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PGA Tour: The Florida / Mexico / Florida, Florida Swing: Notes from the Ballwasher

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Post by kwinigolfer Wed 22 Feb 2017, 9:29 pm

1).The traditional Florida / Texas countdown to Augusta will take a detour for a few years as the Tour was unable to find the sponsor necessary to share double-billing with Doral's owner and keep it on the Florida Swing schedule. It seems the WGC was, essentially, bought by Mexico. Unintended consequences, and now ironic in the extreme. (Better not go there.)

2).There was some speculation when "WGC-Mexico" was announced that the field for "Honda" would be affected, but it's still pretty strong; certainly the Mexican diversion is not the reason for Rory's absence, but the other five members of the owgr Top Six who have separated themselves from the rest are absentees, and the strength of field is the least strong it's been since Rors won in 2012.
Without Doral, the road to The Masters looks like this:
Honda, Mexico, Valspar/Innisbrook, Bay Hill, WGC-Matchplay, Houston, The Masters.

3).Good news coming from the sponsor this week is the renewal of their contract to play "The Honda Classic" at PGA National thru' 2021, which will be the 40th "renewal" of one of the Tour's longest running sponsorships.
This tournament is far better known as "the Honda" than by any other name, something the sponsor has earned, you'd think, by sticking with its South Florida commitment through thick and a lot of thin.
For me, as a European just starting to double-dip, one of its predecessors, the "Jackie Gleason Inverrary Classic" is the first non-Major US event I can remember sitting down to watch, glued to the screen as Jack Nicklaus rattled off birdies on the five closing holes to squeak by a shell-shocked Grier Jones. The only Tour events Jones won after that were as a caddie for Gibby Gilbert on the Senior Tour.

4).The Honda has been as generous to non-Americans as any event on Tour, with only 3 x US wins (Mark Wilson, Michael Thompson & Russell Henley) in the past twelve runnings. Not surprising Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson are not playing this week.

5).Cunning segue to Dustin who looked a good bet going in to Riviera and certainly proved it by dominating pretty much throughout. And now he's Number One in the world and, seemingly anyway, couldn't care less; probably the best recipe for staying there for a while. He's got to be on any short list for Augusta, will probably disappear for a few weeks, then defends his title at the US Open at Wisconsin's Erin Hills, where no-one in the tournament will have competed as a Pro.
DJ deposed Jason Day who seems to feel much more competitive about earning a quick return to #1: "If I could stay there for ten years I would." Whereas DJ just wants to win and have fun, and not necessarily in that order.

6).I love watching golf at Riviera, definitely on my bucket list to watch a tournament at; and the pros seem to feel the same way despite the drenching the course took and disruption to the schedule.
Royal St.George's got more than it's share of lousy weather for the 2011 Open Championship; I love the Pete Cowen quote from a recent Golf Digest about joining Darren Clarke on the range two days before the start:
PC: "Are you all right, Darren?"
DC: "No, I'm f*cking not. I can't hit the ball. I'm wasting my time. I might as well go home."
PC: "Look, the weather is going to be terrible, and you're the best bad-weather player in the world. Why would you think you've got no chance? Let's have a look at you."
After watching Clarke hit balls briefly, Cowen gave him one thing to think about. Within two hours his demeanour had changed completely.
DC: "Watch me hit this stinger . . . . . . watch me hit this high draw."
Cowen: It was an incredible display of shot-making.
PC: "Are you OK now?"
DC: "Yeah, but I still can't f*cking putt."

7).Darren will be hoping for galeforce winds and teeming rain in 2020 then as RSG gets The Open again.
2017: Birkdale
2018: Carnoustie
2019: Portrush
2020: RSG
2021: St.Andrews presumably.

8).Happy 50th Birthday on Thursday to Steve Stricker, about the most unassuming top golfer we're likely to have watched for the past 25 years.
Stricker will go down among the very few (Verplank, Westwood, one or two others) to have suffered a Duval-like slump in form and return better than ever to tell the tale.
After struggling to earn $1M in 2003 thru 2005 combined, and having lost his Tour card, Stricker was rewarded for his loyalty to the Houston Open with a sponsor's invitation in 2006, finished 3rd, qualified for Winged Foot and followed his 6th place result there with a runner-up at TPC Avenel and went on to bank $30M the next seven seasons. Two seasons as "Comeback Player of the Year" were enough to see the award retired.

9).Let's get back in to the Honda: There's a strong European entry: Pieters, Molinari, Hatton, McDowell, Casey, Fitzpatrick, Willett, Rafa, Kjeldsen, Sergio, Knox, Kaymer . . . . and the returns of Poulter, (and Freddie Jac following his detention for suspicion of terroristic behaviour in Sweden).
Past winner Luke Donald is here, as is Padraig Harrington, twice the Honda Champion - and he's apparently satisfied with the tinkering of his swing, now debating whether or not to tinker with his body and have neck surgery. (Tip: Don't use Woods's surgeon if he applies for the job.)

10).After the classic challenge of Riviera, puligny contrasted the course with the water park golf to follow.
(And the Gil Hanse owner-inspired re-do of Doral, ripping up the Dick Wilson original which was playable whatever the weather, made it almost unplayable in strong winds, and may have been a contributory factor in taking the WGC across the border.) PGA National is the most unforgiving course for a hacker (viz me) that I've played, and I spent the last few holes wishing I was at Typhoon Lagoon or Blizzard Beach instead.
Who knows who'll win, following Adam Scott's battle with Sergio last year. Either could be a good bet, but Russell Knox has the best recent course form of any British golfer and might be worth an each way investment.

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Post by GPB Thu 23 Feb 2017, 12:05 am

As the PGATour enters into the "Spring Swing", lets take a look at players who have (or potentially) earned a coveted Masters invite.

Earned Invites

1. Hudson Swafford (winner of CareerBuilder) followed by Two Missed Cuts at San Diego and Los Angeles. Started year at #222, is currently ranked

2. Jon Rahm (winner at Farmers). Followed by a T16 at Phoenix and T5 at Pebble. Started the year at #137, now ranked 37th.

Should earned a Invite

1. Jeunghun Wang, currently ranked 42nd which should be enough to keep him in the Top 50 at the conclusion of the Matchplay. Won Qatar, followed by two MCs at Dubai and Malaysia.

Players ranked 51-60 that have not qualified yet

1. Tommy Fleetwood, ranked #54. Hasn't done much to help his position after winning at Abu Dhabi. MCs at Qatar, Dubai, T12 at Malaysia

2. Hideto Tanihara, ranked #55. Needs good tournaments at Mexico and Match Play

3. Thongchai Jaidee, Ranked #56. Not in Mexico, should be in Match Play. He tried valiantly to get inside Top 50 at year end, falling just short.

4. K.T. Kim, Not in Mexico, Probably not in MatchPlay. Chances are slim unless he plays an Asian Tour event and wins.

Incidentally, Rory has not yet committed to Mexico, about the only notable player who has not officially committed to Mexico (Michael Hendry from New Zealand has not committed either)

http://www.pgatour.com/tournaments/wgc-mexico-championship/en/news/2016/11/03/committed%20players.html

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Post by kwinigolfer Thu 23 Feb 2017, 1:06 am

Tks GPB,
I know Thongchai is entered for the Indian Open; I imagine that, and points earned via the MatchPlay, is his best chance to squeak in. Whether he cares is another thing entirely.
A bit of an early call on KT Kim for the MatchPlay isn't it? Haven't heard of any w/d's, but Adam Scott's missus is due in a week or two, perhaps there are others who might not make it?

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Post by GPB Thu 23 Feb 2017, 2:15 am

If he doesn't player, 3 more weeks of Attrition for KT Kim will put his avg to 2.12.  I think that will be ranked below #64 between Honda, Mexico, and Valspar.

CH-III, Scott Hend, Perez, Luiten should pass him for sure.  Hend, Luiten, Hend are almost guaranteed OWGR pts in Mexico, and CHIII should also play Mexico.

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Post by I'm never wrong Thu 23 Feb 2017, 12:36 pm

Message for Padraig fans. He is a member of a featured group on the Sky Red Button.

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Post by robopz Thu 23 Feb 2017, 1:22 pm

Kwini... A clarification on Honda's re-committment.  They extended their sponsorship through 2021 last year, this was a venue re-committment to PGA National.  I wasn't aware of any consideration of moving the tournament to another course, despite there being a few other great potential tour quality venues in the area. But the way they're making a big deal about re-upping with PGA National, I suspect something was going on behind the scenes we weren't aware of

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Post by robopz Thu 23 Feb 2017, 2:19 pm

One other "interesting" thing about the Honda this week is the participation of IMG managed players. IMG took over management of this event a few years ago when it bought out the prior management company.  

My concern is I have a real issue with companies who are in both the Player and Event management business because of the potential conflicts of interest of management companies "packaging" their players into specific events they manage.

Going back in history, Deane Beman recognized this conflict and did a good job of cleaning it up and putting an end to it in his tenure, and that was maintained pretty well by Tim Finchem who rooted out most the remaining "professional tournament management" companies from tour events in favor of local operations.   That is until just a few years ago. It started with IMG's relationship with the HSBC and the PGA Tour taking over "functional ownership" of the WGC-HSBC in exchange for a long term management/operation commitment with IMG. Since then the concept has been expanding.  

As I had noted before... virtually ALL the Lagardere managed players "coincidentally" showed up at the Lagardere managed Safeway Open and Career Builder, including Phil who almost never played in the fall until Lagardere took over Safeway.

And this week the same thing seems to be "mostly" true at the Honda.  

My list of IMG represented players is dated back to last year, so I can't claim it as 100% current or accurate. But from my count of that, 27 of the 31 IMG represented and eligible players are in the field and 2 of the 8 total SE's went to IMG represented players (Hagy & Villegas). The notable IMG non-participants this week are Stenson, Streelman, Matsuyama, & Roberto Castro.  Stenson and Matsuyama are in Mexico, and Streelman is coming off of playing 5 straight weeks. Not sure the deal with Castro.

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Post by kwinigolfer Thu 23 Feb 2017, 2:55 pm

IMG, etc:
Twas ever thus robo, often to the benefit of American IMG-managed golfers getting into lucrative ET events. Don't really feel as if there's much difference between the current situation and the prevalence of "brand ambassadors", RBC, Zurich etc.
Good that Camilo got an SE, past winner, UF, good season going, favourite son really. No quibbles there.

Looks like PGA Nat got a right soaking yesterday, so scores not as bad as they might have been; should be breezy enough to keep things interesting all the way through the weekend. Matt Every making a Daly-like mess again; they should have the starter breathalyze that boy.

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Post by GPB Thu 23 Feb 2017, 4:12 pm

Robo: Roberto Castro is in the WGC-Mexico field.

Was in the Tour Championship last season.

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Post by robopz Thu 23 Feb 2017, 4:22 pm

Kwini... I've made the same case against the brand ambassadors as well.  I have no issue with a sponsor signing A player and expecting he will play in their titled tournament.  But when it gets to companies signing "full stables" of players (Zurich, MasterCard, RBC, etc...) it's an issue of equity and fairness across all tournaments IMO.

PS... And it's exactly how appearance fees and bundling has been IMO abused in the past, and the inequities they've created on the ET is why I don't want it to get any more of a foothold over here.

And thanks GPB... I missed that on Castro..

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Post by kwinigolfer Thu 23 Feb 2017, 4:40 pm

First groups out still not finished their rounds, after 4 hours, 50 minutes.
Pace of play concerns on the Tour's back burner.
Applaud the R&A for introducing "ready golf" at the British Amateur, though would imagine that could cause more problems than it resolves (especially if Tiger was in the same group as Sergio). Perhaps the wrong solution to the right question?

PS: It looks as if Every might break 90 after all . . . . .

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Post by GPB Thu 23 Feb 2017, 5:06 pm

Ready Golf in British Amateur?

In Match Play? Shocked

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Post by super_realist Thu 23 Feb 2017, 5:29 pm

GPB wrote:Ready Golf in British Amateur?

In Match Play?  Shocked

There's a strokeplay element to the British Amateur GPB. Matchplay comes later, but even then, what's wrong with ready golf in any format?

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Post by robopz Thu 23 Feb 2017, 5:41 pm

IMO all this talk about slow play is doing little more than making something that's been the case for at least 30 years, probably more line 60+ years, into a "new" problem. IMO any increase in time needed to play at the pro level today (if there really is any) probably has less to do with the players and a lot more to do with longer far more difficult courses (especially tougher green complexes), with more hazards & penalty shots, and complicated rules with so many nuances, players are afraid to act on their own without official rulings

``When I teed it up here Thursday, I was 48 years old,`` Trevino was saying Sunday evening. ``I`m pretty sure I must be 50 by now.``
... Said Lee Trevino in 1988... http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1988-06-20/sports/8801090162_1_yardage-books-golf-senior-pga-tour.

Bottom line, unless you dramatically simplify things, and or cut field sizes significantly, you're just not gonna get fields of 144-156 on split tees and two waves around significantly faster. Otherwise anything they implement is gonna gain em what... 5-10 minutes or something? So what?

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Post by kwinigolfer Thu 23 Feb 2017, 5:47 pm

robo,
Sure it's been going on a long time, but if they can skate round in 4 1/4 hrs at Harbour Town or Hartford, why can't they at other courses? If the prevalence of water hazards everywhere is the impediment, that's fine, just play tournaments somewhere else.

I couldn't give a monkey's how long it takes the Pros to play per se, except that it's grossly unfair to those who play at a reasonable pace, (Dottie Pepper actually reported on Wes Bryan's frustration at Crane's dawdle last Sunday), and is a terrible example to the utes and amateurs.

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Post by robopz Thu 23 Feb 2017, 5:50 pm

super_realist wrote:There's a strokeplay element to the British Amateur GPB. Matchplay comes later, but even then, what's wrong with ready golf in any format?
I can agree with you in stroke play... But order of play is an important element of match play...

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Post by super_realist Thu 23 Feb 2017, 5:56 pm

As someone who plays a lot of matchplay it wouldn't bother me personally other than on the green.

Pretty sure honour would be maintained on the tee.

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Post by robopz Thu 23 Feb 2017, 6:13 pm

Kwini... Harbour Town illustrates my point, I'd bet the need for penalty drops rulings and such are probably 5-10x at a PGA National over HT. Just the fact there are courses players can get around a lot faster seems to pretty much prove its the nature of many of the venues as opposed to the players that's the biggest part of the issue.

That and field size. HT plays only 132 players, and it's surprising how just one less group per side per wave makes as much difference in improving spacing and reducing bottlenecks as it does. Having par-5's that either everyone or mostly nobody can reach in 2 makes a difference as well. Unreachable par-5's create far less bottlenecks than the ones half the field can reach. HT has 2 that everyone goes for and 1 that few try.

But don't get me wrong... I'm as 100% in favor of dealing with the Ben Crane's as anyone. IMO the only real significant change the PGAT needs in its pace of play guidelines is to individualize them instead of them being penal to the entire grouping.

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Post by kwinigolfer Thu 23 Feb 2017, 6:28 pm

robo,
My only disagreement with you is that the Tour doesn't need to play what puligny calls "waterparks" which have the inherent problem of "drops" and cause play to back up. The Tour could easily go to an alternative venue.
PS: Agree about 132 at HT. But Hartford has a full field of 156.

Happy to see Wes Bryan enjoying a strong start. And to see DeLaet show increasing signs of life.

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Post by robopz Thu 23 Feb 2017, 6:31 pm

Kwini... to elaborate further. The problem guys like Wesley Bryan (and most everybody else) has with Ben Crane is he puts pressure on the other player(s) in the group to speed up too in an attempt to keep pace. Because the entire group gets put on the clock when it gets out of position. So when they get behind, if Wesley has a legitimate situation where he needs to take a little extra time, he can't, or he gets a bad time.

IMO the fix for the slow players is a LOT easier than they make it out to be. What they need to do is elevate the level of the walking scorer to be a pace of play monitor. Something pretty easily taught to a volunteer. That way when a group gets out of position, Sluggar or whoever can show up talk to the scorer and find WHO's the problem. If it's just Ben Crane, then they can put just Ben Crane on the clock and not everybody. The benefit to that is... 1) Now the PROBLEM guy is the one being dealt with... and 2) Wesley doesn't have to rush his own self playing with Crane in an attempt to keep the group in position. In fact it might even benefit the faster players to NOT try to speed up themselves, just play at their normal reasonable pace and LET the group fall out of position, and LET Crane take the heat more and more and more... until he get's his $hit together or starts amassing penalties.


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Post by kwinigolfer Thu 23 Feb 2017, 7:00 pm

Agree about the Wes situation, and that happened to Garrigus playing with Na at Innisbrook a few years ago (and to Stenson at Bay Hill, though Henrik is no angel himself, just to say it before GPB does).

Your scorer idea is a good one, though it does place a volunteer in a potentially invidious position.

I still like the idea I put fwd a year or so ago, which could still apply given the times being kept:
The Tour should average out the time all players take for a round and place the worst, say, 24 at the back of the bus, whether it be Jordan Spieth or Joe Blow. Name 'em and shame 'em, and let the slow coaches suffer whilst those playing within the spirit of the game can get on with their work. And if the sponsors, say Under Armour, didn't like it, they could transfer their contracts elsewhere, b0ll0cks to them.

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Post by robopz Thu 23 Feb 2017, 7:13 pm

Kwini... Actually we don't disagree on the tour's course selection either. And it's not just the "waterparks". For instance TPC San Antonio was quite frankly a nightmare the first few years until they softened it. River Highlands is another that's not a potential penalty shot lurking with every swing of the club... or at least it wasn't before these recent changes. I dunno now, must admit I haven't paid that much attention to those.

I guess my bigger point is it's not so much an issue of dealing with the players in speeding up play... Except for maybe a dozen of them. The biggest factors contributing to the problem are elsewhere... At least IMO.

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Post by kwinigolfer Thu 23 Feb 2017, 7:18 pm

Pat Perez's take on Tiger Woods's future:

http://www.golfchannel.com/news/golf-central-blog/perez-tiger-he-knows-he-cant-beat-anybody

Spot on I would say.

TPC RH not significantly different robo, just better definitions, some green tweaks and re-bunkering; Furyk found it easier!
Yup, TPC SA was a nightmare, but it did speed Kevin Na up, at least in strokes played per hour.

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Post by robopz Thu 23 Feb 2017, 7:20 pm

Kwini... I get where you come from with your back of the bus suggestion. Only problem is with 2 waves and split tees there is no back of the bus... It's more of a Merry-go-round with everyone stuck in the middle of it. There's just no place to hide slow players. The only solution is to deal with THEM specifically. And again, there's just not near as many of them as people think. It's just that they stick out so much sometimes it makes it seem like it's more.

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Post by robopz Thu 23 Feb 2017, 7:27 pm

Lol... New PGAT stat... Stroked Gained per Hour... They could have a year end award for that... "The John Daly Trophy"

And of course TW knows he can't beat anybody. At that level if you can't practice sufficiently to prepare, and can't stay on the course often enough to even attempt to compete... I don't care who you are... It is not happening. I don't see a single thing going on with Tiger right now to suggest he's anything but done... As much as I hope I'm wrong about that.

PS... Wesley and Crane headed for a weekend leader's pairing? That would be fun....

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Post by kwinigolfer Thu 23 Feb 2017, 7:51 pm

Fewer than 14% have hit the Par-3 17th green in reg. Great. Imagine Nicklaus considers that good design.

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Post by robopz Thu 23 Feb 2017, 9:15 pm

kwinigolfer wrote:Fewer than 14% have hit the Par-3 17th green in reg. Great. Imagine Nicklaus considers that good design.
yeah... and that's with a green softened up by rain. Ridiculous.

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Post by kwinigolfer Thu 23 Feb 2017, 9:50 pm

Poults on fire - he said he was in good form, but why would anyone have believed him? Previous here, not all of it good.

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Post by McLaren Thu 23 Feb 2017, 10:14 pm

What did Tiger ever do to Pat Perez? Shocked
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Post by super_realist Thu 23 Feb 2017, 10:17 pm

kwinigolfer wrote:Poults on fire - he said he was in good form, but why would anyone have believed him? Previous here, not all of it good.

When sufficiently motivated, Poulter is capable of world class golf. With his card on a medical exemption basis, he needs to make something like 250k in the next few tournaments and not being in any of the majors thus far is going to give him the boot up the jacksy he needs.

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Post by GPB Fri 24 Feb 2017, 12:38 am

super_realist wrote:As someone who plays a lot of matchplay it wouldn't bother me personally other than on the green.

Pretty sure honour would be maintained on the tee.

You wouldn't want your opponent to go first if there was a chance of him not carrying a water hazard on an approach shot. Or a deep bunker?

How much golf have you played?

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Post by super_realist Fri 24 Feb 2017, 7:21 am

GPB, firstly, the R&A are only using "ready golf" for the 36 hole strokeplay qualifier.

Secondly, I'm a former club champion who won through 3 rounds followed by a 36 hole final and I find if I focus too much on what the other person is doing it is to the detriment of my game, my job in matchplay is to hit fairways and greens and second guessing what my opponent is doing (or might do) can be counterproductive. I know it is best to hit greens in regulation REGARDLESS of what my opponent does.
I'm not trying to be conceited here, but I'm one of the better golfers on this forum and so do you not think people at different levels think in different ways?

You could equally ask why would you want to go second if your opponent might stiff it from 180 yards to a foot, couldn't you?

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Post by kwinigolfer Fri 24 Feb 2017, 12:47 pm

We'll have to see how the Am works out w/ready golf. Can quite easily see that guys would just play normally except in case of ruling etc; unless you're a manic speed merchant, why wouldn't you? Unless one pulled a Sabbatini and played tee shots "ready" too, in which case speedy would be running up the arse of the group in front, which is where back-ups occur anyway.

Good to see form yesterday from Kaymer & Poulter, good comeback from Danny Willett too. And Rafa off to a good start this morning.
Branden Grace gets his "event" in, fuels the "weak" European Tour depthness argument and heads off to climb the wall to Mexico.

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Post by kwinigolfer Fri 24 Feb 2017, 12:50 pm

PS: That lesson from Shotrock on the Aronomink range looks as if it is paying dividends for Sean O'Hair (who could use a bit of ready golf mentality himself).

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Post by GPB Fri 24 Feb 2017, 3:01 pm

super_realist wrote:GPB, firstly, the R&A are only using "ready golf" for the 36 hole strokeplay qualifier.

Secondly, I'm a former club champion who won through 3 rounds followed by a 36 hole final and I find if I focus too much on what the other person is doing it is to the detriment of my game, my job in matchplay is to hit fairways and greens and second guessing what my opponent is doing (or might do) can be counterproductive. I know it is best to hit greens in regulation REGARDLESS of what my opponent does.
I'm not trying to be conceited here, but I'm one of the better golfers on this forum and so do you not think people at different levels think in different ways?

You could equally ask why would you want to go second if your opponent might stiff it from 180 yards to a foot, couldn't you?

Thanks for your golfing resume.    I also have won multiple club championships (all in Match Play), have set two course records.

This is what you said

super_realist wrote:As someone who plays a lot of matchplay it wouldn't bother me personally other than on the green.

1.  Playing out of order is against the rules in Matchplay.  Google Annika Sorenstam, Pat Bradley, Solheim Cup controversy.  

2.  IMO, if you are not watching what your opponent does, as well as playing the course, you are at a disadvantage at match play.  If your opponent knocks for a gimme from 180, you better be taking a chance to get the ball close.  Likewise if he plugs it against the lip in a bunker from 130,  you should be considering a safer shot.


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Post by Shotrock Fri 24 Feb 2017, 3:28 pm

Kwin - I could use the mental lesson! Some nice scoring out there this morning.

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Post by GPB Fri 24 Feb 2017, 4:20 pm

Kwini:

A few weeks ago you noted that Kaymer's streak of consecutive tournaments with OWGR points was snapped.

I just looked at the OWGR Top 30 and these are the current leaders

Spieth - 16  (last one missed was 2016 Memorial)
Holmes - 10
Sergio - 9
Grace - 9 (snapped this week with a WD)
Hatton - 8
Oosty - 7
Henrik - 7
Rory - 7

Haven't looked at any below OWGR top 30, so I suppose there could be others with 7 or more streak.

Adam Scott is the current leader in PGATour consecutive cuts made at 23, but his OWGR streak is only at 6, as he missed a cut in Japan last fall.

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Post by kwinigolfer Fri 24 Feb 2017, 4:29 pm

GPB,
At the time I mentioned it, Grillo was in second place, but he's stumbled since!
Good to see the update.


Quite a bit quicker pace of play this morning - having Matty Fitz / Boo & Rafa out in first groups doesn't hurt.

Withdrawal by Matt Every; what's going on there?

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Post by kwinigolfer Fri 24 Feb 2017, 5:51 pm

GPB,
More on Kaymer's point-scoring streak:
It began when his owgr was 47th
And ended when is owgr was 47th!

All of which means he's got a decent base, won't be "decrementing" (is that even a word?) points at quite the normal rate.

He hasn't missed a cut anywhere since Valspar last year.

Otherwise:
Another promising round from Luuuke.
Another missed cut for Danny Lee; if he was a racehorse the stewards would have him in for dope-testing; he dropped last week from 84th to 98th, which almost defies arithmetic gravity.

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Post by super_realist Fri 24 Feb 2017, 6:05 pm

GPB wrote:
super_realist wrote:GPB, firstly, the R&A are only using "ready golf" for the 36 hole strokeplay qualifier.

Secondly, I'm a former club champion who won through 3 rounds followed by a 36 hole final and I find if I focus too much on what the other person is doing it is to the detriment of my game, my job in matchplay is to hit fairways and greens and second guessing what my opponent is doing (or might do) can be counterproductive. I know it is best to hit greens in regulation REGARDLESS of what my opponent does.
I'm not trying to be conceited here, but I'm one of the better golfers on this forum and so do you not think people at different levels think in different ways?

You could equally ask why would you want to go second if your opponent might stiff it from 180 yards to a foot, couldn't you?

Thanks for your golfing resume.    I also have won multiple club championships (all in Match Play), have set two course records.

This is what you said

super_realist wrote:As someone who plays a lot of matchplay it wouldn't bother me personally other than on the green.

1.  Playing out of order is against the rules in Matchplay.  Google Annika Sorenstam, Pat Bradley, Solheim Cup controversy.  

2.  IMO, if you are not watching what your opponent does, as well as playing the course, you are at a disadvantage at match play.  If your opponent knocks for a gimme from 180, you better be taking a chance to get the ball close.  Likewise if he plugs it against the lip in a bunker from 130,  you should be considering a safer shot.

It wouldn't be against the rules if the R&A changed it would it?

I approach a hole (from the tee) in matchplay expecting to require a birdie for a half. I can't do more than that unless I eagle. Yes, of course if he's in the rubbish from hitting his tee shot then I'll probably play to safe part of the fairway/green, but the amount of times I have played safe and the opposition has made an outrageous birdie to my regulation par is incredibly frustrating. Always expect the unexpected in matchplay and keep the foot on the gas (where sensible)

I don't care if someone has an amazing long iron game, there's no point in me chasing those type of 220 yard iron shots, playing to your strengths is the best way (IMO) to succeed in matchplay and not worry (too much) about what the opposition does. So if someone can easily hit par 5's in 2 with accuracy, I might be better suited to hitting in regulation and chipping/wedging it close in. If I take it on in two, my chances are lower than the sensible route.
If someone is 130 yards away and plugs it in the bunker, then I'm not going to be much further away, and I can't think of too many situations when you would play safe from that sort of distance.

Obviously tee and green are different kettles of fish and I would expect that would remain to be played by whose honour or turn it was. I wouldn't want to putt after someone had holed out from a shorter distance.

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Post by kwinigolfer Fri 24 Feb 2017, 6:47 pm

Pretty good recovery by Brendan Steele: six over par after his first 6 Round 1 holes, now -2 for the tournament after a 65 today.
Russell Knox was my one-and-done this week - looks like he needs to buy Steele's recuperative powers, looks like an early trip to the wall otherwise.

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Post by kwinigolfer Fri 24 Feb 2017, 7:46 pm

Bogeys on three of his final four holes puts Soren Kjeldsen right on the cut-line.
These are the bread and butter tournaments that double-dippers need to play well at, but this is disappointing for Kjeldsen. Less than 2/3rds of his season still to go, and well off the pace necessary to keep his card. And that's exacerbated as he's only in 2 x Majors (plus the PGA I suppose) and slipping down the rankings fast.


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Post by super_realist Fri 24 Feb 2017, 8:05 pm

I always wondered if at 41 and being such a short hitter whether Kjeldsen's return to form would be short-lived.

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Post by kwinigolfer Fri 24 Feb 2017, 8:13 pm

It's looking more as if he'll make the cut now, super; maybe that'll give some confidence for the weekend.

Tyrrell Hatton moving up the leaderboard - wish they wouldn't call him Ti-rrell. Mac'll learn 'em.

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Post by sirbenson Fri 24 Feb 2017, 9:43 pm

Good stuff from Ryo Ishikawa!

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Post by sirbenson Fri 24 Feb 2017, 10:26 pm

Of course I jinxed Ryo

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Post by kwinigolfer Fri 24 Feb 2017, 10:59 pm

Pretty sad state of affairs seeing Sergio being barracked on his final four holes (at least). Thought Shotrock was in Philadelphia . . . . .

Thrilled to see that Rory has made an early commitment to Hartford - wonder if that's the extra tournament he's added that he's never played before.

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Post by McLaren Fri 24 Feb 2017, 11:01 pm

Kwini

Do they pronounce Tyrrell like the "Tyrell" family in game of thrones?
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Post by kwinigolfer Fri 24 Feb 2017, 11:07 pm

Don't watch GOT's so no idea.
They call him tyRRELL.

Nice round from McDool, he seems to like it round PGA Nat.

Willett, Power, Pieters, Knox, Padraig all on their way outathere.

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Post by McLaren Fri 24 Feb 2017, 11:50 pm

Shawn Stefani certainly isn't on the Shane Lowry diet. Erm
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