Missing the Cut on Three Tours

by Mulligan Stu on May 2, 2008 7:16 PM EDT

Checking in with three players having bad weeks:

PGA Tour
• David Duval
• Wachovia Championship
• 79-73--152

I don't want to give up on David. But it's probably well past time for just that. This is Duval's eighth event in 2008; he has seven missed cuts and one withdrawal. His lowest score is 71; he has 10 rounds of 75 or higher, seven rounds of 74 or lower.

But the good news for Duval and anyone who holds out hope for him - as I want to - is that he has another year of fully exempt status. He can use a one-time exemption for being in the Top 50 on the career money list to keep playing in 2009.

European Tour
• John Daly
• Spanish Open
• 75-70--145

Hey, 75-70 counts as a great week for Daly these days! I wonder if the Spanish Open sponsors feel they got their money's worth for what was probably a nice appearance fee. At least he didn't blow up or walk off.

John can give it another European try at the Italian Open next week.

LPGA Tour
• Morgan Pressel
• SemGroup Championship
• 80-76--156

Morgan's not playing very well at the moment. She does have an 8th and a 15th in 2008, but in her six other tournaments her best finish is 25th, and there are three missed cuts - now two in a row - in that mix, too.

The problem isn't hard to discern with a quick look at her stats. She's very short off the tee, and her putting stinks. Not a good combination. Pressel's driving average entering the SemGroup was 239 yards, 142nd on tour. And her putting average of 30.11 was 110th (1.84 putts per GIR was 84th).

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on Morgan

I'm not sure her driving is to blame--she's always been a short hitter, but she used to be better on her approach shots. She's hitting greens at a lower rate than usual for her--down to 67%. As of last week, she was still making birdies at a good clip--3.40 per round--but I suspect those par saves aren't dropping as often, given her high ppr rate. I'm wondering if the real story with her is that the quest for more distance has messed up the strength of her game--her iron play--and taken practice time away from her short game?

by The Constructivist on May 2, 2008 9:28 PM EDT reply actions

International Daly

yeah yeah yeah - Morgan Pressel - she's gonna be great...

...but who knew they had Hooters in Spain ?? :-)

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on May 2, 2008 9:47 PM EDT reply actions

Morgan's woes

As to Pressel, according to the Palm Beach Post's Craig Dolch-

"Pressel raised some eyebrows earlier this week when she admitted she didn't work as hard on her game in the offseason as she took advantage of the perks thrown at a young, respected major champion."

Here's the link to Craig's golf post-

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/palmbeach/golfblog/entries/2008/04/25/presse l_going_through_a_transi.html

Morgan's grandfather was surprised to hear this. Sounds like she goofed off over the winter, and her game is hurting because of it. Then lets put things in perspective, in spite of all the hype Morgan has one tour victory, and what one 2nd place finish? Her win saw several players collapse or blow it on Sunday.(Pak, Pettersen, Matthew, Prammanasudh) Sunday. There is alot of talk about how great Morgan is, but her results haven't matched the hype.

Bill

by WilliamJE on May 5, 2008 10:06 AM EDT reply actions

you don't hear THAT very often...

PC people might shed a tear and give her a pass because she was "being honest". I know I'm not used to hearing a professional athlete actually admit the truth.

But did SHE say "respected" major winner ? Just a little bit of fantasy world living there.

Do you give her a pass, say she was blowing off a little steam, and call last off season a fluke ? She's been in the spotlight since she was 12 years old making appearances on xxx Golf Channel shows. She has behaved as a classy young woman her whole life.

I think that with her grandfather, who understands golf, and Uncle Aaron (Krikstein) who was one of the hardest workers ever on the tennis tour, she'll be back to working hard on her game before long. That's not a family that sits on its laurels for very long.

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on May 6, 2008 9:03 AM EDT up reply actions