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Archive for the ‘FEDEX Cup’ Category
Thursday, March 11th, 2010
Tiger Woods is apparently ready to make his comeback this month at the Arnold Palmer invitational. While the news is still in the rumor stages, it seems that this date would make sense if he plans to play in the Masters. It is likely that Woods would want to get a tournament or two in before the first major of the year. Many had speculated he may take the entire 2010 season off. Whenever he comes back there will still be unanswered questions. There is no doubt that he will avoid the media and reject any questions regarding the scandal or his family.
The PGA Tour can certainly gain from an earlier comeback. Woods draws larger audiences than any other golfer and a field is not considered complete until he tees off. There is no doubt that Tiger wants to catch Jack Nicklaus and obtain the one record he does not have yet, 18 major championships. If he comes back this early and is ready to play, the media circus may leave in a hurry.
Tags: Arnold Palmer, invitatioal, Tiger Woods, Tiger Woods comeback
Posted in FEDEX Cup, PGA TOUR | No Comments »
Monday, February 15th, 2010
The PGA Tour heads to Arizona for two straight weeks in a rare contrast of events. First up is the Accenture World Match Play just north of Tucson. It will bring the best in the world, almost, in match play format that always leads to some exciting golf. The course is long and showcases greens with more break than perhaps any other course on the regular rotation. Geoff Ogilvy looks to defend just two hours from his U.S. home.
Two weeks from now is the always crazy Waste Management Open, formerly the FBR Open. The top players who choose to stick around following the Accenture will go from a quiet mountain setting to a loud and out of control course. TPC Scottsdale will be packed with ASU students and nearly everyone else in the Phoenix area. Most days the crowds are 100,000+ strong and a quarter of those will be surrounding the always exciting 16th. The only hole on tour that looks more like a stadium than a golf course and is constantly noisy.
The next two weeks on Tour will show polar opposites in tournament and format experiences. With the first event starting with just 64 players and a couple thousand spectators to a full field party the following week.
Posted in FEDEX Cup, PGA TOUR | No Comments »
Sunday, January 31st, 2010
Ben Crane ended a five year drought on the PGA Tour with a win at the Farmer’s Insurance Open. Crane was able to hold off Marc Leishman by one stroke. Many of you may remember Leishman from his fantastic run in last year’s FEDEX Cup playoff which secured his tour card for the 2010 season. While Crane won the tournament the biggest news of the week was regarding the wedges of one Mr. Phil Mickelson. Phil decided to use wedges from Ping that are older than many of the players on the Tour this season. In a complicated loophole in the rules; a lawsuit filed against the USGA by Ping allows their Eye 2 wedges, produced in the more than twenty years ago, to be exempt from the 2010 groove restrictions.
Many people have their opinions and they range from declaring him an outright cheater, to others who believe he is doing nothing wrong. While this debate can go on forever the fact is that he is not breaking any rules according to the USGA. Other players and fans may not agree, but the bottom line is he can play them all year if he chooses. I don’t believe the groove rule should have ever been enacted so I applaud him for shoving it back in the face of the USGA, an organization that seems to make it as difficult as possible to play by the rules. Having said that it his decisions may show some poor taste given the current state of affairs on the PGA Tour. Without Tiger in the picture it seems as though the PGA may have a rough year.
I am in no way condoning what Tiger Wood’s did in his personal life. However, it does remain his personal life and it should not detract from the fact the he is the greatest golfer to ever live. He lives a life that few others have to live and clearly did not handle his personal life as many expected him to. He has let down millions of fans, sponsors and more importantly his family. It is now time to move on. The fact is the PGA Tour needs Tiger Woods to thrive. He has given golf the excitement that kept it from being considered a mainstream, or cool, sport for so many years. Tiger needs to come back so Phil can have someone to take the heat off his wedge situation.
While many have speculated that he may not return in 2010 I have to disagree. Whenever he comes back he will face the backlash for months or years to come so he might as well get it over with. I just can’t picture Woods missing a Master’s in April. So until he makes his return we will continue to talk about Phil’s wedges look for a newcomer to make a rise to the top.
Posted in FEDEX Cup, Golf Equipment, Golf Rules, Major Articles, PGA TOUR, San Diego Golf Courses | 1 Comment »
Thursday, January 14th, 2010
It appears that we may finally have some young guys on the PGA Tour that can compete with the top golfers in the world. Rory McIlroy, 20, leads the charge towards the top of the world rankings. McIlroy is currently ranked tenth in the world and is poised to have a breakout year. After a fantastic amateur career, which included a brief stint at number one in the world, McIlroy broke through last year with a win on the European Tour in Dubai. He looks to continue his rise and winning ways on the PGA Tour in 2010.
While Rory McIlroy may be at the top of the class there is no shortage of talented young players. Rickie Fowler, 21, was the top ranked amateur for some 36 weeks two years ago. At the end of last season he proved he belonged on the big stage after nearly winning in Scottsdale. Fowler will make his 2010 debut today in Hawaii.
This year on the PGA Tour appears to have all the players for a major power shift. While it seems that Tiger will never give up his top spot, and he is still the worlds best player, it remains to be seen how long he will be out. It is doubtful that he will miss any big tournaments or majors but nobody can say for sure. At the moment the timing may be perfect for a young star to steal the limelight and perhaps a sponsorship deal or two away from the veterans.
Posted in FEDEX Cup, Golf-News, PGA TOUR | No Comments »
Wednesday, December 30th, 2009
Roughly a week away from the beginning of the new season it remains to be seen just what kind of impact the Tiger scandal will have on his schedule. Given his limited number of tournaments on a yearly basis he may not be seen until the Masters, in April. Just because Tiger is missing does not mean there won’t be great golf tournaments.
Some changes have been made to the schedule, such as Waste Management taking over as title sponsor for the FBR Open and the date being pushed back a month. Two goals will hopefully be accomplished by this move; putting an end to frost delays and getting a stronger field. The Waste Management Open will now be played the week after the WGC match play which is just north of Tucson. The hope is that with the top 64 players in the world an hour away to the week before, more will stick around for the WM Open. The tournament is famous for having outrageous crowds of over 100,000 a day and some 25,000+ on the 16th hole alone.
The player to watch has to be Phil Mickelson after his strong finish in 2009. If Tiger stays away for an extended period of time and Phil plays as well as he did last year we could have a new number one golfer in the world. Adam Scott seems to be coming back after a terrible year with some solid finishes in the fall. It seems as though every year on the PGA Tour the tournaments are more exciting and the fields are more evenly matched. Look for the spring schedule to bring some great tournaments to your TV.
The 2010 USGA Groove Rule also takes effect January 1. We may not see the full extent of the change until this spring and summer when the Tour heads to courses with long, thick rough. There is no doubt that it will have some affect but it may be hard to notice to those of us watching at home.
Overall the new season will have plenty of drama. Tiger will most likely have to dodge questions for his first few tournaments and Phil is playing the best golf of his life. It all sets up for a great year for golf fans.
Posted in FEDEX Cup, Golf Equipment, Golf Rules, PGA TOUR | No Comments »
Thursday, September 24th, 2009
One lucky golfer will get paid $2.5 million per round at this week’s Tour Championship at East Lake. The FEDEX Cup is up for grabs because of changes made and several top ranked golfers have a chance to win it all. Heavy rain and flooding have soaked the Atlanta area in the recent days and will certainly give an advantage to the long hitters. Players like Jim Furyk and Zach Johnson may struggle to keep up with Tiger, and it may provide an opportunity for underdog Dustin Johnson to contend.
After Tiger Woods dominated the last FEDEX Cup event everyone is looking at him to win the Tour Championship and seal yet another Player of the Year award. He will have to fight for the title however. This year has shown that other players are ready to step up and compete with the world number one. Rookie sensation Marc Leishman looks to continue his magical run after a tie for second and the BMW to get into this weeks field.Padraig Harrington can still win the cup even though he has not won up to this point in the season.
There is no doubt that everyone is gunning for Tiger this week. With this being the last event of the season for many of the top ranked golfers many players will be leaving everything on the course. Add a $10 million check to the mix and we should get one interesting week of golf.
Posted in FEDEX Cup, Major Articles, PGA TOUR | No Comments »
Thursday, September 10th, 2009
For the first time ever a healthy Tiger Woods is simply getting out played. Poor putting, by his standards, has allowed Steve Stricker to take over the FEDEX Cup points lead heading into the BMW Championship. In a season with five wins, but no majors, Tiger can’t seem to find his typical magic on the greens we have all become so accustomed to. Tiger and Steve Stricker will play together for the first two days as the pairing are arranged by the points rankings.
Stricker has been impressive in the playoffs once again with a win and a second place finish. Stricker had two wins on the season, and opportunity for several more, has been nailing the shots under pressure to not only catch but pass Tiger Woods. The golf world has been waiting for someone to compete with Tiger for years. Perhaps now there is a group of players that can do just that. It seems as thought the rest of the PGA Tour is finally starting to see that Tiger can be beat. Something that he never allowed in the past.
With two weeks remaining before the Cup is handed out, along with the $10 million winners purse, and Tiger has plenty of time to rebound. While his putting stroke looks as strong as ever his reading of greens seems to be the problem. Perhaps returning to Cog Hill, where he has won in the past, will give him the confidence to regain the points lead.
Posted in FEDEX Cup, Major Articles, PGA TOUR | No Comments »
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