PGA Tour: "I Have A Dream"; Outside Boston?: Notes from the Ballwasher

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1).Don't suppose Martin Luther King was thinking about golf fifty years ago today, and certainly not about the FedEx Play-Offs. My dream for this week was that Adam Scott was a really good bet for the "Deutsche Bank Championship". A week late and several dollars short on that one.

2).Last week just goes to show that, once in a while, it pays to play a solid final round, post the proverbial "number", and wait and see what happens. Sergio could do that at a Major, Westwood even. But one thing's certain and that is that Adam Scott is in the form of his life; especially given his excellent record at the lyrically named TPC Boston (like calling Liphook Golf Club TPC London for all the proximity to Boston) where he's won in 2003, finished 2nd, in 2004 and come 5th and 7th in his past three visits.

3).We also saw a fine young American talent, the Improvised Explosive Device known as Kevin Chappell. His round on Sunday was reminiscent of a similarly combustible performance by Billy Horschel at the McGladrey a few years ago. It would be surprising if Chappell doesn't go on to similar success to Horschel - a man to watch.

4).Jim Furyk played his 500th PGA Tournament a couple of weeks ago, which led me to wonder who else has reached that milestone.
Of this week's field, only Bob Estes (629), Jerry Kelly (536) and Justin Leonard (529) have teed it up more often than Furyk, though all look considerably younger of course.
Among other relatively active under-50's who have full status on Tour for 2013/2014, Davis Love has played 678 events, Maggert 594, Toms 551 and Austin 511, though Billy Mayfair (who played this year under Past Champion status) has 744 appearances.

5).The Deutsche Bank will start on Friday with the final round scheduled for Monday, Sept 2nd ("Labor Day" in the U.S.A.) and the field of 100 will be further reduced to 70 for the BMW Championship in Chicago in a fortnight. Among those fighting to stay "alive" are Europeans:
Jacobson: 61st
Laird: 63rd
Lingmerth: 64th
Poulter: 77th
Davis: 80th
Kaymer 90th.
Others in jeopardy include Tim Clark, KJ Choi and Marc Leishman, all striving for a Presidents Cup place; plus Els, Van Pelt and Villegas.
Luke Donald is not far from safety and I was surprised to read he's engaged Chuck Cook as swing coach, retaining Pat Goss for his short game. Apparently he sounded out Sean Foley for help first.

6).Nick Price's International Presidents Cup Team will find odds against them winning against the U.S., and Fred Couples has a very strong team. Certainties for selection are: Woods, Snedeker, Mickelson, Kuchar, Bradley, Haas, Dufner, Mahan, with Simpson in 9th currently, and Zach Johnson in 10th. That leaves Stricker, D.Johnson, Furyk, Watson and Horschel missing out unless they have a big week outside Boston.
Doubtless Freddie will feel that it's time for some changing of the US guard and I'd guess Horschel and Jordan Spieth will receive his Captain's picks when teams are announced next week.

7).As far as I can ascertain, only eight golfers have the chance to advance to the BMW Championship for the seventh time: Mickelson, Snedeker, Stricker, Mahan, Furyk, Watson, Els and (did you guess?) Charlie Hoffman.

8).Meanwhile, 129 golfers are dreaming of a PGA Tour card for 2013/2014 and compete this week in Indiana for Week One of a four-week mini-season known as the web.com Tour Finals.
The top 25 money winners (at least, of those who haven't already earned their "Card" via the web.com money list) from this series will earn cards, and include some good names like Chad Campbell, Sean O'Hair, Trevor Immelman, Robbie Karlsson and Bud Cauley.
Excuse me for raving for god knows how long about Russell Knox's credentials, but this represents a great chance for the man from Inverness to return to the "show". Of those European Tour members with the option of playing for his card, only Marcel Siem is in the field, with Ross Fisher apparently having decided to defer his PGA Tour ambitions.

9).And just to reinforce that the new season is almost upon us, "Pre-Qualifying Stage" begins today at two sites for Q-School, all hoping to earn a place on the . . . . . . . web.com Tour.

10).August 28th is the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington and MLK's "I have a dream" speech. Wonder if the Jarrow March is commemorated with as much reverence. It bloody well should be.
But one of Newcastle's favourite sons has died, Dave Thomas, fittingly perhaps on the day before the European Tour's 2014 Ryder Cup qualifying season begins. Four-time Team member, co-designer of the Belfry's Brabazon Course, twice Open Championship runner-up and European Tour lifetime member.
By my count we've lost George Will (no, American readers, not that one), Bernard Hunt and now Dave Thomas, of whom Peter Alliss remembered:
"He was good company and over-indulged, certainly on good food and good wine. How he lived to be 79 is a miracle of the human spirit."
Hell of an epitaph, that!

62 for Spieth.

Sergio -9 on the par fives before today, +2 so far today. That'll be the difference between a win and an also ran I'd imagine.

With contenders hitting the buffers or in reverse, a great chance for Stenson and a real chance for a podium finish for Poulter, which would likely give him a ticket to East Lake for the first time.

Play suspended.
Perhaps we'll get live golf after all.
Bad timing for Stenson, though.

Range open; action promised for 4.00 p.m.
Phil will be halfway to San Diego by then.

Stenson looking very good now - and that'll be a bucketload of Ryder Cup World points for him too.

Sergio has some serious concentration issues.

Sergio distributing a lot of cash to his closest competitors today. Now that all is lost, perhaps he can recoup some of that - very close to slipping out of the Top Ten now.

Won't bother Henrik though.

Sergio's concentration? Don't tell Furyk that after he came back to dust him last year at Medinah.

Poulter undoes a fine week of work - he'll be steaming. Costs him approx 30 FedEx positions, going for the gold, comes up with the coal.

Living in the past may be the only way to celebrate the mental midget that is now Sergio.

Oh well, the Ryder Cup celebrates eighty plus years of the best of sporting competition; the Deutsche Bank celebrates a bunch of financial ne'er do wells.

But the Europeans have got to start winning PGA Tournaments, no doubt about it.

Safe to say that Stenson leads the World Points part of Ryder Cup qualifying, but good points will have been accrued by Garcia as well, Poulter not quite what he would have hoped for when his second shot in to #18 was in the air - 1 degree to the left and he'd've had a realistic eagle putt - as it was: double bogey. Too bad.

Fine event for Brian Davis and a realistic chance for both Davis and Poults to make it to East Lake. Hopefully Sergio will see them there, probably needs a Top 30 in Chicago.

President Cup Teams finalised:
US: Woods, Mickelson, Snedeker, Kuchar, Dufner, Haas, Mahan, Stricker, Bradley, ZJohnson
Captain's picks: Best guess: Webb Simpson and Spieth.

Internationals: Els, Schwartzel, Oosthuizen, Grace, Sterne, Cabrera, Matsuyama, DeLaet, Scott, Day
Captain's picks: Best guess: de Jonge (Zimbabwe favouritsm), Leishman, but that would be politically unfortunate with the Pres Cup in S.Korea in 2015, and only one Asian player, with Thongchai missing out narrowly every year it seems. But perhaps Clark might get in for experience's sake?

Not much experience in the International Team, and almost all of it bad.

Anyone else think the TPC Boston was too easy for these guys in what is supposed to be a biggish tournament? Even T53 was at -6...

The Stenson train keeps on running, amazing turn around in form. It's a pity for him the train isn't stopping at major stations soon!

In points accrued this year, he's third to Mickelson and Nine Chins. Not bad at all.
Means you can drop like a stone the following year though if you don't maintain it, as happened to Donald, and hopefully to Baldy Nine Chins next year.

nbs,
Not sure why they use TPC Boston - it always had the reputation as a bombers' course and when it plays as soft as it did this week there's no defence at all.

There are some great courses in the Boston area and TPC Boston ain't one of 'em.

Agree gw, Will Stenson kick on from this success or will he disappear again?
Unlucky for Poulter, hit a gorgeous looking shot into #18, a couple of yards to the left and he'd've had an eagle chance, but he came up with a rotten position in the sand and butchered his next three shots. Difference between birdie and double-bogey about $300K and a ton of the owgr points he craves. At least he went for the gold though.

super_realist wrote:In points accrued this year, he's third to Mickelson and Nine Chins. Not bad at all.
Means you can drop like a stone the following year though if you don't maintain it, as happened to Donald, and hopefully to Baldy Nine Chins next year.

if that happens to baldy 9 chins next year then i will eat your kilt, the man has too much class to be anywhere but #1.

Except when TW was spending the early months of the season in Mississippi of course.

Incontinentia - Agree with that. Don't expect TW to fall like former (and almost certainly never again) World #1 Lukey. Won't happen.

It will happen one day Shotrock. Probably sooner rather than later given his hypochondriac tendencies and laughably quick swing.

TW and LD have both fallen once; good that TW rebounded, hopefully Lukey will enjoy another day in the sun.

Don't understand why Tiger fans don't feel he's got another fall from grace (or Lindsey for that matter) in him - I'd imagine the odds are on another A-Roid-like tumble before he's done.

When any player rapidly gains a lot of points there is always the chance they will drop like a stone as they have to keep it up the next year.

On the other hand, if you consistently gain the points as you lose them like Poulter and Stricker you tend to hover around the same mark for a long time.

Could go both ways for Baldy. Could stretch his lead even further if he wins a major (although you'd have more chance of crapping in the queens handbag than that right now) or his ranking could drop like a stone if he doesn't win at the same rate as 2013.

2014 could be an interesting year, and very much a make or break one for Baldy.

Super - It absolutely will happen one day - Father Time will see to that. But TW to have a year next year like Lukey this year? Highly unlikely.

How so? Luke was playing incredibly consistently, then fell away end of last year and this.
Woods is a better player, but will the pressure of not winning majors become an albatross round his neck? Maybe. Maybe not.
Remember Baldy Nine Chins went a few years without a single win. A wee injury to his glass body and who knows. Could easily happen again. Nobody knows.

Another tournament is eliminated from the 2013/2014 PGA Tour season as the Sanderson Farms event moves from July (opposite The Open) to October (opposite the WGC HSBC-Champions) and the 2014/2015 season.

If The Tour loses Tampa, that will be two fewer events for the Tour's rank and file next season. Remember, "Disney" is already a goner.

kwinigolfer wrote:Another tournament is eliminated from the 2013/2014 PGA Tour season as the Sanderson Farms event moves from July (opposite The Open) to October (opposite the WGC HSBC-Champions) and the 2014/2015 season.

If The Tour loses Tampa, that will be two fewer events for the Tour's rank and file next season. Remember, "Disney" is already a goner.

I've have heard of Faxon and Andrade wanting to elevate the CVS Caremark Charity Classic to the next level. Could moving in as a replacement for the Sanderson Farms might make sense? It's played in June now, the Monday after the Travelers. (I have NO clue if any such talks are ongoing... just trying to put 2 and 2 together). And it might make sense... double the purse but maybe 10x the exposure to the sponsor?

But if you've ever been to the deep south in July... I would think the players would MUCH rather play in Rhode Island that time of year. Plus expect a likely "upgrade" to the World Challenge for the 2014/2015 season.

Interesting robo,
No, July in Mississippi was always ridiculous, appeared Finchem was trying to dump the event, so restored to rainy autumn; wasn't it the last event abandoned without a ball being bowled?

Good for Fax and Billy if they can make something work.

I've read some speculation about the "World Challenge". Have to say I find Tiger's manipulation of Tour events the most heartily sickening of his era.
Hardly likely that we'll have a full field event, so just one more ego trip - if he really wanted to benefit children in California he'd move back and pay State taxes to benefit education for all, not selected tiger cubs. Sick bag full.

Kwini, re. TW and WC: I beleive it's called indulgence.

Whatever it is, in Tiger's words "it sucks".


BUT: Here's some entertaining snippets from Doug Ferguson, who for authoritative, common sense golf reporting seems to be the patron saint of the 606v2 Golf Board:

http://www.golfchannel.com/news/doug-ferguson/amateur-mistakenly-swipes-pros-clubs/

Especially interesting about the Crans event.

If i picked up Chris Kirks bag it would mean nothing to me either..though he does not seem to come out sounding like a lovely bloke.