PGA Tour: "Bridgestone" / Reno-Tahoe: Notes from the Ballwasher

First topic message reminder :

1).Whatever the merits of corporations appointing golfing ambassadors, and the impact they had on the quality of last week's Glen Abbey field, it is unarguable that two of those ambassadors provided a thoroughly absorbing RBC Canadian Open last week. Snedeker proved he has finally, and fully, rebounded from rib problems to his early season form, while Mahan played beautifully before returning to Dallas for the birth of his Zoe.

2).Sneds will be forgiven if he cruises through this week's Bridgestone event, and punters will be forgiven for thinking he might take it easy this week, honing his game for Oak Hill's PGA Championship. His schedule is hectic as his long-time sponsor Wyndham are hosting the Greensboro event following the PGA, and right before the Play-Offs begin.
(Hadn't realised that Snedeker's caddie, Scott Vail, is Eric Vail's son - Eric Vail was an extremely talented ice-hockey player for the Atlanta/Calgary Flames franchise during the 70's, scoring bucketloads of goals but with a work ethic that ultimately fell foul of the increasingly disciplined regimes of the time. Imagine Scotty has already passed his Dad in career earnings!)

3).Hunner is taking this week off and hopefully will get some sleep before the PGA. It'll be inneresting to see what birthday pressie Snedeker gets for Baby Zoe, as Daddy Hunner had stretched last week's field and looked completely in control - he should win much more than he does and maybe this was a tournament that got away, for all the right reasons.

4).Messrs McGirt, Bohn (seems one of the genuinely good guys on Tour so happy to see him playing well again) and Badds wrapped up their Tour cards for 2013/2014, but others slip inexorably in to the mire of uncertainty, including Gary Woodland, Charlie Wi and Ben Crane.
Appleby helped himself but is still in trouble while others such as Colsaerts and Hanson desperately need some good finishes this week and next.
And then there's Mansfield Man, Greg Owen, who played himself in to job security only to make a pig's ear of the par-5 18th in bogeying it on Saturday. But fortitude saw him retrieve that situation and came to #18 on Sunday needing a birdie to secure himself "playing privileges" for next season. So, from a perfect position, he shanked his wedge in to the drink, wrapped up a closing double, and has to play well this week and at Greensboro to survive.
His Bay Hill horlicks was no fluke - his 15th club is a blunderbuss with which to blast away at his feet at the most inopportune moments.

5).We can't stop writing about Russell Knox so here we go again, in the wake of his web.com 59 last Friday. Unfortunately he was unable to spin that in to a victory and a PGA Tour card for next year, but he's surely got the right stuff as illustrated by his post-59 comment:
"I didn't come here to shoot 59, I came here to win the tournament." Better luck this week, Russell, in Reno.

6).Finally for last week, and moving to Russia for a moment, Michael Hoey won his 5th European Tournament. I'll repeat a curiosity I spotted in his career record on the European Tour web-site:
This is Hoey's 5th win, but he has only three other Tour top ten finishes. That seems extraordinary to me and the only thing I can imagine compares, on a totally different level of course, is Tiger Woods's record in Majors pre 2008 surgery:
Won 14.
Other top tens: 13.
Closer.

7).And so to Bridgestone and Reno-Tahoe.
There are sure to be divergent views on WGC's, especially the "cookie-cutter" versions at Doral and Bridgestone, but they can't be ignored and, no doubt the select few who will still be grinding out a result on Sunday afternoon will provide excellent entertainment. But the difference for most of the field between a 20th place finish and 40th, say, or 50th, is just so much petty cash and hardly surprising if the majority will care more about getting to Rochester than ekeing out a result.

8).Who will win? No idea, but Firestone Furyk is a course specialist, should have won last year, and played well in Oh Canada. No doubt the likes of Westwood and Jason Day will "ball-strike" their way to a fat cheque and it's impossible to look past Woods's multiple victories here. More important for some Europeans will be to play well enough to extend their season in to the Play-Offs, Martin Kaymer for instance, while Play-Off participation is synonymous with a job next year for Colsaerts and Hanson - has anyone managed their season worse than Peter Hanson?

9).Ah, yes! I can see Ross Fisher putting up his hand in Reno - sorry Fish, forgot about you.
There's a very competitive field on the Nevada/California border for the Tour's annual Stableford event. Harrington will be there looking to extend his season and guys like Fisher, Karlsson, Knox, Norlander and Owen will hope for a decent result to take in to the season's final "regular" event in Greensboro.

10).Very pleased to see Paul Casey teeing it up at Bridgestone. At least as talented as any of the thirty-something British crew, this could be the second step towards rehabilitation as a top PGA Tour golfer and threat at upcoming Major Championships. Paul has got a long way to go before returning to golf's upper echelon, but a top finish this week, and/or next week at Oak Hill, could see him earning his PGA Tour card after two miserable years in the wilderness. Good luck to him.

Mac,
Of course it's impressive, but not as impressive as if these were full-field events on a variety of courses.
Not sure too many golfers around the world grow up dreaming of winning at Doral or Firestone, and most probably still don't much care.

At certain courses, Tiger continues to be an unstoppable force when his putter is working - fantastic exhibition on Thursday and Friday, pretty ordinary over the weekend but he'd already built a winning lead by then and doubt if one golfer in the field went to the first tee thinking he had a chance to win.

I don't fancy him for Oak Hill, but if he wins this week that will be a greater accomplishment than all 18 x WGC's put together. (As was his win at Southern Hills a few years ago.)

I have to agree with Mac, its very impressive. I think you can easily balance out the fact that they are not a full field against it being a very high quality field.
Woods may be better on certain courses but that's true of every player out there, he also travels better than any other player. Has any current player won on more courses than Woods ?
I don't agree winning next week would be a greater accomplishment, as has been written on here many times you don't need to be a great player to win a major....but you certainly need to be a great player to win 18 WGC's.

Nothing broken at Firestone, that's for sure. Amazing run both this year and at WGC events for TW. But, no comeback until a major ... And as Mac points out I believe his head is simply not right for one. Hoping that changes in cool upstate NY, but not betting on it

No  in majors anymore.

I'll take another week of praising him if he wins the least important major.

I'm not sure about the bottle for any of them. Lets face it Mickleson is the only vaguely multiple winner and he is more than capable of bottling a major as the US Open showed. I think Woods will win next week though, there is no reason why he should have any demons left. He is the worlds best player by a country mile again and if he had any doubts about that last week has proved it.

SR come on mate we all know you have grown to luv him. He is now your man crush.


You are clearly secretly hoping he will win! We all know your game

maybe if he wins he will smile

I think he will cry!!

Anyway- Good news for the betting this Major- Tiger has gone from 14 to 4/1 after this win and everyone else has gone up about 10%

OBvious though Oakey, more to do with public sycophancy than whether he will win, same reason England get low odds in World Cups, despite no chance of winning.

Yes very - However we get better value on our picks.. So its a good thing!

Woods is clearly the best player out there this season, and in talent for many many years. His WGC wins show he is much better then everyone else in his era, and is major wins show he is second best of all time. He should win next week, and if he plays to his best he will, easily. But he isnt playing to his best on major weekends, and hasnt for a while. So anything could happen.

He really does not seem very likeable though does he? When he was knocking round with porn stars and hookers then it made him a bit more interesting but, i cannot see how he has so many fans. Must be the same people who support Manchester United. Just like the winners.

For my part Ben I enjoy exceptional sportsmen/women setting new records. If a different player won every week or every major I just find it dull, like an army of robots of similar ability and whoever is hot on a given week wins.
And Super wont agree, but whether he is likeable or not he is the most charismatic golfer (not human being, but golfer) by a country mile.
P.S. I also quite like Man Utd.

I don't define charismatic by the same criteria as Diggers clearly.

If you mean that Hitler was charismatic, then yes by the same criteria Woods is. Hitler was a nicer person though.

Its because you are unable.... or more likely unwilling...... to realise that personality and charisma are completely different.

Was Pete Sampras charismatic?
Are David Cameron or Ian Poulter charismatic?

No Pete Sampras was not charismatic. However Bjorn Borg was. Non tennis fans would watch Borg, tennis fans wouldn't watch Sampras.
I don't find Fat Dave or Poultry to be charismatic, some people may well do though.

How can you say Woods is charismatic but Sampras wasn't and complain that it is me mixing up personality and charisma?

Sampras/Nine Chins are two cheeks of the same dreary backside.

Are you serious ? Sorry that was another tennis player....
As I said, Sampras was an excellent player but didn't create excitement or buzz on a court. He was just good. He didn't attract non tennis fans.
Woods attracts fans in their droves, he drives TV ratings through the roof, people want to see him play...even when he wasn't playing well people want to see him play so its certainly not just about excellence.

Woods doesn't provide that for me, so it's fair to say by your definition that I find him to have no charisma, and you do.

Charisma is a mystical thing, why does one person have charisma for one person and not for another ? Who knows.
However it is patently clear that Woods has charisma that appeals to millions upon millions of people. I cant think of a single person on the planet you could apply the word charismatic to more than you could Tiger Woods.

Woods won't win the PGA, I'd stake the house on it. He always peaks too early and this week will be the same. Defo finish top 10 though.

It's like saying that Barcelona or Man United have charisma, whereas they perhaps envoke the Glory Hunter in people.

Imagine if Woods had a personality to match his game, or at least what his game has enabled him to achieve, if he was as good an interview and natural as someone like Sebastian Vettel or as genuine and honest as say Andy Murray or had a game as mercurial as Phil Mickelson and also appeared to enjoy playing as much as Phil with sportsmanship to match, then perhaps I'd like the guy and consider him engaging enough to watch, but his style of golf doesn't interest me, anymore than Lampards shoot from anywhere style, hence why I feel to me at least that he isn't charismatic.

Eric cantona > Woods
Jose Mourinhio > Woods


Woods charisma comes from his Golf. Not just the quality- but the style and the swing is very charismatic..

When woods is on the screen about to hit- we are all fixated. When we watch him scratch his ass, walk down the fairway, listen to the commentators we get bored..

Hadn't realised that Eddie Molinari is on the sick list for the rest of the season following thumb surgery last week . . . . . . .

Perhaps brother Frannie might be a viable outsider this week?

super_realist wrote:It's like saying that Barcelona or Man United have charisma, whereas they perhaps envoke the Glory Hunter in people.

Imagine if Woods had a personality to match his game, or at least what his game has enabled him to achieve, if he was as good an interview and natural as someone like Sebastian Vettel or as genuine and honest as say Andy Murray or had a game as mercurial as Phil Mickelson and also appeared to enjoy playing as much as Phil with sportsmanship to match, then perhaps I'd like the guy and consider him engaging enough to watch, but his style of golf doesn't interest me, anymore than Lampards shoot from anywhere style, hence why I feel to me at least that he isn't charismatic.

Doesn't matter whether he is charismatic to you, the fact is he is charismatic. You should at least man up and accept that to bet he case whether you hate him or not.
He came on the scene as a young black kid with a megawatt smile and people loved him, plus he was brilliant. The smile has gone (though for the last year all the press have reported him being much happier around the course) but the charisma is still there.

He is Charasmatic. And SR loves him..

Came on the scene as a black kid with a smile, now he's the whitest black man you've ever seen with no smile at all. Great what Golf does to a person.

If there is such a thing as anti-charisma, he's got it because he makes me want to turn off the tv when he's on, his game isn't photogenic or nice to watch and the coverage is so sickeningly gushing that I can't bear to watch.

Simple, don't watch then.

His stature in golf draws you to watch or see how he does. Does it make him charismatic I'm not sure. I think he was a lot more when he was younger though. But he has become more clinical and win at all costs. He was probably always the same but it now shows more. Cannot compare him or Manchester united to Barcelona though.

Tiger Woods:  he's so, so ... yesterday.

gael,
I see that your local-boy-gonna-make-good Russell Knox has some impressive Tour stats:
Driving accuracy: 1st
Proximity to hole for shots in to the green: 1st
Greens in Reg: 11th.

Unfortunately his sand save and putting stats are less impressive - he pretty much lipped out an eagle putt on his 72nd hole last night which would have earned him a Top Ten finish and a place in next week's Greensboro field. Second time that's happened in the past six weeks. Fine line between success and otherwise.

Hi there kwini.  Been away at both 'Opens' but I do recall Mr Gael mentioning that Russell was 1st in driving stats.  Sounds like he could do with a bit of Martin Laird's wizardry 'round the greens though.

incontinentia wrote:Woods won't win the PGA, I'd stake the house on it. He always peaks too early and this week will be the same. Defo finish top 10 though.

Haha, he always peaks too early, apart from those 14 times.....

So, in summary, it all comes down to the fact that a 9 chin bottler with no personality whatsoever and playing like a shadow of his former self, continues to be more successful at golf than all of Britain combined. Imagine how retarded some on here will get if he ever starts playing well! 5 PGA Tour wins in 7 months? That's almost a career for Westwood & co. isn't it?
Imagine the hysteria on here if that feat had been accomplished by anyone with even the remotest British connection. Ridiculous I know, but try.

GT350 wrote: Imagine the hysteria on here if that feat had been accomplished by anyone with even the remotest British connection. Ridiculous I know, but try.

Last year McIlroy won 4 pga tour events including a major and also won both money titles. I don't remember any hysteria on here.

shclaff wrote:

GT350 wrote: Imagine the hysteria on here if that feat had been accomplished by anyone with even the remotest British connection. Ridiculous I know, but try.

Last year McIlroy won 4 pga tour events including a major and also won both money titles. I don't remember any hysteria on here.

       

Donald did pretty much the same the year before as well !!(well bar the major- but he didnt bring that up!!)

   

shclaff wrote:

GT350 wrote: Imagine the hysteria on here if that feat had been accomplished by anyone with even the remotest British connection. Ridiculous I know, but try.

Last year McIlroy won 4 pga tour events including a major and also won both money titles. I don't remember any hysteria on here.

That's because NI is the part of the UK most people don't particularly want or care about.

Diggers wrote:No Pete Sampras was not charismatic. However Bjorn Borg was. Non tennis fans would watch Borg, tennis fans wouldn't watch Sampras.
I don't find Fat Dave or Poultry to be charismatic, some people may well do though.

Nonsense. Women watched Borg, tennis fans or not and to suggest that tennis fans wouldn't watch Sampras is one of the (rare) daft things you've said recently! In addition, Borg had Super Brat for some of the greatest matches of the Open era.

GT350 wrote:So, in summary, it all comes down to the fact that a 9 chin bottler with no personality whatsoever and playing like a shadow of his former self, continues to be more successful at golf than all of Britain combined. Imagine how retarded some on here will get if he ever starts playing well! 5 PGA Tour wins in 7 months? That's almost a career for Westwood & co. isn't it?
Imagine the hysteria on here if that feat had been accomplished by anyone with even the remotest British connection. Ridiculous I know, but try.

Was the xenophobia really necessary? You could say the same of TW cf. the rest of the good ol' U.S. of A. Keep it away from nationalism please.

navyblueshorts wrote:

Diggers wrote:No Pete Sampras was not charismatic. However Bjorn Borg was. Non tennis fans would watch Borg, tennis fans wouldn't watch Sampras.
I don't find Fat Dave or Poultry to be charismatic, some people may well do though.

Nonsense. Women watched Borg, tennis fans or not and to suggest that tennis fans wouldn't watch Sampras is one of the (rare) daft things you've said recently! In addition, Borg had Super Brat for some of the greatest matches of the Open era.

I was exaggerating to make a point re Sampras Navy but actually lots of people were turned off by Sampras as a player, serve and volley didn't help and he really wasn't charismatic.
Borg drew more than just women, blokes thought he was cool and copied his headband and clothing, he made tennis cool basically. To say it was just women is plain wrong. Woods made golf cool in the same way for a while.

Diggers wrote:

shclaff wrote:

GT350 wrote: Imagine the hysteria on here if that feat had been accomplished by anyone with even the remotest British connection. Ridiculous I know, but try.

Last year McIlroy won 4 pga tour events including a major and also won both money titles. I don't remember any hysteria on here.

That's because NI is the part of the UK most people don't particularly want or care about.

Why don't you give it back then? We saw it first!

[quote="incontinentia"]

Diggers wrote:

shclaff wrote:

GT350 wrote: Imagine the hysteria on here if that feat had been accomplished by anyone with even the remotest British connection. Ridiculous I know, but try.

Last year McIlroy won 4 pga tour events including a major and also won both money titles. I don't remember any hysteria on here.

That's because NI is the part of the UK most people don't particularly want or care about.

Why don't you give it back then? We saw it first![/

It's not up to me apparently. Otherwise you could have it.
On a serious note would Southern Ireland want it if offered. Purely from an economic perspective Im guessing it would be a huge burden on an already struggling economy.

To stop any possible argument, NI should just be given to mr trump. That's ok for everyone on here isn't it?

 

Fine with that, they don't do much for the UK as far as I can see. Give him Glasgow too.

I know the above is all tounge in cheek.

But its not up to the UK or England to give NI to ireland. Its up to the NI residents to push for a united ireland if they want it!

You cant give something to someone that isnt yours in the first place..

Mysti, the U.K. don't want to give back NI because they know a united Ireland would have a much better soccer team than England/Scotland/Wales.

What is this game soccer you speak of ?

All the half decent Norn Irish choose to play for the Republic anyway. Would make no difference.

I think we should just have one Great Britain team, all be one happy family. Maybe bring the southern Irish back in and play as the British Isles. Unstoppable. It would stop the others parts of the uk from claiming the rubbish english players with questionable heritage.

Incont I know is fashionable to have a pop at the English Footy team these days.. But I think you are pushing it a bit with that one!!