Stallings Wins And Immediately Blogs About It

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Several players have blogs written by some poor sap, but Scott Stallings sure sounds like he writes his posts and even after all of the post-victory obligations that come with winning an event like the Greenbrier Classic, he still found time to put up

Now, this is a cause for concern, but there is an explanation:

When I played Transitions this year, I wrote about how my third place finish changed everything. But this is totally different. Winning Greenbrier means I also won 500 FedEx Cup points, boosting my ranking from 88th to 26th. I’m more excited about that than the money. (But obviously the money is a huge bonus — I earned $1.08 million for finishing first.)

Besides the obvious hit on greater Ponte Vedra area drug store sales of ED refills in an already beleaguered economy, there is an explanation for this blatant FedEx Cup pandering.

Helen Ross explains:

Stallings, who started the final round one stroke off the lead, jumped 62 spots to 26th in the season-long race for the $10 million bonus. That increased security is particularly important to the native New Englander who dearly wanted to make field for the Deutsche Bank Championship, the second event in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup, which is played in Foxborough, Mass.

"One of the biggest goals we had was to get to Boston," Stallings said. "I was born just outside of the city (in Worcester), and I'm huge, huge, diehard Red Sox fan. To have them have the pairings party at Fenway (Park) ... I told them just to have an opportunity to go in the gates at Fenway any time I can, I would be signed up for as many as I could."

Here is Stallings' winning putt:



And his post round press conference...

2011 Greenbrier, U.S. Senior Open, Women's Open And Haskell Open Comment Thread

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"Inverness is not doing itself any favors. The club is trying to land the real U.S. Open, but the scores this week are a slap in the face to such a bid."

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Jim Achenbach isn't too wild about the low scoring at the Jamie Farr Toledo Classic U.S. Senior Open, but considering last week's weather, the rain and the extra time the old geezers have been spending in the gym, the vulnerability of Inverness was inevitable.

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"The U.S. Open was just a factory to take your money."

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Aaron McFarling in the Roanoke Times walks around the property Friday and lists all of the ways the Greenbrier Classic excels. While I giggle at the references to the Old White Guys TPC playing "too easy" last year (wasn't it also one of the most exciting events of the year?), this little note about the fan experience caught my eye:
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"You'll be laying in bed and you think about that 2 1/2 footer you missed and [how] it could have changed your life. I wake up in a cold sweat sometimes."

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After 36 holes Zach Johnson bagman Damon Green remains 4-under in the U.S. Senior Open and on the edge of the top 10, setting up a possible weekend run after a similar hot start in the Senior Open Championship at Walton Heath. 
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Golf Magazine World And U.S. Additions

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Golf Magazine's biennial World and U.S. course ranking should be unveiled any day now, but in the meantime golf.com posts a teaser slideshow of the courses added to the U.S. and World list. Great to see Kyle Phillips and team's redo work along with superintendent Thomas Bastis's exquisite attention-to-detail at Cal Club recognized by the panel.

The newcomers:

1. Old Macdonald at Bandon Dunes (#43 US/#74 World)
2. Gozzer Ranch (#70 US)
3. The Alotian (#76 US)
4. Caves Valley (#82 US)
5. California Golf Club of San Francisco (#97 US)
6. Castle Stuart (#56 World)
7. Diamante (Dunes) (#58 World)
8. Barnbougle Dunes - Lost Farm (#82 World)

DVR Alert, I Guess: CBS Presents "Next On The Tee: The Future Of Golf"

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Well at least there's Gentle Ben to listen to...

CBS SPORTS SPECTACULAR PRESENTS “NEXT ON THE TEE: THE FUTURE OF GOLF”

CBS SPORTS SPECTACULAR gives an inside look at the present and future of golf with the one-hour special, NEXT ON THE TEE: THE FUTURE OF GOLF presented by AT&T on Saturday, July 30 (2:00-3:00 PM, ET).  Featured in the special is eight-time major winner, Tom Watson, assessing his career and where he sees the game going. Also featured is two-time All America golfer from Georgia, Russell Henley, as he looks to his future as a professional. Turner Sports’ Craig Sager examines the technology of the game from the hickory shafted clubs to the models of today.  Two-time Masters champion Ben Crenshaw will examine the state of where course design is going in the coming years.  And a CBS Sports panel of golf experts including Ian Baker-Finch, Peter Kostis and Peter Oosterhuis hold a discussion on the state of today’s game today, where it is going, the young players ready to win in the future and golf technology.  CBS Sports’ Deb Boulac serves as coordinating producer.