PGA Tour: "Memphis"; Elvis among those staying away: Notes from the Ballwasher

1).TPC Southwind, outside Memphis, is reportedly a strong test of golf and stages one of the older events on the PGA Tour, this week being the 60th playing of the FedEx St.Jude Classic.
But it's not just Elvis who won't be playing as most of the golfing elite have chosen to stay away. And many who had originally "committed" have withdrawn meaning that this week's field is sadly one of the season's weakest.

2).The Houston Open has been successful in providing an appropriate warm-up before The Masters each year, but has the advantage of preceding Augusta National, the same course every year. Not so much the week before the US Open which is obviously played on courses as diverse as Olympic Club and Oakmont, Pebble Beach and Pinehurst. Or Chambers Bay and Erin Hills.
All you can do is present a course that might help fine tune the "fairways and greens" ballstriker which the USGA seems to favour, and that is what TPC Southwind achieves, one of the most demanding Par-70's of the year as measured by scoring average - though that may be partly due to the uneven quality of the field.
After a string of champions here that varied from the length of Greg Norman to the precision of Nick Price success here was enjoyed by a succession of short hitters/good putters from Estes to Toms, Leonard to Maggert and Gay, but most recent winners have been bombers, guys like Frazar and Westwood, Dustin Johnson and Daniel Berger. More on Memphis later.

3).Congratulations to Jason Dufner for his Memorial win which managed to reward three excellent rounds to offset one shocker - apparently the first winner to follow a Round 3 as high as 77 with a win since Faldo at the '89 Masters.
I'm a Dufner fan, followed part of his 63 at the 2013 PGA which he went on to win, and have enjoyed watching him and his ball-striking since. Much is made of Dufner's putting, and his yippy stroke on shorties especially. But he's 48th overall in the "Strokes gained putting" stat, which means he's actually very efficient.

4).Strangely, that strokes gained putting stat is dominated by Europeans, albeit including one or two STM tourists:
1st: Hatton
2nd: Michael Thompson
3rd: Fitzpatrick, followed by Gonzo, Lukey, Fowler, Rafa, McDowell

5).Not the greatest Memorial Tournament for Europeans, no-one better than Lingmerth & Lowry who crossed the line tied for 15th. Definitely a step in the right direction for both, however, which is more than can be said for some. Kjeldsen shot 81 on Sunday and, especially with his withdrawal this week, looks perilously close to losing his card. While Donald and Rafa (is he knackered?), Rahm and Fleetwood all missed the cut. Terrible weekends from Knox and Laird but a decent finish (T22) from Ross Fisher who is playing much more consistently over here than during previous visits.

6).Perhaps it's worth looking again at the owgr "points gained" stats for the year:
First: Dustin Johnson still has a big lead that won't be overtaken whatever happens the next fortnight. Followed by:
Rahm, Garcia, Spieth, Fowler, Thomas, Kisner, Rose, Fleetwood, Matsuyama, Dufner, Hadwin, Noren, Harman.
All of that lot have at least 100 world ranking points so far in 2017.

7).A couple of notable obituaries from the last week:
~Roberto De Vicenzo, about which much has already been written. Worth noting, however, that he only played in 44 Majors, 22 of them Open Championships where he notched 11 Top Tens, including his 1967 win. All that despite having won his first Pro events as a teenager.

~Vincent Tshabalala, from Johannesburg, who won the French Open in 1976 when he was still barred from competing in his native South Africa because of apartheid. Like Charlie Owens (kinda surprised to learn he is still alive), Tshabalala played all his shots cross-handed.
(Owens, incidentally, and for better or for worse, was a (the?) leading pioneer of the belly putter.)

8).There are only a handful of golfers who can earn a place in the US Open by virtue of being in the owgr Top 60 after close of play this weekend, led by Chris Wood currently in 60th place. Scott Piercy needs a Top 20 to overtake Wood, but both could be eliminated if Poulter, McDowell or two or three others should win this week.
Only the USGA knows who's first among the "alternates" following "Sectional Qualifying" but a handful of spots should be open and hopefully Gregory Bourdy will score one of them.

9).Rickie Fowler goes again in Memphis this week, with Adam Scott and Francesco Molinari the only owgr top 20 players in action.
Other notable Europeans in the field include Cabrera Bello, Poults and McDowell.
Phil Mickelson has the best recent record here, albeit without a win; Daniel Berger won convincingly last year largely on the back of a brilliant week off the tee, long and mostly straight. No real idea this year but here's my best guess if Grumpy's game was running:
A).Mickelson, Koepka, Horschel
B).Palmer, Poults, Piercy (tho' what's become of Harris English, who won here in 2013 and looked a surefire star of the future?)
C).Chad Campbell, Greg Owen, Gay.

10).Lastly, and largely for the benefit of US posters who may not have seen it, and not nuffink to do with golf, but I loved this:
http://deadspin.com/Frak-you-im-millwall-londoner-says-he-took-on-bridg-1795871139

Never thought I'd see the day when I said I'm glad Millwall got promoted, but good luck and good health to Roy Larner             or  

Should have added that this is likely to be the most pristine week of weather for TPC Southwind they're ever likely to get in June, mild with temps in the 80's, and nothing much more than Ben Wright's "mere zephyr" as breezy refreshment.
So, scoring should be better than usual, though you'll still see a lot of TV stats about the high number of balls in water hazards.

I can attest of the mild weather in the Mid South. I shut off my AC last night opened my windows last night, and I don't think I have ever done that in June.

Some friends of mine played Southwind a few weeks ago. They said it was pristine but the greens were really slow. (greens were aerated the week before). Memphis didn't get the rains that we got so the course should be in excellent shape.

Kwini - alternate position is interesting. I am sure I recall a few years ago hearing that the first alternate - maybe only in that year? - went to the Walton Heath qualifier. I am not sure why that was, and am not suggesting there is any merit, qualified or otherwise, but have a clear recollection of that position. I have been wrong before, at least once, but hopeful that Gregory will make it!

puligny wrote:Kwini - alternate position is interesting. I am sure I recall a few years ago hearing that the first alternate - maybe only in that year? - went to the Walton Heath qualifier. I am not sure why that was, and am not suggesting there is any merit, qualified or otherwise, but have a clear recollection of that position. I have been wrong before, at least once, but hopeful that Gregory will make it!

I read an article somewhere (Golfworld/Golfdigest?) that suggested that the alternate positions were arranged in order of the strength of field of the qualifier, together with the number of qualifiers they had.

INW - cheers, that would make some sense.

GPB wrote:I can attest of the mild weather in the Mid South.  I shut off my AC last night opened my windows last night

Now I see why a HS graduation is such a big deal to Americans

If it was Augusta I'm sure first alternate would be Ryo Ishikawa -- almost as good as Big Phil..

puligny, Inw,

Although that sof solution makes perfect sense, I'm not sure that it's accurate in that Golf Channel, who should know these things, continue to say the sequence is never published, just known to USGA. Dunno.


PS: No alternates at Augusta, but the bigger question is: What has happened to Ishikawa's form? Seemed he was getting his sh1t together last autumn, now back to being an also-ran.

Q: is it fair of Phil to leave an alternate dangling? No doubt that Bourdy or others would love to play but preparations can hardly be 100% - plus they may have traveled all the way from Europe. Hardly something you would expect in a gentlemans sport?

Pedro - I know what you mean, but why would he commit before he has to? Imagine he had an injury?

pedro wrote:If it was Augusta I'm sure first alternate would be Ryo Ishikawa -- almost as good as Big Phil..

Is there a statute of limitations on jokes. If so, 4 years is probably over the limit

Ishikawa has not played the Masters since 2013.

kwinigolfer wrote:puligny, Inw,
Although that sof solution makes perfect sense, I'm not sure that it's accurate in that Golf Channel, who should know these things, continue to say the sequence is never published, just known to USGA. Dunno.

Hi Kwini - my "source" was actually the Golf channel. Sorry if I have misled anyone. HERE

Ah ha!

Interestingly, elsewhere on the same site Will Gray shares his twitter frustration with the priority order, "Don't understand why they can't rank alternates 1 - 12 like Tour does every week?"
Problem is that, whatever algorithm the USGA uses with its sof consideration includes second alternates as well as firsts, often a "second" gaining precedence over the "first".
And princedrac points out in his twitter feed that Doug Ferguson hasn't quite got the intricacies of filling the field correct, or at least makes it ambiguous. Ferguson is terrific imo, but his AP work is contracted to the Golf Channel, he doesn't write for them.

Regardless, it seems Bourdy should be in!

Is it ftp or pr?

puligny wrote:Is it ftp or pr?

Single transferable vote

Michael Putnam (Columbus) was the first alternate and he is in the Championship. Ryan Moore WD with a bad shoulder.

puligny wrote:Pedro - I know what you mean, but why would he commit before he has to? Imagine he had an injury?

It's a gentlemans sport? Same as Stenson goes to the first tee of a WGC, hits the ball, WDs, gets his checque and one more tournament under his belt. Yes he can, but hardly fair.

Who told you it was a gentleman's sport?

GPB wrote:Michael Putnam (Columbus) was the first alternate and he is in the Championship.  Ryan Moore WD with a bad shoulder.

Bad news for Moore if his injury is serious; a few of his Tour annuities rapidly approaching.

Spieth added to the Hartford field . . . . . .

Kwini: Did you see the updates (retractions) on the Nolayingup blog regarding the Grayson Murray situation

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

I saw the first lot, which I felt rather undermined much of the remainder of the article. However, Murray does seem to have questionable tendancies. Off to a good start in Memphis though, clearly has game when his head is screwed on straight.

http://www.usopen.com/tee-times.html#!&round=round-1

US OPEN TEE TIMES ARE OUT!!!!!!

Thanks!

Apart from some USGA-related groups, I'm not sure I see any of their customary attempts at humour. Interesting that Mickelson has still to withdraw - was he waiting on his tee-time before making a final decision once he knew his options?

Another good, under par anyway, from Seamus Power - time for him to capitalise.

Well they've put him 20 minutes before last tee time - still not late enough I suspect for him unless there is a weather delay. Unless the kiddies tea party starts early

kwinigolfer wrote:
Thanks!

Apart from some USGA-related groups, I'm not sure I see any of their customary attempts at humour. Interesting that Mickelson has still to withdraw - was he waiting on his tee-time before making a final decision once he knew his options?

What about the 3 Scots, or rather 2 Scots (Knox and Laird) and a Scott (Gregory)?

And I don't know if they prick 3 ball is still a thing but how about McGirt, Bradley, Na? Or even Bubba, Sergio & Adam (though I don't know of any reason why Adam would be viewed negatively, perhaps it's just a Masters 3 ball?)

Bombers group of Woodland, Holmes and Kokrak will draw some crowds I should think.

Ha, I'd missed the Scot(t) angle.
Has McGirt ever done anything to upset anyone? But he'll be waiting around a lot on Keegs and Na.


Sounds as if Paul Azinger is expressing concerns about Woods getting perhaps too much of a taste for painkillers.
"There are some players out there that are saying this has been a problem for a while."
and:
"The few people that are around Tiger probably know there's a problem. If they don't intervene, then it's on them."

This will get attention in the run-up to the US Open - wonder if Zinger would have said anything if he wasn't working for Fox who are covering the action next week.

More important, whatever happened to the Tour's drug policy? Or has it been enforced and Woods is serving an unreported suspension??

Kwini, Pain killers wouldn't be deemed to be performance enhancing would they, and as such, would they be on the banned list?

You could be a Benylin addict, but if it's not on the list, would the PGA care?

Cheers kwini, really happy to see Dufman prevail lastweek especially considering the Saturday he had. Must have been a bag of nerves Sat night. Did great work to come back mentally.

Super lots of "recreational" drugs on banned lists. Not sure about the golf list but wasn't there a Blades player done for cannabis?!?

Dunno super, But if they identified the sort of cocktail he was driving with the other week, surely they should be taking some action, even if it was just precautionary? Teasing about a suspension, but surely recommend some treatment. "Opioid addiction", which is effectively what we are talking about, needs attention, though it's largely considered a "white America" problem.
Opioid addiction is an "epidemic", crack addiction is not treated the same way, of course.

BTB, Prescription medicines aren't recreational though are they? They aren't classified like Cannabis or LSD and effectively not breaking any law.

It's perfectly conceivable that if 9C's combination is on no PGA list, there's nothing they could do about him taking them.

Could they charge him for bringing the game into disrepute? Perhaps. Though I imagine that might be the limit of their powers at present, and given their sycophancy to such players, would imagine all they'd do is request in the clichéd American way "that he get the help he needs".

Wouldn't imagine there would be a punishment as such.

super,
I'm guessing he hasn't been tested, which is a whole other problem.
But, if he had, and they identified an issue, I'd be shocked if they didn't recommend a treatment option and increase frequency of testing.


The reports are now in "article" form:

http://www.golfchannel.com/news/golf-central-blog/azinger-players-see-pain-meds-problem-woods/

super_realist wrote:BTB, Prescription medicines aren't recreational though are they? They aren't classified like Cannabis or LSD and effectively not breaking any law.

True, but Puligny mentioned one of the drugs was taken off the market in 04, so if thats true it's dodgy. Any suspension would play out unseen, the PGA Tour never make these things public and I certainly don't see that changing here. Concurrent with his rehab I'd expect.

Given the "cash cow" 9C is to the PGA they'll gerrymander it so he escapes punishment.

The cocktail found in Woods's system should be a red flag to the Tour and, Zing is right, to his friends as well.

Steiny, Where are you?

Don't prescription painkillers have a calming/relaxing effect? In that case it's definitely performance enhancing.

Re US Open pairings: I recall Bubba lost his temper last time he was paired with Sergio at a major. He took it out on his caddie. I think Sergio gets under his skin. Can't wait to see that again..
Whereas I think Sergio and Adam are good buddies. Don't they both have a chalet in Crans?

Chris Wood should be booking his flight to Milwaukee, only two golfers representing any sort of threat as things stand.


pedro, I think they're still mates. Tim Clark and Luke Donald used to be part of that crew - remember when SG, AS & TC had a bet about the first to chicken out and get their hair cut?

kwinigolfer wrote:
Steiny, Where are you?

Stony..

Ibuprofen makes my ankles feels better, and but I doubt it is on any PGATour ban list.

Longtime Sports Writer Dan Jenkins opines

Dan Jenkins in a tweet wrote:My early picks at Erin Hills: Jordan if he can avoid a quad, Jason if he can avoid a headache, Dustin if he doesn't fall off a chandelier.

I will add:

Rory: if he can find a shirt to show off his pecs
Phil: If he can find a rain delay
Tiger: If he can find a driver

But if you want to find an "alternate", here's as good an explanation as you're likely to find:

http://www.golfdigest.com/story/youre-a-us-open-alternate-how-likely-is-it-then-that-youre-going-to-play-at-erin-hills

GPB wrote:Ibuprofen makes my ankles feels better, and but I doubt it is on any PGATour ban list.  

Longtime Sports Writer Dan Jenkins opines

Dan Jenkins in a tweet wrote:My early picks at Erin Hills: Jordan if he can avoid a quad, Jason if he can avoid a headache, Dustin if he doesn't fall off a chandelier.

I will add:

Rory: if he can find a shirt to show off his pecs
Phil:  If he can find a rain delay
Tiger:  If he can find a driver

   

Good news for Chris Wood - the most likely scenario to cause him to fall out of the owgr Top 60, and thereby his chance at US Open qualification, was for Scott Piercy to register a Top 20 finish in Memphis, and earn sufficient owgr pts to bump Wood.
Well, that won't happen with Piercy missing the cut and getting an early jump on a practice round @ Erin Hills. Only bullets to dodge now would be via a win for a handful of others, incl Poults & McDool, and they don't currently look probable.

Good rounds this morning from Rafa C-B, Molinari and McDowell.
If Mac is watching, I'd say that Francesco's decision to try the PGA Tour has been vindicated, now regularly in good form on both Tours.

Level par today for Poulter but he lost more than 3 shots on the "strokes gained putting" stat, including three tiddlers and a 3-putt from inside ten feet. He must have been striking the ball beautifully if ShotLink data is anything to go by.

80+ golfers make the Memphis cut so there'll be a further cut after Round 3, top 70 and ties again.
Gonzo got his second chance on the number.

Plenty of 65's and 66's out there today, but Adam Scott shot 64 with at least three short birdie putts badly missed. He's playing well in the run up to Erin Hills.

Seamus Power notched one of the 65's which gives him a T6 after 36 holes. More please Seamus.

Here we go in Memphis, but they'll be dawdling rather than walking in Memphis, with 86 golfers starting off both "nines"; interesting so far, rather than rivetting, but we had two fleeting phenomena yesterday:
3 Major-winning South Africans in the Top ten at the same time. Els quickly bogeyed to put a stop to that.
Mickelson graduating to a share of the lead, before quickly becoming Phil again.

If Poulter, McDowell, Ryan Palmer or Kang win, they'll reach the owgr Top 60 and bump Chris Wood out of a US Open tee-time. Otherwise, Woody's in.

Warmer than for Rounds 1 and 2, and potentially breezier too. MDF after Round 3.

Anyone betting on a RAFA parlay tomorrow?

I'll be hoping for Stan & Rafa . . . . .

MDF for Gonzo, and I'd bet the house on Chris Wood qualifying for the US Open.

Back to normal Memphis-in-June conditions today, hot and a light breeze, perfect weather for the duration of the tournament.
Great chance for Cabrera-Bello today - he's sewn up his card for next year, and can now secure the 2-year exemption every double-dipper would hope for.

Big day further down the leaderboard for Seamus Power (currently 144th in FedEx points); not only is the top 125 crucial, but the Top 150 status is also important. He should get some more starts after next week, but needs to capitalise with a high finish today.

The web.com Tour is playing in the Chicago area this week and 54-hole leader, Munich's Stephan Jaeger, is four strokes ahead of the field. Barring catastrophes he's probably already done enough this year with a win in May to earn a PGA Tour card for next year.
We know he can go low, he shot a 58 in winning last year by seven strokes in California.

No-one going seriously low this morning in Memphis, Russell Knox with the low (4-under after 16) round on the course.