From Tee 2 Green

Normally I don’t really think about the playoffs until December or January. If the term even comes into my mind at this time of year, I might be thinking baseball. But now we have the PGA playoffs and, quite frankly, I am not sure how I feel about them yet. I am completely into the four Majors every season, but I have somehow not really embraced the playoffs just yet. Maybe because they seem a bit anti-climatic. The playoffs really just happen in the background of the tournament. It is like fantasy football in that way – the outcome of the tournament (football game) is less important than the position the players end up at in the standings (stats).

OK, I will admit that I enjoyed watching Jim Furyk win the playoffs last season – mainly because he is just a good guy. And there is some suspense in who will win this year. But isn’t that the same suspense that we get every week now in golf. There is no dominate player these days so every week there seems to be someone else beating the field. I think that is the way golf should be. It is the only sport where performance is not limited by age and sex. The only sport where a college kid can be beaten by a senior citizen. We shouldn’t be surprised that no one really dominates the sport like Tiger did…or Jack did in his day.  They were the anomaly in the sport and we should not expect that to happen every year.

So this week the playoffs continue at Cog Hill in Illinois. The top 70 players are battling to make it into the Tour Championship in Atlanta. Only the top 30 finishers in the playoffs get to play in the Tour Championship so this week we will be having a tournament within the tournament. It is not only about winning at Cog Hill, but about moving into the top 30 so you have a chance to win the playoffs the next week in Atlanta. Wait…I guess this is sort of exciting.  Maybe we should be talking about Playoffs!

Tags: PGA Tour, Thoughts, Uncategorized by Bill
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I am a golf fanatic, but I will admit that I would rather play than watch. That is except for four weekends out of the year – the Majors.  I really enjoy the Majors and although I think The Masters is my favorite major, having played a bit of links golf in Europe, I hold a special place in my heart for The Open every year.

This year I was very disappointed with The Open and the lack of drama or excitement. The Open was played this year at the home of golf, St. Andrews, a course I have had the privilege of walking. This was the 29th time the open has been played at St. Andrews and the biggest names in golf have won there; Daly, Faldo, Seve, Nicklaus and Woods, to name a few. Every professional golfer will tell you that winning The Open is a dream, but winning it at St. Andrews, is what they fantasize about.   [Read more →]

Tags: Majors, PGA Tour, The Open, Tournaments by Bill
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Paul Goydos became only the fourth player in tour history to shoot a 59 with an amazing opening round at the John Deere Classic on Thursday. Not bad for a guy who hasn’t had a top-40 finish since early May and has not won on the tour since 2007.

“I’ve been very good at playing poorly now for the last 10 tournaments or so,” Goydos said.

Well, not anymore. His tee shots found the middle of the fairway. His approaches stuck on the green. And, most importantly, his putts found the middle of the cup over and over again. Goydos birdied every hole on the back nine except for No. 15, where he holed a 6-foot par putt to keep alive his hopes. He finished off with three birdies, the last one from 7 feet to join the most exclusive club in golf.

So he shot 59 in the opening round and he is leading by ONE!  Steve Stricker shot a smooth 60 almost holing out on 18 to tie Goydos.  Maybe there will be golf worth watching in the US this weekend.  Interesting Facts after the jump: [Read more →]

Tags: News, PGA Tour by Bill
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LUSS, Scotland (AP) — Phil Mickelson is choosing competition over course conditions as he prepares for the next major.

In a year when several players are skipping the Scottish Open, Mickelson tops the field at Loch Lomond, which also features U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell. A victory or solo second by the left-handed American would put him at No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking.

The Masters winner is the only player from the top 10 entered for the $4 million event which starts Thursday.

“I always look forward to these two weeks,” Mickelson said. “I really enjoy this tournament and obviously really enjoy next week’s event, too.

“I think the best way to get in playing condition for the Open is to play well, get into contention and compete on Sunday for the title here. Having lost a couple of times in close matches here, I would like to win this tournament. It would mean a lot for me to win here.”

Mickelson insists reaching No. 1 is not his priority this week.

“It would be cool to go to the home of golf as No. 1 but it’s not something I’m thinking about yet,” he said. “I’m just trying to get my game sharp. I always felt like if I play well enough, the results would happen. It would mean a lot to me to break through and finally win.”

Tags: News, PGA Tour by Bill
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I guess I missed on the Tiger is back article…this week was the first week that he did not break par over four rounds in a regular PGA Tour event – likely something he will want to forget quickly.  So, not exactly back. Having played this game a long time now, I know that progress always starts with a glimpse on the course and then it gradually works its way into your game permanently. Maybe I saw his glimpse…or maybe he is just done. Either way I am looking forward to The Open next week.

I like the timeliness of the outcome of this week’s tournament. I am reading a book by Dr. Bob Rotella and the mental approach to the game he describes seems very fitting to the great win by Justin Rose this week. Not sure if you remember, but he had a four shot lead going into Sunday the week before at the Travelers Championship and shot 75 to lose the tournament.  And although it looked like he was going to give away the tournament this weekend, he managed to hang on and come away with his second win in five weeks.  Remembering your successes in golf and forgetting your failures is so important for your mental self image. If you don’t think you will make a putt or hit a good shot or come through under pressure, then you won’t, I guarantee it. See my favorite Rotella book after the jump. [Read more →]

Tags: News, PGA Tour, Thoughts, Tournaments by Bill
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I am not sure how many of you got to see Tiger’s opening round play at the AT&T National, but I think he showed that he is ready to get back to playing the golf he is capable of playing.  Sure if you look at the score it doesn’t look like he had a great day, he shot a 3-over par 73 and is outside the cut line after the first round.  However, that score can be directly attributed to a horrendous day on the greens.  Tiger took 30 putts all day and even hit the ball in the water on the 17^th for a double bogey.

What I noticed was the fact that he hit the ball better from tee to green (with the exception of 17) than he has since coming back to golf.  His driving was pretty much perfect all day.  He played with Davis Love III and Dustin Johnson, two very long hitters, and Tiger out drove them all day.  The driving distance stats had him bettering them by 20 yards in round one, as they are measured by the PGA Tour.  This is a far cry from a few weeks ago when Tiger and Dustin Johnson played in a practice round together and Tiger said he couldn’t even keep the ball in the same zip code with Dustin.

If Tiger continues to hit the ball like he did yesterday, then the rest of the field should start to worry.  There is no chance that, arguably the best putter ever, is going to continue to miss putts under 10 feet like he did in round one.  In case you didn’t know, he leads the PGA in putts made under 10 feet – something like 70% – wouldn’t you like to make 70% of your putts from ten feet and in?  I will be watching to see if he really has straightened out his tee shots or if Thursday was just a fluke.

Take a  tip from Tiger: [Read more →]

Tags: News, PGA Tour, Thoughts, Tournaments by Bill
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Well, I guess the USGA proved this weekend that even the best players in the world can be beaten. I don’t know how the rest of you feel, but it didn’t seem like anyone wanted to win on Sunday. Do you think that Tiger and Phil are kicking themselves a little this morning? All they needed was to find an under par round and they would have won the US Open. They didn’t need to be 5 under, even par would have done it for Tiger. There were only five rounds under par all day – now that is playing tough. I guess Pebble Beach proved to be too much for the pros. Pretty amazing when you consider that the course is barely 7000 yards long.

I wanted to personally thank the USGA for making the course so difficult that the tournament became boring. I was talking with a co-worker this morning and she mentioned that at around 7 PM she checked out the “what are people watching” feature on Fios and the US Open was 12th on the list. I wonder is the USGA realizes that most of the viewing public, at least the non-diehard golf fans, don’t want to watch the pros making triple bogeys. I think we weekend warriors like to occasionally see that the pros are human, but making a golf course that hard, only removed the drama from the tournament. I know the tournament is supposed to be the toughest challenge, but I am not sure that a player should have to be perfect in order to win. Golf is Not a Game of Perfect, as Dr. Bob Rotella would say, and it shouldn’t have to be played that way.

I would like to congratulate Graeme McDowell for outlasting the field. I thought he played a smart, consistent final round and deserved to win. Catch a portion of his press conference after the jump. [Read more →]

Tags: News, US Open by Bill
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Phil really looked uncomfortable on the course today.  He started out flying short irons over pin placements and missing putts on the low side.  He used his incredible short game to stay even through 6 holes.  Unfortunately, your short game can only save you so often, especially in a US Open.  Bogeys on 16, 17 and 18 (his front nine) really set the tone for the rest of his day.  He really never got going today and has dug himself a big hole.  It is only Thursday and I don’t doubt that Phil will be on the main page of the leader board on Sunday, but he certainly has not made it easy.

The course looks beautiful and difficult – a great combination.  There are some big names on the leader board after the morning rounds, Weir, Choi, Poulter, Donald, and Toms – all guys that can win the tournament.

Let’s see how the afternoon squad does today.

Tags: News, US Open by Bill
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Was I the only one who was a little shocked to find out that Lee Westwood had not won on the PGA Tour since 1998. How is that possible? He has been contending in just about everything I can remember for about two years now. He seems like too good a player not to win more. I am sure most people will say that Westwood didn’t win this but rather Robert Garrigus lost it with a triple bogey on the 72nd hole. Well I say a win is a win and Westwood had the chance to win and he came up big on Sunday. Who knows, maybe this will relieve some pressure for him and allow him to play big at Pebble this week.

Tags: News by Bill
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I was really happy to see Justin Rose win The Memorial this weekend in Ohio. I think we have been waiting for him to live up to the expectations he created when he contended in The Open back in 1998 at the age of 18. Most of us have not paid much attention to the few victories he has had on the European Tour, because, let’s face it, if you can’t win on the PGA Tour, well then it just doesn’t count. Rose has been around so long, I think we forget that he is not even 30 yet. Who knows, maybe his time has come and this win will give him the confidence to win a major this year. [Read more →]

Tags: News by Bill
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