PGA Tour: Happy New Year!: Notes from the Ballwasher

First topic message reminder :

1).Happy New Year everyone, or if the PGA Tour is reading: Happy New 3/4 of a Year, given that the Tour season finishes in September from now on. That means an abbreviated schedule in which players can make their mark, save their card or resurrect their career.

2).Let's reprise the big changes to the Tournament calendar for 2013:
The schedule through September remains essentially intact, except that the Mayakoba tournament, previously played as an "opposite field" event during February's WGC MatchPlay week, will be the sixth stop of the 2013/2014 season. The six events of next (2013/2014) season are:
Fry's.com
Las Vegas
CIMB Malaysia
WGC HSBC Champions
McGladrey
Mayakoba.

The "Lost Boy" in all this is the Disney tournament which has been banished to Neverland.

3).I'll run through prospects for the Europeans in the year ahead at a later date, but of one thing we can be sure: there will be more Europeans with some current Tour status than ever before with Colsaerts, Hanson, Kaymer and Lynn taking membership and Sweden's David Lingmerth "graduating" via the web.com Top 25. Fellow Swedes Karlsson and Norlander, plus Ross Fisher are in the "show' via Q-School.
We lost Gary Christian and Russell Knox, Matthias Gronberg has disappeared, Richard S.Johnson, Casey, Chopra and Olazabal only have Past Champion status remaining, and Parnevik has the formality of a handful of Medical Exemption starts. So the Europeans are stronger than ever though it behoves those with marginal status to get cracking early, Ross Fisher, David Lynn etc are you listening?

4).Among Tour stalwarts who are at the end of their exemption tether are veteran members and past champions Appleby, Jerry Kelly and Immelman, all coming off disastrous seasons.

5).If it's comebacks you want, look no further than 2010 Players Champion Tim Clark. Hopefully he'll start his season next week at the Sony Open where he runner-upped with Steve Marino in 2011 before getting injured the following week. "Runner-upped with Steve" who? Yup, Steve Marino should be back also, perhaps with greater fitness and far fewer lbs. Good player.

6).And who will break through for a first win?
I fancy Hanson of the Europeans but will look beyond the celebrated young Americans like Cauley, Michael Thompson and English and anticipate wins for les enfants terribles Matt Every and Spencer Levin, plus Cameron Tringale. Billy Horschel played well last year (15 cuts in the 17 events - incl the last 12 - he squeaked into) then finished T4 at Q-School. Of the true rookies, I'll be pulling for Monday qualie specialist Patrick Reed. While Seung-yul Noh is certain to enter the winner's circle sometime soon.

7).It's not just McIlroy who'll be playing with new sticks this year - Kyle Stanley and Nick Watney had so much success with Titleist they've switched to Swoosh, replacing Stewart Cink and Lucas Glover among others.

8).We'll see Stanley and Watney at Kapalua this week, at the "Hyundai Tournament of Champions" where there's a field of 30 including most of the better young and not-so-young Americans: 2 x Johnsons, Dufner, Watson, Simpson, Snedeker, Bradley, Kuchar and defending Champion Steve Stricker. Fowler, Haas, Mahan and Watney join them, but no Mickelson or Woods.

9).In the absence of Donald, Garcia, McIlroy and Rose the European challenge is led by Poulter, who played well here a couple of years ago. I also like the chances of Swedes Blixt (could be a great start to a super year for him) and Pettersson who has played well here in the past. Regardless, there won't be an event played all year with more scenic views - better yet if Blixt brings his entourage.

10).And, finally, one wish for the New Year:
Would all the unseemly speculation about Europe's choice of Ryder Cup Captain please stop? I'm a big Darren Clarke fan but the tsunami of garbage spouting forth, whether on a tide of alcohol I don't know, from DC about making a "big" appointment to match up with Watson is unfortunate to say the least.
Let's hope the European Tour remains steadfast with their presumed plan to appoint Paul McGinley, if necessary with a joint appointment of Clarke for 2016. Speculation to the contrary undermines everything that has been best about Europe's Ryder Cup success, dating back for instance to Sir Tony Jacklin (what's that, he STILL didn't get a knighthood?) taking on Nicklaus at Chez Jack, Muirfield Village.

Imagine one of these long hitters like Johnson, Garrigus, Quiros etc was accurate and actually had a short game.

super_realist wrote:Imagine one of these long hitters like Johnson, Garrigus, Quiros etc was accurate and actually had a short game.

You do remember Tiger back in the day?

Never heard of him Mac, is he in Edinburgh Zoo?

princedracula wrote:This is with whom DJ will celebrate his win tonight...

Spoiler:

Super win for DJ, good player and will definately win again this year I expect.

Wow at his missus by the way....

"Wow at his missus by the way...."

Not to lower the tone too much but it took serious restraint not to whack one of after seeing her. She seriously smells of sex.

Sand wrote:

princedracula wrote:This is with whom DJ will celebrate his win tonight...

Spoiler:

Super win for DJ, good player and will definately win again this year I expect.

Wow at his missus by the way....

I hate him....

So what we have learned this week is DJ can really play in bad weather. 3 weather shortened wins tells us as much. There must be a Open victory for him at some point.

is it Wayne Gretzsky's daughter?

McLaren wrote:"Wow at his missus by the way...."

Not to lower the tone too much but it took serious restraint not to whack one of after seeing her. She seriously smells of sex.

Rather an odd body though wouldn't you say.

"Rather an odd body though wouldn't you say."

not sure what you mean?

Freakishly thin, very long torso and a peculiar posture.

Sure she's very nice, but a typical sportsman's trophy wife. Route one, straight off the shelf of cliche's

hend085 wrote:is it Wayne Gretzsky's daughter?

Yes hend, Kwini asked the same and PD confirmed.

dead right SR. i wouldnt go near her either. Would you be more into the Susan Boyle look?

Don't get me wrong Hendo, Pretty lady, it's all just rather predictable for a sportsman. They always have the bottle blonde pneumatic trophy wife. Stepford Wives club.

Understated natural prettiness is far more attractive.

Sand wrote:

princedracula wrote:This is with whom DJ will celebrate his win tonight...

Spoiler:

Super win for DJ, good player and will definately win again this year I expect.

Wow at his missus by the way....

I bet Dustin at least did 54+1.