PGA Tour: Gone to Carolina: Notes from the Ballwasher

First topic message reminder :

1).Not sure that was my favourite ever Masters, but no getting away from Bubba's dominance on Sunday. Plenty of back-nine wobbles on Saturday, but a back-nine procession on Sunday.
Well done Bubba Watson. You may be a strange one, but two Green Jackets is a fabulous achievement, well earned.
 
2).'Course, if you play a Par-5 with driver/sand wedge, it surely helps. Plenty of curiosity as to whether The Masters Committee might try and Bubba-proof their iconic lay-out, but Watson was:
1st in driving distance.
13th in fairways hit.
5th in greens in regulation.
16th in putting.
Tough to Bubba-proof that.
 
3).And: What do these eight golfers have in common?
Blixt, Jimenez, Senden, Stadler, McIlroy, Walker, Kirk & Gallacher?
They all made more birdies over the four rounds than Jerry Watson Jr.
Incredible that they were so far behind, 14 strokes in Stephen Gallacher's case, but he had a fine tournament, all except for his Saturday relapse. Imagine he might fare quite nicely next year, now he knows his way around. Meanwhile, he'll be relaxing at Harbour Town this week, along with compadres Knox and Laird.
 
4).Plenty of disappointment for the European contingent, but 6 in the Top 13 wasn't bad, matching 6 Americans, 9 in the Top 19 vs 8 from the U.S. - we just didn't get the "W". Not many huge surprises from last week's expectations, probably Thomas Bjorn on the plus side for me, and Garcia in the minus column.
(4th place Jimenez and 8th place Langer play on the Champions Tour in Atlanta this week. Good luck to them, especially Miguel who's making his Senior debut.)
 
5).But that's enough about Augusta, Georgia on my mind, now it's Carolina in my mind, from Ray Charles to James Taylor. The first of three events in four weeks on Pete Dye courses is coming up starting Thursday, at his early masterpiece, Harbour Town Golf Links, on idyllic Hilton Head Island.
Don't think the weather will be idyllic though. Billy Payne lucked out last week with "Chamber of Commerce" conditions in the middle of a meteorological apocalypse here in the Eastern part of the "States". (In BTV it was 81F Monday, three inches of snow Tuesday evening.)
The "RBC Heritage" is likely to be played under grey skies, with a significant breeze and the possibility of rain.
 
6).The PGA Tour is well in to the second half of its pre-FedEx Play-Off season now, and plenty of Europeans are at serious risk of failing to qualify and, more important, losing their card for 2014/15.
These luminaries are 100th and worse and will have no status for next year unless they pull their respective fingers out, without going thru' the WTF series:
116th: Gonzo
124th: Lingmerth
145th: Hanson
162nd: Casey
166th: Lynn
174th: Colsaerts
193rd: Harrington (he could take a one-time career money exemption and, like Casey, will always retain Past Champion status).
196th: Olesen
202nd: Owen
 
7).Harbour Town is certainly a "horses for courses" tournament, exemplified by Luke Donald's 2 x seconds and 2 x thirds in the past five years. Lukey certainly needs something good to happen to his season, but the magic just doesn't seem to be there these days. Wouldn't bet on him right now, but wouldn't discourage it either.
Furyk is another with a historically hot hand here; in form and has a win, 2 x seconds and plenty of Top Tens.
Europeans have won the past two years with Pettersson and McDowell, and some guy called Faldo was champion thirty years ago and joins Tom Watson in a ceremonial reappearance. What's the point?
 
8).Matt Fitzpatrick is in the field and did you ever see a golfer look more heartbroken than when he missed the putt on his 36th hole last week that would have ensured weekend play?
 
9).Welcome news from Australia that Jarrod Lyle will make three "rehab" appearances on the web.com's summer calendar, in preparation for contesting the WTF series later. Even if he doesn't qualify, he'll still have plenty of Medical Extension starts on the 2014/15 PGA Tour schedule.
And good news from a fortnight ago in Houston is that Retief Goosen fulfilled the requirements of his medical free pass and has (almost) full status restored, as does Houston's own Shawn Stefani.
 
10).Finally, back to Augusta National.
Don't know whether it was the course set-up, capricious breezes or poor play, but The Masters is getting progressively less exciting. Gone are the traditional back-nine charges from the golfers, roars from the fans; efficiency but no electricity from the golfers. Interesting perhaps, but hardly inspiring or entrancing.
 
And: What does CBS and ESPN achieve by their ever more unctuous commentaries? I would have thought saying it a little more like it is would at least save some self respect even if they lost the contract. Faldo has been one of the least offensive in this regard, and Peter Kostis retains his dignity too. But the rest are just awful.
There'll be a breath of fresh air wafting across Calibogue Sound this week. Perhaps it might even permeate the commentary box.

Shotrock wrote:I think so Kwin, and I also think Fox may have overpaid for that asset. Only Brian Roberts (Comcast CEO) probably really knows. Jack left, Norman left, Tiger and Phil will leave ...  and professional golf did just fine, but I can't imagine things will grow significantly. Who knows.

There will always be someone up and coming to fill the void. Golf didn't get rich just because of 9C, Every sport vastly increased revenue at around the same time and in those sports people come go and they aren't reliant on one player.

Peter Dawson out at the R&A.
'Orrible man, leave now, not next September.

So, the man the thought he could improve TOC and was resistant to the idea of equal rights for woman will go. Should it have taken that long?

I wonder who the will find to replace him, or his he done SAF and picked his successor?

PS Kwini

You need to stop googling Tiger;

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2037062-here-are-the-most-searched-athletes-in-every-us-state

McLaren wrote:So, the man the thought he could improve TOC and was resistant to the idea of equal rights for woman will go.  Should it have taken that long?

I wonder who the will find to replace him, or his he done SAF and picked his successor?

Are you seriously suggesting that making changes to TOC is a "crime" worthy of dismissal? Have you even seen the changes. I doubt someone like you (who doesn't play it much) would even notice.

Mac,
Amazing!
Hadn't seen that. I think we're the only State, then, to break the NBA / Football monopoly.

PS: Who is Anderson Silva?

Yes kwini. Don't google him. You'll just ruin your statistics.

I'm assuming he's the moron Man Utd non-entity who got loaned out to, where? Italy??

Moyes got something right then...

Anderson Silva is a martial arts fighter

Not really sports then.

if boxing is a sport MMA is aswell.

incontinentia wrote:Tom Watson's longevity is incredible. And Woods' body is in pieces at age 38. Go figure.

Weird huh? But then Tiger has 79 wins and 14 majors so.......