PGA Tour: A Year of British Futility on Tour: Notes from the Ballwasher

First topic message reminder :

1).With the exception of Rory's brilliant late-season run, the Ryder Cup and Ian Poulter's HSBC win, it's been a year since a British golfer won on Tour. Luke Donald won the final playing of the "Transitions" last March and since then nothing, nuffink.
And, with the possible exception of the golfer formerly known as Martin Laird at The Players, no-one has really come close. Europeans Pettersson, Garcia and Blixt have wins, but Donald, Westwood, Rose, Poulter, McDowell, Laird, Davis (withdrawn more often than he's been in contention), you name it, they've flattered occasionally, deceived always. Harsh? Let's have a look:

2).Exhibit A).Luke Donald. Lots of good finishes in the past 12 months without ever looking like the winner.
And this year, he's reverted to the Lukey of 2009: Driving short and crooked, short game not sharp enough to turn bogeys in to pars, pars in to birdies.
Driving accuracy: 180th out of 183
Greens in regulation: 167th
Strokes gained putting: 107th
Scrambling: 133rd.
Par 5 performance: 173rd.

3).Exhibit B).Lee Westwood. Second behind Rory at the BMW, otherwise no Top 4 finishes since last year's Masters.
17th in Total Driving, but 100th in greens hit.
125th in putting and 146th in Par 5 performance.
So much for foresaking Worksop for Florida. Big mansion, throaty Bentley and not much else to show for it.

4).Exhibit C).Ian Poulter. What an enigma! Brilliant short game but 149th in scoring average. How does that happen?
Short game: Scrambling: 5th, Sand saves: 19th, Putting: 9th.
Long game: Total Driving: 144th, Greens hit: 131st. etc. (Don't tell Johnny Miller.)

5).Exhibit D).Justin Rose. No wins since 2012 at Doral. A propensity for "back-door" high finishes, a la Donald of years gone by. Last year his game was all about hitting greens in regulation and an excellent short game.
So far this year, that iron game has gone awol (128th in gir) and the short game hasn't compensated (126th in putting).

6).Exhibit E).Graeme McDowell. No wins since Pebble in 2010 and, to be fair, no close shaves either. Last year his short game was abysmal (160th or worse in putting, sand saves and scrambling), while this year he's tightened things up around the greens which is a good thing given he's missing more of them (147th in gir) than his competitors.
Nice to see him yukking it up with Tiger at Doral on Sunday, but I ask you: Do you think Tiger would be all smiles if he was five shots behind rather than five ahead? No, Thought not.

7).Etc, Etc. One of the reasons is the fact that playing two Tours allows these guys very little flexibility in scheduling. Donald and Rose seem to have figured out that they should build their year around courses that tend to suit them, stay away from those which don't, but I'd suggest that others have yet to figure that out and get carried away with teeing it up at places where they've next to no chance of excelling. Tough when Majors and WGC's count as events played on both Tours.

8).My favourite courses on the Tour schedule in Florida are Innisbrook's Copperhead Course and 17 holes at the TPC. Perhaps Luke Donald can steer his tee ball a little straighter this week and start to arrest his recent decline at the lyrically named "Tampa Bay Championship presented by EverBank", played at Innisbrook. Horses for courses apply here as often as not and, if guys like Furyk, Goosen and Choi are ever going to resurrect their careers it will be at places like this. Five par-3's, four par-5's for a Par 71 that may play progressively easier as the week goes on. Cool, breezy Thursday, warmer and calmer later.

9).None of the Europeans who played Puerto Rico last week did much to help themselves, a crucial missed opportunity for guys like Karlsson and Knox who will enjoy very few such opportunities (neither eligible for this week's field for instance). But I fancy one or two of Europe's best might fare well this week, Donald of course, Sergio, Pettersson, Kaymer, perhaps even Laird, Fisher and Owen.

10).The Champions Tour travels to California this week for the "Toshiba Classic" in Newport Beach.
Barry Lane has scored a place in the field along with Langer, Chapman, Mouland and Lyle.

One person who won't be there is Eddie Pearce but I strongly, STRONGLY! recommend this article about Fast Eddie for anyone remotely interested in the vagaries of Professional Golf:

http://www.golfchannel.com/news/jason-sobel/eddie-pearce-fast-times-of-next-nicklaus/?hj=xfs


THE LAST WORD: If you think this series of notes is just blowing smoke, think again:
There's a new Pope in town!!
Andy Pope Monday Qualified for this week's Tampa Bay Championship - never 'eard of 'im? No, me neither.

Don't disagree, but weren't Brit winners on the PGA Tour very rare just a few years ago?

I was only starting to become interested in the game at the time so may be unaware of anything from the few years prior, but I recall a big deal being made when Casey won in 2009?

I suppose my point is to ask whether we British have been a bit spoilt in recent times (e.g. even Martin Laird has won multiple times since then - I may like him, but he's not a superstar), and therefore whether expectations should really be set that high.

Sky,
Dead right but I love being a devil's advocate!

The other part is serious though; whether an old wives' tale or not, it used to be thought that the Seve/Faldo/Lyle/Langer/Woosie generation were massively helped in Major contention and Ryder Cup play because winning was a habit for them, they knew how to win and could close the deal. (And I understand Monty is the other side of that coin.)

Now, I'm thinking that they know how to make a bucket-load of cash, but are not so ultra-competitive to have ingrained that winning habit. Hope they prove me wrong!

Kwini... RE: The British are coming, the British are coming... I've been looking at this again... Maybe there's no need to panic, or even give it a second thought... at least yet. I went back to 2000 and checked... and if you ask me, there's been a fairly strong trend of GBI'ers doing quite well. But one thing was clear, never in any year did they win before the WGC Match Play (which makes sense because a lot of Brits wouldn't even start their schedule here til about then).

Below is a little chart of all the wins since 2000. Granted, GBI'ers might be a "tad" behind not taking a WGC or the Honda, but IMO at WORST, they're on only a 3 event dry spell based on past history... Again, not much to worry about... yet.

Year - Total Wins (Players) First event won by a GBI player...

2012 - 7 (McIlroy 4, Rose, Donald, Poulter) Honda
2011 - 6 (Donald 2, Laird, McIlroy, Clarke, Rose) WGC MP
2010 - 6 (Poulter, McIlroy, Rose 2, Westwood, GMac) WGC MP
2009 - 2 (Casey, Laird) Houston
2008 - 2 (Padraig 2) The Open
2007 - 1 (Padraig) The Open
2006 - 1 (Donald) Honda
2005 - 2 (Padraig) Honda
2004 - 0
2003 - 1 (Clarke) Bridgestone
2002 - 1 (Donald) Southern Farm - last event of the year
2001 - 0
2000 - 1 (Clarke) WGC MP

Bottom line: It doesn't change the base concept that dual-touring is HARD man... and IMO are "behind the eight ball" trying to win vs their full time PGAT counterparts. And what's worse.. the Brits almost HAVE to schedule the way they do to meet both tour obligations. IMO the ONLY thing that could make it easier for them... play the absolute minimum necessary on the Euro Tour... and concentrate the rest of their time on the PGAT.

EDIT: And IMO the reason for American's doing so well to start this season... it's in large part to rather shocking dropoff and lack of success on the PGAT from the "rest of the world players".... only 5 wins from non-American, non-Euro players on the PGAT since the start of 2011...

Harrington is not British.

EDIT You said GB&Ireland, my bad

robo,
The bigger point was meant to be the 12-month dry spell.

And the fact that you also emphasize about dual-touring not just being so hard, but also unforgiving. A la Casey for instance.

sirbenson wrote:Harrington is not British.

I realize that and that's why I expanded my comments to include GB&I...

EDIT: I see YOUR edit... no problem... Heck at least 3,457 of us on this side of the pond realize Ireland isn't in England somewhere.

robopz wrote:

sirbenson wrote:Harrington is not British.

I realize that and that's why I expanded my comments to include GB&I...

Yeah I apologised my bad, I should be more careful when I am reading comments.

Ooooh, that's a particularly annoying expression. (my bad)

If you are going to compare the British elite golfers with Tiger Woods, it will never be much of a battle (save for uber-kid Rory).

Tiger's a winning freak - winning 27% of the time he puts his tee in the ground. And while he now does so on courses he's more comfortable with, he had to break in the win column on those courses to begin with.

He doesn't have a particular shot no one else has, he just wins. WGC events may be somewhat "limited" fields, but they are chock full of the best golfers on the planet. Does anyone think Romero would have battled Woods better than Stricker or McDowell this past weekend?

Sr,
Who's comparing British golfers to Tiger?

I'm just observing that he plays fields and courses where he is comfortable and British golfers could win more if they did that. Nothing more, nothing less.

As for Romero, last time he and Tiger were close coming down the home straight (more recently than you presumably think) Tiger won by two strokes, same as he beat his best mate "Stricks", three better than the margin to McDowell. Irrelevant.

Kwin - Who's comparing British golfers to Tiger?

ME, that's who! (Hey, it's a free world.)

If the subject at hand is actually "winning" professional golf tournaments, it makes perfect sense to compare what TW has done to what other golfers (I assume) aspire to. Why? See the 27% figure above.

I will however agree with winning "margin" is irrelevant. Does anyone think Romero would have won this weekend?

He nearly did last May!

I know, horseshoes etc.

The genesis of these Notes was Luke Donald cutting Honda and Bay Hill from his schedule, even though he'd played well at both in the past, because they no longer fitted and choosing recently to play the Copperhead because the timing suited him better and the course certainly did.
I feel non-Americans would do well to learn this lesson, as Sergio is doing increasingly and as is the foundation behind Carl Pettersson's success on Tour.

Meanwhile, winning the Ryder Cup has papered over the reality that, Rory (and to some extent Luke) apart, being successful on two Tours is tougher than it might look and might even be precarious.

I noted on last week's thread that Englishman David Skinns Monday Qualified for this tournament.
Great experience for him.

Luke through the "Snake Pit" and making the turn at -2.

Five international golfers in the Top 9, four Americans. Will that last??!!

Luuuuuuuke!

Interesting perspective, kwini, on the Brits and their schedules and courses that suit them, etc...

I was surprised to see Paddy chosing Thailand instead of Tampa this week (appearence fee must've been tempting)... He broke (or equalled?) the course record last year at Innisbrook and I'd've thought he would fancy the course, but then... it's Harrington.

I'm hoping Luke will be in contention here come Sunday, a win should re-build his confidence. I saw a few people these days writing him off more or less relative to Woods and McIlroy, which I don't really agree with entirely, assuming that Luke will be able to get back to his best soon. Can't argue too much with that in head to head situations and on courses where distance is at a premium, but there will be still many courses out there where a motivated Luke at his peak could still beat anybody...

Another thing about Tiger (and Rory, although he's still very young) is that the kind of amazing golf they're able to play at their best would be much harder (I think) to sustain for a long time when you reach late 30's and 40's, whereas Luke's game/style, which is not as stressing on the body as the others' , would be one that I believe he could maintain at a high level for many years still...

KJ, VJ and Luke at the top...

Prince - I think that's precisely why Tiger's changed his swing.

And at age 37 has pretty much figured it out with 5 wins since last March. He's not swinging out of his shoes.

Luke (and insert about 25 additional golfers) at his peak can beat anyone. But the time has come for a W ... as Kwin says, this isn't horseshoes or hand grenades.

He's off to a fine start.

Cheers, pd,
Very poor conclusion to his round by Luke (Kaymer too); hopefully conditions will continue to be tricky this afternoon but disappointing nevertheless. Who knew this would be a Skinns game?

Solid from Serge and Brian Davis.

Struggle for Ross Fisher today on a course one might expect him to play well on; his year's been the usual mix of superb ball-striking, dismal short game.

"Strokes gained putting" today - a fraction under MINUS 3. After nine holes. Can't get much worse.

Maybe an English will win after all...

Shockingly bad putting from Ross Fisher today, two birdies yet still used 2.1 putts per green in regulation.
Even the Pope is ahead of him.

Expect scores to improve Friday as weather warms up, winds subside. Feels like Fish will be on his bike though.

pd,
There is another chance of an English win, someone from the Ridings . . . . .

I certainly can't blame fans from Europe or the UK rooting for their players, but I'm just not sure this is a week to have high expectations.

I mean there are only 13 European players in the Tampa field and only 6 from England/Scotland. Granted, Luke and Sergio are among the dozen "chalk" players this week... but at some point it becomes a numbers game and the odds are against them. But who knows... right?

By the way... here's the field breakdown by Nationality.

3 Argentina
14 Australia
5 Canada
1 Colombia
5 England
1 Spain
1 Fiji
1 Germany
1 Japan
7 Korea
5 South Africa
1 Scotland
5 Sweden
1 Zimbabwe
51 total International players

105 USA

156 Total Players


On another note... the course "seemed" to play a lot tougher in the morning, but it turned out not to be all that much easier in the afternoon either. AM scoring average was 73.21 and PM scoring average was 72.94.... just over 1/4 of a stroke difference... not much. Overall average was 73.07

The better afternoon rounds were better though, robo. And will surely be today also as it warms up.

Thing is, courses where par is a good score should suit the Europeans more than bombers' paradises or putting contests, so I'm surprised more Europeans aren't here.

Hey, what's up with Bud Cauley? Haven't read anything to explain his troubles but he'd done a runner from Tampa and a year apparently full of promise is disintegrating fast.


robo,
My original shtick on this, back in BBC 606 days, was to write about European players on the PGA Tour, and to place their experiences in some sort of perspective. The good and the bad.
So I try to remain somewhat faithful to that. Everyone writes about Rory and Tiger, but Greg Owen, for instance, not so much!

And lastly, what do you make of Brian Stuard? Seems a bit of a throwback player, but he's creeping up leaderboards in the manner of the 2012 version of Martin Flores. (Not this week though as I picked him in my yahoo team.)


A bit brass monkeys (30 degrees warmer than here though) for the early starters. Cut at +2?

kwinigolfer wrote:The better afternoon rounds were better though, robo. And will surely be today also as it warms up.

Thing is, courses where par is a good score should suit the Europeans more than bombers' paradises or putting contests, so I'm surprised more Europeans aren't here.

Hey, what's up with Bud Cauley? Haven't read anything to explain his troubles but he'd done a runner from Tampa and a year apparently full of promise is disintegrating fast.


robo,
My original shtick on this, back in BBC 606 days, was to write about European players on the PGA Tour, and to place their experiences in some sort of perspective. The good and the bad.
So I try to remain somewhat faithful to that. Everyone writes about Rory and Tiger, but Greg Owen, for instance, not so much!

And lastly, what do you make of Brian Stuard? Seems a bit of a throwback player, but he's creeping up leaderboards in the manner of the 2012 version of Martin Flores. (Not this week though as I picked him in my yahoo team.)


A bit brass monkeys (30 degrees warmer than here though) for the early starters. Cut at +2?

My guess is the better rounds PM were just happenstance... total under par rounds were 11 AM to 14 PM... but there were 23 par or better rounds from each side of the draw.

Cauley is supposedly got some sort of flu deal causing his WD last night... and I'm told he almost didn't make the start yesterday... As for his overall play, I really don't have anything on that. But to be honest... I haven't been all that impressed with the guy. Well I have, but I'm just not all Ga-Ga over the guy like so many are. Don't take me wrong, I'm impressed with ALL of them... but from what I've seen of Bud, just never enough to think he's trending towards something really special. Oh he certainly seems good enough to have his moments... but I just don't see him with a "top-lister" career. Maybe it's just me.

And yes... I get where 606 is coming from. I had actually wandered into the old board once upon a time... just never joined up or posted. And I LIKE it for what it is. Most the conversation elsewhere is pretty PGAT centric and I enjoy the more European slant on things here. Educational... And what I like the most... is this board has a small group of Tiger centric posters... but TW conversation is mostly kept to a reasonable level commensurate with how he's playing at any given time... but not Tiger, Tiger, Tiger all the time... sheesh...

As for Stuard... now there's a late bloomer of a guy I like. He's not long, but he has no real weaknesses in his game... solid from top to bottom. IMO if he just keeps doing what he's doing, and NOT get tempted to hook up with some "swing guru" that wants to change everything about him he'll do well out there. A little more length would be good, but according to a solid teacher and coach to a lot of Houston area guys, Stuard's fundamentals are solid and I hope he doesn't tamper with them. With the way he's progressing... I could see him being a long timer out here. Anywhere to a solid journeyman up to top-25 potential with maybe a breakout season or two along the way. (but then again... isn't that true of a lot of guys).

Last... on the cut... It's already moved to +1 and I expect it to stay there... I had a look at the pin sheet... and it appears MUCHO easier to me today...

EDIT: PS.... here's a copy of today's Pin Sheet... they didn't make them all easy... but they revised it this morning and "untucked" a few: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B28-0Wqx5A38d1lzbVh0RkF1S0E/edit?usp=sharing EDIT 2: 10 AM... And by the way... I see the cut now moving back to +2... so who knows... One thing for sure... a shot just a bit off the fairway here can be dead... so hard to tell...

robo
(From everyone I suspect, your perspective and inside track is greatly appreciated. Glad you checked in to 606; those were the days when lw1 and midgetmac - or whatever he called himself - would post a cameo or two. Quite insightful sometimes; lw was a very big fan of David Duval the man for instance.)

Thanks for the note about Cauley - kind of agree with yr assessment, but fair's fair to him, he went thru a purple patch of more than a year where he couldn't do much wrong.

Yup, I looked into some of Stuard's background which made me think he could be a top Tour player; always intrigued by the guys who can prosper without hitting drives 350 yards. A rare northerner as well! Looks like he's from the "Hill" country . . . . . .

kwinigolfer wrote:
Yup, I looked into some of Stuard's background which made me think he could be a top Tour player; always intrigued by the guys who can prosper without hitting drives 350 yards. A rare northerner as well! Looks like he's from the "Hill" country . . . . . .

Thanks Kwini... and I always appreciate your write-ups... Most of pre-notes we see from the golf media are actually nothing more than re-written re-hashes of early week PGAT factoid handouts. Yeah... some writer might take a topic or two a little deeper... but IMO you do as good a job as any of them... certainly better than a lot of them... and considering you don't have the access they do... NICE


One more thing on Stuard... I might not have been clear.... he does have a coach... Gary Robinson back in Michigan. He's kinda like Steinbauer I mentioned earlier. Just a solid fundamental's kind of coach that knows golf swings inside and out, can recognize flaws when they creep in, but most importantly can help a player maximize on his NATURAL abilities and tendencies... instead of feeling the need to "rebuild" everything.

robopz wrote:...Thanks Kwini... and I always appreciate your write-ups... Most of pre-notes we see from the golf media are actually nothing more than re-written re-hashes of early week PGAT factoid handouts. Yeah... some writer might take a topic or two a little deeper... but IMO you do as good a job as any of them... certainly better than a lot of them... and considering you don't have the access they do... NICE ...

Amen to that!

nbs,
You're off with those pixies again!

An early TEN for John Daly.
What a pillock, presumably only there on a sponsor's exemption you'd think he'd try.

Much better news for the European Tour! however with George Coetzee finishing strongly to temporarily? reach the Top Ten.

Weekend off for Owen and Fisher, Fish once again disgracing himself on the greens. Is there an echo in here?

Go Sergio!!!

Robo - Good point. Odds for a victory much better last week for the Euro contingent. Lukey's gone "Cool Hand Luke" at the moment. Sporty course; especially for Florida.

kwinigolfer wrote:...Who knew this would be a Skinns game?

So, who is David Skinns anyway!?

Sergio doing great so far, and happy to say that I picked Adam this week in my FT, hope he stays up there...

I wonder if Coetzee has an unexpected plan B up his sleeve for getting that first win...

Statistical odds might have favoured a European win last week but reality suggests a European win more likely this week.

Only two ever Doral winners in about fifty years.
Two winners and a runner-up already in Innisbrook's short history.

Don't feel as if any Europe-based player has ever won on the grainiest Bermuda greens on Tour, in Florida, tho' McIlroy might just count at PGA Nat last year. Not saying they're going to win this week either but there are more of the Europeans that thrive more on fairways and greens, rather than bombs away, putt as if the hole's a bucket.

Luke five over for his last 11 holes - no birds. Crooked irons, putter ice-cold.

Come on Sergio!
And you Brian Davis!!

EDIT: David Skinns:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Skinns

Thrives on the Hooters Tour. And there's nothing wrong with that!

Sergio

Brian Davis

Lukey

Good for him, should be a great experience, specially if he makes the cut.

Hard to imagine now that Paddy scored a 61 on this course...

C'mon Sergioooo!

A surprise for me this week is Peter Tomasulo (currently T3 at -5) He's got 5 starts left to earn something like $490K to gain full status under a medical. But that problem now chronic labrum issue of his hasn't made it easy. He's gained a Sponsor exemption to the Honda, but had to give it up as he wasn't ready to go. Even this week he was questionable to actually tee it up on Thursday... But don't overlook this guy if he ever gets healthy... he's made his last 4 cuts while playing out his medical and is still technically a rookie.

And Kiwi... yes... Daly is in the field as a sponsor exemption... as was Bowditch, Cantlay, Coetzee, List, Norlander, Stefani (current leader) and Villegas.

A note on Stefani's sponsor exemption... The original field cut off at the 26th player in Category 25 (Web.com/Q-school graduates). The 4 SE's set aside for Web.com/Q-school graduates were then awarded to the next 4 on the proiority list: Bowdtich, List, Stefani and Norlander. But as it turned out all four of those players would have gotten in the field due to WD's anyway. (The next 4 alternates to get in were 31-34 in Category 25: Jin Park, Bolli, Herman and Meierdierks.)

And your prediction of +2 on the cut is looking better than my guess at +1. I expected the course to play close to a full 2 shots lower with easier pins and better conditions... but as of yet... not quite so... more like 1-6/10s of a stroke better so far. (71.42 today compared to 73.07 yesterday)

EDIT: On one hand (and looking at the leaderboard) this is starting to shape up like an Adam Scott with a dash of Sergio and Dufner kinda week to me... but I don't know... just got a feeling one of those "lesser names" is gonna be the last one left standing... which one? I haven't the slightest clue... :-)

Based on the PGAT season thus far, it is either going to be a top 25 golfer or someone outside the top 100 who wins this week.

10 weeks into the season, and we have yet to see any turnover in the top 28 of the rankings. Zach Johnson has earned a paltrey total of 9.6 points this year and only lost one place in the rankings. And played pretty badly this week on a course that should suit his game.

Robo: Find out any buzz on Ryo Ishikawa? (on the cut bubble as of 4:50 pm Tampa Time)

Ryo looks like he's making his customary Friday trip down the plug hole.

Good work from Brian Davis, but good work being thrown away by Martin Laird who just can't seem to get his season going.

Meanwhile, a golfer of Shotrock's and my acquaintance has fourteen consecutive pars and now a 15th hole birdie. Come on Wayno!

That's the spirit Lukey - if you can't hole your putts, hole your chips!

GPB wrote:
10 weeks into the season, and we have yet to see any turnover in the top 28 of the rankings. Zach Johnson has earned a paltrey total of 9.6 points this year and only lost one place in the rankings. And played pretty badly this week on a course that should suit his game.

Robo: Find out any buzz on Ryo Ishikawa? (on the cut bubble as of 4:50 pm Tampa Time)

First... hope you are doing well... did I read somewhere you been under the weather?

Top-28... you can knock me over with a feather with that one... I was watching closely since our last comments on the subject, odd how so many between say 23-30 are all doing basically the same thing this year... basically not much. And the guys doing REALLY well this year are already top-28... or started the season so far down they haven't yet gotten there.

On Ryo... I've actually had a couple of conversations on the subject.... and got pretty much the same thing but with slightly different slants. Generally they believe the media over there is as much or more loving Ryo than what they were before. Any fall off in his game would be pretty much overlooked by his gesture of giving up all his earnings for that year for the Tsunami victims (an they're not sure but they understand he's been visible and involved in national campaigns for various relief/rebuilding efforts as well, but couldn't be specific) . But apparently what has changed with the fans is the frenzy is down quite a bit on all Japanese golf and even other sports... not just with Ryo... and again... same reason. Apparently the national priority has been the serious business of making everybody well/whole or whatever... and there is a culture that they keep that national work first and foremost. Apparently it's just more recently people are starting to lighten up from that focus and allowing themselves more of life's other pleasures like games and sports.

And one other aspect... apparently despite the fervor being down somewhat, the consumption of golf media over there is as large or larger than ever. So the number of Japanese media is as large or larger than ever, but they're NOT there just to fawn all over Ryo. There is an expanded TV PGA Tour contract with Japan Television... and Golf print, while contracting here, is supposedly still expanding there along with huge digital growth... which has brought in more full time Japan media among the regular week in and week out media guys.... even weeks when Ryo isn't playing.

Yes, I have been battling bronchitis all week. I think I have coughed up three lungs this week. I haven't been online much.

P1ss poor putting performance for Lukey today, culminating in that abject 3-putt on the 18th. Stil only 7 back though.

robo,
Doesn't KJ Choi count as a likely "lesser name"?


Lots of good players right in the mix; I love this tournament, so refreshing to watch golfers compelled to hit shots, sort of Riviera-ish.

kwinigolfer wrote:
robo,
Doesn't KJ Choi count as a likely "lesser name"?

Not in my book. He wasn't on my radar this week... but an 8 time winner in this day and age is nothing to sneeze at.

On my radar - see above!!

One of my all time fave TV pictures was Furyk's semi-shank on the 18th hole when he won here in 2010 which came very, VERY, close to shaving KJ's eyebrows. Face a picture!!

Pleased to see Stuard make the cut, Flores too.
I love the stories behind the headlines, don't feel as if we hear enough of them which is why the Eddie Pearce and Jim Simons essays are so interesting.

Top field for Bay Hill next week, though missing #1 and #3.

Europeans include:
Davis
F'Dez
Sergio
Hanson
Laird
McDowell
Franny
Olesen
Owen
Pettersson
Poulter
Rose
Stenson
Westwood.

Fish was in the provisional but bumped, another salutary lesson, now an alternate.

A possibility that #1 will, in fact, be at Bay Hill come Sunday afternoon.

Nice to see O'Hair make the cut, a top 10 maybe?

Kwini, What is the story on Sugar Season? A good year?

I am having to ration my stash as I am nearly out. Lots of hotcakes and waffles this winter!

I think Dad will have to up my quota this year.

Sugar Season at its peak!
Should be fantastic conditions as above freezing by day, unseasonably cold by night. Nitpickers might want a bit more sun, but would think it'll be a record year. Just planted a sugar maple sapling last summer - we'll be able to tell in a few years if it's producing any sap as the squirrels perform unnatural acts to lick it.

Just like Tiger . . . . . . .

Seriously, bumper crop expected. Note that IHOP's in VT are required via permitting to serve only VT maple syrup! The things you learn on this blog.

Wow a little bit of Brit bashing in the blog this week. Personally I don't think they are doing that badly. I'd like to see the top US players try and play both tours and maintain such a high OWR.

Poults is like marmite you either love him or hate him, but he's not afraid to speak his mind and he is confident about his ability. I like that in a player, but it can come across as arrogant.

Kwini will know from the BBC forum my favourite brit is Justin Rose, he ground it out for years on the PGA before he started to win and I don't see that changing. Like you are saying he knows his favourite track and he tends to stick to them. Isn't this exactly what Tiger does too?

If we are up for a bit of USA bashing can anybody tell me why the tour persists in wasting an exemption spot on John Daly? He gets as many starts as most tour members and does absolutely nothing with them. I think David Duval is more deserving if you want ex Major Winners in there, but I guess the "woop woop In The Hole" brigade want somebody with extra loud pants.

Morning blistering,
Not really trying to bash Brits, just trying to place their situsation in some sort of perspective as well as speculating why some aren't winning that much. And, YES!, I did make that note about Tiger in some comments - he hasn't won on a course that he's not won on before for four years.

Think Justin Rose does a good job of giving himself a break and playing courses suited to him, but he's having trouble so far this year with the qualities wot got him there, fairways and, especially greens, while his short game hasn't compensated.

Stupid thing about Daly is that the TV coverage shows him too, at the expense of proper pros. As I said a few comments back, a complete pillock.


A bit cool this morning in Tampa but conditions later should be perfect for scoring. Martin Laird redeemed himself late in his round and he'll be off early, while Donald and Davis should be out in the best (70's, light breeze) of the weather.

Very compressed leaderboard and anyone making the cut will achieve a high finish with two decent weekend rounds. Very good chance for Sergio methinks and mehopes.