Posts tagged Lee Westwood
Wrong Fairway Picks for the WGC Accenture Match Play
09 hours ago
by Chris Chaney
in Golf
It would be tough to argue against March Madness being the best time of the year for drama in sports. It’s win or go home, no tomorrow and all those other sports clichés.
While we only get a handful of match play events a year, there’s no doubting that the format is one of the best we have in professional/high-level amateur golf. Some will clamor for more of the match-play because of the differing strategies that are involved in playing one-on-one, but that won’t work because of reasons we saw two weeks ago at Pebble Beach.
The PGA Tour is a business. Businesses strive to make money and while there are a handful of people in this 64-man field that will bring not only hardcore golf fans, but also fringe sports fans to watch the matches, no one is skipping out on work to watch Robert Karlsson and Fredrik Jacobson.
If we get Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson (who isn’t playing this week) and maybe five or size others, then yes, more match play might be a viable option, but as it stands, it’s not economical to have more match play tournaments than we have already. Plus, the lack of match play events is exactly what makes the Accenture Match Play, US Amateur and Ryder and Presidents Cups special.
That being said, above you’ll see the picks for this week. I wanted to get them up as soon as I could, so when it ends up being the perfect bracket, you can check the post date.
A few highlights.
- Yes, that’s Tiger winning. Why? Because it’s going to happen sometime, he’s a match play god and it’s one round at a time. He doesn’t need to string together six rounds of 68. He needs to be better than one person each day. He can do that and it would make Sunday a lot more fun for Johnny Miller
- Got Freddy Jac beating Lee Westwood in the second round. Why? Because I’m kind of thrown off by Freddy to be honest. Kind of looks like a bad guy from a movie (that I can’t put my finger on), but his painters hat and jerky move at the ball seem to work for him. Plus, Westwood’s soft.
- Have G-Mac going to the semis. An off year in 2011 after a dream 2010, seems like he’s ready to get back on track and what better way to do that than one match at a time.
- Woods and A. Scott in the finals. Just cause.
Coverage starts today at noon on Golf Channel, so check out the best Wednesday of the year.
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.
An Awesome Weekend for Golf
02 months ago
by Chris Chaney
in Golf
Getty Images
First of all, I want to apologize for the lack of posting over the past two weeks. In the way of excuses, I have had a decent amount going on. This time two weeks ago I had two part-time jobs that gave me a pretty good amount of time to blog on a daily basis. Now, I have one full-time job that I’m still trying to get acquainted with, therefore the posting here has slowed down.
The longer I’m here (here being The Clermont Sun), the more comfortable I will be with my duties and as a result, have a better idea of when I can post. I hope to that daily posting can still be the case, but things could be spotty for the next few weeks as I get settled in as well as move into a new house.
Enough about me, though, how about this past weekend in golf, huh?
Three of the top players in the world were able to pull out victories, Rory McIlroy at the Hong Kong Open, Lee Westwood at the Nedbank Golf Challenge and some guy named Tiger Woods at the Chevron World Challenge.
McIlroy shot a blistering 5-under par 65 on Sunday to come from three behind of third-round leader Alvaro Quiros and win by three shots. McIlroy had five birdies and no bogies in his final round. Quiros shot a Sunday 73 to drop out of contention, but France’s Gregory Havret closed the gap with his own final-round 65 to finish two shots behind McIlroy.
Hitting his approach into the green-side bunker on the 72nd hole, McIlroy looked to leave the door open for Havret, but the Northern Irishman holed out from the bunker to slam that door shut and win by two strokes.
Westwood built up a seven-shot lead heading into the final round at the Nedbank. Thank goodness for that, because Westwood stumbled to the finish line with a 1-over par 73 to finish at 15-under par for the tournament to win by two strokes over Robert Karlsson, who shot a 4-under par 68 on Sunday in Sun City, South Africa.
Two of the three tournaments mentioned here were limited field contests, but it would appear as if the Nedbank was the best. Westwood outclassed players like Luke Donald (T7), Graeme McDowell (T2), Jason Dufner (T2), Martin Kaymer (8) and Darren Clarke (DFL, 12).
In the last to finish chronologically, Tiger Woods finished birdie-birdie on his last two holes to claim his fifth Chevron World Challenge beating Zach Johnson by one stroke. Woods, who notoriously hasn’t won an event in the last two years, put an end to his losing streak with the win coming 749 days after his last victory at the Australian Masters.
Johnson took a one-stroke lead through 16 holes, but Woods birdied out to best Johnson by a stroke. Woods and Johnson had distanced themselves from the rest of the limited field by Sunday, making it a two-horse race that Woods was able to win by the narrowest of margins.
Among the other notable finishes at the Chevron were Paul Casey (3), Hunter Mahan and Matt Kuchar (T4), Jim Furyk, Rickie Fowler and Bubba Watson (T6) and Jason Day (15).
More on the Tiger victory should be coming later today, so check back. Thanks for coming back!
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.
McIlroy Leaves Chubby, ISM for Horizon Sports Management
04 months ago
by Chris Chaney
in Golf
In a strange turn of events, Rory McIlroy announced on Friday that he would be leaving International Sports Management and super-agent Chubby Chandler to join the Dublin-based Horizon Sports Management, home of fellow countryman and friend, Graeme McDowell.
It is interesting in terms of the timing of the split as McIlroy was travelling with Chandler for the past few weeks in China and most recently with fellow ISM clients Darren Clarke and Charl Schwartzel to the PGA Grand Slam of Golf in Bermuda.
If there was anything that could be seen as a sign that the 22-year-old US Open Champion was planning on leaving the agency, it came in August when McIlroy expressed some concerns about how ISM was presenting him.
“We sat down [six weeks ago] and he said he was not happy with his brand, sponsors, website or his public relations image. I thought we were sorting things out to his liking,” Chandler said.
“Even though we had that talk I was shocked. I had no inkling, really. Of course it batters away at your self-confidence when you lose someone like Rory because he is as big as they come.”
Also interesting was the manner in which McIlroy chose to break the news to Chandler and the world, seemingly keeping it a secret from everyone except Horizon. Travelling back from Bermuda and before heading to Istanbul to watch some tennis, McIlroy sat down with Chandler in the JFK Airport lounge to break the news to Chandler.
“He said I’ve decided to move on,” Chandler said. “Disappointed and a bit shocked. I thought we had a better relationship than that, but he had his reasons. He said he wanted to freshen things up a bit. It’s one of those things; he’s a 22-year-old with a very strong head who wants to make his own decisions, and one of his decisions was he didn’t want us to manage him any longer.”
For McIlroy’s part, good on him for doing this professionally and face-to-face. With the move coming as a surprise, McIlroy wasn’t available for comment despite some nagging efforts. He did, however, let out this press release:
“I would like to sincerely thank Andrew ‘Chubby’ Chandler and his team for their guidance, representation, and management over the past four years, since turning pro.
“Chubby and his team have played a very important role in my success to date. I have made great progress under their management and for that I will always be grateful.
“I am now keen to move onto the next stage of my career and I feel this will be facilitated by a fresh view and a new structure around me. Therefore I am delighted to be joining Horizon and I look forward to working with my new team.”
While players switching agencies can be as fluid as switching caddies, when players like Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy make moves, it turns heads. Interestingly enough, Ernie Els doesn’t quite hold that clout as he left ISM last month without so much as a blip on the radar.
Finishing the season with two major champions, Chandler’s ISM stable is far from in trouble, but with Els, McIlroy and now rumors that Schwartzel may be leaving as well, something may be going awry within ISM.
It is very possible that McDowell had a big part in McIlroy’s move. Easily McIlroy’s best friend on Tour, McDowell left ISM in 2009 because Chandler wasn’t giving him enough attention. Of course, McDowell went on to win the 2010 US Open and Chandler vowed to never let anyone the caliber of McDowell slip through their fingers again, although it appears they have done just that.
As for the other members of ISM, Lee Westwood tweeted at McIlroy saying simply, “bizarre decision!” Chandler added that he believe Clarke, who has known Rory from a young age, “is going to feel a little let down” by McIlroy’s decision.
McIlroy’s person website is down, whether it is due to high volume or changes in appearance is unknown.
Chandler is letting the news roll of his back, but he admits there is some pain in the decision for his company.
“Life goes on and, while there’s hurt, I certainly don’t bear any bitterness towards Rory,” Chandler said. “We all know how good he is for our sport and I’d rather reflect on the four good years we had together.”
Is a Chubby Slam in the Cards This Week?
06 months ago
by Chris Chaney
in Golf
Getty Images
Chubby Chandler is on one hell of a run. And from the looks of things, Chub doesn’t do much running.
Asked how Chandler was preparing for the possibility of a Chubby Slam, client Lee Westwood was not dazzled.
“I’m not impressed with his preparation,” a tongue-in-cheek Westwood said. “I’ve seen him drinking a bit, he’s not been in the gym, haven’t seen him on the range yet. I wouldn’t hold out much hope for him. He gets a bit flat at the back [of his swing] and bounces it off his shoulder occasionally.”
That’s not all. What about the weather?
“He doesn’t function well in the heat. He drinks a lot but not water, unless you count tonic water.”
Despite his lack of preparation, the ISM head man’s stable of players is pretty stacked. It includes the last three major champions and four of the last five. He could have had five of the last six, but Graeme McDowell slipped through the cracks in the infant stages of the company, something Chandler vows will never happen again.
This week at the Atlanta Athletic Club, Chandler has 10 players in the field. That’s 15.6 percent of the 156-player field for those of you who are math challenged. However, using that percentage as his chance of winning may be a little low.
Considering the quality of player that Chandler represents, I would put the chance that one of his guys wins at 1-in-3. Aside from the previous major winners this year, he has the likes Lee Westwood, Ernie Els, Fredrik Andersson-Hed, Simon Dyson, Louis Oosthuizen, Gregory Bourdy and David Horsey under his care.
Chandler has played it pretty cool over the weeks coming into the PGA, acting as if it’s not a big deal for him, saying he’s even a little embarrassed by the whole thing.
“No he’s not,” Rory McIlroy said. “ I think to be honest we’re having a lot of fun about it. It would be great if ISM could take over Bermuda in October. We’re having a lot of fun with it. I don’t know who came up with the name the Chubby Slam, but it’s pretty funny and it would be great if it happened.”
McIlroy is the betting favorite this week coming in at 10/1 with Lee Westwood right on his heels at 14/1. Clearly, those are the two people are expecting to have the best chance, but Chandler has a rooting interest this week. With McIlroy, Charl Schwartzel, Oosthuizen and most recently, Darren Clarke breaking through, he has to be pulling a little more for Westy.
“I would be lying if I said I wasn’t,” Chandler told the Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis.
However, Chandler would take a win from any one of his guys. An equal opportunity partier, Chandler just wants this week to be over. 2011 has been a blur for the affable Englishman. But I’m sure he wouldn’t mind just one more celebration.
He already has three guys in the Grand Slam of Golf at Port Royal Golf Club in Bermuda, an annual event that hosts each of the four major champions from the previous year. He’s one win away from representing the whole lot.
“I have a funny feeling it’s going to happen,” Chandler said. “It would be a nice four-ball in Bermuda.”
Wrong Fairway Picks and Predictions: 2011 PGA Championship
06 months ago
by Chris Chaney
in Golf
Balls are in the air at Atlanta Athletic Club, so before the guys get out to too much of a lead or dig themselves into too big a hole, I better make my picks and a few predictions about the final major of the year.
The first wave is now out on the course including big names like Adam Scott, Matteo Manassero, Phil Mickelson, Luke Donald, Bubba Watson and some guy named Tiger.
On to the predictions for the week.
The course is in perfect condition. Paul Goydos said that the AAC is in perfect major championship form and should set up for a great week. The course is tough enough that the best players in the world will emerge from the pack and create a great finish on Sunday.
The last four holes have already wreaked some havoc on the field. The PGA Championship website has some live streaming coverage of a marquee group. Guess who’s on this morning?
The man in red is in red on Thursday, which is different. After getting off to a good start, 3-under par through five, Woods went 5-over on the last four holes to finish at +2 on his first nine. So, those holes are playing tough. With that kind of stroke disparity out there, any guys within three or four strokes on Sunday could have a chance at winning.
As for a winning score, I like it around 10- or 11-under par. Why? The guys playing the best this week will be able to make the birdies where they should and will be able to weather the storm coming down the stretch. Give me someone who hits it long and straight and won’t be discouraged by a bogey or two.
My darkhorse this week is Gary Woodland. Why? He hits the ball a mile and he has proven he can win this year. The only thing that worries me about Woodland is that he appears to run hot every now and again. If he’s striping it and holing some putts, I think he could make some noise this weekend.
As for a contender this week, I like Rory McIlroy for the same reason as everybody else, mostly. He hits it far and plays a right-to-left ball flight that helps on the numerous dogleg left holes at AAC. He’s proven he plays well on those courses (read: Augusta, Congressional), and he seems to be over his major hangover. A disappointing finish at the Open Championship turned into a top-10 last week in Akron, so look for Wee Mac to be in the hunt come Sunday.
And my winner is: Lee Westwood. Why? He’s due, no doubt about that. But if you watched his press conference this week, he seems more at ease than in recent memory. He’s met with the putting guru (and two-time PGA Champion) Dave Stockton as well as famous mental coach Bob Rotella.
Another reason I like Westwood is that he is one of Chubby’s boys. One of Chubby Chandler’s stable of players has won every major this year and four of the last five. Any one of Chub’s could win this week to finish off the Chubby Slam, something Chandler says he has a funny feeling that it will happen.
Why not Westwood? It’s a ball-strikers course. Hit fairways and greens and a few putts and he could be raising the Wanamaker Trophy come Sunday.
*****
For your viewing pleasure this week, tune into the PGA Championship’s website early to watch the marquee group before network coverage.
Thursday and Friday will be shown on TNT from 1 – 7 p.m. with Golf Channel analysis surrounding it. Come the weekend, TNT will have early coverage from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
CBS Sports will be carrying the primetime coverage on Saturday and Sunday from 2 – 7 p.m.
Find the golf however you can and enjoy Glory’s Last Shot.
Wrong Fairway Picks and Predictions for the 2011 Open Championship
07 months ago
by Chris Chaney
in Golf
Why Not?
We’ve talked about a lot of things so far this week. From the favorite, to the Aussie and American chances, to the pairings and finally, the course, but now it’s time to put all that information to use and talk about who is actually going to win this thing.
There are a lot of choices this week, many of which are as likely to win as the next. So, let’s look at five of the favorites as set out by some of the “experts.”
Rory McIlroy
I would be remiss if I didn’t start out with the lad from Northern Ireland, Rory McIlroy. Coming off the biggest win of his career at the US Open, Wee Mac took a three week hiatus to let the win and the hoopla surrounding it settle.
He went about his now-normal major routine of flying into the venue the week before the tournament and knocking the ball around before returning home again. Reemerging on the grounds on Tuesday for his presser, McIlroy looked relaxed and even more confident than when we last saw him at Congressional.
Appearing focused and refreshed, more than a few people changed their presumptions that he would not be able to win back to back majors.
Prediction: A good bet to be sure, but I’m not sure he’s ready to battle the conditions that are expected this week. We all know what happened last year at the Old Course after McIlroy lit the world on fire with his first round 63 in favorable conditions, but when the wind picked up, so did McIlroy’s score. While he is a year older and wiser, I don’t know if he has completely mastered playing championship golf in the wind.
Luke Donald
The No. 1 player in the world is coming to Royal St. George’s off a win last week at Castle Stuart in the Scottish Open. Many think that his win at the Scottish on a links course bodes well for Donald this week, and why shouldn’t they? A winner three times so far in 2011, Donald, although yet to win a major, has without a doubt been the most consistent player of the past eight months.
His short game will be key this week as the unorthodox green complexes are leaving some players to already let their opinions be formed. While it will be hard to hold the green, Donald’s ability to get up and down will be tested ad nauseum throughout the week. His straight drives will also be helpful, but the quirkiness of the fairways don’t always reward on-target shots.
Prediction: I expect Donald to be in the mix if only for the fact that he is hot at the moment and has an uncanny short game. The Castle Stuart win has been overblown because of the weather that they had in Scotland last week. With one day being completely rained out, the course wasn’t playing like RSG will. It was softer, if not under water, and allowed for a more American style of play. Donald will still be in search of his first major come Monday.
Steve Stricker
Call him the great American hope. Well, he along with Nick Watney seem to be the best bet for an American to contend for the Claret Jug this week. Coming off his third straight win at the John Deere Classic, Stricker has his game clicking, especially the putter, his go-to club. Unfortunately for Sticker, the previous two times he won the John Deere, the success did not travel with him overseas.
Probably the best bet for the American side that doesn’t seem too threatening without Tiger Woods in Europe, Stricker has the game to compete, it just doesn’t seem to be in the cards with the winds blowing the way they have been this week. Then again, who knows. Who was thinking about Ben Curtis eight years ago?
Prediction: He finished T55 and T52 in his past two appearances coming off victories. Another player without a major championship, like Phil Mickelson it doesn’t appear that links golf really suits Stricker. While he should be around for the weekend due to his grinding ways, it’s hard to see him outlasting a field of Europe’s best in “their” major.
Martin Kaymer
Kind of falling off the radar as of late, Kaymer hasn’t made much noise since his whirlwind finish in 2010. Rising to the rank of No. 1 earlier in the year, Kaymer hasn’t done much to keep his name on the tongue of the bookkeepers. If I were to take a guess as to why, I would have to point to Augusta.
Billed as a right-to-left ball flight course, Augusta National got into Kaymer’s head. A normal, for him, left-to-right ball flight wasn’t good enough in his estimation. In trying to change his natural ball flight, I think he may have set himself back a bit. He didn’t compete at Augusta or Congressional, but back in Europe, playing a style of golf that really doesn’t call for a directional ball flight as much as it does for the trajectory of the shots, Kaymer can get out of his own way and make a move.
He won last year at St. Andrews in the Dunhill, so he is a proven links golfer. He finished tied for seventh at the Open last year, again at St. Andrews.
Prediction: Although in writing out the reasons why Kaymer has a chance to win, I almost talked myself into picking him, but no. I go back to his own shooting himself in the foot, if you will, with his swing tweak at Augusta. He’s coming around, but not yet. He’s still one of the top-5 players in the world, but I don’t see this week being the one Kaymer picks up his second major.
Lee Westwood
The wily vet is still in search of his first major championship and what better place than in his own country. The quirks at RSG are the mounds and moguls in the fairways that can make a seemingly good drive kick off the fairway. However, with that being said, give me the guy who drives the ball on a string because even if he gets a couple of bad breaks, he will more than likely get some good bounces as well.
Westwood is playing well as of late with high finishes at both majors this year with T11 at Augusta and T3 at the US Open. He’s always right there, especially at the Open Championship, so there’s not reason he shouldn’t be again this week. In the wind, the ballstrikers will rise to the top of the board, so perhaps this is the best chance for Westwood. He also hits the ball low, which will assuredly help his cause.
Prediction: To preface this prediction, let me say that Westwood would be my pick if I was going chalk. I think he is long overdue, and maybe even a little peeved at himself that he hasn’t won one yet.
However, I see this as another pick-em out of a hat year. A Ben Curtis or Todd Hamilton year.
With that being said, I give you Miguel Angel Jimenez.
Why, you may ask.
Why not?
Harrison Frazar Finally Wins, Is Quickly Forgotten
08 months ago
by Chris Chaney
in Golf
How do I hold this thing?
Too often winners of PGA Tour events that take place the week before a major are forgotten as soon as they sink their final putt.
The practice of looking forward to the bigger event the following week is only natural. Four times a year, the best players in the world are (almost) guaranteed to be playing in the same place for a chance of golf immortality. Becoming a major champion is the dream of practically everyone who has ever picked up a club.
Enter Harrison Frazar. A 39 year-old PGA Tour journeyman who in his first 354 starts has sniffed the winners circle a handful of times only to come up short.
Recently in a Golf.com piece (ghost written by Alan Shipnuck) Frazar talked about the struggles of being a tour professional while also attempting to balance a family life as he spends a the majority of his professional life on the road.
He talked openly and honestly about the thoughts that creep into his head about trying to find a more stable and grounded profession that would allow him to spend the time he wants with his family. Most importantly, he wrote, was what’s the point of putting himself through the grind of week in, week out play if he has no wins to show for it?
The final question was put to rest on Sunday as Frazar defeated Robert Karlsson in sudden death to win the FedEx St. Jude Classic.
Sunday was a two-horse race with Karlsson and Frazar battling in the final group as the rest of the field played for third place. Karlsson entered the final round with a one-stroke lead, but Frazar pulled even after a birdie on the 11th hole.
Deadlocked at 14-under for the next five holes, Karlsson blinked first bogeying No. 17 giving Frazar the lead heading into the 72nd hole. However, just like a year prior, the 18th hole at TPC Southwind proved to make for great theatre.
Frazar pulled his approach shot into the left water hazard and got up-and-down for a bogey. Karlsson, needing a par to force a playoff, did not make it easy on himself. After seeing Frazar’s pull into the hazard left of the green, the Swede missed the green to the right. Choosing to putt from off the green, Karlsson rolled his birdie attempt 10 feet past the hole. He calmly sank the putt and the pair headed back to 18 for the playoff.
Exchanging pars on the 18th and 11th holes, Frazar and Karlsson came to the 12th, a 406-yard par-4. Frazar found the green on the 12th, putting himself 25 feet above the hole. He lagged his birdie putt to kick in range to put the pressure squarely on the European Tour-playing Karlsson. After he had missed the green, Karlsson had seven feet for his par, but played too much break and for the second time in two years fell finished second in Memphis.
Finally breaking through in his 355th start on Tour, Frazar didn’t quite know how to handle the festivities following the win.
“It was a whirlwind there. This was the first time… I don’t know if I’m supposed to keep the seersucker jacket. I don’t know if I’m supposed to carry the trophy. You don’t know who you’re supposed to talk to. I felt bad. I didn’t thank the sponsors. I didn’t thank FedEx. I didn’t thank the volunteers. I was not quite sure really what was happening right then.
“The only tournament that I won in Q-school, you walked in, signed your card in the scoring trailer, and they gave you a pat on the back, ‘Good job.’ You walked out the door. There was nobody there.”
Frazar was the talk of the golf world for an hour or so following his win with players and media-types alike showering support and it’s-about-time praise, but after the initial aura wore off, everyone moved onto US Open chatter.
And thus continues one of the biggest screw jobs in professional golf. Three times a year, winners of the tournaments preceding the Masters, US Open and British Open are congratulated and promptly forgotten.
That is, of course, unless it is someone who is a perennial favorite going into a major such as Lee Westwood, who won the St. Jude last year or Phil Mickelson who won the Shell Houston Open prior to the Masters this year. For them, it’s seen as a building block and more reason why they will play well the following week.
However, in the two days following Frazar’s win, he has hardly been mentioned by pundits and experts on the Golf Channel or ESPN. In a year when there have been so many first time winners on Tour and with “parity” being the hot button word for the post-Tiger scandal era on tour, why couldn’t a guy like Frazar put together two good weeks?
Of course, the lack of notoriety isn’t something that is causing Frazar to lose sleep at night. Frazar has accrued nearly $10.5 million in his career, including just under 1/10th of that this past week. Frazar will gain entry into the Masters in 2012 as well as the Tournament of Champions that kicks off the PGA Tour season.
More importantly for Frazar, though, is the fact that with the win, he gains a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour meaning that story he wrote about walking away from golf might have become a more difficult decision.
Frazar will be teeing up this week at the US Open, kicking off the tournament in the opening group at 7 a.m. along with Chad Campbell and Marc Turnesa.
Westwood Further Stirs the Pot over “Fifth Major”
19 months ago
by Chris Chaney
in Golf
Getty Images
Look, can we just cool it with the “fifth major” stuff?
There are a couple things that have become a little overplayed in the past few months. The world rankings, the power struggle between the major tours and most pertinent, the title of one of any five tournaments as the “fifth major.”
Talking to EuropeanTour.com world No. 1 Lee Westwood took another jab at Tim Finchem and the PGA Tour calling the BMW PGA Championship the true fifth major in his mind.
“The BMW PGA Championship is the biggest title that I play for outside of the Majors. It’s bigger than the World Golf Championships because of what the tournament represents for us as The European Tour,” said Westwood.
“It’s the Tour’s showcase event and obviously I’d love to win – it is always a great event to play in and it would be nice to win a BMW tournament for the first time and it is certainly a high priority for me in any season.”
The well-documented turning down of PGA Tour cards by Westwood, Rory McIlroy and Martin Kaymer, three of the top six players in the world, have fueled a media-inspired Cold War between the European and PGA Tours.
As a result, the top players from Europe, including Westwood and McIlroy, are skipping the PGA Tour’s flagship event, The Players Championship next week. The decision to skip the event can be construed any number of ways.
Some see it as a proverbial middle finger to the PGA Tour, while the players themselves rationalize it as simply a choice based on scheduling.
McIlroy said this week that entering the Players would mean he’s playing six times in a seven week stretch and that’s too much if he wants to be relevant in the US Open next month.
“It is a year-on-year thing,” McIlroy said. “If I played the Players, the US Open would be my sixth week in seven. That would be a lot of golf for me.
“I have said I don’t want to play more than three in a row. It is too much golf for me. I get a little lazy and lethargic if I play more than three in a row. I want to prepare well for the US Open so I had to get rid of an event and it is the Players, simple as that.”
Depending on who you ask, the Players Championship can be the fifth most important tournament or even the ninth or tenth behind the World Golf Championships and other tournaments certain players hold in high esteem.
The fact of the matter is that there is no fifth major. Sure, this is the PGA Tour’s attempt at gaining a place on the Mount Rushmore of golf tournaments, but it’s not going to happen. It would alter history too much if it were to be included as a major. Nicklaus would have 21 major titles and Tiger 15, Greg Norman would have won a major on American soil and Sergio Garcia and Adam Scott would no longer be the biggest disappointments as far as talent without a major.
In the grand scheme of golfing history, we are pretty much set in our ways as far as majors are concerned, everything else are just quality fields.
So what is Westwood and McIlroy aren’t going to play in The Players. There will still be eight of the top 10 players in the world teeing it up, assuming a healthy Tiger shows up.
Let the guys do what they want. Golfers have long been an individual contractors and if they feel snubbed or want to snub someone else, let them.
The Players is going to happen next week whether or not Lee Westwood or Rory McIlroy shows up. Let’s just enjoy the players who do.
