PGA Tour: Presidents Cup / Q-Schools etc: Notes from the Ballwasher

First topic message reminder :

1).For the first time since 2003 the American Prsidents Cup Team will have to use their passports and there is every prospect of an exciting "Cup" this week at Royal Melbourne, hopefully with a little touch of needle and a partisan crowd. Presidents Cups have often resembled exhibitions and that's exactly what we don't want this week.

2).Both teams must take some comfort from last week's tournaments in Japan, Singapore and Sydney with good results from Woods, Watney and Watson, plus Baddeley, Day, Ogilvy, Scott, Ishikawa and Schwartzel. Mahan and Stricker have declared themselves fit and rarin' to go, so the stage is set for a thriller.

3).Who's going to win? On paper you'd have to go with Team USA especially bolstered by Woods' good form at The Lakes. The International Team pay the price for a qualifying system that rewards players for 2010 form even if they stunk the joint up these past few months - Exhibit "A" being Goosen who has fallen from the World's Top 20 just three months ago, now languishing with team-mates Allenby and Els outside the Top 50, Baddeley, Ishikawa and Yang not much better in the 40's. In contrast, only Furyk and Woods of the Americans lie outside the Top 22.

4).But the Americans have ridden homefield advantage to straightforward wins while coming up short in their only two journeys abroad: 1998's thumping in Australia and 2003's twilight tie in South Africa. This is a very big deal for Greg Norman, presumably much more so than for Couples, and his Team is as Melbourne-centric as he could get. In 1998, Appleby, Elkington, Norman and Parry finished 10 - 1 - 3 in their matches on their way to a resounding win and if Shark's homeboys don't do something similar, I don't see Goosen, Els and Ishikawa (the only three Internationals with a winning PC record) rescuing them.

5).Most of us let our heart rule our head when it comes to Team events and I'm expecting the poor recent form of Furyk, Kuchar, Mickelson and Toms, plus the inexperience of some American rookies to be beaten to the post by Greg Norman's ability to galvanize his Team. He'll need Ogilvy and Scott to lead from the front and better form than they've shown previously from senior players like Allenby, Choi and Els. But in Baddeley, Ishikawa and K-t Kim, Shark may have the three best putters in the event, hopefully trump cards.

6).What of Woods? He looked good at The Lakes; even when he was piling up bogeys on Saturday, his form wasn't as bad as his score. Arguably only ring-rust prevented him from winning the tournament and I expect him to justify his selection this week - apart from anything else, Couples needs Tiger's experience. I agree with selecting Woods over Keegan Bradley, just not announcing it months in advance. Whatever happens this week, expect Tiger to reassert himself at his Chevron benefit and then embark on a Masters-oriented schedule early next year, hoipefully adding an event (Riviera?) to his normal schedule.

7).Whatever the golfers do in the coming week, expect the real star of the show to be Royal Melbourne's "composite" course. The course will play relatively short (about 7,000 yards), but positioning of the tee shot is crucial to being able to shoot at the pin (very Harbour Town in that regard), and the famous bunkering will get lots of action. Geoff Ogilvy's perceptive comments about golf and golfcourses belie his apparently laid-back, nonchalant on-course demeanour, and he once defined a great course design and set-up as one which the very best players found "relatively easy" while lesser players "found it really difficult" (his description of Southern Hills at the 2007 PGA).
When he talks about Royal Melbourne in GolfWorld, "I must have played the course thousands of times, but I can't wait to get back. It really is a special place.", you get the impression he hopes to navigate it successfully while others with less familiarity of its nuances find it very tricky.

8).Just a word or two about John Daly. Yes, he behaved like an idiot in Sydney last week and he seems to have worn out his invariably warm Australian welcome. But, really, what did the Aussies expect; he's done it before and, given the chance, he'll doubtless do it again. Fortunately Tour comedian Jarrod Lyle had the last word by presenting Daly with a box of golfballs before the start of their round at a Monday Melbourne Pro-Am.

9).John Daly should be at Stage 2 PGA Tour Q-School this week with fellow Major Champions Duval, Beem, Janzen, Micheel and Hamilton. Not to mention erstwhile "Cuppers" Austin, Begay, Maggert, Weekley, Franco, Hensby and Lonard. Garcia-Heredia, Gronberg, Hafthorsson, Johnson, Owen and Fergal Rafferty are among the Europeans competing, while other surprising entries include Nathan Green and wonderkids of recent times Lovemark and Michael Sim. Barry Lane and Mark Mouland contest Champions Tour Final Stage Q-School.

10).Happy 30th Birthday today to Lorena Ochoa. And hearty congratulations to Catriona Matthew for winning last week's Lorena Ochoa Invitational in Guadalajara.

I'm enjoying Bob Verdi's articles this week on pga tour website. Regarling the 6 hour round today he wrote "Rules officials didn't carry a clock. They carried a sun dial." I'll have to look out for his atricles in the future.

Stage 2 Q-School Update from six sites.
These are familiar names at least two places away from qualifying positions:

Joe Durant
Will MacKenzie
Micheel
Austin
Todd Hamilton
Peter Uihlein
Hensby
Iceland's Hafthorsson
Fergal Rafferty
Rominger

Aussie Sim and Spain's Garcia-Heredia have withdrawn.

Gronberg, Richard Johnson, Owen, Duval, Weekley, Janzen, Lovemark off to a good start.


Scottie,
Bob Verdi is an excellent columnist, glad you like his stuff.
Interesting how writers are increasingly using Ogilvy for sound bites; doesn't hold much back and is terrific on course architecture. Wish he'd play a little better though - his putter is saving him from a difficult week so far - an apt Johnny Millerism late in his round: The gist: "Ogilvy needs to learn a punch shot; can't win consistently hitting everything as high as he does."

Was able to catch some of the President's Cup action last night before bedtime. I love it when the pro's have to plot their way around and cannot just over power a course. The course was clearly the star attraction for me. Nothing like the typical tour courses you see week in week out, and much more like summer golf at the courses I play at home.

To me, the course is a cross between a trio of Hertfordshire courses which are familiar to many on this forum: Hadley Wood design and bunkering, Sandy Lodge terrain, with Old Fold Manor greens. Just wish we had the Aussie sun!

I want a bit of breeze over the weekend but hope the wind doesn't blow too much, it would be a shame if the lasting memory was players complaining that the course was too difficult.

Regarding Q-schools, have to throw in a word of praise for Seamus Power who is currently T7 after 3 rounds in TX. Fantastic performance so far by the Waterford man and would be wonderful if he can make it... even getting into the Nationwide Tour would be an outstanding achievement for him! Fingers crossed and hope I'm not jinxing him...

As for Ogilvy, cool moustache...

princedracula wrote:Regarding Q-schools, have to throw in a word of praise for Seamus Power who is currently T7 after 3 rounds in TX. Fantastic performance so far by the Waterford man and would be wonderful if he can make it... even getting into the Nationwide Tour would be an outstanding achievement for him! Fingers crossed and hope I'm not jinxing him...

As for Ogilvy, cool moustache...

Was just about to post the same pd! I'm finding Q-school far more interesting than events in Australia... what we need to remember is that 2nd stage is almost more important than final stage for some guys, if you can get through this you guarantee yourself somewhere to play next year, be it PGA or Nationwide.
Not been a bad effort so far from the Europeans, Gronberg and Power both well inside the cutoff with one round to go, likewise Spain's Sam Del Val at one of the other sites. Disappointing for Wales' Ben Briscoe, opened with a 67 but fallen away to 4 shots off the pace now, needs a big final round. Of those with 2 rounds still to go, Johnson and Owen are looking very good, and McDowell's mate, and open heart surgery veteran, Chris Devlin is just one shot off. Work needed for Monaco's Piaget, Iceland's Hafthorsson and England's Kelvin Day though

Also worth mentioning that there's no sign of Cejka at his venue, guessing that might mean he's had a medical exemption confirmed. And at the same site, Noh Seung-yul is on course to progress, T11 after two rounds

pd,
I missed Seamus Power - tough to catch everyone, but I think Ned pointed him out to me a few months ago! I see he's an East Tennessee alum, like Rhys Davies and one or two others.


Anyone in GB&I seen any fuss this morning about Rolfing's daily absurdity, to the effect, "Baddeley reminds me a lot of Luke Donald - hits it all over the place off the tee but good short game."
Seemed like the Tweeters were all a-Twitter last night, including someone from the E.T. and St.Luke himself.

I tell you, NBC's Jimmy Roberts, Dottie Pepper and Rolfing (plus Jacobsen when he's there) are so utterly America-centric, constantly knocking golfers from other countries but never their own. Have to say Feherty is fast becoming just as bad.
By the way Rolfing, Baddeley and Jason Day 1 up over Johnson and Woods.

Ned

Why do all the google-able sources describe DelVal as American? Perhaps some sort of default?

There are one or two others with GB&I "address" but can't find out anything about them. Mark Laskey - "Wales" for instance.

I hear what you say about Q-School but the Pres Cup has been great viewing so far, if deathly slow.

Cheers, Ned/kwini. Seamus is a 3-times Irish Youth Champ. He just needs one more steady round and then I think if he knows he has the Nationwide place in the bag, then he can feel most of the pressure is off and who knows what can happen in the final stage in California... Devlin is not out of it, but needs two more solid rounds to make it...

Ned, not sure about Cejka's situation with that, but he's playing in Malaysia this week... although he's less than 50% chance to make the cut as it looks at the moment...

kwinigolfer wrote:Hi hend0,
Yup, Could have been a lot of things couldn't it!
Crucial 18th hole, Baddeley driving. Uses a 3-wood; took a huge divot and popped it up behind a tree.
At last year's Tour Championship, Na on his 72nd hole took a huge premeditated divot, a sort of JCB effort, after his tee shot failed to meet expectations.

i was gonna mention that as an option too but didnt think it was well known!
Paul Casey gave out about it in the post round interview as far as i remember

Cejka's playing with fire if he's going to rely on a medical exemption. Conditions are stiff, especially for one as inconsistent as he is.
I don't think he has a Nationwide option either.

Still seen nothing in the US Media about Tiger's Abu Dhabi decision - perhaps they'll wait until they've availed themselves of Tiger's Chevron press-tent hospitality before having a go.

Looks like they started Sat play at 6:30am. Who drives in a big city before 6am to watch golf!

The pairing are interesting. Woods likes Johnson; hence, Johnson can't win a point. Is it just a coincidence that Woods ended up playing against Scott/Choi in two rounds?

Nice recovery by the international team.

7.00 a.m. sharp I think Leff.

Looks like Couples ordered up the Fire Brigade to take the fire out of the golfcourse - he'll love the calm conditions, and the much quieter greens.


Champions Tour Q-School update:
And no good news for the International contingent except for Canadian Jim Rutledge who gets his exempt status back. Gary Hallberg the only wellknown senior to regain full Membership.
Mark Mouland should receive (or be penalised by) conditional status which, as he found last year, isn't worth a damn thing if your base is 3,000 miles away.

Back to Europe for Lane, Harwood, Fowler and Martin.

Another very disappointing session for The Internationals unfolding in Melbourne.
If Shark's fins don't pull this out the Tours should call time on the Pres Cup in this format and try something completely different. No point in holding these tournaments if they're not competitive, this has been nothing much more than USA propaganda so far.

Bad news from Q-school proper too... Power and Del Val both throwing in final round horror shows and missing out by a shot. But better from Colwyn Bay's Ben Briscoe, great last-day comeback from him to go through in a T14 and get himself at least a Nationwide card next year. Very pleased for him, was a contemporary of Knox on the Hooters tour a couple of years back, along with Devlin and David Skinns, and he missed out on final stage for the US and Europe last year, by a single stroke at both. Persistence has paid off at last.

Elsewhere: Gronberg cruised through in T2 at the same site as Power, and was followed by Micheel, Maggert, Doug "Drug" Barron and Rich Beem (just), Woody Austin among those missing out, while Quigley and Cameron Percy didn't even finish. At Briscoe's venue, Harris English of Walker Cup fame, Robert Gamez (!), Arnie's grandson, Ty Tryon and Lee Janzen all got through, Lickliter and Durant the most notable failures, though surprised to see ex-amateur stars Langley and Weaver down at the bottom. And the third, Europe-free site had Nathan Green, Scott Dunlap and Carlos Franco all sneak in on the button, Stankowski, Alex Prugh, Uihlein, Cabrera Jr and Rory's mate Pinckney missing out.

Problem for me with the Pres Cup is the internationals just don't Gel together.

Now I'm hearing bubba and webb talk about their faith in post round interview if I had a brick I'd launch it at my tv now!

Also think Allenby was a bad pick from Norman, I get why he did it but think there were better options

Thanks Ned,
Too much multi-tasking for moi. Janzen tried hard to blow his chance, 77 today!

Mav,
I don't know that Norman had a better choice really than Allenby given respective players' form at the time, Senden perhaps the only alternative. King Louis struck form too late to be a realistic option. But the "Home" advantage has not been capitalised on, not enough players playing above their form all year, Els perhaps the only exception. Charl and KJ not holing anything, Ogilvy way too wild, Goosen not the player he was, and Jason Day the Nearly Man and not the winner he may one day become.

Time for Pres Cup Plan B. And I have one!

Internationals need a clean sweep this afternoon just to get level. Anything less than a 4-1 win in the fourballs and they're toast.
Norman needed his very best players (Day, Scott, Charl, KJ, K-t, Ogilvy) to be very very good and, flashes of brilliance aside, that just hasn't happened.
American commentators (and one from N.I.) are driving me to the sick bag.

Glad I missed the ugliness earlier. Now I'm home and have to drink some beer to get the cobwebs off the TV screen. Your correct, kwini. 4 out of 5 at the least for the Internationals might not be enough. Can they take all 5? More beer.

USA ...

It's been a long time since a Norman conquest ... The Internationals are going to have to go "Brookline" in the singles.

Nice "W" for Johnson and Woods.

Mav - Of course there were better options. Greg, however, seemed too busy critiquing Fred's picks than getting Oosty on the team.

Not sure I'll see them home tonight venice.
Bad doings in Syracuse, don't like the sound of that at all.

Shotrock's back on the air after a "W"oods win; you're forgetting Oosthuizen went to sleep there for nine months, only got motivated when Chubby asked him if he wanted to spend the rest of his life riding his tractor or playing golf and making some money so he could afford a whole fleet.
Tiger looks much more mechanical in his routine, he just used to flow, even when he was slowing things down. But this model looks good when it's good, just not 72 holes good yet.

It's easy to remember that Terry Gannon was a basketball player at NC State, pity he didn't learn anything about golf - right out of the Roberts/Rolfing stable. Pathetic.

Young Irish lad name of Harrington playing nicely in Malaysia; showing St.Louis a thing or two so far.

Fun stuff from Ogilvy's 2nd shot to the 6th green. Took a bite of food just before he addressed his approach. Stopped chewing his food while he addressed the ball, hit a beautiful low pitch that finished with a tight bite just 3 feet past the hole. He then continued walking nonchalantly towards the green while starting to chew the remaining food in his mouth. He definitely feels at home.

venice, When I saw Kuchar hit it stone dead from the rough I thought Ogilvy was going to choke on his vegemite sarnie.
Kuchar's been putting out of his skin since his lousy start, must have made a couple of hundred feet of putts today already plus some bombs yesterday. Now Watney's started too.

International team should try to win 4 of 5, at least 3, of the current matches to stand a chance of recovery in singles on Sun. Baddeley/Day vs Stricker/Kuchar is a crucial one for the Int team.

Simpson/Watson team is finally getting beaten after 3-0 in their first three. Rain must suit Goose; he has a history of doing well when it is not sunny although I am seeing weather getting better.

Glad Allenby has been omitted in this round. I wish Norman had picked Vijay instead of Allenby.

11-7 now with 4 matches ongoing. We could end the day 13-9.

Saffers have managed to beat Bubba and Simpson!

Koreans are playing very well in the current session.

Johnny Miller is hurting my ears.

NedB-H wrote:Bad news from Q-school proper too... Power and Del Val both throwing in final round horror shows and missing out by a shot.

Very dissapointed for Seamus Power, he came so close...

Good 4-ball session in the PresCup and a great effort by KtK from what I've seen...

Crashed after watching the front nine last night; good ball-by-ball description of the matches on pgatour.com so that's where I'm off to in between halves of morning football!

13 - 9 is a fine effort by the Internationals but not enough. Very impressed by K-t Kim and YE Yang against Johnson and Woods. Would think Woods would feel he played quite well in the four-ball last night, certainly hit the first 11 greens, not sure after that, but the old will-the-ball-into-the-hole hasn't quite re-emerged yet.
Still something decidedly mechanical in his pre-shot routine that I've never seen before - as if he's painting by numbers, got to go through the entire instruction manual in his mind before executing the shot.

Pleased to see Goosen and Schwartzel hang on, Charl seemingly improving with every match.

Excellent to see the US team battling so many conventional stereotypes:

Don't have team spirit or passion (Woods may not be putting up many W's but you would have to be blind to not see his passion, or that of the rest of the team).

Don't play Foursomes or Fourballs well.

A very fine positions they've put themselves in. Now, it's time to finish the job.

Kwin - Woods' swing seems less mechanical to me than over the past few events. Call it paint-by-numbers or anything else, but he's clearly playing with grater accuracy (I suppose he could only go one way to be fair).

Really enjoy watching Choi and Mahan this weekend. Two top dogs that don't seem to get much attention.

Not sure about the conventional stereotypes; think the biggest cliche to be dispelled is the "local knowledge" card, and the US Team have proved that superb putting trumps local knowledge.

Agree that Mahan has enjoyed a fine week; finally seems to have grown into a more senior role and relishes it. Will that translate into individual wins in 2012? Or just pots of money?? Choi finally started holing putts Saturday, about time. Great player and I really enjoyed watching Yang as well - just getting into the swing of things.

I honestly don't really see the team "passion" from Tiger, still see Tiger first, team second but will be happy to agree to disagree!

Bottom line is Internationals not good enough, Presidents Cup is no longer a viable competition in this format. Remember, it's a home game for five Aussies and an away game for the remaining 19; they'll never overcome that, still less in Korea.

But I have a better idea. Oops, got to go, Timmy's calling me back.

Would be interested in others' projections for the remote chance of an International victory:

Best case scenario projected for the Internationals to tie the U.S. in points but not win the Cup:
(Current record in PC 2011)

1. Webb Simpson (3 - 1) over K.T. Kim (1 - 2) - Probable outcome
2. Charl Schwartzel (2.5 - 1.5) over Dustin Johnson (1.5 - 2.5) - Good chance
3. Bubba Watson (3 - 1) over Ryo Ishikawa (1 - 2) - Very likely
4. Geoff Ogilvy (2.5 - 1.5) over Bill Haas (1.5 - 2.5) - Certainly expected
5. Jason Day (1.5 - 2.5) over Hunter Mahan (3 - 1) - Wishful given current forms
6. K.J. Choi (3 - 1) over Nick Watney (1.5 - 1.5) - Expected
7. Adam Scott (1 - 3) over Phil Mickelson (3 - 0) - Shakey but favorite son possible
8. Retief Goosen (2 - 2) over Matt Kuchar (1.5 - 2.5) - Very possible
9. Jim Furyk (4 - 0) over Ernie Els (1 - 3) - Foregone conclusion
10. David Toms (2 - 1) over Robert Allenby (0 - 3) - See above
11. Aaron Baddeley (1.5 - 2.5) over Tiger Woods (1 - 3) - Even odds
12. Y.E. Yang (1 - 2) over Steve Stricker (1 - 2) - Slight edge

This would give the Internationals 8 points for the day. There have been only 2 halved results in 22 matches so that putts added pressure on the INT's. That means either K.T. or Ryo need to grab a half point in the above scenario for creating a remote possibility of victory. More than likely the U.S. should take a 6.5 - 5.5 score for the day.

My predictions:

1. Simpson > KT Kim
2. Schwartzel > Johnson
3. Watson > Ishikawa
4. Ogilvy > Haas
5. Day > Mahan
6. KJ Choi > Watney
7. Michelson v Scott ??
8. Goosen > Kuchar
9. Furyk v Els ??
10. Toms v Allenby ??
11. Woods > Baddeley
12. YE Yang > Stricker

So, I have confident in International team picking 6 points.

Mickelson v Scott is a marquee match-up. So is Furyk v Els. Allenby hasn't won anything and hence, Toms should be the favourite; but then, this is home for Allenby.

Will Tiger even have to play the 11th match? I hope the tournament will stretch to that point. Just wishful thinking.

I wish International team had YE Yang, KJ Choi, and Goosen among the first 5 matches.

Hi Leff,

Maybe the thinking from Norman is get KT and Ryo mixed in with the vets early, less pressure on the first few groups going out? But agree with you in trying to push the odds for victories towards the front. Regardless, pressure has to be put on the U.S. from all slots.

Not sure but I think they play all the matches even if the team result is a foregone conclusion. kwini? Rules experts?

kwini,

What is the process for selecting the daily match-ups? Do both captains get together and hash out the details before each session?

Don't understand why Allenby and Badds are close to the foot of the Shark's batting order. Picked for their local knowledge, yet highly likely that their contributions may be academic.

venice,
Fred and Shark literally sit across a table from one another with a white board on the wall.
1).Fred picks one golfer, Shark picks one for Match 1.
2).Shark picks a golfer, Fred responds for Match 2
etc for 12 matches.


Hope to watch it all tonight. Crashed after 27 holes last night, just worn down by the commentator inanities. Might interchange tonight with a healthy dose of Hockey Night In Canada. A little bit of Don Cherry for some macabre comic relief.

venice1 wrote:kwini,

What is the process for selecting the daily match-ups? Do both captains get together and hash out the details before each session?

I don't think they do discuss each others picks, why would they?

In the Ryder Cup Singles I think each Captain orders the selection from 1-12 in the order that they want them to play, the other Captain does the same and therefore the pairings in the singles day are effectively blind. Pretty sure that's the same for 4somes and 4Balls.

Curious Woods it out 11, perhaps Couples thinks it will be over by then so he'll save Woods the ignominy of being beaten 4/5 times.

Some more Stage 2 Q-School finals in and what a shocker?! Everyone's tip for 2011 Rookie Of The Year (except mine) Jamie Lovemark fails to qualify for final stage.
He'll likely opt for a Major Medical Exemption, but that route is fraught with obstacles and uncertainty, crucial now that he doesn't tee it up on Tour until he's fully fit, competitively sharp and rarin' to go.

Iceland's Hafthorsson, Ireland's Rafferty and Aussie Peter Lonard also fell short.

Boo Weekley moves on, and so do Greg Owen and Sweden's Richard Johnson.

Just one more precinct to report, from California.

SR_kwini,

So... which method do they use?

About Allenby and Badds, Norman's probably thinking that if his guys are within striking distance that he's going to need some familiar face cards for the last few hands. If this was poker, he'd probably be folding if he played it close to the vest.

If Tiger finishes with a record of 1 win and 4 losses... we probably won't know whether it's the 'rust' issue or 'lost it' issue until he starts playing more than once or so a month.

venice,
As described three posts back.
See you're banking on Mr.Kemp to sustain his excellence for the rest of the decade . . . . .. Will Mattingly keep his job under new ownership?

Regarding draw for singles, it's my understanding that rival captains write down the names of their 1-12 list of players on individual pieces of paper and these are then written on a board by the management.

From watching previous President's Cup events, it's also my understanding that once winning total is reached, the remaining matches are not played. So, we may not even see Tiger in singles action.

Does Badds have recent knowledge of Australian courses? I was under the impression that he has been living in the US for the past ten years or so. I could be wrong.

Leff,
They do it as I described. I watched the whole pantomime earlier today!

Well, Tiger will start at least. Even the first group will only be on about the 9th when he whacks it off the first.
(Badds family still lives in Victoria; don't know how often he plays RM but sure he's pretty familiar with it. Very up and down from him this week.)

Kwini, About second stage qualifying, do 21 players from each of the 6 venues move into the final stage or a total of 21 from all venues?

I am surprise to see names like Shaun Micheel, Lee Janzen, Frank Lickliter, Carlos Franco, Todd Hamilton, Bob May, Notah Begay, David Duval, Mark Hensby (he withdrew), and an old favourite of mine, Peter Lonard.

About 21, Leff, depending upon the size of the six fields.
Very pleased to see that David Duval made it comfortably.
But Switzerland's Martin Rominger was among those who missed out in California.

I still haven't seen anyone risk editorial comment on Tiger Woods missing the January San Diego stop in favour of Abu Dhabi's millions. Personally I think it could represent the end of Woods's conventional PGA Tour career, as Finchem would like to see it, and the start of a very mercenary period.

They're off... Betting on the Asian youngsters, KtK and Ryo to beat Webb and Bubba...

Wrong thread. But Harrington and the boys off also.

Yep... not sure how long I will last though, it's past midnight over here...

I see DJ is practicing his chipping at the 3rd...

Early morning, pd.

Early Projected scoring trend favoring Internationals. That should be worth an hour of viewing. Ryo with a nice quick hole comeback.

Not very good by DJ; sometimes it seems he just can't read the lie of the land, envision the shot that's going to be necessary. Five wins though, best of the Young Americans.
Luiten going nicely.

hi venice - early morning, late night, not sure how to call it anymore...
KtK looks very confident with his putting early on, 1 up....
Indeed, Luiten on the move in Malaysia. Hoping for a top 10 from Siddikur there.

And a top 1 from Harri, of course...

Ogilvy missed putt. Would have given Ints lead in first four matches.

First I've seen of this course all week... heard great things about it, but surely no course should do what Day's putt just did?