PGA Tour: Kapalua etc etc: Notes from the Ballwasher

Happy New Year is out the window over here as rhetoric emanating from Iowa will attest, so let's use these Notes to stop looking in the proverbial "rear-view mirror" and ahead to this week and this year:

1).A beleagured "Hyundai Tournament of Champions" gets underway this week, on FRIDAY! Only 28 of the 39 eligible players will be teeing it up but at least Freddie Jacobson, Dustin Johnson, and Brandt Snedeker will get paid (about $50K apiece) as they are no-shows for medical reasons.

2).Those not playing this week miss a golden opportunity to notch up a couple of quick starts on the PGA Tour, not important to most Americans of course but crucial to those such as Scott and Schwartzel, Rory and Rose who ply their trade on multiple Tours and could struggle to fit in the minimum 15 events. They are also missing the Plantation Course at Kapalua, a Coore/Crenshaw masterpiece which offers glorious (mostly Pacific Ocean)views from almost every hole.

3).But let's use these Notes to assess the chances of Europeans on the PGA Tour this year, as categorised by the FedEx Play-Off cut offs, top 30, 70, 100, 125 etc plus the conditional status accorded to the money list top 150. A note of caution which may be pervasive in these comments: I see this year as being a crucial one for our favourite Europeans on the PGA Tour: They're not getting any younger, only Rory McIlroy younger than Martin Laird's 29 years, most of the rest now well into their mid-thirties. And: What is the motivation for those playing both Tours? Are they committed or are they just playing follow the leader? That won't work against a re-focussed Woods and the Young Americans.

4).Top Thirty (Tour Championship):
~Donald: Luke Donald has managed his schedule superbly, but am convinced that one of the secrets to his 2011 success is the almost 3-month break he took prior to the season. I would be alarmed that he's playing in the Middle East and would suggest he'll pay for that. No Majors for Luke but can see a Players win and possibly a lesser event (Heritage?). Consistent as always.

~Westwood: Big year for Lee and I think he'll go balls out to make it the best it can be. Not sure about big wins but a boatload of top finishes in his future. US spotlight on McIlroy and the Fowler/Simpson generation of Americans will only help his low-key personality.

~Casey: Struggling with fitness until the end of the year and not fully exempt, he is nevertheless in all the Majors and WGC's and there may be a chip on his shoulder. But he needs some big finishes, preferably a win, early. WGC MatchPlay?

~Garcia: Good rebuilding year in 2011 for Sergio and still relatively under the radar. Took a nice winter break and will flourish in 2012.

~Karlsson: Now or never for the big Swede. Fit and two years of acclimation under his belt, I expect a win (Charlotte or Memphis maybe?). Very consistent in Majors.

5).BMW: 31 - 70:
~McIlroy: Rory is in for a tough year as the American press will be building up a Tiger rivalry for him. Is he mature enough to handle it? Signs not good in my eyes; he should be in Hawaii this week and his absence begs the Wozza question. Will his distractions get the better of him or will they make him stronger? Expect a win on one of the parkland courses he favours (Augusta, Memorial or Q.Hollow), but also inconsistency and missed cuts. He got knackered last time around and his recent schedule suggests he hasn't learned much. One of the best young sportsmen from the British Isles in the past sixty years, but will he have the mental fortitude to match? Jury out, but he's very young for the expectations heaped upon him. Patience!

~Poulter, McDowell: Disapppointing 2011's for both, and they'll each need a good start to get their years on track. Reports that Poults will miss time as he welcomes a baby-Gooner and he'll likely struggle to cram events in (as he did last year) as a result. Expect both to do well in Florida, but neither long/accurate enough to prosper on the courses the Tour takes in later in the year. Tears for at least one come Ryder Cup time.

~Jacobson, Rose: May have placed one or both higher but each kicks off the season on the bench, Freddie nursing ligament damage to his thumb, Justin changing nappies. My comments about Rose missing "Hawaii" were regrettably inappropriate, but the fact remains that he made a mess of his schedule when little Leo reared his head three yrs ago and getting his year off to a slow start won't suit him. No Major top tens since the 2008 PGA. Caution for Freddie Jac, as it's not clear how bad his thumb injury is. What we DO know is that thumb injuries derailed Anthony Kim's career. Memo to Fred: Get fully healthy first, then wait another month before returning.

~Laird: Underrated, understated, just as he seems to like it. Hopefuly he'll get off to a rousing start this week in Kapalua. Two wins and two play-off losses the past 2 1/2 years suggest he'll contend again in 2012, but much will depend on that long putter of his.


6).Deutsche Bank: 71 - 100:
~Davis: Time Brian Davis won, but no top fives last year and he doesn't usually get going until the "Florida Swing", even though next week's visit to Waialae CC should suit him. Possible threat at shorter courses, Harbour Town, Travelers, Colonial, Reno.

~Pettersson: Poor year after contending at Kapalua but seems to rebound just as we count him out.

7).Barclays: 101 - 125:
~Harrington, Stenson: Time for the two biggest wildcards. We all know they could turn the form book upside down at any moment. Either or both could easily bounce back to win one of the big tournaments, but they're not getting any younger and, if last year is anything to go by, neither is getting any better. Would like to see Padraig play a full California schedule, Pebble Beach and Riviera at least.

8).Conditional Status for 2013: 126 - 150:
~Blixt, Knox: The young Swede and the young Scot will both want to get off to a good start whilst their post-Nationwide status is strong. Knox made his 2011 season with a high finish in the Bay Area and hopefully he'll reprise that, whereas Blixt played well towards year's end. Definitely both ones to watch and would be no surprise to see either in the FedEx play-offs.

9).The rest: 151+:
~Chopra, Owen: Certifiable journeymen. Early tournaments will tell their tale, especially Owen who's played so well at Pebble in the past and endured that historic close shave at Bay Hill. Chopra is capable of going as low as anyone on Tour, just not for two consecutive rounds and his driver will ensure he goes back to Q-School.

~Cejka, Johnson: Limited status for both. Would think Cejka is capable of bouncing back eventually, but Richard S just doesn't hit it far enough. Would be good to see both playing some events in Europe.

~Christian: One of the oldest "rookies" on Tour for many years the quiet man from Surrey will surely enjoy the experience even if his year concludes back at Q-School. Any six-figure cheques will be a very pleasant surprise but a great sense of humour and a fun interview. TV in his future?

~Olazabal, Parnevik: Still have some status on Medical Exemptions. Wish them good health but any tournament success this side of the Champions Tour will be a very pleasant surprise.

10).Remember: There'll be a Friday start to Kapalua and a Monday finish. Set your British Isles alarm clocks for an early wake-up call to see how the hotshot Americans, Simpson, Bradley, Haas follow up their 2011 seasons, to see if Stricker is fit, whether Lucas Glover still has his beard (no top tens since his May win in Charlotte), Rory Sabbatini can win after two second place finishes or Martin Laird can belatedly celebrate Hogmanay. Happy New Year indeed.

Hi Kwini, happy new year to you and hope you enjoyed the festive period.

Fantastic article as always, it's hard to argue with your predictions for the European contingent although I do think this could be the year Rory really shines. I do feel, for some reason that Westwood might have to rely on his performances in Majors and WGC events to keep a lofty status on the US standings. For me, I don't feel he will perform as well on the PGA Tour as he does in Europe.

Hope to see Laird push on again and get another win somewhere as well as featuring high on the leaderboard or contesting at least one of the majors. Will also be keeping an eye on Russell Knox's progress and hoping he can make enough cash to secure his card.

Will sign up to the Yahoo Fantasy Golf after I've driven home through Hurricane Bawbag III tonight

Cheers EmmDee, Happy New Year,

Regarding McIlroy and Westwood:
*Rory: I feel this year could go either way for him. But he probably has no idea of the expectations awaiting him here, press attention is by-passing Luke Donald and focussing on McIlroy vs Tiger. And the year could well get off to a slow start for him unless he enjoys a successful MatchPlay. He's played nowhere near his best in Florida and seems to have trouble with the grainiest Bermuda. I think he'll make or break his year at Augusta. He'd be wise to focus on the PGA Tour during the Masters thru US Open period.
And I also think he'll struggle to get his 15 events in. We'll see. Hope I'm wrong!

*Lee: Big decision for him to play the "Tour" this year and one assumes he'll give it his full commitment. I'd be more optimistic than you about his performances here but, like Rory, he doesn't need to be hopscotching from Tour to Tour.

Keep safe in those there winds . . . .

Props as usual kwini and a fine way to kick off another season of your weekly golf musings.

1. They get paid because they have a medical exemption?!
2. Would think at least Rose would want to start the season off well given last year's form
3. Who are going to be this year's 'fat cats'?
4. Kind of worried about Sergio and Karlsson. Expect Casey to rebound nicely.
5. Hope GMac gets his 'A game' back and Poults will probably do what we don't expect him to do. Maybe he has a victory or so up his sleeve.
6. If Brian Davis has been able to hang on somehow, what about the more talented players?
7. The enigma that is Paddy and Henry.
8. Would be nice to see the 'B' squad members move up.
9. Thought Chopra would have been a top 50-75 player by now.
10. The Hawaiian time zone works out well for those of us on the U.S. "Left" Coast.

I am surprised you dont see a major in 2012 for Luke, and my reasoning is that his current game is good enough to win on any course. How many players can say that at the moment?

I agree that McIlory will struggle until he realises how good the people are he is up against and looses the cocky talented youngster attitude. The sort that all clubs up and down the land will recognize from at least one of the junior section.


PS

You about to watch the Utd's?

Mac,
Re Luke: I'd rather be pleasantly surprised!
Re: MU: YES!

Man Utd were terrible tonight.

Contrived pairings for the Hyundai, with only one American (short straw for Brendan Steele, playing with Vegas). Finchem just can't help himself with Choi playing with Badds, Martin Laird with Roary.


Cheers venice.
Yup, If you're a tournament champion and can't tee it up at Kapalua due to injury, you get well over $50K in unofficial smackers.

Don't know who this year's big winner is going to be. Somehow I'm not sure Luke Donald will maintain the laser-like focus he enjoyed for most of 2011; too many distractions what with the new baby, the U.S. media barrage (not as bad as Rory but pretty pressure-packed), and a scarcely needed diversion to the Middle East to upset his winter hibernation.
The door is wide open for someone new and I wouldn't be surprised if a relatively unsung International player, Kaymer or Schwartzel for instance, made an early splash. I'm not convinced by any of the Young Americans but one of them will prove the sceptics (me for instance) wrong and enjoy a super year. Like Webb Simpson but with more luck.

Not sure if he counts as a "young" American but I fancy Dustin J to have a fine year. I see him and kaymer as the most likely players other than Donald to do well in the majors this year.

Yes, Man utd were very poor. They don’t seem to have the passing combinations going that worked so well in the early part of the season. Would it be hopeful to think when cleverly and Anderson are reunited this will return? I probably think it is.

I also read today the Darren Fletcher has been suffering from his bowel condition for at least 4 years and has played through the pain all that time. So it must be bad for him to have to stop this time.

Mac,
We've been following Dustin's tweetage and his year is getting off to a slow start. Many pictures of DJ on the couch with his dogs, but no release date yet from his doctor as to when he can start to practice. He'll be gutted if he has to miss Pebble next month, but the signs aren't good.

I also hope Kaymer has a good year; Europe needs him!

As for MU, J-SP has been awful this year. I don't much care for either DaSilva but Raphael should have been in at Right Back and Valencia further forward. Seems SAF biting off his schnozz despite his face in recent team selection.

Not sue either of the twins have been 100% fit at any point this season and sadly park, I player I really like, has been poor for about a month or two now.

I will have to start following DJ on twitter, and as a two time winner at pebble it would be a good place to come back. I really thought a year or so back he could have been the next michelson type player, maybe just not quite as good.

I do wonder given the strength of the fields these days if we will ever see as many 20+ time winners on the tour as in the last 20 years or so?

Kwin - Really fantastic effort, thanks yet again. I'm stunned you don't have Luke penned in for a major. Just keeping expectations low, or do you see something lacking in his game? (I don't!) I did read that if Luke or Lee were really serious about winning a major, they would at least rent a flat in Northern Ireland.

Also heard that in 2009 and 2010 the player with the highest combined top 10 finishes was none other than that injured, new-swing, married, sex-therapy, not married Tiger Woods. Very surprising if it's true.

A few on my radar for a breakout year ... I like Mac's call with DJ. Saw him a Plainfield and when on all cylinders he's as good as anyone. Fowler may have finally learned better course management, so he could provide some sparks. I would REALLY like to see Garcia do well.

But, many are predicting the stage is set for Tiger v Rory more often than not come Sunday afternoon in the big events. Lots of others will have plenty to say about that, but to loosely quote Paul Sherwin or Phil Liggett, come the final climb, those two may indeed be "sorting things out at the head of the pack".

Thanks Sr,
I like the TdF allusion, though difficult to imagine you droning on in a Manchester-area monotone! The press build-up of Rory is something I find quite frightening (not Santorum-frightening though), I worry whether he'll be prepared to cope with all the hoopla, off the course as well as on, and that's my biggest concern about him.

Not sure where Luke's Major would come; he has to be at his absolute best to pull a Zach and win Augusta, could come good at Olympic but don't fancy him at Lytham or Kiawah.

Not sure I understand the para 2 point - has all the hallmarks of lies, damned lies and statistics to moi!

No intention on this thread by me to cover anyone other than the Europeans with some "status" on Tour this year; maybe next week! But I am also a Dustin fan but temper my 2012 expectations for him with concerns about that knee of his. Sounds like he won't be getting out of the gate for at least another month so we'll have to wait and see.
(Mac, His Twitter account is a bit more interesting than some of the Bubba-like more prolific tweeters . . . . )


Sr,
You'll be glad to know we hauled back "moons", Heidelberg's very best and Hapanowicz supplies - you can't take the "valley" out of this ex-pat!

Glover questionable for Kapalua, injuring his knee "paddle-boarding". Strange pastime for a Caveman . . . . .

kwinigolfer wrote:Glover questionable for Kapalua, injuring his knee "paddle-boarding". Strange pastime for a Caveman . . . . .

Who does he think he is: Laird... Hamilton? Oh well, one less guy to worry about for the Yahoo fantasy.

kwini,
That was some home-cooking for your Canadiens last night. What happened?! Lars Eller... the new Rocket Richard? Seems like yesterday when the whole city of Montreal came out to pay their respects at the Bell Centre where his body lay in state. The news footage showing the tens of thousands was truly impressive even though his playing days was from a time past for many of them.

Great effort, kwini, but I would hope for a better outcome than in your predictions for the Irish contingent.

Glover joining the likes of Ogilvy, Colsaerts and Levet with that silly accident... But one thing seems to be certain (re: #10) according to Ms KellyT, his beard was already gone when he arrived in Hawaii. He may decide to grow it back after what happened today...

BTW, what is the actual reason for the Friday start? Is there some tv schedule/clash involved?
Should we expect at least these 28 chaps to stick around next week for the Sony event?
I'd be surprised to see many big names, other than these, coming next week to Hawaii, but I may be wrong...

Regarding Sr's Tiger reference/stat, as you said, not sure what value a stat like that (combined 2009/2010 top 10's ?) would have, but in 2009 he's been in full form and had 15 top 10s out of 18 tournaments played on the PGA Tour (incl. 6 wins and 4 runner-up... yeah, he was that good back then). So, there's no real surprise that when you combine that with anything else (e.g. only 4 top 10s out of 14 in 2010), he should still end up at the top of that particular 'stat'...

Kwin - Leonard Hapanowicz a classmate and friend of mine! Will make that pilgrimage next week and now will also include proper half moons at a local bakery.

PD - I'm pretty sure I misstated ... I should have typed 2010 and 2011 and in majors only. Hard to believe still. Golf channel banter.

Unless we see some real changes in or out of form, Rory, Luke, Lee, Tiger should all be top contenders for a (or another) green jacket.

Shotrock wrote:PD - I'm pretty sure I misstated ... I should have typed 2010 and 2011 and in majors only. Hard to believe still. Golf channel banter.

If it's GC banter then almost certainly shouldn't be believed... Tiger had 3 top 10's in majors in 2010/2011, but Westwood had 4 for example...

Sr,
Tell LH his company is doing a bang up job! Store just as great now as when I lived 1/4 mile down the road thirty years ago.


pd,
I suspect the main reason for the date change is to attract a "Prime Time" Golf Channel audience on Monday that doesn't have "Monday Night Football" as a sporting counter-attraction. Perhaps he also fely the extra pre-tournament travel day might help, but that didn't work!

I think that Tiger stat is a bit bogus; as you say lw is one who had more and there must a few who also had three - Phil's were all better or equal finishes as Woods for instance, Rory too.

Kaymer, DJ and Jason Day also have 3 top 10s...

Hello all,

Thanks for the first good golf read of 2012 Kwini! Hope everyone on v2 had a good Christmas and NY, and is ready for another long year of golf. As usual Kwini's predictions look better than most of those on pgatour.com et al, but I think the anti-McIlroy aura on these boards has even infected Kwini threads now! I'd have him nailed on as an East Laker, probably swapped with Karlsson who was a bit streaky in his US form last year, and doesn't quite have the gas to make the final 30 in my view. Rory on the other hand, has his off-tournaments but when he's on, he's just too good. Perhaps the only guy on the 2012 who I'd say is unbeatable at his best - as I don't think Phil and Tiger's "best" is what it was 5 years ago.

As for the majors, they're just too unpredictable... guessing who'll have a good year is one thing, guessing the winners of four specific events is another entirely. I think the only one I saw coming to any great extent in the past few years was Kaymer's. What I would say though is that Luke is far from out of it at Augusta; in fact I'd have it as about his best chance. Yes he plays it, through necessity, differently from a lot of players, but last year he ran the leaders very close, despite not being at his best for the first two days and throwing in a couple of horror holes (the sort he cut out of his game in the second half of the year) over the weekend. On autumn/winter 2011 form, he'd be my Masters favourite.

Anyway, before we get carried away with the year ahead, there's this week's golf to follow. Good to see the young Saffas going well in the SA swing (we say this every year; there must be hundreds of them), Aiken leading, O'Reilly, Claassen (keep an eye on him) and Senekal in contention early.
As for the US, hard to overstate how disappointing the Hyundai field is. Must surely make the Monday finish decision look like a major FUBAR - even if it's just a coincidence, it doesn't look good. But it's hard to see what more the Tour can do, it's a great venue, it's competing with sod-all unless you're South African, and the small field means guaranteed money and near-guaranteed ranking points. Perhaps it's just too soon? Would it be worth shifting everything back a week, starting the tour next weekend and shunting an early-December silly season event out of the way?

And finally, no doubt you're all (well two of you) looking forward to the final fantasy standings, which I can only apologise for not getting up pre-Christmas. They should be done sometime this weekend, but I doubt I'll have the free time for the next few months to put any more events up... I don't mind doing the fields and updating the leaderboards, but working out everyone's individual scores is just too time consuming. I should be freed up from about May onwards, but until then I fear we'll have to content ourselves with yahoo and the ET version, unless someone steps into the breach. But we can still look forward to a new season of golf, I guess!

Hi Ned, Happy New Year!

My Rory prediction seems to evoke controversy! Let me say that I agree with what you say, but I just don't know what he's going to do differently than he did in 2010 when he played well in a couple of Majors, had a cracking Quail Hollow win, yet ran out of gas and went home with his tail between his legs while others perhaps less deserving shuffled off to East Lake.
He doesn't play well in Florida yet will be playing Honda and obviously Doral and TPC, possibly Bay Hill. Must be in with a great chance at Augusta and possibly Olympic Club, but his best regular Tour chances will be Memorial, assuming he plays, and QH. Not sure about Lytham and the FedEx courses will suit him if he's not running on fumes by then and is not distracted by events at Flushing Meadow. No doubt he'll have a decent year, just not convinced he'll make it past the BMW.
SNF did a good job on the Golf Channel last night reminding everyone that Rory's still just 22, but don't expect the US media to take any notice; the pressure on him will be like nothing he's seen and Tiger will only add to that unless Rory takes him down early.

My guess is that Karlsson and Westwood will be very focussed on the the PGA Tour this year, just have a good vibe about Karlsson - now or never for him really.

Don't know anything about Claassen, thanks for the tip! And the value of the Tournament of Champions is just a puzzle - might be better supported next year with Dubai a couple of weeks earlier?

Thanks for all you've done on the fantasy; I'd love to step into the breach but the commitment is just too great. Incidentally, I'm also in a private "game" where you pick one golfer every week but cannot select him again. You just accumulate their winnings (or not of course). I'll be interested to see what cards I'm holding for East Lake! If it works well, I might introduce it next year on here.

The curious thing to me is that Rory is seen as "the big thing" for 2012.
I see him being simply one of maybe a dozen players to keep an eye out for and certainly nothing to show that there will be a Woods/McIlroy two horse race in every event.

Completely agree s_r; except that the one thing that separates those two, and in-form Phil I would say, is that they have an extra gear that can elevate their game.
But equally, at least as far as Rory is concerned, he'll have some events where he scarcely shows up.
While Woods and Mickelson are both coming off terrible years.
At least we know that Rory's mixed some excellence in with the ho-hum; very much speculation with the other two. Except perhaps at Augusta.

Scintillating round by Oosty today! Followed closely by Aiken and Goose... it's great to see once again (same happened last year) the top South Africans putting up a really good show in these home tournaments. Also, excellent starts of the season from two of the top new qualifiers, via the CT and the QS - Fleetwood and Hutsby...

Casey's loss will be a blow to the owgr points at Fancourt.
Tjaart Van Der Walt in his best position since losing to Faxon in a Hartford play-off a few years ago.

No word yet on Glover's participation at Kapalua.

And Casey seems optimistic he might be back in a couple of months. No surgery apparently but still would think Masters will be touch and go.

Glover's a goner.
w/d from Kapalua, but will still share last place money with Dustin, Sneds and Freddie Jac.

Bradley and Wagner leading early. Of course. Looks like The Laird is a bit rusty.


Only 5 non-Americans in the whole field really is a poor effort....

Didn't fancy Byrd to put up much of a defence here... shows what I know!

Field up for Hawai'i proper next week. Decent Euro showing, with the 4 Nationwide grads, Owen from Q-school, Parnevik making comeback #99, and Davis and Pettersson who both suit the track. Laird not extending his Hawai'i stay though... it probably wouldn't suit him so much!
Not a bad rest of the field either, major champs Bradley, Cink, Glover, Johnson, Love, Toms, Singh, Leonard, Pavin; and other names Simpson, Stricker, Choi, Byrd, Allenby, Palmer, Overton, O'Hair, Vegas, Wilson, Ryo (?), Liang (?!?). And watch out for Noh and Bae, here come the Koreans.

I concur with that assessment Ned, not sure that Glover will be up to the task but a decent field on a really good course.
Big early season for those boys Davis and Pettersson . . . .

Early favourites: Johnson and Stricker?

Laird retrieving his round and a bit surprised to see Webb Simpson and Keegs out of the traps in a hurry.

Great back nine from Laird and a share of the lead as it stands. Think he had a good time last time he was here too.
Would think Stricker has a decent chance next week, but let's get this one out of the way first... he was my pre-tourney favourite here.

As Neil Young would say, "Rust never sleeps"!

I think this is a very big event for The Laird; he hasn't had much success on the West Coast in the past but a good finish here can really propel him in the rankings and for his season. Long way to go though.

Interesting first round with Jonathan Byrd going off to mourn an 18th green 3-putt but still speeping on the lead.

Not a bad field for next week's Sony Open as Ned's post, above, reports.

And some promising commitments for the old Bob Hope event, now called the Humana Challenge. Phil Mickelson returns after removing the Hope from his schedule in a bit of a huff. Prospect of Phil playing six weeks in a row unless he drops an event he usually plays. And Bill Haas and Major Toms are also confirmed.

Impossible to follow this one at those hours over here... A real mixed bag with my four pre-tournament picks (Stricker, Byrd, Haas, Steele). I wonder how is Haas's motivation being affected after sleeping for the last 3 months on that mattress full with the FedEx cash.

Not sure if there were any sparks around the Kapalua course in yesterday's round (Watney's caddy appears to cause some controversy from what I read this morning), but should we expect some proper fireworks today when those two old friends, O'Hair and Sabbatini, will tee it off together once again...?

Morning pd,
Watney looked as if he was off to the gallows when I zapped the TV last night; what on earth was Chad Reynolds doing if he wasn't testing the green? Almost a hanging Chad.

Hadn't seen the tee-times, but there are more than enough slow-coaches for Roary to be aggravated about, tho' the reunion with SO'H is mouth-watering! Bradley, Laird, Simpson and Byrd are all golfers who push the time-limit per shot to the max, plus Roary's old mate Crane! Would imagine the final group will take an hour longer that the early starters.

Good first day though, even better if Faldo and Miller would just shut up. Two too many egos for one booth.

Jonathan Byrd allegedly made five putts yesterday of 25ft or more. He made 14 in that category all last season (seems very low, that, but that's what the Golf Channel tell us).

Nice of the Saffers to finish just in time for the footie. All to play for tomorrow and very good to see Richard Sterne up there in the shake up.

Any Sterne fans with any insight as to his plans?
At least he should progress from his owgr position of #1031.

They're on the move at Kapalua and early starters are still struggling with the first four holes, only Baddeley under par after the first hour.
Laird off with Stricker at 5.35, just as our coverage gets underway. Should be a good pairing, just one group ahead of the leaders.

As said earlier, too many egos in the booth yesterday (and probably all weekend) but kudos to Dan Hicks for bluntly referring to SNF as being a very "methodical" player as Miller and Faldo were heckling Byrd for spending so long on his putt(s) on #18. Some sputtering ensued.

Can't wait to hear what Sabbatini has to say about missing his tee-time and resultant two-shot penalty. O'Hair to blame?

Wonder whether we might be allowed a glimpse of Laird this side of midnight.

Only when he 3-putts.
More disappointing than surprising.
US TV Networks just can't bear the possibility that someone outside their stereotypes might be worth watching.

I wouldn't mind if there were dozens of guys in contention and taking up the airtime. But we just get the other 3 leaders, tonnes of Keegan Bradley who's several shots behind Laird, and endless hours of slow-mo scenery shots, promos for pointless sponsor plugs, and other stuff we don't tune in for.

Correct Ned.
But Martin inconveniently birdied 8 and should have canned that shortie on 9. Playing well and apparently well within himself. Two or three birdies on the back and he'll be in very good shape, maybe even get some airtime on Sunday and Monday.

Hello kwini,

Are you watching this stuff? Wish they'd show more shots. Lucked out by placing Stricker in the yahoo fantasy league.

Agreed venice.
And there was me questioning Stricker's fitness. I've got Woodland who just had a triple, Sabbatini who kicked off with a triple (incl a 2-shot penalty for showing up late!) and Steele who's also apparently crocked and is dead last! Had Glover before I switched him out just in time.

I see Jorge just retired; perhaps he's in cahoots with Joe Torre in trying to buy your Dodgers?

I should be in Montreal but decided not to go. Losing again I see, but Les Oranges are at least flying my flag.

I'm not feeling too bad with my picks... my confident ones were Stricker and Laird, so that's going well! Shame the other two complete guesses were Toms and Woodland...

Interesting them talking about Simpson's clubs.
Using the same Titleist (680's?) as he has for over ten years, his driver is three years old.
Don't feel so bad about the vintage of my clubs after all.

Understand that Stricker's therapy route as opposed to surgery included cortisone treatment. What makes that drug any safer than other steroid hormones which are banned? Isn't the intent the same: to accelerate recuperation?

Yep. All the Yanks of the early 2000's are a step slower and are smart to retire. I hope Jeter doesn't hang on unless he believes he has a legitimate shot at Rose's all-time hit record. I hope Torre gets the Dodgers. It would also be a very popular choice with the fans. The final price tag is projected to be over a billion smackers so the team is going to need all the support it can get.

All that worrying for nothing as your MTL boys now have a 2 - 1 lead. You should have went to the game. My Kings lost 1 - 0 today but the defense will be top notch in time for the playoffs. We don't know how to score yet or maybe just lack talent.

venice,
I've had cortisone shots that never made a blind bit of difference. Maybe that's the reason they're not banned.
You're right, makes no sense at all.

Golf Channel must be bereft that Laird is still in second.

Stricker's looking very strong; Faldo's right, the leading group is starting to separate itself. But it's just one golfer!

kwinigolfer wrote:venice,
I've had cortisone shots that never made a blind bit of difference.

You need to see the German doctor for that one.