The Wyndham

His To Lose

Date Written: August 24, 2009

Remember Sergio, he of vast talent? Missing from the leader board all year, he was seemingly in control at The Wyndham. He made a nice 12-foot birdie putt on the seventh hole on the last day to go three-up. On the next hole, he three whacked from forty feet...missing a 4-footer for bogey. What followed was sickening to watch. Three bogies in a five hole stretch. A bunch of half-hearted, missed six-footers followed by a swing meltdown where he could barely keep his hands glued to his club. My guess is his poor putting led to his full swing demise. Sound familiar? Happens to me just about every day. This "attitudinal breakdown" left Serge one shot out of a three-way playoff that was ultimately won by "The Pro From Mars," Ryan Moore. (See my blog from April 28, 2008 for more on Moore). Maybe "The Serge" was thinking of all the foxy blondes he's yet to meet and seduce instead of concentrating on his putting stroke? Whatever...it was his tournament to lose and he did.

It's semi-comforting to know that mechanically, Sergio suffers from the same putting problem that I have...the death move called "peeking." We both have to learn the same lesson....KEEP OUR HEAD STILL! Give Sergio and me a putt of any length and it's like a geography lesson...our bodies all over the physical map. If Stan Utley or Dave Pelz saw this move, they would probably puke. A frontal lobotomy might be the only cure.

I was really rooting for Sergio's playmate, Chris Riley, who is Sergio's antithesis. Riley, like me, is a "Wal-Mart" (about an acre) behind everyone else off the tee. Even chief clown, "Bozo" Feherty, bubbled that, "Riley doesn't have any muscles." The Master of Confusing Swing Analysis, Peter Kostis, claims that Riley actually plays to his short-hitting strength. I don't think so. Nobody I know likes to be short. To have to hit hybrids where most players are hitting seven irons is O.K. for a few longish par fours, but over the course of eighteen holes, it'll wear you out.

Personally, I think length and putting are both unfair elements of the game. In my next life (I'm on the waiting list for membership at Purgatory C.C.), there will be no greens, just a large manhole at the end of the fairway. And there won't be any hole longer than 300 yards. Either we adopt these changes or us shorter folk will just have to wait to be reincarnated into a larger body. In the meantime, Sergio would take Riley's putting stroke and short game in a heartbeat and vice-versa. (Then of course, just to disprove me, late in the game Riley misses two "gimmees" over the last three holes.)

As long as we're on the subject of hybrids...here's my evolutionary theory of the week: Short of being re-born, how about being able graft ourselves (like a hybrid) into a player of Sergio's length and Riley's short game? We could call this new player, Sergio Riley or Chris Garcia. At the very least, this new person would still be Catholic. Who else could you imagine being "hybridized?" Perhaps "Mr. Mess," John Daly welded over a Freddie Couples demeanor? Or "Lazy" Carlos Franco (he never practices) infused with a work ethic like V.J.'s? Can you come up with some other possible "blendings?" I suppose it would help to know the personalities on tour. Perhaps the media who dutifully follow the caravan known as "The Tour" could come up with a few sample "hybridazations."

Aussie, Michael Sim of the Nationwide Tour earned himself a battlefield promotion with his third win on that tour this year. He's the ninth player to accomplish this feat...the most successful being Chad Campbell. Add Sim to your all-rookie team...IF...and it's a big IF...he can get past his first year at the next level..."The Big Show" as Kevin Costner said in Bull Durham. Let's see if he can come close to the success that the Irish youngster, Rory McIlroy, has accomplished this year.

No movement in the SV Pool this week. This week the top 125 in the goofy Scmed-Ex point system will play at The Barclays, part of which will be played under the Holland Tunnel on the way to Jersey City. Our top three pool players each have a different pick so it should be interesting.

PGA Championship

The Sky is Falling

Date Written: August 17, 2009



So, what are we to think on this day after Tiger loses a Major with a lead?
Is Chicken Little right, "The Sky is Falling?"

From Wikipedia:

The Sky Is Falling, better known as Chicken Licken, Henny Penny or Chicken Little is an old fable about a chicken (or a hare in early versions) who believes the sky is falling. The phrase, "The sky is falling," has passed into the English language as a common idiom indicating a hysterical or mistaken belief that disaster is imminent.

I thought the Chicken Little metaphor apt because some are asking if Tiger is washed up? Has the order of the golfing universe turned on it's axis? Has the sky truly fallen?

OF COURSE NOT. According to me and the more literate, Brandal Chamblee of The Golf Channel, "Tiger just had a bad day." Angry John Hawkins switched gears nicely and said simply that, "Yang was suberb." Semi-shaven Frank Nobilo came to Yang's defense and said, "Y.E. is not the Jack Fleck of our time. He's a good player." (More on Jack Fleck later). Bow-tied Alex Miceli suggested, "Y.E. WON the PGA as much as Tiger LOST it. Sir Nick Faldo said it best midway through the last round, "Tiger's having a day like all of us have." The merry pranksters (the clown outfit of Feherty & McCord of CBS-TV fame) who have never known the concept of having an "internal editor," wondered aloud if Tiger was lacking an aggressive game plan. NO AGAIN!

Tiger, ever so gracious in defeat, said he hit the ball great all day and just didn't make any putts. "I had plenty of chances and didn't make a thing." 33 putts in the last round pretty much tells it all. I re-watched the telecast on Monday and as they say on Tour, he didn't make shit. It just shows to go that in this stupid game, as in life, anything can happen. As they say, (whoever they are), "You don't play golf on paper." Even Chicken Little might be right one day. And maybe a virtual unknown, in this case a pretty good "unknown" can de-claw a Tiger on any given day. As my young friend Mikey says, "That's golf!"

What happened was that someone...anyone by God...stood up and beat Tiger straight-up and gave him a dose of what he's been dishing out for years. "In this age of Tiger predictability, yesterday was interesting because it was so unpredictable," offered Tim Rosaforte. That "someone" who turned the order of the golf world upside-down, (up until yesterday), was a virtual unknown outside the golf-nut world. I follow this sport like a hawk and I didn't know until yesterday that Y.E. Yang was a three-time Q-school participant, an ex-weightlifter and an actual MALE South Korean. I do know that there's plenty of FEMALE Korean golfers. I see their names peppered in print at the top of the ladies leaderboard, every week.

O.K., O.K., Yang did win The Honda earlier this year but he's not exactly a household name. We are told that the Yangster didn't take the game up until he was nineteen. Tiger started at age two. Now that he's 37 and he's climbed one of the highest mountains in the Golf Kingdom, it would be very dramatic if he should retire. Can you imagine the public response? He's won a Major against the most famous golfer of all time. How's be gonna top that?

Most golf nuts including Tiger thought that the other weightlifting Korean, K.J. Choi, would be the first Asian to hoist a Major trophy. Digressing a bit, what is it with this weightlifting thing? When did time-in-grade in a smelly old gym become a training ground for success on a professional golf tour? Conventional Western wisdom has always suggested that hand-eye games like baseball and hockey were the cauldrons that produced good golfers. I guess I better re-think my stretching routine and start pumping some serious iron. Now where did I put those foam-covered, three pound dumbells? Mr. Yang even "one-upped" Tiger's obnoxious fist-pumping, I-told-you-so routine by bench pressing his golf bag three times in victory. What's next, unzipping your pants and showing your "stuff?"

What was shocking about Yang's emergence was that he wasn't named Els or Singh...Mickelson or Furyk...or Stenson, Paddy or Geoff. Just last year, Tiger spotted "Everyman" Rocco one leg and won the US Open. Now this medium-sized (5'9", 195 lbs), happy-go-lucky, Asian hero-to-be becomes the answer to a new Trivial Pursuit question: "Who was the first golfer to beat Tiger Woods when he was leading or tied for the lead in a Major?" Shades of Jack Fleck? (For those lucky to be born in the 60's, Jack Fleck was the virtual unknown who won the 1955 U.S. Open in an 18-hole playoff by three strokes over his idol, the legendary Ben Hogan, at the Olympic Club in San Francisco.)

Other news of note from the last Major of '09:

The best of the "Wunderkids", Rory McIlroy, finished off a solid year in the Majors ending with a T-3.

Lee Westwood just missed the playoff at The British by one shot. Yesterday he finished T-3.

Lucas Glover backed up his win at the U.S. Open with a nice 5th place finish.

In the spirit of everyone loving a train wreck, I'm sure you all saw the TV show called "Paddy's Weekly Snowman." His "quint" on the par three eighth was a doozy. I loved Paddy's response: "These things happen," said Harrington, managing a smile. "In the course of your career, you're going to mess up sometimes, as I did." Yesterday's blow-up hole reminded us of his triple on the par 5 16th the week before at The WGC/Bridgestone which handed Tiger his 70th PGA tournament win. From the LA Times:

Harrington was six under par when he stepped to the eighth tee, alone in third place. With 167 yards into a strong breeze, he chose a knock-down six-iron, but it landed in the pond, short and right of the green. "If I fly it five more yards, I'm on," Harrington said. He took a drop and hooked his third shot so badly, he nearly beaned playing partner Henrik Stenson, standing near bunkers to the left of the green. Harrington then caught a pitch flush, sending his fourth shot into the water. His sixth shot landed shy of the green. Finally he got up and down for eight, effectively ending his day. He fell to a tie for 11th, dropping five shots. "I've hit plenty of great pitches," he said. "That's the strongest part of my game. I've had plenty where I got up and down to win tournaments, so I'm not going to mull over [this]." A good attitude, but not enough to avoid a bogey here.

Five SV Pool players hit the double-money jackpot with Tiger's second place dough. Glenn Marzion and Charlie Tuna were among the five betting on Tiger but made the most of it with quantum leaps into the two top spots. Longtime Pool leader, Bill Sundali, is now looking up...just a few bucks behind in third. It's going to be a dogfight over the last five events which count for our money title. No-Shows now for the leaders are a definite no-no. The Wyndham in Greensboro, NC is up next. Nine of us made the lazy choice to bet that NC State grad, Carl Petterson, will repeat.

WGC Bridgestone

Tiger's 70th

Date Written: August 11, 2009


Question: How many times when Tiger's in the final pairing on Sunday has he won and by how much? Answer below.

One would think that if anyone could handle the pressure of playing with Tiger "straight-up" it might be Paddy Harrington, except for the fact that he's been playing like a dog while he works on tweaking his swing. So...Sunday at the WGC/Bridgestone, it was Paddy vs Tiger, face-to-face in the last twosome on a great golf course, Firestone. "Contrasting styles," suggested Nick Faldo. No kidding!

Tiger started three back on day four...definitely his advantage. He's got his putting swerve working and fires 3 birdies and an eagle to jump ahead by two after nine. Then he appears to be human. Viewers around the world start to adjust the focus on their TV sets and wonder about his invinciblity as he bogies twelve and fourteen and Paddy takes the lead by one. Maybe? NOT! Tiger's 8-iron, 3rd shot to the long par 5 sixteenth from 182 yards to a tucked pin over water that spins back to 6 inches will be re-shown a gazillion times from now until we die or stop watching the Golf Channel, whichever is first. Paddy's "snowman" on the same hole gives Tiger a four-shot swing on one hole and his 70th win. End of dialogue. Our Doug B. was last seen diving into the lake on 16, fully clothed. He had Padraig in "The Pool."

Last word on Padraig. He's the defending PGA Champ. Guess who wants the title and his 15th Major? Should he fail to win this week at the nearly 7700 yard venue, Hazeltine...just outside Minneapolis, Tiger would be shut out of majors for the first time since 2004. Unlikely. Five pool players have astutely saved their pick of Woods for the last of the "double money majors."

Answer to the question above: A lot!

The Buick Open

Tiger's 69th

Date Written: August 3, 2009

I'm thinking that Tiger showed up at The Buick for one of eight reasons:

(1) He was embarrassed by his missed-cut at The British.
(2) He wants to be sharp for the PGA
(3) He likes to play golf.
(4) He likes to win.
(5) He needs the money.
(6) He's winless in the Majors this year.
(7) He still drives a Buick.
(8) He was helping the charities in Michigan.

What do you think?

From Jason Sobel, golf columnist on ESPN.com:

"Tiger's Buick win enhanced his claim as the greatest closer in the history of the game, as he is now 36-1 when holding the outright 54-hole lead at a PGA Tour event and 47-3 when having at least a share of that lead. And let the optimists and pessimists argue semantics at the water cooler. The one thing I'll take from Tiger Woods' latest victory more than anything else is this notion, which has often been repeated throughout his career: His great may be otherworldly, but his good is still better than everyone else, too."

From the A.P.

"Tiger Woods has another trophy for his overflowing collection. Woods shot a three-under-par 69 Sunday at Grand Blanc Township, Mich., and coasted to a three-shot victory with a 20-under 268 at the Buick Open for the 69th PGA Tour title of his career. "This one feels good," he said. He improved to 36-1 when he has the outright lead after 54 holes. Woods has four wins this season in 11 starts since returning from knee surgery."

This was a good week for amateurs. One of the best college players around, Oklahoma State's Ricky Fowler, bogeyed the 72nd hole and lost on the second playoff hole at the Nationwide Tour event this week on the longish, Scarlet Course at Ohio State University. Look for him to follow Anthony Kim's script and bail on his scholarship soon. Unless I'm mistaken, another O.K. State player, Morgan Hoffman, finished T-8 in the same tournament. O.K. State's reputation in college golf is kinda like U.S.C.'s in football...perennial winners. Amateur, Tim Jackson, from Tennessee, deserves a mention for his stellar, record-setting 36-hole score at the U.S. Senior Open. Even though he came back down to Earth in the last two rounds at the demanding Crooked Stick course near Indianapolis, he finished T-11 in a field loaded with the best over-50 players on the planet who happen to play for real money, not just two dollar, weekend Nassau's. Speaking of straight and "Crooked," the Crooked course was not too tough for Freddie Funk-a-Delic who set a tournament record by finishing 20-under par and won his first Major by six strokes. Freddie's on a nice run. For those with short-term memory loss (like ME), he lost in a three-way playoff for the British Senior Open title two weeks ago to Loren Roberts. Go Freddie...fetch Langer! Finally, to prove how fickle this stupid game is, Tom Watson, the runner-up at the "real" British Open, shot even par on Sunday to finish at 2 over amongst his Senior peers and tied for 43rd.

Another WGC event on tap this weekend at Firestone. Lefty's returning after a six-week absence and Tiger's in the field. The "Lessor-Than's" schlep to Reno-Tahoe. I count seven Appleby and six Westwood aficionados this week in da pool. Bill Sundali padded his lead a bit with a nice pick (along with Pat Moloney, Glenn Marzion and Perry Sato) of "Woodhead" Austin at The Buick who finished T-8. Looking ahead to next week's double-money PGA...three bottom-dwellers: Jeff Wong, The Beach and Jan Jones and two wanna-be's: Glenn Marzion and Charlie Tuna, have saved their Tiger bullet for The PGA. How smart/lucky are they?