Master Index of Archived Threads


PGA Tour 2012

Frayed Knot Mar 04 2012 09:46 PM

22 y/o N. Irishman Rory McIlroy's win this weekend in the first stop on the Florida swing propelled him to the #1 rank in the world rankings. He pretty much was already the best golfer out there since his US Open win last summer but, like in tennis, the rankings tend to lag behind for a while before they become official. He led going into the final round today but unexpected pressure came from, of all people, Tiger, who threw up a stunning final round 62 - including finishing birdie-eagle - leaving McIlroy little margin for error. Tiger wound up in a 2nd place tie despite being way back going into the weekend and is slowly rounding back into form following his major knee surgery and other assorted, ahem ... problems shall we say. The one upside is that he now seems to realize that he's going to have to play more tournaments than he used to. He used to spit on tourney's like this one (even though at a Jack-designed course) during his hey-day when he was free to concentrate on just majors and those tune-ups which were run by one of his sponsors. Tougher to do that now with fewer sponsors though and he's at an age (36) where solo practice rounds alone with his various coaches just aren't going to cut it. Tiger Phil & Rory are all expected to compete in next week's stop at Doral just outside of Miami. Then it's four weeks to the Masters.

Edgy MD Mar 05 2012 06:33 AM Re: PGA Tour 2012

Had no idea McIlroy was that young.

Frayed Knot Mar 05 2012 07:19 AM Re: PGA Tour 2012

He'll turn 23 a month after this year's Masters and is the youngest to be #1 in the world since, not surprisingly, Tiger. Now he's just 600 or so weeks at that ranking plus a dozen majors behind Tiger.

Frayed Knot Apr 07 2012 09:23 PM Re: PGA Tour 2012

The Masters remains the best watch on the golf calendar because of the volatility. The folks running the U.S. Open, for instance, get so concerned that someone might actually break par that they toughen the course so much that no one can score. But at Augusta the course encourages the kind of risk/reward shots* which lead to almost commonplace birdies and not at all rare eagles at the same time it's bringing bogies & doubles into play to the point where there are constantly 3 and 4 shot swings in the matter of minutes. Par scores seem almost the exception sometimes. There were 7 or 8 different leaders at various points during Saturday's round. Should be a good Sunday as nine golfers are within a five-shot span of the lead with a mixture of non-major winners plus the likes of Mickelson, Harrington, & Westwood. Tiger never was a factor. McIlroy, who waited until Sunday last year before going all pear-shaped, got all blowed a day early this time and took himself out of contention. 2nd round leader Freddie Couples suddenly remembered that he's a 52 y/o with a bad back and moved backwards all afternoon. * Including, although not limited to, Mickelson's ridonculous flop-shot on 15 which was at least twice as high as it was far

Ashie62 Apr 08 2012 06:52 AM Re: PGA Tour 2012

Great tourney. I find Sawgrass fun.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Apr 08 2012 07:27 AM Re: PGA Tour 2012

Is it ok to hate Mickelson? Cuz I do.

Frayed Knot Apr 08 2012 09:28 AM Re: PGA Tour 2012

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Is it ok to hate Mickelson? Cuz I do. It's certainly allowed although it would put you in the minority. Fans tend to like him for his willingness to try anything even when it's not necessarily the best idea at the time; the guts, inventiveness, and sometimes sheer genius of his short game; that he doesn't play like some soulless automaton who acts like he's owed the victory (oh hey there, Tiger); and just for general fan friendliness reasons. If you want to follow a different lefty who's kinda like Phil but without the preppy-Phil look and baggage, check out Bubba Watson. Ridiculously long off the tee as a result of putting everything into a totally undisciplined and un-schooled swing that has him stepping in the bucket like John Kruk against the Big Unit. Acts jittery and admits to losing concentration on the course at times as the result of ADD which he refuses to take meds to curb. IOW, lots of fun and/or a disaster waiting to happen. In one of the earlier rounds he hit one long but way off the fairway and the cameras caught him spitting out a mild; "Oh Shoot" to himself as it headed wayward before following that up with an admiring; " ... crushed it though" Watson (-6) will be with defending Brit Open champ Louie Oosthuizen (-7) in the penultimate pairing right in front of Mickelson (-8) & Swede Peter Hanson (-9)

Frayed Knot Apr 08 2012 02:06 PM Re: PGA Tour 2012

Today's round has already featured a triple-bogey (Mickelson) and a Double-Eagle!! (Oosthuizen) just among the leaders in the first handful of holes.

Edgy MD Apr 08 2012 04:32 PM Re: PGA Tour 2012

I didn't think double eagles were possible in majors.

Frayed Knot Apr 08 2012 05:55 PM Re: PGA Tour 2012

4th one in Masters history from what they said. If you can possibly see a clip of the shot, do so. From 253 yards, it landed in front of a lengthy green and seemingly rolled forever before dying into the hole with its very last revolution. In the end, though, he still needed one more birdie.

Frayed Knot Jun 13 2012 09:01 PM Re: PGA Tour 2012

U.S. Open starts Thursday at the Olympic Club - San Francisco, California Last played there in 1998 when Lee Jantzen won. Tight course, will require driving accuracy, weather looks decent so far although it is San Francisco after all. Aside from the usual stories: Is Tiger “back”?; will Phil ever get past his numerous near-misses at this tourney?; can Rory McElroy regain the form that led him to last year’s Open but has abondoned him recently? -- this year has a few wrinkles of its own. - Casey Martin, the golfer with the painful and degenerative leg condition which spawned a lawsuit to eventually allow him to use a driving cart in pro golf tournaments is back. His brief run as a touring pro behind him, Martin is now the golf coach at Univ of Oregon and went through qualifying tournaments to win a spot onto this one, the site of the only other U.S. Open he’s ever played. He'll be the guy in the cart. - Andy Zhang - a 14 year-old immigrant from China living in the U.S. has also qualified for the Open. Zhang just finished the eighth grade. Hey, like Roy McEvoy (not to be confused with Rory McIlroy) told his caddy Romeo; “the US Open is not only the top tournament but also the most democratic”. - The USGA likes to have some fun with their groupings for the first two days. In particular they’ve coupled up Tiger & Phil along with Masters champ Bubba Watson. Last time Tiger & Phil were paired was in the final round of Pebble Beach in February when Phil smoked Tiger by like ten strokes. Tiger looks like he’s the token entry in this threesome -- y’know, on account of him being the only righty in the group ... Why, where did you think I was going with that one?!? They’ve also tripled up three top European golfers of late in Rory McElroy, Luke Donald, and Lee Westwood. And because this is all being held in the Pacific time slot the coverage will carry well into prime time for the ending on Sunday.

Edgy MD Jun 13 2012 09:27 PM Re: PGA Tour 2012

If I had to come up with a fictional PGA golfer, I'd name him Lee Westwood.

Frayed Knot Jun 14 2012 02:33 PM Re: PGA Tour 2012

Odd U.S. Open fact: The caddie for Mark McCormick is Vinnie 'Mad Dog' Lopez, aka the original drummer for the East Street Band If asked to guess lower-case celebrities who were caddying in this tournament, I would have taken about 5,672 guesses before coming to that one.

Frayed Knot Jun 16 2012 06:44 AM Re: PGA Tour 2012

The USGA's idea of creating the two TV-friendly groupings for the first two days fell on its face as half of those six wound up missing the cut. Defending champ Rory McIlroy notched a 10-over score to continue his really bad year after being anointed as the next great thing a year ago. Defending Masters champ Bubba Watson and supposed #1 player in the world Luke Donald also both find themselves with their weekend free. Michelson (+7) who started his tourney off by losing his very first tee shot in a tree, snuck in under the wire with one shot to spare and almost certainly won't be a factor for rounds 3 and 4. Tiger is in a 3-way tie for the lead with David Toms (dorky looking guy w/smokin' hot wife), and Jim Furyk The 14 y/o missed the cut by a touchdown or so, but Beau Hossler, 17 y/o HS junior with a mouthful of braces, briefly held the lead on Friday and currently sits 4 shots off the pace in a multiple-way tie for 9th

Frayed Knot Jun 17 2012 08:44 PM Re: PGA Tour 2012

Webb Simpson, kind of quietly coming out of the weeds, is your 2012 US Open winner. Jim Furyk, in or tied for the lead since sometime Friday, Fell. A. Part. over the last three holes. Almost painful to watch. 2010 champ Graeme McDowell had a medium-long putt to tie on the final hole but never really came close. Tiger had a nice Thursday & Friday. And then came Saturday & Sunday.

Frayed Knot Jul 22 2012 01:06 PM Re: PGA Tour 2012

So Australian Adam Scott is leading the final round of the British Open (or just, The Open, as they call it) by four strokes with four holes to play. And then he bogeyed 15 And then he bogeyed 16 And then he bogeyed 17 And then he just slid his putt for par wide by an inch or two and bogeyed 18 And right about the time Scott was between 16 & 17, Ernie Els was knocking in about a 20-footer for birdie on 18 - so he wound up winning his 2nd trophy while eating a sandwich and practicing his putts for the playoff that never came.

Frayed Knot Aug 12 2012 09:19 PM Re: PGA Tour 2012

Rory McIlroy has had a pretty lousy year and change since his 2011 U.S. Open win. Maybe celebrating a bit too much? Or maybe too much time spent running around with tennis babes, who knows? But he won the PGA championship going away this weekend and now has his 2nd major at a younger age (by a few months) than when Tiger won his 2nd. He also becomes the first guy in the post-Tiger car-crash era to win a 2nd major. Prior to today the previous 16 had been won by 16 different players, and many of them first-and-only majors winners.

Frayed Knot Sep 28 2012 12:19 PM Re: PGA Tour 2012

Ryder Cup started this morning at Medina Club outside of Chicago - and now sits at 2-2 as the afternoon matches begin. This is usually a fun watch because when the players turn from playing for themselves to playing for a team they suddenly start showing much more tension and emotional (both highs and lows) and the fans are also somewhat freed from the usual church-quiet traditions. Yeah, the U! S! A! chants on the first hole of the first day are stupid and have to stop but it beats no emotion at all.

Frayed Knot Sep 29 2012 07:14 AM Re: PGA Tour 2012

5-3 American side after Day 1 Part of the fun in following the RC is seeing RC-rookies star while established stars struggle. On Friday those newbies having big days were Keegan Bradley on the U.S. side and Belgian Nicolas Closaerts Meanwhile, Tiger, who was never a good RC player for whatever reasons and lost both the matches he was part of on Friday, gets benched by captain Davis Love for the first time in his career for the Saturday morning matches.

Edgy MD Sep 29 2012 09:43 AM Re: PGA Tour 2012

Someday, a golf journalist, sports psychologist, or Malcolm Gladwell is going to come up with a convincing explanation of why Tiger, at his best and worst, is and has always been a disappointing Ryder Cup player. He was a fiend in match play as an amateur --- but of course he was a child, and those were amateurs.

Frayed Knot Sep 29 2012 11:36 AM Re: PGA Tour 2012

And it's not like Tiger's done poorly in professional match play events (infrequent though they are) just in team-oriented ones like Ryder Cup or its step-brother the President's Cup. As Colin Montgomery (kind of the opposite player: small in majors but big in RC) pointed out on TV this morning: the only RC the US side has won this century was the one where Tiger was out injured. Mickelson too has never shone in this event although the gap between his career and his RC record is not quite as wide as Tiger's on either extreme. This weekend though he's been the guy paired up with Keegan Bradley and they've been winning everything is sight and by comfortable margins.

Frayed Knot Sep 30 2012 10:24 AM Re: PGA Tour 2012

10-6 US lead going into the Sunday singles matches. Not insurmountable for the old world crew, but pretty darn close. A 4-point gap matches the largest comeback ever on the final day. And for the odd story of the day, it seems that Rory McIlroy just arrived at the course via police escort with less than 10 minutes to spare before his tee-time on account of being fooled by the TV announcers talking about the starting times in Eastern time while he was sitting in his Central time hotel room. Obviously little time for warm-ups. Haven't heard of anything like this since John McEnroe missed a doubles match at the US Open while stuck in traffic. Match-ups for the day U.S. Europe Result Bubba Watson =#0000FF]Luke Donald Webb Simpson =#0000FF]Ian Poulter Keegan Bradley =#0000FF]Rory McIlroy Phil Mickelson =#0000FF]Justin Rose Brant Snedeker =#0000FF]Paul Lawrie Dustin Johnson =#0000FF]Nicolas Colsaerts Zach Johnson =#0000FF]Graeme McDowell Jim Furyk =#0000FF]Sergio Garcia Jason Dufner =#0000FF]Peter Hanson Matt Kuchar =#0000FF]Lee Westwood Steve Stricker =#0000FF]Martin Kaymer Tiger Woods =#0000FF]Francesco Molinari

Frayed Knot Sep 30 2012 01:30 PM Re: PGA Tour 2012

Europe gets four wins without a loss or tie so far ties the score 10-10 U.S. Europe Result Bubba Watson =#0000FF]Luke Donald =#0000FF]2 & 1 Webb Simpson =#0000FF]Ian Poulter =#0000FF]2 Up Keegan Bradley =#0000FF]Rory McIlroy =#0000FF]2 & 1 Phil Mickelson =#0000FF]Justin Rose Brant Snedeker =#0000FF]Paul Lawrie =#0000FF]5 & 3 Dustin Johnson =#0000FF]Nicolas Colsaerts Zach Johnson =#0000FF]Graeme McDowell Jim Furyk =#0000FF]Sergio Garcia Jason Dufner =#0000FF]Peter Hanson Matt Kuchar =#0000FF]Lee Westwood Steve Stricker =#0000FF]Martin Kaymer Tiger Woods =#0000FF]Francesco Molinari

Frayed Knot Sep 30 2012 02:34 PM Re: PGA Tour 2012

U.S. Europe Result Bubba Watson =#0000FF]Luke Donald =#0000FF]2 & 1 Webb Simpson =#0000FF]Ian Poulter =#0000FF]2 Up Keegan Bradley =#0000FF]Rory McIlroy =#0000FF]2 & 1 Phil Mickelson =#0000FF]Justin Rose =#0000FF]1 Up Brant Snedeker =#0000FF]Paul Lawrie =#0000FF]5 & 3 Dustin Johnson =#0000FF]Nicolas Colsaerts 3 & 2 Zach Johnson =#0000FF]Graeme McDowell Jim Furyk =#0000FF]Sergio Garcia Jason Dufner =#0000FF]Peter Hanson Matt Kuchar =#0000FF]Lee Westwood Steve Stricker =#0000FF]Martin Kaymer Tiger Woods =#0000FF]Francesco Molinari All Tied 11-11

Frayed Knot Sep 30 2012 02:54 PM Re: PGA Tour 2012

Their big lead completely gone, this very well could come down to the U.S. [u:32xjqfzp]needing[/u:32xjqfzp] a win from Tiger in the final match, a game which could both put his team over the top AND erase much of the bad marks against him in his RC career. Tiger's match is currently tied with 6 holes to play.

Frayed Knot Sep 30 2012 03:06 PM Re: PGA Tour 2012

U.S. Europe Result Bubba Watson =#0000FF]Luke Donald =#0000FF]2 & 1 Webb Simpson =#0000FF]Ian Poulter =#0000FF]2 Up Keegan Bradley =#0000FF]Rory McIlroy =#0000FF]2 & 1 Phil Mickelson =#0000FF]Justin Rose =#0000FF]1 Up Brant Snedeker =#0000FF]Paul Lawrie =#0000FF]5 & 3 Dustin Johnson =#0000FF]Nicolas Colsaerts 3 & 2 Zach Johnson =#0000FF]Graeme McDowell 2 & 1 Jim Furyk =#0000FF]Sergio Garcia Jason Dufner =#0000FF]Peter Hanson Matt Kuchar =#0000FF]Lee Westwood Steve Stricker =#0000FF]Martin Kaymer Tiger Woods =#0000FF]Francesco Molinari U.S. side have got their Johnsons out and working 12-11 U.S.

metirish Sep 30 2012 03:34 PM Re: PGA Tour 2012

This is a pretty stunning turn around from Europe , need one more point to keep the cup.Furyk looks like he has the yips trying to putt.

Frayed Knot Sep 30 2012 04:13 PM Re: PGA Tour 2012

Martin Kaymer with a 6-footer to retain the Cup for Europe ... and he hits it!!!

Frayed Knot Sep 30 2012 04:18 PM Re: PGA Tour 2012

The last German to have a shot to win the RC was Bernhard Langer back in '91 in the 'War by the Shore' match in South Carolina but he missed. That made the score 14-14 and the US retained as the defending champ. Tiger's match is the only one still out on the course and if he wins this will also be 14-14 with Europe retaining as the defending champ. The Americans [u:1kfxjyff]did not win one point[/u:1kfxjyff] on holes 17 or 18 until Tiger just won at 17. Every single putt or shot they needed they didn't get.

Frayed Knot Sep 30 2012 04:28 PM Re: PGA Tour 2012

And now Tiger three putts on 18 to halve his match and make the final score: Europe 14-1/2 -- US 13-1/2 Oddly, that was the only match in the entire weekend that was halved. None in team play on Friday or Saturday, and none in the first 11 matches today.

metirish Sep 30 2012 05:40 PM Re: PGA Tour 2012

A must read article from Gene Wojciechowski from yesterday, what an asshole http://m.espn.go.com/golf/story?storyId=8434982