PGA Tour: The Top 30. OK, 29: Notes from the Ballwasher

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1).That's right, 29 golfers assembling in Atlanta for their Tour Championship. Number 30 would be Dustin Johnson and wonder what would have happened if he had registered for the event instead of just sitting at home with Paulina on his lap and $175K being transferred to his bank account?

2).Of course, that's not going to happen and the remaining 29 will get their balls in the air at East Lake on Thursday, knowing that the very worst they can do is to finish the season 29th in the tournament, 29th in FedEx bonus money and $309,600.00 in the financial vehicles of their choice. Plus they'll have earned tickets to Augusta National, Chambers Bay and St.Andrews in 2015.

3).Not bad, but there is still bleating among Tour players about the FedEx format and, especially, the genius of requiring the most of the Tour's best to play four events in four weeks, six tournaments in seven and, for some who also played Royal Montreal in July, eight in nine. Can't imagine Jim Furyk, for instance, looking too refreshed by the time he rocks up on Gleneagles' first tee.
Hunter Mahan is one who's been on the road for the better part of the past two months as he extends his streak of 32 FedEx Play-Off events and counting.
There will be change next year as the 2015 Tour takes a one week break between the Boston area's Deutsche Bank and Chicago's BMW. Phew.
No word yet on what the Tour's calendar for 2016 will look like, what with the Olympics thrown in to the mix as well, golf course completion permitting.

4).Fifteen months ago Billy Horschel was in the final round shake-up at Merion - he looked the part with his octopus-design strides and a swashbuckling approach befitting the form player of the previous three months. Unfortunately he closed with a 74, slipped to 4th place and failed to earn another full-field top ten result for a year.
Fast-forward to Boston and last Monday's Deutsche Bank denouement and he mis-hit the approach to his 72nd hole knowing that a birdie would have secured him a first-place tie with Chris Kirk.
Instead his reward was a bucketful of media criticism and Horschel flew to Denver determined to "stick it" to his critics. Job done, and how Tom Watson must be wishing he could have a "raincheck" on one of his Captain's Choices for Ryder Cup action, if only to have a player who could go toe-to-toe with Ian Poulter in the "in your face" stakes.
Horschel may be a brash and sometimes brattish golfer, but he's a helluva player.

5).Five Europeans departed the FedEx Play-Offs, flying home from Cherry Hills instead of heading to East Lake, but Russell Knox at least took with him a share of the Cherry Hills course record, 62, not that anyone following the action on NBC would have known about that. Great season for the independent Scot.
Stenson, McDowell, Pettersson and Jacobson also dropped out.
And that leaves McIlroy, Garcia, Kaymer and Rose to contest the Tour Championship with 25 of their best friends.

6).The Tour is quite Georgia-centric these days with three tournaments (New York State for instance has none) and many of this week's competitors have strong connections with the State.
~Either they went to University there: Kirk, Watson, Kuchar, Reed, Tringale, Henley and Todd.
~Or won or runnered up at East Lake: Furyk, Haas, Scott, Johnson, Garcia, Mahan, Rose and Spieth.  

7).Elsewhere in FedEx news, Pete Dye's Crooked Stick in the Indianapolis area, has been announced as the venue for the 2016 BMW Championship; they return to Chicago's Conway Farms next year. I like the fact they move this tournament around, hate the fact the Tour won't make an annual stop in Chicago.

8).We're halfway through the web.com Tour Final (WTF) Series with Bud Cauley and Canada's Adam Hadwin winning the first two tournaments.
Fifty golfers will receive PGA Tour cards for 2014/2015, including 25 who are already assured a card based upon their web.com earnings this season.
Fluctuating fortunes for some well known golfers of years gone by:
~web.com qualifiers: Hadwin, Cejka, and Tour winners Jason Gore & Bill Lunde.
~Already earned enough to be assured of cards: Cauley, Greg Owen, John Peterson, Lingmerth.
~Good start but more good finishes required: Greg Chalmers, Robbie Castro (played in last year's East Lake Tour Championship), Spencer Levin.
~Struggling: Chad Campbell, boy wonder Lovemark, YE Yang, Immelman, Johnson Wagner, Kyle Stanley, O'Hair, JJ Henry, Two Gloves Gainey, Byrd, Richard Sterne, Branden Grace, Steve Marino, among others.

Europeans struggling are Richard S.Johnson, Norlander, Cappelen . . . . and Gary Christian making his last whimpering hurrah before heading for the broadcast booth.

9).Just to underscore the time of year - yes, our North Country leaves are turning and the Canadian geese are flocking south in their perfect formations - the "pre-qualifying" rounds of Q-School have begun, with First Qualifying Stage action to commence on Tuesday, October 7th. No idea yet how many, if any, European Tour members will enter.  

10).Back to the "Tour Championship presented by Coca-Cola".
Of course, this is about two things, the tournament and accompanying winnings, AND the FedEx bonus, $10M to the winner of the FedEx Cup, but incremental sums earned by all 29 competitors with $180K going to the final FedEx placing, $500K for instance to 10th place.  
Despite all the media (and player?) misgivings about the structure of this FedEx sponsorship and structure, there's no doubt it provides excellent year-end tournaments, although the best ones are perversely often the first couple.
East Lake is a reclaimed Donald Ross classic, but without exciting risk/reward holes to climax the event which can make this finale seem a war of attrition. Broadcasters turn inept somersaults as they try to figure out the ramifications of every shot, so deflecting from the tournament itself.
If one of the top five FedEx points getters win, the $10Mill is theirs so Messrs Kirk, Horschel, Watson, McIlroy and Mahan know exactly what they have to do, they control their own destiny. The other 24 golfers will hope they win and the top five all stumble.

Happy -- but hardly surprising -- to see the Irishman making his way up the leaderboard. Cream rising.

The UK's two representatives playing well in Hotlanta, and Uihlein and Koepka top-tenning it after two rounds in Holland. By my count 11 different nationalities in the top ten (actually 13, six at T7) at Kennemer. Love it!

By my count, at least 15 guys playing in Holland who have (or still do in some cases) PGA Tour cards.

Back at East Lake, evening rain will presumably soften the course; not much wind in the forecast and you'd think softer conditions will suit Rory.

Casey in high gear in Holland, but we've seen it all before.
Thought his "Irish" win would be give his career a big boost but it's been a funny old year for him - plenty of flattery, followed by inevitable deception. Perhaps this'll be the week?

A bit showery in the Atlanta area but hopefully nothing will interfere with play.
The real FedEx money starts at about 10th place in FedEx points, which is worth $500K with healthy increments after that. A big chance for Kaymer, Garcia and Rose to have fine weekends and grab some of that loot.
Even better chance for Rory of course; sure he'll feel the past month has been all for nought if he doesn't earn the $10mill.


In Round 3 of the WTF action in Columbus, Richard Sterne is finally getting the hang of things and moving in to contention. Mr.Grace going in the opposite direction and he'll be back in Europe next year barring a miracle next week.

If Rory can't hole 3-footers he'll have a difficult time winning the TC!

He looks pretty fried to me, can't see much joy of the game in his demeanour today. 'Course, he might just be letting Horschel get to him a little - perhaps it would be better for Rors if he was not in the final pair on Sunday.

One or two others look out of gas too, but Rose smelling like one right now.

EAGLE!!!!!
Maybe cancel last post! Now bring it home!!

Richard Sterne has a tie for the lead at the WTF event in Columbus.
That would be a great win if he can complete the job - hope he can.

Bad news about Greg Norman. Sounds like he should have been playing with his rake instead of a chainsaw.
Get well Shark.

Just seen that. What is it with Aussie ex-golfers and their arms?

Don't bet against Rory today!

Not exactly a betting proposition is it?
Dullest tournament of the year on a course configuration that doesn't set up attractively for tournament golf. Think Nobilo was right that the nines should be switched.
Hoping to see Justin Rose nudge the leaders.

Seems like Andy Sullivan will be earning the trip to space.
Talk about a metioric rise.

Hoping Casey can hang on and win this, but Dyson's hoovering his way up the leaderboard, incredible record in this tournament, wherever it's played.


Not sure whether the Holland winner gets in to the HSBC-Champions or next year's Bridgestone.
And: Hadn't realised that some other HSBC berths are up for grabs today. This article is clear as mud to moi, but think I get the gist:

http://www.golfchannel.com/news/golf-central-blog/woodland-among-those-vying-wgc-hsbc-berth/

I must say I do find this course rather dull also. Too many samey holes: the problem with a par-70 course is it's a vast majority of par 4s, and most of the ones here are pretty similar. In general feel there's a lack of "risk-reward" holes: a driveable par 4, or a shorter par 3 but with lots of water/deep bunkers around. Here the par 3s are all in the long-ish range, but don't punish the bad shots enough.

The net result is a lack of real excitement IMO. I would love Rory to bring it home today, but I just haven't been captivated by this tournament at all...

Too many boring straight up and down courses on the PGA Tour. Firestone is another example.

Looks like Casey's done it?
Should get him up close to the Top 60 but another top result away from the all-important Top 50.

kwinigolfer wrote:Looks like Casey's done it?
Should get him up close to the Top 60 but another top result away from the all-important Top 50.

I got Casey getting #62.  behind Oosty and ahead of Lowry.

Joost creeps into the top 50 with his T5.

No extra special Bonus Points for Andy Sullivan for his trip to space.

I see that Dyson finished 2nd in the Dutch Open.  Apparently Gonzo still holds some bitterness toward Dyson

Larrazabal tweeted a picture of Dyson and himself and captioned it "Dutch Open Killer".  Gonzo retweeted

Gonzo wrote:Or spike mark repairer, both knicknames valid

https://twitter.com/gfcgolf/status/511155708885078016

Don't think Pablo's dentist should be too flattered by that pic.

Gonzo seems to have lost some of his joy for life; he finally got it together on the PGA Tour, now for some fun and good golf Gonzo.

Paul Casey moves to 4th in the all time Euro Win list for Englishmen.

Behind Faldo, Westwood and Mark James.

Can't decide if I'd rather see Rory or Horschel win. Really like Billy Horschel

Rory playing well, Furyk and Horschel playing better, but can they keep it up.
Rickie going backwards, Jason Day going nowhere so it's a 3-horse race as things stand.

You've got to think in this form and with his aggressive style of play Horschel would have been a massive asset to the US Ryder Cup team. Bullet dodged for Europe!

Agreed!
Splash for Rory and this could be a 3-shot swing; hopefully just one shot.
Horschel was all over the place on Saturday's back nine. No flinching so far today though, not from Sunny Jim either.

In the 4-tournament Q-School known as the WTF Finals, two veteran pros have sewn up their Tour cards for next year - Sean O'Hair (who'd probably rather be in Philadelphia) and JJ Henry, one of the Tour's good guys.

Richard Sterne could be the big winner, daylight between him and second place with a few holes to go.


Rory losing the plot.

Jimmy, Zach, Hunter and Jordan pretty much stinking the place out while Ryan, Chris and Billy are all enjoying themselves. Wonder what Tom thinks? Maybe the former four are just biding time until Gleneagles? Hope not.

Hope this doesn't turn into a one-Horschel race.
Wouldn't mind seeing Furyk win this lot. Consistent all year and a nice guy.

Horschel in the weeds on #10 - could be a crucial hole. Come on Rory.
And you Justin!

pedro wrote:If Rory can't hole 3-footers he'll have a difficult time winning the TC!

Please please please not Furyk

navyblueshorts wrote:Jimmy, Zach, Hunter and Jordan pretty much stinking the place out while Ryan, Chris and Billy are all enjoying themselves. Wonder what Tom thinks? Maybe the former four are just biding time until Gleneagles? Hope not.

Wonder what Paul thinks about Westy not reaching D-Bank?

And IJP not reaching BMW?

And GMAC not reaching the TC?

And Bjorn missing the cut in Holland?

And Kaymer also stinking up the joint in Atlanta.


I think both Captains have their issues with players not playing well.

GPB, meow! Haha

He'll be pleased that Sergio tied the round of the day though! Three of his RC Team members in the TC Top Ten.

$10milly to Billy.

And it looks like one hundredth runner up for Furyk.

And four of Watson's RC Team in the top 14 of the TC. 

Rumours abound that Watson has texted Simpson strongly suggesting an injury that will keep him out for exactly two weeks.
And reminded Horschel to ensure his passport is in order, birth be-damned.

Not dissing Horschel, helluva three weeks, but to me there's something wrong with a format and a competition (the FedEx Cup) with such an intense, and at times, neauseating focus on the standings - throughout the entire season - and then for somebody (nobody), with only two top 10's all season, to basically walk in from the street and win this thing.

IMO they need to somehow tweak the FEC format once again, rewarding consistency a bit more, or downplaying the effect of a few streaky weaks.

kwinigolfer wrote:Rumours abound that Watson has texted Simpson strongly suggesting an injury that will keep him out for exactly two weeks.
And reminded Horschel to ensure his passport is in order, birth be-damned.

The USA B-team may turn out stronger than the A-team...

$2M compensation for Rory; not bad, but he's been a victim of the scenario you describe, pedro, twice in three years.

Justin Rose must also be a bit disappointed, missed out on the FedEx Top Ten also.

Well, the big tour delivered big time and big money once again. Having the champion walk his way up 18 is exactly why this format works. Surprised the Irishman didn't come through, but quite a statement coming in and still my favorite for Augusta come next April.

Well, at times Rory seemed to be playing/putting like a mid-handicapper. So finishing second is not too bad then. At least that's what I would tell him if I was his sports psychologist....

Horschel deserves a $10 million fine for wearing those strides.

Rory a "victim" ... I can see O'Grady crafting the letter right now ... what a laugh.

Diggers wrote:Horschel deserves a $10 million fine for wearing those strides.

Thought they were pretty cool..
Staying on the topic: Still can't understand why Nike's golf shirts are so un-cool. Almost competing with Adidas' football shirts.

Billy Horschel is such a talent! Good for the game! 2 wins and second is just an incredible run of golf.

pedro wrote:Not dissing Horschel, helluva three weeks, but to me there's something wrong with a format and a competition (the FedEx Cup) with such an intense, and at times, neauseating focus on the standings - throughout the entire season - and then for somebody (nobody), with only two top 10's all season, to basically walk in from the street and win this thing.

IMO they need to somehow tweak the FEC format once again, rewarding consistency a bit more, or downplaying the effect of a few streaky weaks.

The best player in the playoffs won the playoffs.....I think that's the concept, no?!

Pretty offensive comments by Finchem, implying this was a bigger championship than Majors. Think he got carried away somewhat there.

POTY to the UK!

sirbenson wrote:

pedro wrote:Not dissing Horschel, helluva three weeks, but to me there's something wrong with a format and a competition (the FedEx Cup) with such an intense, and at times, neauseating focus on the standings - throughout the entire season - and then for somebody (nobody), with only two top 10's all season, to basically walk in from the street and win this thing.

IMO they need to somehow tweak the FEC format once again, rewarding consistency a bit more, or downplaying the effect of a few streaky weaks.

The best player in the playoffs won the playoffs.....I think that's the concept, no?!

Hmmm, not sure really. FEC plays such a prominent role throughout the season. It seems there's not a moment where you aren't updated on the standings, projections etc.

sirbenson wrote:

pedro wrote:Not dissing Horschel, helluva three weeks, but to me there's something wrong with a format and a competition (the FedEx Cup) with such an intense, and at times, neauseating focus on the standings - throughout the entire season - and then for somebody (nobody), with only two top 10's all season, to basically walk in from the street and win this thing.

IMO they need to somehow tweak the FEC format once again, rewarding consistency a bit more, or downplaying the effect of a few streaky weaks.

The best player in the playoffs won the playoffs.....I think that's the concept, no?!

I think Pedro's point is did the best player of the season win 'the Tour'? No probably not. But fair play to Horschel , seems like a decent guy

MustPuttBetter wrote:

sirbenson wrote:

pedro wrote:Not dissing Horschel, helluva three weeks, but to me there's something wrong with a format and a competition (the FedEx Cup) with such an intense, and at times, neauseating focus on the standings - throughout the entire season - and then for somebody (nobody), with only two top 10's all season, to basically walk in from the street and win this thing.

IMO they need to somehow tweak the FEC format once again, rewarding consistency a bit more, or downplaying the effect of a few streaky weaks.

The best player in the playoffs won the playoffs.....I think that's the concept, no?!

I think Pedro's point is did the best player of the season win 'the Tour'? No probably not. But fair play to Horschel , seems like a decent guy

Yeah, I gathered that but isn't the point of the playoffs to acknowledge the best player within those four weeks!?