PGA Tour: Hartford's Travelers: Notes from the Ballwasher

First topic message reminder :

1).The PGA Of America have the excellence of Jimmy Walker's and Jason Day's golf, and the Baltusrol grounds crew, to thank for an absorbing conclusion to last week's PGA Championship. The Logistics staff of the PGA chose a lousy time to take the week off and reaction to weather delays, course flooding and condition sometimes seemed hapless, but no-one could argue with the final result as a worthy Champion was crowned.

2).Henrik Stenson was the only European to get into Sunday's argument, but he seemed to run out of inspiration, finally falling asleep in the 15th fairway and taking five to get down from 145 yards. Otherwise, nice tournaments from Kaymer and Harrington, Hatton and Casey, and good to see Gregory Bourdy continue a very good season with his second 18th place finish in the last two US Majors.

3).Some good stories behind last week's headlines:
Most especially the odyssey of Jimmy Walker's caddie, Andy Sanders, one-time hot-shot collegiate golfer (and rival of Jimmy Walker) and up and coming pro who was diagnosed with MS early in his Nationwide (as the web.com circuit was known then) career. Efforts to continue his pro golf career were unsuccessful so he got into caddying, finally helping Walker out with his putting, and taking his bag full-time eight years ago. He still undergoes monthly treatments, but otherwise continues his new career. With obvious success in a way they possibly wouldn't have imagined when they played a US Amateur practice round together in 2000. At Baltusrol.

4).What about Padraig Harrington??!! A terrific result to finish 13th, only his second Top 15 finish since his improbable win last year at the "Honda", and his best Major result since finishing 4th behind Webb Simpson in the 2012 US Open. Padraig's playing this week's "Travelers Championship" at Hartford, a course where he's always popular and often played well.
He'll need a top finish, probably about a Top 6, this week to qualify for the FedEx Play-Offs, because he's off to Rio and fully intends to embrace the Olympic experience and opportunity. So he won't be at next week's John Deere event or Greensboro the week after.
Wouldn't you think he's a realistic dark horse for a Rio medal? Apart from anything else, he's one of very few players in the field with a win in Brazil, albeit in Sao Paolo, and a runner-up in Rio, both in 2000.  


5).Padraig's fellow PGA Champ, Rich Beem, also made quite a splash. With PXG clubs he would have had to pay for himself, but his credit card was maxed out. After his opening 69 he asked PXG if that was good enough to get the sticks for free, and apparently it was as Beemer went on to make his first PGA Tour cut since the 2012 PGA Championship. No word yet as to whether that will be good enough for him to ditch the microphone and go back to competition, but I think we know the answer.

6).TNT TV's coverage of the first two days was nigh on unwatchable but perhaps Beem might have a new competitor plying his trade as an on-course commentator. Mike Weir did the duties for TNT and was really quite good. Like Beem he's pretty much exhausted his Tours' (European & PGA) status so perhaps he'll find a home along the fairways (which he's been having trouble finding for a few years now). They're both the same age (46) so have four good years ahead of them before they take up Champions Tour residence.

7).The Travelers Championship is played at TPC River Highlands, a relatively short course outside Hartford, Connecticut, just a couple of hours to the East of Baltusrol. The course has been remodelled several times and has had a facelift since we were there last year. A few dozen bunkers were removed, and most of those remaining have been redefined, in some cases moved to bring the course up to date. Bubba Watson has won here twice and is one of a surprisingly high number of participants to be competing in advance of their Olympic action. Fellow USA Team members Kuchar and Reed are also playing, plus Harrington, Kjeldsen & Cejka.

8).There was nervousness that a revised date, about seven weeks later than its usual post US Open slot, would water down the quality of the field, but not so. With a current estimate of 50 owgr points to the winner, this year's event would have a marginally stronger field than the best of the past ten years.

9).There can't be many PGA Tournaments that are better managed than The Travelers, with a world-class practice range and everything the fan could reasonably want on-site; plus ample accommodation and Interstate highways within a couple of miles. European Tournament Directors take note. Hopefully the weather gods will strike a happy medium between the burned out vision of Glen Abbey two weeks ago and last week's saturated course.
Fine weather is expected and the tweaks to the course may be just enough to give second thoughts to the course specialists like Bubba who probably think they can sleepwalk round and still shoot 66. Ryan Moore has sleepwalked through the summer, but I'm hoping he'll wake up in time to reward an e.w. investment. Who knows with him?

10).A glance at last year's leaderboard illustrates the fickle nature of the game.
Among those following Bubba home were DeLaet (4th then, but recently took time away from the game to deal with chipping yips) and Carl Pettersson (5th, but has struggled this year and isn't even making the trip). Zach Johnson was 6th and a month later earned a Claret Jug, but Van Pelt was in 7th place and he hasn't been seen for six months.
Freddie Jac (2011) is the only European winner in the tournament's 65-year history, but Sergio & Casey have runnered up the past two years and there's a strong contingent here this time. As well as Harrington, Knox and Laird who have all played well here, we have Casey & Donald (7th last year), Hatton, Rahm, Molinari, Kjeldsen, Lowry and others.  
But this is a wonderfully user-friendly tournament, the biggest show around for the community, and I'm looking forward to telling you later this week that we saw a great 72 holes of golf.

Updated US Ryder Cup qualification placings:
Top 8: DJ, Spieth, Phil, Walker, Koepka, Zach, Holmes, Reed.
Then: Bubba, Sneds, Kuchar, Fowler

Zach is the only one of these 12 playing on Tour this coming week.

Wes Bryan wins his third Web-com event, earning a Battlefield Promotion. Presumably he can play JDC and Wyndham.

Unlike Patrick Rodgers who earned a PGATour via the Faux FEX points last season, Bryan can play the WTF series next month.

GPB wrote:

super_realist wrote:

GPB wrote:

pedro wrote:Re. The Olympics:
Do you really think multimillion dollar golfers fancy staying in dorms in the Olympic City sleeping in bunk beds with Ukrainian weightlifters while being looted by the locals? I think not.

450,000 condoms can't be wrong!

That number sounds a bit too far fetched. That means for every athlete that is there (11,000) they are getting through 40 johnnies EACH in a couple of weeks. Considering about 7000 of these athletes have the equipment to use one, the number is even higher.

Citation

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/rio-2016/2016/08/03/rio-olympics-450000-condoms-athletes-village/88039680/

The number may be real, but it's a RIDICULOUS number. To infer that means there will actually 450000 genuine uses of them is incredibly poor journalism, but it was USAToday. Unless of course Mac is a gamesmaker and he stays in his digs with his 9C poster on the roof having multiple "poshies"

It's a bit like saying there were 45000 wooden tees available at the open, and players just grab handfuls, doesn't mean they'll all get used.

Super, I think your raging decade long build up of the horn has made this a sensitive subject for you.

Decade? What would you know Mac?

Have I hit a nerve?

No, just making absurd claims.

Sorry super didn't mean to upset you.

kwinigolfer wrote:
He's only won twice this season, presumably pedro feels he should have had half a dozen. But would that still be enough?

He's absolutely a nice bloke. But my question mark is whether he has the right mentality for the RC. He seems fragile. We also saw it yesterday: almost twice in the drink (15,16) and almost in the grandstands on 18. He was very lucky to get away with it. But I think it'll be very difficult or DC to look past him. So unless Kjeldsen pulls the Denmark tourney it'll be lw1, Kaymer and Knox.

I was moving house at the weekend so I missed everything  

Can't believe I missed Knox's second victory plus THAT round from Fury-K

I finished cleaning my old flat at midnight last night and handed the keys back this morning

My new place looks like a bomb hit it

pedro,
Yup, I was surprised to see that; I think Knox only hit two fairways on the back nine, perhaps the two hardest to hit, but still played one under. And beat Kjeldsen by 13.
No excuse for his tee-shot on #16, but those last few holes are quite tricky to "defend" a score/lead. Bloke called Rose threw away a lead on them a few years ago, but came back next time out to win at Aronomink - you just never know, but at least Knox showed enough fortitude to win. As he did in China with fewer wobbles.

I DO think DC might be hoping that Westwood, Kaymer and/or Kjeldsen pull off a win these next few weeks. And disappointed that Molinari stumbled on Sunday. His chance has probably gone unless he finishes top 2 at Bethpage, not impossible, but not likely either.

Solid but not great year in the bigger events for Knox. Maybe the odd top 10 in these events would have boosted his chances.

Cadillac 27
Matchplay T28
Masters MC
Players T19
US open T23
Bridgestone 54
Open T30
PGA champs T22


And 20th (with 140) in OWGR points gained in 2016.

2016 owgr points by Europeans:

Stenson: 255
McIlroy: 215.41
Willett: 215.32
Garcia: 168
Rafa C-B: 151
Knox: 140
Hatton: 101
Wood: 94
Noren: 89
Sullivan: 84.98
Rose: 84.94
Westwood: 82
Lowry: 80
Casey: 79
Kaymer: 78
Lingmerth: 77
Luiten: 74.7
Molinari: 74.3
Beef: 73

No-one else has more than 70.
Just saying . . . . .

Maybe the odd top 10 in WGC's & Majors would have boosted the chances of some others?

would you pick him on form alone?
what do you think Knox brings to the table that Kjeldsen doesn't?

I think Kjeldsen has shown better consistency over the last 2 years. I'd pick him over Knox.

I would think Kjeldsen or Knox would be a good choice, but Knox's form and results over the past twelve months (which includes his WGC win) have been far superior to Soren's.

Knox had not planned to play Greensboro's Wyndham tournament so his next scheduled start is The Barclays - a strong finish there and his value as a "pick" will become a moot point.

Should Fitzpatrick be on the list somewhere?

I'm never wrong wrote:Should Fitzpatrick be on the list somewhere?

He has only earned 60 points in 2016

Aaah. Thanks.

SmithersJones wrote:I seem to remember there being a Swedish initiative training young golfers to aim at birdieing every hole to shoot 54.

There you go, if all the athletes follow the Swedish initiative you target 54 x 11,000 = 594,000. If you eliminate the double counting (a lot of athletes will rely on inter-competitor action) then GPB's 450,000 looks reasonable.

kwinigolfer wrote:I would think Kjeldsen or Knox would be a good choice, but Knox's form and results over the past twelve months (which includes his WGC win) have been far superior to Soren's.

Knox had not planned to play Greensboro's Wyndham tournament so his next scheduled start is The Barclays - a strong finish there and his value as a "pick" will become a moot point.

Shouldn't you use a slightly different set of criteria for your picks as it gives you the chance to do something different? So,  on qualification it goes down to form and results in regards to strokeplay events,  but captains picks give you the chance to move away from that which ultimately means little in Matchplay and  pick someone on other qualities like nerve, chipping, birdies converted, driving accuracy putting, distance to pin etc. Surely picks should be used to pick on specific strengths, rather than just who's allegedly playing well.

I'm sure Knox could be a fine player, but he seems a bit detached from the whole European Team environment and camaraderie with his daft mid atlantic accent and only a token European Tour membership, seems a bit of a fake. Can imagine he'd be a bit of an outsider on the team.

I don't know who of Knox and Kjeldsen would make the better matchplay player, but that's what Clarke should be looking at, not just who won a tournament most recently.

kwinigolfer wrote:Play Station Golf: Great description!

That's what mac plays, and why he doesn't need a DMD or have a handicap

super_realist wrote:Not quite perfect. Perfect would be technically to at least eagle the par 5's in addition to birdies on par 4's and 3's
Albatross's wouldn't be realistic.

Albatrosses wouldn't be realistic, but say 4 eagles and 14 birdies is! Haha!

Surely the perfect round consists of aces on the par threes, 2s on the par fours, and 3s on the par fives! Only Kim Jong Il has come close I believe.

Fair point Ray, but if you're the sort of golfer who has birdied every par 4 on your course, you can probably get up in two on the par 5's in two.

super,
The qualifying criteria are presumably designed for a reason and I'm merely pointing out that Knox's credentials since he started to accumulate points far outpace those of most of his rivals.
I think he also knows that he is probably behind Westwood and Kaymer, and possibly Lowry & Kjeldsen, in DC's thoughts, not to mention those of Bjorn and Harrington - but overtaking Fitzpatrick and possibly one other would shift DC's focus and possibly make his life easier.

kwinigolfer wrote: And disappointed that Molinari stumbled on Sunday. His chance has probably gone unless he finishes top 2 at Bethpage, not impossible, but not likely either.

FTR Kwini, OWGR points earned at Bethpage does NOT count towards the Euro RC standings. Only Denmark's OWGR pts count that week.

Fair enough Kwini, I just think that a lot of people look past how important being good at matchplay is and concentrate only on wins and ranking points when they think who should be playing. How often have we heard claims of how good America will be because they have 20 odd majors between them or are all ranked higher than Europe, when in fact that means nothing.

If I was Clarke, I'd be making my picks on the basis of their matchplay attributes. For America Jimmy Walker's staggering number of Birdies would give them an edge. Do we have someone similar in Europe?

I don't think Knox would be detrimental by any means, I just think picking using the same criteria that the Ranking on Euro and World tours does already sort of invalidates the entire point of "wildcard" picks. You might as well have 12 players qualify outright on that basis.

So I hope that from Clarke, we might see at least one pick which would be out of most people's left-field but on closer inspection would be good for the team because it gives a matchplay edge, e.g. someone who hits high GIR, or whose putting stats are excellent.

GPB,
Thanks, Had looked at the fine print, but not inhaled it. Obviously. So Greensboro is the final counting event on the PGA Tour, though nothing for the JDC. Seems a bit narrow-minded but c'est la vie.
I wonder if Russell will change his schedule - opportunity knox and all that.


super,
I have no doubt that Bjorn and Clarke would prefer to have 3-out-of Kjeldsen, Westwood, Lowry & Kaymer - just trying to be devil's advocate while noting that several of the also-rans have had ample time to make their case, but failed to do so convincingly. Lowry looked gutted (pun unintended) when he scored the double-bogey which took him over the cut-line last Friday.
PS: Walker's birdie barrages did him no good when carrying Fowler at Gleneagles, and he was dismal in Korea's PC last autumn.

I hope Clarke doesn't go for nepotism with Lowry. 9 months ago I thought he'd be a cert and deservedly so, now it's like he's gone on a talent diet.

Fowler is like an albatross around the neck of anyone unfortunate enough to be partnered with him. Can't blame Walker for that, not that I'm defending him.

Get Beef in the team. The Ryder cup is a bit of a circus and he would be ringmaster.


On a more serious note. Kiwni, thanks for the list of OWGR points earned in 2016 for Europeans, a better list for those that should make the Euro RC team. Based on that he has to go. I think I have said in the past how highly PGAT success should be valued and Knox has certainly proved his worth there. Having a PGAT season that the likes of Westwood, Poulter, Clarke, Bjorn could only have dreamed of, even in their prime.

Mac, you're falling into the US trap. They confuse strokeplay success with guaranteed matchplay success.

Knox might well go, but matchplay specialists like Donald, Westwood, Poulter, Garcia etc have had much worse seasons in the past and shot the lights out in the matchplay format.

Knox being in good form in strokeplay really means nothing in regards to Ryder Cup.

super,
Whilst I agree with that, I also think experience of playing in the US, in front of American crowds, is an advantage.
Not that many have played Hazeltine (though isn't that where Richie Ramsay won his US Amateur?) however.

Is there a golfer in consideration who doesn't have experience of playing in front of US crowds Kwini?

Speaking of US Amateurs ... did any of you guys catch the US Women's Amateur this past weekend (played at the very underrated William Flynn designed Rolling Green golf course just outside of Philly?) A spectacular finish!

http://www.usga.org/videos/2016/08/07/for_usga_sunday-mp4-5074525816001.html

kwinigolfer wrote:super,
Whilst I agree with that, I also think experience of playing in the US, in front of American crowds, is an advantage.
Not that many have played Hazeltine (though isn't that where Richie Ramsay won his US Amateur?) however.

Definitely.
On the other hand Knox is a bit of a faux ET member and despite him being very likeable, I think some of the players and some on the captains team would question his 'right' to a wildcard.

Should be 12 captain's picks. As super always points out, using the grind of week in week out stroke play events to assess qualifying is a joke.

You should think a guy that just shot 58 was a dead cert pick. He also missed a lot of the season due to injury - so would otherwise (most likely) have been an automatic qualifyer. But it's Jim Furyk, the player with most RC losses in history...
Should he be picked?

Has he got more losses than 9C and Fat Phil?

I would NOT pick Furyk. The US team needs some new blood.

Noren has to have a good chance as making it as a pick tbh!

Not a bad shout SirB. He must stand a good chance if he's playing Denmark too.

How about Tyrell Hatton too? He's showing some good form in some big events.

Noren has performed consistently over a number of seasons and could be an interesting pick.
Hatton may be the next thing around but seems a bit fresh still. Maybe he can join DC in the buggy.

Yes, Furyk has lost 20 matches. Phil and Tiger 'only' 19 and 18. And DL3 with 5th most losses in history (12). Think they make a great task force...

pedro wrote:

Yes, Furyk has lost 20 matches. Phil and Tiger 'only' 19 and 18. And DL3 with 5th most losses in history (12). Think they make a great task force...

{emphasis mine}

I guess you have forgot about

Neil Coles (21 losses)
Christy O'Connor Sr (21 losses)
Nick Faldo (19 losses)
Bernhard Hunt (16 losses)

And if losses precludes picking someone for a Captains pick, why is Lee Westwood (15 losses) even being considered?

How about left of left field and Anthony Wall as he's just won a bunch of match play games.

GPB wrote:

pedro wrote:

Yes, Furyk has lost 20 matches. Phil and Tiger 'only' 19 and 18. And DL3 with 5th most losses in history (12). Think they make a great task force...

{emphasis mine}

I guess you have forgot about

Neil Coles (21 losses)
Christy O'Connor Sr (21 losses)
Nick Faldo (19 losses)
Bernhard Hunt (16 losses)

And if losses precludes picking someone for a Captains pick, why is Lee Westwood (15 losses) even being considered?

I think it's pretty clear that he was talking about AMERICAN losses.

Why would Neil Coles even be relative? Was Europe even involved then?

Yes, Westwood has a lot of losses, but a hell of a lot of wins too. He has won TWENTY THREE points, which is more than any American except Casper and only Palmer can match him (both which go back to GB-I/US).

Furyk, Fat Phil and 9C have lost 20,19 and 18 times and have NEGATIVE Win/Loss ratios, whereas Westwood has a POSITIVE one. That's why he is being considered (if he is), and that's why picking an inveterate RC loser like 9C as part of your "task force" is absurd. Clearly it's about nothing more than promotion and tv demands. An egotisitical loner/loser who doesn't understand team play and doesn't really care for the event. Great move Davis.

They should pick the next England football manager from the PGA. Seem to run on the same sort of philosophy of employing losers.

Yes American. But to be fair you'd obviously have to factor in the win/loss ratio and not only losses. It doesn't really help in Furyk's case (10-20-4), but for American standards Phil actually has a decent win/loss ratio (16-19-6). (Bubba is 3-8-0, so hope he'll squeeze in.)

Super

Your pick based on matchplay prowess theory is clearly a little flawed has by far the best matchplay record in history yet isn't so great in the 4 ball and foursomes.

I think Tyrell Hatton should be right in the thinking for a pick. He seems to be in good form, I suspect will be a feature in the future and plays an aggressive style of golf.
I used to do Ant Wall's tax return so would love to see him there - but no chance

MustPuttBetter wrote:
I used to do Ant Wall's tax return so would love to see him there - but no chance

Why? Is he going to jail over it?

McLaren wrote:Super

Your pick based on matchplay prowess theory is clearly a little flawed has by far the best matchplay record in history yet isn't so great in the 4 ball and foursomes.

That statement doesn't even make sense Mac, what on earth are you on about?