PGA Tour: WGC - Mexico Championship: Notes from the Ballwasher

First topic message reminder :

1).I'm not a fan of PGA National, and consider holes #15 & #17 to be gratuitously penal, but the "Honda" frequently produces a compelling finish and really enjoyed last week's action complete with the 5th Play-Off in this years' past seven tournaments.Well done Justin Thomas, and he's piling up "W"'s relentlessly. Another nearly week from Luke List and great finishes too from Fleetwood and Noren.

2).It was interesting to read v2 reports of Radar going ballistic at Webb Simpson's slow play - still don't know for sure if he and Tommy were put on the clock, but it couldn't have helped as Fleetwood promptly registered bogeys on #14 and #15. The Tour doesn't have this put-on-the-clock policy quite right with the very real likelihood of the innocent party being unwittingly (by the TOur) penalised. That's happened in the past, most egregiously with Garrigus vs Na at Valspar a few years ago, Harrington and Woods at Bridgestone even further back. I hope the Tour is using its ShotLink data to punish the slowcoaches, wherever they come from, but haven't seen any evidence.

3).Not sure what to make about Justin Thomas having a go at moronic spectators - media here says "just wait until the Ryder Cup", but not sure there's ever been too much evidence of such disruptions, in Europe at least - nothing like the guff that Montgomerie etc had to endure @ Brookline for instance. More important things to worry about at the RC, like putting one's ball on the tee on the first hole.
Having grandstands just about overlooking tees and greens surely doesn't help at places like Phoenix (even money Spieth won't return) and PGA National.

4).Golf Channel made the very interesting observation about the USGA's decision to switch from an 18-hole play-off to a 2-holer. How will they select the holes so as not to unduly favour a particular style of golfer? It was argued that The Players has it just right, a 3-hole play-off starting at #16 (reachable but potentially penal Par-5), #17 (Par-3 which we all know) and the demanding Par-4 18th.
Clearly the sudden death 18th hole at Glen Oaks (Northern Trust last August) was criticised as a hole with a sharp dog-leg Par-4 where Dustin Johnson could carry the water on the inside of the elbow almost with impunity, but competitor Spieth couldn't and had a considerably more difficult (water on the left, trees on the right) drive. The USGA needs to find a proper balance, which will be a toughy with just two holes.

5).WGC - Mexico saw fine performances by many Europeans last year:
Fleetwood (2nd)
Fish, Rahm (T3)
Pieters (T5)
McIlroy (T7)
Hatton (10th)
No Rory this year, and others missing include Day, Koepka, Matsuyama, Stenson.

6).Interesting debuts this week on the WGC stage, especially with Shanker Sharma, Dylan Frittelli and Chris Paisley bringing their sparkling early-season form to Chapultepec. Haven't a clue about a likely winner other than to state the bleedin' obvious that Top 4 are looking very strong. I'll probably be going with Rafa C-B is my one-and-done for the week - just a hunch, poor result here last year, but hoping he can turn some largely decent form into a good result.

7).No "Opposite Field" event this week following the devastation of Puerto Rico - it seems to be being replaced with a two-day Pro-Am with a few generous PGA & LPGA pros offering their services. Hope the Puerto Rico Open is back on next season's calendar; its absence this year is an important miss for the Tour's rank and file, but they'll be queueing up to play in the Dominican Republic in 3 weeks' time.

I follow Kyle Thompson to a minor degree, a consistent performer on the web.com Tour, seldom makes any noise on what Shotrock would call the Big Tour; hasn't cashed a PGA Tour cheque for 13 events over 5+ years. Not playing in Mexico this week either.

CBS commentator Vern Lundquist has been dropped from one of his traditional assignments this spring - hopefully they'll dump him from Augusta coverage too. Get in some new blood - how about Wayne Riley?

GPB wrote:Sharma moves up to #66.  Plays the Indian Open this coming week.  But it adds an divisor to his denominator.

Dell Match Play typically goes to #67 or #68, because of WDs.

Koepka won't be playing

Stenson probably won't play (doesn't like the new format)  Stenson is scheduled to play Tampa, Orlando, Houston in the next 4 weeks.  If he plays MP, that will be 4 straight weeks leading into the Masters.

Sounds as if Sergio won't be at the Match Play with his wife due to give birth this month - hadn't realised that.

I think Sergio now lives in Austin, that makes playing that week more of a possibility.

Maybe he'll do a Henrik, play one hole and go back to Angie . . . . . . . . makes sense, get an event in, pick up his money, return to paternal duties.

That would probably kill the Round Robin system.

Which killed the essence of the WGC-Match Play in the first place.

IMO, Match play is terrible tournament format.

Great for Ryder Cup type event. Terrible for tournaments

And this from a guy who won three Club Championship in a Match Play format. Never won the stroke play Club Championship.

That's one opinion; but it was certainly the precept upon which that WGC was launched. Now being reinvented/contorted to suit US commercial interests.

GPB wrote:IMO, Match play is terrible tournament format.

Great for Ryder Cup type event.  Terrible for tournaments

And this from a guy who won three Club Championship in a Match Play format.  Never won the stroke play Club Championship.

Depends on how your CC is run. Most of them over here have 2-3 rounds of Strokeplay with the top 16 going through to Matchplay knockouts with a 36 hole final. The best player usually wins in this format. Furthermore, it's much more of an achievement than winning a couple of rounds of strokeplay because you have to play at least 7 rounds of golf to win. I've won both matchplay club champs and strokeplay "major" comps and the matchplay is always the one with the greatest sense of enjoyment/achievement.

A strokeplay event can be ruined by just a couple of bad holes.

https://twitter.com/TheMasters/status/971052607312728064
Confirmation of Sharma's invite

Part of me says Sharma's invite is terrific.
Part of me wonders where's the transparency, why Asian golfers get Special Invitations, but those from other continents seem to miss out.
No doubt it's GPB's favourite golfer in play, Ka Ching, but why wouldn't they add another one or two deserving players if they have the room? And they do. I'd give Cameron Davis a chance.

Perhaps Shanker can earn sufficient owgr points this week to qualify for the MatchPlay, and then earn his own way in.

It would be fantastic if there was a golfer named Ka Ching.

It would still be a less stupid name than Tiger, Chesson, Bubba, Boo, Hudson, Webb, Tyrrel etc.

more superficial nonsense.

Where's the fishing emoji? Too easy.

Super

Why are you so worried about the names some people have?

super_realist wrote:It would still be a less stupid name than Tiger, Chesson, Bubba, Boo, Hudson, Webb, Tyrrel etc.

I wonder if Boo has called it a career; would have thought he'd get a start at Valspar if he wanted it, almost a local event for him.
Perhaps he's taken his 18 stone off for fishin', huntin', trappin', shootin' and guttin' animals?

McLaren wrote:Super

Why are you so worried about the names some people have?

I'm not worried, I just think the names sound preposterous, and you'd have to be some sort of moron to be want to be known by any such names. For instance, why would you prefer the ridiculous sounding "Bubba" to the normal sounding "Gerry"?

"...That which we call a rose
By any other word would smell as sweet..."

Just don't understand why an adult can be so superficial to constantly rant about people's names. Its so childish.

Its just a name, nothing more, nothing less.

Boo Weekley had elbow surgery last fall.

GPB wrote:Boo Weekley had elbow surgery last fall.

Aah, Good to know, hope they found it.
Brilliant ball-striker, but not sure the 52 cards are all present and correct.

GPB wrote:Boo Weekley had elbow surgery last fall.

If it's just a name, why not change yours to Rumplestiltskin and see how you get on.


(Maybe I just do it because I know it winds you up?)

GPB wrote:Boo Weekley had elbow surgery last fall.

For his next fall he hopes to get away with antiseptic cream and Elastoplast (Band aid I think U.S.?)

super_realist wrote:

GPB wrote:Boo Weekley had elbow surgery last fall.

If it's just a name, why not change yours to Rumplestiltskin and see how you get on.


(Maybe I just do it because I know it winds you up?)

Stop WUMming then?

I am perfectly happy with my name, why would I change it?

If Boo and Bubba were not happy with their names, do you not think they might be known as Thomas and Gerry? (given names)

And I suspect that Boo and Bubba don't give a rats behind what some anonymous blogger from Scotland thinks.

GPB wrote:I am perfectly happy with my name, why would I change it?

If Boo and Bubba were not happy with their names, do you not think they might be known as Thomas and Gerry?  (given names)

And I suspect that Boo and Bubba don't give a rats behind what some anonymous blogger from Scotland thinks.

It's often said that Americans don't get irony very well.

For every time I'm incredulous about a daft American name, GPB is quicker than Shane Lowry unwrapping a block of lard to go on about it. You can't have it both ways.
If I'm a bell for talking about names, you're a bell for rebuking me about it.

Its strange that an alleged grown adult get his knickers knotted about names.

Its just a name.

GPB wrote:Its strange that an alleged grown adult get his knickers knotted about names.

Its just a name.

......and you still don't get the irony.

Every time I mention a name being stupid, you jump right on it with vim and vigour to point out I shouldn't be concerned because it's just a name. No one else does, so perhaps you are also needlessly getting your knickers in a twist.

If a name doesn't bother you, then why do you keep jumping on it whenever I mention it? Why don't you just ignore it?

Perhaps no-one else comments because we’re bored with the constant references - and your harping on about people’s size

Guy acts like a di*k
Guy gets told he is acting like a di*k
guys response is if i am a dick so are you.

Fu*k me, how childish.

Yeah, but my dad would batter your dad so shut it, yeah.