PGA Tour: A Tale Of Two Trumps: Notes from the Ballwasher

First topic message reminder :

1).If you don't much care for self-obsessed blowhards with silly hair-dos who make you want to hurl a club at your TV, this week is not for you. (Shut up Johnny Miller, I'm not talking about you.)
Yup, this is the week where everything good in golf is Trumped, not just the WGC-Cadillac Championship staged at Trump-owned Doral. But also the Puerto Rico Open, being played at Trump International G.C.

2).Trump has plans to "blow up" Doral's famous "Blue Monster", originally designed by Dick Wilson and subsequently tweaked by half a dozen cosmetic face-lifters. Now Trump wants "a brand new, incredible course".
'Course he does, so he's hired Gil Hanse to do the job and, by next year, the course famous for sand and water will have sand and water, water everywhere. But Trump has been trumped and Gil Hanse is preoccupied with trying to design a course for the Rio Olympics so one of his henchmen will be driving the tractor. Great start Trump.

3).Two golf pros who had no plans to play at Doral this week are Michael Thompson, whose college golf career teed off at Tulane University until Hurricane Katrina caused Tulane to cancel its golf programme, and Geoff Ogilvy, a dial-a-quote favourite of journalists whose golf game has been in a shambles these past few years.

I compete in a one-and-done fantasy game and have been in a terrible trot of form just recently. And this week's results help to explain why.
1st: Michael Thompson finished runner up in last year's US Open, then promptly disappeared. 2013 record: cut, T78, cut, cut, WON.

2nd: Geoff Ogilvy, of whom I'm a great admirer. Until recently. No US top tens since finishing 3rd in the 2011 BMW eighteen months ago, and his 2013 record just a shade better than Thompson's: T27, cut, cut, cut, cut, 2nd. Now he's just one decent finish away from a Masters invite on a course (one of many?) which you'd think he's under-performed on.

My pick: Camilo Villegas: From the penthouse with a Round 1 64, to the outhouse, Round 2 77 and a missed cut. He's playing in Puerto Rico and hopefully he'll figure out where it all went wrong.

4).Meanwhile, the US Press has been trumpetting the 11 consecutive wins by US players. I wonder if they've also noticed that an anchored putter hasn't reached the winner's enclosure since Furyk gave Keegan Bradley an early Christmas present seven months ago at Bridgestone, 19 events, plus the Ryder Cup of course?

5).Somewhat more surprising is the rat-a-tat-tat of notes about Matt Kuchar having the Tour high of 32 top tens since the start of the 2010 season, three ahead of Luke Donald's 29. Both with 3 wins, Kuchar having played 19 more Tour events than Donald in this time. (And Donald, of course, up two Ryder Cups to nil ) Interesting though.

6).On a weekend where several American Young Ones made a splash - not just Luke Guthrie at Honda, but winner Cantlay (20) and 4th place Jordan Spieth (19) in Columbia on the web.com Tour - it is worth noting some big names outside the FedEx Top 125 as the season is approx 30% complete.
Examples of those who I imagine have exhausted their exemptions, can't be 100% on that,:
129th: Ben Crane (glacially slow except on those godawful videos).
135th: Fatty Marino, playing out his medical exemption.
136th: Immelman
151st: Brian Davis
162nd: Martin Laird
175th: JB Holmes (not quite so slow since his brain surgery)
181st: Appleby
188th: Ishikawa
Others like Allenby, Chad Campbell, Weir and Sabbatini are also struggling big time, but with one Get-Out-Of-Jail card up their sleeves.

7).Easy to complain about the young golfers in the post-Vijay, Davis, Ernie, Phil, Tiger, even Duval era being under-performers, but they are!
Top tens (like Kooch and Luuuuke) by the bucket load, but wins very thin on the ground. Let's update the Tour win totals of the Under 35's:
8 wins: Scott (34), Garcia (33)
7: Dustin Johnson (28)
6: McIlroy (23)
5: Kuchar (34), Donald (34), Sneds (32), Watney (31), Hunner (30)
4: Bubba (34), Rose (32), Haas (30), O'Hair (30).

8).So, Doral this week, more grainy Bermuda greens and a bomber's paradise. No idea who might win, though perhaps South Africa can redeem itself from a dismal MatchPlay effort. Unwise to count Ogilvy out if he's in the mood; he's won here and the field is just his size!
Of the European invasion there's one contestant who's driven down the coast with excellent, unsung credentials. Led the Honda field last week in greens in regulation and "proximity to the pin", and finished fourth here in 2012. And that man is Peter Hanson, surely worth a couple of bob each way?

9).Tiger was carted off here last year and Rory obviously walked off last week, and they're playing together Thursday, with Luke Donald joining them. Justin Rose defends his title, and we wonder whether his career will kick on, or is he destined to be another one-win-a-year merchant, never quite reaching the heights.
Weather should be fine and the course playing relatively firm and fast. No rain in the forecast and there'll be low scores in Rounds 1 and 2, but beware the possibility of stronger winds by the weekend.

10).And so to Puerto Rico where Shane Lowry will make a very welcome return to action. There's a pretty decent field, all things considered, including Europeans Casey (dreadful finish last week), Christian, Davis, Karlsson, Knox, Norlander and Stenson. Old lags whose brilliant future is well behind them help pad out the field, Allenby, Ames, Campbell, Jerry Kelly, Leonard, Sabbatini and Weekley but the theoretical class of the field among the veterans should be KJ Choi and YE Yang.
Shane will have the really Young Ones to contend with, Cantlay, Guthrie, Kohles, Spieth, Ishikawa and this will be good competition for him as he assesses his game in PGA Tour events. He's told pgatour.com that he plans to try for as many sponsor invites as he can get as he intends to stay here into May in his quest for Special Temporary Membership. He made plenty of friends at the MatchPlay and good luck to him in his efforts to achieve PGA Tour status.

PS: Please, pgatour.com, get your act together for the "live scoring". Or fire those CDW people and hire europeantour.com for the job.

incontinentia wrote:Come on 9 chins, bring it home!!

I can understand the tribalism in Football, Rugby, other team sports and even Ryder Cup, but I really can't understand the liking for a golfer with whom you have no connection at all, and who is demonstrably rubbish with fans and in fact dismissive and disrespectful of them.



I can only assume it's glory hunting.

What home incidentally? Didn't realise he was a tatty muncher?

I doubt very much if I'm alone in wanting Woods to win just for the thought that, though you may deny it, it will irk you Super.

SmithersJones wrote:

super_realist wrote:Oakey, Please bone up on your "their" and "there"

Golf was at it's best pre Nine Chins and in the intervening times when he was "injured". There isn't a single sport which benefits from being a one horse race.

I'd be delighted if his glass body gives up again soon and we can be rid of one of sports most wretched participants.

Super, please bone up on your "it's" and "its"

I will be trying SR.

This time next year I will be writing like Shakespeare in the 21st century.


Believe that and you will believe anything!

Yes, its glory hunting. By the way, this week's humble pie is key lime, hope you enjoy.

Don't think I have any humble pie to eat even if he wins. I rarely contend that he won't win when in a situation like he is right now, just maintain that he's an idiot. Which he is. It's hard to argue against that.

Oh i don't know, Phil Mickelson said in an interview this week that Tiger's a "really nice guy".

super_realist wrote:I rarely contend that he won't win when in a situation like he is right now.

you called him a bottler earlier in this thread!

incontinentia wrote:Oh i don't know, Phil Mickelson said in an interview this week that Tiger's a "really nice guy".

Sounds like short hand for a w@nker

incontinentia wrote:

super_realist wrote:I rarely contend that he won't win when in a situation like he is right now.

you called him a bottler earlier in this thread!

Compared to what he used to be like in 2007 and before, his form over the last 5 -6 years suggests there certainly is an element of closing the deal out. He used to win about 6 tournaments a year, he's only won about that many in the last 5.

He has bottled it a bit in recent years. He does however look very different this time..

super_realist wrote:Don't think I have any humble pie to eat even if he wins. I rarely contend that he won't win when in a situation like he is right now, just maintain that he's an idiot. Which he is. It's hard to argue against that.

Depends very much on your definition of idiot. Taken literally he quite
obviously isn't. To use your meaning it's totally subjective. Those that
like him will say he isn't those that don't will say he is. I think he's okay, my wife can't stand him.

What is unarguable is that this week he's played far better than all of the world's best golfers Snedeker excepted.

It's a birdie fest out there!

Tiger, however, showing this collection of highest ranked professionals in the world how it's done best.

Is Tiger a good guy? I've met him, he was certainly pleasant enough (if not naturally disinterested). I know someone that worked directly for him for a couple of years and he had very good things to say about him. Towing the company line? Who knows? Also, I have spoken to a few fellow professionals, one of whom really enjoys his company.

He needs plastic smile himself Phil Mickelson's PR machine. Nah ...

If he did the grand slam this year you'd find fault with it.

Great job by mcilroy adding some respectability to his score

I'd actually be pretty impressed with anyone who could do that, but there is virtually ZERO chance of that.

Shotrock - you don't "tow the company line" - you "toe the company line". Just sayin'

Oh dear.

SuperR look what you started!

Adam Scott 8 under for today

BTW an easy set up for a WGC!

Not really on tbh!

They might as well be playing pitch and putt.

You can have that excuse if Tiger wins SR!

super_realist wrote:I'd actually be pretty impressed with anyone who could do that, but there is virtually ZERO chance of that.

just checked it, skybet are giving 150/1(for Tiger)

Davie -- Good catch! Hands faster than the brain.

Surprising, since English are my favorite subject

incontinentia wrote:

super_realist wrote:I'd actually be pretty impressed with anyone who could do that, but there is virtually ZERO chance of that.

just checked it, skybet are giving 150/1(for Tiger)

You do realise that those are very long odds, and even if they appear short, it's not because they consider it likely, but that they want to keep the potential payment low should the extremely unlikely happen and many sycophants and day dreamers will back it. Same reason that they always have England at low odds in the World Cup, they don't think they'll win, but in the extremely unlikely event they do, the payout won't bankrupt them

Ok thanks.

McLaren wrote:Super

Tiger, Jack, Bobby Jones and Hogan are all equals in terms of talent. Rory is no where near that level yet.

Talent is inherent. Either Rory is as talented or he isn't. Talent isn't something to be learned.

Thanks for playing boys.

And very nice to see Rory put it in gear. As I mentioned once before, he's got unfinished business at Augusta.

Yeah I think a pat on the back is deserved for Rors/ Not just for playing well but for not giving up!

navyblueshorts wrote:

McLaren wrote:Super

Tiger, Jack, Bobby Jones and Hogan are all equals in terms of talent. Rory is no where near that level yet.

Talent is inherent. Either Rory is as talented or he isn't. Talent isn't something to be learned.

So Rory wasted his time playing from the age of two, did he? After all, if his talent is inherent he could have never hit a shot in his life and pitched up at his first pro tournament and do just as well as he did, surely? Or did hundreds of kids all born at the same time all start playing under the influence of a very low handicap father and do little else for the next 20 years and of all of them only Rory made it to the top echelons of the game?

SmithersJones wrote:

navyblueshorts wrote:

McLaren wrote:Super

Tiger, Jack, Bobby Jones and Hogan are all equals in terms of talent. Rory is no where near that level yet.

Talent is inherent. Either Rory is as talented or he isn't. Talent isn't something to be learned.

So Rory wasted his time playing from the age of two, did he? After all, if his talent is inherent he could have never hit a shot in his life and pitched up at his first pro tournament and do just as well as he did, surely? Or did hundreds of kids all born at the same time all start playing under the influence of a very low handicap father and do little else for the next 20 years and of all of them only Rory made it to the top echelons of the game?

I'll make it simple for you. A dictionary definition:

talent
noun
1 natural aptitude or skill : he possesses more talent than any other player | she displayed a talent for garden design.

Get it?

or skill?

Skills can be learnt NBS

(playing devils advocate- because I kind off understand what you mean- And these debates become pointless and all about how one is interpreting a word/term!!)

You're right Oakey; they're pretty pointless. Key word in my mind (as per the above definition) is 'natural' though. I think Mac's comment is daft whichever way you slice it.

Still, Woods' performance in this event is pretty impressive and I don't even like him that much. Makes the lead in to the Masters that much more interesting though.

Good thing is that the others odds may go up a few points..

A lot of media pressure is going to go on to woods which may not be the best for us viewers.. Half the coverage will be on him!!

super_realist wrote:

incontinentia wrote:

super_realist wrote:I rarely contend that he won't win when in a situation like he is right now.

you called him a bottler earlier in this thread!

Compared to what he used to be like in 2007 and before, his form over the last 5 -6 years suggests there certainly is an element of closing the deal out. He used to win about 6 tournaments a year, he's only won about that many in the last 5.

He's now won 5 since the end of last March. (I'm giving him this one)

Well done Tiger, unbeatable this week

What is it with the bbc and golf?

""I played well this week," said Woods, who carded a one-over-par round of 72 to finish on 19 under."

from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/golf/21737605


How long before it is changed to -1, 71?

"I rarely contend that he won't win when in a situation like he is right now. "

I assume you wrote that after the trophy presentation?

"Ha ha, He's not even going to win this week. The top of the leaderboard is congested with quality players and Woods is a bottler."

Well I supose you did say "rarely".
What a plonker!

No, I wrote it before.
Yes, He did win, and very well too, but it doesn't mean any of us have to or should like him. He's still one of the most ghastly people in sport, regardless of how good he is.

Who saw the last few holes?

Was there any genuine wobbles? - Or was he just playing safe understanding he had the shots in the locker?

Don't think Baldy Nine Chins has the intelligence to play conservatively Oakey, sounds like his hoop was twitching a wee bit.

Erm possibly. We know that woods in that form 5 years back would have got to approx 22 under or above final day...

But and possibly sadly. This is still going to give him all the confidence in the world.

The lads need to up there games to counter this proposition.

I am glad I havent put my Masters bets on yet. Everyone else's odds are going to have risen a few points

My Bet with Shotrock has taken a massive turn for the worse and all..




But maybe we will have some true rivalries to come. We could be approaching another golden age of golf.. because if woods continues this good but possibly not legendary form . The others should be able to compete..

Still don't think he's at his pre 2007 level and with a bit of luck the git will never return there. Dark days for golf if he does.

Unfortunately though, it's hard to argue him and Snedeker are not the best in the world so far this year.

Didn't watch any yesterday. Does the baldy one still wear a red shirt on the last day? What a t1t.

I think Roses form is next on the list. Good showings everywhere- just a bad few holes in each event to take him out of contention

We could be in for a cracker in the masters.

Rors plays well there and just showed what he can do!!(final round)

Rose is usually there or there abouts.

Poults has had some good showings due to his short game- and his game is also close.

Woods- nuff said

Sneds

Adam Scott is also showing a bit of form and so is Serge and pmick

If only we could have a Monica Seles type attack on Nine Chins and we'd be laughing.

Come on dude- Thats a little bit harsh..

Maybe you could slap him, or just a take a pop at him with an air rifle. Stabbing is a bit much yo

Maybe I'll be like Donald on Happy Gilmore.

"You will not make that putt, Nine Chins"

I was actually thinking of that!!

There's also the well-known method of hurling a deadly hot dog at him.

navyblueshorts wrote:

SmithersJones wrote:

navyblueshorts wrote:

McLaren wrote:Super

Tiger, Jack, Bobby Jones and Hogan are all equals in terms of talent. Rory is no where near that level yet.

Talent is inherent. Either Rory is as talented or he isn't. Talent isn't something to be learned.

So Rory wasted his time playing from the age of two, did he? After all, if his talent is inherent he could have never hit a shot in his life and pitched up at his first pro tournament and do just as well as he did, surely? Or did hundreds of kids all born at the same time all start playing under the influence of a very low handicap father and do little else for the next 20 years and of all of them only Rory made it to the top echelons of the game?

I'll make it simple for you. A dictionary definition:

talent
noun
1 natural aptitude or skill : he possesses more talent than any other player | she displayed a talent for garden design.

Get it?

There's a definition of 'god' in the dictionary. Does that mean he exists?

Skydriver wrote:There's also the well-known method of hurling a deadly hot dog at him.

I'd prefer a Mills bomb.

super_realist wrote:If only we could have a Monica Seles type attack on Nine Chins and we'd be laughing.

Are you using the royal we? Has Super started referirng to Super in the plural, as nobody else seems to be agreeing. Cant you feel the Tiger love on the board slowing growing, and you can take most of the credit for it SR.