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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.<\/p>\n
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.
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\nThe 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.<\/p>\n
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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.<\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The Golf Channel\/PGA Tour Era Also Begins<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n The Final Say<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n 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<\/a>. Thanks for reading the first Thrash Talk of 2007!<\/p>\n
\nThe 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. <\/p>\n
\nIt’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.<\/p>\n