PGA Tour: Memorial Week: Notes from the Ballwasher

First topic message reminder :

1).Calling the Monday of the Memorial Tournament week "Memorial Day", and making it a Bank Holiday to boot, is pretty considerate of Washington. Thanks very much, makes things quite straightforward. Who knew Golf had such clout? And the tournament is fittingly played in Columbus with a fair few European explorers in the field. Too bad the Scots are not better represented at Muirfield Village, but Sandy Lyle did his bit in 1987.

2).Seriously folks, a great tournament at Jack's Place, one of the highlights of the "regular season" on a wonderful course that is typically presented in mint condition, ample fairways, enough hazards to get your attention, penal rough and lightening fast greens, weather permitting. Three super Par-5's, an Augusta-replica Par-3 12th, and the Par-4 14th hole which, when the tee is up, is among my favourite "short" Par-4's anywhere. The Pros play for more than $1.5M, one of the largest purses of the year, and the winner earns a 3-year exemption.

3).Tiger Woods is a 5-time winner here, most victories of anyone, must've thought he could play the course in his sleep.
Nicklaus himself won here twice, as did Irwin, Watson, Norman and Kenny Perry but the last three champions have all been first-time Tour winners, Matsuyama, Lingmerth and Willie McGirt.
Only Rory is missing from the owgr top five, but one man who hasn't won anywhere in the past three years has outstandingly the most consistent recent record, smiling Matt Kuchar. Kooch won in 2013 and had previously finished second in the middle of a ten-year run where he is 77 strokes under par, 41 better than anyone else.

4).Nelson, Hogan, Nicklaus, a trio of all-time golfing greats, and last week we saw Kevin Kisner emerge from the Dean & Deluca Colonial field with Hogan-like ball-striking and scrambling good enough to win by one from Spieth, a resurgent Sean O'Hair and the inevitable Jon Rahm. If Kisner wasn't already on your list of players most likely to play well at Colonial, he certainly should be now.

5).Kis is strongly placed to earn automatic qualification for the US Presidents Cup Team - the latest "qualifying" positions are:
Dustin, Spieth, Thomas, and Kisner (who have opened quite a gap over) Fowler, Chappell (kinda like him e.w. again this week), Reed, Koepka, Berger, Harman. Positions 7th (Reed) through 18th are tightly grouped so the next three weeks will see plenty of change.

6).It was a disappointing Sunday for the European contenders, despite Rahm's 66. Casey and Garcia slipped back while McDowell stumbled over the weekend, not good for a man who still needs some good finishes to earn a spot in the FedEx play-offs.

7).And it has certainly not been a good few weeks for the 12 x US Ryder Cuppers of 2010.
Whilst DJ is contending or winning every time he plays, and Rickie's being Rickie, Mickelson and Matt Kuchar have been stuck in neutral for a while now, Zach and Bubba are having lousy years, Stricker is moving into Senior Living and Furyk has pretty much disappeared. But not as badly as Mahan and Woods and Overton.
Aah, Jeff Overton, Boom Baby and one-time money maker who's had his share of runner up finishes, daft moments on the course and even dafter moments off it.
But it seems he's been going through a torrid time with back problems compounded by an infection - as pgatour.com describes it:
"A minimally invasive procedure to alleviate a herniated disc" somehow left an infection in his spine which resulted in a month of hospital and rehabilitation including two months with antibiotics being fed thru an IV. Sounds as if there's light at the end of his tunnel and hopefully he'll be back healthier. And wiser.

8).That's 11, who's the 12th man? Stewart Cink!
And Stewie is having quite the resurgent year; he's not the yearly winner that he once was, hasn't won since Turnberry in 2009, but he's enjoying his best year for some time with Colonial providing the highlight so far, though possibly the lowlight as well as he was right in the shake-up after 54 holes and finished with a 72 when most contenders shot under par. Nevertheless, that's his 7th Top 25 this year, he'll easily qualify for the play-offs and is still 19th on the "career earnings" charts.
On top of all that, he even seems a good bloke, very interesting interviews when given the chance.

9).OK, Back to Muirfield Village, a perennial Top 20 entry in lists of America's Best Courses and, I imagine, a delight to play. Jack Nicklaus usually tweaks something here or there on the course but apparently nothing significant this year. It's known as a "second shot" course, with plenty of room off the tee. There's a good contingent of European Tourists in action including Harrington's first US event following his recent absence. Lowry is here, Rafa, Fisher, Fleetwood, Donald, Kjeldsen and Jon Rahm. Hampshire is represented by Scott Gregory, but sadly not by course specialist Justin Rose who is a non-runner, still haven't seen exactly why.

10).After this week we only have Memphis before the US Open. Once upon a time it seemed that a win at "Memorial" was a stepping stone to US Open contention, but not so much recently. Lingmerth in 2015 and McGirt last year certainly came out of the blue. Not sure why Dustin Johnson hasn't done better here, but he was 3rd last year. Jason Day has a poor record, how long can that last?, but Spieth has a 3rd place finish and Hideki's surely got to return to form sometime soon.
At the other end of the spectrum will be golfers who are looking to complete 72 holes at Memorial and then another 36 in next Monday's US Open qualifying. Among them will be past Memorial winner Steve Stricker was 8 under par for 15 holes last Sunday, before a late bogey and settled for 7th place.

Be_the_ball wrote:If he can be accommodated and do both then nice one. Some may grumble about special treatment etc, but so what it's The US Open and Phil is a marquee player. I wouldn't have a problem with it.

As long as Phil is still 1 short of his career Grand Slam, he remains a valuable narrative for the U.S. Open... and as such I would have ZERO problem with USGA making an accommodation by giving Phil a late as possible pairing on Thursday for a one time thing like this. What I wouldn't want to see is the USGA making a regular practice of it.

Phil being a bit of a flake not going to the US Open because of a stupid bloody high school graduation.

What is special about such an event? Everyone "graduates" from High School.

But not everyone is class valedictorian. She will be speaking at the event. That would be a big deal for most parents over here.

Big bloody deal. It's bloody Secondary School for goodness sake, everyone goes to school, and although not everyone speaks at one so what. American's get way too excited about stuff like this, and given the standard of American secondary schools, it makes it even more laughable.

 Save pulling out of a tournament for something that actually matters, like a birth or a death.

It's like pulling out for a child's play. Very poor form indeed.

You're entitled to your opinion, but as a valedictorian I bet she knows not to put an apostrophe in the word "Americans".    

Sick burn!

super_realist wrote:Phil being a bit of a flake not going to the US Open because of a stupid bloody high school graduation.

What is special about such an event? Everyone "graduates" from High School.

Rory didn't.

And even if graduating HS is not an aberration, it is a special day for your child.

super_realist wrote:Big bloody deal. It's bloody Secondary School for goodness sake, everyone goes to school, and although not everyone speaks at one so what. American's get way too excited about stuff like this, and given the standard of American secondary schools, it makes it even more laughable.

 Save pulling out of a tournament for something that actually matters, like a birth or a death.

It's like pulling out for a child's play. Very poor form indeed.

I can't imagine being one of your kids, or maybe can't imagine how you must have been treated when you were a kid yourself to make a comment like that... Biggest day in his daughters life so far and you think it "poor form" to NOT miss it? Seriously... Have you lost your ever loving mind?

I can't see the USGA not accommodating Phil on this occasion Robo, everyone wants to see him play. There might be some murmurs from other players but in fairness it doesn't happen all the time.

http://www.usopen.com/2017/articles/sectional-qualifying--what-to-watch-for.html

US Open Sectional Qualifier promotion with links to live scoring and notable players in each sectional.

Aussie Brett Colleta is playing Memorial, and then flying across the country to play in the Tacoma, Washington sectional.

robopz wrote:

super_realist wrote:Big bloody deal. It's bloody Secondary School for goodness sake, everyone goes to school, and although not everyone speaks at one so what. American's get way too excited about stuff like this, and given the standard of American secondary schools, it makes it even more laughable.

 Save pulling out of a tournament for something that actually matters, like a birth or a death.

It's like pulling out for a child's play. Very poor form indeed.

 I can't imagine being one of your kids, or maybe can't imagine how you must have been treated when you were a kid yourself to make a comment like that... Biggest day in his daughters life so far and you think it "poor form" to NOT miss it?   Seriously... Have you lost your ever loving mind?  

I can't think of any country where leaving secondary school is seen as a big thing, other than America, I don't understand how anyone could see it as something worthy of wasting their parents time on.
It's not like it's a noteworthy achievement or something outstanding, it's something that everyone who wants to can do.

I certainly wouldn't want them to miss something like a US Open for a crummy  and no doubt sycophantic speech. Mind you I have had 3 university graduations, never been to one. Can't imagine anything more boring. Clap clap clap clap clap clap. Turgid stuff.

I must confess when I first read this and heard graduation I was thinking it was maybe Yale or Harvard or something like that. A university graduation is a much bigger deal ... HS not so much. I don't think we even have such a thing in the UK

I think super woke up in a wumming mood.

Phil's surely entitled to do whatever he deems most important. Only he knows.

Shame play is disrupted, anyone's tournament right now, given where Kooch, now -87 the past 11 yrs, Summerhays and Thomas have left their balls.
Huge missed opportunity for Kjeldsen this week - looks like he's playing the numbers game and not his game.

Hoping for an exciting finish, but a shame that Shane has played himself out of things, a top ten here would have taken a weight off his shoulders for the rest of this year.

If Phil, his daughter, and the rest of his family feel this is more important than a golf tournament, bully for them.

Meanwhile, this tournament is far from over. Fowler has a way of sputtering home, so should be interesting.

Davie wrote:I must confess when I first read this and heard graduation I was thinking it was maybe Yale or Harvard or something like that. A university graduation is a much bigger deal ... HS not so much. I don't think we even have such a thing in the UK

I suppose it's marginally better than that ghastly and pathetic American tradition of PlaySchool Graduation, i.e. 5 year olds in mortar boards, but not much.

Good on Phil - if it's important to his family that's all we need to know.

Love to see Dufner win this after yesterdays trials and tribulations.

Dufner for sure. Nice to see.

Shotrock wrote:Dufner for sure. Nice to see.

Very nice to see, wonderful win for Duf.

robo,
Thanks for the update on non-members. Have to have another gaze at that after Erin Hills, but would think Mr.Fish assured himself the option.
Perception from afar is that he rather messed up his last membership opportunity, incoherent schedule, followed by loss of confidence, especially on the greens. It's taken him a while but his game looks stronger across the board than six or so years ago.

Expect you noticed Austin Connelly's good showing this week, and wonder if Bryson DeChambeau will make more money on course or off ads this year. A great big flop so far, but can't say I'm surprised having tried to follow him once.

Fantastic resilience from Dufner after his 3rd Round!

Why have so many players refused to play the qualifiers for the US Open...like Sullivan, Olesen and Wood for example (who may qualify ranking wise) in Walton Heath....and Swafford, Poulter and Lahiri for example in the States?

I will never understand why a player doesn't try and qualify for a major.

Maybe the fact that it is a major means more to the fans or journalists then the players. To them Golf is the job, they may not fancy travelling to Wisconsin to play, when they could end up out of pocket,.

Yeah, Sullivan, Olesen, Wood, Swafford, Poulter and Lahiri are destitute aren't they?

It's nothing about money.

that wasnt really my point but maybe its because they are financially secure they dont feel the need, they just may not fancy it though. Maybe they dont want to travel to Wisconsin, Maybe they want some time with the family, maybe they have other plans.

I can understand why someone may not fancy playing an event, be it a major or any other event. Whats strange to the fans is probably different in reality.

No Laying Up has an interesting blog entry this week.

http://nolayingup.com/2017/06/05/memorial-tournament-recap-3/

Interesting!

Re Zac Blair - Very likely that Nicklaus has played some golf w/Blair's father, possibly winding him up!

Grayson Murray? Not sure I believe that, or at least that he wouldn't have been penalised - but Murray clearly seems to be a first class prat.

As for Duf, I don't think anyone follows him closely for 18 holes (in Rounds 1 & 2 anyway) and comes up with the TV image of him.

No comments on Rahm anecdote?

Doesn't sound good, but no idea really of full context. Certainly never saw anything but impeccable behaviour from him last year when we followed him - as most of the players also exhibit of course.

GPB wrote:No comments on Rahm anecdote?

Obviously not to be commended, but American crowds are incredibly annoying. So I could easily see someone getting frustrated if they aren't playing well.

I like Rahm but must admit he comes across as a bit of a petulant child at times, so wouldn't be surprised.

GPB

Only just had a chance to read the Rahm anecdote. I guess whether or not you would consider that behavior a problem is how much you think the players should respect the paying fans and what type of fan behavior would warrant that response.


The fat lard Trump voting types you see in gaudy shorts and baseball caps probably deserve quite strong "banter". :censored:

I'm inclined to agree Mac, I think this incident has less in common with Monty and him hearing a crisp packet opening 5 holes away and the spectators being boorish morons who probably think "Mashed Potatoes" was ever funny.

McDowell has the right idea with the "Gareth Hunt " gesture.

kwinigolfer wrote:Interesting!

Re Zac Blair - Very likely that Nicklaus has played some golf w/Blair's father, possibly winding him up!

Zac Blair's father? Who is he?

I do know that Zac Blair has eaten dinner at Chez Jack & Barbara. Last year when the Top 40 on the RC standings were invited to break bread at the Nicklaus house during the Honda Classic.

kwinigolfer wrote:Interesting!

Re Zac Blair - Very likely that Nicklaus has played some golf w/Blair's father, possibly winding him up!

Zac Blair's father?  Who is he?

I do know that Zac Blair has eaten dinner at Chez Jack & Barbara.  Last year when the Top 40 on the RC standings were invited to break bread at the Nicklaus house during the Honda Classic.


Mac: I do think there a fickle behavior standard Americans and Europeans for many posters on this board.

James Blair dabbled on the PGA Tour and Champo Tour intermittently, one of Johnny Miller's Moron buddies. Like the Summerhays clan.

If you read NLU's blog again you will see that it has been updated with comments from Grayson Murrays manager.. #damagecontrol

Fake news?

An already weak (by Tour standards) field for "Memphis" just got even weaker following Monday's US Open qualifiers.
princedrac originally projected this week's winner to collect 40 owgr points but this lot are among those to have gone by the wayside since then:
Keegan Bradley
Kjeldsen
Kokrak
Kraft
Lovemark
Pan
Stricker

Jack Nicklaus was belly-aching last week about guys like Casey, English, McIlroy and Rose committing for Memorial and then giving it the elbow; good job he doesn't work for FedEx.

PS: Andrew Johnston is also avoiding Memphis, and he and Soren Kjeldsen look as if they're banking on good results in Majors to keep their cards. Wouldn't bet on it, boys.

Oops. And Ouch.
Seems like an amateur being coached by Padraig Harrington at an outing nailed Paddy on the elbow with a practice swing, and there goes another top name participant from the Memphis field.
Charlie Wi is the replacement and he's semi-retired, which goes shows to go how deep into the food chain the Memphis field is dredging. At least two of the most recently announced alternates are committed to the Champions tournament in Iowa so stand by the phone, a Tournament Director might be calling.

PS: Padraig must have received quite a whack - stitches won't be out for 10 or 12 days, so may miss his annual appearance at The Travelers in Hartford where he's a very popular figure - and great with the crowds.

Six stitches I hear Kwini, ouch indeed!

kwinigolfer wrote:
PS: Andrew Johnston is also avoiding Memphis, and he and Soren Kjeldsen look as if they're banking on good results in Majors to keep their cards. Wouldn't bet on it, boys.

No one really wanted to see Beef play Memphis.

Swamp - A$$ City