PGA Tour: Luke's Kind of Town, Chicago is: Notes from the Ballwasher

1).Maybe this is a portent of things to come for the newly-minted US Amateur Champion, Matt Fitzpatrick.
The baby-faced assassin (sorry Ole Gunnar) is off to Northwestern University in the Chicago suburbs, following in the footsteps of young Luke Donald fifteen or so years ago. And now Luke is a star, making his home for much of the year in Chicago and a member at Conway Farms, a Tom Fazio design which this week hosts its first PGA Tour event, the "BMW Championship".
Who should be the prime mover in getting the PGA Tour to look at Conway Farms as a possible venue? None other than Luke Donald, but his return this week comes at a bad time with Lukey out of form and between swing coaches.

2).Nevertheless, if Matt Fitzpatrick can enjoy half the success that Luke has earned, he'll be an influential force in pro golf for decades to come.

3).The US Team gave GB&I an old-fashioned shellacking in last weekend's Walker Cup at magnificent National Golf Links. But there's reason for Team GB&I to be optimistic in the future given the comparitive youth of their team, with 2 x 18-y-o's, 2 x 19-y-o's and 3 x 20-y-o's, younger than most of their opponents and, for many of them, two years to hone their game at the Amateur level before returning to Walker Cup combat at Royal Lytham. (Thank goodness Jordan Spieth didn't come back for a second Walker Cup as he turned 20!)

4).The Walker Cup goes to the revered Los Angeles CC in 2017 and thence to Royal Liverpool. Pity there's not more geographical diversity from the R&A - it hasn't staged a Walker Cup on a South of England links since 1967.

5).Last week also saw Round 2 of the web.com Tour Finals, in North Carolina. Two more rounds to go and this week's fun is in Columbus, Ohio. (A share of the course record is held by Trevor Murphy who also shot a 56 in a Nationwide Pro-am a few years ago but sadly won't be eligible this week.)
If we accept the Golf Channel's estimate that it will be necessary to accumulate at least $40K in prizemoney over the four events, we can suggest that Will MacKenzie (thrilled to see the Legend back on Tour), John Peterson (sure to win on Tour, even more sure to ruffle thousands of feathers), Cauley and Ishikawa will join Immelman, Cantlay and Scott Gardiner on Tour in 2013/2014.

6).Greg Owen and Russell Knox have made a decent start to these Finals but have hard yakka ahead. Norlander's off to a slow start, Karlsson is struggling, while Cejka and Johnson (who both have tenuous status) and Marcel Siem have so far missed both cuts. Other well known names on pace to qualify include Matteson, Ricky Barnes, S-Y Noh, Vaughn Taylor, Slocum and O'Hair.

7).There has justifiably been criticism on this Board of the level of movement into and out of the higher owgr placings.
To underline that fact, only Watney (now 31st), Hanson (35th), Van Pelt (39th), Kaymer (40th), Molinari (45th) and Paul Lawrie (66th) have fallen out of the Top 30 this year, despite dismal runs of form by many others.
Of those who have replaced them, Bill Haas was already 34th, Jason Day 37th and Matteo 44th. Only Stenson, who has jumped from 60th to 6th, Matsuyama (130th to 28th) and Spieth (about 800th to 29th) have crashed the party from outside the Top 50.
Not surprising Paul Casey stressed last week in Switzerland that the first objective in his comeback was a return to the Top 50. But he'll have to play a lot better than last weekend's dismal show.

8).What do we know of Conway Farms? The Tom Fazio design opened in 1991 and entertained the top Collegiates in 1997, the USGA's Junior Amateur the following year and the Western Amateur four years ago.
But the pros have never played tournament golf there and, according to pgatour.com, the only competitors this week who have played it in any sort of competition are Dufner, Zach Johnson, Kuchar, Sabbatini, Snedeker, Castro, Kirk, Simpson, Fowler, Reed, Points, Summerhays and English. Not much help in looking for "horses for courses" then, and Luke Donald's lousy run of form doesn't bode well for him this week either.

9).Chicago has a real heater (93F degrees as I write on Tuesday) going this week, but that will blow through over the next 36 hours and temps will drop from the high 70's on Thursday into the 60's for Rounds 2 & 3; a little bit warmer on Sunday. As you'd expect with such temperature swings there are moderate-to-strong winds forecast for Thursday and Friday - a good job as it's a short (by today's standards) course at 7,100+ yards and prevailing winds are reported to be its primary defence. Translation: expect low scores.

10).No idea who will contend this week but of one thing you can be sure - there'll be some tired golfers turning up to next year's BMW Championship, at Cherry Hills in Denver. Apart from the fact that, for most of the field, this will be at least their 6th event in eight weeks (Open, Bridgestone, PGA, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, BMW), they'll only complete their Deutsche Bank entertainment on Monday, Sept 1st, fly two time zones west, and resume their action on Thursday, Sept 4th, at altitude. Flight delays will not be welcome.
That schedule wouldn't phase most of us working stiffs who are used to frequent flying travel, but it's a lot to ask of our precious PGA Tour pros, and one would expect something to give, especially for those also committed to "Canada" (the RBC Ambassadors for instance) and/or Greensboro. It won't just be Steve Stricker opting out of a Play-Off event or two next year . . . . .

Thx Kwine, nice piece! I'd go with steady eddies this week: stenson, kooch, spieth or maybe ch3. Doesn't sound like a very thrilling golf course/ not a course you would expect to belong to a certain Mr Donald (he always seems a guy suited for the harshest of courses with his crisp iron play).

Cheers kwini.

Yeah the owgr top 50 is like the IOC - once you're in it's hard to get out.

Although not PgaT players Bjorn and MAJ have re-entered the top50 again.

Ps sticky would be welcome

Thanks chaps!
Another Tour finale this week is the "Tour Championship of Canada", with various exemptions up for grabs.

Europeans competing include:
David Skinns
Alan McLean
Kevin McAlpine
Fergal Rafferty
Matt Richardson (ex Walker Cupper)
Ben Briscoe
Roger Furrer

For all the hoo hah about the PGA Tour's acquisition of the Canadian Tour, the rewards are pretty slim pickings. Bottom line is that only a few guys will benefit and, who knows, they could advance via Q-School anyway.

David Skinns has blown up twice in the final round in Canada this year when holding healthy 54-hole wins, if he'd held on to one he would probably have sewn up a web.com place for next year by now. Strongly suspect he's good enough to at least be competitive at that level, but seems to be a constant nearly-man when it comes to actually getting on tour in the first place.

Another scorcher in Chicago today and then some cooling down overnight and tomorrow morning. Temps down to the 60's by Friday but difficult to believe there won't be some storms interfering with the Conway Farms action during Round 1.

The last of the pre-qualies for web.com Q-School concludes this week (Tony Jacklin's son among those dreamers), then Stage 1 begins in four weeks' time.
Haven't hear any rumours of likely participants yet, especially from Europe. One European who entered Q-School last year and who seems to be improving rapidly is Frenchman Dubuisson - but why would he be interested in the web.com action given his European Tour trajectory?

Nice write up Kwini, thanks.

Hoping Luke can put some of that local knowledge to good use and have a good week. Was reading about him changing coaches, he went to Foley who essentially told him he didn't have enough time to squeeze him in!

Luke would certainly be high on my list of golfers to have a with.

Agree about Luke shclaff,
Imagine Steve Stricker might also be an interesting golfer to chat with and there are second-hand reports on Golf Channel that he's confirmed he'll play in next week's Tour Championship. The lure of lucre gets even the most enthusiastic hunter down from his deer-stand.

Edit: It seems Stricker was keen to make this year's President's Cup Team. Is it presumptuous to suggest that he won't be as keen to take the flight to Gleneagles? I'd bet he'll be hunting those elk in Colorado.

Sad news from Columbus, Ohio, as Arron Oberholser withdraws from Round 3 of the web.com Tour Finals due to continued problems with his injured hand.

Apparently this might be career over for Oberholser who ran in to health problems just as he was promising to break through to become an elite player. He had matured from the cocky brat who received dressings down from fellow touring pros to a top class player who won Pebble Beach in fine style and prospered in the first year of FedEx Play Offs, then ran in to injury problems.

Most likely he'll next be seen in the broadcasting booth but a salutary reminder to all the uber-confident young bucks on Tour just how ephemeral sports careers can be. Let's hope he repaired bridges burned so that he can be as successful on the way down as he was on the way up.

kwinigolfer wrote:Sad news from Columbus, Ohio, as Arron Oberholser withdraws from Round 3 of the web.com Tour Finals due to continued problems with his injured hand....

What's the problem with his hand Kwini?

nbs,
I've seen all sorts of descriptions of his various maladies but difficult to be sure I can translate in to a coherent explanation.He has suffered wrist and hand problems for more than five years though, and the Tour recently approved a supportive glove that he's been using.
This is the news release that was published late yesterday - doesn't sound too promising:

http://www.pgatour.com/webcom/news/2013/09/11/oberholser-wds.html

Kwini - speaking of young bucks, what's your view of Spieth? Is he a flash in the pan or here to stay?

He seems like he's got his head screwed on Fred has obviously shown faith in him.

PGA website chock-full of opinions that Justin Rose will win this weekend. And why not?

Hi shclaff,
Jordan Spieth?
Certainly seems to be the real thing; having said that, two years ago Bud Cauley was American Golf's flavour of the year and he's fighting for his Tour life just now in the web.com Tour Finals.
Spieth doesn't really seem to have any weakness, a super "ball striker", perhaps not used to Tour-speed greens yet.
I'd say he's the real thing until he proves himself otherwise.
Would also say that Russell Henley and Harris English (all those double-surnames!) have had very impressive years.

Another terrible start for Westwood, not much better from Rory but at least he's got his obligatory double-bogey out of the way early.

You beat me to it kwini. How does he keep hitting doubles. I haven't looked but guess he is the only with a double on that hole.

Looks like McIlroy and Westwood have given up. Perfect argument against no-cut tournaments; scarcely any incentive for them to try for their next 54+ holes; they'll get their $15K+ for completing 72 holes, plus their $130K-odd FedEx bonus money and call Darren Clarke about their money-for-nothing experience. 'Course, Darren's joining them on the PGA Tour for the 2013/2014 season.

Meanwhile, there are reports that Vijay Singh will pay for his latest deer spray prescription by teeing it up at a Champions Tour jolly in Hawaii next week.

Kwin - Are you sure they have given up? I see Rory coming back lots in later days. Just going through a rough patch IMO. Beauty of this set up is that every player knows precisely what they need to do to move on. Long shots for some of them ... but certainly no surprise.

Westwood currently +9 and Coco +6

I wonder if Westwood has learned anything from his recent twittergate experience - because the trolls will be gunning for him tonight

He will be wanting to respond .. his sponsors will be hoping he doesn't

Rory and Lee are -8 strokes gained on the greens so far - that's Shevchenko-style, not top pros. It would be nice to think they're just having a bad day, but there's little or no incentive for them to grind out a score, both having got off to rotten starts. Futility!

You're right Davie, Lee can get into the drinkies but hope someone puts a lid on his Twitter account.

Kwini - I hope Lee puts a lid on his twitter account, not someone else.

I'd rather see him curb things rather than someone else - everyone should take responsibility for their own actions, not be baby sat by some PR guru

Heard them say on sky that Rory is 150th for putting in the first round and number 1 in the second..he is young and has enough credit in the bank and with the press so can write this off after this weekend it seems. Why is fat Darren bothering to go over now? They say he has exemption based on his open win. Does that last to 2016 whatever he does, or if he has a stinker first year is that it all over?

ben,
DC's exemption will last thru 2016.
But, it won't get him into WGC's, and he'll have to play better than he has for 25 months to prosper in the FedEx fun.

Who knows, it could be a Greg Norman-type affliction, but Westwood looks terrible.
If he feels half as bad as he looks, he would have been better off staying in bed.

Wonderful start for Tiger! ... Justin finishes very poorly, which is surprising.

Lots of time to go yet.

Rory Tripleroy. We didn't jinx him?

Westwood apparently has a back problem, expect him to withdraw if he hasn't already.

Still no word on Westwood. If he feels this morning like he looked last night, he'll be outathere.


Not a good first round for any of the Europeans hoping to play their way on to the PGA Tour via the web.com Tour Finals. But all are currently inside the projected cut-line, and earning ANYTHING is vital at this stage. Marcel Siem best placed in this event in 15th place, but he needs three more good rounds this weekend.

Nice start from Mr. O'Hair who is (has been) at a crossroads for a few years now. I know he's looking forward to 2014, and here's hoping he can finish strong this weekend.

Yup, O'Hair is well placed.
But he's got to seize his chance now, can qualify for his card with a Top 8 finish this week. Otherwise he'll be throwing the dice next week or have the web.com Tour to be "looking forward to" next year.

Cut-throat stuff!

Indeed Kwin ... Young kids, a very involved parent who truly enjoys family time, and with plenty of resources already banked ... going the "next level" requires a commitment not all willing to make. Easy to forget that sometimes.

True enough Sr, and it's a fine line to walk taking, say, the Brian Davis route, banking a cool mil+ every year, only occasionally troubling the leaderboard, takes holidays every time there's a major, etc, etc.

But one niggling injury or swing change (or both) and it's a strong tide to swim against to stop from drowning. Plenty of very good players in that dilemma right now, many lined up behind Sean in Columbus!

Noi-one setting 'em alight so far, Team Europe treading water in the web.commer.

And no word yet on Westwood.

Westwood has tweeted once this morning - just commenting on the fact Autumn has arrived .. but nothing about yesterday. To me that means he is still going to play

Westwood had back troubles at the Barclays. Looked like it was preventing a full release and he was leaving a lot of shots right; he was stretching and wincing on most tee boxes. Whilst Dufner was waiting on a ruling by the 18th green he was stretching throughout that time, I told him just one more putt and he could enjoy a rubdown with the sporting life.

I miss my mornings with the Sporting Life.

Hope the Conway Farms course firms up in the northerly wind and cool sunshine - looked like target golf yesterday with good, but not fast, greens. Not good enough for a top tournament.
Looks like Westy's a go, but can't think the cool morning will do much to heal his back.

Rory has clearly given up on his year. He will knock out these rounds andpick up some cash. And hopefully come good again. And not with a massive lay off like before.

Mid-round update from the web.com Tour Finals:
And it's not good news from the Europeans;
Knox and Norlander will surely miss the cut which gives them both a mountain to climb in the finale in two weeks' time.
Greg Owen makes the cut and his even par round gains some ground. Still needs a good weekend to bolster his chances of being in a comfortable position for the Tour Final.

Cejka, Johnson, Karlsson and Siem just starting their Round 2.

Furyk clearly not happy that Couples left him off the Presidents Cup Team: -7 after 8 holes.
Fowler -7 after 14.

Europe having a poor day, except for Sergio who's risen to 3rd place after an eagle and three birds. Davis the only other making a forward move.
McIlroy's in reverse and his consecutive wins last year in the Play-Offs seem a distant dream. Wouldn't it be nice if he took his act to Italy next week?

Tigers putting really sucks these first 2 days sofar

59-watch with Furyk.
Ten under par after 12 holes . . . . . . . .

Westwood making a run - up to 67th.

Alci,
Woods has only hit 5 out of 11 greens - it's not just his putter that stinks.

At this rate, Garcia, Rose and Stenson will be Europe's only interest in the Tour Championship.

Make that -11 after 13 holes for Jim Furyk.

This could be one of the great rounds ever.

kwinigolfer wrote:Alci,
Woods has only hit 5 out of 11 greens - it's not just his putter that stinks.

True that, but without the 6 or so missed putts shorter then 5 feet he would have a nice score

Will Furyk do it or not? Place your bets

Even money, but would have said odds on fifteen minutes ago!

Alci,
Woods still holes his share of snakes; Stenson apparently missed seven putts inside ten feet yesterday, but there's not the same angst about the tiddlers he misses.

Meanwhile, there's a ray of hope for Knox and Norlander in Columbus as the cut-line creeps ever upwards.

Odds just shortened! Not a gimme though.

Wow.

Very very cool.
Like watching a no-hitter . . . . .

Jim's kind of town... Would have been funnier with a 58 though...

Woods's double bogey on his first hole seems to have turned in to an eight - anyone know what happened?