PGA Tour: "The Players Championship", Self-Proclaimed Fifth Major: Notes from the Ballwasher

1).This week will see the 41st edition of the PGA Tour's showpiece event, "The Players Championship", a travelling show for its first few years but, since 1982, a fixture at Pete Dye's Stadium Course at TPC at Sawgrass, just a few miles from Jacksonville, Florida.
The Tour brands it the "Fifth Major", but that definition is in the eye of the beholder - sure Adam Scott would rate the Aussie Open at a higher level, while many ET members would say their fifth Major comes in two weeks' time, at Wentworth.

2).There's a terrific field on hand, though the person receiving most publicity this week is, of course, nowhere to be found - but Tiger Woods's "blog" breathlessly updating his medical condition has taken the headlines, as no doubt it was intended to do.
Next as a topic of conversation this week is the condition of the greens at the TPC, with the putting surfaces at #'s 4, 11 & 12 closed during practice rounds on Monday and Tuesday. Needless to say weather is being blamed but apparently a "plant growth regulator" was mis-applied. A year or three ago it was East Lake's greens, last year Quail Hollow's and now the TPC.
Imagine Wentworth's will be pristine by comparison.

3).I enjoy most things about the "Players" and about the TPC course, all except the 17th hole which still seems unnecessarily sh1t or bust, part of the NASCAR-type attraction I know, but hardly golf. One change this year will be in the format of any Play-Off. Instead of going straight to the sudden-death lottery of #17, they'll play three holes, #'s 16, 17 & 18 and use an aggregate score, two fine holes sandwiching a circus.

4).pgatour.com tells us that JB Holmes hit an amazing (to me anyway) 24 drives of 320 yards or more in winning last week's Well Fargo Championship. Fantastic comeback for JB from all his surgeries - he started the season on a Medical Extension and now he's all the way back as a top player.
Quail Hollow looked a picture - I love the changes, especially to the 16th which has gone from a nothing hole to a spectacular 500 yard (but downhill to the green) challenge.
And: If the Par-4 14th hole is not the best short Par-4 in tournament golf it has to be in the top two, with Rivera's 10th. Sacrilege I know, but I'd rate it ahead of the hole that Rivera's 10th has become.

5).Last week at Quail Hollow is a timely reminder that the PGA Champioship will be held there in 2017. Future sites:
2014: Valhalla
2015: Whistling Straits
2016: Baltusrol
2017: Quail Hollow
2018: Bellerive
2019: Bethpage Black
2020, 2021: TBA
2022: Trump National

6).JB Holmes played on the 2005 US Walker Cup Team that squeaked by GB&I at Chicago Golf Club. He was beaten in a singles Match, 5&4, by young Englishman, Matthew Richardson. After an unsuccessful stint on the European Tour, Richardson has been on the fringes of the US Pro Tours for the past few years, including making the cut in the 2010 US Open. He's at it again, advancing from a Local Qualifier yesterday. On to Sectional Qualifying against exempt Tour Players in a few weeks and let's hope he makes it on to Pinehurst.

7).Speaking of which!
It's OK to follow the Tigers and Phils of the golf world, but I'm more interested in the guys who don't make the headlines. How's this for the four-week odyssey of an aspiring young local pro who narrowly missed out on web.com status for 2014:
April 14th - 17th: Won Gateway MatchPlay tournament in Arizona: $25,000 in the bank. Fast forward 750 miles east to Midland, TX:
April 24th - 27th: Sponsors invite got him in to the web.com's WNB Golf Classic. Finished T9, and banked $14K. Which gets him in to:
May 1st - 4th: South Georgia Classic, 1,100 east. He finishes T8 and pockets $19K, but had previously signed up for the US Open Local Qualifier in Tucson, AZ, 1,900 miles back west on May 5th.
May 5th: Tucson, AZ: Qualifies for US Open Sectional Qualifying. He had previously played the US Open at Bethpage and made the cut.
Because of his result in Georgia he gets to come back east again next week for the web.commer in Greer, SC. Phew!
How long before he acquires status on the web.com Tour I'm not sure. But for a young married man, high school ski-racer competing with Keegan Bradley as it happens, it's a hard grind until you reach the "Show". Hope he makes it; you know he'll appreciate it if he does. Meanwhile, his efforts last year on the Canadian Tour secured him exemption there if things don't work out.

8).At the other end of the scale, Messrs Crenshaw and Watson have reportedly announced next year's Masters will be their last. Are you paying attention Woosie? O'Meara??

9).Who will follow in the steps of Sandy Lyle, Stenson and Sergio and become Europe's fourth winner of The Players?
Some reasons for optimism; perhaps Sergio or Stenson can repeat? Luke Donald and Martin Kaymer are in decent form and Justin Rose has been knocking on the door recently (though he's been closing like Liverpool).  I can't see Martin Laird repeating his fine finishes in 2012 & 2013, or Lee Westwood winning the event he should arguably have won a couple of years ago; Franny Molinari has played well here in the past, but he always seems to come up a few crucial putts short whenever in US contention.
Russell Knox was the last player in to the field, lives locally and seems to enjoy Pete Dye courses - it wouldn't surprise me if he was the leading British competitor.

10).It seems that golf's navigators increasingly contend at The Players, and Tim Clark, KJ Choi and Kuchar have won recently.
This is usually the start of Zach Johnson-season on Tour and I'm hopeful he'll get in to top gear this week. And no-one is in better form than Kuchar.
The forecast for Tournament week is for warm, mostly dry weather with just enough wind to make things interesting. And not just from Johnny Miller.
Should be a great week.

Nice write up as always Kwini.

I didn't see much of the golf this weekend but did catch the guys in the Sky studio discussing the changes to the Quail Hollow 16th. Pretty amazing what the course has done but the guys in the studio weren't in favour.

Basically they said that previously it was a tough driving hole that if you pushed it right you ended in the trees with little chance of getting to the green. Now there is very little penalty and if you go right there is just one tree and then hospitality from which you get a free drop.

They understood why the changes had been made and how much the sponsors put into the tournaments but were looking at it just from a hole point of view. I think it was Rob Lee, Andrew Coulthard and Denis Pugh.

As for the 17th at Sawgrass, I with you. Fun to watch but a bit too tricked up for me for a tournament.

Interesting bit on the web.com wanabee. The miles that these guys clock up is pretty incredible. I don't suppose that anyone would be confident enough to try it but I wonder whether someone at that level would try and play a much reduced schedule to play the courses that suit them and making sure that they peak rather than play everywhere that takes them just to try and get enough money together. After all this is what the top players do as I assume that they think that it works better as a season long strategy. May not be possible in this case as it doesn't sound like he has the card for it.

Great write up Kwin.

Must admit I do like the 17th -- however, I think that once a year is plenty for it! Hard to believe with all the resources at hand they are still having such difficulty on the greens. Hope those conditions don't come too much into play.

Cheers Chaps,

289;
I agree they have to re-think the hospitality nonsense on the right of QH's 16th.
But that was a boring hole, a bunker coming in to play on the right far more than the trees, and the green complex was dreary to say the least with bleachers coming in to play immediately behind the green. If in trouble, just hit it long and have a straigtforward up-and-down.
As you suggest, our local Tour wannabe just has to take chances when they present themselves until he (re)gains "status" Altho' he's from VT, he lives in Arizona, which is fine for mini-tours, but not for most opportunities in Canada or the web.com!

Hoping your mate Joost has a good week - this course may suit him.

twoeightnine wrote:
They understood why the changes had been made and how much the sponsors put into the tournaments but were looking at it just from a hole point of view.  I think it was Rob Lee, Andrew Coulthard and Denis Pugh.

As for the 17th at Sawgrass, I with you.  Fun to watch but a bit too tricked up for me for a tournament.

Yes it was RL, AC and DP - and very good they were too - far better than the Sky Golf "A" team

For the 17th I really don't see why some dislike it so much. It often plays quite short so why is it a circus? It's not as if it has a clown's head, giant's legs or windmills .. a decent test of a short (ish) par 3 I would say

Kwini, Did Trevor Murphy grow up in St Johnsbury? Is there even a golf course there?

40 years ago I was in special school group (7th grade) and we camped and toured Vermont for a week after school was over. The main roads into and out of St Johnsbury were gravel roads.

Nothing but deep forests, moose and black bears (ticks and mosquitos too)

Courses in St.J?
No idea about courses in St.J; but he can't be that far away from Barre CC and that's supposed to be a pretty good test. He's doing well though; chasing a dream and plugging away when many others would have called it quits. Not many can say they shot a 56!

(PS: You sound like the great Lucinda with your Car Wheels On A Gravel Road!)


Davie,
The thing I don't like is that you can hit a perfectly good shot and suffer a penalty out of proportion to any hard bounce, gust of wind or whatever it might be. And the drop zone is no bargain either.

Scott or anyone else can think the Aussie open or Wentworth are the 5th major, but they would be spectacularly wrong. Given they are anywhere between 50 and 20 OWGR points away from being among the very best non major events.

And I am not counting Wentworths bump up to 60 odd points. As far as I can remember it has never come near reaching that number on merit.


I agree with you on the 17th, there are ways to have a brutal short par three and removing the chance of recovery is not one of them.

DJ, phil and fowler play 17 with their other hand.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/golf-devil-ball-golf/watch-rickie-fowler--dustin-johnson-and-phil-mickelson-play-the-17th-at-sawgrass-wrong-handed-184553288.html

Kwin - Did Adam Scott actually "rate" the Australian Open at a "higher level" as you state? And what ET members have rated the event at Wentworth at a "higher level"?

"Timmy" once again attracts the top players. Fat purse, exceptional accommodations, challenging course ... it's how you get the best players. Euro Tour, take note!

Mac - ... makes me think, is the best and most challenging short par 3 in major professional golf the "postage stamp"? And let's not forget Phil's airmailing Merion's 13th last summer while Justin Rose had no such trouble. Another fine short 3 par.

Sr,
It's not whether you rate a tournament at a higher level, it's what you consider the Fifth Major to be. The Aussie Open has 100 years of tradition and extraordinary list of Champions that some wannabes don't have. And it's usually played on top class courses. Not unlike Wentworth of course.

Sandy Lyle was right about the difference between the value of his win at RSG and The Players: About 100 years. Tradition still has some value. And that's not to diminish what Finchem has done with The Players and the fine, fun course that the TPC has become.

Short Par-3? Best I've played is Pebble Beach's 7th hole.

Kwin - Boy do I disagree with that thinking ... standing on tradition above the realities of the marketplace is one of the primary reasons the ET is what it is. I can almost hear the "harumph, harumphs".

The "extraordinary" list of champions at places like Wentworth and the Aussie Open is more a reflection of selection and privilege than anything else. The fields of the British Open were extraordinarily weak as recent as the heyday of Jack Nicklaus. Time marches on - ignore it all you want, but it's why the best of Australia and the UK choose to compete here full time (by and large).

And did Adam Scott actually state that? Is there a source?

Yes! But I can't find it. It was contained in an article where players were asked to nominate their fifth Major - JJ Henry for instance advocating for the Travelers, several ET golfers the BMW PGA, David Toms Colonial.

But sport is in a sad place where the marketplace, your domain I know, dictates posterity.

Kwini

I guess the 5th major debate is somewhat pointless given it is unlikely to happen, but I can certainly see your point about history.

Just say the Aussie open is given major status, and the prize fund and OWGR that come with that.  I am pretty sure the top 100 players in the world would show up.  So here we have a major created from historic reasoning.  So yes, you could create a major based on history regardless of the current status of the tournament in terms of field strength.

But would you want to do it that way or give the 5th major title to an event that is currently almost the strength of major?


As for best brutal short par 3 in pro golf, I am not sure.  Postage stamp must be in the mix.  My favorite is the 7th at barnbougle dunes.

Spoiler:

Getting up and down requires an almost impossible shot to get up and down.  But at least it is still possible.

That's some hole Mac.

Reminds me of Pine Valley's 10th (designed by Colt they say).

Has finchem lost his commercial touch?

http://www.geoffshackelford.com/homepage/2014/5/6/clock-ticking-on-wgc-match-play.html

No one willing to pay the going rate for a WGC.

kwinigolfer wrote:Courses in St.J?
No idea about courses in St.J; but he can't be that far away from Barre CC and that's supposed to be a pretty good test. He's doing well though; chasing a dream and plugging away when many others would have called it quits. Not many can say they shot a 56!

(PS: You sound like the great Lucinda with your Car Wheels On A Gravel Road!)


Davie,
The thing I don't like is that you can hit a perfectly good shot and suffer a penalty out of proportion to any hard bounce, gust of wind or whatever it might be. And the drop zone is no bargain either.

  Of all the musical references the old BBC weekly posts used to use, that one may be your best Kwini

kwinigolfer wrote:Yes! But I can't find it. It was contained in an article where players were asked to nominate their fifth Major - JJ Henry for instance advocating for the Travelers, several ET golfers the BMW PGA, David Toms Colonial.

But sport is in a sad place where the marketplace, your domain I know, dictates posterity.

As ever. I think balance and perspective come into play.  Look at the extremes - were someone to offer a $5m dollar first prize, attract a huge top-rate field and play it on a poor course, I don't think any reasonable golf fan would instantly say it's the 5th Major.  Similarly, there are competitions at venues that have been running for years, but attract only a no-name field and nobody would claim they are the 5th major either.  

A decent field, a decent history and being played on (a) great course(s) would be the minimum requirements, and then it needs that certain something.  The first three are highly subjective as it is, but the last comes from a personal perspective and I can see why Scott said what he did.

As for The Players being called the Fifth Major, I always assumed that was the marketing machine at work...which doesn't necessarily make it untrue.

Mac - I think Tim's going to need all the help and luck he can get with that (at least for US Sponsors) ... Nice event ... but sponsors want big draw names on Sunday. And if Rory, Tiger, Phil, etc. are long gone there goes the all-important "transitional" viewer.

I can't understand why Volvo wouldn't step up for the MatchPlay.


Looks like Lee Westwood opens the batting Thursday off #1 - the forecast continues to be good, warm and dry, a bit breezy perhaps with a chance of showers on Sunday.

"......As for Royal Adelaide itself, whilst it was undoubtedly fair, it was also brutally tough. In fact the resultant test, combined with the event's history, moved Nick Faldo to follow the sentiments previously uttered by Jack Nicklaus and Raymond Floyd, and proclaim that the Australian Open should be made the world's fifth Major. He additionally expressed his amazement that such status hadn't been bestowed long ago. Between them, these three players have won 28 Majors - maybe it's time someone started listening….."
from:
http://www.golf.org.au/mens-australian-open/history/the-championship

Get rid of the PGA and make the Ozzy Open a Major??

Good luck!

PGA is the strongest field of all majors. If any is to be replaced I would vote for "The Masters" ... talk about milking a "tradition".

Shotrock wrote:Good luck!

PGA is the strongest field of all majors. If any is to be replaced I would vote for "The Masters" ... talk about milking a "tradition".

Tempted to agree there. Much as I like The Masters (spring, Georgia sunshine etc etc), is the course really all that? Take away the tricked up greens and what do you have? Not a lot more than any reasonable Tour venue?

Media reports now saying the WGC MatchPlay will definitely NOT be played before May next year at the earliest. Not sure I quite get that, but haven't seen the Tour's calendar.
But would think Tucson's Conquistadors (or have run the Tucson Open and successors for yonks) must be properly p1ssed off with Finchem and the Tours.
Finchem for expunging any Tucson stop from the calendar (tho perhaps the autumn is a possibility for a revived Tucson Open?), and the Tours for letting the MatchPlay wither.
Wonder to what extent the US players' traditionally feeble showing over the years is responsible?

Perhaps now the World Tours will grow some balls and reposition the WGC MatchPlay elsewhere?

If there is no match play until May, it is high time for George 'Chubby' O'Grady to step and find a euro sponsor and Euro location for the event.

Good Point, GPB ... let's see if "Chubby" can get 'er done.

Money talks, you know what walks!

All the more reason why Volvo should reinvent their MatchPlay event as a WGC. Preferably in Europe of course.

Send the BMW to Munich and play the WGC matchplay at Wentworth in May. Easy

If the WGC Matchplay disappears doesn't it mean that those players plying their trade on both tours would have to find an extra tournament on both sides of the pond to make up their playing committments?

You're never wrong; can't see anyone avoiding the WGC Champions again!
It also affects the PGA Tour pros who play a skimpy schedule. Still, it neatly dispenses with the annual angst that a first-round loser "earns" more points than a top fifteen finisher in a more run of the mill event.

I haven't ever got the impression that Tim Finchem gives a monkey's about the MatchPlay, especially given Woods' indifference and Mickelson's customary absence.
Wouldn't it be something if it could somehow return to Wentworth with huge crowds who might actually appreciate it?

Volvo/Suntory Matchplay at Wentworth was always my Golf TV highlight. You can keep the Open and all the other sundry the BBC had. That was the tournament I liked the most.

I'm never wrong wrote:If the WGC Matchplay disappears doesn't it mean that those players plying their trade on both tours would have to find an extra tournament on both sides of the pond to make up their playing committments?

Unless there is a policy change, yes it does. Good point.

The tax situation in the UK will prevent a lot of players from playing at Wentworth.

I do not wish to debate UK's tax system, only to say that it will prevent a good field from showing up.

Ah, the same taxphobics who won't live or play in California.

Does it have to be resurrected as a matchplay event? It would seem rather dull to have another strokeplay WGC but I assume there is nothing to stop this happening?


As for the tax rules, are they really that bad.

If you play in the UK you are taxed at 50% on your winnings, then a small proportion of global income.

Say a golfer "trains" about 250 days a year. And then plays wentworth, the scottish open and the open. Which includes 20 days training in the UK.

They would be taxed by the uk government on 8% {[20/250]*100%} of their global yearly endorsement income. If the player got £5 million a year in endorsements they would pay tax on only £400000 of that. And that is without accountants fiddling the number, I would imagine they manage to get the number for total days trained a year somewhere near the 365 days mark, as all the golfer would have to do is roll a few putts along the office floor every day. If they also get practice days excluded you are looking at a very small % of the endorsement income that HMRC can tax.

And no doubt if the UK government tax them they get tax breaks in whatever state they live in.

Weatherwise, it's such a lovely day - at the TPC.
Good news for Westwood and the other early starters, not much of a breeze and conditions should be ideal for scoring.
Decent weather all weekend though could get windy Friday p.m.

They're off at 7.15 a.m.

It looks all set to be a birdie fest tbh.

birdie fest?
Don't much care so long as the leaderboard stays like this! Come on Lee!!

Could be a bit windy for Westwoodd's Round 2 so time to make hay while the breeze is down.

Early doors. Still time for lw1 to mess up. Hope not but...

Pube Head going along nicely too, but both him and Fat Lee have a tendency to throw in a gash round.

Yep. Especially recently.

kwinigolfer wrote:
This is usually the start of Zach Johnson-season on Tour and I'm hopeful he'll get in to top gear this week.

3 under after 3. Kwini, you are Nostradamus!

I'd rather Zach Johnson was struck by lightning Kwini.

Zach: 2 under after 4, not so fast!
Zach struck by lightning? Who would he be praising then?
 
Lots of birdies already, but plenty of bogeys and others too.
What has happened to Billy Horschel? +5 after 5 holes, and this is his home course!

Yank Favourite Garcia also going along nicely.

super_realist wrote:I'd rather Zach Johnson was struck by lightning Kwini.

A bit much methinks.

Apologies navy. That was completely unnecessary. Sorry.