Tag: pga tour

Drug Testing in Golf

Several major golf tours around the world signed on to a performance-enhancing drug program yesterday. This move is at best something that needed to be done to conform with today’s “sporting mentality.” Golf is more of a sport than ever. Professionals are working out to increase their strength and endurance and looking to gain any possible advantage on the field they can.

The list of banned drugs includes the typical steroids and narcotics, but it also includes beta blockers, which are used to stay calm. Reduced anxiety seems far more valuable than increased strength, the later of which does little for one’s golf game without the touch and feel to control it.

It is curious to note that the drug policy as described at the PGA Tour.com, although adopted for several U.S.G.A. sanctioned events, is not applied to any amateur events. Perhaps this was an oversight in the reporting.

Fall Golf Highlights

The Fall Series – a.k.a. the FedEx Cup leftovers. Yes, that’s right. There are still official tournaments to be played that count towards the PGA Tour money list, although no one that’s likely to play in all seven of the remaining events can possibly catch Tiger Woods as the money leader. There is still room for improvement, and players can gain exemptions while climbing the money list. The Turning Stone Resort Championship starts tomorrow and will be thoroughly covered by the Golf Channel.

Dates played: Weekly starting tomorrow. Final tournament ends on November 4, 2007.

The Presidents Cup is a three-day team competition between the United States and the Internationals and will be played at the Royal Montreal Golf Club in Canada. Due to the similarity between golf clubs and hockey sticks large crowds will likely gather to watch this event. It remains to be seen if the Presidents Cup (Presidents is pointedly not possessory of the cup) can outshine the FedEx Cup. The U.S. currently holds the Presidents Cup, having defeated the International team 18.5-15.5 in 2005.

Dates played: September 28 – 30, 2007

The Seve Trophy is Europe’s answer to The Presidents Cup. It is a team competition that pits Continental Europe against Great Britain and Ireland during non-Ryder Cup years. Seve Ballesteros himself is captaining the Continental team while Nick Faldo is leading GB & I to battle. I can’t believe I’ve never heard of this tournament before yesterday. Apparently it’s been played before – four times to be exact.

Dates played: September 28 – 30, 2007

Caddie Cash-In

The winner of the FedEx Cup receives a $10 million annuity. The winner of the Tour Championship receives $1.3 million. Tiger is poised to win both of these today. That means his single-day take home is $11.3 million. That’s a lot of bacon, especially when you consider that he can’t touch the $10 million annuity until the miracle of compound interest has turned it into something like $30 or 40 million.

A caddie may get 10% of a players winnings on a “normal” week. There may be a bonus when his player wins. So, a conservative estimate of what Tiger Woods’ caddie, Steve Williams will potentially earn today is $1.13 million. That’s good pay for carrying a bag for four hours.

So, 64 is Normal?

Tiger’s last five rounds are 65, 63, 64, 63, and 64. It doesn’t even look like work on the part 70 courses on which the BMW Championship and the Tour Championship are played. The rain helps, I suppose. These guys can just toss the ball up in the air and have it stick where it lands next to the cup. But that’s assuming a lot. First, that they are hitting it in the fairway. Second, that they’re hitting it close to the pin, which isn’t supposed to look as easy as it has these last few weeks. I mean, did you see Stricker and Woods staking ever single approach shot at the BMW? And this week at the Tour Championship, the 18th hole played 223 yards for the final round and most of the tee-shots landed within ten feet. That’s ridiculous.

Anyway, how often does a player shoot five sub-65 rounds in a row? Tiger may have to post another sub-65 round if Calcavecchia keeps his gut out of the way for another day and can stake some more zippers close enough to tap them in on those shaggy greens at East Lake.

Oh, and let’s not forget that the reigning Masters champion, Zach Johnson shot a 60 today.

FedEx Cup Cheat Sheet

The final event of the PGA Tour’s 2007 season starts Thursday at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s also the final even in the FedEx Cup playoff series, the winner of which will be awarded the largest prize in sports – a $10 million dollar annuity.

There are 30 players remaining in the playoffs, but only the top six have a chance to win the FedEx Cup. And, realistically, only the top three have a real chance.

FedEx Cup Rankings:

1. Tiger Woods (112,733)
2. Steve Stricker (109,600)
3. Phil Mickelson (108,613)
4. Rory Sabbatini (103,588)
5. K.J. Choi (103,100)
6. Aaron Baddeley (102,800)

Here’s a link to the PGA Tour’s digest of who could win the FedEx Cup depending on who winds the Tour Championship.

East Lake Greens a Mess

It was just announced that the greens at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia where the Tour Championship is to be held next week are so severely damaged that the pro-am tournament scheduled for Wednesday was canceled and the players are not allowed to practice on the greens prior to the start of play on Thursday.

That sounds absurd. It reminds me of high school golf when we were lucky to have time to hit range balls in the morning before our tournaments. Many of the players who will make it to the Tour Championship will have been there before, and will be somewhat familiar with the course. Still, a practice round is always helpful to get acclimated to a course.