PGA Tour: We Lost the Ashes, Can We Win Phoenix?: Notes from the Ballwasher

First topic message reminder :

1).Can a British Golfer win the "Waste Management Phoenix Open"?
Probably not - it's been 26 years since Sandy Lyle won here, 16 years since a European won (Parnevik) and Aaron Baddeley is the only non-American to rise in Phoenix in the past ten years.

2).Back to Phoenix later but they'll have a tough act to follow after the excitement at Torrey Pines' South Course last weekend. Scott Stallings threw away winning chances last year at least twice, but won the third tournament of his young career with a brave birdie on #18 while better placed challengers fell away.
Stallings joined Dustin Johnson (8), Rory (6), Webb Simpson (4), Keegan Bradley (3) and Anthony Kim (3, remember him?) as the only under-thirties on Tour with at least three wins.

3).Mark Calcavecchia tweeted: "I've thought back on my 33-year pro career and under perfect weather like this week this course is the hardest course I've played on Tour."
Only five golfers broke 70 on Saturday, only Andres Romero (67) in with anything better than 69.
Pin positions and course conditions were easier on Sunday and you'd think our favourite Europeans might take advantage. Wouldn't you?
But only Russell Knox (70) broke par and the likes of Colsaerts, Laird, Poulter and Westwood wasted splendid opportunities to earn themselves a rich payday, plus much-needed points of the owgr and FedEx variety.
Westwood made SEVEN birdies but still stumbled in with a 74. Is Billy Foster the solution or the problem?

4).Anyway, I loved watching the pros play golf on a course where par actually meant something.
And, talking about courses, Golf Digest issued their first ever "World 100 Greatest Courses".
Top ten:
Pine Valley, Cypress Point, Augusta National, Royal County Down, Shinnecock Hills, Royal Dornoch, St.Andrews (Old), Muirfield, Royal Melbourne (West), Oakmont.

5).Extolling the virtues of golf in the North of Scotland and Northern Ireland is fashionable in the US Golfing Press right now, whether because they're tired of the Open Championship "rota", they've just discovered Mapquest or what.
But the Top ten British & Irish courses were listed as:
Royal County Down, Royal Dornoch, St.Andrews, Muirfield, Royal Portrush, Turnberry (Ailsa), Ballybunion, Carnoustie, Royal Birdale, Sunningdale (Old). Whaddya think?
PS: Hoylake doesn't make the Top 100.

6).The Weiskopf-designed TPC Scottsdale hosts the Phoenix Open as usual, complete with its famous 16th hole where there'll be more noise than at the Super Bowl. The course is being "re-done" after this year's event; whether that will favour "bombers" or "navigators" remains to be seen, but Mark Wilson (whatever's happened to him?) is the only relatively "short" hitter to win here recently.
Padraig Harrington paid his first visit last year and played really well until falling asleep on his 72nd hole and finishing 9th, his best PGA Tour finish of the year.

7).It'll be interesting to read St.Padraig's comments to the Press later today. This will be his first start of the 2013/2014 season and, without exemption in to any of the WGC's, The Masters or the US Open one wonders whether he'll play a full 15-event schedule. Or whether he'll add US tournaments at the expense of the European minimum. It's a conundrum for players departing the Top 50, and others who may be affected in a similar way include Colsaerts - who seems committed to the PGA Tour early in the year - , Peter Hanson and Olesen.

8).Other Europeans in Phoenix, in addition to Harrington, include:
Colsaerts, Brian Davis, Gonzo, Kaymer, Laird, Lynn, Pettersson, Poulter (would think he should be suited to this course) and Westwood.

9).Some Americans who we're used to seeing in Ryder/Presidents Cup combat are either really struggling this season, or have scarcely played.
Snedeker is one, currently 23rd in Ryder Cup qualifying and coming off a horrendous missed cut last week.
And Keegan Bradley is another, lots of middling finishes but languishing in 26th place. Stricker, of course is even further adrift, Bubba Watson further still.
But Hunter Mahan is another good example - he took most of the autumn off and returns to find himself in 37th place. He won here a few years ago and I'd expect him to be highly motivated, this coming month especially given his good record here, at Pebble and the MatchPlay.

10).Finally, a tip of the visor to JB Holmes. JB is not one of my fave golfers, not even in the Top 100, but anyone who's returned from a succession of injuries and health issues as he has deserves support.
As if brain surgery in 2011 wasn't enough, he followed his 2012 comeback with a broken ankle last spring while out rollerblading (real smart).
Now he's back again and finished 23rd in San Diego - he has about 20 tournaments playing under a Major Medical Extension to earn about $600K and you'd think he'll fancy a good week in Phoenix where he won in 2006 and 2008 to help him on his way. Doubtless he also has the PGA Championship at Valhalla on his mind.
He was a member of the winning Ryder Cup Team at Valhalla in 2008 and is a Kentucky boy. Good luck to him.

Unfortunately my dad was, and is still, better than me, so advice could be given. To be fair he was more inclined to take the p155 than anything else.


I guess phil is ignoring his back specialist? Who it is claimed told him to rest. Anyone else wondering if a back inured phil will be an augusta story to come?

McLaren wrote:I guess phil is ignoring his back specialist?  Who it is claimed told him to rest.  Anyone else wondering if a back inured phil will be an augusta story to come?

maybe he is seeking golfing immortality by aping Woods' Torrey Pines heroics.   

Saw a post on twitter about the dreaded bifurcation debate and it got me thinking about the anchoring ban due to come into effect in 2016.

Has anyone kept a note of the number of players using the method?

It may be to early to see the players weaning themselves off it, but would be good to have some stats.

Would it be odd if a player started using the method between now and 2016?

According to an article on pgatour.com, Padraig Harrington is attributing his victory drought since 2010 to the groove changes. Stay out of the rough then Padraig.

incontinentia wrote:According to an article on pgatour.com, Padraig Harrington is attributing his victory drought since 2010 to the groove changes. Stay out of the rough then Padraig.

Padraig has mentioned that a few times, as if no one else was effected?

yes mclaren, other players have described the change as a minor change in ball flight/spin when coming out of the rough or intermediate cut. Padraig is special though.

I think Adam Scott was the only anchorer to win on the PGA Tour last season, unless Martin Laird anchors his long putter; probably Simpson and Stadler this year.