Posts tagged Luke Donald
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.
Just for Chips and Giggles: Catch-Up Edition
01 month ago
Welcome to the newest addition to Playing From the Wrong Fairway: Just for Chips and Giggles. Basically what this feature is going to be made up of is stories that slip through the cracks. It might become a weekly thing, but it just depends on how things go. Beings that I haven’t had the chance to update in a while, the first edition of this new segment will take the shape of a gigantic link dump. Usually, there will be a little more opinion added to each segment, but with so much time off and everything that needs to be touched on, this is the most simplified way it can happen.
Without further ado, here. we. go.
- It’s a shame that we didn’t get to do something on Luke Donald’s big double-win on the money lists. It really was one of the biggest accomplishments of recent years.
- Speaking of more money than people know what to do with, Lee Westwood shows that he is just a normal bloke making too much money.
- The world lost perhaps it’s best golfer while we were away. A 38-under par round of 34 and 11 holes-in-one. What a shame the Dear Leader never got his chance to play Augusta.
- Chubby Chandler’s International Management Group stable of stars took a hit when Rory McIlroy walked, but the Chubster added former US Am Champion Peter Uhlein and he’s talking about playing on the European Tour.
- Gary Woodland has had an interesting off-season. First, he was dropped by his swing coach (?) and now, he’s with Tiger and Mark Steinberg.
- Speaking of Rory, he’s gave a couple of interviews towards the end of 2011 about the Masters, the US Open and what went into his decision to leave IMG.
- Another young up-and-comer, Lexi Thompson snagged her second win.
- Yani Tseng dominated golf in 2011 moreso than anyone since Tiger in 2000 last year, but she still can’t get any love.
- Tiger Woods is one of those guys who left college early and never seemed to pan out. Could you imagine the type of coin he’d make if he actually got a degree? Well, he’s going to join the club of super-rich recent college graduates that I’m a member of. Just rolling in dough. 99% of college athletes go pro in something other than sports, you know.
- Speaking of guys who didn’t get a college degree and are really doing everything they can to scrape by, Justin Timberlake is now the Creative Director for Callaway.
- The PGA Tour is messing with the Q-School format and not in a good way. How am I supposed to get into the big leagues with these changes?
- BubbaClaus shot a 58. Not really that impressive compared to Kim Jung-il.
- The Golf Channel put Nick Faldo and Johnny Miller together in the same booth for the Tournament of Champions. It went as well as you could expect, which is to say, not well.
- 2012: The Year of Robot Golf. Maybe the Mayans were right.
- And finally, the golf highlight of the Wrong Fairway moratorium:
It’s good to be back. More tomorrow.
Thanks for checking in. 2012 should be fun.
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.
Mo’ Money, Mo’ Problems, Mo’ Tournaments for Donald and Simpson
04 months ago
by Chris Chaney
in Golf
Donald trails Simpson by $363,029
When Luke Donald sank a birdie putt on the 72nd hole of the Tour Championship to finish in a tie for third, it appeared as if he would become the first person in history to capture both the PGA Tour Money List and the European Tour Race to Dubai (or Order of Merit).
With his T3 in Atlanta, Donald supplanted Webb Simpson as the PGA money leader by just $68,971. It may seem like a bunch of money to us, but for these guys it’s really only the difference between a few places. Donald was all set and ready to have a nice, relaxing off season and welcome his second child into the world.
(Sidenote: These golfers are shrewd. Last week, Ben Crane had a baby. Next week, Donald is set to have a baby. I’m willing to bet a lot of Tour players have children celebrating birthdays around this time of year. They even plan their child-having around their tournament schedules. Ingenious.)
That was when Webb Simpson decided to tee it up last week at the McGladrey Classic. Simpson didn’t really need to light the world on fire, he just had to make 70k, so a top-12 finish would do the trick. Simpson decided to do a little better than 12th, coming out of the gates with a Thursday 63 to take the lead.
Around the top of the leaderboard all week, Simpson eventually fell to Crane in a two-hole, sudden-death playoff. On the bright side, Simpson did what he came to do: take the lead atop the money list with his $432,000 second-place check, $363,029 ahead of Donald.
With Simpson ahead of Donald, the Englishman tweeted his entry into the season-ending Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals Classic at Disney World. He didn’t hide his intentions, either.
There was no doubt from Simpson about whether or not Donald would be playing, but he wasn’t going just roll over and let Luke have the title, he would play at Disney as well.
“I thought Luke was going to definitely play,” Simpson said after the McGladrey. “I think he’s kind of thinking the same thing I’m thinking, that if one of us was going to play, the other one really needed to. It’s going to be fun. He’s one of those competitive guys on the Tour, and so I’m sure he’s going to come guns loaded and he’s going to play great like he has all year.”
Donald really does have to play great if he’s planning on getting the money title back. Trailing by over $363,000, he needs to either win or come in second, according to my calculations, and have Simpson finish no better than 8th.
With the same purse as last year’s tournament ($4.7 million), the winner receives $846,000 and second place gets $507,000. Given Simpson’s large lead and the relatively small purse of a Fall Series event, Donald would need some help from Simpson while also finishing in the top two.
It’s a tall task for Donald, but it’s not out of the question whatsoever. The No. 1 player in the world has one win and 13 top-10 finishes, so he is routinely around the lead. Simpson is no slouch, either with 11 top-10s.
As the last tournament of the season, there will undoubtedly be some pressure for those on both ends of the money spectrum. The Disney has morphed into two tournaments in one with those around the 125 bubble playing for their livelihood and Donald and Simpson vying for the money title.
Whichever storyline you are more enthralled with come Sunday doesn’t matter, both should be great television.
Keegan Bradley “Wins” the Grand Slam of Golf, Does It Help POY Case?
04 months ago
by Chris Chaney
in Golf
Getty Images
The official start to the Silly Season annually begins in Bermuda (previously Hawaii, among other locales) while some more pressing and pressurizing situations are taking place at the last PGA-sanctioned tournament of the year at Disney World.
While a group of 50 or so guys are playing for their professional lives in Orlando, trying to secure their Tour card for another year, the four major champions are sipping mai tais in the tropics for a couple hundred thousand dollars.
Beings that all four of the major champions this year were first-time major winners, they were psyched to head to Bermuda for a little exhibition match that had them mic’d up talking about their travels, their long putters and the pretty blue water.
In between all that chatter, the foursome was playing a bit of golf on Port Royal Golf Club, a public course down in Bermuda. After the first day, it seemed like the event would be a two-man race between Bradley and Rory McIlroy who sat at 4-under par, but windy conditions played a major role in Wednesday’s second and final round.
That wouldn’t be the case with Charl Schwartzel doing his best Masters impression rattling off five birdies in a row to close out his front nine, tying him for a lead at 2-under with Bradley. McIlroy bogeyed his last three holes on the front to leave him at 1-under and one shot back.
McIlroy would prove to be a non-factor on the back, shooting 1-over and finishing with a 4-over 75 to leave him at even for the event.
Bradley birdied the 10th hole to regain a one-shot lead. His lead grew to two-strokes after Schwartzel bogeyed the par-3 13th. But the South African was able to get his dropped shot back with a birdie on the 15th, putting him to 2-under with Bradley sitting on 3-under.
Both swapped biridies on the short par-5 17th to keep Bradley’s lead at one stroke. Unable to birdie the 18th, Schwartzel was forced to settle for second place while Bradley claimed his third win of the year, if you want to call it that.
The question about Bradley’s win has only reinforced some people’s opinion that he should have been picked for the Presidents Cup, but as it is, the picks are over and done with. Hindsight is 20/20, so there’s no need to go down that road again.
A more relevant question was whether or not this win will help his case for Player of the Year.
Obviously, the win can only help.
Although the four major winners have not looked the part in their recent starts, they still were able to win majors within the last six months. The PGA Player of the Year seems to be a two and a half man race. The two to choose from are Bradley and Webb Simpson.
Bradley has the PGA Championship as well as his win at the HP Byron Nelson Championship, but he doesn’t have much else going for him by way of consistency. He has just two other top-10 finishes this year and he has missed 10 cuts.
Simpson, on the other hand, also has two wins (Wyndham and Deutsche Bank), albeit neither of them majors. However, from a consistency standpoint, he is far and away had a better year. Simpson has only missed three cuts. He’s finished second twice, third three times and in the top-10 six other times. And as it stands right now, Simpson holds the money list lead.
Even though all that looks good for Simpson from a purely statistical standpoint, it stands to reason that winning a major championship trumps top-10s.
So, the question at hand is how will Bradley’s win in Bermuda enhance his resume? Simply put, a win is a win and if his triumph in the Silly Season can sway even one vote, then winning was a big help.
Perhaps Bradley’s best shot of winning the POY this year would be to root really hard for Luke Donald to win at Disney, take over the money list title and maybe steal a couple of Simpson’s votes.
But if Simpson wins, this could be a very close Player of the Year vote.
Bill Haas Hits Out of East Lake to Win the FedEx Cup
04 months ago
by Chris Chaney
in Golf
AP
After fighting through the demons of last week’s back-nine 42 on Sunday as well as the bogey, double bogey finish to his round on Saturday, Bill Hass did nothing if not persevere to become the fourth winner of the FedEx Cup at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Ga.
The only problem was even he didn’t know he had just won the richest prize in golf.
Following the making of his four-foot putt on the third hole of a sudden-death playoff with Hunter Mahan, Haas was only sure that he had won the Tour Championship. On his way up to NBC’s television trophy presentation, he saw the Tour Championship Trophy as well as the FedEx Cup sitting on a table and he was the only golfer on the platform.
Haas turned to his wife, Julie, and asked, “Did I win the FedEx Cup?” She quietly nodded and said, “Yes.”
“I saw Tim Finchem,” Haas said after the presentation, “and I said, I didn’t know I had won this, and he was like, ‘Congratulations, you won both. Both are for you.’”
Regardless of whether or not the eventual winner knew what was on the line when he and Mahan began their entertaining sudden-death playoff, the viewers at home were all made aware. Perhaps it was the first time in the five-year history of the PGA Tour-contrived playoff system that the fans were given exactly what they wanted, namely, a one-on-one match to see who would take home the $11.44 prize.
The Tour sells the FedEx Cup finale, the Tour Championship, as an opportunity for all 30 guys in the field to win the big prize, although the guys towards to bottom seem to need a small miracle. This year with Haas ranked No. 25 going into the week, the sales pitch held true.
“I wanted to win, especially going into today,” Haas said. “I felt like I was in the position even after my finish yesterday. I felt like I was in a position to win the golf tournament, and that was all I could do in order to win the FedExCup.”
However, in order for Haas to come out on top, he needed a little help from the guys near the top of the standings. Of the five who had control of their destiny, only Luke Donald finished in the top-5, checking in at T-3. Webb Simpson (22), Justin Rose (T-20), Dustin Johnson (T-23) and Matt Kuchar (T-20) all failed to break par for the week and as a result, were virtual non-factors on Sunday.
Donald, the world’s No. 1 player, was the favorite to take home the big pay day with a solid finish. Playing alongside Haas, Donald sank a 12-footer for birdie on the 18th hole to put him in position if a few things went his way. Even Haas believed his playing partner was the one who would take home the $10 million.
“He birdied the last, and I thought that won the FedExCup for him,” Haas said. “So afterwards I told him, ‘Congratulations, I hope that won it for you.’”
Ironically enough, Haas, who had finished ahead of Donald in the Tour Championship, was the one who would play for the money in playoff with Mahan only minutes later.
With East Lake’s finishing hole a long par-3, the two swapped a pair of hard-earned pars following two errant tee shots. The second playoff hole is skirted by the course’s namesake, East Lake. Wary of the trouble left off the tee, Haas put his drive in the right fairway bunker while Mahan split the fairway. The 17th green nestles up alongside East Lake and with the tournament on the line, Haas took an agressive angle out of the fairway bunker to the left pin. Believing he had hit a good shot, Haas said to himself, ‘be good,’ but when he heard the groaning from up ahead, he feared he may have found the water.
“I never would have thought that [it would go in the water] when it was in the air,” Haas said. “My brother caddying was like, ‘Yeah, I think it is.’ I was like, well, there it goes.”
Fortunately for Haas, he found his ball only one-third of the way submerged. As many of you know, if half the ball is above water, it is definitely playable. With $11 million on the line, you better believe he was going to try the shot.
“It wasn’t a ton of water, I was up over the sole of my shoe, into the leather, but I didn’t have to get submersed or anything like that,” Haas said. “You play it like a bunker shot if there’s a little bit of water, if you don’t mind getting your feet dirty, and then blast it out of there. It came out perfect.”
By “perfect,” Haas meant to three feet, and what many have already dubbed as the Shot of the Year. Mahan, who had hit to the middle of the green still had a putt to win, but momentum was clearly on Haas’ side. Mahan misjudged his putt and Haas put his in the heart of the cup. Back to 18 they went.
Playing the 235-yard par-3 for the third time in an hour, although neither of them had played it particularly well, Haas put his shot on the back fringe. Mahan left another approach on 18 out to the right and found the green-side bunker that Jim Furyk got up-and-down from last year to win the Tour Championship and FedEx Cup.
Mahan, away, hit a forgettable bunker shot past the hole and Haas opted to putt through the fringe, cuddling the ball up to three or four feet for his par. Mahan’s par try slipped by the cup and Haas had a putt for the Tour Championship and unbeknownst to him, the FedEx Cup as well.
“I don’t know how far it was, it looked like 12 feet, it was probably four,” Haas said. “When I hit it, looked like it came off right where I wanted it to. It was a pretty cool feeling.”
A feeling most people would love to have, I’d bet.
Outplaying the 30-man field which included Keegan Bradley and Brandt Snedeker, thought by most to be the other two in contention for the final Presidents Cup spot, Haas said he did all he could do and now he has to wait for US Captain Freddie Couples to make the decision.
“I’m not going to say it gets me to Australia,” Haas said. “It definitely puts me in the talk up there with some of the guys that everybody has been talking about. I did what I could do.”
Joining the group of Tiger Woods (twice), Vijay Singh and Jim Furyk as the winners of the FedEx Cup, Haas also jumped to 20th in the world rankings and received an exemption into just about any tournament in the world.
The FedEx Cup has caught a lot of flack over the years, most of it deserved, some of it not, but finally, this year, we, the fans, got what we wanted. We didn’t need a calculator or Steve Sands and his whiteboard. Anyone can understand one-on-one for the whole thing and that’s what we got. Along with an easy computation to find a winner, we were privy to some exceptional golf, topped off by Haas’ shot out of East Lake.
Well done, PGA Tour. This year, you got it right.
*****
Here is Haas’ shot from the water on 17, the second playoff hole.
A Crash Course on Atlanta Athletic Club
06 months ago
by Chris Chaney
in Golf
On the eve of the season’s final major, golf fans are focussing their attention on Atlanta Athletic Club in Johns Creek, Ga., 23 miles north of Atlanta, the site of the 93rd PGA Championship.
We’ve heard all week from the players, analysts and PGA officials that the course is in great condition, but all we really hear talked about are the 15th and 18th holes. Only a few hours out of the first balls being in the air, perhaps we should take a little crash course around the track that has hosted four major championships.
The report from the greenskeepers and superintendents is that they have the course exactly how they want it right now and weather permitting, they will be able to prepare the course in whatever way the PGA of America sees fit.
Checking in at just under 7,500 yards and a par 70, the AAC seems like quite the beast this week. However, let’s go inside the numbers and see really what kind of course the best players in the world will be competing on.
First and foremost, although it’s already been beaten to death this week, the weather is going to play a huge role in the length of the golf course. More specifically, the heat will be a major factor. With highs hovering around 90° and humidity at 60 percent, the balls will be flying farther than normal. Couple that with hard, fast fairways, the course ins’t really that much of a monster.
The key word in that last sentence was “fairways.” The AAC has their rough way up, so much so that Luke Donald said in his press conference on Tuesday that the course “might be more like the U.S. Open than the U.S. Open was.”
Looking at the front nine, it would appear to be the time to score. Opening with a 454-yard par-4 might not sound appealing, but a new tee gives players a better angle to cut the corner on the dogleg left, giving them a short-iron in. After that tame opener, the players will face a 512-yard par-4. A par-5 in any tournament not a major, par is a good score. Not letting up, the third played as the most difficult hole on the front in 2001. A green sloping back to front puts keeping the ball below the hole at a premium.
Getting through the first three holes in even par or better puts players at a distinct advantage when finishing their outgoing nine. The par-3 4th is guarded by water on the front, but with most balls funneling to the front right, biridie is a good possibility if the hole is cut there. Playing the 5th hole will seem like a breeze. The easiest hole on the entire course in 2001, the AAC has added a cross-bunker 100 yards out making a lay-up a little tricky. Look for plenty of birdies.
The 6th is a 425-yard par-4, but the PGA has the option of putting the tee up to 295 making the hole a fun one to watch players take the risk of driving the green. The 7th is the shortest par-3 on the course at 184 yards, so look for players to take advantage. The 8th, another dogleg gives players the chance to cut the corner if they can carry it 280. A good drive give the guys a look at bird. A short par-4 to end the nine brings another chance to pick up a stroke. Driving is a premium, but if the players can find the shortgrass, they could round out a low front nine.
The 10th hole, which players will start from on either Thursday or Friday, plays more difficult than the first, but par is a good score. The true test comes later on the back, so if players want to pick up strokes, they need to do it early on. The 11th is a dogleg left with a downhill approach to a well-protected green with bunkers left and water right. The 12th and 13th are the best two chances of making birdie coming in. A 551-yard par-5, the 12th is downhill off the tee making it reachable in two for most of the field. The 13th is a dogleg right will force the guys to hit iron off the tee with a left-to-right ball flight to get into scoring position. The 14th hole has one of the toughest greens on the course guarded by bunkers in front. Going long into the collection area almost assures a bogey.
The final four holes are the “Amen Corner” of AAC beginning with one of the most criticized holes on the course. The 15th is a 260-yard par-3 with water guarding the green to the right. Many players have voiced their displeasure this week with Darren Clarke saying it might be downhill, but “it ain’t that much f—— downhill.” The Open champ said it would be a three wood for him “and hit it well or a reload because balls don’t float.” The PGA probably won’t play the hole at its full length except for one day, but par is always a good score.
The 16th is a 476-yard par-4 up the hill that will take the running fairways out of play more so than most other holes. The elevated green will make it hard to stop the ball, again making par ideal. The 17th is another 200+-yard par-3. All carry over water, 3 is a good score.
Finally, if the players have managed to keep it together through that gauntlet, the hardest hole from 2001 stands between them and the clubhouse bar. A 507-yard par-4 with the approach shot needed to carry a water hazard isn’t the easiest hole on the course, but it should make for a good finish. David Toms laid up short of the water in ’01 and got up-and-down to win. Jerry Pate hit his famous “shot heard round the world” in the 1976 US Open when his 5-iron cozied up to two feet.
With the fairways running and the course seemingly under control, I see a winning score hovering right around 11-under par 269. Regardless, it should be a good test and maybe on some of the longer holes, the PGA can take it’s own advice and “Tee It Forward.”
Old Man Scott ‘Stoked’ After Winning WGC Bridgestone
06 months ago
by Chris Chaney
in Golf
At 31 years old, Adam Scott is no longer the poster boy for the “new era” of golfing elite, but as he came down the 72nd fairway on Sunday after nearly holing out a 6 iron from over 200 yards away with fans chanting for his caddie, the Aussie couldn’t care less.
“It was fun to get support,” Scott said. “Whether it’s for me or him, I don’t care – it’s the right team.”
As Scott claimed arguably his biggest win of his career (but don’t tell the PGA that), the former Players champion was playing second fiddle to the storyline that had dominated the week: Tiger was back, but without his usual bagman.
Perfectly content with playing behind the curtains of the Tiger comeback, like everyone else was forced to do, whether they liked it or not, Scott torched the Firestone CC for a first-round 62 on Thursday afternoon, one shot clear of fellow countryman Jason Day, who shot a 63 in the morning wave. The two Aussie’s would find themselves near or atop the leaderboard for the remainder of the week.
Scott and Day had done battle once earlier this year at Augusta National, only to be lapped by eventual champion Charl Schwartzel. However, their final rounds of 67 and 68 respectively put them in a tie for second and gave them a solid start to their 2011 season.
Scott, who has been using a long, broom-handle putter this year, has seen his putting woes evolve into confidence with the flatstick. This week, Scott picked up 7.352 stokes putting against the field.
“I was so inconsistent with the short putter, and that’s the hardest thing,” Scott said. “I didn’t know what was going to show up when I went out on the golf course, whether it was going to be a decent stroke or not. The long putter has certainly provided me with more consistency, and with that has come the confidence, and I think I’m really solid over any putt at the moment. I feel very good about it.”
Scott was solid all around, driving the ball just a hair under 320 on average, hitting two-thirds of his fairways and 71 percent of greens in regulation. Combine those gaudy numbers with a hot putter and benign scoring conditions and you have the perfect storm for Scott this week.
Working with Williams for the fourth time, the duo have seemed pretty comfortable together. Despite missing the cut at the US Open, their first rodeo together, the Scott-Williams tandem has finished T3 at the AT&T National and T25 at the Open Championship.
“He’s right up for it,” Scott said of Williams. “We all know his personality in those situations. It’s almost like I need to show him I’ve got it in me because a lot of people question it. I can show him on the golf course that I’m right up for it, as well.”
Scott held the lead following every round this week, but there were a handful of guys lurking just a few shots back. As is always the case at the WGCs, the names are pretty well-known. On this occassion, Scott had to look up at the leaderboard and see Day, Ryo Ishikawa, Rickie Fowler and world No. 1 Luke Donald.
Paired with the young Japanese sensation, Ishikawa, Scott had someone playing alongside him to remind him that he would have to bring his A-game to win. Little did Scott know, Williams said he knew that the tournament was over before Scott teed off in the final round.
“I had no doubt in my mind this morning on the range,” Williams said. “Adam hit it so good on the range, I knew it was our day.”
Ishikawa, in search of his first win on American soil, put the pressure on the Aussie early and often, tying Scott on several occasions on the front nine, only to drop back with some costly bogies. An up-and-down day left Ishikawa in a distant tie for fourth, still his best finish in America.
Fowler made some ripples, firing a bogey-free round of 4-under par 66. Also holding a share of the lead on the front, Fowler could only muster two birdies coming in, but he showed once again why many believe he will be a multiple tour winner, finally putting together a solid Sunday round. He would finish in a tie for second with Donald, who shot a Sunday 66, including a back nine 32.
Day put himself in contention early Sunday afternoon, birdieing the first hole, but his putter went cold, unable to make any putt of consequence. He would end with a 1-underp ar round of 69 and tie with Ishikawa for fourth.
Scott bided his time, staying patient and rolling in putts when he needed them. Going out in 1-under 34, Scott flipped the switch on the back nine, birdieing three of the first five holes.
On the par-3 12th hole, Scott put some distance in-between himself and the rest of the field. After barely missing the green to the left, Scott required a precise chip to a short-sided pin.
“It was one of those things that I just struck really sweet and felt like it’s going in right from the time it leaves the club,” Scott said. “And that was a big break to keep the momentum going because it had been very kind of slow and methodical.”
Another birdie on 14 and Scott had opened up a comfortable gap between himself and the rest of the field. With no one able to pick up any shots on him, Scott game to the 18th hole with a three-shot lead. Scott played the safe shot off the tee hitting a fairway wood right down the middle.
“I was thinking of just dumping it over to the right on the last, hitting a 7-iron over there,” Scot said. “And [Williams] said, what are you talking about, hit a 6-iron straight at the pin. And I hit a great shot.”
The 6-iron was eating fiber the whole way as Scott asked for it to “be good.” Landing a few feet from the pin, the ball burned the edge of the cup and stopped five feet from the hole. One more brush with the broom-stick putter and Scott won his eighth PGA event and 18th worldwide.
“I’m really stoked to have won a World Golf Championship and win around this course in nice fashion. The way I closed it out, I was really happy with, too, so overall extremely happy,” Scott said.
With the win, Scott secured the $1.4 million winner’s check. For those of you keeping track at home, Williams will get a 10 percent share that, worth $140,000, over 80 large more than his former employer made this week in his tie for 37th. Scott jumped to 15th place in the FedEx Cup standings and cracked the top-10 in the world golf rankings coming in at No. 9.
With this week’s PGA Championship already upon us, it seems like Scott’s game has what it takes to win his first major. Maybe a win at Atlanta Athletic Club will supplant this week’s win as the best of Williams’ career.
Pairings to Watch This Week at the Bridgestone
06 months ago
by Chris Chaney
in Golf
The World Golf Championship events are widely considered to be the next step down from the four major championships. With their outrages purses, this year’s WGC Bridgestone is worth a healthy $8.5 million, nearly all of the world’s top players are drawn to Akron like flies to a lamp. Add in the return of Tiger Woods to competitive golf for the first time in three months and we have all the makings for a ratings bonanza.
With so many of the best and most popular players in the world teeing it up together, there will undoubtedly be a couple of groupings that will turn a few heads. Of course, we all know the Tiger Woods/Darren Clarke pairing. The two friends playing together has raised the ire of a few who believe the Tour of pandering to it’s top draw, but that’s an argument for another day.
Scrolling through the pairings there are a couple of “eh” pairings. The ones you look at and think ‘okay they could be fun to watch’ such as Sergio and Goosen and Els and Overton, but then you get to the blockbuster pairings of the day. Off the first tee there is Rickie Fowler and Matteo Manassero, combined age of 40. Follow them up with Bubba and Kaymer, Woods and Clarke, A. Scott and DJ and you have your Thursday coverage window locked up right there.
Those sneaky suits will do anything for a good overnight rating.
Take a look at the groups off No. 10 in the morning, meaning they will be off No. 1 on Friday afternoon, just in time for Golf Channel’s coverage. You have Rory McIlroy and defending champ Hunter Mahan going off around the same time as Mickelson and Jason Day, Schwartzel and Luke Donald and G-Mac and Westwood.
As is the case with any WGC, pretty much every group is guaranteed to deliver the goods, but there are those certain handful that will dominate your couch sitting.
Speaking of the programming, the tournament will be on your tube from 2-6 p.m. every day of the week. Thursday and Friday on the Golf Channel and Saturday and Sunday on CBS.
So sit back and enjoy some top shelf golf this weekend.
*****
| Firestone CC (South Course) Tee #1 | ||
| Time | Players | |
| 8:40 am | Atwal, Arjun | Sabbatini, Rory |
| 8:50 am | Appleby, Stuart | Green, Richard |
| 9:00 am | Points, D.A. | Quiros, Alvaro |
| 9:10 am | Stallings, Scott | Cink, Stewart |
| 9:20 am | Yang, Y.E. | Hoffman, Charley |
| 9:30 am | Molinari, Francesco | Ogilvy, Geoff |
| 9:40 am | Garcia, Sergio | Goosen, Retief |
| 9:50 am | Karlsson, Robert | Furyk, Jim |
| 10:00 am | Els, Ernie | Overton, Jeff |
| 12:30 pm | Woodland, Gary | Hanson, Peter |
| 12:40 pm | Jacobson, Fredrik | Vegas, Jhonattan |
| 12:50 pm | Haas, Bill | Otto, Hennie |
| 1:00 pm | Jimenez, Miguel A. | Toms, David |
| 1:10 pm | Fowler, Rickie | Manassero, Matteo |
| 1:20 pm | Kaymer, Martin | Watson, Bubba |
| 1:30 pm | Watney, Nick | Stricker, Steve |
| 1:40 pm | Clarke, Darren | Woods, Tiger |
| 1:50 pm | Ishikawa, Ryo | Kuchar, Matt |
| 2:00 pm | Scott, Adam | Johnson, Dustin |
| Firestone CC (South Course) Tee #10 | ||
| Time | Players | |
| 8:40 am | Wilson, Mark | Park, Jae-bum |
| 8:50 am | Steele, Brendan | Allenby, Robert |
| 9:00 am | Noren, Alexander | Byrd, Jonathan |
| 9:10 am | Bradley, Keegan | Bjorn, Thomas |
| 9:20 am | Donald, Luke | Schwartzel, Charl |
| 9:30 am | McDowell, Graeme | Westwood, Lee |
| 9:40 am | Snedeker, Brandt | Ikeda, Yuta |
| 9:50 am | McIlroy, Rory | Mahan, Hunter |
| 10:00 am | Mickelson, Phil | Day, Jason |
| 10:10 am | Oosthuizen, Louis | Baddeley, Aaron |
| 12:30 pm | Frazar, Harrison | Kim, Kyung-tae |
| 12:40 pm | Laird, Martin | Slocum, Heath |
| 12:50 pm | Johnson, Zach | Larrazabal, Pablo |
| 1:00 pm | Hansen, Anders | Moore, Ryan |
| 1:10 pm | Van Pelt, Bo | Dyson, Simon |
| 1:20 pm | Molinari, Edoardo | O’Hair, Sean |
| 1:30 pm | Harrington, Padraig | Rose, Justin |
| 1:40 pm | Poulter, Ian | Choi, K.J. |
| 1:50 pm | Glover, Lucas | Casey, Paul |
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?
