PGA Tour: Memphis Slim: Notes from the Ballwasher

First topic message reminder :

Just a few notes as the Ballwasher will be on the road for eight days, but here's a thread to start off next week's tournament:
 
1).Early days obviously, but what a start for Paul Casey at The Memorial.
Casey needs something like a 4th place finish to earn full Tour privileges for the 2014/2015 season. But a win or (depending upon other results) a solo 2nd would earn him a tee-time at Pinehurst. Otherwise, he'll be playing next Monday's Sectional Qualifier.
 
2).The final event before a Major is notoriously difficult to evaluate - do you expect a golfer who's hoping to be competitive at the following week's Major to take the spoils (as Mickelson has done a few times and Tiger once or twice)? Or do you invest in a guy for whom the win is victory enough, anything the following week a bonus?? Which, to be fair, the Memphis winners have been recently.
 
3).There have been a couple of English winners in the past four years, Westwood and Harris, and no reason not to expect an overseas win again. The European commitments include McDowell, Poulter and Westwood, plus other ET regulars like Casey, Clarke, Dubuisson, Gonzo, Harrington and Olesen.
Davis and Freddie Jac have good records here, and might be worth a flutter, but my each way investment this week would be on an American, Kevin Kisner, a Carolina boy who played junior golf with Dustin Johnson and has yo-yoed (West Brommed?) betwen the web.com and the "show" for years now. But it looks like he'll stick on the PGA Tour and will earn a top finish soon. This week hopefully. (John Peterson will get his sh1t together one day soon, probably at a tournament like this - always keep an eye on him!)
 
4).Messrs McDowell, Reed and Simpson are returning from nocturnal nappy niceties; Reed should arguably have won here last year, but stumbled thru the final nine holes. Imagine he'll be playing a lot now as Top Five has resembled Bottom Five the past few months and he won't be proud of that. No idea about Simpson, but his golf has been no better than so-so since his Las Vegas win six months ago. Both, and McDowell for that matter, need a good finish to kick-start their Ryder Cup qualification efforts.
 
5).No idea how Memorial will turn out as I write this, but it looks like Dufner, Phil, Chris Kirk, Todd and Ryan Moore could all earn big Ryder Cup points this week - and that could push guys like Zach, English, Reed, Simpson, Bradley, Snedeker, Mahan and others further and further back in the qualifying pecking order. More grey hairs for Tom Watson. Hopefully!
 
There will likely be a boatload of abdications from this Friday's commitments, so bettor beware: today's commitment may well be tomorrow's withdrawal. More notes to follow during the next few days. Maybe!
 
6).#6 came sooner than expected. Hadn't seen these WTF changes until just now.
It might seem arcane in the extreme, but it's a very big deal for those affected:
 
http://www.golfchannel.com/news/golf-central-blog/major-webcom-tour-finals-changes-midway-through-season/
 
Daft changing rules halfway through a season, but it corrects a boneheaded flaw in the original process, and which we ridiculed at the time last September.

And now he's in the winners enclosure.

Another tournament win (for Crane) by the God guy.
"I did a lot of praying, lot of thanking God for some fun days."

Have to say god is the last thing I think about after fun days.
Crane might at least have acknowledged the St.Jude patient waiting (sorry) patiently beside the 18th green as no doubt so assigned in expectations of greeting the winner. Nice touches from Padraig, Phil and Jason Bohn, and no doubt several others. Pity Crane didn't get the St.Jude's message.

kwinigolfer wrote:'A mess in the Curtis Cup, no doubt; but those names aren't unusual GPB, though Bronte is an exception. Makes me think I should have called my son Heller.

Didn't realise your last name was Highwater, Kwini....

Didn't you know Major ---- de Coverley's blank was instead of kwini?

Ryder Cup standings in advance of US Open (with BIG points!):

US:
Bubba, Jimmy Walker, Kuchar, Spieth, Dustin, Furyk, Dufner, Reed, Mickelson (followed by Kirk, Zach, English).
Significant others are placed: Simpson (13th), Bradley (21st), Haas (27th), Mahan (29th), Snedeker (38th), Stricker (42nd), Woods (65th).

Europe:
Dubuisson, Bjorn, Donaldson, Stenson, McIlroy, Garcia, Donald, Rose, Kaymer (with Poulter a point+ adrift and Miguel three pts back, Gallacher six pts further down).
Significant others:
Luiten (13th), Molinari (14th), Westwood (15th), McDowell (18th), Blixt (19th).

Europe looks a far tastier team than the 'septics.

Majors per current teams

USA: 9 majors (between 4 players)

Europe: 4 (3)

A bit too many seat fillers on both teams imo.

McLaren wrote:Majors per current teams

USA: 9 majors (between 4 players)

Europe: 4 (3)

MAc, you might as well quote which players like Cheese Sandwiches, it bears as much relevance as who has won majors

Does the Ulcered Spincter of Arse-erica team still have 4 captains picks?

Three Captain's Picks per team.
 
Mac,
Would have thought winning Ryder Cups was more relevant than winning Majors and (mostly) losing Ryder Cups . . . . . .
The top 12 Americans have precisely four RC wins between them, about 20 defeats.
Europe would have about seven defeats and about 25 wins.

Mac - Good point; clearly the top medal golf (overwhelming majority of professional golf) is played by the American team. But the Country v Continent exhibition event known as the Ryder Cup a different story! (Although "team" USA won the "team" portion of the event last time they played - they fell apart in singles as we all saw.)

This year? Anyone's guess!

Ryder Cup is an "exhibition event" now?   

Davie wrote:Ryder Cup is an "exhibition event" now?   

If you lose all the time, yes

It's always been an exhibition event.... just a very important one.

Good point shotrock about USA winning the "team" part last time... never thought about it like that!

It's always been an exhibition event, as Ray points out.

Just perhaps the most watched one in the World!

(And made far better when GBI included the rest of Europe.)

Just curious about your definition of an exhibition event then - sounds rather belittling to me. Is the US Open also an exhibition event by your definition?

Davie - The winner of the US Open, like the British Open, gets a big fat check for winning those medal events. No prize money (direct at least) to the winners of the Ryder Cup.

Perhaps more coveted pride at stake, however.

Ah right, so every top Amateur event in the world is just an "exhibition".
Amateurs in Majors are just "an exhibition" too I suppose.

Cheque please, not check

Sr,
Does that diminish the achievements of all your historical Olympic Champions of years gone by, just because they adhered to an amateur ethos, rather than played for pay?
Try telling that to Jim Thorpe or Jesse Owens, Rafer Johnson or Cassius Clay. Exhibitionists all!

"Check" in these parts Super!

Kwin - Of course the event is not diminished.

"Important" and "exhibition" are not mutually exclusive terms - why would you think otherwise?

Simply because use of the word "exhibition" whether uttered by Woods or McIlroy, Duval or Shtrock, appears intended to disparage.

Don't think Lehman thought the RC was an exhibition when he forgot his scriptures and trampled all over Jose Maria's putting line.

Regardless, it's important to (most of) us!

Confirmation that Na & Wiesberger have been added to this week's Pinehurst field, plus Qualifying "Alternates" Tour veteran Craig Barlow (who played his first US Open at Oakmont in 1994) and two amateurs (exhibitionists?) McIvor and Cameron Wilson.
Not sure who the next alternate is, or if there is uncertainty among others already in the field. Tho' Kevin Kisner's wife is due to give birth any hour.

The Ryder cup is a donkey sanctuary.

I believe Cameron Tringale was pretty high on the alternate list.

McLaren wrote:The Ryder cup is a donkey sanctuary.

What a strange thing to say Mac.

Amazing how the majority of good Ryder Cup players this era have never won a major....

Craig Barlow? Thought he was the lead in Take That.

Would be interesting to see the RC records of Europes Major winners. Seems that Harrington, Rory, Kaymer, Rose have not been fantastic.?

It's going to be scorchio for Pinehurst practice rounds - already (8.00 a.m.) 78F and headed for the mid/high 90's today, not much cooler Wednesday but with the added excitement of thunderstorms.
Temps may ease off from their midweek highs by Thursday, but high 80's and thunderstorms likely.
Imagine weather conditions might be similar to those in Memphis last week with similar chances of interruption to play.
With storms in the forecast for all week, what will the USGA do if the tournament doesn't conclude until Monday - what with the Women's Open due to begin on the same course next Thursday?

kwini

They must already have written Monday off for use by the men's event in case of an 18 hole play off.

Mac,
There is a lot of scepticism as to how this is all going to work out, but this will be great "exposure" for the ladies.
From a competition standpoint, though, there'll be harsh recriminations if the USGA c0ck things up for the Women's Open; already concern that the schedule wasn't for Friday - Monday.

If the USOpen is rain delayed until Monday...and their is a 18 hole playoff on Tuesday....The women are going to go ballistic.

If there is only one group in the play off I guess the women could use the rest of the course and the crowd would get a practice day and a play off for the price of one.

Lots of good value on offer, from Paddy Power for instance:

http://www.paddypower.com/bet/golf/us-open-betting

. . . . especially paying SIX places.