After a brutally hot and humid week in Memphis, the PGA Tour now moves to much-cooler Pebble Beach for the U.S. Open. The scenery will be breathtaking, and we can hope that the golf will be, too.
I’ve got a line-up heavy on the “chalk picks” this week, with one total “flier” thrown in for good measure.
A-level picks:
Starter: Luke Donald. An all-around good player, in very good form after his recent win in Europe. He’ll be a popular pick this week.
Bench (at least for Thursday): Phil Mickelson. I like Phil at Pebble Beach. I don’t particularly like Phil at a U.S. Open. If his short game is magic, he’ll be “starting” later in the week. Otherwise, it won’t be boring, but it won’t be pretty, either.
No-way pick: Tiger Woods. I don’t know which Tiger will show up. Until there’s more consistency in his game, he’s off my line-ups.
B-level picks:
Starters: Lee Westwood, Dustin Johnson. Westwood and every other player who was in the sweat-fest Sunday at TPC Southwind gets a slight downgrade for recovery factor, but I still think Lee will put up a solid finish—top-10, but probably not a win. As for Dustin, he’s won the regular Tour stop at Pebble Beach the last two years. Yes, the course will be playing differently than it did in February, but it’s still the same course.
Bench: Nick Watney, Jim Furyk. Watney was my pre-season pick for this tournament; I’ve cooled on him a bit after a lackluster start to his 2010 season, but not enough to take him completely off the board. Furyk’s hard to pick against in any major, though I was one of many who was stung by his MC at Augusta.
No-way picks: Robert Allenby, Rory McIlroy. I wouldn’t have picked Allenby this week under most circumstances—a balky putter is the last thing one needs at a U.S. Open—but his MC, WD the last two weeks is only adding to my concerns about the current state of his game. McIlroy has his own putting woes at times, and gets further downgraded by the “Memphis factor”.
C-level picks:
Starter: Ben Crane. Another player in very good form lately. I look for that to continue.
Bench: Gareth Maybin. Maybin is a total flier for me, but with so much “chalk”, why not? He’s a decent-enough European Tour player from Northern Ireland, and could be surprisingly good. Then again, he could also miss the cut by a dozen strokes.
No-way pick: Graeme McDowell. Regular readers know that I really like McDowell’s game, and that I’m regularly following him at events. He does have very good GIR stats. However, he also has extremely weak scrambling and sand-save percentages (his PGA Tour rank, were he a member, would be somewhere in the 170’s); add that to a putter that runs hot-and-cold and the fact that he’s never finished higher than 30th in a U.S. Open, and I have to stay away this week.
Last week's results:
An indifferent week. Of my “three to watch”, Heath Slocum was the best, with a 6th-place finish. David Toms finished 29th, and Robert Allenby withdrew halfway through the first round due to illness. Current Yahoo Fantasy Golf stats: 3305 points, 79th percentile.
Until next time, best of luck to all!
Showing posts with label PGA Tour. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PGA Tour. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Sunday, June 13, 2010
On-course report: St. Jude Classic, Sunday
Congratulations to Lee Westwood, the 2010 St. Jude Classic champion! Lee won on the fourth playoff hole, defeating both Robert Garrigus and Robert Karlsson. While I was cheering for Westwood all week (I didn’t pick him, because I wasn’t sure about his lack of course knowledge and how he might be affected by the hot and humid conditions, but was still cheering for him to win), my heart went out to Garrigus to some extent. On the 72nd hole of a tournament that would likely be his first win, holding a three-shot lead, he went into total “train-wreck” mode, resulting in a triple-bogey; when his drive on the first playoff hole landed under a tree, his tournament was over. Hopefully, he’ll have more chances to win, and soon!
I knew the weather would be as bad today as it had been yesterday (and, in fact, it was worse), so I decided to get to the course relatively early and follow whichever group was on the first tee when I arrived. That group was Rich Barcelo and Charles Warren, neither of whom I’d ever seen play before (and I’d never even heard of Barcelo). Following a mix-up at the ropes on the sixth tee, I stayed back and followed the next group, Dean Wilson and Jonathan Byrd, through the remainder of the front nine. After that, the heat and humidity got to be a bit more than I liked, so I sat in a shady spot near the 10th tee and watched most of the rest of the groups come through. Some observations from the day:
* Most of the players were very polite and went out of their way to tell the volunteers how much they appreciated them today. That’s something I see at a lot of events, but it never fails to impress me.
* There were some horrendous scores out there today (81's from Maggert and Wittenberg, 82 from Chad Campbell). Southwind isn’t an easy course, but I didn’t see any reason why there were quite a few big numbers out there.
* How hot was it? On the 6th tee, Jonathan Byrd already had a wet towel over his head. This was probably around 9:30 a.m.
* Speaking of wet towels, if there had been a few wet-towel concession stands, I would have been broke long before finishing 9 holes!
* Boo Weekley had the biggest gallery that I saw (I missed John Daly’s gallery, which apparently is always the largest here); Rory McIlroy’s was a close second. Rory’s fans got to “awww...” as he kissed his girlfriend at the 10th tee.
* The crowds seemed to be down this year from last year. I think the weather had a lot to do with it; it was hot last year, but it was 7-8 degrees hotter each day this year.
All in all, a weekend well-spent. The next “live report” will come in two months, from the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, Ohio.
I knew the weather would be as bad today as it had been yesterday (and, in fact, it was worse), so I decided to get to the course relatively early and follow whichever group was on the first tee when I arrived. That group was Rich Barcelo and Charles Warren, neither of whom I’d ever seen play before (and I’d never even heard of Barcelo). Following a mix-up at the ropes on the sixth tee, I stayed back and followed the next group, Dean Wilson and Jonathan Byrd, through the remainder of the front nine. After that, the heat and humidity got to be a bit more than I liked, so I sat in a shady spot near the 10th tee and watched most of the rest of the groups come through. Some observations from the day:
* Most of the players were very polite and went out of their way to tell the volunteers how much they appreciated them today. That’s something I see at a lot of events, but it never fails to impress me.
* There were some horrendous scores out there today (81's from Maggert and Wittenberg, 82 from Chad Campbell). Southwind isn’t an easy course, but I didn’t see any reason why there were quite a few big numbers out there.
* How hot was it? On the 6th tee, Jonathan Byrd already had a wet towel over his head. This was probably around 9:30 a.m.
* Speaking of wet towels, if there had been a few wet-towel concession stands, I would have been broke long before finishing 9 holes!
* Boo Weekley had the biggest gallery that I saw (I missed John Daly’s gallery, which apparently is always the largest here); Rory McIlroy’s was a close second. Rory’s fans got to “awww...” as he kissed his girlfriend at the 10th tee.
* The crowds seemed to be down this year from last year. I think the weather had a lot to do with it; it was hot last year, but it was 7-8 degrees hotter each day this year.
All in all, a weekend well-spent. The next “live report” will come in two months, from the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, Ohio.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
On-course report: St. Jude Classic, Saturday
I’m in Memphis this weekend, for the last two rounds of the 2010 St. Jude Classic. This is my second trip to Memphis in as many years, and I was pleased to find that the volunteers are as nice as they were in 2009 (some of the nicest I’ve met out there). On the other hand, the heat and humidity are not only as high as they were one year ago, they’re higher: mid-90's Fahrenheit, with high humidity pushing the heat index to around 105. It’s brutal out there.
I only made it 9 holes today; like many of the players this week, I’ve been a bit under the weather and decided not to push it through 18 in the hostile weather conditions. I started on the 10th tee with the group of Padraig Harrington, Charles Howell III, and Phil Tataurangi. At the 13th green, it was time to stop for a while, finish the first 20-ounce bottle of water, and pick up a later group, which ended up being the group of Fredrik Jacobson, Billy Mayfair, and Dicky Pride. I followed that group through the finish. Some thoughts on the round:
* Padraig Harrington has a deserved reputation as a slower player, but he was playing pretty close to normal speed today. Perhaps he was as ready to get through the round and off the course as everyone else.
* I’d never heard of Phil Tataurangi before today, and if today’s round was any indication, I can see why I’d never heard of him. He was consistently far behind his playing partners off the tee. On the par-3 11th hole, that shortness found him in the hazard and led to a double-bogey. On the next hole, he promptly found the hazard again, and another double-bogey. Apparently, the rest of his day wasn’t much better, as he finished with a 12-over par 82 on the day.
* There is nothing pretty about Fredrik Jacobson’s swing. It doesn’t look pretty on TV, and it looks just as bad in person. Even his set-up looks “off”. On the other hand, he usually gets pretty good results, and that’s the important thing.
* Speaking of things that aren’t pretty, Jacobson’s triple at the 15th was a train wreck. His tee shot ended up under a tree, with more trees in front of him. In attempting to go under a branch with the 2nd shot, he clipped the branch and landed well-short of where he’d planned. His 3rd shot came close to the green, but bounced off the bank and into the hazard. For reasons that elude me (and likely everyone else), he elected to try to hit the ball out of the hazard and avoid incurring a penalty stroke. The spectators in the area were practically taking bets on whether he would fall in the water (he stood on the bank on some very soft and not-so-stable ground; a player with more weight might not have had that option). The ball came out of the water by a few inches, before falling back in. After the penalty drop, shot #6 landed on the green, and he one-putted for the 7.
* Billy Mayfair has some very vocal fans in the hospitality tents. Every time he made a putt on a hole with a hospitality area, he was greeted with loud cheers. It didn’t matter if it was for par or birdie.
Until tomorrow...
I only made it 9 holes today; like many of the players this week, I’ve been a bit under the weather and decided not to push it through 18 in the hostile weather conditions. I started on the 10th tee with the group of Padraig Harrington, Charles Howell III, and Phil Tataurangi. At the 13th green, it was time to stop for a while, finish the first 20-ounce bottle of water, and pick up a later group, which ended up being the group of Fredrik Jacobson, Billy Mayfair, and Dicky Pride. I followed that group through the finish. Some thoughts on the round:
* Padraig Harrington has a deserved reputation as a slower player, but he was playing pretty close to normal speed today. Perhaps he was as ready to get through the round and off the course as everyone else.
* I’d never heard of Phil Tataurangi before today, and if today’s round was any indication, I can see why I’d never heard of him. He was consistently far behind his playing partners off the tee. On the par-3 11th hole, that shortness found him in the hazard and led to a double-bogey. On the next hole, he promptly found the hazard again, and another double-bogey. Apparently, the rest of his day wasn’t much better, as he finished with a 12-over par 82 on the day.
* There is nothing pretty about Fredrik Jacobson’s swing. It doesn’t look pretty on TV, and it looks just as bad in person. Even his set-up looks “off”. On the other hand, he usually gets pretty good results, and that’s the important thing.
* Speaking of things that aren’t pretty, Jacobson’s triple at the 15th was a train wreck. His tee shot ended up under a tree, with more trees in front of him. In attempting to go under a branch with the 2nd shot, he clipped the branch and landed well-short of where he’d planned. His 3rd shot came close to the green, but bounced off the bank and into the hazard. For reasons that elude me (and likely everyone else), he elected to try to hit the ball out of the hazard and avoid incurring a penalty stroke. The spectators in the area were practically taking bets on whether he would fall in the water (he stood on the bank on some very soft and not-so-stable ground; a player with more weight might not have had that option). The ball came out of the water by a few inches, before falling back in. After the penalty drop, shot #6 landed on the green, and he one-putted for the 7.
* Billy Mayfair has some very vocal fans in the hospitality tents. Every time he made a putt on a hole with a hospitality area, he was greeted with loud cheers. It didn’t matter if it was for par or birdie.
Until tomorrow...
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Predictions: St. Jude Classic
After missing last week due to some "off-the-course" issues, I'm back with my picks for the St. Jude Classic. I'll be reporting "live" from Memphis after the final two rounds, so stay tuned on Saturday and Sunday. The food and music will be great, and hopefully the weather will be better than last year!
Three players I'm watching closely this week:
* Heath Slocum. He had a top-10 here last year, and I'm expecting the same this year.
* David Toms. He's won twice here, and was runner-up last year. Hard not to pick him this week.
* Robert Allenby. Yes, I've got Allenby on the bench for the first round, instead of starting. Ordinarily, he'd be a sure-thing starter, with top-5's in the last two years here. However, I've got serious questions about his mental game at this point, and his two-day-only showing at Memorial did nothing to alleviate those concerns. If he turns it around early, he'll start in later rounds.
My Yahoo Fantasy Golf team for this week:
"Front 4": Heath Slocum, David Toms, Fredrik Jacobson, Paul Goydos
"Bench team": Jason Dufner, Robert Allenby, Brian Gay, John Senden
Current Yahoo Fantasy Golf standings: 3157 points, 81st percentile.
Best of luck to all!
Three players I'm watching closely this week:
* Heath Slocum. He had a top-10 here last year, and I'm expecting the same this year.
* David Toms. He's won twice here, and was runner-up last year. Hard not to pick him this week.
* Robert Allenby. Yes, I've got Allenby on the bench for the first round, instead of starting. Ordinarily, he'd be a sure-thing starter, with top-5's in the last two years here. However, I've got serious questions about his mental game at this point, and his two-day-only showing at Memorial did nothing to alleviate those concerns. If he turns it around early, he'll start in later rounds.
My Yahoo Fantasy Golf team for this week:
"Front 4": Heath Slocum, David Toms, Fredrik Jacobson, Paul Goydos
"Bench team": Jason Dufner, Robert Allenby, Brian Gay, John Senden
Current Yahoo Fantasy Golf standings: 3157 points, 81st percentile.
Best of luck to all!
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Predictions: Colonial
First of all, congratulations to last week’s winners: Jason Day at the Byron Nelson, Simon Khan at the BMW PGA, Sun Young Yoo at the Sybase, and John Riegger at the Rex Hospital Classic. And congratulations as well to 16-year-old Jordan Spieth, for his top-20 finish at the Byron Nelson; I was impressed by his play, and even more by his maturity.
Now the PGA Tour moves just a few miles down the road, to Fort Worth for the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. Some players I’ll be watching this week are:
* Jason Day. He played well here last year. I’ll be interested to see if he goes into this week with positive momentum from last week’s win, or if there’s a bit of a “victory hangover”.
* Kevin Na. Also a good history here at Colonial. I was expecting more out of Na this year than he’s showed so far (I did predict he’d get a win this year); I’ll be interested to see if his solid play on this course continues, or if it’s another sign of an “off” year.
* Tim Clark. Another player with a solid history at Colonial. Now that he has that first win under his belt, will subsequent wins be easier or more difficult to come by?
My Yahoo Fantasy Golf team for this week:
“Front 4”: Jason Day, Jim Furyk, Kevin Na, Paul Casey
“Bench team”: Steve Marino, Kevin Sutherland, Rod Pampling, Tim Clark
Now that we’re well into the season, the 10-start maximum in the Yahoo game is starting to come into play with making weekly selections. Phil Mickelson is a solid A-level pick, but I’ve used him a lot already this year, and will save him for bigger events. I consider Casey/Clark to be nearly a toss-up this week, and have more starts remaining for Casey; but Clark’s too intriguing to pass up, and he might end up getting into the starting lineup before the week is over.
After another indifferent week, my Yahoo Fantasy Golf standings are: 2847 points, 78th percentile.
Best of luck to all!
Now the PGA Tour moves just a few miles down the road, to Fort Worth for the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. Some players I’ll be watching this week are:
* Jason Day. He played well here last year. I’ll be interested to see if he goes into this week with positive momentum from last week’s win, or if there’s a bit of a “victory hangover”.
* Kevin Na. Also a good history here at Colonial. I was expecting more out of Na this year than he’s showed so far (I did predict he’d get a win this year); I’ll be interested to see if his solid play on this course continues, or if it’s another sign of an “off” year.
* Tim Clark. Another player with a solid history at Colonial. Now that he has that first win under his belt, will subsequent wins be easier or more difficult to come by?
My Yahoo Fantasy Golf team for this week:
“Front 4”: Jason Day, Jim Furyk, Kevin Na, Paul Casey
“Bench team”: Steve Marino, Kevin Sutherland, Rod Pampling, Tim Clark
Now that we’re well into the season, the 10-start maximum in the Yahoo game is starting to come into play with making weekly selections. Phil Mickelson is a solid A-level pick, but I’ve used him a lot already this year, and will save him for bigger events. I consider Casey/Clark to be nearly a toss-up this week, and have more starts remaining for Casey; but Clark’s too intriguing to pass up, and he might end up getting into the starting lineup before the week is over.
After another indifferent week, my Yahoo Fantasy Golf standings are: 2847 points, 78th percentile.
Best of luck to all!
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Predictions: Byron Nelson
Congratulations to last week's winners: Adam Scott at the Valero Texas Open, Peter Hanson in Mallorca, Justin Hicks at the BMW Charity Pro-Am, and Se Ri Pak at the Bell Micro LPGA Classic.
The PGA Tour now moves to the Dallas area, with the HP Byron Nelson Championship at TPC Las Colinas. I don't have any "spotlight picks" this week, because I'm honestly not bullish about anyone in the field. But for those playing Yahoo Fantasy Golf, here are my picks for the week:
"Front 4": Scott Verplank, Brian Davis, James Nitties, John Senden
"Bench team": D.A. Points, Briny Baird, Rory Sabbatini, Ben Crane
Last week was a decent week for picks: "spotlight player" Bo Van Pelt finished 28th, and Fredrik Jacobson was the runner-up. Unfortunately, some not-so-great A and C-level picks left my Yahoo team with just the B-listers on the weekend. My Yahoo Fantasy Golf standings: 2743 points, 79th percentile.
Best of luck to all!
The PGA Tour now moves to the Dallas area, with the HP Byron Nelson Championship at TPC Las Colinas. I don't have any "spotlight picks" this week, because I'm honestly not bullish about anyone in the field. But for those playing Yahoo Fantasy Golf, here are my picks for the week:
"Front 4": Scott Verplank, Brian Davis, James Nitties, John Senden
"Bench team": D.A. Points, Briny Baird, Rory Sabbatini, Ben Crane
Last week was a decent week for picks: "spotlight player" Bo Van Pelt finished 28th, and Fredrik Jacobson was the runner-up. Unfortunately, some not-so-great A and C-level picks left my Yahoo team with just the B-listers on the weekend. My Yahoo Fantasy Golf standings: 2743 points, 79th percentile.
Best of luck to all!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Predictions: Valero Texas Open
First of all, on a serious note, sympathies go out to the family and friends of LPGA player Erica Blasberg, who died this weekend at age 25.
Now on to this week’s event, the Valero Texas Open. It’s being held on a new course this week, the TPC San Antonio.
My top picks of the week:
* Bo Van Pelt. Three top-10's in a row for Bo. Can he make it four?
* Fredrik Jacobson. While the course was different, Fredrik did finish 5th in last year’s event. He’s coming off a 10th-place finish at The Players last week.
My Yahoo Fantasy Golf lineup for this week is:
“Front 4": Zach Johnson, Bo Van Pelt, Fredrik Jacobson, Paul Goydos
“Bench team”: Justin Leonard, Charley Hoffman, James Driscoll, Chris Stroud
Last week was another somewhat indifferent week for picks. Ben Crane did finish 4th, but Jim Furyk was 47th and Stephen Ames, 58th. My Yahoo Fantasy Golf standings so far: 2651 points, 81st percentile.
Best of luck to all!
Now on to this week’s event, the Valero Texas Open. It’s being held on a new course this week, the TPC San Antonio.
My top picks of the week:
* Bo Van Pelt. Three top-10's in a row for Bo. Can he make it four?
* Fredrik Jacobson. While the course was different, Fredrik did finish 5th in last year’s event. He’s coming off a 10th-place finish at The Players last week.
My Yahoo Fantasy Golf lineup for this week is:
“Front 4": Zach Johnson, Bo Van Pelt, Fredrik Jacobson, Paul Goydos
“Bench team”: Justin Leonard, Charley Hoffman, James Driscoll, Chris Stroud
Last week was another somewhat indifferent week for picks. Ben Crane did finish 4th, but Jim Furyk was 47th and Stephen Ames, 58th. My Yahoo Fantasy Golf standings so far: 2651 points, 81st percentile.
Best of luck to all!
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Players Championship: Wrap-up
As expected, Friday’s birthday celebrations delayed any reporting on the second round; and Saturday’s brutal heat and humidity, combined with a late tee time, delayed reporting on the second round. So here are some tidbits from the final three rounds of the Players Championship:
* It’s not every day that you see someone shoot a 65. It’s also not every day that you seem someone shoot an 80. What are the odds that the two happen in the same group? That happened Friday: Graeme McDowell shot 65, playing partner Matthew Goggin shot 80. Goggin’s disastrous round was largely set in motion when he took a 9 on the par-4 4th hole: 2nd shot over the green, 3rd back over the green and into the water, 5th a flop shot that didn’t find land, and two putts. Ouch.
* Speaking of #4... #17 at Sawgrass gets a lot of publicity, but I think #4 is at least as cruel, perhaps more so this year (as 17 seems to be playing relatively easy this year). Players in groups that I’ve followed each of the first three days have found the water. Dry land for both players on Sunday.
* Speaking of water, it pays to know the caddies. During Saturday’s and Sunday’s rounds, one of the caddies in the group that I followed kept me well-supplied with ice-cold (and free) water from the tee-box coolers. Of course, this also led me to be the recipient of some very strange looks from my fellow spectators, who were wondering just who this girl is who’s getting free water from the caddie and isn’t wearing any kind of wife/girlfriend/family/guest credentials. I’m always very nice to the caddies of the players that I follow on a regular basis, greeting them by name each day and asking how they’re doing. I’ve seen plenty of spectators talking to players, but have never seen another one talking to a caddie.
* There hasn’t been much of a slow-play issue this week. There have been a few short waits on the tee box on par-3's, but no hitting-in issues from groups behind, and no lengthy waits for groups ahead.
* Those last three holes (16-18) are great watching if you’re a seated spectator. They are not fun to navigate if you’re trying to follow a group, especially late in the day, when most of the spectators are “overserved”.
* I didn’t see the guy get tased on Friday. I’ve seen some people that I would like to see meet the same fate, however.
* After walking 18 with a group on Sunday, I watched the last two hours of the tournament at a local restaurant/bar with some friends–four from Ireland, one from England, and myself the lone American (though after a week in largely Irish company, I have quite an accent myself now).We were cheering for Westwood and pretty well-shocked at his back-nine implosion.
* We were even more shocked at Tim Clark’s 67. Sunday wasn’t a day for low scores, by and large. All the more kudos to Tim.
* Henrik Stenson’s jacket–what can be said about that?
* I got the news about Tiger’s withdrawal while walking up #5 fairway. Let’s just say that not all the players were heartbroken about it.
* Keep an eye on Robert Allenby. I think his game is going to take a dramatic turn in the second half of the season, though in which direction I don’t know.
* And once again, congratulations to 2010 Players Champion Tim Clark. What a way to make that first win a big one! Let’s see what the rest of the year holds for him.
I’ll next be “live” on the course for the final two rounds of the St. Jude Classic in Memphis in June. Until next time...
* It’s not every day that you see someone shoot a 65. It’s also not every day that you seem someone shoot an 80. What are the odds that the two happen in the same group? That happened Friday: Graeme McDowell shot 65, playing partner Matthew Goggin shot 80. Goggin’s disastrous round was largely set in motion when he took a 9 on the par-4 4th hole: 2nd shot over the green, 3rd back over the green and into the water, 5th a flop shot that didn’t find land, and two putts. Ouch.
* Speaking of #4... #17 at Sawgrass gets a lot of publicity, but I think #4 is at least as cruel, perhaps more so this year (as 17 seems to be playing relatively easy this year). Players in groups that I’ve followed each of the first three days have found the water. Dry land for both players on Sunday.
* Speaking of water, it pays to know the caddies. During Saturday’s and Sunday’s rounds, one of the caddies in the group that I followed kept me well-supplied with ice-cold (and free) water from the tee-box coolers. Of course, this also led me to be the recipient of some very strange looks from my fellow spectators, who were wondering just who this girl is who’s getting free water from the caddie and isn’t wearing any kind of wife/girlfriend/family/guest credentials. I’m always very nice to the caddies of the players that I follow on a regular basis, greeting them by name each day and asking how they’re doing. I’ve seen plenty of spectators talking to players, but have never seen another one talking to a caddie.
* There hasn’t been much of a slow-play issue this week. There have been a few short waits on the tee box on par-3's, but no hitting-in issues from groups behind, and no lengthy waits for groups ahead.
* Those last three holes (16-18) are great watching if you’re a seated spectator. They are not fun to navigate if you’re trying to follow a group, especially late in the day, when most of the spectators are “overserved”.
* I didn’t see the guy get tased on Friday. I’ve seen some people that I would like to see meet the same fate, however.
* After walking 18 with a group on Sunday, I watched the last two hours of the tournament at a local restaurant/bar with some friends–four from Ireland, one from England, and myself the lone American (though after a week in largely Irish company, I have quite an accent myself now).We were cheering for Westwood and pretty well-shocked at his back-nine implosion.
* We were even more shocked at Tim Clark’s 67. Sunday wasn’t a day for low scores, by and large. All the more kudos to Tim.
* Henrik Stenson’s jacket–what can be said about that?
* I got the news about Tiger’s withdrawal while walking up #5 fairway. Let’s just say that not all the players were heartbroken about it.
* Keep an eye on Robert Allenby. I think his game is going to take a dramatic turn in the second half of the season, though in which direction I don’t know.
* And once again, congratulations to 2010 Players Champion Tim Clark. What a way to make that first win a big one! Let’s see what the rest of the year holds for him.
I’ll next be “live” on the course for the final two rounds of the St. Jude Classic in Memphis in June. Until next time...
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Thursday at Sawgrass
It was a sunny, very warm, and very humid Thursday at TPC Sawgrass. I followed an early group today and was still dripping sweat by the #3! Paul Goydos, J.P. Hayes, and Charl Schwartzel showcased some very different games, but it was fun watching. Some observations:
* In the year since my last trip to Sawgrass, I’d forgotten just how beautiful the course is. I’d also forgotten just how tough it is to walk. For those who haven’t been there, it’s even more beautiful than it looks on TV. It’s also the toughest course I’ve ever walked, with lots of high-grade elevation changes.
* I’m still not sure what to make of Schwartzel. I’d never been terribly impressed with his game (yes, he has wins, but largely in weaker-field events) until Doral. I didn’t see any real flashes of greatness today, though he’s a solid player overall. One thing he does have is a big drive; true, his playing partners aren’t long hitters, but he “outdrove” them with his 3-wood on at least one occasion.
* Goydos proved that a big drive wasn’t a necessity to score well at Sawgrass; his irons were spot-on, putting him closer to the pin than his playing partners on many holes.
* Hayes could have been at least three strokes better today if his putting had cooperated.
* I was admittedly a bit disappointed that none of the three hit the water on 17. The fans around 17 were, too. Perhaps not surprisingly, spectators do have wagers on players as they approach the tee, on whether they’ll find land or not.
* The crowds weren’t as big as I was expecting today. Perhaps that had to do with the position of the group I was following: Phil Mickelson was several groups ahead, and Tiger was in the afternoon wave.
* I was pleased that pace of play wasn’t as much of an issue today as in many recent rounds. There was no waiting until the back nine, and not much after that. While pace did slow toward the end of the round, it seemed to be due more to the increasing heat and humidity than to player backlog.
* The course didn’t seem to have as many “teeth” today, and the low scores bore that out. It will be interesting to see if the scores stay low, or if they go higher as the week goes on.
Tomorrow is not only the second round, it’s also my 35th birthday; plans for festivities are still taking shape, so there may or may not be a “round 2" column tomorrow. So until either tomorrow or Saturday...
* In the year since my last trip to Sawgrass, I’d forgotten just how beautiful the course is. I’d also forgotten just how tough it is to walk. For those who haven’t been there, it’s even more beautiful than it looks on TV. It’s also the toughest course I’ve ever walked, with lots of high-grade elevation changes.
* I’m still not sure what to make of Schwartzel. I’d never been terribly impressed with his game (yes, he has wins, but largely in weaker-field events) until Doral. I didn’t see any real flashes of greatness today, though he’s a solid player overall. One thing he does have is a big drive; true, his playing partners aren’t long hitters, but he “outdrove” them with his 3-wood on at least one occasion.
* Goydos proved that a big drive wasn’t a necessity to score well at Sawgrass; his irons were spot-on, putting him closer to the pin than his playing partners on many holes.
* Hayes could have been at least three strokes better today if his putting had cooperated.
* I was admittedly a bit disappointed that none of the three hit the water on 17. The fans around 17 were, too. Perhaps not surprisingly, spectators do have wagers on players as they approach the tee, on whether they’ll find land or not.
* The crowds weren’t as big as I was expecting today. Perhaps that had to do with the position of the group I was following: Phil Mickelson was several groups ahead, and Tiger was in the afternoon wave.
* I was pleased that pace of play wasn’t as much of an issue today as in many recent rounds. There was no waiting until the back nine, and not much after that. While pace did slow toward the end of the round, it seemed to be due more to the increasing heat and humidity than to player backlog.
* The course didn’t seem to have as many “teeth” today, and the low scores bore that out. It will be interesting to see if the scores stay low, or if they go higher as the week goes on.
Tomorrow is not only the second round, it’s also my 35th birthday; plans for festivities are still taking shape, so there may or may not be a “round 2" column tomorrow. So until either tomorrow or Saturday...
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Predictions: Players Championship
Sunny Florida is anything but this Wednesday afternoon, at least on I-10 heading east toward Jacksonville and Ponte Vedra. But indoors now and just a few miles from TPC Sawgrass, I'm ready to make my picks for the Players Championship.
My three "spotlight players" this week are Stephen Ames, Jim Furyk, and Ben Crane. All three have turned in some good performances here in Ponte Vedra; Ames is the 2nd-leading money winner at TPC, and Furyk and Crane both had top 10's last year.
My Yahoo Fantasy Golf team for this week:
"Front 4": Stephen Ames, Jim Furyk, Henrik Stenson, Ben Crane
"Bench team": Phil Mickelson, Kevin Na, Brian Davis, Ian Poulter
Last week's picks weren't great. Stuart Appleby was my only "spotlight player" to make the cut, and he finished in 69th. Hopefully, this week will be better. My Yahoo Fantasy Golf standings: 2521 points, 82nd percentile.
Best of luck to all!
My three "spotlight players" this week are Stephen Ames, Jim Furyk, and Ben Crane. All three have turned in some good performances here in Ponte Vedra; Ames is the 2nd-leading money winner at TPC, and Furyk and Crane both had top 10's last year.
My Yahoo Fantasy Golf team for this week:
"Front 4": Stephen Ames, Jim Furyk, Henrik Stenson, Ben Crane
"Bench team": Phil Mickelson, Kevin Na, Brian Davis, Ian Poulter
Last week's picks weren't great. Stuart Appleby was my only "spotlight player" to make the cut, and he finished in 69th. Hopefully, this week will be better. My Yahoo Fantasy Golf standings: 2521 points, 82nd percentile.
Best of luck to all!
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Sunday Evening Takeaway: May 2
Congratulations to this week’s winners: Alvaro Quiros at the Open de Espana, Rory McIlroy at the Quail Hollow Championship, Martin Piller at the Athens Classic, and David Eger at the Mississippi Gulf Coast Classic. Some bits of takeaway from this week:
* Rory McIlroy makes the cut on the number, then goes 66-62 on the weekend to win his first PGA Tour title. This is the Rory most of us expected to see this season. Injury delayed his “arrival” of sorts, but he’s definitely “here” now and making a statement. McIlroy turns 21 on Tuesday; with that milestone combined with his win, I’d dare say that there will be some serious partying going on in Ponte Vedra in a few days!
* I’m not terribly surprised that Tiger Woods missed the cut; most professionals do miss cuts from time to time. What did surprise me is just how badly Woods played, especially on Friday. He seemed to be having shoulder issues at one point, so maybe that had something to do with it. I’m not going to chalk it up to “what he’s been through”; this wasn’t his first round back on the course. Unless he is in fact injured, I expect to see him playing relatively solidly at Ponte Vedra next week.
* Ryo Ishikawa shot a 58 on Sunday in a Japan Tour event. Yes, the course was only 6500 yards, and the field was weak, but no one else has shot 58 in this particular event. It’s impressive.
* It was definitely unexpected to see Billy Mayfair and Paul Goydos at the top of the leaderboard for most of the week in Charlotte. It wasn’t as unexpected to see them both fade on Sunday. Hopefully, there are better final rounds for both of them at some point this season.
* I enjoy watching Ricky Fowler playing and playing well. I do not enjoy the head-to-toe orange ensemble; having seen him play live at Bay Hill, I can testify that it’s even brighter in person.
Speaking of “live”, I’ll be reporting from Ponte Vedra starting on Thursday, with some on-course (and possibly off-course) notes on The Players Championship. Until then...
* Rory McIlroy makes the cut on the number, then goes 66-62 on the weekend to win his first PGA Tour title. This is the Rory most of us expected to see this season. Injury delayed his “arrival” of sorts, but he’s definitely “here” now and making a statement. McIlroy turns 21 on Tuesday; with that milestone combined with his win, I’d dare say that there will be some serious partying going on in Ponte Vedra in a few days!
* I’m not terribly surprised that Tiger Woods missed the cut; most professionals do miss cuts from time to time. What did surprise me is just how badly Woods played, especially on Friday. He seemed to be having shoulder issues at one point, so maybe that had something to do with it. I’m not going to chalk it up to “what he’s been through”; this wasn’t his first round back on the course. Unless he is in fact injured, I expect to see him playing relatively solidly at Ponte Vedra next week.
* Ryo Ishikawa shot a 58 on Sunday in a Japan Tour event. Yes, the course was only 6500 yards, and the field was weak, but no one else has shot 58 in this particular event. It’s impressive.
* It was definitely unexpected to see Billy Mayfair and Paul Goydos at the top of the leaderboard for most of the week in Charlotte. It wasn’t as unexpected to see them both fade on Sunday. Hopefully, there are better final rounds for both of them at some point this season.
* I enjoy watching Ricky Fowler playing and playing well. I do not enjoy the head-to-toe orange ensemble; having seen him play live at Bay Hill, I can testify that it’s even brighter in person.
Speaking of “live”, I’ll be reporting from Ponte Vedra starting on Thursday, with some on-course (and possibly off-course) notes on The Players Championship. Until then...
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Predictions: Quail Hollow
This week, the PGA Tour is off to Charlotte, North Carolina, and the Quail Hollow Championship. With a course that is pegged a future major venue by many, and a field boasting most of the top players on the Tour (the most notable absence being the still-injured Steve Stricker), this week’s tournament is sure to be worth a watch.
My “spotlight players” for this week:
* Tiger Woods. Quail Hollow isn’t the Masters: tickets are available to the general public, so it will be interesting to see if any of the patrons have special greetings for Tiger, and if so, how he reacts. I’m more interested in seeing how his game looks, now that he has one tournament under his belt for 2010.
* Jason Dufner. Dufner helped my fantasy team out tremendously last week, with a 7th-place finish in New Orleans. He was 5th at Quail Hollow last year.
* Stuart Appleby. Are his back-to-back top-10's at Hilton Head and New Orleans a sign that his game really is coming back? We’ll see.
My Yahoo Fantasy Golf team for this week is:
“Front 4": Jason Dufner, Lucas Glover, Camilo Villegas, Stuart Appleby
“Bench team”: Tiger Woods, Sean O’Hair, Lee Westwood, Angel Cabrera
Last week was another mid-range week for picks. David Toms and Charles Howell III showed some promise early on, but finished in a lackluster 28th and 43rd, respectively. Steve Marino’s missed-cut-not-even-close disappointed a lot of prognosticators. My Yahoo Fantasy Golf standings: 2444 points, 82nd percentile.
Best of luck to all!
My “spotlight players” for this week:
* Tiger Woods. Quail Hollow isn’t the Masters: tickets are available to the general public, so it will be interesting to see if any of the patrons have special greetings for Tiger, and if so, how he reacts. I’m more interested in seeing how his game looks, now that he has one tournament under his belt for 2010.
* Jason Dufner. Dufner helped my fantasy team out tremendously last week, with a 7th-place finish in New Orleans. He was 5th at Quail Hollow last year.
* Stuart Appleby. Are his back-to-back top-10's at Hilton Head and New Orleans a sign that his game really is coming back? We’ll see.
My Yahoo Fantasy Golf team for this week is:
“Front 4": Jason Dufner, Lucas Glover, Camilo Villegas, Stuart Appleby
“Bench team”: Tiger Woods, Sean O’Hair, Lee Westwood, Angel Cabrera
Last week was another mid-range week for picks. David Toms and Charles Howell III showed some promise early on, but finished in a lackluster 28th and 43rd, respectively. Steve Marino’s missed-cut-not-even-close disappointed a lot of prognosticators. My Yahoo Fantasy Golf standings: 2444 points, 82nd percentile.
Best of luck to all!
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Sunday Evening Takeaway: April 25
Congratulations to this week’s winners: Marcus Fraser at the Ballantine’s Championship, Jason Bohn at the Zurich Classic, and Ewan Porter at the South Georgia Classic. A few bits of takeaway from this week:
* Mother Nature can be cruel. The Ballantine’s was shortened to a 54-hour event, and the Zurich and South Georgia both had significant weather delays. Such is the peril of an outdoor sport...
* It was a good week for guys to get back in the winner’s circle. Fraser’s last win came in 2003, Bohn’s last win in 2005.
* Jason Bohn celebrated his 37th birthday this week. A trophy, a two-year Tour exemption, and a bit over a million dollars are all very nice birthday presents.
* Stuart Appleby gets his second top-10 finish in two weeks. Two or three years ago, this wouldn’t be news. Is he back? I’d say it’s too soon to tell, but signs are encouraging.
* Speaking of lost games, Sergio Garcia might want to check out the Unclaimed Baggage Center in Scottsboro, Alabama, to see if his golf game is there. It sure isn’t with him on the course right now. He seems to be heading into the early stages of “Duval Syndrome”; though, if I had to put down money on one of the two right now, I’d go with Duval.
Until next week...
* Mother Nature can be cruel. The Ballantine’s was shortened to a 54-hour event, and the Zurich and South Georgia both had significant weather delays. Such is the peril of an outdoor sport...
* It was a good week for guys to get back in the winner’s circle. Fraser’s last win came in 2003, Bohn’s last win in 2005.
* Jason Bohn celebrated his 37th birthday this week. A trophy, a two-year Tour exemption, and a bit over a million dollars are all very nice birthday presents.
* Stuart Appleby gets his second top-10 finish in two weeks. Two or three years ago, this wouldn’t be news. Is he back? I’d say it’s too soon to tell, but signs are encouraging.
* Speaking of lost games, Sergio Garcia might want to check out the Unclaimed Baggage Center in Scottsboro, Alabama, to see if his golf game is there. It sure isn’t with him on the course right now. He seems to be heading into the early stages of “Duval Syndrome”; though, if I had to put down money on one of the two right now, I’d go with Duval.
Until next week...
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Predictions: Zurich Classic
Laissez les bon temps roulez! Grab your beignets, etouffee, and a favorite beverage, because this week the Tour is in New Orleans for the Zurich Classic. Early-week favorites Steve Stricker and Ian Poulter have both withdrawn with injuries, so the field is set to yield up some surprising names at the top of the leaderboard.
My “spotlight players” for this week:
* Steve Marino. He had a top-5 finish here last year, and two top-5's so far this season. He’s got to win sometime, and it might as well be this week.
* Charles Howell III. He was runner-up here last year, and has three top-10's so far this season. He played well early at Hilton Head last week, before fading over the weekend.
* David Toms. He also finished in the top 5 here last year. He hasn’t made any waves so far this season, due in part to shoulder trouble, but this is a virtual home game for him, and I’d be surprised if he didn’t “show up”.
My Yahoo Fantasy Golf team for this week is:
“Front 4": Steve Marino, Charles Howell III, David Toms, Jerry Kelly
“Bench team”: Jason Dufner, Rory Sabbatini, Briny Baird, Ben Crane
Last week was a decent week for picks. Luke Donald came in 3rd, and my “dark horse” pick of Tim Wilkinson was a respectable 22nd. Defending Heritage champion Brian Gay’s 32nd-place finish was disappointing, however. My Yahoo Fantasy Golf standings: 2298 points, 80th percentile.
Best of luck to all!
My “spotlight players” for this week:
* Steve Marino. He had a top-5 finish here last year, and two top-5's so far this season. He’s got to win sometime, and it might as well be this week.
* Charles Howell III. He was runner-up here last year, and has three top-10's so far this season. He played well early at Hilton Head last week, before fading over the weekend.
* David Toms. He also finished in the top 5 here last year. He hasn’t made any waves so far this season, due in part to shoulder trouble, but this is a virtual home game for him, and I’d be surprised if he didn’t “show up”.
My Yahoo Fantasy Golf team for this week is:
“Front 4": Steve Marino, Charles Howell III, David Toms, Jerry Kelly
“Bench team”: Jason Dufner, Rory Sabbatini, Briny Baird, Ben Crane
Last week was a decent week for picks. Luke Donald came in 3rd, and my “dark horse” pick of Tim Wilkinson was a respectable 22nd. Defending Heritage champion Brian Gay’s 32nd-place finish was disappointing, however. My Yahoo Fantasy Golf standings: 2298 points, 80th percentile.
Best of luck to all!
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Sunday Evening Takeaway: April 18
Congratulations to this week’s winners: Y.E. Yang at the Volvo China Open,Kevin Chappell at the Fresh Express Classic, and Jim Furyk at the Verizon Heritage. A few bits of takeaway from this week:
* Yang’s game has been improving at pretty much an exponential rate over the last two seasons. It will be interesting to see what lies ahead for him in the next few years.
* After Furyk won in Tampa four weeks ago, I thought he was “back”. His first-round 80 at the Masters had me doubting that. After watching him this week, I’m going to consider Augusta an aberration and say that he really is “back”.
* Another week, another top-10 for Ricky Barnes. I’m not on the Ricky bandwagon yet, but I’ll be watching his next few tournaments very closely.
* Brian Davis gave us another example of why golf is considered a “gentleman’s game”. Literally on the beach on the first playoff hole, Davis barely brushed a loose impediment on his backswing. He immediately called a rules official over, explained the situation, and ultimately incurred a two-stroke penalty. He didn’t attempt to justify himself or explain it away, or even wait for someone else to catch it before self-reporting. Perhaps Michelle “I lost my balance” Wie could benefit from a talk with Brian.
Until next week...
* Yang’s game has been improving at pretty much an exponential rate over the last two seasons. It will be interesting to see what lies ahead for him in the next few years.
* After Furyk won in Tampa four weeks ago, I thought he was “back”. His first-round 80 at the Masters had me doubting that. After watching him this week, I’m going to consider Augusta an aberration and say that he really is “back”.
* Another week, another top-10 for Ricky Barnes. I’m not on the Ricky bandwagon yet, but I’ll be watching his next few tournaments very closely.
* Brian Davis gave us another example of why golf is considered a “gentleman’s game”. Literally on the beach on the first playoff hole, Davis barely brushed a loose impediment on his backswing. He immediately called a rules official over, explained the situation, and ultimately incurred a two-stroke penalty. He didn’t attempt to justify himself or explain it away, or even wait for someone else to catch it before self-reporting. Perhaps Michelle “I lost my balance” Wie could benefit from a talk with Brian.
Until next week...
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Predictions: Heritage
Like many golf fans out there, I’m still nursing a bit of a “Masters hangover” this Tuesday evening, so this week may be a bit of a letdown. But the PGA Tour marches on, and this week’s tournament is the Verizon Heritage in lovely Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.
My “spotlight players” for this week:
* Luke Donald. Runner-up here last year, and two top-10's so far this year (Northern Trust, Travelers).
* Brian Gay. Defending champion. I was expecting more out of him at Augusta last week, but still optimistic about his chances to repeat this week.
* Tim Wilkinson. He finished 6th here last year. He’s completely off the map right now, but could factor as a “surprise/dark horse” pick if he finds the form he had here in 2010.
My Yahoo Fantasy Golf team for this week:
“Front 4": Luke Donald, Brian Gay, Lee Janzen, Davis Love III
“Bench team”: Heath Slocum, K.J. Choi, Rod Pampling, Tim Wilkinson
Last week was a good week for picks. My “spotlight” pro, Hunter Mahan, finished in 8th place, and Italian amateur Matteo Manassero (“spotlight” #2) finished a respectable 36th. My Yahoo Fantasy Golf standings: 2163, 81st percentile.
Best of luck to all!
My “spotlight players” for this week:
* Luke Donald. Runner-up here last year, and two top-10's so far this year (Northern Trust, Travelers).
* Brian Gay. Defending champion. I was expecting more out of him at Augusta last week, but still optimistic about his chances to repeat this week.
* Tim Wilkinson. He finished 6th here last year. He’s completely off the map right now, but could factor as a “surprise/dark horse” pick if he finds the form he had here in 2010.
My Yahoo Fantasy Golf team for this week:
“Front 4": Luke Donald, Brian Gay, Lee Janzen, Davis Love III
“Bench team”: Heath Slocum, K.J. Choi, Rod Pampling, Tim Wilkinson
Last week was a good week for picks. My “spotlight” pro, Hunter Mahan, finished in 8th place, and Italian amateur Matteo Manassero (“spotlight” #2) finished a respectable 36th. My Yahoo Fantasy Golf standings: 2163, 81st percentile.
Best of luck to all!
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Masters Musings
Congratulations to Phil Mickelson, the 2010 Masters champion. To me, this was one of the best Masters tournaments in a long time: the leaderboard was packed with big names and big storylines, there were eagles and birdies galore, and the outcome was unknown until the final hole. Some of my thoughts from the week:
* The first day was a trip down memory lane, with Fred Couples and Tom Watson on top of the leaderboard. These were the players I grew up watching, and to see them still contending in a major–well, let’s just say it’s been a few years–later was something that doesn’t happen in many other sports. Freddie remained in contention until well into Sunday, proving that while he’s dominating the Champions Tour right now, he’s still got the game to play with the “young guys” sometimes, too.
* Rory McIlroy’s missed cut didn’t surprise me very much; I’d talked to Rory’s parents at Doral, and they had mentioned then that he was a bit tired. It looks like the decision to play both the PGA and European tours this year might not have been the greatest idea. Jim Furyk’s missed cut, largely set up by a Thursday 80, did surprise me. We’ll see if that was a momentary aberration, or if there are signs that his game isn’t all the way back yet.
* Matteo Manassero is the real deal. The 16-year-old amateur not only made the cut, he finished in 36th place, ahead of past champions Zach Johnson and Mike Weir, among others. He’ll turn pro soon, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he wins an event before the end of the year.
* Ricky Barnes, after falling off the map following his amateur days, is starting to “show up” in majors. If he can play that way in regular Tour events as well (and show some consistency), he’ll start living up to those predictions of greatness from 2003.
* Tiger’s 4th-place finish was better than I was expecting (I had expected him to finish in the 11-25 range). I didn’t really see much of a difference in mannerisms between the “new Tiger” and the “old Tiger”, nor much of a difference in play. Remember, he hasn’t won at Augusta in five years.
* Lee Westwood has never been the world’s greatest putter. The flat stick may have cost him yet another major on Sunday.
* Phil Mickelson was my pre-season pick for the Masters, though I had my doubts after the somewhat shaky start to his 2010 season. He definitely earned the title, especially over the last two rounds. It would have been hard not to cheer for Phil after all of the trials his family has been through with Amy’s and his mother’s cancer battles. Well done, Mr. Mickelson; you gave us a great story with a happy ending this Sunday evening.
* The first day was a trip down memory lane, with Fred Couples and Tom Watson on top of the leaderboard. These were the players I grew up watching, and to see them still contending in a major–well, let’s just say it’s been a few years–later was something that doesn’t happen in many other sports. Freddie remained in contention until well into Sunday, proving that while he’s dominating the Champions Tour right now, he’s still got the game to play with the “young guys” sometimes, too.
* Rory McIlroy’s missed cut didn’t surprise me very much; I’d talked to Rory’s parents at Doral, and they had mentioned then that he was a bit tired. It looks like the decision to play both the PGA and European tours this year might not have been the greatest idea. Jim Furyk’s missed cut, largely set up by a Thursday 80, did surprise me. We’ll see if that was a momentary aberration, or if there are signs that his game isn’t all the way back yet.
* Matteo Manassero is the real deal. The 16-year-old amateur not only made the cut, he finished in 36th place, ahead of past champions Zach Johnson and Mike Weir, among others. He’ll turn pro soon, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he wins an event before the end of the year.
* Ricky Barnes, after falling off the map following his amateur days, is starting to “show up” in majors. If he can play that way in regular Tour events as well (and show some consistency), he’ll start living up to those predictions of greatness from 2003.
* Tiger’s 4th-place finish was better than I was expecting (I had expected him to finish in the 11-25 range). I didn’t really see much of a difference in mannerisms between the “new Tiger” and the “old Tiger”, nor much of a difference in play. Remember, he hasn’t won at Augusta in five years.
* Lee Westwood has never been the world’s greatest putter. The flat stick may have cost him yet another major on Sunday.
* Phil Mickelson was my pre-season pick for the Masters, though I had my doubts after the somewhat shaky start to his 2010 season. He definitely earned the title, especially over the last two rounds. It would have been hard not to cheer for Phil after all of the trials his family has been through with Amy’s and his mother’s cancer battles. Well done, Mr. Mickelson; you gave us a great story with a happy ending this Sunday evening.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Predictions: Masters
Predictions: Masters
Congratulations to Anthony Kim, who won last week’s Shell Houston Open.
Now on to Augusta, for the Masters. The big question for predictions is: To pick Tiger, or not to pick Tiger? I’m holding off for this week, until I see more of the state of his game.
My “spotlight players” for the week:
* Hunter Mahan. He finished in the top 10 at Augusta last year. The missed cut last week at Houston is a slight concern, but he’s been playing reasonably well this year, including a win in Phoenix.
* Matteo Manassero. The Italian amateur is scheduled to turn pro this spring, at the tender age of 16. He seems to be the real deal.
My Yahoo Fantasy Golf team for this week:
“Front 4": Steve Stricker, Hunter Mahan, Lee Westwood, Matt Kuchar
“Bench team”: Phil Mickelson, Brian Gay, Oliver Wilson, Mike Weir
Last week wasn’t a great one for picks. One of my “spotlight players”, Paul Casey, was a late withdrawal with a shoulder injury, and the other, Fred Couples, came in 55th. My Yahoo Fantasy Golf standings: 1929 points, 73th percentile.
Best of luck to all!
Congratulations to Anthony Kim, who won last week’s Shell Houston Open.
Now on to Augusta, for the Masters. The big question for predictions is: To pick Tiger, or not to pick Tiger? I’m holding off for this week, until I see more of the state of his game.
My “spotlight players” for the week:
* Hunter Mahan. He finished in the top 10 at Augusta last year. The missed cut last week at Houston is a slight concern, but he’s been playing reasonably well this year, including a win in Phoenix.
* Matteo Manassero. The Italian amateur is scheduled to turn pro this spring, at the tender age of 16. He seems to be the real deal.
My Yahoo Fantasy Golf team for this week:
“Front 4": Steve Stricker, Hunter Mahan, Lee Westwood, Matt Kuchar
“Bench team”: Phil Mickelson, Brian Gay, Oliver Wilson, Mike Weir
Last week wasn’t a great one for picks. One of my “spotlight players”, Paul Casey, was a late withdrawal with a shoulder injury, and the other, Fred Couples, came in 55th. My Yahoo Fantasy Golf standings: 1929 points, 73th percentile.
Best of luck to all!
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Predictions: Shell Houston Open
Congratulations to Ernie Els, who won the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Monday afternoon; as I mentioned in my post from Sunday, if you’re superstitious and inclined to wagering, you might want to make a wager on him for the Players Championship in May.
But now it’s on to Texas, for the Shell Houston Open. Most predictors that I’ve read have mentioned Paul Casey and Fred Couples as two players to watch, and I’m no exception. Casey is the defending champion, and Couples finished 3rd here last year. Casey has three top-10 finishes in stroke-play events this year, two within the last month, as well as a runner-up finish at the WGC-Accenture Match Play. Couples has three wins in four starts on the Champions Tour this season. Both are bringing a lot of positive momentum into Houston.
My Yahoo Fantasy Golf team:
“Front 4 : Bubba Watson, Fred Couples, Lee Westwood, Paul Casey
“Bench team”: Ernie Els, Hunter Mahan, Andres Romero, Nick O’Hern
The “prediction hex” was on last week, as my two spotlight players, Nick Watney and Graeme McDowell, finished 64th and MC, respectively.
My Yahoo Fantasy Golf standings: 1813 points, 75th percentile.
Best of luck to all!
But now it’s on to Texas, for the Shell Houston Open. Most predictors that I’ve read have mentioned Paul Casey and Fred Couples as two players to watch, and I’m no exception. Casey is the defending champion, and Couples finished 3rd here last year. Casey has three top-10 finishes in stroke-play events this year, two within the last month, as well as a runner-up finish at the WGC-Accenture Match Play. Couples has three wins in four starts on the Champions Tour this season. Both are bringing a lot of positive momentum into Houston.
My Yahoo Fantasy Golf team:
“Front 4 : Bubba Watson, Fred Couples, Lee Westwood, Paul Casey
“Bench team”: Ernie Els, Hunter Mahan, Andres Romero, Nick O’Hern
The “prediction hex” was on last week, as my two spotlight players, Nick Watney and Graeme McDowell, finished 64th and MC, respectively.
My Yahoo Fantasy Golf standings: 1813 points, 75th percentile.
Best of luck to all!
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Notes from Bay Hill: Sunday
So much for sunny central Florida! The weather today ranged from almost chilly (early in the day) to nice to windy to threatening. I walked 19 today, 4 with Charles Howell III, Rod Pampling, and Marc Leishman, followed by 15 with Paul Goydos, Garrett Willis, and Ricky Barnes (I walked #6 twice). Groups went off split tees; “my” first group was the first of the groups off #1, the second the last of the groups off #10. Some notes from the day:
* The big story of the day was the weather, which halted play around 2:30 p.m. There will be a Monday finish. The interruption wasn’t very surprising to me; the sun really never came out, and by late on the first nine with the Goydos/Willis/Barnes group, I was already noting the sky with some concern. Somewhere around the 3rd hole, Willis told members of his family that there was talk that the course would likely be evacuated in an hour’s time. I heard the first faint rumble of thunder at the 6th tee, so when I got to the parking lot near the midpoint of the 6th hole, I called it a day. Play was apparently suspended not much later.
* A related issue that came out after the suspension was: Could something have been done to get everyone in before the weather got bad? Could the tee times have started earlier (8:24 was the earliest of the day)? Perhaps, though I don’t think there would have been enough daylight to go with the 7:30 start that some suggested. One thing that could have been done: monitor and enforce pace of play. Today was just short of glacial. This wasn’t due to “my” group at all; in fact, they were all pretty vocal about their frustration with the slow play in front. We were literally waiting on almost every shot for the group ahead of us to play. I suspect by that point it was an accumulated delay of the 11 groups in front of us, but where’s John Paramore when you really need him?
* A somewhat amusing incident from #14: As Willis was walking off the green, he asked the scorekeeper to talk to a rules official and get him some Advil. Goydos, right behind him, said that he thought he had something like that in his bag. As he was removing the bottle from the pocket of his golf bag, Willis asked, “What’s the expiration date on that??” It turns out that the label design was so outdated that he was sure it was expired; sure enough, it was, by at least a year. Time to clean out the golf bag?
* The first group I followed was silent. The second group almost never stopped talking. I prefer the latter; much more entertaining as a spectator. What do they talk about out there? Anything and everything. The NCAA basketball tournament was a popular topic this weekend, not surprisingly.
Unfortunately, that “real job” thing will keep me from being on-course for the finish on Monday, so no “live” reporting on the end. I will say this: if Ernie Els does win, you might want to put down a wager (if you’re the wagering kind) on him at The Players in May. Why? For those superstitiously inclined: if Ernie does win at Bay Hill, he will have won at my two “live tournaments” so far in 2010; The Players will be the third of those. (Of course, a better reason would be: he’s playing really well.)
* The big story of the day was the weather, which halted play around 2:30 p.m. There will be a Monday finish. The interruption wasn’t very surprising to me; the sun really never came out, and by late on the first nine with the Goydos/Willis/Barnes group, I was already noting the sky with some concern. Somewhere around the 3rd hole, Willis told members of his family that there was talk that the course would likely be evacuated in an hour’s time. I heard the first faint rumble of thunder at the 6th tee, so when I got to the parking lot near the midpoint of the 6th hole, I called it a day. Play was apparently suspended not much later.
* A related issue that came out after the suspension was: Could something have been done to get everyone in before the weather got bad? Could the tee times have started earlier (8:24 was the earliest of the day)? Perhaps, though I don’t think there would have been enough daylight to go with the 7:30 start that some suggested. One thing that could have been done: monitor and enforce pace of play. Today was just short of glacial. This wasn’t due to “my” group at all; in fact, they were all pretty vocal about their frustration with the slow play in front. We were literally waiting on almost every shot for the group ahead of us to play. I suspect by that point it was an accumulated delay of the 11 groups in front of us, but where’s John Paramore when you really need him?
* A somewhat amusing incident from #14: As Willis was walking off the green, he asked the scorekeeper to talk to a rules official and get him some Advil. Goydos, right behind him, said that he thought he had something like that in his bag. As he was removing the bottle from the pocket of his golf bag, Willis asked, “What’s the expiration date on that??” It turns out that the label design was so outdated that he was sure it was expired; sure enough, it was, by at least a year. Time to clean out the golf bag?
* The first group I followed was silent. The second group almost never stopped talking. I prefer the latter; much more entertaining as a spectator. What do they talk about out there? Anything and everything. The NCAA basketball tournament was a popular topic this weekend, not surprisingly.
Unfortunately, that “real job” thing will keep me from being on-course for the finish on Monday, so no “live” reporting on the end. I will say this: if Ernie Els does win, you might want to put down a wager (if you’re the wagering kind) on him at The Players in May. Why? For those superstitiously inclined: if Ernie does win at Bay Hill, he will have won at my two “live tournaments” so far in 2010; The Players will be the third of those. (Of course, a better reason would be: he’s playing really well.)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
