PGA Tour: New Orleans, $6.8M Purse, but No-one Seems to Care: Notes from the Ballwasher

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1).There seems little rhyme or reason to what motivates the best PGA Tourists to play in certain tournaments. The events in San Antonio, Dallas and this week's "Zurich Classic of New Orleans" in particular appear to get short shrift when the stars decide where to play.
Some will say they have lousy dates, and others will complain about the respective golf courses but the fact is that, year in, year out, each of these tournaments is well run, features a larger than average purse, and feeds mightily in to the Tour's overhyped contribution to charities.
You'd think, therefore, that the Tour might have a vested interest in ensuring that their better events are well supported, but apparently not.
 
2).I'll resist the temptation to suggest that the Tour's apparent lack of support for its New Orleans tournament is a metaphor for President Dubya's reaction to Hurricane Katrina; let's just say that, like Dallas and San Antonio, New Orleans is one of the Tour's longest running events and to have even recent winners and contenders like Dufner (dialling for dollars in China), Bubba Watson and Webb Simpson give the City and sponsors the elbow must be more than a little discouraging for the Zurich Company and local supporters.  
 
3).Whatever the real reasons, this week's field is weak and will be one of the lowest-rated on Tour this year. The bright side of the coin is that almost all Tour Pros who want to play this week will get a tee-time, unlike last week at lovely Harbour Town where the Twittersphere was awash with invective at tournament invitees. Respected golf writers who should have known better gave publicity to no-name mini-tour numb-nuts slamming Faldo for taking a tee-time and lamenting the fact that some of last year's web.com graduates are just not getting to play on the Tour for which they thought they'd earned "playing privileges".
Lots of half-truths there. But I would suggest that this season has witnessed a perfect storm of circumstances conspiring to populate fields to a largely unprecedented degree.
 
4).After this season several player exemptions will expire and a dozen or so players will see their Medical Extensions end. Already this year Messrs Baird, Goosen, Na, Byrd and Stefani have satisfied the demands of their Extensions, while guys such as JB Holmes and Levin are hopefully just about to. This wave of injuries is, fingers crossed, not being repeated this year although guys like Blake Adams, Anthony Kim and Jarrod Lyle have still to return to regular action.
The cynic who complains such injuries are manipulated has presumably not had leukaemia, undergone brain surgery or done their Achilles.
Similarly, exemptions for 2009 Major winners expire, guys like Glover, Cabrera and Yang are all likely to lose their five-year ride, while there are almost a dozen old pharts migrating to the Champions Tour.
 
5).Ironically, there's an attractive International contingent playing this week, Els, Goosen, Immelman and Sabbatini, for instance, Senden, DeLaet, Ogilvy and Camilo among them.
Europeans such as Casey, Hanson, Harrington and Olesen are here, and they'll be trying to make up for lost time as their compadres are slowly securing their Cards for next year. Perhaps one of them will follow Seve, Woosie and Westwood in winning - and they'd take home $1.2M.
 
6).The top Europeans in FedEx points are now:
25th: Knox
30th: Donald
35th: McDowell
36th: Garcia
43rd: McIlroy
45th: Blixt
51st: Poulter
59th: Jacobson
All the above have crossed the 400-point Rubicon and should be securely in the FedEx Play-Offs, and on Tour next year.
 
 
7).Others with work to do, at least to reach the Play-Offs by making the Top 125, include:
73rd: Rose (exempt for next year, of course)
85th: Westwood
92nd: Pettersson
98th: Davis
113th: Gonzo
122nd: Kaymer (exempt for 2014/2015
 
And, languishing outside the Top 125 are: Lingmerth, Laird (exempt for 14/15), Casey, Hanson, Colsaerts, Harrington, Olesen, Clarke (exempt) and Owen, Cejka and Chopra.  
 
8).Justin Rose, Keegan Bradley and Top Five Reed are the highest-ranked competitors this week, but I fancy Rickie Fowler to contend and Russell Knox to enjoy yet another super week.
The most local lads are David Toms, Hotshot John Peterson (sure to hit form sometime this year) and Andrew Loupe, slower than the proverbial molasses in January. (Where's John Paramor when you need him?)
 
9).It was great to see Luke Donald contend last week on Hilton Head, though one would suggest that Kuchar was a worthy winner.
Amazing stat:
Over the past six years, Luke Donald is -47 to par, whilst earning almost $2.5M without winning.
Second best is Furyk at -23.
Luke is a horse for the Harbour Town course.
 
10).Last year in New Orleans Billy Horschel finished off a Kuchar-esque streak of form by winning for the first time.
At that time it looked as if he'd finally broken through to the top level of American golfers, a surefire bet to be in Gleneagles this September, but since contending last June at Merion he's pretty much disappeared.
And, if he were to win again this week would he show up next year?
Wouldn't bank on it.
Hopefully Zurich will have a worthy winner who appreciates all that golf has given him.

No, Mac. I don't think so. He's not interested in golf.

So would you rather see some of the classic courses butchered in order to accommodate the 0.0001%?

Not really. Then again, it's not likely I'll play them anytime soon, if at all and nothing I say will stop some group of money-grabbers seeing the $ signs when Trump makes them an offer to sell.

Isn't turnberry owned by Dubai money men already. Maybe trump is a step up.

Trump has apparently paid the Dubai government £35 million for Turnberry, which is about 20 million less than the Dubai government paid for it in the first place.

Trump has said the following;

"I’m not going to touch a thing unless the Royal and Ancient ask for it or approve it," Trump said. "I have the greatest respect for the R&A and for (chief executive) Peter Dawson. I won’t do anything to the golf course at all without their full stamp of approval.”

So Trumpberry is fooked. Not sure what would be worse; Trump tinkering with the course or the R and A meddling for the good of 4 days every 8 years or so. At least with trump you know he would alter for the sake of getting customers through the door 365 days a year.

What would be welcome is if Trump could throw some money at regular ET events, for instance to be held on one of his courses in Scotland or Ireland. The ET is longing for that. In this respect The Donald would be much preferred compared to yet another Asian tycoon or Middle East Sheikh draining Europe for ET events.

Very good point pedro,
But The Donald is purely in it for the ego and the investment - the notion that he should support anything that isn't at the pinnacle of the Sport would be anathema to him. The thought that an ET event might actually enhance his investment would never occur to him.

I was surprised he got it for, what?, 40 Mill?? $63M is what's quoted in the press here.

He may still be behind Dick Cheney as the most unlikable person in the world, but certainly on the podium.

Well Cheney's first name then most fitting. Although he seems to be hiding in the Bush these days..?   

Golf and big ego's is not an uncommon combination. As The Donald could never be title sponsor of a Major, a regular event would after all give him the opportunity to name it after himself. How does "The Turnberry Donald Trump Invitational" sound? (Or "The Hairytage"?)

Increasing speculation that the PGA Of America are awarding the 2022 PGA Championship to Drumpf's Bedminster course in New Jersey.

That'll be good - 156 Republicans teeing it up at NeoCon President Drumpf's lay-out with McLaren (is that Bruce or the Scottish inmate in Porridge?) being the only socialist invitee allowed on to the grounds.

Only kidding Mac.

Kwini

I am no trump fan, it just so happens he provides a method of protecting some of the worlds great courses from meddling by organizations only interested in a limited number of professional golf tournaments. I am not even a fan of his courses, even trumpberry is well down my list of favorite Scottish courses.

I guess it is bruce. On the old 606 my name was actually McLarenM23 and then McLaren mp4/4. Both chassis designations for Mclaren F1 cars.



If trump were to make a racist/sexist/something vulgar remark - and lets face it, it is bubbling just below the surface at all times - do you think the golfing powers that be would hand out a lifetime ban on using his venues and ban him from events?

Drumpf is always making inappropriate remarks, he's just a big, bombastic bully with bad hair. Is that all attributable to his Scottish mother or Prussian Dad?

Mac,
Just kidding about the name, I remember M23 well.

His daughter is not bad though.

GPB wrote:

pedro wrote:Donald Trump to host a Major!
It's not Aprils fool: the man with the hairdo has purchased the Turnberry Resort.

Soon to renamed Trumpberry.

GEORGE!! did you really pick Lee Westwood this week? After all the Westwood bashing you actually picked him? I bet this is going to go through to all the troops.    FORE