PGA Tour: Memphis Grizzly: Notes from the Ballwasher

First topic message reminder :

1).No, nothing to do with the National Basketball Association Memphis Grizzlies, but a reflection of the field for this week's FedEx St.Jude Classic to be played at Memphis's TPC Southwind course.
Following the Byron Nelson tournament we identified the strongest and weakest fields of the "regular season" events this year so far. Revised lists as measured in winners' owgr points earned:
Strongest:
Memorial (70), Riviera (62), Quail Hollow & Phoenix (60), Bay Hill (58).
Weakest:
Byron Nelson (34), Memphis (36), Valero, Texas (40) & Career Builder (40).

2).But Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Stenson & Phil will be there, whilst Kiradech adds his personality to the proceedings.

3).Personality seems to be deficient in last week's young guns "Mad Scientist" DeChambeau and slowpoke Cantlay, but they, with Ben An, Kyle Stanley and Joaquin Niemann certainly outplayed a more celebrated posse that was chasing them through Muirfield Village, yet never really looked like catching them.  
Well done to BDeC, not my cup of tea from early observation but that's his second win and he'll be tough to keep off the Ryder Cup team.
Automatic US qualifiers are currently: Reed, Thomas, DJ, Spieth, Koepka, Fowler, Bubba, BDeC.

4).The worst golf-related news to come out of Ohio last week was the car accident that injured Bud Cauley; sounds a frightening affair, car airborne etc, and Cauley (one of Justin Thomas's best mates) may have been fortunate to escape with leg and rib injuries, plus a collapsed lung. He hasn't had much luck with health since bursting on the scene in 2011 & 2012, including missing all of 2015. He'll qualify for the Play-Offs and is assured of his 2018/19 card without worrying about medical extension, so is at least under no pressure to return too early.

5).You could make a pretty decent tournament with the hundreds of competitors slogging thru US Open qualifying - glad to see Adam Scott make it and he continues his Major Championship streak of 67 consecutive Majors at Shinnecock, and will presumably extend it at Carnoustie, Bellerive (PGA) and Augusta National - but get in the owgr Top 60 for next May, Adam.
Happy to see Lowry & Knox, Keegan & Stricker, Beef & Thunderbear among those destined for Shinnecock.
Tiger Woods is spending the US Open week on his yacht but no word yet if he's inviting Shane and other Europeans round for a few pies and a few more pints.

6).OK, Back to Memphis. No strong feelings on this week's likely contenders but Koepka (2nd & 3rd on his CV), Dustin (won in 2012), Berger (won 2016, 2017) and Phil (Top 12 the past 5 years) must be the four favourites. I'm hoping Billy Horschel will get out of bed on the right side and continue his recent good form and decent course record.

7).Lastly, something completely different:
Good luck to Leona Maguire, from County Cavan, who begins her pro career after a distinguished four years on the Duke University golf team. Very popular there and hoping she enjoys a fine LPGA career.

GPB wrote:You have never seen a golfer at the green while his playing competitor is 50-60 yards back?

skeptical

Do you think Smylie Kaufman on the ANGC's 12th hole was hanging on the other side of Rae's creek while Spieth was chunking his 2nd ball into the water back in 2016?

No, he was up at the green looking over his 2nd shot on 12.

You're splitting hairs and raising highly unlikely exceptional circumstances to justify some really daft behaviour. Everyone knows what Walker was talking about.

Possibly only of interest to US residents, but Bob Toski reportedly in trouble after "massive" heart attack.

PGA Tour makes it official... Houston Open to continue in a five-year agreement with Jim Crane and the Astros Foundation... But moves to fall of 2019.

https://www.pgatour.com/news/2018/06/12/Houston-astros-foundation-pga-tour-announce-five-year-partnership-for-houston-open.html

Good news robo.
This seems about the best feasible solution given the situation, don't you think?
Tough time of year for their defending Champion to defend his title though.

Kwini... Yeah... I think this is about the best case scenario for Houston... all things considered... The upheaval with this change hasn't been near as drastic as it was when the "Wrap around" season thing came on in 2007... but there still might be some "fallout" over the next few years...

But with this announcement... PGAT Schedule for 2018-19 appears "set"... Might be a small move within this somewhere (and 2 alternate events - see below)... but this should be about it... Supposedly the official approval is to happen at a Policy Board meeting on Monday, June 25. But I supposed that could be moved up with a conference call or something (pending official Minnesota agreement/announcement)

Net effect:
Gone from Schedule: Firestone, the National, Boston playoff event
New to Schedule: Detroit replacing National & Minneapolis taking Memphis spot
Elevated: Memphis gets upgraded to WGC from Firestone's loss
Moved to Fall: Houston and Greenbrier
TBD - Status of alternate events Barbasol and Barracuda who have sponsor renewals due after this summer (does PGAT want alternate events back to back?). Boston possibly to re-emerge in a Rota of some of the playoff events or as a stand-alone Fall event.

7-Oct - Safeway Open
14-Oct - CIMB Classic (Malaysia)
21-Oct - CJ Cup (Korea)
28-Oct - WGC - HSBC (China)
28-Oct - Sanderson Farms
4-Nov - Shriners Hospital for Children Open (Las Vegas)
11-Nov - OHL Classic at Mayakoba
18-Nov - RSM Classic
6-Jan - Sentry Tournament of Champions
13-Jan - Sony Open in Hawaii
20-Jan - CareerBuilder Challenge
27-Jan - Farmers Insurance Open
3-Feb - Waste Management Phoenix Open
10-Feb - AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am
17-Feb - Genesis Open
24-Feb - WGC-Mexico Championship (Moves 1 week earlier as Finish of "West Coast" swing)
24-Feb - Puerto Rico Open
3-Mar - The Honda Classic
10-Mar - Arnold Palmer Invitational
17-Mar - The Players Championship
24-Mar - Valspar Championship
31-Mar - WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play
31-Mar - Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship
7-Apr - Valero Texas Open (Replaces Houston in this spot)
14-Mar - Masters Tournament
21-Apr - RBC Heritage
28-Apr - Zurich Classic of New Orleans
5-May - Wells Fargo Championship
12-May - AT&T Byron Nelson (Split apart from Colonial)
19-May - PGA Championship
26-May - Charles Schwab Colonial (Split apart from Nelson)
2-Jun - The Memorial Tournament
9-Jun - 3M Minnesota
16-Jun - U.S. Open
23-Jun - Travelers Championship
30-Jun - Quicken Loans Detroit
7-Jul - RBC Canadian Open
15-Jul - John Deere (Note 3)
21-Jul - The Open Championship (British Open)
21-Jul - Barbasol Championship
28-Jul - WGC-St Jude Memphis
28-Jul - Barracuda Championship
4-Aug - Wyndham Championship
11-Aug - The Northern Trust
18-Aug - BMW Championship
25-Aug - Tour Championship

My only issue with that picture is players being that thrilled about travelling from, say, Portrush to Memphis to play in 100F swelter.
Perhaps it's to freeze (poor choice of word I know) non-Tour members out, but don't see it myself. And it's not good for either the JDC of G'boro.
Calendar becomes more beneficial for the Canadian though - hope politics doesn't interfere with that.

IMO WGC-Memphis in August is gonna prove a problem.... but don't think a "freeze out" has anything to do with it.  Seems to me the LAST objective would be to have LESS world players participate in a WGC...  even though I agree that will probably be the effect (but it was going to happen with Firestone too unless they would have moved it the week before or after the U.S. Open.  

IMO the scheduling and new venue's for all 3 WGC's in recent years and now with Memphis all but guarantees the days of full participation of the all the Worlds top-50 are probably over.  I just don't see all the non dual-touring Euros rushing over from the OPEN to play a WGC without also having the PGA to play the next week.. especially since they're not in the FE Playoffs.  My guess is 45 of the top-50 (or 64 of the top-70 for the MP) will be a pretty good benchmark for WGC's going forward.

Question is... will there in FACT be additional Asian events on the PGAT schedule... and if so... might one of those new ones be a WGC?   With PGAT's new $2 billion agreement with Discovery... all the incentive is there to build Asian markets... No better way to do that than with more events in the region.  And with already a WGC China and a $9+ million Korea event... add another say $10 mil Japan or AUS WGC to go along with CIMB... and that might entice better American participation.

PS.. and Deere and Wyndham are already "specialty" events on the schedule that know and seem satisfied with their place. JD does a great job as a local effort and identity.. and Wyndham is satisfied with the role being the "last gasp to keep your card". Neither were destined to get great fields beyond players with regional ties to the events.

We'll see. Greenspan called the stock market build-up of a dozen or so years ago "irrational exuberance". Then it all came tumbling down.

Not sure that the embarrassment of riches for Tour players might not be somewhat similar, perhaps driving a "World Tour", but having the air sucked out of long-standing and successful events in the US and Europe.

Would say there needs to be a balance, but I didn't lose my cleanest dirty shirt in the stock market either . . . . . . .

Kwini... I think the situation thats emerging on the PGA Tour is exactly why I've always thought that a world tour in golf is a non-starter.   When you try to make everything special, often the net effect is you end up making everything ordinary.

Between the Majors, WGC's, Players, Playoffs, API, Memorial and CJ Cup.. PGA Tour players will have 15 events at 8 million+ purse... 13 of those over $9 mil, 9 of them $10 mil+.   Now the must-play events are the majors, Players and playoffs. WGC's are now more expendable on some of the top guys schedule.

I expect the WGC will still get most the dual tour European guys, because they need the two for one co-sanctions. But some of the top PGA Tour guys and non PGA Tour Euro guys don't need the WGC as badly as they used to.

But the effect of a Rolex series on the Euro Tour is even worse... By up classing 7 or 8 Rolex series events, they diminished the rest of their schedule. Even the Middle East portion of their schedule is more marginalized now, it's held on to its top players mainly by appearance fees despite not so good purses. But the Middle East swing is down to two good events early in the year and two marginal ones.

Yup, Would say the Rolex Series is an answer to the wrong question which, to me is: How do you make the important European events important, and there are a darned sight more than 7, possibly 20 to 25? Let's face it, the "Irish Open" was dead on its feet before Rory, the Italian Job just another national open before the Ryder Cup. Too opportunistic and fickle for me.


PS: Would still expect Greenbrier to fade away . . . . .

FTR, backstopping is not just a pgatour phenomenon.

Look at #9 and #1 in the EuroTour best chips shots of 2016.

https://twitter.com/EuropeanTour/status/818049639723122692

Tiger predicting traffic chaos for the players, with two hour commutes from the player hotel. What chances that someone needs a Rory style police escort?

McLaren wrote:Tiger predicting traffic chaos for the players, with two hour commutes from the player hotel.  What chances that someone needs a Rory style police escort?

Tiger is staying on his "dinghy" so he won't have that problem. But maybe nausea?