PGA Tour: Who'll be Leaving Las Vegas with a Win?: Notes from the Ballwasher

First topic message reminder :

1).Sang Moon Bae left Silverado with the win, heading what was an international leaderboard . . . . after Americans winning the first dozen or so tournaments last season.
Bae enjoyed his first Top Ten finish since his Byron Nelson win in 2013.
And he wasn't the only one with a bolt from the blue:

2).Bowditch was runner up, his first Top Ten since his April win in Texas.
And, apart from Mahan and Matsuyama, the entire Top Ten and ties earned their best finish of 2014.

3).That includes Martin Laird who tied for 3rd after leading after 36 holes. That's his best since Texas in 2013 and he'll go to Las Vegas in decent form and looking forward to an event he has won once, and lost to Byrd's hole-in-one play-off win four years ago.
The first half of Laird's year was all about his new son and he missed out on FedEx's Play-Offs. But he's on his way this season and Las Vegas's TPC Summerlin obviously suits him.

4).Westwood finished 12th and then announced his caddie had spotted an alignment problem after a disappointing Round 1. Now he's straightened out he can go to Malaysia and Shanghai in good nick with high hopes of kicking 2015 off with a bag-full of money and FedEx points already in his grasp.

5).This is the final week to qualify for China's WGC HSBC Champions event via the owgr Top 50 . . . . and the R2D Top 15.
The next Major milestone will be Dec 31st when the owgr Top 50 will qualify to join Sang Moon at The Masters. So, lots to play for as the European Tour reaches its season's climax and there are still half a dozen events on the PGA Tour, not to mention rewarding tournaments elsewhere. The PGA Tour player who opts to take a breather during this time could well find himself slipping behind, both in rankings and FedEx points.

6).Billy Horschel is back in action this week, technically defending his FedEx title, and is joined by defending Las Vegas champ, and habitual texter, Webb Simpson. Jimmy Walker's playing too, but not sure why. He played last weekend as if he was suffering a Gleneagles hangover.

7).Jarrod Lyle is in the Las Vegas field after completing a wonderful week at the Frys. Not just Monday qualifying, not just winning $33K, but he now has just $250K to earn from 19 tournaments to fulfil the requirements of his Medical Extension. Hopefully he'll win plenty more than that, and the big prize is finishing the season in the Top 125. His schedule takes a detour after this week as he's off back to Australia for a few tournaments and medical check ups, after which one assumes with fingers crossed that we'll see him next in Hawaii.

8).There are the usual European suspects playing this week, including Laird, Harrington and Gonzo. And Russell Knox who showed plenty of rust at Silverado but has played well in his Las Vegas past; in the top ten after 54 holes last year before fading.
Local lads with good records here and well worth looking out for include Ryan Moore and Charlie Hoffman, while I'd be happy to see Nick Watney resume his good form of late summer.

9).Not so many Tour trips to the desert this year, just Las Vegas, the Humana (the old Bob Hope) in the California desert, and Phoenix. No Tucson event and Humana is not renewing its contract.
But Silverado looked a great addition to the Tour, thought the course looked a really interesting challenge with a fun ending - Par-5 16th, shortish Par-4 17th and another Par-5 to close.

10).Can't finish without a Ryder Cup funny.
There was a great picture of a Newcastle fan's banner at Swansea a week or so ago lamenting their recent record under Pardew.
To paraphrase their W's, D's and mostly L's:
L L W L L L W L L L  . . . . . is not a town in Wales!

incontinentia wrote:Not the first time that's been noticed robo, it would be nice if there was more balance here. I often wonder if there is ANYONE in the world who meets certain people's approval.

Yeah... well maybe this wasn't a place to stick my nose in because I can't say as though I've really paid all that much attention to Bono over the years to be in a position to comment on him specifically. But that said, I have observed enough of him to be left with an impression of here's a guy who's at least trying to do SOMETHING for others or the greater good. And when I balance that against those who do NOTHING, I find it hard to criticize.

robo,
Nice couple of rounds for Wayno - did I see Judy on the bag (unkind image, sorry Jude)? Could be his Senior swan-song.

Amazing that the Champo exemptions for next year are down in the very low 30's - not so long ago anyone finishing in the money-list mid-40's would be assured of making most fields.

I understand lift clean and place, but why do they also get to place the ball within a club length ? I just saw Pablo at the Volvo lift his ball from the fringe, clean it, and place it onto the green. There was no casual water or anything. I know it's the rules but it doesn't seem right. By the way, two Swedes playing each other in the Volvo -- that's a turnip for the book.

Larrazabal drop?
Didn't see it Plunky, but that can be the advantage, one of many, of lift, clean and place/cheat. Think you just saw an example!
Ilonen thru' to the Final!

Seven birdies and two bogies for Wayno in round 2. Kwin, maybe he needs someone on his bag that can read putts?

Robo - Well stated!

On a related topic ... I was in Omaha this week, and meeting with the marketing people at the same insurance company Stenson has on his hat (and so many other golfers on tour have on their shirt, hat, etc.). They have been a client for years. The topic came up about so many of these golf endorsements. More than one of the execs I was having dinner with raised their eyebrows about this. Simply impossible to measure its impact -- and it was made clear there are plenty of egos involved with the spend.

The oldest profession in the world. First you have to advertise the goods!

Were you being treated for Ebola, Sr? Or getting advice from the Sage??

Were your MofO execs happy or dismayed with the advertising spend? Not completely clear from your post, but looks positive for them.

Three fascinating golf tournaments for our viewing pleasure, plus the Leroy Fer charity.

Kwin - No Ebola or Buffet sightings. (BTW, if ever in Omaha, check out Warren's house. NOT an impressive structure for one of the wealthiest men on the planet. Good for him.)

Not entirely happy with the spend; but again -- no way to ascertain the effectiveness, just an awareness builder. I would rather they spent more with me!

Tom Hoge, playing as a single, finishes in 2 hrs 23 minutes.

Canadian Adam Hadwin the only player going deep among the early starters.

Adam Hadwin could turn out to be quite the player. He's done well in very few Tour starts (esp Canadian Open) in the past, and seems to be slowly but steadily developing. Good to see Canadians flourish as Ames is gone and Weir is playing on past memories.

The Jarrod Lyle comeback continues in style, a decent finish (about 40th) this week and he must be thrilled with the start to his year.

Time for Knox and Laird to get cracking now.

Not going to be Scotland's day in Las Vegas, barring a miracle, something like Hamilton leading the League.
Laird in the slow lane and Knox looking a beaten man, body language like mine as I go to the dentist. You can't win like that mate.

Speaking of Scotland: Slumbers has been appointed new Chief Executive of the R&A. What a fitting name for an R&A exec!

You couldn't make it up, pedro!

Not sure who's going to win in Las Vegas, but distinct lack of fireworks from the final few groups. Gordon Strachan needed to inspire Knox & Laird.

Nice (3rd place in the end) comeback from Russell Knox, while Martin Laird saw it all fall apart. Two Top 20's in the first two weeks is very good, but opportunities were there for so much more.

Ben Martin was always going to be a winner on Tour, but who'd've thunk it after he was something like 143rd out of 144 last week?

Knox and Laird will both have good seasons but today was not their best day.

robopz wrote:

incontinentia wrote:Not the first time that's been noticed robo, it would be nice if there was more balance here. I often wonder if there is ANYONE in the world who meets certain people's approval.

 Yeah... well maybe this wasn't a place to stick my nose in because I can't say as though I've really paid all that much attention to Bono over the years to be in a position to comment on him specifically. But that said, I have observed enough of him to be left with an impression of here's a guy who's at least trying to do SOMETHING for others or the greater good.  And when I balance that against those who do NOTHING, I find it hard to criticize.

Ah well. It's easy to appear to be doing something when one has a stack of cash and the media fawn over your every word. I'm sure many more, do more with less money (relatively) and don't blow their own trumpet on the subject. Just out of interest, how do you know who does nothing?

Hadn't spotted the "Top 15 not otherwise exempt from the R2D" route into the HSBC-Champions.
Qualifiers via that channel are reported to be:
Donaldson, Luiten, Ilonen, Gallacher, Lowry, Jaidee, Fleetwood, Jimenez, Levy, Blixt, Els, 2 x Molinaris, Dyson.

It seems as if "Sharon" couldn't resist having his say about sirnick:

http://www.golfchannel.com/news/golf-central-blog/poulter-european-players-have-lost-respect-faldo/

Oh well, It'll sell a few more books.
EDIT: Sharon was a Captain's pick for Valhalla, he might find he's inviting a short, sharp riposte, however well he played.

Didn't sound like Poults was too out of line there Kwini, quite a measured response I thought without the need for it to be insulting or personal.

Agreed s_r,
But Faldo and Poulter have always "enjoyed" a positive relationship - not sure that he's the best person to come out against Faldo, especially as he was a Captain's Choice.
Hope this doesn't trigger an avalanche of others to come out and join the bandwagon; would be far better if the Valhalla team made a joint statement, in as constructive a way as possible, logistically difficult though that may be.

I think you can criticise someone for something they say without having them take offence about it.
I think Faldo would realise that he made a poor choice of words and would be man enough to respect Poulters stance on it.

On the other side, I imagine Poulter doesn't need to worry about what Faldo thinks, Faldo won't be Captain again, and Poulter won't need his advice when he's Captain.

Personally, I'd like to see the Europeans drop it. Nothing positive comes out of such things, they've shown they react like a team to criticism and in a proper manner, that should be the end of it. Let the Yanks implode publicly when it comes to falling out.

Agreed.
But that "joint statement" could be to say we're dropping it.
Agree that nothing good can come from individual snipers. I know he wants to sell his book, but think Poults could have said more by saying nothing.

Good News:
The European Tour announces two new events.

Bad News:
One is in Thailand, one is in India.

Come on O'Grady, do you own a travel agent or something?

Who can blame ET golfers for playing in the United States if this is what European Tourists have to look forward to?

navyblueshorts wrote:

robopz wrote:

incontinentia wrote:Not the first time that's been noticed robo, it would be nice if there was more balance here. I often wonder if there is ANYONE in the world who meets certain people's approval.

 Yeah... well maybe this wasn't a place to stick my nose in because I can't say as though I've really paid all that much attention to Bono over the years to be in a position to comment on him specifically. But that said, I have observed enough of him to be left with an impression of here's a guy who's at least trying to do SOMETHING for others or the greater good.  And when I balance that against those who do NOTHING, I find it hard to criticize.

Ah well. It's easy to appear to be doing something when one has a stack of cash and the media fawn over your every word. I'm sure many more, do more with less money (relatively) and don't blow their own trumpet on the subject. Just out of interest, how do you know who does nothing?

I agree that those that have 100 and give 20 are making a far greater relative contribution than one who has a 1000 and gives 100. And there are MANY of the former who do so without anybody ever knowing about it. But IMO that is no reason to disparage the one who gives 100... or uses his celebrity to raise many 100's more from other sources.

And of course I could never know for sure who does nothing, but my list of likely suspects would probably start with those who vociferously complain about those that do...

super_realist wrote:Personally, I'd like to see the Europeans drop it. Nothing positive comes out of such things, they've shown they react like a team to criticism and in a proper manner, that should be the end of it. Let the Yanks implode publicly when it comes to falling out.

Exactly... I was under the impression our American players have cornered the market on shifting the blame and responsibility of losing Ryder Cups onto anybody but themselves.   Not an attribute I would think the Europeans would want to embrace.  

Bottom line: Yeah... Faldo's more than a bit of pr**k...  and his revealing what he did about Sergio was total BS.  But that has little to do with why Europe lost at Vahalla despite what real mistakes and/or revisionist history Euro players from that team might try to foist on us now.  The REAL undeniable fact of the matter is Europe lost that RC for the exact same reason the American's have lost most of theirs.  Their "chalk" players sucked. The top 4 OWGR ranked European players on that squad (Garcia, Harrington, Stenson & Westwood), who should have carried the load by winning gobs of points went something like a pathetic 1-9-6.  And despite Faldo's 2 captains picks going a combined 4-2-2... that was just too much of a choke job by the "chalk" to overcome.  IMO there's not a frickin thing any captain could have done to pull out a win in those circumstances.

kwinigolfer wrote:Good News:
The European Tour announces two new events.

Bad News:
One is in Thailand, one is in India.

Come on O'Grady, do you own a travel agent or something?

Who can blame ET golfers for playing in the United States if this is what European Tourists have to look forward to?

and the article fails to mention the Nelson Mandella & Volvo Golf Champions are gone... so it appears as though nothing really gained.

kwinigolfer wrote:Good News:
The European Tour announces two new events.

Bad News:
One is in Thailand, one is in India.

Come on O'Grady, do you own a travel agent or something?

Who can blame ET golfers for playing in the United States if this is what European Tourists have to look forward to?

6 tourneys in SAF are still far too many. Cut it in half and start the season later.
Don't believe the tourney in India will survive. Players need visa and established players wouldn't want to bother. It's hassle enough to get visa for China.

pedro wrote:6 tourneys in SAF are still far too many. Cut it in half and start the season later.
Don't believe the tourney in India will survive. Players need visa and established players wouldn't want to bother. It's hassle enough to get visa for China.

Yeah... 6 in SAF does seem a bit much... but I guess it's better than the 8 they had last year.  

But I wouldn't sell the Hero India event short just yet. So many times events survive and flourish solely because of the energy and dedication of the sponsor.. and Hero seems to have a "golf nut" in it's CEO, Pawan Munjal.  They're taking on this one in India and Tiger's World Challenge...

And on the visa front... doesn't the European Tour have a travel/player assistance office similar to the PGAT to assist players in such matters?

It looks like Tiger is back practicing on the range.

FWIW, Hero sponsors a tournament in India on Ladies European Tour.

sirbenson wrote:It looks like Tiger is back practicing on the range.

Where did you hear that?  I know he gave several clinics at his charity deal at Pebble last week... but didn't hear how "hard" he went at it...

EDIT: Never mind the question... I see it up all over the place now... GC for instance... Next up: Tiger ties shoes... News at 11... !!!!

robo, yeah the management firm takes care of the visa thing, but it still takes some planning to live without a passport for 1-2 weeks.

Mcilroy to take break from the game in order to deal with legal issues.

http://www.golfdigest.com/blogs/the-loop/2014/10/report-rory-to-take-break-from.html

You have to think he would be taking a break at this time regardless of whether he faced a court battle.

Just my thoughts Mac. Think it's just an excuse to skip a tourney. And who knows - maybe he'll play a multi million $$ exhibition event in stead in the neighboring town - like he did last year with Tiger.

The Irish Independent is reporting that Rory is skipping BMW Masters and HSBC WGC.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/golf/rory-mcilroy/11174764/Rory-McIlroy-faces-February-court-date-as-mediation-between-lawyers-and-Horizon-fails.html

Irish Independent wrote:McIlroy will sit out the forthcoming BMW Masters or the WGC - HSBC Champions and is expected to return at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai on November 20.

How is he allowed to play the R2D Championship?

Last year they would not Schwartzel play because he missed Two of the Three Lead up events to the R2D Championship.

"or", not "and".

But if he skipped the entire final series, he'd still win the RTD comfortably.

Edit: articles a bit ambigous, but it does look like Rory is skipping the three events leading up to the Dubai WC.
And GPB, they removed the criteria of having to play 2 of 3 tourneys leading up to the Dubai WC.

McLaren wrote:Mcilroy to take break from the game in order to deal with legal issues.  

http://www.golfdigest.com/blogs/the-loop/2014/10/report-rory-to-take-break-from.html

You have to think he would be taking a break at this time regardless of whether he faced a court battle.

NOt sure why he needs to use the excuse of legal issues to take a rest, I'm sure lawyers could handle it without him. He's not Rumpole.

You know you've made it when people are carving your face into pumpkins.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/rory-mcilroy-pumpkin-likeness-to-showcase-at-castle-ward-pumpkinfest-30676065.html

incontinentia wrote:You know you've made it when people are carving your face into pumpkins.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/rory-mcilroy-pumpkin-likeness-to-showcase-at-castle-ward-pumpkinfest-30676065.html

So true.

Someone tell Bono.

incontinentia wrote:You know you've made it when people are carving your face into pumpkins.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/rory-mcilroy-pumpkin-likeness-to-showcase-at-castle-ward-pumpkinfest-30676065.html

From Pube Head to Pumpkin Head.

pedro wrote:

incontinentia wrote:You know you've made it when people are carving your face into pumpkins.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/rory-mcilroy-pumpkin-likeness-to-showcase-at-castle-ward-pumpkinfest-30676065.html

From Pube Head to Pumpkin Head.

I have six titles on the "big" Tour, was in the World's Top Ten just four years ago, but now I can't get by the first stage of web.com Q-School.

Who am I??

Chris Di Marco?

Nope! And a clue especially for you s_r: It's not E.T.Woods either.

I'll Stew on that for a while kwini. He must have had a major Cink in his armour to fall so far in the OWGR!

England's David Skinns & Garrick Porteous also missed out but Dornoch's Jimmy Gunn, Spain's Pablo Martin and North Wales' Ben Briscoe all live to fight another day, in Stage 2.

More Stage 1 action starting today.

Where is the Q school info/stats/live stashed on the interwang Kwini?

Roller,
Here's a link from pgatour.com:

http://pgatq.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/pgatq14/schedule/index.htm

'Course, Now you'll be able to fish for the Who Am I? answer . . . . . .

Ha ha, I read it last night as well kwini.

Now we have to cheer for Kafelnikov in stead.

Is he American?