PGA Tour: "The Greenbrier Classic": Notes from the Ballwasher

1).Dear Luke, Rory, Lee,
Are you going to let the Golfer of the first half of 2012 become the Golfer Of The Year?
Or are you going to re-focus on The Open and PGA Championships, win one/two, and reassert yourselves as the World's Best Golfers?
Because Tiger flicked the "intimidator" switch in his gearbox on Sunday and caused Bo Van Pelt to bogey his last three Congressional holes. Don't know how he does it, but that's three tournament wins this year and it must be odds on he'll win at least one more.
Clearly Number One at the moment.

2).What to make of Van Pelt, he of the huge bank balance but (almost) empty trophy cabinet?
More than $8M pocketed since his only win, three years ago in Milwaukee, and twenty top tens achieved, but he seldom looks like winning and, well as he played paired with Woods, it seemed inevitable that when Tiger flinched first on the par-5 16th, Bo would flinch twice before Tiger had to play again. I suspect that everyone knew Bo was toast by the time they reached the 17th tee.
(Fair do's to Van Pelt, he beat everyone else, including Mahan who folded his tent with two weekend 73's to fall out of contention, still not quite a consistent enough contender to take his place as the best Post-Tiger US golfer.)

3).The US Ryder Cup qualifying positions are starting to sort themselves out:
Top 8 (automatic qualifiers): Watson, Dufner, Woods, Simpson, Mickelson, Kuchar, Mahan, Zach Johnson.
9-12: Bradley, Fowler, Van Pelt, Dustin Johnson.

Other recent US "Team" members still in the running:
13: Furyk
14: Stricker
15: Haas
25: Toms
32: Watney

4).Adam Scott had to scoot to make his Round 1 tee-time; got to his first hole (the Par-3 over-water 10th) without hitting a practice shot, scrambled par, performed remaining ablutions in a nearby port-a-loo, was three over par after three holes, five over after twelve. Then he played better than anyone all week to finish third.

Easy to say "Poor Adam", but slow starts, even if not that slow, are characteristic of his season.
In eight stroke play events his worst round of the week has been his first FIVE times, including by six strokes at the US Open (finished 15th) and by two shots at The Masters (finished 8th). Needless to say, he lost his first round at the WGC Match Play.
Fine player though Adam is, and seemingly all-round nice guy, this just won't hack it, a very promising career perhaps falling victim to a too-casual approach?

5).Open Championship mini-money list update:
Marc Leishman is all but certain to qualify first or second, his closest pursuer Michael Thompson taking the final qualifying week off.
But he still hasn't resolved his green card situation with the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and without a necessary "parole" he won't be able to re-enter the USA, so almost certainly wouldn't travel.

6).Should "Golf" be concerned about the forced resignation of Bob Diamond from Barclays?
I would certainly think so, Diamond very much the face of Barclays sponsorship largesse, not just making the token cameo appearance on TV, but actually joining the commentary team at Loch Lomond for a while.
Imagine Tim Finchem and others are trying to read the tea-leaves, but would suggest that everything that Diamond was associated with will be up for scrutiny.

7).It's not too early to look at well-known players who are currently outside the Top 125 necessary for FedEx Play Off eligibility. There's quite the roster:
Woodland
Tim Clark
Villegas
Karlsson
Yang
Goosen
Leonard
Appleby
Cabrera
Glover
Anthony Kim
Casey
etc.

8).Tiger helped put last Friday's violent storm at Congressional somewhat into the background, but the Greenbrier also suffered from the same line of meteorological mayhem, almost 100 trees have been lost, and only an extraordinary effort has ensured the third playing of "The Greenbrier Classic" will start on time.
No idea why this tournament has attracted such quality to West Virginia; lovely location, luxurious accomodations, masses of entertainment, but that's pretty much par for any course.
The leading owgr-ranked player on duty of course is Tiger Woods. I wonder if he sees the Old White course as being an ideal dress-rehearsal for Royal Lytham? Precision off the tee will be crucial at both venues so don't be surprised to see Tiger's driver join the unemployment line until July is over.

9).Europe's best are mostly elsewhere, though Brian Davis plays and Greg Owen too (could be another good week for greens-in-regulation Greg), while Carl Pettersson is among the almost-locals. No-one in golf not called Snead comes from this neck of the woods, but Johnson Wagner and de Jonge attended college locally and Glover, Haas, Byrd and Simpson not too far away.
Investing this week is a dangerous business; Wagner might re-ignite his year, Haas has good past finishes, and Overton was only beaten by Appleby's 59 in 2010. (Appleby's played like he's 59 ever since that miracle.)
My pin will result in half a crown each way on Pettersson and Overton, but will more likely see ten bob (OK, 50p) go down the drain.

10)."The Greenbrier" Organization Chart:
Position: Golf Professional Emeritus
Office-holder: Tom Watson.

So, Watson's playing, grouped with Keegan Bradley (who must be running on fumes) and Furyk.
But that persuaded me to have a butcher's at Watson's record book.
Some remarkable facts, just gleaned from the always authoritative Wikipedia page:
*In four of his 8 Major wins, J.Nicklaus was runner-up.
*Watson is the only man to shoot 67 or better in each Major in four different decades. And the only man to shoot 67 in at least one of the four Majors in five different decades.
*And he's the only man to shoot 65 in at least one of the four Majors in four different decades.

Would think he'd be thrilled to make the cut this week but, with a career like his, don't be surprised at anything he does.

kwinigolfer wrote:Clearly Number One at the moment.

No. Luke is clearly number one at the moment. The OGWR say so

Hi Slowride,
I wasn't talking about the OWGR, I was talking about who's proved himself best so far this year. According to the OWGR also, as it happens.

Not at all in denial of the two-year ranking but LukeRoryLee will be overtaken like a Spitfire by an F35 if they don't start winning big tournaments in these next two months.

Nice writeup kwini! Agreed that petterson could go well here. Very surprised tw is playing in a birdiefest as lead up to the open.

hend085 wrote:Nice writeup kwini! Agreed that petterson could go well here. Very surprised tw is playing in a birdiefest as lead up to the open.

Everybody remembers Applby's 59 and the birdie barrage by a lot of players and -22 winning score in 2010... but by 2011 they figured out to put some teeth in Old White. At the inaugural Greenbrier Classic, 46 players posted all four rounds in the 60s. Last year, there were none. In 2010, the cumulative scoring average was 68.536, compared to 70.593 last year.

Bottom line... in a true birdie fest... I wouldn't like Tiger either... but if the course is set up to hold scores in high single, or low double digits... then TW could be competitive.

kwinigolfer wrote:8).Tiger helped put last Friday's violent storm at Congressional somewhat into the background, but the Greenbrier also suffered from the same line of meteorological mayhem, almost 100 trees have been lost, and only an extraordinary effort has ensured the third playing of "The Greenbrier Classic" will start on time.
No idea why this tournament has attracted such quality to West Virginia; lovely location, luxurious accomodations, masses of entertainment, but that's pretty much par for any course.
The leading owgr-ranked player on duty of course is Tiger Woods. I wonder if he sees the Old White course as being an ideal dress-rehearsal for Royal Lytham? Precision off the tee will be crucial at both venues so don't be surprised to see Tiger's driver join the unemployment line until July is over.

Kwini... great write-up as usual... I hope this isn't considered spamming... but I replied to your point above in PD's thread... I'll repeat it here...

IMO the key to Greenbriar's increased strength is it's new date. The first two years it was the lead in "shoulder" spot to the WGC-Bridgestone/PGA duo of events... and your not gonna find a lot of top players who'll play the week before Bridgestone because many of them will be playing a brutal stretch of 7 of the next 9 weeks if you include the Ryder Cup.

But with the addition of a 4th week between the U.S. and British Opens... now there are TWO spots that aren't butting right up to a major... the AT&T and now the Greenbriar.

See pd's thread!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But next year will be interesting if the normal 3-tournament routine between "Opens" is restored - whither AT&T?

I understand that the ladies have a major this week as well? Yani going for career grand slam so I understand (coming off a rare missed cut).

Great write-up as usual Kwini. U.S. Ryder Cup probables looking pretty strong!

Am I alone in thinking it is a good idea to pay the likes of phil and tiger to attend an event. It's not like the money is coming out of a pot that would otherwise help the needy. As a fan I would rather someone paid a lot of money to put on a watchable event rather than let some mom and pop journeymen turn up and remove the motivation for me to even turn the TV on.

We often discuss matters of the pga tour as if some moral injustice has been committed without remembering we are only talking about golf. So what, a sponsor looses a few mil on appearance fee’s? It is a simple case of economics; players will only turn up if the incentives meet their expectations. Is it any surprise the incentives need to be greater for the very best - a most commercially valuable – players?

I would imagine tiger is well worth his $1.5m to the TV companies, those who buy ad space during the coverage, the pga tour, fellow pro’s, local economy and the title sponsor.

I see why it happens Mac. I think it sucks bigtime though. Make the prize fund huge by putting all that appearance money in it and have the players try to win a huge prize.

Thanks all,
Yup, US Women's Open kicks off Thursday in Wisconsin. Very little GB&I participation, Catriona Matthew, Karen Stupples, Mel Reid, Becky Morgan and Portrush's Stephanie Meadow the only ones teeing it up - no room for Laura Davies or Jody Ewart apparently.

There are welcome signs of life in the LPGA Tour, but the schedule is still dominated by limited-field events, a richly rewarding gravy train for those who are on it, slim pickings for those who miss the boat.


nbs,
One or two players have probably received a kick up the arse from Davis Love, told to get playing some more. Steve Stricker owned up that the only reason he's playing is that he's slipped behind in the qualifying process, and imagine Bradley, Furyk and Haas have received the same message. Strong team indeed.

Navy

Would that be fair though? Tiger brings in all the money for the hangers on, yet there is a chance he does not win what he is owed. There are regular PGA tour stops and tiger pga tour stops. It don’t see why he should not be paid for making other people a lot of money.

Dead against appearance money but Tiger surely gives far better value exponentially than anyone else, though presumably he needs the money less - not sure what difference a cool million or two makes to a billionaire?

But as robo says elsewhere, sponsorship contracts are often a compelling incentive for players to enter specific events, Tiger with AT&T, Buick, HSBC, etc, Phil with Barclays (tho' for how much longer?), while the Zurich and RBC "ambassadors" also coin big sums formerly known as appearance fees. I suspect it has been forever thus.

Kwini

So why are you not in support of appearance fee's?

Mac,
1).Because I'm a good socialist who feels they're taking money out of the pockets of the touring pros who don't benefit from the same largesse.
2).Tiger excepted, very few pros who are the beneficiaries seem to be that competitive in events they're clearly rewarded for participating in. If they're not giving the value for money that Tiger doubtless does, why should they be depriving Joe Blow a place in the field?
3).Tiger may give value for money, probably cheap at the price, but he doesn't need it!

McLaren wrote:Navy

Would that be fair though? Tiger brings in all the money for the hangers on, yet there is a chance he does not win what he is owed. There are regular PGA tour stops and tiger pga tour stops. It don’t see why he should not be paid for making other people a lot of money.

Tiger is "owed" sweet FA. Tiger wouldn't earn a bean w/o players to compete against.

Kwini

I know it's tarring all with one brush and appearing anti-U.S. (which I'm not trying to be) but I find it almost hysterically funny that a country that is all about (allegedly) competition has so many golfing stars who receive freebie millions and want to protect that status quo.

Pretty sure the ET tried to get rid of appearance fees and raise the prize pots when Volvo were the headline sponsor and the players w/ the big fees on the ET wouldn't buy that either.

Kwini

I guess without knowing just how far down the rankings and for what reasons a player is given an appearance fee it is hard to judge the merits of them. In the case of tiger, phil, rory and co I think the case is pretty clear cut, whether you think they need the money or not.

Also not sure I understand how it takes money out the journeyman’s pocket? Paying the journeymen comes from a pot that must be accepted as loss, paying tiger must surely be seen as an investement?


Navy

You know that is not how it works – don’t let tiger hating shine through – there will always be people to play against but there will not always be someone with tigers commercial value.

Navy - Good points. The "country", however, has nothing to do with this. I'll suggest the only people really casting a vote on things are those with a vested interest in protecting their investment. Every good capitalist wants to be a monopolist.

Hey, in an ideal world we would see Pacquiao fighting Mayweather winner take all.

Mac - The money is absolutely put on table as an investment. The market will determine if it was a wise spend! I just heard about this tidy event, (jet) fueled by some heft appearance fees I'm sure:
http://www.cbssports.com/golf/blog/eye-on-golf/19486332/woods-westy-and-the-big-boys-head-to-mega-money-turkey-shoot-after-ryder-cup-ends

McLaren wrote:You know that is not how it works – don’t let tiger hating shine through – there will always be people to play against but there will not always be someone with tigers commercial value.

It's not Tiger-hating. I just don't buy your argument that Woods should get more as he's the biggest draw.

Shotrock wrote:Navy - Good points. The "country", however, has nothing to do with this. I'll suggest the only people really casting a vote on things are those with a vested interest in protecting their investment. Every good capitalist wants to be a monopolist.

Yeah, I knew the country had nothing to do with it and I didn't want to suggest it was a U.S.-specific thing only . Like your comment that "Every good capitalist wants to be a monopolist".....need to remember that one.

Mac,
In years past there was considerable angst about the number of tee-times available on Tour for the "rank-and-file" Member, Azinger, Mark Brooks, Danny Edwards, Rinker etc, etc, railing against the Tour becoming more of a closed shop in some form or another.

Clearly the attractiveness of Woods and, to a much lesser extent, Rory, Phil etc has benefitted the journeyman pro in ways unimaginable even twenty years ago. But the number of spots in tournaments for the same journeyman reduces inexorably, especially as the Tour seeks to attract overseas stars.

I'm not sure what the most equitable solution is for the health of the Tour, but I DO know that it's becoming more of a closed shop, especially with the impending changes to Q-School etc, and hope the golden goose is not being over-cooked.

'Course, the bundling of pros is not just an American thing, RBC and Zurich number "overseas" players among their beneficiaries, and Chubby basically does the same thing under a different formula.

Good for individual tournaments? Of course.

Good for the future health of the sport?? I'm not so sure, some of the comments in Steve Elling's piece very apropos and one only wonders how many established Tour stops are likely to go the way of Atlanta, BC/Turning Stone, Detroit, Chicago, Milwaukee etc.. Tampa (Transitions as was) could be a casualty.

Tiger playing PGA events back-to-back is unusual.

Let's just set the scene for the Greenbrier action:
Weather: Likely to be hot (90's) all tournament long, but not HOT (100's) that we had in DC. Possibility of showers/storms every day, most likely according to today's forecast on Sunday.

The Old White course is a CB McDonald classic, but not sure how much of the original remains. Lester George completed a restoration in 2006 and the lyrically named PGA Tour Design had a go at stiffening the challenge up after the low scores of 2010, led by Appleby's 59.

McDoanald designed the Par-3 8th as a Redan, and modelled the 13th and 15th after holes at Prestwick and St.Andrews - not sure if McLaren would notice.

Regardless, the Par 70 scorecard will look a little different, with no Par-5's on the front (par 34) and a conventional par 36 on the back, finishing with a short Par-3 18th.

Balls in the air at 7 bells EDT.

Thanks for the info on the course kwini, I will look out for those design features. Old white is not a course I have looked into before but it will be good to see what remains of a CBM design.

I played the real redan a few weeks ago so with that being fresh in the mind I will be in a good position to judge if the old white one holds true to the principles. I find many so called redans lack the whole package and rely on green shape to make the claim.

Redan ? Care to enlighten

Dyna

The redan is the par 3 15th hole on north Berwick west links. I could it explain it but it seems Wikipedia has done the job for me.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redan_hole#The_.22redan_hole.22_in_golf

for a photo;

http://golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php?topic=45695.0

Given it is named after a fortification I often think the imposing bunker and trench/grass moat are just as important as green shape and contour.

PS

I forgot to mention it is one of template holes (copy of original) that Charles Blair McDonald used often in his designs.

Mac,
Interesting that McDonald is regarded as incorporating a Redan, an Alps and an Eden in most of his designs, hadn't realised that.

Quite the "family tree" of architects who originally worked for him, including Seth Raynor, who evidently actually constructed courses CBM designed, plus collaborations with Travis and Emmet.

Thanks guys .I am enlightened.just the Higgs particle to go now

Great read kwini.

I also thought about Barklays and what impact all this scandal may have on some of the big golfing events they sponsor, and also maybe on our friend Lefty Mickelson... Himself and Diamond looked inseparable at many of those events, Pro-Ams, as well as in all sorts of interviews associated with them... Can't remember exactly and stand to be corrected here, but I think we may be talking of 8-figure sums of Barklays' money sponsoring Phil in the last few years...

As for Tiger's legendary boo-boo scary factor, I really hope the other players grow up and get over it, although I agree, BVP showed some clear symptoms of that particular syndrome last week...

From Phil, quoted Wednesday on golfchannel.com:
"It won't affect my relationship with Barclays from a business side. Well, not contractually, but business relationships are all about personal relationships as well, especially in that industry." "Personally I'm crushed because I have really enjoyed my time with Bob," etc, etc.

Goes on to suggest he feels Diamond was made a scapegoat. Wonder what Barclays shareholders have to say about that! There'll be Vijay defending Allan Stanford next . . . . but likely not Ray Floyd or Stenson lamenting Bernie Madoff's demise.

But they're off at The Greenbrier . . . . . . .

One of the issues that concerns me about the latest Barclays episode is that the organisation has reportedly been co-operative in the investigations. If this is what happens to people who own up and try to make good on errors, does this mean (a) it will encourage others in future to conceal mistakes / frustrate investigations, and (b) what about other banks which presumably must be involved - will they somehow be let off the hook in the court of public opinion (i.e. without forced resignations etc), because it would then be old news?

Anyway, as far as golf is concerned, I'm sure they're hoping that they'll be able to complete a full four days at at least one of their sponsored tournaments this year by way of improvement target...

Good stuff Mac. My awakening moment in Golf Course Architecture was when I played CBM's Alps Hole at the National Golf Links of America. Amazing work by CBM - he certainly did influence many.

And a controversy perhaps only overshadowed by Rembrandt's attribution to "The Polish Rider" is CBM's work (or not) at Merion East.

Sr,
When I was reading up on McDonald and his collaborators/proteges, I was reminded that Walter Travis "did" Yahnundasis (wonder if he'd recognize it now?), and surprised Emmet (Congressional) was responsible for Cooperstown.

Kwin - I'll need to confirm this, but I think the Yahnundasis remains mostly unchanged. It's a really great course IMO (although terrible drainage last few holes). For GCA geeks, Leatherstocking (or Cooperstown as you, I and every other local would call it) very highly regarded.

We played Cooperstown a few times, although not recently. I used to hit off the white tees on the 18th just to get the thrill of hitting off an island tee. I loved the course, apart from the few holes across the road which seemed a little tight. We stayed at the hotel for a treat -- they do a very nice complimentary tea and biccies at 4pm in the lobby every day.

Plunky,
Agree with you about the holes across the road - lost control of a golf cart coming down the hill once with scary seconds as my shotgun sidekick was a 300-pounder.

Always in good nick though, the 18th an eastern version of Pebble's 18th, with a fun tee shot as Plunky describes!

I LOVE Cooperstown . . . . . . our Pro used to take us there every year, think Ted Kroll's (leading money winner and three-time Ryder Cupper)brother used to be the Pro (miserable sod as it happens!).

Missed the action here the last couple of hours... but it's the second time in recent weeks I see VJ at the top. Good signs from him...

So is Tiger back then...?

Vijay back where he used to belong, and Watson one shot ahead of Woods!
Martin Flores having yet another good round - one of these days he'll string four decent rounds together and will be an unheralded first time winner, definitely one for long odds investors to keep an eye on.

Forget Vijay, how about Jeff Maggert? Does anyone really think either of these two will be standing with the trophy come Sunday? Surprise me guys

Almost impeccable today for Sean O'Hair - all 18 greens hit in regulation, but marred that performance with one 3-putt.
Very consistent this year from O'Hair - rumour has it that Shotrock is baking a cake (perhaps a rum cake from the Florentine Shop recipe book?) for O'Hair's 30th birthday next Wednesday.

PS: Maggert has actually been going low a lot this year, but his fourth round has been his tournament high half the time he's made the weekend.

Revisiting the controversial issue of appearance fees, particularly in the context of this event - I wonder if it was a factor in the thinking that there would be "certifiably-insane-with-a-pencil-stuck-up-each-nostril" levels of publicity generated if Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson could somehow become the first player in PGA Tour history to score a round of 58?

Neither showing much in the way of pyromaniac tendencies out on the course today though.

Tiger never seems to be a crazy low scorer. And we saw what at 59 did to Duval's career!

Kwin, I think I'll have the birthday cake commissioned. Good call on the Florentine. Playing Sunday, so I could hit some balls into his backyard. Hopefully, however, he will be playing too and for larger stakes than my usual $5 Nassau, automatic 2 down press.

Interesting idea Sky; doubt if there'll be anything of that ilk out there this week though, the course is 200 yds longer and greens much firmer than for Apples' golden delicious effort.

kwinigolfer wrote:
There'll be Vijay defending Allan Stanford next . . . .

I don't believe Vijay is the official spokesperson of the ECB.

A few tidbits on the first round...

First round scoring average was 70.72 (compared to 70.98 last year). The morning rounds played about a stroke less than the afternoon. (69.87 am vs. 70.72 pm). My impressions were the course was playing much easier this year, and a winning score might be around -15 this year. I'm not so sure now. The first round played only about a 1/4 stroke easier this year, and last year 3 players at -10 played off.

Singh is looking for his second top-10 finish of the 2012 PGA TOUR season. His lone top-10 finish this year came at the HP Byron Nelson (T9).

Singh’s 34 career victories are ranked 14th all-time and are the most of any international player in PGA TOUR history. His 22 wins since turning 40 are the most by a player over age 40.

With a win on Sunday at the Greenbrier Classic at 49 years, 4 months and 16 days, Singh would become the 8th oldest winner on the PGA TOUR and the oldest since Fred Funk won the 2007 Mayakoba Classic at Riviera Maya.

Here's the list of the 8 oldest winners on the PGA Tour:

52 years, 10 months, 8 days Sam Snead 1965 Greater Greensboro Open
51 years, 7 months, 10 days Art Wall 1975 Greater Milwaukee Open
51 years, 3 months, 7 days Jim Barnes 1937 Long Island Open
51 years, 1 month, 5 days John Barnum 1962 Cajun Classic
50 years, 8 months, 11 days Fred Funk 2007 Mayakoba Classic at Riviera Maya
50 years, 1 month, 18 days Craig Stadler 2003 B.C. Open
49 years, 6 months, 4 days Raymond Floyd 1992 Doral-Ryder Open
49 years, 4 months, 23 days Peter Jacobsen 2003 Greater Hartford Open

But it's hard to hold a first round lead on the PGA Tour these days. The first round leader did not win the first two years of this event. Appleby was T11 after round one in 2010 and Scott Stallings was T42 (6-shots back) after the first round last year. In fact, 1st round leaders have had a rough go this entire year as well. Only two first round leaders in 27 events have gone on to win. (G. McNeill in Puerto Rico and Z. Johnson at Colonial)

Big final round comebacks have been somewhat in vogue this year. Kyle Stanley came back to win from 8 shots to win in Phoenix... Snedekder and Huh came back from 7 at the Farmers and Mayakoba, and Mickelson and Leishman came back from 6 at the AT&T Pebble Beach and Travelers.

Tiger and Phil are 8 shots back after round 1. Twice Tiger has come back to win from a first round deficit of 8-shots (never more). 1996 Las Vegas (his first PGAT win) and the 2009 Buick Open. Mickelson's largest 1st round deficit ever overcome was 9 shots, at this year's AT&T Pebble Beach (but that was a multiple course event).

Source: PGA Tour

Singh carded +10 on the final day of the last event he played (Congressional). His putting can be awful at times.