PGA Tour: Remembering Arnie at Bay Hill: Notes from the Ballwasher

Slim pickings today, snowed under here on the West Coast of New England, so just a couple of thoughts to get the thread going:

1).I always enjoy the Valspar tournament and especially love the look of the course, the "Copperhead" at Innisbrook resort. It seems to offer a chance to all types of players, from Gary Woodland to Luke Donald, and very happy to see Adam Hadwin get the "W". Hadwin's rise has been as steady as it has been unspectacular, first appearing on the TV audience's screen at the 2011 Canadian Open staged at another appealing course, Shaughnessy in the Vancouver area. Hadwin hung on well to finish 4th behind Sean O'Hair who has also won at Innisbrook. Coincidence? Possibly not!

2).The Tour travels from Tampa to Orlando and complaints by some that the top pros are short-changing Arnold Palmer's legacy have proved somewhat unfounded. Sure Dustin, Spieth, Scott and Justin Thomas are missing, but last year's champ Jason Day will defend his title, provided he gets his doctor's OK, Rory, Henrik and Hideki are all on parade as well as a very strong international contingent, especially from Europe.
This week's winner will earn 64 owgr points, compared for instance to the 54 pts haul by Rickie Fowler at the Honda.

3).But the top players can't be expected to play every week and the dates of Bay Hill's "Arnold Palmer Invitational" and next week's WGC-Dell MatchPlay have come under scrutiny.
The first load of drivel coming from my keyboard to the BBC 606 forum was written in reference to the lousy date and resultant disappointing field at Dallas's Byron Nelson in the first year after Lord Byron's death. It almost looked as if the Tour was complicit in the date assigned that year, but that certainly doesn't appear to be the case with the "Arnie". Regardless, the Tour will not like the top players who like to play the week before Augusta saying they have to skip either this week or next, or both in Adam Scott's case. Expect some tweaks to the schedule - perhaps either the Mexico WGC or the MatchPlay can be rescheduled.

4).I posted an interesting interview with Matt Fitzpatrick a couple of days ago - among other interesting snippets was his plan to aim for his PGA Tour exemption this year to take full membership next. He hastily confirmed Europe would always be his home Tour. Just as a reminder, these "double-dipping" Europeans appear to be off the pace to keep their PGA Tour cards; players listed with their FedEx rank:
119th: Donald - he's ducking Bay Hill and is ineligible for the MatchPlay (tho' he could turn up in opposite-field event in Puerto Rico) so is likely to be outside the Top 125 next time he tees it up.
139th: Poulter - just four tournaments remaining on his Medical Extension - badly needs a top result this week or next (in PR).
141st: Kjeldsen - slowly seems to be getting comfortable, but needs to capitalise on his WGC & Major opportunities.
158th: Lingmerth - Exempt for next year courtesy of his Memorial win.
181st: Gonzo - Played 9 events, only secured 29 x FedEx points. Sad.
196th: Beef - Only played four times, and not very well in those events.
199th: Harrington - Under the knife, Unsure where we'll see him next? US Open qualifying if all goes well apparently.
214th: Willett - No idea. Is he doing a Kaymer? Has he read the rules??

5).This week will be all about Arnold Palmer, and no complaints, not yet anyway, about that. Bay Hill isn't the most well-liked course on Tour but some pros seem to love it - take Stenson for instance. Never missed a cut in 8 visits, top 25 six times and 15th, 8th, 5th, 2nd, 3rd the past five years. When Stenson wins it's usually a biggie: WGC-MatchPlay, Players, Deutsche Bank, Tour Championship (and FedEx Cup), Open Championship. He may never win the "Arnie" but it won't be for lack of trying - hope he plays well again this week.

Great stuff Kwini! Always liked this tourney, used to like The Byron also until that took a dive. I've picked Stenson a lot recently, he's has Spanish tummy in Mexico and could have been better last week (I thought) in a slightly below strength field. So lets hope your prediction prooves right  
 Rose tends to be Mr Dependable, doesn't tend to blow up and quite consistent. But is that a good thing? Some would argue its better to be able to get "hot" and peak at the right time - majors. Thats the only reason I can see he hasn't won more majors.
  I wouldn't worry about Donald, Poulter on the other hand, under a lot of pressure. But that tends to bring out the best in him right? He's certainly a character and the Tour would be poorer without him.

Well done Kwini - good luck with winter all of you impacted. Beautiful Spring day here today. No doubt you were cheered by the seaside derby last night!
You're correct - they can't all play every week, and it looks a good turnout. I am sure nobody wants to dis Mr Palmer by not turning up.

Btw Cheltenham providing some good daytime entertainment this week - a few golfers in attendance!

Great news from FP, puligny, starting to look a little better, nice to be getting some goals for a change - big game vs Stevenage this weekend.

Very, very difficult to follow the racing here, but been looking at some gorgeous pics - over 40 yrs since I was last there, scarcely seems possible.

Cheers B_t_b; I'm worried about both of them! Luke honing his game for his Harbour Town annuity I hope; that'll sort things out with any luck.
Let's put Poulter's Medical freebie in perspective:
According to pgatour.com, he has four tournaments to win 132 FedEx points or $178K. He won 12 FedEx pts & $21K for a 41st place finish at Valspar - much bigger purse this week so a chance to do himself some good.
Wonder which clothing manufacturer he'll scrounge an endorsement from??!!

I saw a golf programme a little while ago which said that Arnie had won about $2 million on the PGA Tour. Now, obvioulsy it was a lot of money "in the day", but it just shows what a good businessman Arnie (or his advisers) were. He was often quite high up in the yearly list of golf related earnings most years even when not playing, and compared to pro golfers in the era of big purses.

On another note, Graeme McDowell is hosting this tournament. I hope it doesn't affect his game. I guess it is because he is sponsored by MasterCard. I wonder if it will rotate amongst others?

A couple things under the radar.

Billy Payne and his bretheren have decided that only Masters participants can play practice rounds and the Par Three Contest. Up until this year, any past Champions of the US Open, US Amateur, US PGA and the Open Championship were invited to play practice rounds at ANGC. Sometimes you would see players like Jerry Pate and Steve Melnyk play the Par Three Contest.

This is not a big deal, other than I had hoped that someday Lee Trevino would join Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player, replacing Arnold Palmer in the featured pairing of Par Three Contest.

Now there won't be an opportunity to bury the hatchet under a mended fence.

===================

Patrick Cantlay exposed a what I think is a loophole in the Webbie category. Cantlay got a major medical exemption a couple of years ago when he was playing under the Webbie Category.

Normally, Webbies have to play a full season under the category, which is at the bottom of the pecking order for fully exempt players.

But since Cantlay was playing under Major Medical and he earned enough money last week to get his card, he got upgraded in status. He is now playing under the same status as Ian Poulter etc. (CAT-22).

The only way other (non-medical) webbies can get "promoted" is to win a tournament.

IMO, Cantlay should still be playing under CAT-26 (webbie category). It is only a subtle (and pedantic) difference since he probably gets into any tournament he wants after the next reshuffle with two notable exceptions.

He will get to play the Houston Open, where he probably would not have enough status. And if earns 82 more FEX points, he will get to play the Players, another tournament he would not get into.

========

Kwini: You will be glad to know that I will be rooting for Ian Poulter this week as he made one of my Draftkings Fantasy teams. But that is probably a KISS of DEATH for him.

There is quite a disconnect between FEX pts and money for Poulter. For examples, this week (with its big purse), Poulter needs a 13th place or better to earn enough money. But a 4th place or better to earn enough FEX Points.

Should he miss the cut this week, and play Puerto Rico next week, he would need to finish 3rd to get enough money and T3 to earn enough FEX pts.

GPB,
Thanks for that on Poulter; I knew there was a big disparity but couldn't find the fine print. A smart decision to play Bay Hill. Good luck to him, and that despite you having him on yr team!
Your old homestead must be buried; second largest snowfall on record here, as my back will testify.

I used to live in Lucan, it's in west Dublin on the way to Kildare. There's a pub on the bridge with a thatched roof called Courtney's. One time on his way from The K Club in Kildare back to Dublin, Arnold Palmer and his pilot stopped in for a pint. He chatted with the locals and told stories about his life in golf. He signed the wall where the golf society keep their stuff. Very engaging and exactly as his reputation suggested he'd be by all accounts. Unlucky for me I wasn't there that night, RIP Arnie.

I am sure the snow is not helping the Syrup season.

My first real job (not mowing yards or shoveling snow for neighbors) was collecting sap from buckets on a Maple Syrup. We trudged through snow that was waist high. I think I was 12 years old.

Shoulder high today.

Should be a great week of weather at Bay Hill; coolish but sunny to start with, warming up and perhaps breezy on Sunday.

Lovely stuff Kwini.

A couple of points on what you raised;

Scheduling - with talk of the PGA moving to May and the Players subsequently heading back to March should this happen it is pretty obvious that the Match-Play will be looking for a new date. Apparently the point of moving these is to finish the Fed-Ex cup ealier to avoid other sporting seasons so why not have the Match-play after the Tour Championship?

If nothing else it would give those participating in that year's Ryder / President's Cup some much needed match-play practice.

Poulter - even if he doesn't make enough to retain his card I don't doubt he'll be short of sponsors exemptions. Also I reckon there is certain Tour over here that would welcome him back with open arms. Whether he would want to slum it full time over here I'm not sure but I think it would be his best bet for getting back into the Top 50 and perks that brings.

And finally.......

Did you hear of the golf fan who had a double acca on Chawrasia and Hadwin both winning at the weekend? He scooped just under £45,000. With the Indian Open finishing 10 hours before the Valspar he claimed to be calm right up until Hadwin put his tee-shot in the drink at the 16th and it got nervy from there in.

I bet it did

The "Arnie" is up and running, John Day tied for the lead after 2 holes. (Wish this was an alternative fact, but sadly it's true; can't understand for the life of me why he gets an invitation. Makes a mockery of sponsor invitations.)


wire/robo,
Not so sure that Poulter will get a bucketload of PGA Tour invitations should he need them; by the time he needs them there will be college players begging for invites, not to mention other "veterans"; he'll get some starts via his Past Champion status.

Danny Willett has withdrawn due to morning sickness.
Wonder if that will marginally affect the owgr earnings for the winner (64 pts before Willett walked)?

And welcome on the tee, from Scottsdale Arizona, Martin Kaymer! The look on MKs face, priceless!!!
How cold is it in Florida today?

Can't imagine anyone had that flake in the FL. I wonder if there's been a worse major winner in the year following their win? Tough call between Dufner, Walker, Simpson, Bradley etc

Super

What about the Irish players Harrington and Clarke? Surprised you didn't mention them.

Well Harrington won three so can't count him. Clarke though is a good shout.

Immelman and Mike Weir too. Just goes to show that winning a major doesn't make you a great player or define a career.

In fact, can we say that most major winners haven't done a great deal else?

kwinigolfer wrote:Danny Willett has withdrawn due to morning sickness.
Wonder if that will marginally affect the owgr earnings for the winner (64 pts before Willett walked)?

Yes, it was weak 64 before Willetts WD. Now it is a strong 62.

I wonder if Willett will get his 15 tournaments played this year. I am sure he was counting on 3 playoff events in his schedule

He is 214th in FEX standings, earning 6 points in 3 tournaments

His 2016-17 PGATour results

HSBC 75th
Honda MC
Mexico 69th

The only FEX points he has earned were freebies from WGCs

Yup, See Note 4). above.

Molinari off to a good start again. It may not last but his results over the past year have been very impressive - already sewn up his card for 17/18 and piling up owgr points. More please!

So Matt Every, heard him on the NLU podcast. He seems alright, though most seem to be alright when a bit off guard on a podcast. Good story about Pat Perez and Jeff Overton.

If Willett hadn't won the masters last year (Maybe Spieth limps over the line) I think he might only have been in this years field due to finishing in the top 12 in 2016.

If Willett had missed the cut in the 2016 Masters, and all other factors being equal, he still would be ranked in the Top 50, and exempt into the API.

GPB

Not sure about that. In the manner of a high school physics teacher can I ask you to show your workings?

Willett has been pretty poor, but people seem to forget he was very good before the masters and won events. He was top 15 in the world im sure?

Yes, but like so many people who've won Majors, he's done next to bugger all since.

Hello all. Long time visitor-first time poster (to steal a phrase).
Kwini - look forward to your NFTBW each week. Agree about the Valspar tournament. The Innisbrook course appears to be a nice change of pace from the usual Florida courses played by the tour.
I heard that this week's winner receives a red cardigan in honor of Arnold Palmer. Perhaps that's why G. McDowell is hosting. He has sported many a cardigan in the past.

Danny Willett's current OWGR avg = 4.24 (212 pts divided 50 events)

The 100 pts he earned for winning the Masters is now worth 62 pts after attrition

His total points without the Masters would be 150 pts (212-62).

150 pts / 50 events = 3.00 average

#38 ranked Bernd Weisberger has a 2.89 OWGR average.

Willett would still be well inside the Top 50.

http://www.owgr.com/en/Ranking/PlayerProfile.aspx?playerID=12920

A+ GPB.

Welcome RVC,
Hope your favourites are doing well at Bay Hill (lousy start for my one-and-done, Stenson!), but plenty of time to put that right.

McDool has played well at Bay Hill in the past, plus he's a quasi-local; a couple of good results recently too.

Even par is a promising start from Ian Poulter, but there are some horror stories out there, a couple of rounds in the 80's already, with more to come probably.

Thanks for checking in! (And send my love to Yarmouth racecourse. EDIT: Unless of course you're in the lovely IOW!)

Steve Stricker makes his Champions Tour debut in Tucson this Friday; certainly among the top five players in recent years not to have won a Major and by all accounts one of the nicest guys you'll find. He "hosts" his own tournament later this year in Wisconsin (and no, I'm not talking about the US Open).


It's warmed up a touch in Orlando, and temps should steadily increase these next couple of days - possibly an advantage to today's "afternoon wave".

If that's true Kwin, you better tell Rory. Just hit the skids for a couple of holes.

Are you shoveled out?

Not great SR, Rory struggles to control his cut shot at times, hence bunker, water, double bogey. I wonder how much his upcoming wedding will affect his season...

Better there from Rory...

Wow, just wow from Mcilroy 335yd drive then 9i to setup an eagle chance on 16.

Any chance The Blades being 11 pts clear of 3rd in Div 1 giving Matt Fitz a spring in his step?

Sheff Utd have been rivalling PFC for the most under-performing team for the past few years. Hopefully that changes this year, for both. And Steven Richardson (turnip will tell us if he's a fan . . . . . ) will take the Senior Tour by storm . . . . . .

Impressive so far from Matty.

They've just missed out on promotion the past few years in the play-offs, bit of a sleeping giant. Pompey, it's been a hell of a roller coaster.. Bit of a Leeds Utd story.

At least Leeds have been good in the 60's, 70's & 80's. 90's?

Pompey held the Cup for longer than anyone else, were the Team of the Forties, downhill ever since, give or take a sleeping PC called Redknapp.

Be_the_ball wrote:Wow, just wow from Mcilroy 335yd drive then 9i to setup an eagle chance on 16.

Gee Chad, that was like, the bestest golf shot ever.....he's really gaming it and giving it some leverage, what a winningest shot. Hope I've not misunderestimated him.

kwinigolfer wrote:
Let's put Poulter's Medical freebie in perspective:
According to pgatour.com, he has four tournaments to win 132 FedEx points or $178K. He won 12 FedEx pts & $21K for a 41st place finish at Valspar - much bigger purse this week so a chance to do himself some good.
Wonder which clothing manufacturer he'll scrounge an endorsement from??!!

Poulter will get all / most of the money he needs in Puerto Rico.

kwinigolfer wrote:Great news from FP, puligny, starting to look a little better, nice to be getting some goals for a change - big game vs Stevenage this weekend.

I'm going to this tomorrow, big game! Good indicator of who will go up

super_realist wrote:

Be_the_ball wrote:Wow, just wow from Mcilroy 335yd drive then 9i to setup an eagle chance on 16.

Gee Chad, that was like, the bestest golf shot ever.....he's really gaming it and giving it some leverage, what a winningest shot. Hope I've not misunderestimated him.

I'm glad you find time during your working week to continually be a nuisance. I really don't know how you get any work done while pouring all your emotional energy into a Golf forum, Monday - Friday 9 -5, week after week. Interestingly rarely on the weekends. But hey, I guess you do a fine job and are committed and engaged in your work. You rarely comment on Golf and are always looking for arguments because this is the only emotional outlet you have. Find something to love in your life Super, buddy.

kwinigolfer wrote:At least Leeds have been good in the 60's, 70's & 80's. 90's?

Pompey held the Cup for longer than anyone else, were the Team of the Forties, downhill ever since, give or take a sleeping PC called Redknapp.

Pompey have gone on some good cup runs relatively lately, it's the "Elland back" Leeds thing I meant.

But Football's ruined now, there are too many good clubs getting into terrible financial difficulty.

I used to work with a girl from Devon that was an Argyle supporter, so it could always be worse...

be the ball

I have also noticed that Super never posts outside working hours, almost like he doesn't have an internet connection at home.




Nice first round from pishy pants matty.

raycastleunited wrote:

kwinigolfer wrote:Great news from FP, puligny, starting to look a little better, nice to be getting some goals for a change - big game vs Stevenage this weekend.

I'm going to this tomorrow, big game! Good indicator of who will go up

ray,
My hero! 6-pointer really. Stevenage have been on quite a run, so hope they hit the buffers tomorrow.
(I used to work in Stevenage and you could no more expect a Football League team there in those days than you'd expect Knebworth GC to host The Open. KGC seemed a snotty place. I tried to join once and they demanded a letter from my "pro" - which we sent concocting all sorts of nonsense about the importance of wearing shirts in the clubhouse, carrying no more than one cooler per golf cart, etc. Seemed funny at the time, but they weren't amused.)
My son is an ardent footie fan but growing up without the game surrounding him, despite my best efforts, we often discuss who should be Prem-worthy teams, etc all the way down. Impossible to think that PFC will return to former glories, but a challenging position in the Championship shouldn't be too much to ask. For the Blades too of course.

I can't find a comparison between the morning and afternoon "waves", hopefully I'll unearth it without doing the arithmetic, but Grillo's round stands out, 3 strokes better than Franny and the rest of Thursdays early starters.
It'll only be marginally warmer for Round 2 - Day reckoned the chill meant he needed two extra clubs, some said more. Big difference when they used to a wedge to every green. Let's hope for more of the same this morning, give these blokes a challenge.

McLaren wrote:be the ball

I have also noticed that Super never posts outside working hours, almost like he doesn't have an internet connection at home.

Bet he works for the council really. No way anyone working in the private sector could have time to post - they work sooooooooo hard...

Only 5 of the Top 19 teed off Thursday morning. Luck of the draw.

Happy St.Patrick's Day.

And, talking of Day, one round under his belt without obvious health issues. Astonishing.

Yeah, Happy Paddy's day all

Difficult conditions out there for the early starters Kwini, that low Sun is a killer. Couldn't believe Stenson was playing badly again until I saw a replay last evening, that low Sun. Nightmare.

A really bad sun angle can be as troublesome as playing into a 1 or 2 club wind.