PGA Tour: Memorial Days: Notes from the Ballwasher

1).Extraordinary display from Jordan Spieth last weekend; I thought Paul Daniels was dead? The sort of rounds, on Sunday especially, that makes one dream a 54 is possible after all. But he must know that he has to improve his long game to contend at this summer's Majors.

2).Colonial CC looked really good last week and hosted an exciting championship, at least until Spieth waved his magic wand.
And so we'll venture from Texas this week to Ohio, from tournaments honouring Byron Nelson and Ben Hogan, to the iconic Muirfield Village and Jack Nicklaus's gift to the golfing world. Muirfield Village ALWAYS looks good! Like Fort Worth, the Columbus, Oho, area has had plenty of rain during the past month and should be looking its immaculate best.

3).Another golf course is in the news all of a sudden with this morning's news from a certain presidential candidate that the WGC event recently hosted by Drumpf National Doral is leaving Doral, possibly for Mexico City. Given the primary (no pun intended) source, this could well be a premature extrapolation, but it seemed to be endorsed by Tim Rosaforte on the Golf Channel. Rosaforte also made a point of saying that fings ain't what they used to be when the Tour's visit to Doral was more of a community affair, a bit of a social occasion, with the clear inference that Drumpf's impact with higher prices and more of a corporate feel has rather spoiled the party.
There's bound to be more of this in the coming days, but nothing yet on pgatour.com.

4).If it's true, and apparently the latest is that it IS true!, does the Tour's departure from Doral portend the PGA and R&A making similar decisions on Drumpf-owned properties? It seems, for instance, that the R&A is hedging its bets with the destiny of the 2020/2021 Open Championships.

5).The Senior PGA was held this past week in Michigan (at yet another Nicklaus course) and what was the biggest surprise? That Mediate won it or that neither Langer nor Montgomerie did??
Which got me to thinking; perhaps it would still be a bit one-sided (an "exhibition"?) to stage a senior Ryder Cup, but the balance of power wouldn't be as lop-sided as it would have been just a few years ago.
Possible European Team: Langer, Jimenez, Montgomerie, Parnevik, Broadhurst, Lane, Chapman, Olazabal (if fit), plus the options of Wesselingh, Gilford, Forsbrand, Woosnam, Lyle, Remesy, M-A Martin, etc, etc. Just a thought!

6).There are only 12 tournaments remaining for PGA Tour members to retain their membership for next year, fewer for those golfers not playing the US Open or PGA Championship. Martin Laird (131st), Greg Owen (138th), Jamie Donaldson (139th) and Ian Poulter are all outside the top 130 in FedEx points now, and none are exempt for 2016/2017.

7).Others in similarly dire straits include: de Jonge, MacKenzie, Hoffmann, Cameron Smith and Thomas Aiken. And Brendon Todd (what's happened to him? Well inside the Top 30 in most short-game stats, bottom of the charts with driver and irons.) None exactly swinging like sultans. (Or maybe they are.)

8).Muirfield Village will look a picture, weather permitting, on Thursday; Nicklaus likes to tinker with his masterpiece rather like the Masters Committee likes to tweak Augusta National. In particular, holes 16, 17 & 18 have all been modified/redesigned the past few years. There's bound to be a surprise somewhere.
Regardless, enjoy four super Par-5's, one of my favourite shortish, if usually not driveable, Par-4's (the 14th), and Augusta look-alike Par-3 12th.
Not a fan of hole #13 but otherwise I love the design - typical Nicklaus: wide fairways (Ryan Moore only missed two out of the 54 a few years ago), with each hole design getting more exacting the closer you get to the pin.

9).Jason Day lives nearby and is a Member but has a shockingly poor record here. That never stopped him at The Players though. And Kyle Reifers is also a local who grew up caddying here. Otherwise there's not much of a homefield advantage - the strongest horse-for-the-course, apart from Woods, would have been Justin Rose but he's withdrawn.

10).Hogan loved Colonial (and Riviera), Palmer loved Oakmont and his Bay Hill, and Nicklaus has his legacy at Muirfield Village.
All of a sudden you're a power (OK, some of you already are) with unlimited wealth and influence in the world of Golf.
You can put your name on any course in the world and play the 606v2 Invitational there.
Where would you choose?

If there was a Senior Ryder Cup, would Miguel Angel Martin have to "audition" to make sure he is injury free?

https://twitter.com/JayCoffinGC/status/738043765265465344

The "world" according to Drumpf - doesn't know what he doesn't know.

Having said all of which, I still wonder whether Mexico City is the smartest place to hold a WGC -it'll be interesting to see which sponsor Finchem and his Golf Federation cronies have jumped into bed with.

EDIT: There's also the probability that an opposite field tournament venue will have to be found. If not (now) in Mexico, then where? Tucson hopefully.

I'll pick one from each continent for the 606 Invitational (and would pretty much drop what I'm doing to go asap):

United States - Pine Valley
Europe - Royal Dornoch

PGATour has added Strokes Gained Driving (SGD), Strokes Gained Approach (SGA) and Strokes Gained Short Game(SGSG) to their Strokes Gained Rankings Family.

Previously there was Strokes Gained Putting (SGP), Strokes Gained Total  (SGTot) and Strokes Gained Tee to Green (SGTtG)

Some Relationships

SGTotal = SGTtG + SGP

SGTtG = SGD + SGA + SGSG

Here is the current leaders in SG-Total and how they are doing in each component

Player	Driving	Approach	ShortGame	Putting		Total
Jason Day	0.39	0.501	0.32	1.012		2.223
Rickie Fowler	0.724	0.552	0.422	0.39		2.088
Adam Scott	0.414	1.648	0.025	-0.028		2.059
Phil Mickelson	-0.045	0.741	0.414	0.869		1.979
Jordan Spieth	0.64	0.032	0.609	0.675		1.956
Bubba Watson	1.155	0.844	0.006	-0.133		1.872
Rory McIlroy	1.179	0.292	0.461	-0.076		1.856
Dustin Johnson	1.107	0.507	-0.094	0.317		1.837
Hideki Matsuyama	0.676	1.143	-0.08	0.067		1.806
Justin Rose	0.865	0.653	0.316	-0.057		1.777
Matt Kuchar	0.433	0.381	0.352	0.388		1.554
Charl Schwartzel	0.305	0.772	0.22	0.099		1.396
Sergio Garcia	0.578	0.835	-0.103	-0.031		1.279
Henrik Stenson	0.516	1.184	-0.251	-0.211		1.238
Branden Grace	0.49	0.389	0.139	0.122		1.14
Daniel Berger	0.387	0.433	0.021	0.277		1.118
Marc Leishman	0.071	0.158	0.359	0.529		1.117
Kevin Na	-0.175	0.793	0.36	0.134		1.112
Paul Casey	0.41	0.604	0.194	-0.102		1.106
Brooks Koepka	0.674	0.151	-0.07	0.344		1.099

Shotrock: clap:

Nice choices - curling popular up there in Sutherland?

I'll go with:
US: Harbour Town: Playable for all, even me.
Europe: Royal Porthcawl, never played it but looks great on TV and reports I receive from friends and family are fab. Lovely area for golf, so I understand; might even be able to drag our old friend Yads out, Ned too.

kwinigolfer wrote:
Having said all of which, I still wonder whether Mexico City is the smartest place to hold a WGC -it'll be interesting to see which sponsor Finchem and his Golf Federation cronies have jumped into bed with.

Grupo Salinas is going to be the Sponsor

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grupo_Salinas

I'd go with
U.S.: Cypress Point (had glimpses of it whilst at PB - gagging to have a go on it)
Europe: Carnoustie (Played it enough times and know enough of it for it to be an advantage)

Do any of the USA based posters watch any of the NCAA golf champs? The golf accounts I follow on twitter have given both the womens and men's events nearly as much coverage as a major.

Mac - I tuned in last night (late afternoon for the golfers) to see Beau Hossler play with a shot shoulder. It was awful and I can't believe the coach(es) let him play on.

Haven't watched any of the NCAA's.
But I DID see that Englishman (sort of) Sam Horsfield won the Phil Mickelson Outstanding Freshman (first-year student) Award:

http://floridagators.com/news/2016/6/1/mens-golf-horsfield-wins-phil-mickelson-outstanding-freshman-award.aspx

And Joe Rahm won the Hogan Award. Again:

http://thebenhoganaward.org/rahm-repeats-as-ben-hogan-award-winner/

Hope the first thing both do upon leaving college is apply to join the European Tour.

I have been watching the NCAA.

The Womens Championship (between Univ of Washington and Stanford) was one of the most compelling days of golf I have witnessed.

Incidentally, the individual winner from that Championship was an Italian.  Virginia Elena Carta.  She won handily.

Maybe I will give it a look next time round. The events certainly seemed to provide some interesting stories and some good golf.

Mac, you should have got the bus out to Craigielaw this week, US Kids Golf European Championships. Age groups from 7-14. 3 of our wee dudes up there, one of them (My pro's son) doing quite well in the under 10's group. One of the others who isn't having a great week this week qualified last year for an event at Pinehurst later this month. Why didn't they have those kind of events when I were a lad??

Jas

I was driving through gullane yesterday, I think they were playing over the Gullane courses as well.

What is "US kids golf" anyway?

McLaren wrote:Jas

I was driving through gullane yesterday, I think they were playing over the Gullane courses as well.

What is "US kids golf" anyway?

On the bus?

McLaren wrote:What is "US kids golf" anyway?

Look it up Mac, Click Here

Rory Jordan and Justin Thomas now on Sky: red button. Featured Group.

I watched a bit of the US Amateur 4 ball championship last night. Very competent professional coverage for a such an event. What was refreshing to see was the players all carrying their own bags: no caddies, no buggies, no trolleys. I'm going to sound like mac here but there's something pure about walking a course with your bag on your shoulder, free from all that paraphenalia.

Great article Kwini.

Does anyone know if Muirfiled Village admits women members? It's meant to be a homage after all.

Cheers ray,
The PGA Tour won't play courses at clubs which discriminate (except against the impoverished like us), so I'm sure they do.
They've also hosted the Solheim Cup (and RC & PC) so I'd think that reaffirms it.

Hudson Swafford going crazy - much more of this and there'll be a 59 watch.

Spieth's putter carrying on where it left off Sunday; only 11 putts (technically speaking) on his first nine holes, including:
Putts from 12ft, 18ft, and 2 x 17 footers; not surprising he's gaining almost 3 strokes putting. But it is surprising he's only one under par.
Rory with one 18 footer, otherwise nothing longer than 3 feet.

The latest on Vijay:

http://www.golfchannel.com/news/golf-central-blog/singhs-lawyers-say-tour-ignored-other-players-using-deer-antler-spray/

Pretty ho-hum today from McIlroy (71) & Spieth (Edit: 70), but big difference in strokes gained putting:
McIlroy: + 0.2
Spieth:   +2.7

Luuuuuke off to a great start.

Leaderboard reporting a 70 for Spieth Kwin.

Oops, That is correct! Don't know where I got the 72 from - Thanks, Edit following immediately!

Muirfield Village hosted a Solheim Cup about 20 yrs ago.  I doubt if the LPGA would go to a Male Only course for one of it premier events.

As said earlier today . . . . . . . .

Luke Donald stalled on the back nine, but he only missed one fairway and that should be his recipe for return to success. Not necessarily here, but very positive signs. Keep it up!

Wonderful golf on show today - Nicklaus reckons a front will pass through and change course conditions, make things more difficult for Round 2. We'll see, but right now you'd think the likely cut-line will stay at -1 or go to -2.

kwinigolfer wrote:The latest on Vijay:

http://www.golfchannel.com/news/golf-central-blog/singhs-lawyers-say-tour-ignored-other-players-using-deer-antler-spray/

Pretty ho-hum today from McIlroy (71) & Spieth (Edit: 70), but big difference in strokes gained putting:
McIlroy: + 0.2
Spieth:   +2.7

Luuuuuke off to a great start.

Re. Singh and PGA Tour - he's got them bang to rights hasn't he? Laughable.

navy,
One can only hope so! It's going to be revealing how this all unravels.

BBC reporting that Ian Poulter is taking four months off to deal with a foot injury.
If that's truly been bothering him, it's a shame he waited so long to put his season on hiatus. He'll presumably have something like ten events on a Medical Exemption to earn sufficient money/points to retrieve his Card.

No Ryder Cup for Poults then, but perhaps he'll be there with stick or zimmer frame? Get fit soon!

4 months is laughable. How do these guys get these injuries? Hilarious.

Many of the PGATour player that are not exempt for the US Open will be qualifying in Columbus OH

Here are the Tee times

http://www.ghintpp.com/OHIOGOLF/TPPOnlineScoring/ResultsStroke.aspx?id=206

Poulter is trying to qualify in Jacksonville FL, along w/ VJ Singh.  There won't be many spots given to this qualifier, as IJP, VJ, and Tim Wilkinsin are the only active Tour Players in the field (that I saw)

https://www.fsga.org/Tournament/PairingInfo/15096

super,
What he probably really means is that he's sitting out the rest of the PGA Tour season, which maybe his way of saying he'll go the Medical Exemption route rather than try to earn his Card back via the web.com Finals.
I imagine he'll play some on the European Tour this autumn and then pick and choose his spots on the 16/17 PGA Tour season.

Plenty of good rounds in progress at the Memorial.

Upon further review, Poulter will not be in JAX US Open qualifier.

Out with an arthritic foot.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/golf/2016/06/03/ian-poulter-out-for-4-months-with-foot-injury/85335762/?siteID=je6NUbpObpQ-fJCDkwkgKQJuEg3dX7_S7Q

Thanks for the tee-times, GPB.
Confirmation also from Doug Ferguson that Poulter out. With an arthritic joint in his right foot.

Missed cut by Paul Casey. Perhaps a little double-dipping might have done him some good.
No top twenty finishes since his excellent Masters and he's done nothing to make DC lose any sleep about his shunning "Europe". Wonder whether Casey will condescend to play The Open?

Terrible putting day from Luke Donald; made nothing of 6ft or more in his first 15 holes and all a bit disappointing after his brilliant first few holes Thursday.

kwinigolfer wrote:BBC reporting that Ian Poulter is taking four months off to deal with a foot injury.
If that's truly been bothering him, it's a shame he waited so long to put his season on hiatus. He'll presumably have something like ten events on a Medical Exemption to earn sufficient money/points to retrieve his Card.

No Ryder Cup for Poults then, but perhaps he'll be there with stick or zimmer frame? Get fit soon!

Robo thinks it will be more like 6 events to earn the ~230 pts or so to get his card.

He has already played 13 events and the Tour looks at a players history to determine his starts.

Poulter only played 19 events last year, and in previous years, it was less than that.

robo's usually right! Poults'll have to choose very carefully . . . . . . .

I see Stenson, Garcia, Willett, Sullivan, Wiesberger are signed up for the BMW event following Oakmont. What are the chances they'll play both of those, then fly back for Bridgestone, then back for Castle Stuart/Troon?

It has always been clear that Poulter was a bit of a plonker but this tale is a little sad and shows a more sinister side to his plonkerdom.

http://www.weiunderpar.com/?p=44479


Also a reminder how important it is to fight for more equality in golf. Very sad that a promising female reporting does not get the same opportunities as her male colleagues.

He wasn't very nice to Wei it would seem Mac, but there is nothing in there to suggest it was due to her gender.

Why do you feel the need to be offended on other peoples behalf all the time?
Wei seems pretty good at standing up for herself, doesn't need a benevolent sexist like you trying to help her out.

A wet forecast for Saturday at the Memorial. Bubba Watson and Alex Cejka on their way down the first - can't imagine two more dissimilar personas.

A big miss for Molinari yesterday at a course where he played so well last year - more of a fairways-and-greens test next week in Memphis and he needs at least one more big result to give him some breathing room for keeping his card.

Brian Davis scheduled to come out of mothballs for next week at a place he nearly won, once upon a time. Terrible form this year though, he and Gonzo are both really struggling after losing their full cards.

Luke Donald's week pretty similar to his Wentworth effort - very good Round 1, so-so Round 2, stinks in Round 3, so let's hope Round 4 can at least be respectable, as last Sunday's was.

Meanwhile, Kjeldsen ties for the lead with four back-nine birdies in five holes. More to come Soren?

Samuel Ryder is in Solo 5th in the Webbie Tournament in the Dominican Republic.

Samuel Ryder . . . . . . .Perhaps he'll go into the seeds business?

Rain is passing through the Columbus area and tee-times for Round 4 have been scheduled for kick-off just after 10.00 a.m. with golfers playing in threesomes off the first and tenth tees.

Is Rory too far back in 21st place at -9 to contend? Possibly, as there are so many golfers in front of him, but he's only five off the lead and a hot start could light his fire.

Terrific round from Soren Kjeldsen yesterday and he needs to keep it going to harvest valuable Ryder Cup points. And European Tour's young apprentice of the last three years, Emiliano Grillo, is proving that he has the right stuff; one win already this season and only one shot back.

First place at Nordea is 250,000 Euro or about $284,000.

7th place this week at Memorial is $284,750

Tee-times at Muirfield Village have been brought forward and Round 4 is now in progress; Rory just teed off.

Four good choices there, GPB.
Wonder if Jack is trying to see each person he finds deserving honoured before his demise?

Too little, too late for Rory today, but a good performance nevertheless, and a decent dress rehearsal for Oakmont. Consensus seems to be that the greens will be superfast for the US Open set-up though, possibly not Rory's forte.

Hoping Grillo gets the job done when they come back; Kuchar stumbling a bit on the back nine.

kwinigolfer wrote:
Hoping Grillo gets the job done when they come back; Kuchar stumbling a bit on the back nine.

Because he is not American?

No, Because I've followed him for four years. Bound to become a top golfer.

Selfishly wanted Kooch to win, but didn't like the way he started the back nine, and certainly didn't like the way he resumed after suspension of play.

Always fancied Curran & McGirt to win. Just not here! Good for Willie.