Posts tagged HSBC Champions
The First Must-See Weekend of 2012 Raises Appearance Fee Questions
04 weeks ago
by Chris Chaney
in Golf
Getty Images
We’ve had the Hawaii Swing and a nice little pro-am in California so far in 2012, but all these tournaments have lacked the star power that drives people to their television sets to watch golf in the middle of winter.
All that changes this weekend as there are two tournaments taking place on opposites sides of the globe that are sure to catch the attention of the hibernating golf fan, the HSBC Champions in Abu Dhabi and the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. Both tournaments are boasting pretty strong fields with players that are capable of stealing away some viewers from the misery of watching the NFL Pro Bowl.
The question that arises from the split fields of the two tournaments stems from a purely financial point of view and involves Tiger Woods.
Imagine that.
During his press conference earlier in the week, Woods was asked a number of questions about his health, his swing and the state of his game, but an interesting line of questioning came up when the former world No. 1 was asked if appearance fees have an impact on the scheduling of high-profile players.
Woods was pretty forthcoming when asked if it affects how he schedules tournaments, saying, “You know, I’d have to say yes, it certainly does. That’s one of the reasons why a lot of the guys who play in Europe. I think the only tour that doesn’t pay [appearance fees] is the U.S. Tour.
“But, you know, a lot of the guys play all around the world and they do get appearance fees. Only place we don’t get it is the U.S.”
As I’ve said many times before, the upper echelon of professional golfers are independent contractors, setting their own schedule, rarely taking into consideration what their respective tours would like from them.
This week is the perfect example, especially in Woods’ case.
Growing up in southern California and playing on Torrey Pines all of his life, including some of his most iconic victories, you would think that Eldrick would like to take every opportunity to tee it up at Torrey.
However, as Tiger said in his presser, the PGA Tour will not pay their members or members of any other tour to simply show up, something PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem is adamant about.
“From the standpoint of professional athletic competition, it raises the specter in the fans’ mind that the player is only there because he was paid to be there and not there to really compete,” he said. “If the player doesn’t play well, in light of that perception, then there is a secondary perception that he didn’t even come to compete, he just showed up to get his appearance money. That is not a good thing for your image.
“This is something that’s been part of the PGA Tour since its inception in 1968. We think our image is the most important thing we have, and we’re not going to take the risk.”
First of all, the image of the PGA Tour is certainly not the most important thing they have, it’s the players, but the commish does make a good point.
People are cynical and if someone like a Tiger Woods shows up at an off-brand tournament and collects and appearance fee only to shit the bed, excuse the expression, people are going to go into full cynicism mode.
It will become a common thread around the golf world that Woods only showed up because he was paid to be there, not to try and win a tournament, regardless if that were true or not.
The European Tour combats that with paying enough high-profile players to make it worth their while to not only show up for the money, but to compete because of the world ranking points on the line.
This is all just a long way of saying that both systems work when implemented properly. As they say, there is more than one way to skin a cat.
As it stands now, if players are going to get paid good money to show up and play against good fields, they will continue to pass up the Torrey Pines’ of the world to play in Abu Dhabi for a nice pay day before the tournament even starts.
Steve Williams Sticks His Foot in His Mouth… Again
03 months ago
by Chris Chaney
in Golf
AP
In the weeks and months that have followed Tiger Woods’ releasing of Steve Williams from his caddie duties, the New Zelander has managed to make himself look even worse than the camera-smashing, people-shushing thug that he played while toting Woods’ bag.
Williams added “blowhard” to his resume following Adam Scott’s win at the WGC Bridgestone Invitational in which Williams took an interview with CBS’ David Feherty and called the victory the best of his career. In the same period, Williams went on to say that the last two years he spent on Tiger’s loop was a waste of his time.
While Williams fell prey to some justly deserved criticism, the whole Tiger/Stevie split seemed to be over and done with after Williams was able to speak his piece in Akron.
That was until Williams shot off at the mouth again in Shanghai last week at the WGC-HSBC Champions where the annual caddies’ awards dinner.
A presumably inebriated Williams was given a tongue-in-cheek award for “Celebration of the Year,” a poke at his comments following the Bridgestone. A night that is by all accounts supposed to be a pretty laid-back affair, Williams shocked those in attendance as well as the golfing world when he said in reference to his former boss, “it was my aim to shove it right up that black arsehole.”
Another caddie in the room reported to the Daily Mail’s Derek Lawrenson, “Never have you been in a room and seen so many jaws drop at the same time. We knew he was an idiot but we didn’t know he was a racist idiot. I was standing next to a European Tour official who said, “Thank God he is not on our tour”.’
A couple of things right away. Obviously his aim was to rub the win in the face of his struggling former boss, otherwise why else would he have said it? Secondly, the comment would have made world news if he had only said, “it was my aim to shove it right up that arsehole,” but when he used a racially-related adjective, the comment reached an all-new level.
Woods has since come out and said that he and Williams have talked about the incident and Williams had apologized. Indeed, the caddie released a statement on his website that read, in part, “Players and caddies look forward to this evening all year and the spirit is always joking and fun. I now realize how my comments could be construed as racist. However I assure you that was not my intent.”
Woods acknowledged that Williams is “certainly not a racist,” but that the comment hurt him and shouldn’t have been made.
Many called for Williams’ head straight away, saying that the kind of words that Williams used had no place in the game of golf or the world in general. Freddie Couples came out and said that he would have fired Williams on the spot if he was his caddie, a sentiment shared by many others.
For Williams’ side, former employer Greg Norman said that he doesn’t believe that what Williams said was even the worst thing to be said at the dinner that night, but because of who he is and who he was talking about, it became global news.
I think we can all agree that what Williams said was dumb and in bad taste, but to say that Williams is a racist is the easy way out in this situation.
For him to be racist, it would mean that he was suppressing these feelings for the last 15 years while he was hired and paid by Woods.
The saddest thing about this whole ordeal is that it proves how poorly Williams is handling his split up from Woods.
He’s like a scorned lover in this whole thing. By winning with Scott and saying it was the best win of his career, what was his end-game? To make Tiger feel as if he didn’t do anything better?
Clearly, that wouldn’t be the case. Woods has always been that confident, borderline cocky, golfer who not only thought he could win any tournament he entered, he expected to win any tournament he entered. So, to think that winning the Bridgestone with Scott, an event Woods has won seven times, was going to do anything to force Woods lose sleep at night was misguided and childish.
Williams and Woods both know they had at least 14 better moments together.
If we look deeper into their history, it points even more to Williams feeling slighted. Woods and Williams were as close as it gets, pre-scandal. Woods’ win at the 2006 British Open was the perfect display of how much the two men really cared about one another. The comments Williams made last week were just the latest example of how he still isn’t over the split and it’s as simple as that.
For all that’s going on in Woods’ life in the post-scandal, post-winning era, he still has stuck to his script for better or worse. He expects to win every tournament he’s in (sure he does) and he doesn’t bite on provocative statements. He’s handling the split far better than Williams has, but hopefully this will be his last bout with public verbal vomit.
Kaymer Overcomes 5-Shot Deficit, Wins HSBC Champions in Style
03 months ago
by Chris Chaney
in Golf
AP
PThe Germinator, Martin Kaymer, proved that he did not lose his machine-like focus after becoming the No. 1-player in the world earlier this year, going on a record-breaking tear on Sunday in Shanghai, China to win the World Golf Championship HSBC Champions.
Kaymer started his final round five strokes back of third-round leader Fredrik Jacobsen, but the 26-year-old major champion couldn’t get anything going early in his round, parring the first six holes when he needed to be making a move if he had any thoughts of making it into contention.
On the 7th hole, Kaymer looked that he could possibly be dropping his first shot of the day when he found himself in the green-side bunker needing to get up-and-down to save par. Instead of grinding out his par, Kaymer did himself one better, holing out from the bunker and spurring an incredible 12-hole stretch in which Kaymer birdied nine holes.
“It started off a little slow,” Kaymer said. “But then I holed a bunker shot on 7 for birdie and pretty much since then, I didn’t miss a lot of golf shots. I didn’t miss a lot of putts.”
The crazy thing in the Germinator’s 12-hole birdie fest is that he left some shots out there. Of course, you always hear about guys who go ridiculously low and then have the audacity to come in and talk to the media and say something like, ‘you know, that’s the worst I could have shot. I left some shots out there.’
For me, I always end up thinking, ‘alright buddy, whatever you say,’ but that’s not the case with this round. Kaymer really left some shots out there. He had a short birdie putt on the 9th hole that he missed and then he parred the par-5 14th hole as well as the short 288-yard par-4 16th that most of the guys were reaching with a 3-wood.
Then again, there’s not a lot you could complain about over that stretch of holes. Also working in Kaymer’s favor was the players around him not doing much to grab the tournament by the throat. Jacobsen was swapping birdies for bogeys, shooting a 1-under 71 and Rory McIlroy, Lee Westwood, Louis Oosthuizen and Adam Scott didn’t exactly light-up Sheshan International.
McIlroy shot a solid round of 69 that included a birdie on the 18th hole that allowed him to finish in a tie for fourth place, that would move him up to second in the world rankings. Oosthuizen shot an even-par round of 72, Scott shot 73 and Westwood shot 74.
With Kaymer’s group playing in front of the 54-hole leader’s, Jacobsen was forced to leaderboard watch to see where he stood. With Kaymer’s four straight birdies on holes 10-13, he pulled ahead of Jacobsen, but the Swede answered with two birdies of his own on the 12th and 14th holes to keep himself in even.
Kaymer continued his stellar play with birdies on the 15th and 17th holes, putting too much pressure on Jacobsen who couldn’t answer, compounding his poor drive on 17 with a poor second shot that resulted in a bogey and two-shot deficit.
“I felt I was very much in it,” Jacobsen said, who finished in solo second place. “Obviously, 17 was a bit of a swing after I hit my tee shot. I knew if I was going to have a shot at it, I probably had to get up-and-down to have a realistic chance.”
Now with a two-shot cushion coming up the 72nd hole, Kaymer left nothing to chance, calmly (like everything else he does) rolling in a birdie putt to give him a final-round 63 and his second victory of the year, his other win coming at the HSBC Champions in Abu Dhabi in January.
Kaymer set two records for WGC events, one for the lowest final round score and the other for the largest deficit overcome to win (five shots).
Graeme McDowell, who similarly to Kaymer has had a let-down year in 2011, shot a final-round 67 to finish in solo third.
The win was a big one for Kaymer, who after having a magical 2010 that saw him clinch his first major championship at Whistling Straits, went on to become the top player in the world, joining Bernhard Langer as the only other German-born player to reach the prestigious plateau.
Along with the No. 1 label came the pressure and publicity associated with being the world’s best golfer. Now under more scrutiny and more desired to make appearances, Kaymer’s game lacked and he missed half of the cuts at the majors in 2011.
“Let’s say, for me, it was a tough stretch of months, because it’s not normal that at my age you become No. 1 in the world,” Kaymer said. “All of a sudden, you have more attention. Doesn’t matter really where you go. In my own country, I became the German golf face. In America, a lot of people recognized me because obviously golf is a little bit bigger in America than in Germany.
“But it has been a little awkward situation sometimes, because I was just not used to be that much in the spotlight. And it took some time to get used to it, and hopefully it will happen again, because I know what’s going to happen, I know how to approach that thing.”
Kaymer cashed $1.2 million for the win, par for the course for a WGC event, as well as moving up the official world rankings back to No. 4.
Kaymer will have two weeks off before the World Cup in China at Mission Hills. He will also play in the Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa and the Dubai World Championships during back-to-back weeks in early December.
Golfers Running Around with Dragons Can Only Mean One Thing…
03 months ago
by Chris Chaney
in Golf
The HSBC Champions is back!
While it’s not my place to judge a different country’s culture or practices, it is okay for us to enjoy seeing the best golfers in the world put into awkward situations in the name of hyping up a tournament. For that, there is no better example than when the World Golf Championships travel to Shanghai.
The good people at HSBC have come up with some pretty interesting ideas for the publicity stunts, but the best had to be the samurai swords that they had Tiger and Phil yield last year.
All joking aside, this is still one of the best events of the year. It helps in terms of timing, we really haven’t had much golf to watch lately, unless you count the Big Break.
Taking place in China, the golf comes on at weird hours (11 p.m. – 4 a.m. EST), but it’s not completely undoable, especially for our friends on the West Coast who will have the golf in primetime.
The tournament is also a WGC meaning that some of the best players in the world will be there. All four major champions are in the field as well as a host of top players including Ian Poulter, Jim Furyk, Ernie Els, Bill Haas, Graeme McDowell, Nick Watney, Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer, Hunter Mahan and defending champion Francesco Molinari. Young guns Matteo Manassero and Tom Lewis are also in the field.
As for those who qualified but aren’t making the trip, Bubba Watson, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson and Webb Simpson. World No. 1 player Luke Donald won’t be there as he and his wife prepare for the birth of their second child. Also notably absent will be Sergio Garcia who decided to take the week off after his back-to-back wins in Spain.
As for the viewing audience, the golf will be played live on the Golf Channel from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. beginning tonight and going through Saturday night/Sunday morning.
As usual with these late night/early morning star-studded events, you can follow along with me on Twitter.
Luke Donald Wins Disney and Money Title, Could Be Happiest Man in Happiest Place on Earth
04 months ago
by Chris Chaney
in Golf
AP
After a disappointing Friday-Saturday stretch at the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals Classic in which world No. 1 Luke Donald could only muster 3-under par, Donald seemed to have given way to Webb Simpson as the PGA Tour Money List winner.
Needing to finish in the top-2 while having Simpson finish outside of the top eight seemed a tall order, and even more so through eight holes on Sunday when Donald found himself well back of the leaders.
Going out in 34, Donald still needed to do something extraordinary to put himself in contention to win the tournament and the money title.
Six straight birdies might do the trick.
Donald catapulted up the leaderboard and won the tournament by two strokes with his final-round 64. Simpson finished in a tie for sixth, but with Donald receiving the winners’ check, he would have had to do no worse than second to hold on to the money title, which Luke also took with the victory.
“It’s hard to put into words,” said Donald during his post-win presser. “You know, obviously I came here and I told you guys on Wednesday that the goal was to win. You know, nothing was really going to be good enough other than that.
“I think this is probably one of the most satisfying wins of my career just because of that. It was kind of do or die. Obviously it wasn’t looking great after the 8th hole, but I knew I was going to get on to a run.”
The run he talked about covered six holes and 18 strokes. No one in the top 15 played that stretch in any better than 3-under par. The win was Donald’s first stroke-play victory on the PGA Tour since 2006.
“This means a lot…To do it (make birdies) when I needed to, to know that under pressure I was able to pull off the shots when I needed to to hole the putts, and obviously to get ahead of Webb (Simpson) on the Money List and win this event.
“This is obviously the first stroke‑play event I’ve won in the U.S. for five years, too, which is pretty special. It’s just knowing that I had to do it and being able to do it, and all of it kind of went along with, you know, picking up the first place. It’s very, very special.”
Already having locked up the European Tour’s money list, Donald was a late entry into the Disney for the sole purpose of dethroning Simpson as the PGA Tour’s high money earner.
As if winning two things on Sunday weren’t enough, Donald made his case for the Player of Year that much stronger with his performance. We all know that golf is a “what have you done for me lately” game and with Keegan Bradley’s PGA Championship win a month old, the drama that Donald and Simpson brought to the money title shrinks Bradley’s accomplishments.
The PGA Tour announced that they would not be sending out the POY ballots until after the HSBC Champions in two weeks. With it being a non-Ryder Cup year, the PGA decided to wait until after the event in Shanghai, giving Bradley, Donald and Simpson another chance to make their case for Player of the Year.
The Disney CMNHC being the last tournament of the year, Donald also officially won the Vardon Trophy for the lowest average on the PGA Tour and gained a five-year exemption for winning the money title, as if he needed it.
Already No. 1 in the world, Donald only solidified his position and put some more space in between himself and No. 2 Lee Westwood. Donald will take a few weeks off before heading to China for the HSBC where he is certain to be featured in one of their goofy promos.
Couples Says Woods Needs to Play More to Make Prez Cup Team, But May Not Be HSBC
26 months ago
by Chris Chaney
in Golf
Getty Images
Still three months clear of the first shots being hit at Royal Melbourne Golf Club for the 9th installment of the President’s Cup, the Ryder Cup’s not-as-attractive little brother, and wouldn’t you know it, Tiger Woods is the story.
Fresh off a missed cut at the season’s last major championship, Woods left the grounds of Atlanta Athletic Club with questions swirling about when we would see the former World No. 1 again. Announcing that he wouldn’t be playing this week’s Wyndham Championship because he had “family obligations,” Woods kissed his chance at making the season-ending FedEx Cup Playoffs goodbye.
Ranked 129th going into this week, Tiger will only be going south in the rankings. That said, the next tournament on his schedule not counting his playing in the Notah Begay III Foundation Challenge is the Australian Open the week before the President’s Cup.
As is Tiger’s MO, he doesn’t really let anyone into what he is planning, but there are a certain group of events that barring injury, Woods is always at. We’ve come to count the WGC HSBC Champions among those, however, Woods is not the veritable lock for the field as he used to be.
Sitting at No. 33 in the world following the PGA Championship, Woods’ ranking is, like his FedEx Cup standing, going south. With a limited field of 78 players in Shanghai, Tiger has some work to do if he plans on being in the field, but he hasn’t hinted that any work would be done.
US captain Fred Couples has said that if Woods wants to be on the team, then he has a spot whether he qualifies or not. He said that at the Memorial two months ago. Freddie mentioned that if a player wants to be on his team, they better play the Aussie Open and Woods obliged. Since the Memorial, Couples has backed off the Tiger guarantee a little bit, but not entirely.
“I really want him on the team based on, in my opinion, he’s been the best player for 10 straight years,” Couples said today at the Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship. “I don’t think you can just push him down because maybe he’s not playing as well as 20 other guys who can end up getting picked.
“We’re going to figure out a way to get this done. In my opinion, for him to play [on the team], I think he needs to play a little bit. He just can’t show up the week before in Australia.”
It’s possible that Woods may do just that if he fails to qualify for the HSBC Champions. There are other options, however, such as playing in some Fall Series events or skipping across the pond to play in some European Tour events.
I know one thing, as I’ve said before, there is a better chance of me making a start in the Fall Series than Tiger Woods.
The European Tour route may be the most beneficial because it’s the most likely. The Euro Tour is not shy about shelling out appearance fees and we know that Woods follows the money. He can get his “reps” over in Europe and please his captain at the same time, ensuring his captain’s pick.
Of course, we won’t know what Woods is doing until the week or so before-hand. So, for now, we have to sit and wait.
At least this week, we can see some guys who want to play for their spot in the FedEx Cup Playoffs.
Tiger Woods Winless on PGA Tour for the First Time in Career
41 year ago
by Chris Chaney
in Golf
Getty Images
For the first time in his 14-year career, Tiger Woods did not notch a single PGA Tour win this season.
For 14 years straight, Tiger has been in the winners circle at least one time (1998), and as many as nine times (2000), but 2010 is the year that will be remembered as the Fall of Tiger, so perhaps it’s fitting the former world’s best player couldn’t get over the hump (pun intended).
For clarity’s sake, Tiger will be playing in two more events this year, the JB Were Australlian Masters, which tees off tonight at 8:30 p.m. on the Golf Channel, and his Chevron World Challenge, but neither of those events are PGA Tour sanctioned.
Woods’ last chance to get a win was this past weekend in China. Opening with a solid first round score of 68, Tiger was only three strokes back and in the thick of the tournament. However, like it has been for most of the year, whenever we would catch a glimpse of the old Tiger, a bad round was lurking around the corner.
For Woods, Friday and Saturday accounted for the bad rounds. With nine bogeys over the two days, Tiger had basically took himself out of contention of winning. On Sunday, Tiger charged on the back nine, making five birdies, but by that time the two men atop the leaderboard, Lee Westwood and Francesco Molinari, were lapping the field. Tiger’s Sunday 68 put him in a tie for sixth, the best finish among American players.
Coming off of the Shanghai letdown, Woods traveled to his mother’s native country of Thailand to take part in a skins game honoring the King’s 60th year of rule. Playing alongside Tiger were Camilo Villegas, Paul Casey and Thongchai Jaidee.
With no implications on wins or money earnings (all skins would go to charity), Tiger came in DFL, winning only one skin worth $6,600. Villegas made the most money for the King’s foundation, winning five skins and $109,800, while Paul Casey won a total of nine skins worth $92,400. Thongchai Jaidee, the home town hero, won three skins.
Tiger’s next stop is the Australian Masters this week and then he will head back to the States for his tournament.
There is no doubt that after he finishes his final round at the Chevron, Tiger will have no problem fading out of the spotlight for a while and letting the most tumultuous year of his life slip into the past while he takes a couple months off from competitive golf.
Francesco Molinari Holds Off the New No. 1 in the World to Win HSBC
21 year ago
by Chris Chaney
in Golf
Reuters
Every year, there are five or six tournaments that boast some of the top talent in the world. Usually, those tournaments are played somewhere like Firestone, TPC Sawgrass, Congressional or Harbour Town. Rarely, though, is the tournament that lives up to it’s pre-tournament billing.
There were story lines galore going in to the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai this weekend; how is Tiger Woods’ swing change coming along? Had Phil Mickelson really kicked the pain from his psoriatic arthritis? Could Lee Westwood prove that he deserved his No. 1 ranking?
And what of that No. 1 ranking?
Four men had the opportunity this weekend to take over the top spot in the world of golf. All they needed to do was win.
Instead, the No. 30 player in the world became the proverbial buzz saw that the world class field at Sheshan International Golf Club ran into.
Francesco Molinari, who was bullied by former No. 1 Tiger Woods at the Ryder Cup in the Monday Singles Match, bullied the new No. 1 Lee Westwood, holding Westy from solidifying his new place in the golf world with a victory.
But, for Westwood, the week was by no means a failure. He didn’t flame out like Mickelson (+1, T-41 ) or Kaymer (-2, T30). He matched Molinari nearly hole-for-hole.
As the talking heads like to point out, you can’t win a tournament on Thursday, but you can lose it. However, for Westwood, he did neither. Opening with a 6-under 66, Westwood was bested by one stroke as Molinari shot a 7-under 65. The rest of the week was a draw. Both Westwood and Molinari finished the weekend 70-67-67.
That’s not to say it wasn’t interesting. Holding the lead by only one or two strokes throughout Sunday led to some fireworks on the back nine, which was emphasized by some clutch putting, especially for Westwood which kept the pressure on Molinari. From Stephanie Wei:
The two appeared to be matching great shots and birdies, but things turned to Molinari’s advantage on the 16th hole.
Westwood’s drive on the 288-year par-4 dribbled to the left of the green, where a pot bunker stood between him and the pin. When the announcer saw the result, he called it, “Now he’s dead. He’s dead.” Molinari drove his tee shot into the primary rough, but managed to knock a wedge to about five-feet. But Westwood wasn’t so lucky. With a tight lie, he fluffed his chip to the rough around the bunker and managed to save par.
Molinari, who isn’t known for his putting prowess, drained his birdie on 16 to take a two-stroke advantage over Westwood with two to play.
It looked like Molinari had locked up the win after Westwood’s tee shot on the par-3 17 found the bunker and his sand shot powered 15-feet past the hole. However, Westwood drained the putt for par to stay within two.
Westwood gave himself a chance on the par-5 18, knocking it on the green in two. But when he missed his eagle try, Molinari just needed to tap in his one-and-half footer for par to clinch the victory.
For Molinari, this is his breakout win. He’s won twice on the European Tour, but nothing with a field as stacked as a WGC event.
What’s interesting about his win this weekend is that he will get all the accolades that comes with winning on the PGA Tour, except for the money. Now, before I totally lose you, I’m not suggesting he didn’t get paid for his win this weekend, he did, to the tune of $1.2 million. However, in the PGA Tour’s eyes, Molinari’s win means nothing monetarily, which in Molinari’s eyes means nothing, because he is not a PGA Tour member.
Got all that?
The PGA Tour put in their first round notebook a couple of things that caught my eye. First, as you know, the WGC-HSBC will now be a PGA Tour event from here on out, giving the winner, so long as they are a PGA Tour member, a three-year exemption, but the rule is not retroactive, meaning Phil Mickelson will not get a PGA Tour win for his victory last year. Fine, no big deal there. Here’s where I’m confused. If you win on the PGA Tour, you get an invite to the newly named Hyundai Tournament of Champions in Hawaii to start next year. So to recap, the HSBC is a PGA Tour Event that gets you a three-year exemption (if you’re a Tour member) and into the tournament of Champions, but this is the kicker: the money won at this tournament does not go towards the PGA Tour money list.
Of course, for Francesco Molinari, he couldn’t care less because he’s on the European Tour. And when you think about it, it really won’t make a difference if someone who were a member of the PGA Tour won because they would almost certainly have their Tour card wrapped up because as a WGC event, you have to be pretty good, and pretty rich already, to garner a spot.
So, what am I rambling about? Not much, just pointing out the fact that the rule seems a bit contradictory.
Regardless, congratulations to Francesco Molinari on his big win. And kudos to Lee Westwood for showing he’s not just some slouch who slept his way into the No. 1 ranking in the world, even if this week was another example of how he can’t close out a tournament.
HSBC Champions Preview: Sword Fights, No. 1 Implications and Pairings
21 year ago
by Chris Chaney
in Golf
Getty Images
The HSBC Champions from Sheshan International Golf Club in Shanghai, China gets underway later tonight in a Ryder Cup-esque viewing time for those on the East Coast. This is the most anticipated golf tournament for an entire month.
Following the Ryder Cup, golf has taken a backseat to college and professional football, as well as the beginning of the NBA. Luckily, for people like me, and I would guess, people like you who are reading a golf blog in the beginning of November, the Fall Series has been extremely entertaining.
But honestly, let’s not kid ourselves. We all have been waiting with bated breath for the HSBC, which as a WGC event, has an awesome field. For the first time in normal tournament action since the PGA Championship, Tiger Woods, Lee Westwood, Phil Mickelson, Rory McIlroy, Ryo Ishikawa, Anthony Kim, Adam Scott, Rickie Fowler, The Brothers Molinari, Luke Donald, Matteo Manassero, Ian Poulter, Miguel Angel Jimenez and many others will all be in the same field. It doesn’t get much better than that, especially for this time of year.
Let’s jump into this thing.
First of all, every economics and marketing class in the country has been saying for the past 10 years that the largest and most influential in the world is China. They have a billion people there for chrissakes. So what would you except to happen when the best golfers in the world assemble in one place? A sword fight of course.
What better way to settle the world rankings dilemma than with a good old fashioned Chinese sword fight?
Also up for grabs this weekend, aside from the $7 million purse, is the world No. 1 ranking, recently apprehended by Englishman Lee Westwood.
The top four players in the world, 1. Westwood, 2. Woods, 3. Kaymer and 4. Mickelson all have a chance to take the No. 1 slot from Westwood with a win this week. After Westwood’s rise to No. 1 received some criticism, this week would be the perfect time for one of those four men to play their way into the No. 1 spot and in essence, silence the critics because they would have earned it.
Looking at each player individually, starting from the bottom and moving up, Phil Mickelson is playing for the first time since the Tour Championship in a stoke-play tournament. Mickelson shot a 4-over 74 to end the tournament at +3 and T-22. Lefty’s been battling his psoriatic arthritis, but said this week that the time off and medicine he is taking allows him to work out and go to the gym (ha) like he used to. Still, Mickelson’s game has been a little off all year, and it didn’t really show any signs of coming back at Celtic Manor. I think this will be the 13th time he has a chance to take over No. 1 in the world, and the 13th time he fails to do it.
Martin Kaymer had a bad week last week. He went to Valderrama and lost to perhaps the only other person on the planet player as well as him (Graeme McDowell). However, coming off a hot streak in which he won the last three times he teed it up has moved Kaymer to third in the world. If he can forget last week at Valderrama, I don’t see why he can’t win again this week in China and lay claim to that No. 1 ranking so many people feel he deserves.
Tiger Woods is all over the place. He says his game is coming along, but to be real, when has he said his game isn’t coming along. It seemed that during the FedEx Cup Playoffs, he was getting back into form. With his new swing coach, Sean Foley, Tiger seemed to be making progress, finishing in the top 15 in each of the three Playoff events he was in. Then he got some time off to practice, showed up in Wales and went on to put up a 3-1 record, including a dismantling of Francesco Molinari in the singles, going 7-under on 10 holes. With another month to practice and grow accustomed to Foley’s swing changes, it would be hard to believe Tiger is not going in the right direction. Plus, there is that little thing about Westwood replacing Tiger as the world’s No. 1 golfer and everyone knows how Tiger usually handles getting publicly dissed. I don’t expect Tiger to come through and win this week, I think he is still a little bit away from that, but by no means would I be surprised if he did so, if only to restore his ranking.
Lee Westwood has been fighting his ailing calf since the middle of summer, missing the PGA Championship and only coming back to help Europe win the Ryder Cup. Following the victory in Wales, Westy went to St. Andrews and competed in the Dunhill Links where it was reported that he tweaked said calf. After a little rest and recuperation, Westwood took over the No. 1 ranking. Clearly, Westwood knows not to ruffle Tiger’s feathers, but he is not apologizing for taking over the ranking either. If Westwood can play like he did in Wales, there is no reason he can’t cement his No. 1 ranking with a victory.
All that being said, I don’t think any of these four will win the HSBC. Not because none of them are capable, but just because, with the exception of Kaymer, their games seem a bit off at the moment. But for me, right now, I think Graeme McDowell is playing the best golf in the world. Winning last week at tough course in Valderrama, I don’t see anyone slowing him down.
Finally, a look at the quality pairings in this weekend. Wouldn’t you know it, those guys over in China know how to put some “random” pairings together.
The early draw for Thursday seems a little weak. The only quality threesome I see going off the first tee is the Manassero, S. Appleby and R. Palmer at 9:40. It seems that the back nine Thursday morning will be the place to be. First off will be a cheeky pairing including Anthony Kim and Robert Allenby with Eduardo Molinari playing third wheel. Ryo Ishikawa, Ian Poulter and Nick Watney go off 10 at 9:15. Right behind them will be Tiger Woods, Ernie Els and Graeme McDowell. Following that threesome will be Hunter Mahan, Martin Kaymer and Paul Casey. Finishing off the parade of stars is the group of Phil Mickelson, Lee Westwood and YE Yang. Rory McIlroy, Padraig Harrington, Luke Donald and MAJ are also sprinkled across the back nine Thursday morning.
The coverage begins tonight on Golf Channel at Midnight EST and goes until 4 a.m. I’ll be up live tweeting the coverage, so if you can’t afford to miss those sleeping hours, read up on the tweets tomorrow at work.
It’s exciting to have world-class golf going on again!
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