PGA Tour: Rainy Riviera: Notes from the Ballwasher

First topic message reminder :

1).We'll have another cool, wet week, this time at LA's Genesis Open played at wonderful Riviera. But there's a terrific field to grace Riviera, surely still in the top half dozen courses the Tour visits.

2).Thumbs up to Phil Mickelson for another great week at Pebble Beach - I've scarcely ever seen him play live, but love watching him on TV but, really Phil, your is pathetically wimpy!

3).Thumbs up for Paul Casey too - interesting to hear Peter Kostis saying that Casey needs to be more aggressive when in the hunt/lead on Sunday. Who knows, but Kostis should as he's been Casey's coach for ever. Whatever the answer, that's Casey's 9th runner-up finish against two wins - 54 Top Tens, so not an impressive hit rate for a man of his talents.
Up to 41st now in "career earnings" (almost $27M), and I wouldn't bet against him giving his bank account a big boost again this week.

4).I loved the track of Hagen/Snead/Phloyd/Phil Tour wins that GPB produced, from 1914 thru 2019. Must be odds on now that the elapsed time (28 yrs, 1 month) between Phil's first and latest wins will soon exceed Davis Love's, just three months longer!

5).Phil's, and Davis's durability is extraordinary - I wonder if Tiger will one day exceed it.
28 years: Love, Mickelson
22 yrs: Woods
20 yrs: Furyk
17 yrs: Kuchar
16 yrs: Howell.
A surprise from a previous generation might be Craig Stadler, who walrused his way to wins in 1980 and 2003.
I don't know what the average span might be for golfers with, say, five or more wins on Tour, but can't think it's longer than about six years, so ten years or more would usually signify a pretty sh1t hot career.

6).In fact, there are very few regulars on Tour today who won in the 90's: Furyk & Cink. Though Appleby still plays as full a schedule as his "status" allows and he had 3 x 1990's wins also.

7).TRIVIA!!!!!!!
Who is the only golfer under the age of 50, and still playing a reasonably full schedule, who played his first Major in the 1980's?????????

8).Woods will be looking for his first victory at Riviera and his 81st overall, teeing it up with Justin Thomas and Rory.
Phil is after win #45, and he goes with Xander and the struggling Spieth.
I'm hoping Casey might go one better this week, and don't overlook Dustin & Bubba. Three wins here already for Bubbs and DJ has 6 x top 4 finishes, including his 2017 win. Seeing as my three against the field has thrown up the winner the past two weeks, I'll go with these three this week. Pushing my luck.

Answers please for the Trivia in Note 7).

pedro wrote:

McLaren wrote:What are the chances one of the golfers speaks ill of Trumps wall plans this week?

Maybe Kuchar could put his 2 cents in?

kwinigolfer wrote:1000/1 against.


I wonder if any others will choose not to play "Mexico". So far the absentees are Rose, Day, Scott, Holmes.

Surprised Rory hasn't pulled out claiming he is worried about yellow fever, zika, or something.

Anyone know where Brandel got this from.

@chambleebrandel wrote:Give @EuropeanTour credit as they have done a pre-shot study of 22,579 shots hit by pros, and they have data that shows a 90% increase in strokes gained simply by reducing the time spent preparing to hit a shot.

The quickest way to improve one’s game?
Spend less time thinking.

Huge if true.

Mac,
What does "90% increase in strokes gained" actually mean?

GPB wrote:RIP 1961 US Open Champion Gene Littler.  Age 88

Under-rated golfer.  Won 29x on PGATour and also won in Japan and Australia.

Won the Bing Crosby Pro-Am when he was an amateur (partnered with Art Wall) and won the tournament as a Pro.

GPB,
Watched all yesterday's play and didn't see a tribute to Littler, kinda surprised at that, but maybe they took care of that Saturday?

Who are the oldest remaining Major Champions?
By my reckoning, it looks like:
96: Jackie Burke
89: Goalby
89: Finsterwald
89: January
83: Player
82: Charles, Nichols
81: Aaron, Coody, Geiberger, L.Graham. Can't see any others older than Nicklaus & Trevino at 79.

Can't help but feel I've overlooked a couple.

kwinigolfer wrote:Mac,
What does "90% increase in strokes gained" actually mean?

No idea, just saw this tweet which seems to be Brandel suggesting there is evidence that playing quicker lowers your score relative to the field, and wondered if anyone on here knew anymore about it.

Could just be a brandel rant.

Confirmation that Tom Lewis has been added to the WGC: Mexico field, with Ben An, Kodaira, CHIII, Si Woo Kim.


Thanks but no thanks from Si Woo Kim. Field stands at 71 now unless alternates are added - not clear that any more will be.

CBS did a Littler tribute late in their Saturday telecast.

I think you got all the Octogenarians major winners on your list

Cheers GPB,
Kinda surprised there are so few - the Nicklaus effect I suppose.

kwinigolfer wrote:1000/1 against.


I wonder if any others will choose not to play "Mexico". So far the absentees are Rose, Day, Scott, Holmes.

Si Woo Kim WDed this morning.

Some news blurbs about golf

Shorts will now be allowed in practice rounds and Proams on the PGATour.

Rory is currently not a member of the European Tour which means he cannot be a future Captain or Vice Captain

https://thegolfnewsnet.com/ryan_ballengee/2019/02/18/rory-mcilroy-decided-to-let-european-tour-membership-lapse-will-rejoin-in-may-112475/

https://www.rydercup.com/news-media/europe/how-european-and-american-teams-are-picked-ryder-cup

Thanks GPB

Not sure Rory really would want to be a captain anyway?

Regardless, not even sure he’d make a good one.

Puerto Rico field is disintegrating; there's got to be a better way of filling the field than stacking it with over-50's who don't even have exempt status on the Champions Tour.

First the White House deserts Puerto Rico, now it's the PGA Tour.

Message to pros who fail to keep their card: Why didn't you play the PR Open?

Nice Kwini: Never fail to take a political shot!

How do you reckon the PGATour should prioritize their membership? by players who never were members?

Two more (Hadwin, Sneds) alternates have reportedly dissed the WGC so Adrian Otaegui gets a tee time.

GPB wrote:Nice Kwini:  Never fail to take a political shot!

How do you reckon the PGATour should prioritize their membership?  by players who never were members?

GPB,
I'd go right down the 17/18 money list of everyone who had a card last season; I'm sure a few of them would jump at the chance.

For the PGA Tour, if Glen Day (who helped invent slow play) is the answer, they're asking the wrong questions.

The PGATour way is another perk for WINNING golf tournaments

GPB wrote:The PGATour way is another perk for WINNING golf tournaments

That's fair enough, but when Spike McRoy is rapidly ascending the list of alternates, wouldn't you, as a sponsor, say, "hang on a minute, this is not working for me"?

Some of these same berks who are thumbing their noses at Puerto Rico will be complaining that they're sat at home picking their noses during the two weeks of The Players and Bay Hill, and probably again for the two weeks of Augusta & Harbour Town.

Do you think players like Jonathan Randolph, Xinjun Zhang, Lanto Griffin would be adding some higher profile to the field?

GPB wrote:Do you think players like Jonathan Randolph, Xinjun Zhang, Lanto Griffin would be adding some higher profile to the field?

They'd add more relevance.

Ok, so you're now doubling down?

I think Lanto Griffin, for one, has a far brighter future than Glen All Day or Spike McRoy.


Steve Stricker is expected to be named Ryder Cup Captain on Wednesday - I wonder when they last chose someone who hadn't won a Major.

How many Bernie 2020 hats will we see in the PGAT crowds over the next year or two? More or less than Sergio melt downs?

McLaren wrote:How many Bernie 2020 hats will we see in the PGAT crowds over the next year or two?  More or less than Sergio melt downs?

At least one - that is if kwini attends the Hartford thing.

Not Bernie for me.
He'll be in too much of a spotlight this year and next (if he lasts that long) and his campaign won't be able to withstand the scrutiny. Too many contradictions in his "policies", and too many better qualified to lead the progressive wing of the Democrats.
But next time I see him, Mac, I'll pass on your best wishes.

Lanto Griffin has done absolutely nothing (IMO) to warrant an exemption to the PR Open.

He has never had a Top 10 finish on the PGATour.
He was number #171 in the 2017-18 FEX standings
He Missed the cut in the last 3 WTF tournaments
His best finish in 5 2019 Webbie events is T25, (others were T52 or worse).

Nope, Lanto doesn't get any benefit of a doubt from me

BTW Kwini, check your DMs

Lanto Griffin? Isn’t he the guy from Star Wars?

Andrew Putnam also skips the WGC:Mexico, Ryan Fox next in line.

Dunno what’s thinning out faster: The WGC, the PR Open, or the Labour party...

McLaren wrote:How many Bernie 2020 hats will we see in the PGAT crowds over the next year or two?  More or less than Sergio melt downs?

Surely the Democrats wouldn't pick a candidate who is scheduled to die in the next couple of years?

super_realist wrote:

McLaren wrote:How many Bernie 2020 hats will we see in the PGAT crowds over the next year or two?  More or less than Sergio melt downs?

Surely the Democrats wouldn't pick a candidate who is scheduled to die in the next couple of years?

Scheduled to die? Who sorts that list out then?

Diggers wrote:

super_realist wrote:

McLaren wrote:How many Bernie 2020 hats will we see in the PGAT crowds over the next year or two?  More or less than Sergio melt downs?

Surely the Democrats wouldn't pick a candidate who is scheduled to die in the next couple of years?

Scheduled to die? Who sorts that list out then?

At least, here's the list for 2019
https://deathlist.net/

kwinigolfer wrote:


Steve Stricker is expected to be named Ryder Cup Captain on Wednesday - I wonder when they last chose someone who hadn't won a Major.

Confirmation this morning of Stricker's appointment, and apparently he IS the first US Captain without a Major to his name.

He's got a lousy RC record and preaches from the pulpit of denial that US got beat in Paris because "they made the putts and we didn't". And to underline that thought (and with an eye to the future ) he's already announced Furyk as Vice Captain.

kwinigolfer wrote:

kwinigolfer wrote:


Steve Stricker is expected to be named Ryder Cup Captain on Wednesday - I wonder when they last chose someone who hadn't won a Major.

Confirmation this morning of Stricker's appointment, and apparently he IS the first US Captain without a Major to his name.

He's got a lousy RC record and preaches from the pulpit of denial that US got beat in Paris because "they made the putts and we didn't". And to underline that thought (and with an eye to the future ) he's already announced Furyk as Vice Captain.

As GPB would say, " He's only got a bad record, because America keep losing"

Perhaps the two least inspiring Captains to be on either side in the same event.

Do you not think there is correlation?

More likely the fact that he went 0 - 3 at Medinah holding the hand of the US's grim reaper, T Dub.

Despite picking Stricker (partly) because he’s from Wisconsin (like that matters!) I actually think he could be quite a good captain. Seems down to earth and doesn’t take himself too seriously.

IMO the way they fill the field in the alternate events is fine. These events aren't about giving up and comers a chance (that's what the web.com tour is for), it's about filling the field with players who have earned some level of priority.

Interesting though, as it stands now the alternate list has only 8 players left on it. And if they ran through all of those they would just play a short field. And it's happened before. The 2015 Barbisol played with 130 players because not enough entries.

kwinigolfer wrote:
Confirmation this morning of Stricker's appointment, and apparently he IS the first US Captain without a Major to his name.

He's got a lousy RC record and preaches from the pulpit of denial that US got beat in Paris because "they made the putts and we didn't". And to underline that thought (and with an eye to the future ) he's already announced Furyk as Vice Captain.

IMO Stricker is the perfect choice for Ryder Cup captain based on the "task force" criteria developed a couple of years ago. And I understand that to be "Heretofore the American Ryder Cup captain will be based on who can kiss the players butts in exactly the way they like their butts kiised. And the captains picks shall be who he's told to pick, and pairings shall be based on how the top name players want them to be. Otherwise, keep the ping pong balls handy, keep the beer cold and make me a sandwich".

robo,
I've followed Stricker since before he earned his card, and sure he's a wonderful guy. He's been great for the Tour, but I wonder what special credentials he brings to the party (or task force) that are not included in your parody.
Kinda surprising Rickie Fowler didn't get the nod. (JUST KIDDING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

And: Why does table tennis always come up in US team rooms? Where's Freddie Jac when you need him?

GPB wrote:Do you not think there is correlation?

It's a ridiculous tautology.

It's like saying if the grass is green, then it must be green.

Why do all these "superior" Americans keep losing consistently in this event? Not one of them shines through who has played more than a couple of events. The greatest players of the last 30 years from America have the worst record in the tournaments history and they are routinely beaten by people who you consider to be rubbish and who "aren't good enough to keep a PGA card"

America would be better with a European captain. At least he would know what he's doing.

I thought Stricker had already been confirmed. But remember he only has to outmaneuver Paddy Harrington who himself will be a jibbering wreck come the week of the RC.

No, Stricker was only expected to be named, and now has been.

The biggest threat to Stricker being a success as RC captain will be if Phil and Tiger makes the team.

For Paddy it will be if Sergio makes the team.

McLaren wrote:I thought Stricker had already been confirmed.  But remember he only has to outmaneuver Paddy Harrington who himself will be a jibbering wreck come the week of the RC.

He's a jibbering wreck all the time Mac. I think Donald would have been a better pick. I never thought Penguin Paddy was really part of the team the way Luke, Westwood, Poulter, Garcia have been.