Let's Discuss The Players' Memes All in a Single Post
by Ryan Ballengee on May 5, 2010 12:44 PM EDT
in Pro Golf
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PrintThe beauty about a tournament like The Players Championship is that so many of the storylines around the tournament remain consistent from one year to the next. That is primarily thanks to the host course for the tournament remaining the same for most of the tournament's history. TPC Sawgrass is a storyline unto itself, which creates some memes about the tournament that get repeated ad nauseum.
Is the Players a major? The fifth major? The ninth one, if you're Lee Westwood?
TPC Sawgrass is a course that defines "target golf," but also does a beautiful job of confusing advanced players into overthinking shotmaking. How great is that island green on the 17th ? (Not so great if you subscribe to Old Man Par's article, which raises some good points.) It's a gimmick hole. And there is no way that 120,000 balls go in the water there each year.
(BETTER THAN MOST!!!)
No one has ever repeated as Players champion, and it probably won't happen this week. It is awfully difficult to predict a winner. The way to win the Players, though, is by besting the field on the front nine - the oft-overlooked portion of the course. Henrik Stenson bested the field by an average of two strokes on the front nine last year. He was even against the field on the back nine.
Tiger Woods struggles at the Players Championship - having only won once. Too bad for him because this tournament may creep over the $10 million purse barrier this week.
Fashion was a bit of a story last year, as fans could pick Sergio Garcia's outfit for Saturday. Rickie Fowler is guaranteed to look like a safety cone on Sunday.
A lot of people watch The Players, particularly now in May. Last year saw the highest ratings in five years for the event.
But the TPC Sawgrass Marriott is still in Chapter 11. Oh, and Tiger issued an apology here.
That about sums up the storylines that are going to be recycled at length this week. Happy to save you the time.
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I think
The video of Freddy Couples knocking one in on the fly for a par on the 17th would have been a better choice as a fill in video, rather than the one above that we have all seen 1,000 times ad nauseum. jmho
"pain is only weakness leaving the body"
That was kinda the point of the post – share all the crap that gets rammed down your throat each year into a single post. I agree that Freddie’s three at 17 would be better, or “be the right club, today!”
Find me! Email: ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com, Twitter: http://twitter.com/waggleroom, or Facebook: http://facebook.com/waggleroom.
by Ryan Ballengee on May 5, 2010 1:28 PM EDT up reply actions
Give me some of that "Be the Right Club Today"......
Sutton was a member at my course that last couple of years, but I haven’t seen him lately…..he just went through his 400th divorce and I’ve heard he moved out of the neighborhood. I was just thinking…….maybe he should be a Ryder Cup Captain…..hmmmmmm…..he could pair Phil and Tiger and say “Be the Right Team Today”…….nah…nobody in their right mind would pair those two together……lol
The Saints ARE the SUPER BOWL CHAMPS....WHO DAT!
LOL, “Be the right team, today”
Find me! Email: ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com, Twitter: http://twitter.com/waggleroom, or Facebook: http://facebook.com/waggleroom.
by Ryan Ballengee on May 5, 2010 2:43 PM EDT up reply actions
Hey EM...does he still have his
horse ranch? I understand he went through wives like we do sox….some guys ;never learn….I don’t remember who said it, or exactly when, could have been Jumpin or maybe Easy, that women were like busses….if ya missed one, heck, jist wait a minute and another one will come along….STUB
Stub......don't know about the ranch............he was know as "Halimony" years ago......
I’m not sure what they call him now. He was married to his last wife several years, so maybe he’s learning.
The Saints ARE the SUPER BOWL CHAMPS....WHO DAT!
Wasn me either
Sounds like a Stubbo comment after a few Martoonies
"pain is only weakness leaving the body"
Geeze, if it wasn't Easy or Jumpin,
who the heck did say it?….I’m tellin ya right here and now, if I don’t remember, I won’t be able to sleep tonight…..and that makes me crazy……a little bit anyway….STUBO
Ryan...I think we need to explore the idea
of “the fifth Major” a bit more….Sawgrass would make the ideal venue, plus always guaranteed a stellar field….Oh, and maybe do it in Prime Time TV?…I think this has some merit and should be more in depth blogging by you….STUB
I like it – let’s do it.
Find me! Email: ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com, Twitter: http://twitter.com/waggleroom, or Facebook: http://facebook.com/waggleroom.
by Ryan Ballengee on May 5, 2010 2:42 PM EDT up reply actions
OK, I'm gonna start this thing out on the plus side
We have everything in place…A great course, a field that really had to go through some forms of qualifications to play, and usually, ideal weather….If we inject the element of Prime Time TV, and maybe just up the purse a tad, we have it all….I think you would see more players trying to get into the event also…If it were to be given the mantel of “the 5th Major” I think sponsors would be lining up….I know it’s a bit lopsided, 4 here in the US and only one in the UK….Now lets ask ourselves, if it should continue to be at Sawgrass or on a rota of some sort…Say US, than UK and maybe the Arab nations….Work in maybe 5-6 different courses….That way, the World Stage gets to see the top players competing against each other…..STUB
5 majors is a no no.
The fact that Tiger is chasing Jack’s record of 18 majors makes this topic a non issue. If Tiger would have had 5 to go at every year, the major list would be diluted. Lopsided ? Stub it is already, but the 4 majors are entrenched in history now. If anything were to change, the PGA would be the one. Have it as another Sawgrass and put the 4th least important major somewhere abroad, say South Africa or Australia..now that has more sense to it than the silly talk of a 5th major.
OK Easy...point well taken
Now, what would you consider as the least important major?…Why South Africa or Australia….why not on the continent or UK, or Asian or Arab courses? What would the players have to do to qualify for this event….How many from each tour, or just world rankings? You have to give us more detail than you have…I understand history in the order of things, but things are changing and evolving constantly in life itself, so why not .in golf….There always seems to be tweaking of some sort going on…STUB
Majors I wouldn't change.
As I have said before, they are too deep in history to change for the better. What I would like to see, however, is the World events around the globe, not just in North America and the odd one here. A world tour could have one of these at different parts of the globe..Europe, Asia, America and somewhere in Australia or South Africa. I know it would be difficult to dance around the Majors…but as these all happen from April to September so the rest of the year could have the world events. March to September could be America-Europe’s season and October to February could be the rest. This would make golf a truly global game, with the best players having to adapt to global conditions, courses etc. The World rankings would make more sense, and home countries would no longer complain the season is too long at home. The rest of the season at home could be filled in with Nationwide, euro tours etc for players outside the top world 150 to hone their games.And the President Cup and Ryder Cup become a round robin event where the losing team sits out the next one. I know this wouldn’t go down well in the USA, but this happens in Britain now…the European tour is on British soil much less than it was 10 years ago, having gone “global”. To me this is the way golf is going.
Easy...I knew we'd get back to a world tour,
and I agree totally….I also like your idea of a round robin on the President and Ryder cup formats…How about going a step further, and doing away with the fiasco of the 150 exempt?…Seems to me that what the start of the diluting of competition….So your advocating that the Tour in essence, follow the weather…makes sense….STUB
I agree to a point, except a World tour
needs world sponsors. A lot of that requires the top 100 to be there at least until Friday I would think. It’s hard enough to make some of your fellow Americans travel…if they had to pre-qualify they would die, lol.
Now we're gonna expect all your comments
to make sense, Easing. You up to that?
by TXQ on May 6, 2010 1:55 PM EDT up reply actions
Sorry, I figured a world tour was one of the
jokes.
Seriously, I’d like to see it, as would the airlines.
by TXQ on May 6, 2010 2:45 PM EDT up reply actions
That volcano's just
blowing off steam, so to speak … and groan.
by TXQ on May 6, 2010 3:16 PM EDT up reply actions
A moment I'll always remember was Howard Clark
the Ryder Cup player , doing on course commentary for Sky Sports a few years ago. Before the tournament, he did a sport on how to play the finishing holes. When doing the 17th, he was explaining how the wind affects the shot etc, and hit a 9 iron. It pitched short of the hole and rolled in ! He couldn’t believe it and the camera crew cheered. Years earlier, you may recall his hole in one at the Ryder Cup in ’95. Has anyone else seen that shot ?
Of course I did!
& the congratulations from his American opponent was also good to see.
Mind you I still remember Paul Casey doing that to my lovely Stewart Cinks to take him and I think, JJ Henry out.
Wendy, ya keep calling him
your lovely, and he’s gonna have to start wearing dresses….STUB
Sorry Easing
I did see the one where he was commentating (an absolute hoot) but he also did the same thing at play – will try to remember when/where it was.
the best story about Hal
was relayed by Feinstein (I believe). An old caddied noticed David Toms’ wife when David was new on tour. She was/is very attractive. Anyway, the caddie asked her “ma’am, are you from Louisians?” when she said yes, he replied “how’d ol Hal Sutton miss you?”
Hal Story.......
Last fall I was in the parking lot unloading my clubs when Hal and Freddie(caddy) pulled up behind me. He had just finished and so I asked him how he was playing and he said great. I commented on how good the course was right now, but the rough was vicious and almost unplayable, and I asked how he handled it……he said (in a cocky way) he didn’t notice the rough, never got near it……..well, that was just wonderful…..I wanted to hit him with my 9iron.
The Saints ARE the SUPER BOWL CHAMPS....WHO DAT!
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