PGA Tour: Farmers without a Tiger: Notes from the Ballwasher

1).Nice work by Mark Wilson in the California Desert last week, coming in under the radar, appropriately so as he hadn't enjoyed a Tour Top Ten finish for seven months. But now, with his third win in just over a year, he's being talked about as a Ryder Cup candidate. All five of Wilson's wins have come in the first three months of the year, so whether he's to be a viable option for Medinah remains to be seen.

2).And let's not forget the runners up:
~Montford Wagner with his third top ten finish in three weeks, matching his total from 2010 and 2011 combined.

~Robert Garrigus, with his best tournament since Congressional's US Open, better known in the past for his mini-putter, now just another anonymous pro with a broomstick; and:

~John Mallinger, whose 2010 form was so grisly that he retrieved his card with a succession of good Nationwide finishes last year. I don't know much about Mallinger beyond his 2 x 3rd place finishes at Pebble Beach a few years ago, but the only time I watched him play he just about emptied his bag following his round, handing out balls etc to young fans, shaking hands with older well-wishers, as he made his way to the scorers tent. You don't see that every day and this was in stark contrast to one of his playing partners who avoided post-round handshakes entirely, volunteers and the other pros in his group included. So good luck Mr.Mallinger.

3).By all accounts the revived tournament in the desert was a great success, thanks to a revised format, better courses, and the support of Humana, the Clinton Foundation, and the Pros with a much stronger field than the beleaguered "Hope" of recent years. Thumbs up to the PGA Tour!

4).Another multi-course event this week as the Tour travels 140 miles south-ish to San Diego and the cliff-top courses at Torrey Pines for the "Farmers Insurance Open". More "International" players come out of the woodwork every week, and Cabrera, Els, Ogilvy, Justin Rose and Yang make their seasonal debuts. The field is loaded with American bombers, the latter-day Lancasters and Liberators including Bradley, Johnson, Mickelson, Watney, Watson and Woodland. Fowler, Haas and Mahan will be there too.

5).Then there's JB Holmes who returns after seven months out following brain surgery. As we noted in last week's comments, we wish him good health and more speed, a go-faster chip perhaps having been implanted.

6).But no Tiger Woods as he performs on the European circus in Abu Dhabi. Easy to question his lack of loyalty to tournaments that have offered him so much (which has been richly reciprocated in this case), but Tiger will never be one for sentiment and we shouldn't expect any from someone for whom the bottom line will always be the bottom line.

7).Phil's playing and, after his somewhat cavalier "effort" last week, perhaps he'll get down to business by the sea, albeit on the Rees Jones makeover that he professes to despise so much. Phil will play next week in Phoenix, then Pebble Beach and Riviera making that five in a row. But he's taking a family vacation the following week and will be a no-show at the WGC MatchPlay. So the field will extend at least to 65th place on the owgr placings.

8).I mentioned a couple of weeks ago the Tour Players ranking of the courses they play, and the full results are published now in GolfWorld - Torrey Pines gets short shrift, with the (US Open venue) South Course placing 31st (of 52) and the North Course (one round only) languishing at 48th. But sunny skies are forecast and we'll doubtless be treated to golf almost as spectacular as the Pacific views.

9).Good to see Justin Rose back in the field following the new addition to his family; when his first child was born Rose's schedule went haywire and his form downhill, and he'll need to have learned from that if he's to make a successful challenge for a Ryder Cup place.

10).Still no cut this year for Russell Knox despite some good individual rounds. But he can take heart from Surrey native Gary Christian who broke through in grand style last week making almost $100K.
The season's start always seems to take a while to get into gear, but interest is piqued this week in Abu Dhabi and San Diego. Let's hope the golf matches the hype.

kwinigolfer wrote:Lancasters and Liberators

Where are you going to find these two gems mentioned anywhere today? The Avro Lancaster... well, just look it up. Second to none in it's field at the time and much more.

The one thing I will never understand about the San Diego Open is why it has never been taken under the wings, administrated and promoted by any of the hundreds of golf manufacturers that call San Diego county home and coincidentally is the hub of the golf manufacturing world. The location has everything including arguably the greatest weather anywhere. The only thing lacking is the imagination, commitment and perseverance to make it a truly special event. Here's a classic example of the Finchem regime lacking the foresight due to arrogance a few years ago when Middle East oil bankrolled and committed to the European Tour. They never envisioned the cream rising in the desert sands of Abu Dhabi while the spoils sat idle on Pacific shores of Southern California.

Kwini,

Is describing this week's ET event as a "circus" a little harsh?

I agree the ET playing outside of Europe is against the original breif, but I think the ET made the correct decision to develop beyond it's borders as weather and sponsors was becomming the limited factor for the ET within Europe. The desert swing is now an established group of events and perfectly placed to kick off the ET for the big boys. Serious money, great weather, good courses and top competition all in place. I would concede taking advantage of easy money in non democratic countries is a bit of a sell out, but our governments do business with these countries so why not.

Perhaps the "circus" comment refers to Tiger's participation and appearance money (reported to be £3M in some quarters) and the sponsors payment to his foundation, but no tour has control over who the sponsors invites and what they pay.

Regardless, this will be a great event to watch and for me Tiger's participation makes it a better watch. Regardless how you judge the man he is still an interesting guy to watch play golf, and watching his either shine or burn this year will be very interesting.

venice, Too true about the golf equipment makers . . . .


Scottie,
Nothing disparaging intended with use of the word "circus", just trying to find a different word. I love the gulf swing and have nothing against, everything for actually, all the hoopla surrounding participation by the World's best.
(I DO also try to see this through the eyes of the PGA Tour but, as venice rightly says, they've been one-upped for this three week period.)

"Circus" was more intended to allude to the colour and cultural differences inherent in the European Tour, especially during this period, and will hopefully be seen as a positive expression, not negative or cynical.

Like you, I applaud all the initiatives taken to make these few weeks the very best and most entertaining they can be, and I love that Tiger participates - as you say, and regardless of any hidden agenda, he enhances tournaments such as these, for the playing participants as well as media and fans.

Kwin - Another fine post!

I understand, but don't agree with the appearance fees. I predict when the US tour declines (as it inevitably will) they will adopt the same. How soon - anyone's guess.

Lining up of corporate sponsors year after year is not an easy thing to do. No long waiting lines. Hats off to Finchem and team for getting as much done as they have. $3M! Oil money like that ought to keep Tiger out of the double wides!

Nice post, kwini
Will miss unfortunately the action tomorrow due to some travelling, but will try to keep an eye on both LBs when I get a chance.

Speaking about Farmers without a Tiger, not sure how much farmers would like to have one of them around, but there's certainly no trace this week of one true farmer, and his tractor, on either side of the pond. Talking about King Louis of course, who doesn't figure in the Quatar field either, so maybe he is taking some time off after all. Perhaps doing some real farming back home...

pd, Thanks.
I think King Louie made some serious purchases when he played the "John Deere" last July, golfer's true tractor boy!

Kwini,

I thought for a moment that Finchem had got to you with some photos from one of your travels , but normal service has been resumed.

A few years ago I travelled to San Diego for testing on new Solar Turbines and the project manager had promosed me a game at Torrey Pines. He messed up the booking and we ended up playing another course in the area (no idea which one, but it was okay). Given the relatively poor ratings from the players I don't feel so bad now.

Morning Shotrock,
Appearance fees?
Well, as has been discussed this past week, they come in all shapes and sizes, and are just as prevalent on the PGA Tour, they're just called different things, usually sponsorship.
Incentives to play certain tournaments have been there for generations and I think it's a very healthy step forward for Tiger to speak openly about it, rather than the usual platitudes about how great it is to travel to the desert.
The answer of course is for purses to be even higher but they seem to have hit a ceiling so appearance fees, or some euphemism for them, are here to stay.

(I think Steve Stricker is the only Tour player to use a "double wide"!)
(Non American readers will hopefully know that double wide is not a term used for Steve Harmison's bowling.)


Scottie
Only time I tried to play there I got there 5.00 a.m. and was informed of a four-hour wait so left early for Pebble Beach and squeezed in a second round there instead! Would love to play Torrey Pines though probably not going to happen.

Scottie - Torrey Pines is one beautiful property, clubhouse, etc., but the routing is hardly inspired. Nice green complexes though.

JB Holmes:
Interesting article from Doug Ferguson:

http://sports.yahoo.com/golf/pga/news?slug=ap-holmesreturns

Shotrock,

I'll have to get on another project that's buying Solar Turbines and get a second bite at the cherry. Solar do get most of the North Sea Oil & Gas business to the chances are reasonable.

I enjoyed San Diego though, but the number of air craft carrier's in the bay was a bit worrying.

ScottieD18 wrote:I enjoyed San Diego though, but the number of air craft carrier's in the bay was a bit worrying.

That is funny. Those aircraft carriers are supposed to give one comfort.

Kwin - Different systems, that's for sure. Lower purses and more money given directly to the very "top draws". Bottom line, the rich get richer ... and until those journeymen Euro stars break into the penthouse, look for Rory, Tiger, Luke to command the Lion's share.

Sr,
I think that's very true. But I don't buy into the gloom and doom about European Tour sponsorship (flying in the face of facts and reason, I know!) and strongly feel that ET support will grow stronger in the very near future.

Just looking at the tee times, looks like O'Grady's got about 11 premium threesomes, Finchem only six or seven.

Until Europe (the EU rather than the ET) realises its potential, the ET will always play second fiddle to the PGA Tour, but that day could very easily come faster than conventional wisdom suggests.

Meanwhile, here's hoping for two great tournaments, however much the participants get paid!

OK, Everyone's had a kip after the earlier entertainment and we're just about to get down to business in San Diego.
The forecast is for a fine, partly sunny day today with temps rising to the low 70's, light breezes.
Not so clever for Friday and into Saturday however, with much blustrousness, winds up to 20 - 25 mph. Should be dry though.
Sunday looks fine.

No World's number one and two playing together or, indeed, numbers 3 and 4, but plenty of attractive groupings. Those playing the South Course (SC) today (including the Mickelson and Els/Rose groups) may well be favoured as they'll be challenging the easier North Course (NC) in Friday's winds.

They're off!

Just away to leave the office. Other half is out tonight so once I heat-up the mince and tatties and get the kids fed I'm looking forward to catching up with ET golf then watching PGA golf with no interuptions.

Nothing to do with the PGA Tour, but Meg Mallon has been selected as Team USA's Solheim Cup Captain, charged to retrieve the trophy Europe's Ladies so thrillingly won in Ireland last year.

With some i's to be dotted, and t's crossed, it looks like the PGA Tour is going ahead with changes to its season, year-end tournaments and PGA Tour qualifying.

At this week's mandatory players meeting (presumably #25 appeared via Skype from Abu Dhabi?), these changes were put forward:

1).The season will end in September each year following the Tour Championship.

2).The new season would start in October and there would be four or five events in the USA, the HSBC Champions and Asia Pacific Classic in Malaysia, plus one more tournament, probably overseas but which is tba.

3).The notion of players qualifying for the PGA Tour only via the Nationwide moves forward. There will be some form of 3 tournament qualifying series for the season starting October held during or following the FedEx Play-Offs, the exact format or qualifying process still to be defined.

All this is reported by the AP and their report suggests none of the players were strongly for the change, several ambivalent or dead against.

But something like this will happen and the players had better get used to it. Personally I reckon it looks totally daft, but perhaps those i's and t's will be massaged and some sense will come of it all.

Two things to help persuade sceptical players:

1).Finchem is signed through 2016.

2).The total compensation to PGA Tour players is staggering. The AP reports these figures, which includes benefits such as pension plans:
2010: $205M
2011: $319M
2012: $377M (forecast).

Next Players Meeting is in three weeks in LA at the Northern Trust event, but no final announcement is apparently expected until March, at the earliest.

Putting Bill Haas as a sub and starting Mickleson in my Yahoo team is proving to be a mistake.

I did much the same thing EmmDee; plus I put Phil in as my banker in another game. Not prudent. But the North is playing considerably easier than the South so perhaps better days are coming?

Bugger, forgot about the yahoo league.

Mac,
In that case you inherit last week's team. Take a butcher's as soon as you get this; you may have a starting four who aren't playing, but have guys on the bench who can help. Switch 'em around.

I'm having a go at the GC fantasy this year (with very mixed fortunes so far) and made the same capital mistake in picking Lefty this week. But I also picked Bae and although he's only 2-3 weeks into his new PGA Tour experience, it almost feels it's something of a given that this guy would be up there in the top quarter of the LB...

Kwini

So what is the deal with the bench, can you bring on a player at any point during the weekend?

Rory, rory, rory, rory, rory, rory,...........
2-shot penalty...

ooops, slipped that one on the wrong thread...

Mac,
You can switch players around within their "lists", but their position on your team at the stipulated cut-off (usually the day's first tee time) is the one that will count for your score.


For instance, if a player in your "my foursome" doesn't make the cut, or withdraws during a round (even round 1) you can drag a golfer in a better position from "my bench". What you can't do is switch a guy from list A to List B, so, if as seems likely my two List A guys for this week both miss the cut, I'm stuffed.

OK. thanks kwini I will have a look at it when I finish work.

I notice ben curtis is in the middle east, wonder what he is up to?

Mac,
Curtis only has veteran/winners' status on the PGA Tour these days, along with his Valhalla horseman friend Weekley.
But Curtis still has his Major exemption in Europe, similar to Hamilton.

Just over half an hour to the first Torrey Pines tee-times.
The forecast for today is thankfully not quite as windy as yesterday's projections - pretty gusty for Saturday however.

For all those of us who picked golfers playing the South Course yesterday, we can only hope that the 3.6 stroke disparity between the two Torrey tracks will be maintained Friday. 23 of the leading 26 golfers played the North course Thursday.

Good to see Dustin Johnson seemingly recovered from his back difficulties of last week, and welcome appearances on the leaderboard for Camilo and Vijay.
pgatour.com say there hasn't been a "rookie" winner here for almost 60 years, not a first-time winner since 1991. But I wouldn't put it past either leader (Levin and Stanley) to break the latter streak, both West-Coast boys, and Californians especially have a fantastic record here.

Go Bae Go!! SC or NC, doesn't seem to matter too much to him so far. It does to VJ though... Phil finally gets a birdie, but surely it's a case of too little too late for him...

Ernie needs to get a few things moving to make sure he makes it into the weekend. Is Garth Mulroy a new addition to the PGA Tour or he's just testing the waters?

Hi pd,
Not sure that I see the same scoring disparity as Thursday, not yet awhile anyway!

I think Mulroy is a Q-School graduate; he had his card a few years ago, lost it and his back for more!

I need a miracle from Phil. No stopping Bae, and surprising form from Allenby also.

Justin Rose only European in the top 50, at 38th.

And more futility from Anthony Kim.

I also picked Gary Christian (from the lower ranks) based on his last week performance and good to see him starting with a birdie, but will need more than that perhaps to make it. Just over the line at the moment with former fellow Nationwiders, Blixt and Knox.

More birdies from Bae and Allenby...

Oooops, jinxed Christian and Blixt...

I made the same mistake last week re Phil, not falling for that one twice.

Mulroy is a N'wide grad I believe, not sure what his schedule will be now he has status in Europe too. Doubt he could manage to fulfil both, so decisions to be made...

Bae is blitzing the "tougher" course, very impressive. And there might be some worried golf journos googling "Martin Flores" and "John Huh"...

Only 33 of the top 85 golfers are playing the North Course. Hope that balances out.

Boo! Weekley making an unexpected gallop up the leaderboard.

Nice tweet from Richard S.Johnoson.

Words to the effect of:
"Playing with World #1 tomorrow. Very happy!"

Well worth following Richard S's twitterage, actually offers some insight and appreciation of what he has. Clearly bitterly disappointed with his last year and, who knows?, the European Tour might be just the tonic for him. Going nowhere with his status on the PGA Tour and perhaps others might learn from him.

Not watching this on tv, but is DJ showing signs of discomfort again out there, judging by those 3 bogeys in a row, looks like it...

Nice climb into form for Rose and perhaps the Hunter as well...?

More complaints about DJ's putting than his back or his knee.

Nice to see the tweets from Luke and Westwood (are you still calling it Lee?) to Poulter following the birth of his baby boy. Actually I can reveal the name is Thierry.

Strange to hear the Americans talking about Sang-Moon Bae a "rookie". He'll rookie his way into the world's top 20 if he wins this!

"Actually I can reveal the name is Thierry"

I really hope that is a joke.

Good effort from Greg Owen, seemingly going downhill with bogeys on 12 and 13, three under the rest of the way. Resilience that's been sadly missing from his game.

Not so good from Russell Knox, Gary Christian on the precipice.

The Phoenix field has been published. Poulter's entered but perhaps this paternity thing might get in the way. We'll see; I had thought the following week's Pebble Beach action would be his seasonal debut.

Other Europeans include:
Blixt,
Davis,
Knox,
Laird,
Pettersson,

Webb Simpson and Dustin Johnson appear to be the highest raked players.

Owen will be watching nervously, the cut line has started to close in on him, -2 isn't safe yet. Good runs from Christian and Blixt though, not sure what was up with Blixt at the start of his round, 4 bogeys in his first six after a good day on the South course. -5 since then though.

Knox has missed the cut with two level par rounds in two of his first three starts. Needs to find more birdies?

A couple of guys going backwards now will hopefully let Owen rest a bit more easily.
Glad to see Immelman make the cut after a poor effort his first two Humana rounds. Very opimistic of a big year for Trev in 2012. More content than almost anyone to let his clubs do his talking, and great to follow for the crispness of his ball-striking.

79 make the cut so there'll be a secondary cut following Round 3, again to the top 70 and ties.
So far so good for Christian and Owen, now to maximize their good play. Blixt rescues his tournament by going -6 over his final ten holes.
Be disappointing for any of the three to miss out on Sunday.

The early starters are peeling themselves off their clubhouse chairs in front of the Anfield entertainment and making their way to the practice grounds.

A warm, sunny but windy day forecast, weather that you'd think would dry the course out.

A reminder that there'll be another cut following Round 3, but the MDF's will get paid so good news for Gary Christian and Greg Owen.

No Tiger in San Diego - I've heard the two Tours are already negotiating respective tournament dates so these two don't clash in 2013 in the event of a Woods win tomorrow.

As for the "Farmer's", is this Brandt Snedeker's turn to finally win one of these?

Kwini, what are the limits the PGA Tour sets for cuts? I thought it was 70&ties after Rnd 2, and then again if there were 80+ left in the field, but clearly not?

Ned,
You're one off!
The limit for Round 4 is 78 unless of course there's a massive 70th place tie.

So it's 79+, not 80+.

Justin Rose has done quite nicely so far, his first respite from baby-sitting since his family's happy event. I really see the top players rising inexorably to the top today, Charlie Howell another I expect a strong effort from.

fair enough! bizarre choice of number there, you'd think they'd take the extra player to hit the round number.

Charles Howell seems to be getting a bit of buzz around him lately, a few mentions on here, pgatour.com are going big on him, and the Sky pundits have been predicting a big year from him. Not sure I'm seeing it myself, a nice run of early form on courses he's always liked isn't enough evidence for me.

Ned,
I think it has something to do with the PGA Tour's notion that 78 golfers is pretty much the highest optimum number of players if they have to go off in 3-somes off both tees.

Howell almost always plays well on the West Coast swing, and he had one of his two wins at Riviera. Was arguably unlucky not to win here a few years ago when needing a birdie on the last, his wedge hit the pin and rebounded into Devlin's Billabong. Chance gone.

Wouldn't be surprised to see him disappear when the boys head east but he's close to the Top 50 and he comes from Augusta so he's incented to get back there.

Jonas Blixting the course.
-12 for 21 holes after being in deep trouble on his first few holes yesterday.