PGA Tour: Travelling to The Travelers: Notes from the Ballwasher

First topic message reminder :

1).Well, that was the US Open that was. And certainly not the result expected last Thursday, Friday, Saturday, even most of Sunday. But all credit to Webb Simpson, proof positive that you don't have to be the best golfer all week, just hold your nerve the final eight holes. Furyk has won a US Open from the front, McDowell has done the trick, sort of, and it was a surprise that Furyk would unravel and McDowell would suddenly find his GPS on the blink after driving the ball so well all week and all season (leads the Tour in driving accuracy, Furyk is second but not on Sunday).

2).Simpson for me is one of the top young American golfers (Haas, Stanley, Bradley, etc, etc.) who has proved himself to be streaky good, and streaky average. We'll never know whether he would have won from either of the last two groups, but what he do know is that he's highly questionable for Lytham and The Open Championship. His wife, with the highly questionable name of Dowd, is due to give birth to a baby Spider in a month's time and she's given him the most appropriate yellow card about his July and August plans. (How many other PGA Tour couples are named after Prem Referees? Howard and Phil must be thrilled!)

3).The Top Eight from the Olympic Club qualify for next year's Masters; most are already assured of qualification via other routes, but some are not:
2nd: Michael Thompson, he of the very average ball-striking stat's, but a terrific putter who should probably already have his first Tour win, at last year's McGladreys where he missed out on a playoff by one stroke, presumably not helped by playing with Billy Horschel who was in full meltdown.
4th: David Toms.
4th: Jim Furyk.
4th: John Petersen - who holed in one on the 13th, but was excluded from last year's Walker Cup team following some incendiary remarks about College golfers being as good as PGA Tour pros. Peterson showed just who's boss by flunking ignominiously out of the early stages of 2011 Q-School, but he's a talent and we'll hear from him again. And again.

4).And those in the Top Ten last week qualified for a US Open date at Merion next year, the above mentioned obviously, plus:
9th: Ernie Els.
10th: Casey Wittenberg - like Peterson, Casey has no PGA Tour status having lost his card and never regaining it.
10th: John Senden.
10th: Kevin Chappell, 3rd last year at Congressional.

5).I thought Olympic looked fabulous, almost as good as San Francisco itself. Not sure about some pin and tee placements by the USGA but the pros seemed to love the greens and the overall course conditions.

6).And so the US domination of the PGA Tour season continues, and Greg Norman was the last non-American to win in Hartford so don't hold your breath on anything changing soon. Tjaart van der Walt is the only non-American runner up in that time. I knew you'd want to know.
EDIT: As pointed out below by robo, Sweden's Freddie Jac (the Tour's best tennis-table player according to Bobby Clampett) won last year; suffice to say overseas players still have a rotten record at Hartford but I need to get my facts straight.

7).It only makes sense that stifling heat and humidity will greet the PGA Tour's best as they travel to the north-east for a rare visit. It will be close to 100F in Hartford for Round 1, 90's on Friday and mid-80's at least for the weekend. TPC River Highlands is the 3rd shortest course the pros play all year and it will surely play even shorter than usual this week. 59 watch?? Brand new pro Cantlay shot 60 last year as an amateur so you never know!

8).The PGA Tour loves the three consecutive Major wins by Americans: Featured groupings for Rounds 1 and 2 are headed by, you guessed it, Keegan Bradley, Bubba and Webb Simpson.

9).I'm not a big fan of following those fresh off Major contention for the following week, (tho Michael Thompson was 4th here in 2011) so who should we fancy this week? What about Ryan Moore, second here twice already, or Hunter Mahan who scored his first win here and followed up with two seconds?? Two outsiders worth an each way shout are Brian Davis and Nick O'Hern.

10).Finally, the Champions Tour goes international this week, with a trip to the Montreal area. The most securely locked closed shop in sport doesn't do abroad too well, even just the fifty miles or so north of the border, and the weak field offers chances to fringe players including Wales's Mark Mouland. Chapman and Lyle are also playing. At least Roger Chapman is a timely reminder that the British can still win in North America!

Switching to other sporting Americana, and although I kind of lost interest when the Bulls fell out of the playoffs in the first round (v disappointing / surprising), I see that Miami have won the NBA title overnight, with King James accomplishing his dream in style with a triple double.

Doesn't seem to merit a mention on the BBC Sports website at all though. Lee Westwood seems to have been following the games though, looking at his Twitter feed.

Anyway, look forward to seeing LeBron, Dwyane Wade, Kobe Bryant et al over in London for what might be an exhibition event for them (but known as the Olympics to the rest of us).

Freddy for President!
birdie, birdie, eagle......

Sky - A very dominating performance by Miami. Double LeBron or Wade, they kick out to sharpshooters who are on and that spells a long night for OKC. Well played Miami!

Shotrock wrote:Sky - A very dominating performance by Miami. Double LeBron or Wade, they kick out to sharpshooters who are on and that spells a long night for OKC. Well played Miami!

Translation please?

Sorry about that!

Double = Double Team, which leaves one player wide open. The player with the ball being double teamed, then passes it quickly to the open player, who has an uncontested shot. Miami did just that and fortunately for them the wide open players made their shots ... many of them for 3 points because they shot further away (or behind the 3 point line).

US "should" not just win, but dominate in London this summer. But, the made up team will need to play well as a team ... not just 5 superstars ...If they go in thinking they are deserved a victory, they may not even medal. Wonder if LeBron James will even play on the US team?

I've seen Wade play in London already, when the Heat were here for pre-season NBA Europe Live tour a few years ago. Fantastic player. LeBron hadn't defected/sold out by then (to use other peoples' words - people who clearly wouldn't have moved to a potential title-winning team with $100m thrown in, out of principle), so he wasn't part of the visiting ensemble.

Anyway, I'll be travelling for the rest of the day, but hope to read some reports actually "from the ballwasher" in due course from our eminent friend on his ventures away from Kwinisaska. If he has a smartphone. And wifi.

Unlucky for kwini... thunderstorms at River Highlands, play suspended.
Hopefully they'll clear out quickly...

We had them here in Manhattan a little while ago -- severe, but they didn't last very long !

Monsoon in Hartford, a Texas-sized storm for robo's benefit, so hightailed it back to the North Country.

Sweltering day at TPC River Highlands, as far as it went, but got there early just in time to see America's new three Major amigos, Bubba, Webby and Keegs tee off. Then followed Badds and Sabbatini and the Tommy Gainey group, hopscotching from one group to the other. Gainey's ball-striking is sooo impressive, really goes down after it in ungainly (but Gainey) style - never seen anyone hit the ball quite like him.

Then followed Padraig and King Louis until the party ended. Both playing very well, Padraig missing some short birdie opportunities, Louis striping it!

Saw lots of interesting stuff, Sabbatini interacting with the fans like I didn't think he knew how but no spectacular hole-outs and a premature departure made for a disappointing end to a promising day.

Surprised to see Cantlay playing (poorly so far) with a UCLA bag and no commercial logos. Dylan Frittelli is outshining him early in their pro careers.


If robo is around, two questions about Texas boys:
Is Justin Leonard OK? He was playing quite nicely but looks about 20 pounds lighter than the slightly chubby guy we're used to seeing.

And; What do you make of Chris Stroud? We've been characterising him on here as a Fall Series specialist, playing well at season's end to keep his card; better last year and seems to be an established player now, but how far can he go? Watched him play a dozen shots today - bit of a mixed bag. Another made cut though.

Start of Hartford play delayed from 7.00 a.m. to 7.30 a.m. which suggests that the monsoon that I drove through leaving the course affected TPC River Highlands rather more than PGA Tour officials' statements last night.

Conditions much quieter this morning, but am still awaiting the barrage of bardies expected two days ago.

Come on Padraig! And Gary Christian and Russell Knox!!

JB Holmes finding some form again which is good to see.

Did John Peterson just make an albatross?
On the par-4 15th??
To add to his US Open hole in one at Olympic's 13th???
That's certainly what Shot Link is saying.

Edit: And the answer is a resounding NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


EmmDee,
Agreed about JB; Camilo also playing very well.

Just noticed Villegas' excellent back 9, would be good if he could find some form again.

Watched Black Caviar win the Diamond Jubilee Stake there, just!!

Could be an interesting final 2-ball tomorrow in Germany, Willet & Wood. Many 2nd places between them, no wins, could that change....

Disappointing bogey finish for Padraig, in what it seems to be otherwise a flawless round... Nobody catching Freddie so far, hope he gets another win.

Good to hear you got to see some decent golf yesterday, kwini, pitty about the weather...

Disappointing indeed for Harrington, but looked very good the five holes we saw yesterday. Karlsson another with a final hole blemish.

88 golfers make the cut - just what the PGA Tour was hoping for when they're dealing with cramming 36 holes into a day and a half.

Threesomes off two tees and a long wait after nine holes looks like the appetising prospect, but yesterday's heat and humidity is waning and they may still get all Round 3 in tonight, if they get going right away.

Who is caddying for Harrington these days? Just saw him warming up on the range and it looks his caddie is young enough to be his son.

He is has blond hair and almost albino like pale skin.

I think it's still Ronan Flood isn't it?

Could be. I just never noticed how young he looks. Just looking at some pictures it appears to be the same guy. Hard to believe he is a childhood buddy of Paddy's. He looks about Twenty.

Five Europeans in the top 16, makes a nice change.

four birdies on the bounce from Padraig!!!

Five in a row!
And four out of five for Brian Davis.

Keep it going Padraig!

Six birds in seven holes for Padraig. Birdie hole coming up!

A Brian Davis win would be welcome by all golf fans after his honesty in the play off last year.

Lots of mixed feelings about Brian Davis on this board and 606 but that ball in the water on #13 must have been some kind of brain cramp, very disappointing.

This could be a very bunched leaderboard by 8.00 p.m. with some unwelcome guests in the mix - from Davis's point of view.

Harrington, Karlsson and Freddie Jac right in contention.

Can we finally say Harrington is back and that the only way is up from now on?

Shot a 65 and left two or three shots out there....not often you can say that!

Harrington, Karlsson and Freedie Jac in contention to be sure ... but you forgot to mention Kuchar. He could be in the thick of it come late tomorrow afternoon. Europe making their presence known, but would not be surprised to see another American victory.

If Davis wins how much of a RC contender is he?

Didn't forget Kuchar at all, he's just not European.

Brian Davis, unlike Freddie Jac for some reason, doesn't appear in any Ryder Cup points qualification listing and I don't believe he's still a member of the European Tour.

But Freddie (tho he looked a bit out of gas Saturday and I still don't see how he could be eligible), Harrington and Karlsson all reach the periphery of RC qualification should they win. As would Thomas Bjorn in Germany of course.

Should be a fine day at TPC River Highlands for Round 4 of The Travelers Championship.

Scoring has been low but not ridiculously so with pros talking about how difficult the chipping areas are around the greens.

With Davis and Thatcher tied at -12, two shots clear of Appleby, Driscoll and Rollins, and only Appleby and Rollins of the top 5 having won a PGA Tour event, one would look for someone to come from behind. Harrington, Kuchar, Freddie, Hoffman and Tim Clark are all lurking three shots off the lead, Karlsson and Bubba a stroke further back.

Should be quite the shoot-out, but great chances for Brian Davis to break his US duck, and Harrington to validate his improved form with a win and return to the owgr Top Fifty.

Post time for the early birds is 8.30 a.m. EDT.

Kwini... you asked about Justin Leonard and Chris Stroud.

I can't give you much specific info on Justin, but my observations on his weight don't quite match up with yours. I see him quite a bit, both on course and in Austin at various charity events and such. He's never impressed me as being even the least bit chubby. Oh sure he's stockier than he was coming out, but at 40... who isn't. And by the way, he's always been a pretty hard worker, fitness wise. I can't say if he's ratcheted that up more this year or not, but from my observations I haven't seen much change.

I've got a little more on Chris Stroud. He's become pretty good friends with Roland Thatcher (who happens to be co-leading today... Horray) and I see a lot of those guys. Chris is another hard worker... I know... I know... sounds like a broken record, but to be honest, darn near ALL of them are hard workers these days. He's one of those guys that's not really spectacular in anything he does, but he's solid enough in enough areas to be putting together a decent journeyman career to this point. And unlike Roland, he's got a fairly level temperament... at least outwardly. His issue has been that when he really get's into the heat, he hasn't performed very well. Already this year he's gone into some weekends or Sundays in great shape... and backed up. He's also a guy that just "seems" to be a HECK of a lot better putter than his stats indicate. I mean I don't know what goes wrong... cuz he's got a really nice stroke.

As far as a fall series guy? I don't really see it that way. No doubt Stroud's had most of his success in "lesser" events, but he's as apt to "show up" early, middle or late in the season. Trying to put aside my higher hopes for Chris, I think he has a realistic shot at working himself into a solid OWGR top-100 guy someday with an occasional win here or there... and a chance to get on some runs where he does much better.

But to be honest, Thatcher is a far more talented and explosive player. Problem being explosive good and explosive bad. Explosive good in that Roland can get on some amazing ball strking and putting rounds... but explosive bad in that his temper... sheesh. I mean honestly... we're talking Steve Pate here... Too bad really, IMO if Roland could control that... he could be a top-flight player... I mean they type that could regularly qualify for majors and such... instead of struggling year after year to retain his card.

Thanks for that robo,
Don't think I've seen Leonard on the course before, except in rain gear - just looked much thinner than I expected!

We followed Chris Stroud on the old 606 when he made 55% of his year's money in October and November 2007, then 73% of his 2008 money in Oct/Nov. Clearly levelled things out a bit since then. Funny watching him and Two Gloves "white face" themselves in sun-screen . . . . . .

Didn't realise Thatcher was volcanic - lots of trouble with injuries from what little I remember about him, and a miracle in the Children's Miracle event in 2010. Needs another one, brilliant shot he played (on 7?) yesterday.

What's that man Hunter up to? Waking up a bit late though...

Surprised it took so long for a 61, and imagine Padraig is surprised to slip from 6th to 7th more than 2 hrs before his tee time.

Looks like great weather and great crowds today.
Very matter-of-fact interview with Brian Davis, hopefully he'll get out of the traps quickly and be settled down by the time he reaches #4 and #5 which are a decent test.

Apart from Hun'ner's 61, no-one else is really setting 'em alight,-4 the best out there so far. Would think a repeat of Davis's Rounds 1 and 2 67's would make him tough to beat.

Harrington's scores so far: 69, 67, 65.
A continuation of that trend would give the leaders a run for their money!

Kwini,

Hope you enjoyed the golf. Winning score -14???

I would say -16/-17 will get it done just about!

I wasn't expecting that onslaught from Mahan. Score of -9 on the final day is insane, but not enough to win.

I would like to bet on Appleby. He is a streaky player who does well when the course is easy.

sirbenson wrote:I would say -16/-17 will get it done just about!

Maybe SirB !!

Isin't there always a period on sunday where players will fritter shots away?? Im sticking with 14.......................oh and hope it's Harri!!!

Hi John,
Yup, enjoyed it but only 2/3 of a day with thunderbolts and lightening disturbing the peace of Padraig's round.
Good, solid start for him today.

Charley Hoffman, a standout California golfer (which is no easy task given the size and population of that state), going low. This tournament is not going to be won by hanging around level par for the day, no matter where you started (hint Davis and Thatcher). Two time Yank winner this year Mahan showed what could be done ... go get those birdies boys.

Leff wrote:I wasn't expecting that onslaught from Mahan. Score of -9 on the final day is insane, but not enough to win.

I would like to bet on Appleby. He is a streaky player who does well when the course is easy.

That was a no-good bet.

Hoffman finally just like all those Californians that escaped, as he did, to Las Vegas, his investment foreclosed.

For the second time today, it looks like a tournament lost rather than won. But it might just be an International winner!

Hoffman blunders his way home, Davis bogeys the hole he should birdie ... this thing could be over now.

Late Sunday and the Euros scattering to the side Kwin, International thanks to the Aussie brigade!

The Aussie "C" Team!

Unfortunate for Harley Choffman, arguably played the best all week, possibly a bit unlucky with the Round 2 suspension which followed five straight birdies.

Another strong finish for Harrington though and perhaps Brian Davis's last chance this year.

Who on earth takes the PGA player pictures?

They make the 9/11 bombers passport photos look like a David Bailey portrait.

Charley Hoffman. Ha ha ha.

Not much prejudice from this side of the keyboard, but I'll never take to Thatcher. Fancy having to live with that name. A lifetime of horribilis.

Kwin - If this is the Aussie "C" team who is on the "A" Team?

Forget rankings and top 10 finishes, just which Aussie actually won a PGA tournament of late?

Low scores to be had as Leishman and Mahan proved.

What was Davis thinking on that par 5? Really a silly decision.

Hardly watched any of the golf today, much more important goings on in Kiev.
But England were chicken Kiev and that's the second round running that Davis has rinsed his ball on #13.
But his father-in-law just did his Achilles in the warm-ups for a Group game, and the f-i-l was one of the World's great 'keepers.
You never know.
Good for Leishman though, first Aussie since Stevie coaxed Adam Scott home at Firestone last year.