“Two things you don’t want to hear as a player, Rees Jones and Sub-air.”
/Paul Casey just vaulted to the front of the pack in best quote of the year, as Steve Elling reports on PGA Tour player affection for Rees Jones' redo of Cog Hill.
Read MoreWhen you come to think of it that is the secret of most of the great holes all over the world. They all have some kind of a twist. C.B. MACDONALD
"And you thought Colin Montgomerie had a tough decision eight days ago."
/That's what Helen Ross says about Captain Corey Pavin's big Ryder Cup decision, due Tuesday from the New York Stock Exchange (why not go to the home of American gambling for what figures to be a massive roll of the dice).
Read MoreBattle Of The Computer-Generated Suspense: Phil Going For #1 Versus Jason Day Vying For #1
/Which faux quest for supremacy will be more exciting Monday: Phil Mickelson trying to grab the top spot in the world golf ranking or Jason Day looking to vault to the top spot in the FedEx Cup.
"It's starting to be a trend."
/Doug Ferguson on Chad Campbell's DQ for not registering at the Deutsche Bank. I have no real feelings either way about this, unlike his last screw up.
Read MoreDeutsche Bank Extends To 2012, Takes On Presenting Sponsor
/Great news for the Boston event and even better news for the tour to retain a vital sponsor that takes on a presenting sponsor in EMC.
Read MorePhil "Opts Out" Of Pro-Am; Has To Sit Through Corporate Drone Dinner Instead
/Thanks to reader Mel for Rex Hoggard's post on Phil Mickelson's withdrawal from Thursday's Deutsche Bank Pro-Am.
Unlike Furyk, however, Mickelson’s withdrawal will not cost him a spot at the second playoff event because Lefty used a special option that allows top players to miss a pro-am. Instead the player must participate in an “alternative sponsor function.”
Translation: long dinner pretending to be interested.
Players who finished in the top 20 on the previous year’s money or FedEx Cup lists have two pro-am opt outs that are contingent on sponsor approval. Mickelson used his first opt out earlier this year at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and instead had dinner with a handful of corporate clients.
According to Andy Pazder, the Tour’s senior vice president of tournament administration, this is the first year of the opt out provision and only about “a half dozen” players have used it.
“In a pro-am three or four amateurs are going to get five hours with Phil on the golf course, which is great, but maybe it’s better if you have a dinner with 20 executives and clients for two or three hours,” Pazder said. “Maybe that’s a better use of a player’s time.”
Update on 2010-09-01 23:34 by Geoff
Hoggard followed up with this Tweet:
Sunday Promises Plenty Of Captivating Storylines And None Involve The FedExCup!
/The NCAA Match Play U.S. Amateur wraps with a final between two of the top amateurs in the land, Stanford's David Chung (who has displayed some awesome shotmaking skills) and OSU's Peter Uihlein (whose father has rendered too many USGA committees utterly impotent).
Read More"The idea of having three or four courses in the rotation will create kind of a rotation."
/Steve Elling on the doublespeak of Barclays CEO Bob Diamond, talking about future venues for the event, including Westchester CC and Liberty National (there's real engagement!).
Read MoreSaturday's Busy Day Of Golf Open Thread
/The U.S. Amateur, Johnnie Walker Ryder Cup drama and of course the scintillating FedExCup playoffs at Ridgewood. And I'm not watching any of it live. But you might be...not that there's anything wrong with.
Tiger's Second Round 73 Keeps Him Within Four Of Jack's Major Tally
/Yesterday's 65 had him that much closer to Jack, but today's 73 was undoubtedly a massive setback in his quest to win more majors!
Tiger's 65 Puts Him (Still) Within Four Majors Of Tying Jack's Record!
/I couldn't help but laugh and laugh when I read an ESPN.com-edited version of Doug Ferguson's game story on Tiger's opening 65 at Ridgewood. After getting the opening pleasantries in, someone injected talk of Tiger chasing Jack Nicklaus's major record with the next major looming just seven months away!
Read MoreThe Timing Of The Elin-People Story Feels Odd...
/...because it's ingeniously timed for all involved and a brilliant media play.
A few people wrote in wondering why I and others felt the timing was odd. It's very simple. Everything to this point from Tiger's PR perspective has been terribly handled. This is the first exception. The timing was impeccable for both Tiger and Elin, and it led to his first really genuine sounding comments in some time. It also seems to have helped free up his game?
We'll Know Tiger Has Signed Up With Sean Foley When He Hits Balls Barefoot
/I know, this player-coach flirting can be a bit much, but I think we can zero in on when the Foley-Woods coupling becomes official. Robert Lusetich reports after Tiger's opening 66 at Ridgewood:
Read More“And again, how the commissioner let that slide or get through is ridiculous.”
/Jeff Rude says the tour really needs to come up with a better way to deal with players missing their pro-am tee time, especially in a meaningless vital competition such as the FedExCup.
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