PGA Tour: The Honda Classic: Notes from the Ballwasher

First topic message reminder :

Last week's note about the Pebble Beach logjam, 6+ hour rounds, 102 golfers playing one course on Sunday, and suggesting ideas for reducing the likelihood of this "Murphy's an optimist" type of outcome, attracted an unintended and unfortunate series of responses, so strictly bullets this time:

1).102 golfers in a field is the very high end of what's acceptable at Augusta National for The Masters. But they are unlikely to have anything close to that number this year, following last year's 94 contestants.
So far, 82 exempt golfers are likely to play.

2).As far as I can see, only Ted Potter has definitely become exempt during the course of the first two months of the year. And only 3 have crept into the owgr Top 50 who weren't previously exempt: Kodaira, Reavie, Frittelli. The final owgr Top 50 cut-off for an invite is March 26th Imagine Cameron Smith will ease in to the mix but can't see too many other likely candidates. Though Poulter surely wouldn't agree.

3).One doubts that more than perhaps about 88 will make the field before any withdrawals.

4).Newly qualified golfers via various routes for next week's WGC-Mexico include: Ancer, Campillo, Ikeda, Luiten, Mickelson, Oosthuizen, Ormsby, Paisley, Reavie, Schwartzel, Sharma, Steele, Bubba. Any golfers not previously exempt who are in the FedEx Top 10 next Monday will be eligible. Currently that would include just Kizzire (playing with Woods this week).

5).Two Phil-worthy notes:
It's been more than 10 years since he registered Top Six finishes in three consecutive weeks.
And the wins of Potter and Bubba represented the first consecutive Tour wins by left-handers since Phil won Atlanta and Augusta in 2006.

6).Seven Europeans have two Top Tens apiece so far this Tour season. Would you have guessed them?
Cabrera-Bello, Casey, Cejka, Knox, Laird, Rahm, Rose.

7).Talking about The Masters earlier, it was reported last week that the Hooties are planning to lengthen the Par-4 5th hole. Mixed responses from the players:
Phil liked the idea with words to the effect of: "I'm in favour of making the difficult holes more difficult, and making the easier holes even easier."
Whereas McDowell reckoned he couldn't hold a ball on the putting surface now, let alone from 20 yards further back. (Academic opinion from McDool of course.)

8).Here's a pgatour.com Q&A with Ben Taylor, just the fourth Englishman to win on the web.com circuit (or its predecessors), joining Fryatt, Christian & Owen (another useless trivia question).  
https://www.pgatour.com/webcom/news/2018/02/14/get-to-know-ben-taylor.html

9).Following Roller Coaster's excellent link to the Paddy/Rory conversation, I see they're paired together this week, with Adam Scott - coincidence? I think not!!
Too many European Tour players in the field to mention all of them but Kiradech is here, Sergio, Poults, Frittelli, Hatton and Wiesberger.

10).Rickie Fowler won Honda last year but, unlike Riviera, the "Honda" has its fair share of "international" winners, in the 2000's alone Parnevik, Padraig, Lukey, Els, Yang, Camilo, Roary, Rory, Padraig again, and Scott. More in hope than conviction, my one-and-done this week is the 2015 champ, Russell Henley - just wish he'd get more consistency.

Sergio: "Strokes gained putting": -3.5

Got to get that sorted.

GPB wrote:

kwinigolfer wrote:
Enjoyed Alex Noren's post-round interview yesterday, said his short game was really good, but dissatisfied with his irons and how they reacted on the greens. So he was going to spend part of his afternoon at another course at the PGA National complex to try to figure it out.

It doesn't look like it went very well.

I didn't say that he mentioned that the other-course practice usually took 48 hours to kick in . . . . . . .

kwinigolfer wrote:
I didn't say that he mentioned that the other-course practice usually took 48 hours to kick in . . . . . . .

True...very true. Glad I have him on my fantasy teams.

Tiger is doing ok. Top 10 would be a good result for him.

Does Nine Chins Need more reps still wear that preposterous red colour on a Sunday?

super_realist wrote:Does Nine Chins Need more reps still wear that preposterous red colour on a Sunday?

I haven’t seen him on Sundays lately..

I'm guessing tiger will wear red or a variant of. He's done better then I thought this week. He can definitely win on this comeback

Justin Thomas with one of the biggest bits of luck I’ve ever seen from a final round leader there.

Yuuuge bounce; didn't capitalise. He had plenty of amazing breaks on his back nine at Quail Hollow too.


We're getting Trevor Immelman on the GC coverage - so long as he doesn't talk too too much I like him a lot. Good to have someone of Tiger's generation offering opinions; Matt Gogol does a good job, but Immelman has probably had more of the up-close-and-personal with Woods. (Who, incidentally, has continued to impress.)

Tiger is leading the field in proximity to the hole from the fairway. Is it just me or is that quite surprising?

Especially given how deadly Fleetwood is looking.

Mac,
10 feet better than the field average. And it's partly because he's hitting huge drives.

Kwini

I can't remember the exact number but in one of the earlier rounds Tiger was averaging the highest clubhead speed.

McLaren wrote:Kwini

I can't remember the exact number but in one of the earlier rounds Tiger was averaging the highest clubhead speed.

With a mad axeman swing like his, can't imagine his glass back is going to last long. His ego just can't accept other people being longer than him. His tiny brain is going to cost him his career soon.

Super

Not sure if you have watched any of the coverage but there is no "mad axeman" from Tiger.


Kwini

Do you smell a Euro win or will JT power to the win?

Whoever wins, it won't be through power, more precision and bottle. No idea!!
#15 has got into Tiger's head . . . . . . .

Yep, pretty poor from Tiger even if he was going for the birdie.

Think I just saw a graphic that said Tiger is +7 for the week through the bear trap.

Radar Riley going absolute full throttle on Simpson’s slow play. Wow. Don’t think I’ve ever heard a commentator tear into an individual player this much.

Radar just said an official is about to give a warning to Webb and Fleetwood

Why do all the other players in a group get put on the clock when it is patently obvious that it is one player? Is it just because that's the way it is? I appreciate that an official has to be made aware and then get to the group, but can't they just ask a few people? E.g. scorer?

Do they not have a rules official out with them anyway who could identify the main culprit? Seems a half decent speed from the earlier groups today, so no doubt that will pleaded in mitigation for the leaders

McLaren wrote:Super

Not sure if you have watched any of the coverage but there is no "mad axeman" from Tiger.


Kwini

Do you smell a Euro win or will JT power to the win?

He hasn't got a nice swing Mac. He almost jumps out of his swing, like a guy who pulls a three wheel trolley.

Thought you didn't have Sky anyway Mac, rather an indulgence for someone so poor.

Luke list? No nowt about him, probably going to win it.

Jt always seems to be in contention, but also seems to play alot.

Good week for tiger, really hope he has a good comeback.

Pretty good final round.
Sunset in 20 minutes so doubt they'll get more than one play-off hole in tonight. If necessary.

Tiger is only axing his drives. Iron play looks good.

JT had plenty of bottle.

A field of just 65 golfers signed up for next week's WGC-Mexico, against 76 + Stenson (w/d) last year.
The rich will get richer . . . . . . . .


And the long-range forecast is for excellent (golf)weather, dry, high in the 70's, no serious wind.

pedro wrote:Tiger is only axing his drives. Iron play looks good.

JT had plenty of bottle.

Yep, Iron play looked really solid and he also seemed to have a bit more confidence with the putter. Off the tee was a coin toss as to whether he'd hit fairway or not tho, Overall, yes sizeable move in the right direction, he then turns up for an interview. Now I'd be thinking, form feels like it's coming back...a bit more work with the driver maybe squeeze in an extra event to the schedule?...what does he come up with?? "Yeah I need to get back in the gym, more reps!!" wtf!! who is advising this guy??

GPB wrote:Kevin Na responds to Kevin Pietersen

http://golfweek.com/2018/02/23/kevin-na-defends-self-after-cricket-player-kevin-pietersen-mocks-him-for-slow-play/

Pietersen was, is and always will be, a pr!ck.

super_realist wrote:Does Nine Chins Need more reps still wear that preposterous red colour on a Sunday?

What is preposterous about wearing a red shirt? Plenty of other people wear red too, what's wrong with wearing your favourite colour?

Woods 2nd in driving distance and 1st in proximity to the hole from the fairway.

Pretty good week for him, he would have finished top ten or higher but decided to go for broke over the closing holes, taking on dangerous pins and running the ball at hole with a lot of pace. Top ten is meaningless for him, might as well go for the win.

Over the course of the week, I thought he frittered away a few shots from unforced errors. The kind of mistakes I make and put down to rustiness because I don't play enough golf. Exactly what you'd expect from someone in his position... needs more competitive golf with scorecard in hand. Although obviously Tiger thinks he needs to lift more weights (although difficult to mock someone with more majors than me).

Walker Cup returning to St.Andrews in 2023 - the intriguing possibility of super_ teeing it up against the USA on his home turf.

Also: Wouldn't it have been a good idea to "test drive" a possible future Open venue, even another course in the St.Andrews area?

Don't be silly Kwini, the R&A are the most short sighted organisation in Sport.
"Try something new"? Not a chance.

raycastleunited wrote:

super_realist wrote:Does Nine Chins Need more reps still wear that preposterous red colour on a Sunday?

What is preposterous about wearing a red shirt? Plenty of other people wear red too, what's wrong with wearing your favourite colour?

Absolutely nothing wrong with wearing Red Ray, the preposterous part is it's his superstition to wear it EVERY Sunday he makes it to as if it's somehow intimidating to the rest of the field. The guy is a pea brained moron.

Here's "something new"!
USGA are abandoning their 18-hole Play-Off for their "Opens".

Beginning this year, all will have a 2-hole aggregate Play-Off.
So: Now we have:
The Masters with 1 hole sudden death
US Open: 2 holes then sudden death
Open Championship: 4 holes then sudden death
PGA: 3 holes then sudden death.

That’s a bit of a shame, I liked the something different element of the 18-hole playoff. Not that we’ve seen many in the last 20 years. Can understand the logic though, with tv expectations and the following week’s tournament commitments I’m surprised it’s lasted this long. Two-hole aggregate seems spectacularly pointless though, what’s that supposed to offer beyond being slightly different to the other three majors? Sudden death and three or four holes are both much more sensible.

Rationale from USGA's Mike Davis seems equally "spectacularly" flawed:

"Two holes will allow a player to recover from a single mistake, and at the same time provide a memorable, and perhaps dramatic, experience for all involved."

I hardly think the "single mistake" notion holds water - even going back to the first Open Play-Off you could see how Norman's first drive affected him and helped Calc to beat him and Grady. If that's the rationale, I would think something more like six holes would be preferable. On the other hand, a Play-Off should surely benefit the player who doesn't make that "single mistake" - a bit like Thomas vs List yesterday.

I'd go for sudden death or 18 holes - aggregate Play-Offs seem anticlimactic.

That’s blatant doublespeak isn’t it. They’ve gone for two because the other majors have one, three and four and they want to be different. That’s all.

NedB-H wrote:Radar Riley going absolute full throttle on Simpson’s slow play. Wow. Don’t think I’ve ever heard a commentator tear into an individual player this much.

Needless to say this was never mentioned during the CBS broadcast - but then they didn't have anyone following the twosome either. Imagine Fleetwood is a relatively faster player isn't he - he seems to commit pretty earlier, get in and whack it? Looking forward to following Tommy soon.

Exactly what I thought Ned. But I’m with kwini in that a sudden death play-off is the most exciting to watch. Obviously the fairest would be 18 holes (or as many as possible)

kwinigolfer wrote:

NedB-H wrote:Radar Riley going absolute full throttle on Simpson’s slow play. Wow. Don’t think I’ve ever heard a commentator tear into an individual player this much.

Needless to say this was never mentioned during the CBS broadcast - but then they didn't have anyone following the twosome either. Imagine Fleetwood is a relatively faster player isn't he - he seems to commit pretty earlier, get in and whack it? Looking forward to following Tommy soon.

Simpson may be slow, but once he finally addresses the ball he just rips it. Bit like Spieth.

http://www.golfchannel.com/article/golf-central-blog/thomas-sorry-overreacting-getting-honda-fan-kicked-out/

I heard the incident and I understand JT was upset. But I find it wrong he now goes out and excuses. Nothing to excuse really.

On the other hand I can’t rule out I may end up being a bit louder than otherwise in Paris...

Earlier last week (and at Phoenix) JT was complaining about Fans saying inappropriate things. Mentioning kids in his rant

Yesterday, he gets a fan ejected for saying "Get in the Bunker" after he hits the ball. AFTER he hits the ball.

Then he says "F*CK YEAH" as he wins the playoff yesterday. Gee J.T., don't you think that might be inappropriate?

If people start getting thrown out of PGATour golf tournaments, you better start with the golfers. And you won't have many left.

Whats inappropriate about saying Fk yeah?

Course you shouldn't shout certain things at players, though happens in most sports. If you do, and get caught, you face the consequences. No need gor jt to apologise though.

Good for Thomas taking a stand against those moronic basement dwelling morons.

It isn't and never has been funny to shout something as stupid as "Mashed potatoes", "Getindahole" or "youdaman".

Personally I'd have a sniper to do the job.

The PGA should be looking at how much of their revolting pisswater beer they sell in these things. They are partly responsible.

super_realist wrote:

raycastleunited wrote:

super_realist wrote:Does Nine Chins Need more reps still wear that preposterous red colour on a Sunday?

What is preposterous about wearing a red shirt? Plenty of other people wear red too, what's wrong with wearing your favourite colour?

Absolutely nothing wrong with wearing Red Ray, the preposterous part is it's his superstition to wear it EVERY Sunday he makes it to as if it's somehow intimidating to the rest of the field. The guy is a pea brained moron.

When has he ever said: "I wear red to intimidate the rest of the field." ???

I think in the past he has said it's his lucky colour, or maybe he said his mum likes him to wear red because she's superstitious. Something like that. Hardly moronic. Are you projecting again?

kwinigolfer wrote:

NedB-H wrote:Radar Riley going absolute full throttle on Simpson’s slow play. Wow. Don’t think I’ve ever heard a commentator tear into an individual player this much.

Needless to say this was never mentioned during the CBS broadcast - but then they didn't have anyone following the twosome either. Imagine Fleetwood is a relatively faster player isn't he - he seems to commit pretty earlier, get in and whack it? Looking forward to following Tommy soon.

Yes - Radar was explicit that Fleetwood had absolutely nothing to do with his group being slow. He was also making the point that PGA tour had missed an opportunity with the JB Holmes incident. After the event they could have come out and said they missed a trick and should have penalised Holmes.

Radar also covered slow play in his recent golf monthly column.

super_realist wrote:Good for Thomas taking a stand against those moronic basement dwelling morons.

It isn't and never has been funny to shout something as stupid as "Mashed potatoes", "Getindahole" or "youdaman".

Personally I'd have a sniper to do the job.

The PGA should be looking at how much of their revolting pisswater beer they sell in these things. They are partly responsible.

It seems Justin Thomas has apologized for getting the moron kicked out - I "overreacted".
I'm not quite sure why the Tour seems to go ott with "party" holes, as supes says, it's inviting trouble - pretty soon we'll have teachers on every hole, armed with their semi-automatic of choice, trying to keep the peace . . . . . .
. . . . . . . when all they really need to do is hire POTUS and his bone spurs to sort out any troublemaker.

Of all things to criticize Woods, criticizing "Red shirts on Sunday" might be the most superficial since "Nine Chins".

Red shirt may just be a habit. I’m sure you have habits too, super?

“F*ck yeah” is fine for me. That’s the way (many) people talk, especially younger. Too much uptightness and, especially in the US, PC in golf. He just shows his real person. Would have thought it’d been strange if he whispered: “jolly good, now let’s have a cup of tea.”

Heckling players immidiately before, during and after shots is not ok though.

But I guess we’ll soon see a 5 second tape delay so the censors can beep out inappropriate language.