MacDuff's Post-Memphis FedEx Cup Standings

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 MacDuff reports that only 5 of the top 40 in the FedEx Cup race played in Memphis, and for good measure he gives us everyone with 2000 points this week.

I'm thinking that at this point in the FedEx Cup season, there's going to need to be a prize that makes us give a hoot about this thing. But not more money, please. Maybe some NetJets time for the top 5 or something? 

1    Mickelson    17509.37        11
2    Furyk    16475        11
3    Glover    15854.16        11
4    C.Campbell    15587.5        13
5    Singh    15221.87        12
6    Toms    14821.87        10
7    Gf. Ogilvy    13762.5        9
8    Van Pelt    13440        14
9    Pettersson    13258.33        13
10    Oberholser    12775        11
11    Weir    12734.37        10
12    Appleby    12662.5        10
13    Pernice    12600        9
14    Sabbatini    12541.66        11
15    Gay    12525        12
16    Donald    12014.37        8
17    Mayfair    12004.16        11
18    Goosen    11775        8
19    Pampling    11672.5        10
20    Verplank    11612.5        9
21    Cink    11408.83        10
22    B. Quigley    11200        9
23    Z.Johnson    11150        10
24    Funk    11100        11
25    Herron    10982.5        9
26    D.Wilson    10937.5        11
27    T.Clark    10897.5        10
28    Olazabal    10875        7
29    Ames    10862.5        8
30    Parnevik    10767.5        12
31    T.Woods    10659.37        6
32    Bohn    10575.83        11
33    Vn Taylor    10487.5        9
T34    Love III    10375        10
T34    Hoffman    10375        10
T36    Choi    10350        9
T36    Senden    10350        9
38    Els    10037.5        9
39    Villegas    10062.5        10
40    Jerry Kelly    10025        8
41    Warren    10012.5        10
42    Purdy    9925        10
43    RS Johnson    9880        9
44    Lehman    9825        10
45    A.Scott    9625        7
46    Palmer    9066.66        10
47    Immelman    9000        7
48    Chopra    8992        11
49    J.Ogilvie    8945        9
50    Watney    8912.5        10
51    Estes    8837.5        9
52    Bertsch    8725        10
53    Leonard    8708.33        10
54    Hart    8680        9
55    Imada    8680        10
56    Crane    8645        8
57    Waldorf    8525        10
58    JJ Henry    8275        8
59    Baird    8242.5        8
60    Howell III    8137.5        12
61    Franco    8087.5        8
62    G. Owen    7975        8
63    Harrington    7962.5        7
64    Couples    7925        8
65    Garcia    7900        7
66    Wetterich    7850        6
67    N.Green    7837.5        9
68    Flesch    7742.5        11
69    Lowery    7700        10
70    Rollins    7675        7
71    Rose    7654.16        10
72    S. Maruyama    7462.5        9
73    Allenby    7450        7
74    Maggert    7437.5        8
75    JB Holmes    7420.83        7
76    F.Jacobson    7337.5        7
77    Branshaw    7325        8
78    Beem    7293.75        9
79    Micheel    7275        8
80    J.Smith    7225        8
81    Sluman    7112.5        11
82    Olin Browne    7075        12
83    Jobe    7017.5        8
84    Bjornstad    7005        9
85    Bryant    6937.5        7
86    DiMarco    6859.37        7
87    Baddeley    6850        7
88    Barlow    6712.5        8
89    Lonard    6675        8
90    Calc    6655        11
91    Langer    6541.66        8
92    JL Lewis    6512.5        10
93    Fischer    6425        9
94    M.Wilson    6415        7
95    Gronberg    6350        7
96    D. Howell    6262.5        5
97    Pat Perez    6262.5        7
98    Stricker    6225        5
99    Barron    6193.75        7
100    Poulter    6175        7
101    Pavin    6087.5        6
102    Azinger    6075        8
103    B. Haas    6050        8
104    Geiberger    6037.5        8
105    Br.Davis    5992.5        8
106    Bub Watson    5962.5        6
107    Sutherland    5900        8
108    Cook    5875        5
109    Austin    5850        11
110    Gove    5737.5        6
111    Leaney    5712.5        7
112    Slocum    5687.5        8
113    Curtis    5662.5        8
114    Atwal    5625        5
115    Kenny Perry    5587.5        6
116    Gore    5525        6
117    J.Byrd    5500        4
118    Ws Short Jr    5437.5        10
119    Durant    5400        9
120    Faxon    5312.5        8
121    Sindelar    5237.5        8
122    Westwood    5187.5        5
123    Goggin    5125.25        5
124    Cabrera    5100        5
125    Triplett    5062.5        6
126    Matteson    5037.5        7
127    D.Clarke    4900        4
128    Armour III    4700        6
129    Sean O'Hair    4575        7
130    Mahan    4550        9
131    Dickerson    4450        8
132    Lickliter II    4275        6
133    Frazar    4237.5        7
134    Veazey    4225        6
135    Andrade    4207.5        7
136    David Duval    4175        5
137    McCarron    4112.5        7
138    Garrigus    4055        7
139    S.Jones    4030        7
140    Stankowski    4015.5        7
141    Overton    3987.5        7
142    Ridings    3912.5        7
143    Kaye    3862.5        6
144    D.Maruyama    3787.5        6
145    Riley    3762.5        6
146    Allen    3750        7
147    K. Cox    3662.5        3
148    Kent Jones    3612.5        5
149    Gamez    3587.5        7
150    WMacKenzie    3562.5        4
151    Petrovic    3537.5        6
152    Points    3487.5        5
153    Brehaut    3400        7
154    Jimenez    3387.5        3
155    Nick Price    3325        3
156    Kevin Na    3275        4
157    Tway    3237.5        6
158    Katayama    3171.87        4
159    Danny Ellis    3087.5        5
160    Dawson    3062.5        6
161    Daly    3050        5
162    Couch    3025        3
163    H.Stenson    3012.5        3
164    Sheehan    2937.5        7
165    Goydos    2925        5
166    Hjerstedt    2902.5        3
167    Axley    2837.5        4
168    Levet    2812.5        7
169    Huston    2762.5        3
170    Bateman    2750        5
171    C. Beckman    2740        3
172    O'Hern    2700        2
173    Celka    2645        6
174    Trahan    2625        4
175    Kendall    2612.5        3
176    Janzen    2612.5        4
177    Walker    2462.5        5
178    Dn. Stiles    2450        3
179    M. Cambo    2437.5        2
180    Bob May    2400        3
181    Ken Duke    2375        2
182    L. Roberts    2262.5        2
183    Whittaker    2262.5        3
184    McDowell    2225        3
185    Driscoll    2225        6
186    Mize    2162.5        4
187    Tambellini    2150        5
188    Uresti    2137.5        2
189    Bren Jones    2050        2
190    VanDerWalt    2012.5        3
191    Coceres    2000        2
192    Hansen    2000        5

PGA Tour Driving Distance Watch, Week 21

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pgatour.jpgI caught about 10 minutes of Saturday's FedEx St. Jude Danny Thomas whatever it's called. What was with all the spectators dressed as grassy mounds? (My apologies to the late great Chick Hearn.)

Anyway, the PGA Tour driving distance average rose to 289.5 yards after Memphis, up from 289.2 following last week's Colonial.

There were 24 350-or-longer drives, with the season total now at 944. There were 2,059 last year.

And in case you are a new reader wondering why I'm following this, here's an explanation.

Furrowed Bunkers at Muirfield Village!?

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Bob Baptist in The Columbus Dispatch has the details:

Acting on an initiative to which the tour so far has only given lip service, the Memorial Tournament has switched to longer-toothed rakes to create small furrows in the bunkers on the course. The hoped-for result is less-consistent lies in the sand and tougher shots out of it when practice rounds begin Monday.

"Bunkers were meant to be a penalty," Jack Nicklaus said yesterday while playing the course, "and they haven’t been for quite a while."

Nicklaus, who designed and built Muirfield Village, said he has been thinking for a while about furrowing the bunkers as one more way to protect the course against never-ending technological advances that are propelling balls ever farther.

He said when he asked tour officials this past winter what they thought of the idea, he found that they were considering the same thing. They had not implemented it, however, until giving the Memorial the OK.

"The players wear us out (complaining) about the conditions of the bunkers, that they aren’t perfect," said tour official Frank Kavanaugh, who was on site yesterday setting up the course. "We’ve gotten to the point where they expect a perfect lie every time. We’ve got to change their attitude.

"There’s no more smooth ice. They’re on rough ice now."

Nicklaus said the bunkers will be reminiscent of how tour bunkers used to be and how they were the first few years of the Memorial, which started in 1976.

"The lies will be not as consistent," he said. "You’ll now have to look at your lie and play a bunker shot according to your lie.

"The guys that are good bunker players will like it more. The guys who aren’t as good won’t like it as much."

Now, I'm all for returning the hazard to bunkers.

But I'm curious why the Tour, as reported in this story, is looking for ways to make their setups more difficult? Shouldn't they be looking at the ratings and wondering how they can make their setups more entertaining? Do they even know the difference?

Either way, this ought to make Muirfield Village interesting...until it starts raining. 

"Reduced Playing Opportunities"

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Golfweek's Rex Hoggard on the emerging FedEx Cup schedule:

At the heart of the Tour's new FedEx Cup schedule is a Tour Championship that wraps up in mid-September, essentially shortening what was a 12-month season. To a middle-of-the-pack player, "shorter season" is Tour talk for "fewer playing opportunities."

The Tour has countered that perception with a Fall Series that will be played after the Tour Championship and mainly feature players vying for their Tour cards. But the circuit has been slow to release the Fall portion of next year's lineup, a sign sponsors probably aren't flocking to Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., to pony up a few million dollars to host what could essentially be the first stage of Q-School.

Although the phrase "reduced playing opportunities" has become a conversation killer around Tour headquarters, the reality is that the majority of PAC and Policy Board members ascended to the Tour via Q-School or the Nationwide Tour, and some of these players wonder what impact the schedule changes will have on the access for futures graduates.

"My biggest concern during this whole process is playing opportunities for these guys," said a PAC member. "We want the best field we can every week, but it's going to get to the point that there are only 12 Nationwide (graduates) who get to play regularly during the summer."
 

Huggan On Harrington

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John Huggan devotes his Scotland on Sunday column to Padraig Harrington.

In an era when the explosion in club and ball technology has all but eliminated any need for shot-shaping, imagination and flair from those at the sharp end of the game, "one-dimensional" is an easy label to hang on many leading professional golfers. While hitting the same straight shot time after time may make them feel consistent, the reality is that such tedium is but one reason that so many American viewers are reaching for their flickers whenever the PGA Tour appears on TV screens.

Still, let's not condemn them all. Not Padraig Harrington, anyway. Not if his performance during last Wednesday's BMW Championship pro-am is an accurate indication of his versatility.

 

Good Enough For The President, Not The President's Cup

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You may recall that even after two top 10s in the '05 Open and PGA, Gary Player chose Trevor Immelman over Geoff Ogilvy.

Maybe George W. Bush noticed and decided to make it up to Ogilvy?

Because Peter Stone shares Geoff Ogilvy's stories from a surprise invite to attend a White House state dinner, where Ogilvy found himself seated with Bush, Condoleeza Rice, Rupert Murdoch and the president of New Zealand Australia.

Don't pass this one up, it's a must read. I'm copying most below in case the link disappears (after all, this is my personal archive!):

"I still don't know why I was invited," [Ogilvy] said. "The White House contacted my manager less than a week before the dinner; they didn't know how else to contact me. I thought, 'That's a bit strange,' because it was the White House. They know everything.

"There were no details, an official invitation arrived in the post shortly afterwards, but it was a pretty easy decision to make. Of course we'd go."

The Ogilvys arrived spot on time. They were among the first to arrive, and after going through security were ushered into an anteroom for cocktails.

There they watched the other guests arrive - "Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, Murdoch … Juli and I looked at each other and said, 'Wow, why are we here?' We knew [from newspapers and television] just about everyone who entered. 'Wow, we know why they're here."'

Ogilvy thought it would be a dinner for 800 or more people, but there were just over 120. He and Juli were given a small package which included their table number. Damn. Ogilvy was on No.11 (of 12 tables), his wife on No.7. They knew no one else and it would have been far more comfortable to be seated together.

"I thought, before we went to the dining room, maybe we'd be in a queue to shake Johnny and Bush's hand," Ogilvy said. "We were, but the President caught Juli's accent. 'Are you from Texas?' In 30 seconds they'd established that she had a friend who had babysat the Bush children.

"I said to Jules before we were ushered into the dining room, 'I'll see you later'. Then I found my table. 'Table 11. Where the hell is it? Right up the front. Not bad. Wonder who's on the table?' I looked at the place names. Condoleezza Rice. Wow. Rupert Murdoch. The President. John Howard and Mrs Howard, Julie Eisenhower. What the hell am I doing here?"

The band began to play, believe it or not, the same song they play on the movies whenever the actor who is president enters a room. Hail to the Chief. Juli had her back to where her husband was but turned to watch where the most powerful man in the world sat, two seats away from her husband.

"Juli freaked out when she looked around," Ogilvy said. "The look on her face was priceless. Mine probably was too. I just couldn't comprehend why he wanted me to sit at his table.

"He's the man. He could have had anyone in the world sitting just two chairs away from him, it was amazing."

Ogilvy and Bush talked. Bush talked to the Australian golfer, who was the only sportsperson in the entire room, more than to anyone else on the table.

There was never a word about politics. The only mention of Iraq was when Bush told Ogilvy he'd stopped playing golf when the Iraq war began.

This was a valuable lesson learned from the days of his predecessor, Bill Clinton, who was found on a golf course during a national crisis.

"All he wanted to do was talk sport," Ogilvy said of Bush. "No politics. Maybe that was the reason I was there. I'm an Australian and we love our sport.

"His dad is a fanatical golfer, his grandfather was a former president of the USGA, he loves his golf. These days he rides a bike. He used to run, but his knees blew out, so now he's passionate about his bike."

Ogilvy minded his manners while talking with Bush. Not for him the "atrocities" of fellow Australian golfer Mark Hensby, who is somewhat a loose cannon, who last year attended a White House reception for the Presidents Cup team and managed to have a shot at Bush over taxes and later managed to set fire to the dinner menu at the table with a candle.

"When you're sitting at a table with people like that you definitely remember what you were taught when you were young," Ogilvy said. "You only speak when you are spoken to. It's amazing how quickly your social etiquette comes back."

Ogilvy, reunited with his wife as they departed, said to each other that none of their friends would believe it. She'd been on a table with Murdoch's wife Wendi and the man who was the mayor of New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina struck; he's now in charge of rebuilding the famous city where Bourbon Street holds legendary status.

"Maybe I'll meet another president, or prime minister, but to be actually sitting with them at the same table in the White House - no one would believe that. I still don't," Ogilvy said.

 

Week in Review, May 21-27: Players Say The Funniest Things

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WeekInReview2.jpgWhat should have been a quiet week in May produced several interesting comments from noted Tour players, and plenty of great stuff as usual from you readers. Thanks as always for the laughs and insights. Some highlights:

On the news that Donald Trump had cleared a vital hurdle with his Scottish course by preventing windmills from being raised within view, Scott noted, "If the location of the golf course is also a good place for windmills, then the golf played there is going to very difficult. There are not very many successful golf courses built where the wind always blows. (why would you build a windmill farm in a place without constant winds?) But what does Donald Trump golf designs know about site location and prevailing winds?"

Everything, Scott!

Regarding Ben Crane's inability to speed up, earning him yet another lecture (but no penalty) from the Tour, OldSchool writes, "The neglect by PVB to deter this professional conduct unbecoming of a professional at Q-School and even on the Nationwide Tour has added to this topic. Rory made a bad decision last year on how to deal with this, to date it's the only real decision that has been made. Where Rory drew a ton of outrage over that incident, he also helped bring the awareness level way up. What's happened to Ben Crane thus far, nothing?"

Speaking of the Tour, their rumored FedEx Cup points system continues to be met with plenty of questions. Reader J.P.:  "Skewing points for Majors and WGC's, (and THE PLAYERS) is ridiculous. The PGA Tour has been running all sorts of "incentivizing" plans since 1998. These plans have all worked as designed, putting more money into top players pockets, while allowing these players to continue to play only 18 to 20 tournaments a year."

Meanwhile J.T. loves the new logo unveiled: "I thought your art department must have spent a few minutes coming up with that logo, but then I realized that it was the real thing. Brilliant design, how do these people come up with such creative ideas!!!"

On the thrilling news that the PGA will be returning to Oak Hill in 2013, Stan DeBarons reports enthusiastically: "I just got off the phone with my travel agent. I've secured for August 2013, a hotel room for the week as well as tickets for the Rochester Dinner Theater's production of Fiddler On The Roof for friday night."

Photos were posted of the new look Ohio State course, dubbed a "Nick-enzie" by Jack Nicklaus and host to this week's NCAA Women's Championship won by Duke. Reader AP Maran writes, "As MacKenzie said regarding bunkers 'It is often possible to make a hole sufficiently interesting with one or two bunkers the most,' and here we see a lot of bunkers added, many of them with Nicklaus favorite type with the tongue of grass in the middle, none resembles a MacKenzie bunker. the two in 12th and 13th are hideous monsters, freak show."

RM wrote, "1. The visual experience of this course is now dominated by the bunkering. The bunkers don't seem to flow with the rest of the course. 2. I believe the brown dirt bunkers gave the course a more natural feel. I love Augusta, but the glaring white sand is not always a good look. 3. If I were a student, I'd rather play the old course for $18 than the new course for $30. I'm sure there is some local muni that will see a rise in student play."

Now, for those player remarks.  On Davis Love's assertion that there have been minor advances in equipment, Steven T. writes, "Minor advances in equipment? Will Titleist cut him off of his 5M/year deal now?"  OldSchool wrote, "With all the minor advances in equipment, why all the major renovations in golf courses?: And DK: "Minor? Hell by his own words Mickelson has gained about 80yds since 1997."

Jim Furyk and Colin Montgomerie called for the golf ball to be rolled back this week, prompting Sean Murphy to say, "Interesting to finally see more of the games elite players speaking out about the state of the game (the distance SNAFU), especially since the PGA Tour is dependent on TV ratings, and where John Hawkins has informed everyone on how low and miserable those ratings go. People are tired of watching "Long Drive Contest Scrambles". It's not golf and has little appeal when compared to how golf use to be played at the professional level."

The rough harvest at uh, "The Foot," as dubbed so dreadfully by Tim Rosaforte, is going well if you like lots of rye grass, but not so well in the view of Walter Driver, who whipped out his Blackberry to message staffer Mike Davis.

NRH: "The head of the USGA using a Blackberry on the course? God help us." And Pete the Luddite: "Let's hope that they do something about what can only be a debacle in the making and set the rough up better than described. I don't think they will, though. Players and fans may complain, but as long as the tv ratings and ticket sales are up, why change, right?"

R. Thompson wrote, "I'm situating myself for another Major let down at Winged Foot. Tapered rough, and wind mills on the greens, who are these clowns in the blue blazers? They are the Ivy League, badminton, intermural, all star team. It's obvious these fellows couldn't beat there way out of a wet paper bag."

Ian Woosnam's assertion that shorter players have little future touched off several comments. Steve White wrote: "Did he watch last week's playoff at Colonial? Richard S. Johnson is 5-7 and still managed to hit the drive on the second hole of the playoff just shy of 300. I also don't see Tim Herron, who hit his drive on the same hole 350 yards, as a fitness obsessed player, yet he managed to get to the winner's circle. These kind of generalizations in Woosnam's answers are meaningless, at best.

Reader Dean didn't agree: "You're right Steve, every leader board is chock full of overweight gluttons pounding 350 yard drives and yet some 5'7, working his ass off overtime, manages to walk a tight rope some given week to prove that distance is not an issue. Wether its Clark at Augusta or Johnson at Colonial, where are the rest of the 5,7 players filling up the leader board. Give us one leader board this year with 4 players under 5'9."

Finally, Brad Faxon touched off a firestorm with his remarks about the ball getting too much blame and athleticism being the source of future distance advances.

Glyn: "who said he never works out?...was that J.B. Holmes.? Must be natural athleticism. So if it's athleticism, it shouldn't matter what ball a pro uses right?"

Chuck: "...somebody needs to seriously get in Faxon's face about accusing Nickluas of holding to his position on golf ball developments because, 'If Jack Nicklaus had a successful ball, he would never say another word. But he's never sold a ball that's made a dime.' That says it all to me. Maybe Faxon is actually right. That players' opinions on balls are shaped -- determined, really -- by the company that they have their ball endorsement deals with. If so, I rest my case. Faxon, we know who you're working for. Please don't ever apologize for your statement, or retract it in any way. It is too valuable as ammunition in the ball-regulation battle. A question for the class -- Can anyone name one Titleist staff player who has openly talked about his or her views that the golf ball should be better regulated?"

And Barry: "See the movement of my pocketwatch, back and forth, back and forth....you are feeling very relaxed now...repeat after me..."distance is not changing the game"..."the ball is not a problem"..."this is not about the money..."

Paying Excessive Rent

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Sam Weinman reports that the PGA Tour and Westchester Country Club have come to an agreement where the venerable course will host the new FedEx "playoff" event four of the next six years.

And here's why the Tour execs get the big bucks...

For the club, there appears to be much to like about the deal. In it, the tour would pay the club $800,000 in years that it hosts the Classic, and $400,000 in years that the tournament is played elsewhere.

Since the two parties haven't determined whether the event will be held at Westchester three or four years, the total value of the six-year contract would be either $3.6 million or $4 million. That's compared to the current contract that was supposed to extend through 2010, in which the club would receive $500,000 a year over the next four years.

Wow, $800,000 for not hosting two events. When did Westchester CC become a charity? 

"The new identity leverages the equity of both the FedEx and PGA TOUR logos."

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img9457141.jpgFrom PGATour.com, on the big news that a logo has been developed for the FedEx Cup:

"The FedEx Cup, represented by this new tri-color logo, will become synonymous with a new measurement of achievement on the PGA TOUR," said Ric Clarson, senior vice president, brand marketing for the PGA TOUR. "Fans will associate this logo with a dynamic season-long competition to determine the FedEx Cup champion."
You hope.
 "We are excited to launch the next phase of our sponsorship of the PGA TOUR by introducing the new logo for the FedEx Cup," said Laurie Tucker, senior vice president of marketing at FedEx. "This will further help us to establish FedEx as the premier sponsor of the PGA TOUR and highlight our consistent values of reliability, excellence and leadership."

Oh and here's the money quote...

"The new identity leverages the equity of both the FedEx and PGA TOUR logos. These brands are best of class. Combined, the new logo communicates that FedEx Cup is a pinnacle event in golf," said Tucker.

The new identity leverages the equity of both the FedEx and PGA TOUR logos.

And we wonder why people hate America?

The New John Daly...Gulp

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Geoff Calkins in the Memphis Commercial Appeal writes about John Daly's new book and his recent book signing.

"My Life In & Out of the Rough," is the title of Daly's book, and who ever figured the guy for an author?

"Shakespeare sucked," Daly wrote, and it's about time somebody said it. Compare these two romantic passages:

A. "For where thou art, there is the world itself, and where thou art not, desolation."

B. "All told, we did it 10 times that day."

Shakespeare wrote A, Daly wrote B.

Who does a better job of getting to the essence?
And...

 

Endorsing wines, though? When Daly has struggled so mightily with alcohol? There's something pathetic about that, like Art Schlichter endorsing a bookie.

The same goes for the book, which outlines Daly's bold new strategy for dealing with alcohol and gambling.

Alcohol: He's going to drink beer instead of Jack Daniel's.

Gambling: He's going to switch to $25 slots.