Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are skipping the Tour Championship this week, but more than that, they are putting the PGA Tour in a tight position.
A story broke in the world of tennis this afternoon: tennis great Roger Federer was withdrawing from the Paris Masters Tournament one day before his opening-round match.
Why does this matter to the golf world?
Well groups of fuming tennis officials have promised to start taking the necessary steps to make sure that tennis stars like Federer don’t have the chance to pull out of tournaments they headline because they’re fatigued ever again.
Who’s in and who’s out? You’re going to find out soon enough during the tour’s last regular season event of the season, the Chrysler Championship.
With all apologies to the PGA Championship’s overused phrase, this weekend’s Chrysler Classic is truly “glory’s last shot” for a lot of touring pros. Par will be a player’s best friend this weekend in a tournament that usually has more of a Q-School feel than a regular PGA Tour event, as the top 125 money list for the year is finalized with the final putt on Sunday.
You’ll have to excuse most of the guys in this week’s field if they aren’t very friendly; after all, they’re fighting for their livelihood!
In the spirit of the baseball playoffs, we throw a change up and show some of the sights from the GGCC and some thoughts about the recent course changes too.
I live near Greensboro, NC and this week’s PGA Tour stop is at Forest Oaks Country Club for the Greater Greensboro Charity Classic. In place of my normal Thursday column, The Numbers Game, I thought I’d bring you some sights and experiences from the tournament site. Rob Goodman and the people at the GGCC were kind enough to provide The Sand Trap with credentials, and I’m happy to provide some thoughts on the tournament and the recent renovations to Forest Oaks by Davis Love.
Corey Pavin and Brad Faxon are in the field this week. Brad is winless this year, but Corey isn’t!
Though most of the feedback has been positive, some of the changes border on “gimmicky.” Read on to find out why…
We’re live blogging the final round of the Ryder Cup. The Miracle at Brookline remains untouched in Ryder Cup history. The massacre at Oakland Hills, however, is equalled.
11:27 – Verplank halves the 15th to win his match 3&2. Mickelson and DiMarco are both down dormie two on the 17th, likely losses. There will be no record-setting loss today for the U.S. team. Just a record-tying one. Ugh. Final score: U.S. 9½, Europe 18½.
11:23 – If the matches finish the way they are, Europe will have won the last three rounds of singles play, today 3½-8½. Over those three years, the score is 23½-12½ in favor of the Europeans.
Michelle Wie has been making some pretty bold comments lately. Does she finally find a way to backup those remarks by making a PGA Tour cut?
Jason Gore might be the defending champion this week at the 84 Lumber Classic, but he is about to take a backseat to a 16-year-old girl as Michelle Wie takes on one of the longest PGA Tour courses this season. With all the talk she’s had recently about playing in the Ryder Cup in the future, she might want to think about making a PGA cut first.
I’d like to welcome a new name to the PGA winner’s circle! It’s about dang time someone besides Tiger Woods got some press in the newspaper.
No, Tiger Woods isn’t playing this week… meaning that we get to see another guy hoist a trophy on Tour this year. However, there is still a good chance Tiger shows up on Sunday in the final group and comes back from a 20-shot deficit to win again. Hey, it could happen!
People keep saying that Tiger Woods run of six straight wins during the 1999-2000 season was one of the greatest stretches in golf history. If that’s the case, then where does this winning streak rank?
You’d think Tiger Woods would be tired this week after playing five tournaments in a little over a month. However, the golfing phenom seems to be thriving off the competition and pressure. After winning his fourth tournament start in a row, Woods hopes to continue the dominance and winning streak at the TPC of Boston.
Can Tiger make it four straight tour starts with a victory, while at the same time, capture his fifth Bridgestone Invitational? My money says, yes.
Tiger Woods heads-up the field at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio in search of his fifth title at the famed course. Other than being on track for his fifth NEC Invitational, Woods is also trying to win his fourth straight start since the streak started at the British Open last month.
Last Year
Tiger Woods again showed why he likes the state of Ohio so much, as he drained a birdie putt on the 16th hole to grab a one-stroke lead over Chris DiMarco that would eventually hold up for his fourth title at Firestone Country Club.
Continue reading “2006 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational Preview”
Who will Tom Lehman choose to finish out the Ryder Cup team? It’s not as easy a pick as you might think.
Ryder Cup captain Tom Lehman is holding a live press conference today to announce the final two captain’s for September’s team. We’re going to be live blogging all the way up through the press conference.
10:52 – Lehman: “I obviously hurt for the guys who didn’t get pick, but I feel tremendously confident with this squad.”
10:50 – Lehman: “Brett Wetterich makes a ton of birdies. He’s long and he’s strong [ed: “he’s about to get his freak shit on?”]. JJ Henry drives the ball straight. He’s way underrated. Zach Johnson, another solid ball striker and a great putter. He’s got everything you need. He’s not lacking. Vaughn Taylor – I’m not sure you can rate how much a guy hates to lose. But Vaughn really hates to lose.”
Continue reading “Live Blogging: Tom Lehman’s Ryder Cup Captain’s Picks”
