Month: September 2007

Golf News Round Up #1

I’ve come across a lot of interesting golf stories today, so I’m posting them in a links post. Here we go:

Lots of caddies are wearing and being sponsored by Crocs, the hideous floating footwear that is really popular in Boston (personal observation).

In Golf We Trust takes a look at players who credit God for their on-course abilities.

Golf World says to watch the Presidents Cup closely or wait until January. Apparently the Fall Series isn’t that big of a draw. Duh.

ESPN provides the most poorly formatted Presidents Cup first-day line up.

Golf Digest says Nicklaus wants Woods to play Weir, but finding a partner for Woods in team matches is more difficult.

Euro-drama between Nick Faldo and some guy named Paul McGinley. Nick is captain for the GB & I team for the Seve Trophy and he’s also the 2008 Ryder Cup captain. Nick didn’t pick Paul for this years Seve Trophy, so Paul decided to quit as Nick’s assistant in order to “focus on his play for the Ryder Cup.” Uh huh, sure. (Via Waggle Room)

The Trilby Tour sounds like something an English tailor would organize. Designer clothes are supplied to all of the players.

Prince Chasing Cecil Fielder

Watching first baseman Cecil Fielder hit home runs in the early 90s is one of my favorite memories as a Detroit Tigers fan. He peaked in 1990 with 51 homers.

Prince, Cecil’s son, now plays for the Milwaukee Brewers and is closing in on his father’s peak year.

Prince Fielder, who passed Willie Mays as the youngest to reach 50 in a season, said he wants to hit 52 home runs this season. That would be one more than his father hit in 1990 for the Detroit Tigers.

Well, good for you Prince, although the article goes on to make Prince look like an asshole and Cecil look like a bigger asshole. Apparently, they’re having some father-son issues and using the national media to work it out.

In other baseball news…

Speaking of home runs, I posted a couple weeks ago about a campaign Marc Ecko was running online to decide what to do with Barry Bonds’ 756 home run baseball. The results are in and the public has voted to iron an asterisk onto the ball and send it to the Hall of Fame. This is rude to Barry Bonds and a sad outcome, however Bonds may have brought it on himself. I think it would be better to wait a few years and gain some perspective on the matter.

Super Cup: Combine the Cups

I’m a huge golf fan. More good golf on TV should make me happier, but that’s just not the case lately. I’m burned out and I haven’t even left my couch. (Or is that the problem?) I don’t want to feel compelled to watch golf every week for two months straight. There should be some build-up between tournaments to get the golf fan taste buds salivating.

This is why I propose that the Presidents Cup, Ryder Cup and Seve Trophy be combined into one Super Cup. It would be a bigger draw all around and it would allow the Cup anticipation to build up for a full two years. Further, it would give the players, who if you ask me, look cupped-out, a well deserved break from cup competition.

The format I propose would be similar to the current Presidents Cup or Ryder Cup formats except the players were play in sixsomes. Yes, I know. That is unheard of. But that would only make the Super Cup more spectacular. It would be three-way matches with an international pair, a U.S. pair, and a Great Britain & Ireland pair. Or, the event could be turned into a two week golf bananza and a round-robin format would be employed.

There are many possibilities. Any one of them would be better than the current onslaught of Cups we’re dealing with today.

The Presidents Cup: Reasons to Watch

If you need an excuse to watch the Presidents Cup this week, here are a few enticing stories to keep an eye on:

How well does Mike Weir play? – Gary Player overlooked some players with impressive recent performances to go with Canadian Mike Weir as a captain’s choice. Weir hasn’t done anything remarkable lately, so look to see if this lefty’s waggle stands up under pressure.

Does Lucas Glover and Hunter Mahan’s youth win them extra points? – Jack Nicklaus favored youth with his captain’s selections. These guys are 27 and 25, respectively. Toss in the 28-year old Charles Howell, too. Will their youth play out as inexperience or beginner’s luck? Expect these guys to go out early and be paired with more experienced players.

Will Tiger come through? – Tiger doesn’t have a stellar record in team play and matchplay events as a professional. Considering he won six national matchplay events in a row as an amateur, more has been expected of him. Expect him to be business-like in his approach to this event. He’s played more golf than usual lately, and will likely be eager to see the closing ceremonies.

Can the Presidents Cup outshine the FedEx Cup? – To me the Presidents Cup will be much more compelling to watch than the FedEx Cup was. First, the later was spread out over four weeks (really, all year). Second, there is two years worth of anticipation building up to the Presidents Cup. It’s an event played for nation(s), so patriotism plays a role. Guys that normally wouldn’t be rooting for each other will sit in the grass and watch their teammates play in. It is really compelling to watch.

Colt Knost Turns Pro

Colt Knost will play his first PGA Tour event as a professional at next week’s Valero Texas Open. He will be playing on a sponsor’s exemption and will have to continue to do so until he either qualifies for the PGA Tour via Q School or earns enough money to make it into the top 125 on the PGA Tour money list.

Why do we care about this guy? He’s one of only six people to win two U.S.G.A. titles in one year. He won the U.S. Publinks and the U.S. Amateur this year. Although he has impressive credentials, his only performance on the PGA Tour in 2007 was at the EDS Byron Nelson Championship where he shot 74-64-74-74 for a six over total of 286. That’s not a very impressive record to go on.

Knost passed on exemptions to the Masters, U.S. Open and British Open. That’s a lot to sacrifice, but playing in those events would require him to remain an amateur for over half of next years PGA Tour season.

His debut comes around the time of year that Tiger Woods said, “Hello, World” in 1996, but the expectations and fanfare aren’t quite the same. It will be interesting to see how he fares in the coming months and if he can make the PGA Tour.

The Presidents Cup: Preview

The Presidents Cup begins on Thursday and it will be the biggest golf event Canada has ever experienced. Millions of dollars will be made from the four-day event, which is ironic considering the 24 golfers participating in the event are not compensated (except for clothing, bags, lodging, etc.).

Format – The event is a refreshing break from stroke play. The team aspect as well as the format of the matches makes for exciting viewing. The format includes “foursomes,” “four-ball,” and singles matches.

Foursomes is also known as “alternate shot,” in which two-man teams alternate shots on each hole while alternating who tees off as well. There is a bit of strategy in this game. E.g., If all of the par 5 holes are odd numbers then the player who drives the ball longer may elect to tee off on odd numbered holes.

Four-ball is also known as “best-ball.” Two-man teams play each hole, but only count the lowest score against their opponent’s lowest score. Therefore, if the U.S. players make a birdie and a par, only the birdie is counted.

Singles matches are matchplay. There are 12 matches and they are played on Sunday. This allows for a significant amount of possibility for a swing in the standings on the final day, and can keep a blowout event interesting.

Location – The Cup is being played at the Royal Montreal Golf Club in Ontario, Canada. Although this is technically on international turf and should favor the International team, it is not far from home for the U.S. team. The crowd won’t be a large factor.

Top 5 Toughest Courses in 2007

The toughest courses on the PGA Tour in 2007:

1. Oakmont Country Club (The U.S. Open)
* Avg strokes over par = 5.705
2. Augusta National Golf Club (The Masters)
* Avg strokes over par = 3.881
3. Southern Hills (The PGA Championship)
* Avg strokes over par = 3.016
4. Firestone South C.C. (WGC – Bridgestone)
* Avg strokes over par = 2.787
5. Carnoustie Golf Links (Open Championship)
* Avg strokes over par = 2.381

Looking at the top five courses with regard to the winning score, it is even more apparent that the U.S. Open and the Masters were the toughest tests of golf. Angel Cabrera’s winning score of +5 at the U.S. Open is just under the average strokes over par. Zach Johnson’s winning score of +1 at the Masters bested the average strokes over par by 2.881 shots.

The bottom three courses were less difficult for their tournament’s winners. Tiger Woods won the the PGA and the WGC with totals of -8 and Padraig Harrington shot -7 at the Open.

It seems clear that the U.S. Open and the Masters did a better job of keeping the entire field together, although there was a playoff at the British Open.