PGA Tour: web.com Tour Finals, Event #2: Notes from the Ballwasher

1).The PGA Tour's FedEx Play-Off season secedes a nation's TV attention this week to America's two favourite sports (NFL Football and College Football), the third favourite season (NFL Pre-Season) having just concluded. But Golf won't go away and the web.com Tour Final Series moves this week from Indiana to North Carolina and the "Chiquita Classic"; we'll have a close look at that later.

2).The Deutsche Bank event in the Boston area provided plenty of intrigue if not nail-biting excitement, and FedEx absolutely, positively produced the authors of three of golf's biggest comeback stories, Stenson's two and Stricker's one, to dominate the back nine after Sergio had thrilled NBC TV by starting Monday's final round with a dismal first nine holes.
(Why does American TV offer such outstanding commentary, Tirico always excepted, and expert analysis on Tennis, but such poor coverage of Golf?)

3).Round 3 of the FedEx Play-Offs starts next Thursday, Sept 12th, in the Chicago area, at Conway Farms, a Tom Fazio design where Luke Donald is a member (not that he'll be a factor in his current form).
We're expecting a full field of 70 players for the BMW Championship in a no-cut event where the twin goals will be to contend for the Beemer AND to move on to Atlanta for the Tour Championship, where the minimum cash rewards will include last place prize money of approx $120K, plus FedEx bonus pay-outs rising from $175K for 30th place to the jackpot of $10mil. Who needs appearance money when guaranteed rewards are so rich?

4).The other tournament within a tournament at the Deutsche Bank and Wales Open was final qualification for Presidents Cup Teams.
For the US, Stricker moved in to the Top Ten in place of Webb Simpson leaving Captain Couples to pick two golfers from, presumably, Simpson, Furyk, Dustin, Bubba, Horschel and Spieth. I'd expect Simpson and Spieth to get the call.
And Nick Price saw Graham DeLaet continue his good form while no-one of the likely "pick" candidates (de Jonge, Clark, Leishman, Choi, Ogilvy, Jaidee etc, etc) provided a compelling reason for selection. No idea who he'll choose but de Jonge could well join the Zimbabwean mafia running Price's Team - would be very sad to see Thongchai missing out for the second straight team.

5).One man in form is Trevor Immelman and what a wonderful sight for his fans was Trev's win in Indiana. The web.com Tour Finals is a four-event series with a $1M purse for each event. The Top 25 players on the resultant money-list not already exempt will earn PGA Tour cards for 2013/2014 and it is perhaps too early to speculate what the magic earnings figure will be to "graduate". But Immelman will certainly move on, as will Patrick Cantlay, last week's runner up who is now taking time out to rest his ailing back.

6)."Names" in the current top 25 include:
Bud Cauley, John Peterson, O'Hair, Knox, Oberholser, Norlander, O'Hern, Goggin.

7).Whilst those outside include:
Trahan, Matteson, Chad Campbell (has a career money safety net), Ricky Barnes, Karlsson, Cejka, Ishikawa, Richard Johnson, Greg Owen, Marcel Siem.
Those not reaching the Top 25 will have to reconsider their golfing future - play next year on the web.com Tour, go abroad, or . . . . . . . ?
Many players who have been in sick bay for the season are looking to upgrade their status from Major Medical, including Blanks (intellectually as well as by name), Oberholser, Levin, Marino and Na. (Meanwhile, there was a Dudley Hart sighting in last week's Canadian Tour event - would be great to see him back after all he's been through, including buggering up his back following his best year, including an unexpected FedEx bonanza.)

8).There are only six "regular season" Champions Tour events remaining, with the Tour staying in Oh Canada this week, outside Montreal - but for so many of the Tour Montreal might just as well be Mongolia as the turn-out is as poor as the Champos have seen for a long time. With a robust influx of exempt players "ageing up" from the PGA Tour in 2014, seniors will be desperate to retain their full exemptions, hence most of the borderline cases will be playing, including Roger Chapman, Mark Mouland and Forsbrand, not to mention a welcome cameo from Barry Lane.
Hope to go to Saturday's play, weather permitting.

9).This Friday sees the Republican Bush family's most (only?) positive legacy renewed as the Walker Cup matches begin at C.B.Macdonald's (with an assist from Seth Raynor) wonderful National Golf Links at the remote tip of Long Island, not too far from Shinnecock.
Matt Fitzpatrick will look to add to his glorious summer's achievements - America's leading Sports magazine, Sports Illustrated, described Fitz's US Amateur win as the first by a "Brit" for over 100 years. Proof that Scotland's independence campaign has spread to US journalism.
Was thinking of driving down, but accomodations close by are exorbitantly priced, as are the tickets. Should be a very close fought contest and can't wait to see TV coverage of National Golf Links, regarded by so many good judges (not sure about McLaren though) as a masterpiece. Expect to see versions of North Berwick's Redan, TOC's Road Hole and Eden, Sandwich's Sahara and Alps from Prestwick.

10).Finally, is it ever too early to look at Europe's Ryder Cup placings? 'Course it is, but here they are anyway:
Europe points: Bourdy, Kjeldsen, Luiten, Parry
World points: Stenson, (Bourdy), Garcia, Huizing, Davis, Poulter.

Not seen the name Kjeldsen in a long time.
With the European Tour becoming a dimmer product these days with much of the top talent going onto Finchem's gravy train, we might so more of the likes of Kjeldsen high up in the European Tour.

Will we have a somewhat skewed Ryder Cup team as a result?

s_r,
Would think the double-dippers (no, not talking about Tiger) will clock up enough Major and WGC "points" to marginalise all but the very best E.T. players. Hope an E.T. member or two will qualify but it's a tough road for them, don't you think?

Indeed Kwini.
I suppose there is the possibility of a Stephen Gallacher/Marc Warren/Richie Ramsey/Simon Khan/ Fat Shane or someone similar if they had a good 12 months.
Hard to tell, though I'm not sure I'd want any European stalwart even in a home match. It's a bit like the BDO and PDC

Presidents Cup Captains' picks:

US: Simpson, Spieth
International: Leishman, Fatty de Jonge

Very unfortunate that Thongchai misses out, ahead of both of the picks in the standings. Wonder if they'll have someone standing by in the event of Oosthuizen not being fit?

Kwini,
Will there be fewer people watching this event than taking part? Seems on a par with the Seve/Vivendi Trophy in terms of interest.

I suppose it gives the American's a pretty good chance of winning something though

I would say a case could be made for the 1987 Ryder Cup at Muirfield Village being the catalyst for Ryder Cup interest in the States.

Very casual support for the Americans there compared to Euro cheering and chanting. On Day 2 all the American wags gathered around the first tee with baby hand-held US flags (probably made in China) after the Friday thrashing. Captain Jack Nicklaus had to struggle to get through - seemed the wags didn't recognise him!

Would be nice if this year's event served as a catalyst for something more than an exhibition annihilation.

Interesting that Nick Price is already complaining that he has no say in the format - dictated by Finchem and the PGA Tour.

Absurd situation. US Team must be the biggest banker since Nijinsky won the King George.

A week off then for golf watching - though the Euro tour are playing at a pretty spectacular course, no one really worth getting excited about

Good write-up as usual Kwini. Good to see Immelman's going to be dining at the top table again.

Tks nbs,

I see the Italian Open has pushed the boat out for David Duval - fascinating interview with David Eger in September's Golf Digest where he describes the young Duval's ball striking:
Trevino was the "best ball-striker I ever saw" . . . . . .
"But for pure majesty of ball flight, nobody I've seen has matched the young Duval."

He also casts aspersions on the Woods incident this year at Augusta - I wonder whether disqualification at The Masters would have ultimately kept him from being eligible for this season's Vardon Trophy?

Will post the article if I can find it on-line.

How did the 13 year old get into the Italian Open, invite or did he qualify?

Didn't see that; not Ryo Ishikawa's young brother by any chance?

How good is Eduardo De La Riva? He seems to be an ageing overnight sensation - another good day at the office today.

Don't think so kwin, think he was an invite too?

Good round this morning from Russell Knox - his two-under-par 70 is 6th of the morning "wave", and he's hitting the ball very well with only two greens missed today.
Given his overwhelming propensity to improve in Round 2 we can only hope that he maintains at least a top ten position going into the weekend.
A Top 6 finish would get him very close to securing his PGA Tour card.

Greg Owen going nicely (but we've said that before), with just two holes to go in Round One.

goldwolf wrote:Don't think so kwin, think he was an invite too?

Yep... Ye = sponsors invite...  but I'm with Jimenez on this one... too much too young... http://www.scmp.com/sport/article/1303881/miguel-angel-jimenez-hits-out-chinese-prodigy-ye-wochengs-appearance-european

robopz wrote:I'm with Jimenez on this one... too much too young

I'd take a bet you wouldn't think that if he was Texan

Think it's fair to say it wouldn't be permitted if the boy was American, but who knows these days?

What does seem certain is that scores are a little better this afternoon in North Carolina; hopefully that will apply for Knox and Owen tomorrow as well.

Nice write up Kwin. Thanks as always.

NGLA one of the finest courses I've ever had the privilege to play (but sadly did not do the Shinnecock/NGLA double). Look forward to the coverage. Who wins? I certainly don't know, but I can't imagine anything about the course Mac would not like!

Or, as Super might say ... [insert negative sweeping stereotype], [insert negative sweeping stereotype], [insert negative sweeping stereotype], [insert Nationality] ...

Davie wrote:

robopz wrote:I'm with Jimenez on this one... too much too young

I'd take a bet you wouldn't think that if he was Texan

You'd be wrong about that one.

Another European tour event bites the dust. This time the Avantha Masters. This year it sat between the WGC Cadillac and the Malaysian open. I doubt it will be a great loss to the viewing public?


Not sure why I would dislike the course at NGLA, a lot more interesting that a lot of the courses in North America.

I can, however, imagine the people who it counts as members being the most despicable human beings we have to offer.

Kwini - quick addition to the plaudits for great write up/information/thought provocation. Thanks.
De La Riva - I think flatters to deceive. Good player, obviously, but I suspect this as good as it gets. Often produces a couple of good rounds but never looks likely to finish it off.
Reference Casey and caddy issues. They are still together, laughing and joking. Apparently also had a bust up in Ireland but seems to be the nature of the relationship!

Interesting about Casey, puligny, I see they'll be tested again this weekend as Paul looks to be in contention again.
Mystified by Fran Molinari's continued poor form - it's good when the better Europeans turn up for the E.T. events, but even better when the best play their best.

Mac,
Wasn't trying to suggest you wouldn't care for NGL, just wondered how you rated it - it seems to be regarded as the benchmark for American GCA.


Not to harp on American golfers travelling abroad, or not, but surely the disappointing turnout at the Montreal Champo event has something to do with the perception of "abroad"? Too bad, they're missing out on the most underrated big City in North America.
Regardless, showers in the forecast but think I'll go for Saturday's play.

Kwini - uh lien and Koepka doing ok - hope we hang on to them for a while?
I can only assume Molinari is having a "quiet" time. Too good/steady to falter for long. He is also one of the best examples of someone working hard to improve his poor areas (chipping and putting).
Little players quiz in today's coverage from Switzerland on Miguel. Playing his 25th year at Crans - before this years 161 under par! And of course 6 under yesterday! I think he likes it!

Uihlein and Koepka are among the best things to happen to European Golf in the last five years; now Jonathan Moore is getting some tee-times and it would be great to see him resuscitate his career in Europe, provided of course that he's good enough. Not had much good golfing fortune since holing the winning putt at RCD in the 2007 Walker Cup.

M-A J will be on our coverage later on today, so hope his early bogey is merely an aberration!
Great list of Champions at Crans, see Olazabal hasn't won there since 1986!

Hi Kwini, thanks for the notes as always!

I saw a bit of the coverage from Crans yesterday and one of the on course commentators said how much Darren Clarke was impressed with Uihlien. Has the game to go all the way to the top was the quote I think. Not the best from Peter this week but he does have an impressive game even when its slightly off. Looked to be having fun with Clarke so good to see him not taking himself too seriously.

More positive signs from Casey...

and Gallacher still playing well. Anyone hear anything else on his uncle?

PS so good to see lots of Scottish players on the leaderboards each week now. Wasnt that long ago you'd be lucky to find more than 2 saltires on a leaderboard.

Cheers Lairdy,

Sounds like Uihlein really crunches it too, perhaps not the ideal course for him then?

Haven't heard any more about Uncle Bernie, but love the usual international flavour of the leaderboard, with Scotland nosing ahead just now.
Followed by:
England
France
Denmark
India
USA
England
England
Scotland
Spain
France
Germany
Chile
Ireland
South Africa
Australia
with Sweden and Thailand close behind.
In some ways the European Tour is the best!

Lots of banana skins at the "Chiquita Classic" and Marcel Siem slipped on a big one yesterday, ruining a decent round with a triple bogey on his final hole.

There are plenty of big numbers about this morning also; Knox and Owen will both be well-placed, Cejka too, when they tee off this afternoon, but mixed fortunes this morning for the Swedish contingent:
Karlsson going very nicely at three under after 11, as is Chopra whose card is already secure.
But Richard Johnson and Norlander both struggling big time. web.com for them next season unless they pull their fingers out later today and in the last two events.

Lots of bad news in the world, but here's some good news:
Ken Green lies 16th after Round 1 of Le Championnat De Montreal. Not bad for someone who's had his leg amputated.
Anyone old enough to remember that he was as good as they come with fairway woods and, on his day, quite a player?
But sometimes quite a jerk as well and fined by the tour about as much as anyone. Then he was bankrupted.

Turned a page when he reached 50 but smashed his van up in a horrific road accident that killed his girlfriend, brother and dog, and caused him to lose the lower part of his right leg.

Part of the American collapse at The Belfry in 1989 but that shouldn't diminish the fact that he was one helluva golfer in those late eighties.

Poor Round 2 from Russell Knox, two birds, two 3-putts, but still hit a lot of greens so hopefully a better day is coming.
Greg Owen shot a 6-under par 66 and leads - wow! WOW!! But he's still to press the self-destruct button and has 36 more opportunities.
Cejka checked out, (Edit) and Siem missed the cut, so it's just Rob Karlsson, Knox and Owen playing the weekend - important 36 holes for all three - and Chopra, who already has his card.

All 70 eligible runners have declared for the BMW next week outside Chicago.
Kinda surprised about that . . . . . . .

kwinigolfer wrote:All 70 eligible runners have declared for the BMW next week outside Chicago.
Kinda surprised about that . . . . . . .

 Sounds about right to me. Mathematically, not even Stenson or Woods are locked into the top-5 for East Lake (either, but not both could fall as far as 6th)... and the rest of them want to get there... and I never thought there was any way Stricker was gonna miss something this close to home... hunting season or not.... :-)

No one tempted bythe KLM Open?

And speaking of the ET and European Masters. Apparently Omega is not happy with the September slot, colliding with the FedEx playoffs. Seems they are targeting the week after The Open (this year the Russian Open). Let's see what happens. Has always been a nice tourney.

pedro,
Wouldn't ever be surprised to see Omega assemble "ambassadors" like so many PGA Tour sponsors - they wouldn't need to spend half the dosh they'd need over here, just get Rory and one or two others, perhaps Adam Scott and Sergio, and they could upgrade their event nicely.

I posted a link about their ideas about a date a couple of days ago, embedded in a Doug Ferguson article, perhaps it was on robo's thread.

robo,
Strange thing for me is that Tour players plan their schedule meticulously thru'out the year, then scramble to play every event they can in August and September.
Money does daft things to folks. No wonder lotteries do well.

kwinigolfer wrote:
robo,
Strange thing for me is that Tour players plan their schedule meticulously thru'out the year, then scramble to play every event they can in August and September.
Money does daft things to folks. No wonder lotteries do well.

What's daft about guys playing their butts off to have a legit shot at $10 million?... 10 mega-large is REAL money my friend... even for Tiger.... and equivalent to years and years of income for many of them.

And playing for some of the bigger purses of the year against constantly reducing field sizes? Hardly "lotto-ish" when you consider that a player can [mostly] control his own destiny as to how much of the pie he gets based on his own play.

Then consider that excepting the cash portion the top few get... they're playing for their own retirement money anyway.

If you ask me... unless one is so daft they'd rather go bow hunting or something... there's EVERY reason to play... and few reasons not to.

Yes to all that, but my point was meant to reflect those guys who play sparingly all season long and then play a choc-a-bloc schedule that you'd think would mitigate against their freshness and fitness for a shot at the $10Mil, or a decent portion thereof.
The galacticos of the Tour make all sorts of excuses not to play certain events - can't play three in a row and all that guff - and then play approx 8 out of 10 from The Open onwards. It'll likely be eight out of nine next year and who knows what in 2016 when the Olympic folly rears its head.
Just surprised that no-one (apart from Stricker) takes a mental health week in there somewhere - after all, it inadvertently did Furyk the world of good in 2010!

Lots of chat about the FedEx points structure being revised again - wonder whether that idea is coming from those same galacticos, the Commish, or FedEx themselves?

Meanwhile, am warming to the idea of the web.com Tour Finals, but would much prefer there was still an opportunity for a handful of guys from Q-School also.

I wonder if there's a dilution in Q-School applications? Haven't seen one familiar name among the first four pre-qualie events, usually see at least a dozen!

Finally, whoever's running the "projected ranking" positions on the web.com live scoring has got their algorithms in a twist. But nothing can disguise a horrid start from Karlsson and things are looking dire for the big man's prospects.

kwinigolfer wrote:Yes to all that, but my point was meant to reflect those guys who play sparingly all season long and then play a choc-a-bloc schedule that you'd think would mitigate against their freshness and fitness for a shot at the $10Mil, or a decent portion thereof.

The galacticos of the Tour make all sorts of excuses not to play certain events - can't play three in a row and all that guff - and then play approx 8 out of 10 from The Open onwards. It'll likely be eight out of nine next year and who knows what in 2016 when the Olympic folly rears its head.

Just surprised that no-one (apart from Stricker) takes a mental health week in there somewhere - after all, it inadvertently did Furyk the world of good in 2010!

Seems to me the players have little choice in the matter.  As you mention that's 7 big events in 10 weeks that are hard to pass up.  And as I've opined before... that heavy schedule has ramifications all the way back to June... lots of players taking a blow between the Opens in an attempt to be fresh for that final run.   But other than the majors... these last 4 of the playoffs are "almost" unmissable.  3 chances for anybody to get in that top-5 is just too much of a carrot to pass on I would think.

kwinigolfer wrote:Lots of chat about the FedEx points structure being revised again - wonder whether that idea is coming from those same galacticos, the Commish, or FedEx themselves?

It's coming from the players and filtered up through the PAC.  They just don't want to see some 100+ guy suddenly jump almost everybody else and into the top-5 on one good performance.... and be almost guaranteed to stay top-10 into the final even if they bomb the other 2.

kwinigolfer wrote:Meanwhile, am warming to the idea of the web.com Tour Finals, but would much prefer there was still an opportunity for a handful of guys from Q-School also.

Yeah... I see what you are saying... but I guess I just don't see it as much of an issue. Seems to me it might cost a deserving guy a year in getting to the PGAT (if that). But I'll bet that if we track 5 years of TRUE rookies who used to come from Q-school vs those with one year of Web.com.... the latter will show MUCH better success rates once they do get to the show.  

kwinigolfer wrote:I wonder if there's a dilution in Q-School applications? Haven't seen one familiar name among the first four pre-qualie events, usually see at least a dozen!

My guess is because the a lot more guys are exempt into first stage now than used to be...   Basically,  if you made a cut anywhere in the last 2 years or got in a top-50 of a first qualifying stage in the past few years... you're into first stage now.  Here's the language of the first 4 exemption categories into 1st stage.   So with most everybody already in... what name would we even recognize?   Not many I bet.   It would almost have to be someone "out of the loop" completely for at least 2 years.

1. Members of Web.com Tour, Nationwide Tour, PGA TOUR, Japan Golf Tour, PGA European Tour, PGA Tour of Australasia, Sunshine Tour, Asian Tour, Canadian Tour, Tour de las Americas, PGA Tour Canada or NEC Series - PGA TOUR Latinoamérica during the current or previous two (2) seasons.

2. Applicants that made the cut in a tournament awarding Official Money conducted by the Web.com Tour, PGA TOUR, PGA European Tour, Japan Golf Tour, PGA Tour of Australasia, Sunshine Tour, Asian Tour, Canadian Tour, Tour de las Americas, PGA Tour Canada or NEC Series - PGA TOUR Latinoamérica during the current or previous season as of the Qualifying Tournament Pre-Qualifying entry deadline.

3. Applicants that played in the Second Qualifying Stage of the PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament in either of the previous three years.

4. Applicants that finished in the top 50, including ties, in a First Qualifying Stage of the previous two PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournaments.

kwinigolfer wrote:Finally, whoever's running the "projected ranking" positions on the web.com live scoring has got their algorithms in a twist. But nothing can disguise a horrid start from Karlsson and things are looking dire for the big man's prospects.

Are you sure about the algorithms being whack?  Remember the top-25 web.com exempt guys are interspersed in there and can be no lower than #50.  Look at the following stat after last week... and maybe the current "projected" makes more sense... http://www.pgatour.com/webcom/stats/stat.02670.html

Missed Montreal after all, can't stand threesomes off both nines as a spectating experience - kinda forces those who like to follow groups around the course to select one threesome only. Let's hope Langer wins.

But looking forward to today's final round of Part 2 of the web.com Finals in North Carolina.

Greg Owen made 17 pars yesterday and one birdie and is in position to contend today. Given his precarious position, one might say that "do no harm" should be his mantra today.

And Russell Knox finally got it together on his second nine yesterday - still striking the ball well and just needs to make some putts. He's also in good position to stay in the Top 25 (of players who haven't yet secured their cards) but can't afford to throw strokes away.

robo: The scoring jibe was in reference to the fact that they were showing players with vastly differing "projected" positions despite their tournament placings being unchanged. It looks OK now. I fully understand the impact of those cards that have already been earned.

Update from the web.com Chiquita Classic:
Billy Payne's favourite golfer, Ryo Ishikawa, looks set for a top 4 (currently 2nd) finish, and that'll secure his 2013/2014 PGA Tour card.

Greg Owen is at even par for the day and could use at least one more bird in his final five holes - I know, you wouldn't bet on it.

Russell Knox finished sat even par for the day, good for about 30th place which will see him slip down the four-tournament money-list, possibly right on the cusp of the Top 25.
And Karlsson is slowly improving his position for the event, but has much hard work ahead of him the next two events.

There's the refreshing sight of Anders Forsbrand atop the Champo leaderboard in Montreal. In many ways one of the forgotten stalwarts of the European Tour, it would be great to see him win. But Langer is just one shot behind.
The GB contingent are playing poorly and sliding further away from the crucial top 30 money winners (except for Lyle who doesn't have to fuss himself about such niceties).

Quick update on where the Europeans stand after Round 2 of the web.com Tour Finals.
Remember: The Top 25 earn PGA Tour cards for the 2013/2014 season:

Greg Owen: 15th
Russell Knox: 23rd
Norlander: 41st
Karlsson: 46th

The Golf Channel's estimate is that $40K in "Finals" prizemoney will be needed to earn a Tour card. By that reckoning, Owen needs another $14K, Knox needs about $21K, and Norlander and Karlsson need at least one top finish in the remaining two tournaments.

Marcel Siem has so far not made a cut, so not earned a dime, while Cejka and Richard Johnson are in the same boat, tho' both have some very tenuous "status" on Tour which will be enough to enable them to tee it up once or twice next year.

The complete schedule for the 2013/2014 PGA Tour season has now been released:

http://www.pgatour.com/news/2013/09/09/pga-tour-schedule-2013-2014.html

Apart from the foreplay of events in 2013 starting the 2013/2014 season, this schedule is very similar to that we've become accustomed to the past few seasons, but two changes worth remarking on:

~Both the Texas Open in San Antonio AND the Houston Open will be held in the weeks prior to The Masters.

~The FedEx Play-Offs will be held over four consecutive weeks, meaning most of the top players will be playing at least six weeks (Firestone and the PGA) out of seven.
Add in The Open Championship - no "opposite field event" - and that's 7 weeks out of 9 and more for those (RBC Ambassadors for instance) who will join me in Montreal for the Canadian Open.
Our Carolina friends (Webb Simpson, Bill Haas, Pettersson, Tim Clark etc) may also feel obligated to cram Greensboro in there too.

There will be a week off before the 2014 Ryder Cup in Scotland held Sept 26th - 28th.

Interesting observation on the European Tour website that 80 Americans have entered European Tour Q-School, almost double the number (42) of the past two years.

A reaction to the "web.com forced apprenticeship" or just Uihlein/Koepka wannabes?

A bit of both I'd imagine.

Interesting to dig a bit deeper into some of the names in that list of Americans in Q-school. Not purely a roll-call of recent college grads; this week's contingent includes previous tour regulars Clark Dennis and Cliff Kresge, both a long way from ever seeing 40 again and presumably looking for some cash to set aside four Champions Tour entrance fees in a few years time. Also getting the annual appearance of Rudy Giuliani's son next week, and Kwini's favourite (I think) Peter Williamson shows up the week after.

Ha!
Peter Williamson not really a favourite though only from 100 miles down the road so almost seems like a local.
Kresge is a surprising name as he has an autistic child and it would be a shock if he spent any extended length of time away from home.
Giuliani will probably sue the E.T. if he fails - sounds a nasty piece of work, like father like son and all that.