Ryder Cup Winners & Losers: PGA Championship edition
by TwoNuse on Aug 15, 2010 10:24 PM EDT
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Bubba Watson - After stumbling slightly at Bridgestone, does the damn thing at the PGA. With his length, getting emotional about his wife and father during a press conference, pink shaft (his driver, you perverts) and urge for the spotlight (his successful campaign to appear on the Ellen show, for example), his star could rise the most of the participants.
Dustin Johnson - Also makes it on points. More on him below.
Matt Kuchar - Whew! Was in on points coming into the PGA and came in 10th. And still got in by the skin of his teeth.
Tiger Woods - Is 12th in points. That, and comfortably making the cut gives him a stronger argument for a pick than what it looked like a week ago. I think Corey Pavin is going to use every second of the time between now and September 7. Tiger will need to be in cotnention at some point between now and then.
Losers are after the jump!
Losers
Lucas Glover - Missing the cut, combined with the performance of Watson and Johnson, knocked Glover out of automatic selection. And I don't think he is going to be a captain's pick with one top 20 performance (Players) since May and three all season (including the limited field SBS Championship)
Zach Johnson - He was one stroke from making the team on points. He has a better chance of making the team at a pick than Glover in my opinion, but I'm sure he would like to have taken the choice out of Corey Pavin's hands.
Laying up - With bombers Watson and Johnson on the squad, there won't be many time a American golfer sets himself up for a wedge 3rd shot into a par 5.
American Ryder Cup Veterans - Mickelson and Stricker were also-rans (although Phil dropped a 67 to move up to a tie for 12th). Furyk was in the mix, then went +7 over the last 11 holes. It is a good thing there is a month and a half before the matches.
Dustin Johnson - It is ironic the PGA of America, with their shoddy setup and lack of walking referee with the tournament leader on the 72nd hole when Johnson hit it so far off target it might have been in Michigan(I haven't gotten over this yet), screwed him out of a potential major victory, $1,079,166.67 (the difference between a win and a tie for 5th, and a five year exemption on tour. The only thing they didn't screw Johnson out of is a Ryder Cup spot. And who runs and financially benifits from the Ryder Cup? The PGA of America.
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Pretty good stuff, TN – but can’t agree with you on Dustin Johnson. The course setup was not shoddy – the rule was made very clear. What was shoddy was Johnson’s attention to the rules. Also, the PGA has marshalls walking with the last 5 groups, plus they were on 18 if he wanted an entire troup of officials to come out, They were less than 300 yards away.
The roving marshalls are told not to hover over shots, but to be close enough by for a player to call for a ruling. He was there – Watney was in the fairway with his caddy and the standard bearer – the marshall was up on the hill with Johnson.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
I've calmed down a bit since yesterday
I still believe the PGA blew it allowing the ‘every piece of sand is a bunker’ ruling.
It was the golf version of a speed trap; preying on someone to break the letter of the law, irrelevant of the spirit.
normally, I would agree with you – but when the rule is made plain and simple the way they did, it’s hard to blame the PGA.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
The rule was spelled out by the PGA...
..then they allowed thousands of poeple to walk through said bunker over four days.
Johnson and his caddy should have known and should have asked for a ruling. But the PGA is also at fault for allowing a setup that led to an ambiguous situation. When even the syncophants at CBS were questioning the rule (not including Feherty in that group), that should be a tell tale sign the rule is bad.
The rule states that the sand is considered a bunker even if there are footprints, heel marks, or tire tracks. The problem, and I’m sure you noticed it, is that there isn’t enough room for 50,000 people to move outside of the bunkers, and if you keep the crowds outside the line of the bunkers, you give them the sight line of an upper deck end zone seat with the action at the other end of the field. It just wasn’t made for tournament golf – it was built for the other 3 1/2 weeks of the year when Wisconsin isn’t buried in snow. :-)
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
Two...you and I must drink the same
stuff, as much as I’m agreeing with you….but spot on….Even if they gave a sheet to all the players, telling them to treat all sand as bunkers….Anyone with half a brain could see that was no bunker as usually defined by the rules….hell, even had grass growing out of it and not big enough to spit in…..My opinion also….Johnson just got screwed royally…A bit of a different thread to this…I can’t remember having watched 4 major championships with such great golf….if this is any indication, I can’t wait to see what the Ryder Cup produces…And it should be interesting with sort of an “older vs younger” cast to it…..STUB
I played out of bunkers in Scotland that had grass growing in them. The muni I play has grass growing in a number of bunkers. I’m not sure how a bit of grass makes it not a bunker. Take a look at the video or the pictures again. This was a small bunker, but it wasn’t out of the ordinary for that course.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
Court,
if you look at an aerial view of the hole, there are well defined bunkers as we know them….while watching Feherty who was at that spot, he did everything he could not to say that it sure didn’t appear to be a bunker….he was being politically correct for his job…I bet if you got him aside and asked him….you would get his real reaction….All that aside…I agree, the sheets were handed out to all the players, and it’s their business to know what’s going on….Call for a ruling ?…maybe he should have, but I bet they were getting pushed to complete the round so TV could switch over….All speculation of course, and just my HO…..STUB
that’s an aerial view of the hole without the people. you or I would have no problem seeing them…well…not me…I don’t have thousands of adoring fans follwing me around like you do. :-D
just who would be pushing them to complete the round ? the only person who can do that is a rules official who is putting them on the clock. If you had said 72nd hole jitters, I’d agree with you – but nobody was pushing him to do anything in hurry. TV coverage of a major goes until it’s done.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
I think Anthony Kim is also a loser after the PGA. He has dropped out of the top and also hasn’t played well at all since his return from surgery.
I think Kim is a lock for the team
I don’t think expectations for him were high coming right out of surgery. Amd, unlike Glover, he was having a good year before going under the knife.
I agree with court, if he knows he can’t play, he can beg off before 9/7.
I sure don’t envy Pavin’s job. Two and a half big names aren’t playing well enough to help the team. One brought his own troubles on himself, one is recovering from some tough surgery and the third is Mickelnuts – who knows what you’ll get with him. If Pavin leaves Woods or Kim off he team, I would have no problem with the decision – but sure wouldn’t want to be in his shoes when the media decides to start spinning things…especially one particularly useless Golf Channel “reporter”.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
one ?
There are many on the Cheerleading Squad. Would be funny if Pavin decided not to pick Tiger just to piss off Jim (your going down) Grey.
"pain is only weakness leaving the body"
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