| Singh finding life on the Tour more challenging than normal | Tuesday 8/19, 6:19 PM CT |
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Coming off a disappointing missed cut at the Wyndham Championship, suffering the missed cut as one of a small group of the game's elite in the field, Vijay Singh has surpassed a career mark that he's not too happy to "celebrate," according to the PGA. Singh has missed five cuts this year, a career high.
Our View: He also missed consecutive cuts for fifth time in his career. Ironically, three of those five times he missed the cut in the PGA Championship followed by the next event. Singh, winner of the Bridgestone Invitational, has never missed three cuts in a row. |
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| Weir using new blade to finish strong | Tuesday 8/19, 6:16 PM CT |
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Reports indicate Canadian golf star Mike Weir has found a new level of success on the greens thanks to a change in equipment, according to the PGA. Weir had a new putter built for him by Scotty Cameron the day prior to the PGA Championship, but he waited until Saturday to put it in play. The result: Weir needed 62 putts the first two days and 57 the remainder of the tournament, including 27 in Round 3.
Our View: This could be valuable news for fantasy owners looking for a sleeper at The Barclays, an event where putting with reign supreme. If Weir keeps it hot, he could compete. |
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| Stricker knows how to defend on foreign course | Tuesday 8/19, 6:14 PM CT |
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Steve Stricker returns to The Barclays this season as the defending champion, having taken the first of the four-tourney playoff series (eventually finishing 2nd overall to Tiger Woods) last season. This will be the second time Stricker has defended a title that was played on a new course the following season, according to the PGA. Stricker won the World Golf Championship-Accenture Match Play Championship in '01 in Australia, and defended at La Costa Resort & Spa. Of his defense at Ridgewood, Stricker said, ""It'll be a little different coming to a place I've never seen before. It'll be kind of weird that it's not the course [where] I won."
Our View: The Strick has been through some ups and downs this season. He started as hot as could be but lost his way halfway through the year, but in recent weeks, he has shown a move for the better, finishing T18 at the AT&T National followed by T7 at the Open Championship. He started well at both the WGC Bridgestone and the PGA Championship but fell off on the weekend. If he can keep his putter right, he'll be in the mix this week. |
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| Mickelson one of few with Ridgewood experience | Tuesday 8/19, 6:07 PM CT |
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While this week's stop at Ridgewood Country Club for The Barclays, the first of a four-tourney playoff for the FedEx Cup, is enjoying it's first official visit from the PGA, it is not the first time a PGA professional has hit the links, according to PGA.com. Phil Mickelson, No. 2 among active players on the FedExCup points list behind Kenny Perry, played the course in May. Said Mickelson, who has a sponsorship deal with Barclays, "I think it's a wonderful golf course. It's a Tillinghast design, which I'm biased to, and it has a lot of same look and feel as a Baltusrol and Winged Foot. I think the players are going to love it. It's one of the premier courses in the land."
Our View: Mickelson may be viewed as a disappointment for missing a grand opportunity to grab at least one more major win this season, he has been in competition at most of the tourneys offering top fields this season. Such is the case at The Barclays this week, and we expect Mickelson could shine once again. |
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| Rose will hit KLM, skipping The Barclays | Monday 8/18, 10:55 PM CT |
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In a surprising announcement, Justin Rose has decided to skip this week's PGA stop at The Barclays, instead opting to compete at the KLM Open on the European Tour, according to GolfDigest.com.
Our View: Just a few days ago Rose reported to Euro newspapers that he was troubled in making the decision and was unsure what he would do. He also reports his plans for the following week remain up in the air as well. His current FedEx Cup ranking (78th) should give him a free pass to stage two of the playoff, thus he could return and jump in at the Deutsche Bank Championship. However, Rose told Golf Digest that his play at the KLM may give him motivation to stay in Europe and compete at the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles. Golf Digest notes this is the first PGA season in which the FedEx Cup playoffs are running while the Euro squad is still in competition for spots on the Ryder Cup team, and as such there is every reason to believe the European players are all going to debate this same choice in coming years. |
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| Bohn skipping The Barclays | Monday 8/18, 10:48 PM CT |
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The PGA put the official field for this week's tourney at The Barclays to the public today, the first of four tourneys serving as the FedEx Cup playoffs, and we noted Jason Bohn was not listed as a confirmed member.
Our View: Bohn hasn't made a PGA start in eight weeks, nursing an ailing back following surgery. He had reportedly targeted last week's Wyndham Championship as his point of return, but he skipped the event. While he's missed a ton of time, Bohn still ranks 96th on the latest FedEx Cup standings and thus was eligible to take part. That may prove good enough to get him into the second tourney of the playoff, next week's Deutsche Bank Championship, but we'll see if he is able to return. |
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| Estes skips Barclays, 2009 PGA card in question | Monday 8/18, 10:43 PM CT |
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With today's release of the official field for this week's PGA tourney, The Barclays, does not include Bob Estes, despite qualifying for the first of four tourneys serving as the FedEx Cup playoffs.
Our View: Estes ranks 124th in the most recent FedEx Cup standings, thus his decision to skip this week is all but certain to insure he will not be qualified to advance. More importantly, Estes has not earned enough dough to secure his 2009 PGA card, still almost $250k short of the number needed. |
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| Cejka passing on The Barclays | Monday 8/18, 10:39 PM CT |
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The field for this week's PGA stop at The Barclays, the first of four playoff tourneys for this year's FedEx Cup, was announced today and we noted Alex Cejka was not listed as a member for the field.
Our View: Cejka is ranked 91st in the most recent tabulation of the FedEx Cup point standings, well within the 144-player field, but he may still be nursing injury. He withdrew from the PGA Championship, citing an undisclosed arm injury, thus it may be that the ailment has not yet subsided. |
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| Pettersson wins the Wyndham Championship | Sunday 8/17, 9:19 PM CT |
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Both Scott McCarron and Rich Beem came knocking, but Carl Pettersson found another strong round in the bag and emerged the victor at this week's Wyndham Championship. Pettersson won his local tournament for his first PGA TOUR victory in two years, shooting a 2-under 68 on Sunday for a two-stroke victory at Sedgefield Country Club.
Our View: There was only one time when Pettersson failed to hold the top spot during the final two rounds of play, and that lasted all of one hole. Scott McCarron's bogey on the 17th all but locked up Pettersson's first victory since the 2006 Memorial Tournament. |
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| McCarron fights but comes in 2nd | Sunday 8/17, 9:15 PM CT |
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The push came late but Scott McCarron came just a bit short of a win, filing a final-round score of 68 to finish 2nd at this week's Wyndham Championship.
Our View: McCarron held the lead for a moment in time today, but Carl Pettersson, as he has all week long, emerged on the back nine and pushed McCarron out of the spotlight, thus denied his fourth career victory and first since 2001. |
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