Weekend recap - Lordy, lordy, the winners are 40 (or over)

K.J. Choi reacts to his winning putt

     There is a certain, undeniable pleasure to be had from watching flinty pro's ply their craft when everything is on the line.  Despite the recent youth movement sweeping professional golf, we were treated Sunday to an exhibition of experience, wisdom and judgment prevailing over youth and power.  On one of the longest tournament days in recent memory, a trio of 40 somethings finished on top of the leaderboard in The Players Championship, with K.J. Choi beating David Toms on the first hole of the most sudden of sudden death playoffs. Another veteran campaigner, Paul Goydos, finished two strokes back in solo third.

     With a rainy washout of a Saturday necessitating the playing of upwards of 30 holes over 12 hours on Sunday, you would have been excused of you gave the advantage to one of the many young players close to the lead.  Stellar names like Graeme McDowell, Luke Donald, Nick Watney and Aaron Baddeley  were all in contention, but all spit the bit in the final round.  McDowell looked like a sure contender after the completion of the third round left him a stoke in front, even after a freakish bounce sent his ball the width of the 18th green and into the water.  That poor piece of luck seemed to multiply as his newly tweaked swing disintegrated over the course of the final round, resulting in a disastrous 79 and a fade to a tie for 33rd.  Watney seemingly had a dozen chances to get on a roll, but in the end, poor judgment led to impossible predicaments and a tie for fourth with Donald, who never really got it going.

     No, youth would not be served on this day.  In the end, the three oldest guys in contention were the last ones standing.  Goydos finished with a gutsy birdie-par-par finish to take the clubhouse lead at -11 just before Toms and Choi hit their tee shots on the treacherous 17th.  He then took the low post-round interview honors as he engaged in a good natured joust with NBC's Jimmy Roberts.  Roberts: "Paul, you're the leader in the clubhouse at this point . . ." Goydos: (interrupts, squinting into the bright sunlight) "We're outside of the clubhouse right now."  Moments later, Roberts: "Paul, you had to play 21 holes today, did the long day have an effect on your stamina?"  Goydos: "Now I'm a professional athlete and I'm offended by that remark."  Goydos, whose physique is anything but athletic, then turned to the camera and quipped, "Just kidding America."

     The last three holes were the key to the tournament for the last group.  Choi laid up on the par five 16th, too close to the tree overhanging the fairway, which would influence his next shot.  Toms, with 233 yards to the front and leading by one, then tried for a knockout blow by going for the green with a hybrid.  He mishit a dying flare to the right and rinsed it, opening the door for Choi, who hit the niftiest low running punch you've ever seen to six feet.  He missed the putt and the two went to the island green 17th tied.  They traded birdies on the last two holes, Choi's after a stiffed wedge to 17, Toms' after a five iron from a sand filled divot on 18 and a clutch 18 foot putt.  The playoff started on the 17th, with Choi winning after Toms, his wedge tee shot barely hanging on the slope above the hole, three putted for bogey, ending the fourth playoff in as many weeks on the PGA Tour.

     Darren Clarke continued the 40 something surge with a win in the European Tour's Iberdrola Open at the Pula Course in  Mallorca, Spain.  The win was Clarke's first in three years and came on the strength of the Northern Irishman's final round 69.

     The other big story of the week was Tiger Woods' WD after only nine holes of the first round.  Woods played the first nine in a shocking six over 42 and walked in, citing a re-injury to his left leg.  The injury may well keep Woods out of competition until the U.S. Open June 16-19 at Congressional.  You have to think that Woods 2011 campaign is starting to resemble his 2010 season; lots of injury time and no wins.  Given Woods famously tight lipped stance on any information regarding injuries, we'll probably never know how bad this current "sprain" is.  The biggest question mark may have nothing to do with his health or his swing.  The longer he is away from contention, the more his battered psyche is bound to be affected.  Stay tuned.

Photo by Getty Images

Implemental favorites: The Players Championship

Ricky Fowler, the love child of Elvis and Engelbert Humperdinck

     This week's Players Championship may be the toughest tournament to predict in professional golf.  TPC Sawgrass favors no particular type of player,the list of past champions is as full of one-hit wonders as it is superstars and the 17th hole's famous island green always adds a larger than normal element of random chance to the proceedings.  While I take some time to ponder things, a list of things I'm sure will happen this week:

• Ricky Fowler will wear his hat backwards (note to any stuffy jerk who feels like reminding Ricky to turn his hat around:  Golf fashions evolve, so get over yourself.  That, or wear plus fours, a dress shirt and tie the next time you tee it up.  Seriously, we let Jesper Parnevik look like a Swedish Gomer Pyle, but that's ok because at least the brim is to the front?).
• Sean Foley will remain defensive when questioned about any criticism directed toward his work with Tiger Woods (note to Sean: you should have been prepared for the microscope when you chose to work with Tiger, and quoting his win record doesn't make YOU look any better).
• Lee Westwood and Rory McIlroy will continue to face mostly pointless criticism for not playing this week (note to the PGA Tour: when you limit someone to 10 starts, and eight of those are taken up my majors and WGC's, what do you expect?).
• The Golf Channel will continue to speak of The Players Championship as the "biggest, best and most important" non-major of the year and mentioning the term "5th major" at least once per hour, confirming their status at the new public relations arm of the PGA Tour (note to The Golf Channel: if your going to broadcast the Thursday and Friday coverage of every tournament from now until the end of time, how about getting with the modern age and offering some live streaming coverage?).

     As for the winner, I'm going to go out on a limb and pick Jason Day.  Three tier format leagues can pick him in the "C" group.  Pair him with Sergio Garcia to mitigate the risk a bit.  For the "A" group, I'm loving Matt Kuchar and Luke Donald with Bubba Watson and the backwards hatted wonder, Ricky Fowler, in the "B" group.  Wouldn't it be cool to see Ricky accept the trophy with his cap on any way he wants to wear it?

Photo by Getty Images

Players gotta play, so how do we make it happen?

     The premier event on the PGA Tour kicks off on Thursday with a less than premier field.  Prestige, money, more Official World Golf Ranking points and a five year exemption for the winner were not enough to entice the first and sixth ranked players in the world to enter the field.  Make no mistake, that's a big hit to the PGA Tour's solar plexus, despite the spin the Tour's marketing folks will use to try and make the best of the situation.  It's no secret that the PGA Tour created The Players Championship with the intention of having the tournament become the "fifth major" and every decision, every tournament tweak in purse size, scheduling and world ranking and FEDEX Cup points values has been made to increase the prestige of the event and insure that the top 50 (at least) in the world tee it up there every year.  The Tour knows that major championships are not proclaimed or created fully formed, they have to be gradually accepted by the players and the fans as one of the most career defining tournament moments.  The Tour also knows that two of the top ten players in the world thumbing their noses at the tournament will kill any chance it ever has to gain "major" status.

     In an earlier post (Sharing the sand pail, May 4) I promised to post my take on a solution to this problem.  To my mind, the goal of any solution should be to find a way to some middle ground that increases the likelyhood of having the best players in the tours' best events, and recognizing that the world's best players will inevitably increase their presence in international markets as the game increases it's own global footprint.  This would require some negotiation between the PGA Tour and the European Tour, but hopefully the two governing bodies would recognize the benefits, rather than guarding their own narrow interests.

     First, a preliminary step:

• Give full, co-sanctioned status to all five World Golf Championship events starting in 2012.  Currently, only the three WGC events in the United States enjoy full sanction by both tours.  The HSBC Champions exists in a kind of in-between state, counting in full in Europe but only partially in the U.S.  For those of you who only count four WGC events, remember the South African based Tournament of Hope begins next year with the biggest purse in golf.

     Then, lower the minimum number of tournaments on both The PGA and the European Tours to ten for players who fall into the following criteria:

• Are ranked in the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking at the beginning of the golf season.
• Are elligible for and agree to maintain full status on both tours.
• Who will agree in advance to play in the premier event for both tours (The Players Championship for the PGA Tour and the BMW PGA Championship for the European Tour).

     There it is in all of it's simplicity.  For those who are counting, playing in all four major championships, the WGC events and the individual tours premier events totals the required minumum of ten tournaments for each tour, on a committment of 11 weeks.  This plan rewards good performance, fills the fields with the best players, benefits both tours and allows players wishing to maintain an international presence to do so with a maximum of flexibility.  I believe this plan would result in more play on both tours, as players would be better able to schedule blocks of tournaments in the U.S, Europe and Asia, mitigating the effects of travel fatigue.  Events other than the ones above would also benefit as the top 50, freed of the low number of tournaments afforded to non-members, would gravitate to events they haven't historically played.  With more of the best playing all over the world, the game of golf raises itself in the public conciousness and has a chance to generate more revenue in the form of sponsorships and advertising from wider markets.  Every body gives a few things up, but everybody gains as well.

       

Weekend recap : Tournaments take a back seat

     The golfing world lost a giant Saturday as Severiano Ballesteros succumbed to brain cancer at his home in Pedrena, Spain.  Ballesteros, just 54, had battled the disease since being diagnosed following a loss of consciousness at the Madrid Airport in 2008.

     Ballesteros, a world golf hall of fame inductee in 1999, was arguably the most influential figure in the history of European golf.  His success, charisma, dramatic flair and passion for the game helped to popularize the game on the European continent and were instrumental in the expansion and worldwide growth of the European Tour.  His will to win and fierce competitiveness were legendary and were the major trans-formative factor in the emergence of the European Ryder Cup team as a perennial favorite to win the bi-annual competition.  Though his 91 professional wins and five major championship victories rank him with the game's greats, he is one of the few golfers in the history of the sport whose influence far outweighed their success on the course.  It is an unfortunate fact that, for the majority of American golf fans, Ballesteros seminal influence on the game went largely unnoticed.  To Americans, he was a foil for the American team at the Ryder Cup or a name to mispronounce on major championship leader boards.  In his way, Seve was as influential for the worldwide growth of the game as Arnold Palmer.

     Think, for a moment, of the state of European golf when Ballesteros turned pro at the tender age of 16 in March of 1974.  The European Tour was all of two years old, with a slate of 20 events running April through October, 12 of which were played in Great Britain.  The leading money winner would take home just over eleven thousand pounds for the year (roughly $25,000).  For comparison, the PGA Tour leading money winner in 1974 earned $353,000.  Great Britain hadn't won a Ryder Cup since 1957 and only had one win since 1935 (eligibility, recently expanded to include players from Ireland, wouldn't open to continental players until the 1979 contest).  No continental European player had won a major championship for most of the 20th century.  Today, the European Tour plays worldwide with purses that rival the PGA Tour, the European Ryder Cup teams regularly drub their U.S. counterparts and continental European players are regularly in contention for golf's majors, predominantly because of Seve's influence.

     Seve led the wave of young and talented players who began to change the face of world golf in the late '70's and opened the door to continued success and expansion in the '80's and '90's.  It wasn't just that he played well, it was the way he approached the game captured the hearts and interest of fans.  One of the longest players in the game, he was also one of the wildest off of the tee.  He would take a titanic cut at the ball with a swing that had way too many moving parts and, more often than not miss the fairway, putting himself squarely in his element.  Perhaps no player in the history of the game was better from trouble.  Seve simply saw ways out that other players couldn't dare to imagine.  His great vision and imagination, coupled with a short game that had no peer, produced a unique brand of golf that was akin to a netless high-wire act.  He was the antithesis of the straight-hitting, emotionless tactician and the fans fell in love with his unique play and daring escapes.  He was unafraid to let his emotions show, alternating thunderous scowls with radiant smiles often on the same hole and possessed enough showmanship to realize that talking to his ball in English would bring more fans in to his orbit (his native Spanish was usually reserved for cursing his ball or berating his caddy, more often than not one of his relatives).  While he captured the hearts of a legion of European fans, his passion for winning could drive his opponents to the opposite extreme, especially where the Ryder Cup was concerned.

     The ever-present cough, the jingling of pocket change, fidgeting, standing opposite his opponent's line; all practices that (although sensationalized and over-stated) fed the Ballesteros legend and painted him as a villain to American golf fans.  His Ryder Cup battles with Paul Azinger and Tom Lehman are legend and every contemporary golfer has a story or two about Seve's gamesmanship and will to win.  Less well publicized are the stories of Seve's sportsmanship and generosity;  his bear hug of Gary Player after Player dropped the winning putt in the 1978 Masters, the leadership he displayed in the Ryder Cup locker room, his insistence that Colin Montgomerie concede the final, 15-foot putt of the 1997 Ryder Cup to Scott Hoch.  These instances were equally indicative of Ballesteros' passion for competition.  Whether you loved him, despised him or your feelings fell somewhere in between, you were compelled to watch him.

     The golfing world will forever remember his unique talent, passion and artistry.  His radiant smile in victory echoed his passion for life, for a life that was cut all too short.  Perhaps the most fitting tribute was voiced by Padraig Harrington, when he offered the opinion that Seve's silhouette should grace the crest of the European Tour.  When you consider that Ballesteros' contributions, more than any other players, made that tour what it is today the tribute would be a fitting one indeed.

     In other events, the Lucas Glover and Tom Lehman won on the PGA Tour and Champions Tour, respectively, Tiger Woods committed to the Players Championship (and dropped to 8th in the world rankings) and we saw the first (undoubtedly of many) "Implemental Jinx" as my pick for the Wells Fargo Championship, Tommy "Two Gloves" Gainey missed the cut.  Back to the normal format next week.

  

   
Photo by David Cannon/Getty

Implemental favorites: Twofer truimph at Quail Hollow

     This week's tour stop takes us to Charlotte, North Carolina's Quail Hollow Club for the Wells Fargo Championship, one of the PGA Tour's premier non-major championship tournaments.  The field features five of the world's top ten ranked golfers and seven of the top ten players in the FEDEX Cup points standings.

     That being said, my pick this week is the 89th ranked player in the world, Tommy "Two Gloves" Gainey.  Gainey's bio reads like a Hollywood movie script:  The Bishopville, SC native attended tiny Central Carolina Technical College majoring in industrial maintenance.  He worked in a factory wrapping insulation around hot water heaters for the A. O. Smith Corp. (now one of his sponsors) before turning pro.  He labored for years on the smallest of mini-tours (Hooters, Tarheel and Gateway).  He appeared on The Golf Channel's "Big Break" series  (eliminated halfway through the "USA vs. Europe" season in 2005), graduated to the Nationwide Tour in 2007, played on the big tour in 2008 and part of 2009, failed to keep his card and returned to the Nationwide Tour for 2010, where he won once and finished third on the money list to regain his PGA Tour playing privelages for 2011.  All he has done this year is make nine cuts in 14 starts, with five top 25 performances including top three finishes in his last two tournaments. 

     "Two Gloves" (the nickname comes from his habit of wearing all weather gloves on both hands, a holdover from his baseball playing days)is hot and playing close to home.  He feeds off of the emotion of the crown well, as he demonstrated at the Heritage Classic, where he finished one shot out of the playoff between eventual winner Brandt Snedeker and Luke Donald.  He was in contention all week at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, finishing just two strokes out of that playoff.  He plays great in a three tier format, as his success is all recent and he is in tier C.  You can still load up the big names in the A and B tiers and have Gainey lurking in the C bracket (paired with defending champion Rory McIlroy?).  How can you not like this guy?  His blue-collar background, humble demeanor and local ties will make him a fan favorite.  Despite a swing that looks like he's trying to beat down an alligator in a phone booth, he's in the top 30 in the driving distance, total driving, GIR and scoring average statistical categories.  I look for Gainey to leap the final hurdle and get his first win on the PGA Tour this week.

     Other great picks in the three tier format include A: Nick Watney, who seems like he's in the top ten every week and Luke Donald, looking to gain ground on world no. 1 Lee Westwood.  B: Bubba Watson, coming off of a win and playing well all season; Justin Rose, 9 top 25's in 10 starts, Ricky Fowler and Hunter mahan.  C: Gainey and defending champion Rory McIlroy, looking for redemption after this year's final round Masters collapse and playing well in his Euro Tour starts since then.

Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images

Sharing the sand pail

He's had it up to hear with those pesky non-members

     Much has been said and written about the current state of affairs existing between a few very high ranking players and the PGA Tour.  To wit, some very high profile European players are declining membership in the PGA Tour and choosing to play the European Tour because they feel the membership requirements for the PGA Tour are unfair to international players who would like to hold membership in both of the world's major tours at once.  As it currently stands, The PGA Tour requires its members to play a minimum of 15 events per year. Non-members are limited to 12 events and those who have resigned their membership limited to only ten events.  Given the fact that the four major championships and the three World Golf Championships that take place on U.S. soil count towards those totals, high ranking foreign players are forced to make some difficult choices and are increasingly choosing to take their appearances elsewhere.


     The world's no. 1 ranked player, England's Lee Westwood, has chosen to skip the PGA Tour's premier event, The Players Championship, in part due to the restrictions placed on players who have resigned their PGA Tour membership.  Westwood understandably feels a certain loyalty to his home tour and desires to keep the European Tour as his primary playing field.  Having tried to play the full mandated schedule on both tours in 2005 and 2006, he found that playing 21 or 22 weeks of the year with a hefty international travel schedule shuttling back and forth between the tours was having a detrimental effect on his game and his time with family.  Similarly, the second ranked player, Germany's Martin Kaymer, has declined PGA Tour membership, as has world no. 7, Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy.

     The PGA Tour's position seems to be that it is protecting both its sponsors and its membership with the current requirements.  Also keep in mind that traditionally, the PGA Tour was THE place to play for the best in the world both in terms of purses and prestige.  That has been changing, though, in recent years.  The European Tour has grown in stature, notoriety and in economic power, changing the balance and becoming a career destination in its own right.  What sponsors are being protected by rules that drive 30% of the worlds best players to another tour and severely limit their ability to play across those boundaries?  You could make an argument for protecting the PGA Tour's current membership, but the only ones favorably effected by the current rules are those close to the bottom of the money list.  They are given a marginally better chance to gain entry in to fields, thereby enhancing their chances of keeping their tour cards.  Should the PGA Tour really be giving short shrift to some of the world's top players in order to protect the mediocre?  One wonders how that would benefit the PGA Tour in particular and the sport in general.  The simple fact is, playing a sport at the absolute top level has never been and will never be a protected career.  Those who demonstrate the top level of proficiency should be the ones given a chance to play. 

     Although the PGA Tour's membership requirements made perfect sense before the global proliferation of professional golf, they are quickly becoming out-dated and are becoming a danger to the very organization they are designed to aid.  Those rules fail to take in to account the new economic realities of professional golf on a global scale and make the dangerous assumption that top players wouldn't dare to play anywhere else.  If those requirements aren't changed in favor of the elite player who is willing to play an international schedule, the PGA Tour risks becoming increasingly marginalized.  Why not share the sand pail and find a way to benefit professional golf worldwide.  Done correctly, the rules changes can enhance fields all over the world and ensure that the best players play each other more often.  It doesn't have to be a zero sum game.  I'll have some ideas for actual rules changes later in the week.  Next up, this week's "Implemental favorites."

Weekend recap - by the numbers, Westie, Watson and Ones

Some numbers from this past week's action in the world of golf:

1, 1, 10 - Bubba Watson (this week's "Implemental Favorite") outlasted Webb Simpson in a three hole playoff at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans after firing a final round 67 on Sunday.  The 1st place finish moved Watson (did I mention I picked him to win?)  in to the top spot in the FEDEX cup standings and moved him (you know, the guy I picked to win) up to the 10th spot in the Official World Golf Rankings.  The final round duel managed to generate some headlines strangely reminiscent of the 1987 U.S. Open as well as a  rules associated controversy as Simpson called a penalty stroke on himself after his ball moved on the 15th green after he soled his putter preparatory to tapping in a six-inch putt for par.  It appeared as if Simpson had soled his putter about four inched away from the ball, then began his stroke when the ball moved.  The condition of the greens (baked out and dead) and the gusting winds seemed to have a greater influence on moving his ball than his putter did, but the rule (18-2b) is clear and currently offers no leeway.  The USGA reports that the rule has been under consideration in cooperation with the R&A for the last seven years and may change to offer leeway if it is virtually certain that the golfer did not cause the movement.  Which brings up . . .

7??? - The number of years that a revision of rule 18-2(b) has been under consideration by the USGA and the R&A.  USGA Vice President Thomas O'Toole was quoted by the Associated Press as saying that the potential change will be discussed in earnest over the next several months in order to give some leeway in cases where it is virtually certain that the golfer was not responsible for causing the ball to move.  Just so long as they don't rush in to anything.

1! - The only number that really counts as far as Lee Westwood goes.  The world No. 1 ranked golfer won for a second week in a row, this time at the European Tour's Ballantine's Championship in Seoul, South Korea, besting European Tour stalwart and wig meme model Miguel Angel Jimenez by a stroke.  The win should go a long way toward quieting the controversy over Westwood holding the No. 1 ranking despite not having a European Tour victory since 2009 and never having won a major title.  For those who don't get the reference to Jimenez, see this photo of the Ryder Cup fan who started an internet craze.

84, 87, 27 - The scores for the first two rounds carded by pitching legend John Smoltz and the number of strokes he missed the cut by in this weekend's Nationwide Tour event, the South Georgia Classic.  Smoltz, who reportedly plays to a +2 handicap and is said to be angling for a career on the Champions Tour played his first three holes in one under.  Here's hoping that Champions Tour thing isn't a financial necessity for him.


100% - The percentage of times this blog's "Implemental Favorite" has gone on to at least tie for the lead after the finish of regulation play.  I feel it necessary to mention this now, not because I'm beginning a career as a sports bookmaker in Vegas, but because that percentage almost has to go drastically down in the coming weeks.  For those of you who may be considering betting large amounts of money based on my picks, please at least refrain from blaming me when you (inevitably) lose.  My picks are based on than WAG's and gut hunches that could very well be influenced by what I had for lunch.  Before I get questions about why I factor Wives And Girlfriends in to the equation, WAG, in this case, stands for Wild A$$ Guess.