place on his home course, that must hurt a lot... But I think it's also unfortunate that I've seen some in the media are begining to discuss about this (now, right before the start of the event), in terms of a Law vs Dunbar issue/contest. That may also motivate Dunbar, but it can also build a lot of pressure on him and/or create unnecessary tension inside the team before the event, which is not really a good thing... Let's hope common sense will prevail and everybody will leave that particular point or angle of the debate aside until after the event...

Scottie, is laws home course Royal Aberdeen? Knew he'd played there often but was always under the impression his home course was Hazlehead.

Sand,

A junior member at Hazlehead but his home course has been Royal Aberdeen for a couple of years I understand.

Hazlehead No.1 was designed by Alistair McKenzie who became famous for designing Augusta some years later. Hazelhead is a great track but the Council have made every effort to ruine the course in recent years. It was in great condition when Sandy Pirie was the Greenkeeper (who managed to get picked for the Walker Cup in the late 60's).

ScottieD18 wrote:Sand,

A junior member at Hazlehead but his home course has been Royal Aberdeen for a couple of years I understand.

Hazlehead No.1 was designed by Alistair McKenzie who became famous for designing Augusta some years later. Hazelhead is a great track but the Council have made every effort to ruine the course in recent years. It was in great condition when Sandy Pirie was the Greenkeeper (who managed to get picked for the Walker Cup in the late 60's).

Im not so sure, know he still played in medals at Hazlehead as recently as last year although its not to say he wasnt playing as a away member. A work colleague plays at Hazlehead but is on holiday so cant ask him. He was telling me that Law broke the course record on 1 last year with a 61.

Hi Kwini, I havent had too much time for watching or playing golf since little Marcus was born in May, been extra busy at home, in work and with study... The truth is I've been laying low since Ireland got thrashed by England in the Rugby lol.. I hope you were in with the ndn for a little pay back on that one.. Everythings going great here tbh, hope all is well with you guys in VT. Here, I got a laugh out of this - http://tiny.cc/3cmlu

Nice one B_T_B!
Great to hear everything's going well - it'll only be a year or two before Marcus starts swinging the plastic clubs, perfect time to acquire a proper swing!
Have avoided the floods but seen devastation around us - just bloody wet here.

Good luck in the World Cup!

The pgatour.com actuarial statisticians have concluded that the current top 21 in FedEx points are bankers for remaining in the Top 30 for Tour Championship qualification.
Beyond that, their calculations state that the remaining 49 contestants in Chicago next week require the following minimum finishes at the BMW Championship. Notables only:
Freddie Jac: 62nd (of 70)
Badds: 50th
Schwartzel: 42nd
Laird: 14th
Davis: 12th
Rose: 12th
Furyk: 11th
Z.Johnson: 11th
Fowler: 10th
Karlsson: 7th
Villegas: 5th
Pettersson: 4th
Garcia: 4th
Els: 3rd
Ogilvy: 3rd

Obviously, that lot is a moving feast but it can afford a glimpse as to what the players are looking at as they prepare for the Beemer.

Confirmation that all seventy eligible runners and riders are "committed" for Cog Hill and the BMW Championship next week.
Europeans:
Donald
Jacobsen
Laird
Davis
Rose
Karlsson
Pettrersson
Garcia

The Champo Tour will have guaranteed pay cheques for sixty guys in Korea and Messrs Christian, Knox and Owen are entered in the Nationwider in Idaho.
Big tournament for Greg Owen who has endured a horrible summer and needs a very good result to resume a realistic quest for his 2012 Tour card; Christian and Knox already home and hosed.

Congrats to GB&I, leading after Walker Cup Day 1: 7 points to 5.

More of the same tomorrow and it will be a famous victory.

That would be something, indeed! Great to see that Paul Cutler is the only one with two wins for GB&I after the first day. I think he really made the team finally as a result of that great run he had in Killarney 6 weeks ago and I'm happy to see him confirming now!

I see Paul Cutler is in the field for Austria, P.Harrington too.

World Golf Hall Of Fame just announced their candidates on the ballot for election.
Phil Mickelson leads the 14 PGA Tour nominees while the 10 "International" nominees are:
Alliss
Clarke
Faulkner
Goosen
Jimenez
Lyle
Marsh
Montgomerie
Von Nida
Woosnam

Mickelson will surely be elected on this his first time eligible. Perhaps accompanied by Dave Stockton.

I'd suggest Sandy Lyle might be the leading International nominee, certainly a longer list of credentials than any other candidate, though Peter Alliss might receive some sentimental votes.

Why the hell is clarke on the list?


I think Alliss would be the most desrving along with monty and lyle.

Mac,
Anyone over the age of 40 with a Major and a distinguished body of work, or multiple Majors provided your name is not John Daly get nominated.

For some reason the PGA Tour nominees include Loren Roberts, which is bizarre in the extreme.

I think Peter Alliss (and Ken Venturi) might have a chance of election this year . . . .

Not very familiar with the Hall of Fame criteria, but I don't see why DC wouldn't be worthy of consideration... won a major, 2 WGCs, around 20 professional wins (ET, PGATour, JP Tour...), great Ryder Cup record (player & VC), almost a decade in top 30 OWGR, one of the most popular players amongst peers and fans, inspirational figure and support for most of this great new generation of NI golf talents, etc...

kwini, it was a great performance from Paul Cutler in the Walker Cup! There were some suggestions made today in the media about him intentionally slowing it down over the last few holes yesterday when he was 4-up, to share in the end the last point with Cantlay, after the team victory was already secured. Who knows.... What's known with some certainty is that his amateur days are numbered and he'll turn pro pretty soon (still registered as an amateur in Austria)...

Nothing against clarke but if he is what constitutes hall of fame material then it is hardly a record of the very best players and legends of the game.

Agreed that Clarke is a very worthy candidate, but would certainly not expect him to be elected yet awhile.
PGA Tour nominees with similar credentials include Couples, Furyk and Love. Mac, As things stand right now, I doubt he'd get in, but let's see what his full body of work is, say with a Ryder Cup Captaincy etc. I bet he's a legend of the game in Northern Ireland already, and influence in "building" the game is said to be taken into account.

As for the other PGA Tour nominees (apart from Phil), they are (with editorial comment):
Miller Barber - no Major, wonderful Senior record but NO!
Couples - One (fortuitous) Major, two "Players". Several Tour wins but a poor Ryder Cup record. 2 x Presidents Cup Captain. Not yet!
Furyk - Not unless he scores another Major or reaches 20 wins plus one more BIG win.
January - One Major, a founder of the Senior Tour, the original "Bones". No!
Lema - Champagne Tony. Open Championship but not much else before he was killed. No!
Love III - One PGA, two "Players", Twenty Tour wins, Ryder Cup stalwart and Captain. Yes! But probably after he's finished with the Ryder Cup Captaincy.
Jugs McSpaden - 17 Tour wins but no Majors; he's been nominated before - no idea why. No!!
O'Meara - Two Majors, five "Crosbys", but not much else. Ignominious Ryder Cup record, probably will be docked votes due to his role (as Tiger's surrogate?) in asking for Ryder Cup payment.
Loren Roberts - No idea why he's even on the ballot. No, No, No!
Macdonald Smith - Carnoustie's own! 24 Tour wins, no Majors. No!
Dave Stockton - 2 x PGA Championships, winning Ryder Cup Captain, Senior Tour mainstay, putting guru. I would say Yes! but borderline.
Ken Venturi - One Major plus should've won The Masters as an amateur, 14 wins, career cut short by wrist injuries. Distinguished broadcaster, Presidents Cup Captain. I would say Yes, but borderline.
Fuzzy Zoeller - Two Majors, not much else. No!

Walker Cuppers turning pro:
Following To Lewis, James Byrne has announced he'll be turning pro, and Paul Cutler has entered the Austrian Open as an amateur.
Harris English has a Nationwide exemption and has taken up membership while College teammate Russell Henley is also playing for pay.
Peter Uihlein is retaining amateur status for the time being but has entered European Tour and PGA Tour Q-Schools - apparently he's eligible for Stage 2 of both.
Kraft will remain an amateur in order to take his place in the 2012 Masters.

McLaren,
I very reluctantly agree with you. As much as Clarke has had a very successful career, and much better than most, he has not reached the higher echelons such as Woods, Nicklaus,Watson, Faldo, Ballesteros et al to be a hall of famer. Kwinis point about building the game however does have a lot of merit and in some way is perhaps as important as the value of tourneys won.

Noel, Mac, All depends upon your Hall Of Fame criteria.
All I'm suggesting is that, by the time DC's Ryder Cup career is done, he'll have more than satisfied the benchmarks used by the WGHOF folks.
But not now!

The hall of fame should really be as exclusive as possible and only admit the top two or three of each generation. we are talking

2000's Tiger, Phil
90's Norman Faldo
80's seve
70's Watson, trevino
60's Palmer, Nicklaus, player
50's Hogan, Thomson
40's snead, Nelson
30's Hagen
20's sarazen, Jones
10's Vardon, braid
1900's Taylor, Anderson
pre 1900 old and young tom morris, willie park

I am sure a few more could be added but nearing the standards set by those listed above should be the criteria.

They could also include some for exceptional performance outside the playing of the game. Eg Tillinghast or alliss.

Mac,
No women?!?
That's all very well but any Hall Of Fame will fail unless it is a living, breathing entity, and for that you need new blood and energy.

The WGHOF has inducted a few clunkers in the past, none worse than President GHW Bush. But overall I would say it does a marvellous job of recognizing the leading contributors in every facet of the game; if anything, architects somewhat under-represented, Tillinghast not even in yet, let alone Stanley Thompson and other influential designers.