Fans of the PGA Tour have been waiting for the start of the FedEx Cup since the official announcement nearly a year ago. It has only been two months since the 2006 PGA Tour season ended, but the start of the 2007 season couldn’t have come too soon. I’m glad the new era in golf has finally arrived, and it looks like things will be very interesting all season long.
Stuart Appleby failed in his bid to win four consecutive Mercedes Championships, and Vijay Singh took full advantage of the situation. Singh has been denied his win at Kapalua in recent years, but he finally got his win on the island this past weekend. The Fijiian obviously jumped to the top of the FedEx Cup standings with his impressive win in the season opener, and he will be tough to beat in 2007.
The victory was the 30th of Vijay’s PGA Tour career, and that calls for some congratulations. It’s not 50-plus like Tiger has, but Singh has still been one of the best golfers in the world during his generation. Something also tells me Vijay will have closer to 40 wins by the time his career is over.
Vijay Singh unquestionably had a great first tournament, but he wasn’t the only one playing well at Kapalua. Adam Scott finished second to Singh and has quickly become Mr. Consistency on the PGA Tour. The young Aussie started off the season very well and will be a year-long contender for the FedEx Cup title.
Winning the FedEx Cup would be great for Adam Scott’s career, but will he mix in a major championship victory and finally challenge Tiger in 2007? That’s the top question on my mind when it comes to Adam Scott, but the answer is still up in the air.
Scott could very possibly be the most talented golfer in the world, including Tiger. The difference between the two is in the mental department. Tiger knows he is great, while Scott still seems to be contemplating the answer to that question. Either way, I am expecting great things from the young Aussie in 2007, and he should be ranked second in the world by the end of the year.
Speaking of young talent stepping up, Trevor Immelman also has what it takes to take it to the next level. Immelman won overseas right before 2007, and he brought that momentum with him to The Mercedes-Benz Championship this past weekend. Immelman’s putter let him down over the weekend, but he was still in contention to win going into the final round. The future is very bright for the young South African.
Before I move on from The Mercedes-Benz Championship, I have to talk about a couple other golfers. It’s a must to give Davis Love III some credit for bouncing back with a great final round to finish in the top five. I expected Love III to completely fall apart after his rough third round, but he proved me wrong and finished strong. Hopefully we will see the best DLIII ever in 2007.
As for America’s newest underdog, Will MacKenzie, don’t get used to seeing him in contention. His story is great, but a story isn’t everything. MacKenzie is a talented golfer just like everyone else on the PGA Tour, but his solid play this past weekend wasn’t a sign of things to come. He might card a couple top-10 finishes this year, but he won’t be much of a factor in anymore big events. Willy Mac’s crazy emotion nearly got the best of him at Kapalua, and that will be his undoing in future tournaments as well.
The Golf Channel/PGA Tour Era Also Begins
The start of The FedEx Cup was the biggest story of the week, but the new relationship between the PGA Tour and The Golf Channel was a close second. I was a bit shaky on the idea of every PGA Tour event beginning on The Golf Channel, but I was very pleased with what I saw the first week.
I’ve read some posts in the forum, and most of the members seem to think The Golf Channel coverage was poor. At first, I questioned Kelly Tilghman as the lead announcer, but she did a very good job as the weekend rolled along. Nick Faldo is quite possibly the best golf announcer in the world, so his performance needs no explanation. The guys and gals in the fairway (Mark Rolfing, Rocco Mediate, and Dottie Pepper) also did a very solid job. If they would just replace Rich Lerner, we would be in business. Luckily, his part is pretty minimal.
The Golf Channel’s presentation is also top-notch. The leaderboard and stat overlays are very professional, and the slick look instantly brings credibility to the coverage. The Mutual of Omaha AimPoint is also pretty neat and much more useful than the FedEx Reliability Zone used by NBC in the past. The Golf Channel didn’t use the AimPoint very much, but it was addicting to watch when they did.
It’s also nice to see more golf. We got at least four hours of coverage every day, and after looking at the TV schedule, we will get at least three hours for the upcoming events. That’s an hour or two more than the coverage in recent years which definitely makes me happy. The Golf Channel also did a great job of introducing some of the unknown talents like Will MacKenzie, J.B. Holmes, etc. I’m already a big fan of golf, but I still learned a lot of new and interesting things about those guys.
Overall, The Golf Channel’s first week of coverage gets a B+ in my book. There is always a little room for improvement, but the entire crew did a very nice job for their first week. There was a lot of pressure to perform with the start of the new FedEx Cup and 15-year contract, and I came away very impressed. Hopefully things get even better as the season rolls along.
The Final Say
It’s obviously still very early in the season, but there is already a lot of buzz in the golf world. I can’t remember any previous season with this much hype, and that’s nice to see. Tiger and Phil won’t be teeing it up for a couple more weeks, but there is still a ton of talent on the PGA Tour besides those guys.
I’m looking forward to watching the first full-field event this week, even if I have to watch another Michelle Wie attempt to make the cut in a men’s event. That aside, I’m ready to see how The Golf Channel does with a full field, and I’m also ready to see which guys are ready to step it up in 2007 (perhaps a long-awaited Charles Howell III sighting). Probably not, but I still have my fingers crossed.
It’s your turn to tell me what you think of the year’s first Thrash Talk. Can Vijay go wire-to-wire to win the 2007 FedEx Cup? Also, what does 2007 hold for young guns Adam Scott, Trevor Immelman, Luke Donald, etc.? Finally, how would you grade The Golf Channel’s first week of PGA Tour coverage? If you have anything to add, please comment below or discuss it in the fast-growing forum. Thanks for reading the first Thrash Talk of 2007!
Photo Credits: © AP Photo/David J. Phillip.
Cody,
Very much agree with your assessment of Adam Scott. Had him on my salary cap fantasy team and he came through (thank goodness, cause Furyk didn’t!). Unfortunately, looks like he’s skipping the Sony. But I do think it’s going to be a breakout year for him.
As far as the Golf Channel… I give it a C+. I’m just not a Lerner fan and I’m not too crazy about Tilghman either. But that’s just me. I’m trying to keep an open mind on it, though. We’ll see what happens this week.
Cody,
Your comments lost crediblity when your give Mark Rolfing praise for a “solid job”. When was the last time Rolfing said something that we didn’t already know. And, he continues to defend the undefendable — The Wie’s. Hey, during Rolfing’s Will McKenzie interview, Willie-Mac looked more like professional broadcasting talent than “deer-in-the-headlights-Rolfing”.
Cody,
I would give it a C.
Kelly T. should go back to playing golf or else learn to talk less. I think she is the only person who really likes the sound of her voice. Plus Faldo, who I normally like, has to stop interupting people and trying to be Tilghmans best friend. she won’t switch teams anyway.
I did like the new special effects and camera angles so I am keen to see them in action this weekend.
Having all these “young guns” coming on is great. One problem though- Immelman, Scott, Donald – NONE of them (or anyone else for that matter) can PUTT UNDER PRESSURE like daddy-to-be Tiger can. ‘Nuff said.
As for the Golf Channel coverage, fair at best. The high speed cameras, great computer generated hole views and extra stats on screen are positives. The booth announcers will take a while to feel each other out. Rolfing, being based in Hawaii, was good at giving some local insights as to strategy due to the unique conditions, otherwise during the season he’s a drone at best.
The coolest part of the early round coverage is the thin galleries. When these players miss a green, the ball goes flying off into some crazy spots just like it does for us hackers. No human backstops like they have on the weekends!
Here, here for what Marty says. As a putter freak, I am amazed at how the young guys putt so poorly.
I really can’t decide whether it’s technique or mindset or both, but Tiger makes them more than not. Luke and Adam and Trevor and Bubba and the rest just don’t. Although Donald squeezed a few in today.
The line tonight was Tilghman saying to Faldo something like, “Do you miss Azinger as a partner in the booth?” and Faldo responding, “No, he never smelled as good as you.”
WTF? His life history prooves he’s an incorrigible rake. Let’s hear about golf, not the lines to take when on on the make. Of course, my opinion may be skewed by hearing my redhead refer to him as a “hunk.”
One last kudo for TGC… the coverage Friday night was not wall to wall Wie. Nor should it have been. An inkling that some producer at TGC has a sense of what’s important.
Why do you guys bag on the Golf Channel and Kelly Tilghman? She is at least as good as the rest of the talking heads on tv. Do you really need some former player or blow dried hair personality to tell you that it was a good shot or not? Sure, no one is as funny as Farity or can talk about the 1930s quite like Venturi, but these guys are good enough and going to get better.
As for Wie, she is noteworthy, like it or not, so she will demand camera time. At least the GC guys were not making excuses for her. What can you say about someone in last place.