PGA Tour: Season's GB&I / Europeans Report Card: Notes from the Ballwasher

1).Let's take time to reflect on who did well during the 2013/2014 season, and who had 12-months they'd just as soon forget. By order of finish on the Official Money List, and rated A thru F (fail):

2).1 - 30:
McIlroy: A+++: It's all been said elsewhere. The sky's the limit.
Garcia: B+:      No "A"'s for galactico non-winners. Time for some big wins.
Kaymer: A++:   Two big ups more than compensate for the smattering of downs.
Rose: A:          Struggled with niggling injuries early, including to his putter. Purple patch in mid-summer. In the prime of his career so much more is expected - perhaps the Ryder Cup success is the springboard he needed?

3).31 - 60:
McDowell: B:     Only played three times in a 3-month period as he took a pre-paternity break. Got the season off to a fast (HSBC) start and kind of free-wheeled after that. Expect a strong 2014/15.
Jacobson: B-:    Freddie looks like he's content to be Freddie. Ho-hum, narrowly missed out at the Wyndham, $2M in the bank, short-game genius but short and crooked off the tee. The only thing he's best at on Tour is table-tennis.
Stenson: C:       Henrik spent all year complaining how knackered he was, and mostly played like it. Hope he takes a nice break and proves to be a 2013-like force in next year's Majors.

4).61 - 75:
Poulter: E:        Won more than half his money at the HSBC Champions last November. Dismal year, terrible stats (which for once don't lie) and will flirt with losing his card if he repeats his 2014.
Knox: A:           Come on, who expected such a fine year from the callow Scot??!! Top 35's in all but two of his first 11 events set his year up. All ball-striking stats good so a stroke-a-tournament gained around the greens will catapult him to leaderboards week in, week out. Should have got closer to the Las Vegas title two weeks ago, terrible body language during his mid-round (4) wobble.
Donald: C-:      A tale of two seasons. Good start (B), domestic upheaval (I imagine) followed by lousy second half (E). Don't care who you are, for a family man to be working 3,000 miles away when your child is born prematurely has got to take its toll on the family. Take a break, get that swing-change sorted and fine-tune your short game and 2015 should be a success. I hope.


5).76 - 90:
Pettersson: C:    Much improved after an awful 2013. No wins though, and a dodgy short game. Last chance to make hay before you bin that putter Carl.
Blixt: C-:           Only Top 15 was his Masters runner-up. World class short game can't disguise abysmal ball-striking (171st on Tour). Career on the line this season.
Westwood: D:    Woke up in time for decent finishes at Augusta, The Players and PGA. Rubbish otherwise. Sh1t or bust for Lee this year, I'd think, but off to a good start at the Frys and returning this week to a happy hunting ground. Expect a very good year. Otherwise sell up and return to Worksop.

6).91 - 125:
Gonzo: C-:         Waited until July for his first Top 20 finish, 4th in Canada which saved his season. Terrible stats right across the board, awful start to the new season and the moving-to-Miami experiment could be over by August.
Casey: B:           Resurrected his Tour career from the uncertainty of conditional status, a significant achievement. But he's 37 and, if he's going to return to World Class, you'd think it needs to be now. A good few weeks coming up and he'll be back in the owgr Top 50 - a big help, to his schedule and his confidence.
Davis: E:            No Top 10's all year, missed the $1M earnings mark for the first time in 8 years, and a poor start this season. More of the same and his journeyman-plus career will be in jeopardy.

7).126 - 150:
Lingmerth: C:      Always looks to be over-achieving but retrieved his card at the end of the season and could have a Davis-like career ahead of him.
Laird: D:            Seemingly distracted by parenthood, his season only got into gear in late summer with 5 x Top 30's in a row. Already well on his way back to the Top 125. Expecting a much better year.

8)151st and worse!:
F's across the board for Hanson, Olesen, Lynn, Harrington, Clarke (wisely relinquished his card) and Colsaerts.
C's for Cejka and Owen as they return to the Tour; forty-somethings now and it ain't gonna get any easier for these two.

9).Don't much care for this week's CIMB tournament and it seems the players largely feel that way too - some good players have turned up but so many more are thumbing their noses at a share of $7M. Worth harbouring the hope though that Westwood might repeat his winning -18 finish from earlier this year; course specialist!

10).How about finishing with a round of applause for Germany's original favourite golfing son, Bernhard Langer. Say what you like about mid-fifties golfers with long putters, skin tight skin and long-time yipaholics, but Langer will likely top the $3M mark in Champions Tour earnings for 2014 this week (not to mention the $230K+ he banked from Augusta) and has Champions Tour career earnings of more than $15M.

In much the same way that the PGA Tour dishes out $10M to the FedEx winner, Bernhard has already secured the $1M annuity for winning this year's Charles Schwab Cup - hopefully he'll finish his year in style with the 6th win of his season at the year-ending Tour Championship.

I'd completely forgotten this (I'm now talking 2015 despite a sixth of the calendar year of 2014 still remaining) is the last year of the long, sorry anchored, putters.

Are we expecting (m)any fabled broomers to ditch now or will they hang on to the bitter end?

Roller,
Els has abandoned anchorage, Bradley has played some with a shorter putter, Simpson is supposedly practicing with one.
Haven't seen anything about Clark, Pettersson and Scott, but think Steele might have gone back to a shorty. Dunno about others.
Then there's the Champions and Senior Tours - no idea what's going down there.

Assuming they accept it will still happen (any more rumblings?), would have thought anyone with major ambition (and that shouldn't struggle to retain card) would switch now and put the year down to adjustment with a shout to the later big ones and fed-ex, otherwise it might be a case of holding on (to their chest) and eeking as much cash as they can and seeing what happens.

Might be more interesting than 15/16...

Roller,
I'm sure it will definitely happen.
I would think the players who try using the short putter first will be the ones with the longest exemption window! Otherwise try for a strong 14/15 and practice like hell come next September!!

Tim Clark is probably the most difficult case and he's exempt thru 15/16 and so he has a bit of runway and then probably an earnings exemption for 16/17, Pettersson too. Then who knows, but they should be financially set if nothing else, assuming good health, always a big question mark for Timmy.

Casey opens the batting in four hours' time and a big week for him as he'll be striving to get his FedEx season off to a good start and rack up owgr points.

Not a bad start for most Europeans at the CIMB, great start obviously from Karlberg - long way to go but a veritable Pandora's Box of PGA Tour goodies for him if he should win.
Four bogeys and a double from Casey in his one-over-par round, which just goes to show what might have been. The story of his recent career.

Westwood shot the Round of the Day in Round 2 in Kuala Lumpur, by two strokes with a 65, including his second eagle of the tournament, this time on a Par-3! Nicely placed in 3rd, alongside Sergio and a very good chance to get his new PGA Tour season off to a flying start.

Better from Casey (68), but he still needs a strong weekend, good from Blixt but Brian Davis had a rotten day, not helped by a double bogey plus 6's on 2 x Par-5's. Not a good start to his season.

Westy obviously likes that kl track. Is this the first time a course has held separate tournaments in the same (calendar) year on separate, major tours? Must be, mustn't it?

SJ,
Quite possibly! (Tho not sure given the way the European Tour picks up and promptly drops tournaments in Asia, Australia and S.Africa.)
And Westwood will be back in February, apparently, to defend. Wouldn't it be something if he was going for the hat-trick?

SmithersJones wrote:Is this the first time a course has held separate tournaments in the same (calendar) year on separate, major tours? Must be, mustn't it?

Depends on what you consider major tours.

Pinehurst #2 hosted the US Open and the US Women's Open in consecutive weeks earlier this year.

Pebble Beach hosts a PGATour and Champions Tour event every year.

Colonial CC has hosted a US Womens Open and the Colonial on the PGATour before.

Not common, but not unprecedented either.

(BTW, the Mayback Malaysian Open and CIMB Classic are both co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour.)

Good points GPB, thanks. I guess I meant 2 regular men's tours.

SmithersJones wrote:Good points GPB, thanks. I guess I meant 2 regular men's tours.

Thats pretty limiting criteria, IMO especially since both the CIMB and Maybank tournaments are co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour.

Incredible stat from yesterday's Champions Tour broadcast that I didn't believe, until I just checked it myself:
Jay Haas has only one round (a one over par 73) over par this season. Now you can say what you like about the Champions Tour and the courses they play on. But, guess what? His last 37 rounds have been UNDER par, and half this week's field of 30 have already, or are just about to, notch up an over par round.

Jay Haas is just about to be 61; plus he's leading again. No playing from the forward tees from the Jaybird.

Jay Haas didn't play the US Senior or the Senior Open Championship

Only 4 players were under par for the Championship in the US Senior and 5 total in the Senior Open.

His one over par round was at the Regions Tradition.

Still a notable achievement

Harrington, Knox and Laird among those in next week's Sandersons Farms Tour stop in Mississippi.
Not the greatest field opposite the HSBC Champions, but it could be a whole lot worse, and relatively easy pickings for golfers in good enough form to have a decent week.
Pity Brian Davis hasn't added it to his schedule.

Looks like an exciting final round in prospect at the CIMB; too bad Westwood is unlikely to be contending. Right in the mix early Saturday until he derailed all his good work with five bogeys.

Poor again from Davis, a sign of his season to come at this rate.


PS: Is Levy this year's Dubuisson?

Jay Haas returns to earth - which is exactly what a grandmother from Myanmar did when Haas's drive poleaxed her on the Par-5 8th hole. 75.

Of greater interest, perhaps, is the news that Luke Donald has returned to Pat Goss as his full-time swing coach after working with Chuck Cook for the past year. Not sure what to make of that in the long-term, but short-term it might be a good move. Proof of going back to that pudding will be examined next week for the first time.

Ian Poulter is at 64th in the RtD Standings. I would guess the guaranteed paychecks this week and the next two weeks will get him into the R2D Championship.

Unless Poulter has a really good final round Sunday, he could well find himself in a worse position going into next week than he is now. Don't know if he's playing Turkey.

Levy Siems to be bit of a choker.... Sorry for him, but good finish from Marcel.

Jimenez with a 13 on the 9th par 4. Too much fake Rioja in China?

Conditions must have deteriorated during the BMW round - most of the early starters, incl Fish, got off to a roaring start.

Ryan Moore in with a repeat win in Kuala Lumpur, just two weeks after I used him as my one-and-done in Las Vegas, where of course he missed the cut.
Not bad for Sergio & Westwood, good starts to their FedEx seasons if nothing else.

kwinigolfer wrote:Harrington, Knox and Laird among those in next week's Sandersons Farms Tour stop in Mississippi.

Harrington is listed in the preliminary Mayakorba field too.  Other Euros listed in the preliminary field include Gonzo and Carl Pettersen.

Gonzo has to be looking forward to some time off.

kwinigolfer wrote:Unless Poulter has a really good final round Sunday, he could well find himself in a worse position going into next week than he is now. Don't know if he's playing Turkey.

Poulter moves from 64 to 63rd in the RtD. He is guaranteed about 40,000 Euro this week which will him ahead of #60 Madson and #62 Canizares who are not playing HSBC. Numbers 56-59 are not in the HSBC field either. (Manassero, Baldwin, Pepperell, Wood)

http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/news/newsid=238784.html
A point system with a lot of trickery seems to be installed for the R2D playoffs. With rather obscure currency conversions. In which a 1st place win that amounts 1,166 million dollars will be converted overnight into 1,666 million Euro's. At untransparent conversion rates without any relationship to the respective real world currencies. Also with a big role for 'Banker' George O'Grady who can personally speak out his verdict over the 'acceptability' of withdrawls etc. Wonder what he will make of McIlroys court motivated non-attendences?

kouchi wrote:http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/news/newsid=238784.html
A point system with a lot of trickery seems to be installed for the R2D playoffs. With rather obscure currency conversions. In which a 1st place win that amounts 1,166 million dollars will be converted overnight into 1,666 million Euro's. At untransparent conversion rates without any relationship to the respective real world currencies. Also with a big role for 'Banker' George O'Grady who can personally speak out his verdict over the 'acceptability' of withdrawls etc. Wonder what he will make of McIlroys court motivated non-attendences?

What a confusing garbled mess that page is!! Reminds me of the US tax code!

The last two paragraphs have a total of 150 words, and a total of 2 sentences!! That is 75 words per sentence.

Quite jibberish.

But final series prize money are converted into points (10M), not Euros. Just as the RTD earnings prior to BMW are converted into points (1:1). The idea was to give the final series a greater weight and trying to motivate big names to show up (since the original 2 out of 3 tourney participation requirement was scrapped).

And since Rory will play Dubai he won't have an issue with prize money ineligbility.

But yeah, it makes you wonder which fool wrote this down and why prize money for the final series are listed in $.

This is not the type of publicity China Golf needs right in between two of their biggest golf tournaments.

http://www.geoffshackelford.com/homepage/2014/11/1/leading-pga-tour-china-money-winner-xin-jun-zhang-given-six.html#comments

pedro wrote:Quite jibberish.

But final series prize money are converted into points (10M), not Euros. Just as the RTD earnings prior to BMW are converted into points (1:1). The idea was to give the final series a greater weight and trying to motivate big names to show up (since the original 2 out of 3 tourney participation requirement was scrapped).

And since Rory will play Dubai he won't have an issue with prize money ineligbility.

But yeah, it makes you wonder which fool wrote this down and why prize money for the final series are listed in $.

Even the winner himself (Marcel Siem) thinks he in fact did win 1.6M Euro's(!)
Siem: “I have never been in a position like this, to be honest, in such a big tournament. You try not to think about the prize money, but it’s crazy prize money here (€1,600,000 for winning)."
http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2014/tournamentid=2014086/news/newsid=241284.html
http://www.golfbytourmiss.com/2014/11/marcel-siem-euro-1-6m-richer-after-chip-in-birdie-hands-him-bmw-masters-success/

Well, even the European Tour itself doesn't exactly know about their own R2D rules:
The EuroTour Website gives official(!) price money on the official Leaderboard, with Euro's instead of R2D points      
http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2014/tournamentid=2014086/leaderboard/index.html

On the official player page of Marcel Siem on the ET Website:
<quote>"Biggest European Tour Prize:: € 1,666,600 (2014)"<unquote>

The ET don't know their own rules!

But here's something: we all know that some players play cross handed, without gloves and even some without head. But new ET player (from 2015) Jason Palmer plays shots from 50 yds and in ONE-handed!! Nice.

One-handed?
Don't tell the USGA. or R&A.


Thanksgiving coming up, and here's the latest on the gift from US Ryder Cup-gate that keeps on giving:

http://www.golfchannel.com/news/golf-central-blog/report-players-tell-couples-they-want-him-16/

kwinigolfer wrote:
Thanksgiving coming up, and here's the latest on the gift from US Ryder Cup-gate that keeps on giving:

http://www.golfchannel.com/news/golf-central-blog/report-players-tell-couples-they-want-him-16/

Saw Freddie in front of cameras signing golf balls for the servicemen present at the geezer finale yesterday. He’s probably image building towards the conservative hardliners in the PGA.

Proof positive that Dustin Johnson has more money than sense:

http://www.golfchannel.com/news/golf-central-blog/details-emerge-d-johnsons-rico-lawsuit/


Re: Fred and the troops. Apart from enhancing it's nauseatingly squeaky clean image, I can't for the life of me understand the Tour's preoccupation with the "military".
I got into a barney at a tournament once when I was asked if I was a serviceman as I could get in free if I was. Why should I subsidise these guys?, I asked to no amusement whatsoever.
Absurd, We're already paying for them as it is.

There is a sycophantic and sickeningly over-appreciation of the American military it seems.
No one makes them do it, and by all accounts, they aren't even particularly well trained or behaved.
I'm not so sure why they are treated as inspirational or beatified the way they are.
I don't find someone with blown off legs to be very inspirational and I don't see the relevance it has to sport.

Maybe why America keeps failing. Looking for inspiration in cannon fodder potato peelers, instead of true sporting legends like Seve (though I'm bored of his adulation too)

I wish GJtheAussieStud was still posting on here.
I'd like to know more about Young Aussie Cameron Smith, the 21-y-o who finished 5th at last week's CIMB and has earned a spot in this week's "opposite field event", the Sandersons Farm tournament in Mississippi.

Fields for the six web.com Stage 2 Q-School have just been published. Plenty of Tour winners, but no sign of any well known European Tour players, altho' perhaps Daniel Chopra may still have ET status.

Fine line between PGA Tour journeyman and not even qualifying for the web.com, with one or two very surprising names in the Stage 2 fields. Unforgiving!

super_realist wrote:There is a sycophantic and sickeningly over-appreciation of the American military it seems.
No one makes them do it, and by all accounts, they aren't even particularly well trained or behaved.
I'm not so sure why they are treated as inspirational or beatified the way they are.
I don't find someone with blown off legs to be very inspirational and I don't see the relevance it has to sport.

Maybe why America keeps failing. Looking for inspiration in cannon fodder potato peelers, instead of true sporting legends like Seve (though I'm bored of his adulation too)

It's all fake. Just a way to keep the working class motivated to fight your dirty wars. If the choice is between flipping burgers at the local McD and potentially being asskissed by posterboys and slick executives I don't blame the poor buggers joining the military. What I do blame them though, is when they hold the flag on 18th green in some tourneys, then why do they have to look like the flag is up their behind and not in their hand...

Yes, I don't get this adulation of the military in the states either, what's the reasoning behind it?

All the "protecting our freedom" lark is quite tiresome.

http://www.salon.com/2013/11/11/stop_thanking_the_troops_for_me_no_they_dont_protect_our_freedoms/

Fair enough in 1945 and the years thereafter. But the world has changed. Even during the cold war there was nothing to glorify. It borders brainwashing not fitting for a democracy.

If Russian soldiers were holding the flag at the Russian Open and stretch marching around the course like toy soldiers - let alone having their golf balls signed by Kafelnikov - I'm sure it would've been perceived as inappropriate.

Spectator crisis in European golf? Quite amused by this promo for the Challenge Tour Grand Finale:

Entry is free of charge, if you register online at www.challengetour.albadiagolfclub.ae for your tickets, you will benefit from a burger and beverage courtesy of Al Badia Golf Club.

One thing when there's a draft.
Quite another when it's an all volunteer "military".
Put in harm's way by their politicians' blunders/ego.
And generals' c0ck-ups.


What are you suggesting pedro?
Off to the Middle East for a burger and a pint (won't that get you your tongue amputated?) and 72 holes of golf??
Admiring one-handed chipping and pitching???

Prefer draft. Beer.

My favorite meal is free meal.

Wouldn't mind going there though. We've been to Dubai the last few years (not watching or playing golf though, but have lurked around the different courses) so could imagine it would be quite a pleasant experience, free burgers or not.

Interesting. While I agree there's some sycophancy re. military in U.S., I think some of the comments above are fairly uninformed and are just knee-jerk 'military bashing'. Much of what's done by the military is non-combat i.e. in West Africa just now.
Pick on the politicians who make the decisions as to where military force is applied by all means but try thinking a little bit before trash talking those who actually serve in any forces anywhere.

navyblueshorts wrote:Interesting. While I agree there's some sycophancy re. military in U.S., I think some of the comments above are fairly uninformed and are just knee-jerk 'military bashing'. Much of what's done by the military is non-combat i.e. in West Africa just now.
Pick on the politicians who make the decisions as to where military force is applied by all means but try thinking a little bit before trash talking those who actually serve in any forces anywhere.

The point Navy I think is that in America it's almost an artificial and contrived  as well as an exaggerated appreciation for the job, i.e there appears a cultural expectation that you MUST whoop and holler like a lunatic every time someone from the American military is presented to a crowd.

As super said I don't blame the actual soldiers but the entire hooo haaa and virtual fellatio surrounding the US military.

It's the symbolism that is nauseating, not the soldiers themselves.

Sad thing is that when these guys return from their respective politically motivated combat, the exact same people who apply the "virtual fellatio" are the very same wallies who deny appropriate health care and remediation.

You Brits sure get your knickers in a knot about the silliest of things from America.

Trouble is though that fiction turns into fact pretty bloody quickly and all the daft militaristic symbolism turns into a Cheney-type/TeaParty-fuelled war that the West can't win. It's going to happen again, you can just feel it on the airwaves. Way to make friends and influence people - for the worse.
Plus, as pedro says, America would take a dim view if every international event included paying homage to the military du jour.

Anyway, no American flags expected in the 17th hole in China, tho' sure we'll see 'em in Mississippi!

True that GPB!

Very glib! But history has a habit of repeating itself. (Ably assisted by grandstanders like Tony Blair.)