Qatar and the Humana Challenge

A fairly modest week in terms of strength in depth of the fields on the European and PGA Tours this week but it still made for some good television. 

In both Qatar and especially California it was a close fought contest virtually all the way through.  In Qatar, South African, Branden Grace edged ahead of a tight field, in which 4 players had held a share of the lead after 54 holes, with an eagle at the 16th.  This was good enough for a one shot victory over  Scotland's Marc Warren.  It was Grace's 5th victory on Tour and this followed respectable weeks in South Africa and Abu Dhabi.  This mini-revival in Grace's form seems to have stemmed from a new putting style which, although looks slightly awkward, appears to get the job done. 

The Humana Challenge boasted a stronger field with Kuchar leading much of the way with defending Champion Patrick Reed and Phil  Mickelson in the fray.  However they could not stop a late challenge from 2011 FedEx Cup winner, Bill Haas, whose 67 was good enough for a one shot lead over 5 players.  This tournament is played over 3 different courses and seems to yield a magnitude of birdies; 5 people reached 21 under par and still came one shot short.  It was almost certainly one of the most hotly contested tournaments I had witnessed in a while; 9 people were either tied for the lead or one back after 6 holes of the final round.   


While both events produced exciting and close finishes, the week felt like a sort of non-entity in the golfing calendar, neither event providing a very strong field ( a sign that the top players don't really care about the events themselves perhaps?).  However this next week should be the opposite.  The PGA Tour travels to Phoenix where we will see the firs glimpse of Tiger's swing under the tutelage of Chris Como. The European Tour continues the Middle East Swing with the Dubai Desert Classic which is always one of the biggest events in the calendar boasting one of the strongest fields of the year including McIlroy. 


On the other hand, while the golf itself was perhaps a little dull this was the first week of the year in which I can report some non-tournament related news, in fact three pieces.  Firstly, Tiger was in danger of starting his season without a full set of dentures as he lost a tooth to a stray camera whilst watching his professional skier girlfriend last week.  I can however follow up on this and confirm he has been sighted in Phoenix with a replacement (amazing what a couple of hundred million dollars in the bank can do!).  Secondly, while Tiger was getting a little (perhaps unwanted) limelight a rarer creature was spotted in the media.  Dustin Johnson has returned to the golfing world! perhaps not in a playing capacity but at the very least to clear his good name and clear up the nasty rumour that his recent lengthy absence was due to an addiction to cocaine.  He denies these allegations now despite the rumour starting almost immediately after his departure some months ago.  And finally Darren Clarke seemed to declare the Ryder Cup Captaincy a two horse race between himself and lovable Spaniard, Miguel Angel Jiminez.  While I don't doubt the claim these two great golfers have to the honour of captaincy I do wonder why Thomas Bjorn has been dropped from the running?  It is widely speculated that Darren will get the nod for 2016 at Hazeltine as he commands greater respect in the States and that Jiminez will don the mantle in France in 2018 but that still leaves the poor Dane without a place.  He is a bit younger than Jiminez but surely he deserves his chance!?

FF                

The HSBC in Abu Dhabi and the Sony Open

I'm going to start with the HSBC in Abu Dhabi because it certainly was the one that provided the most drama and an unexpected winner. 

After 54 holes, Kaymer, a twice major champion, held a 6 shot lead.  At this point it was not all over but his name was starting to get etched on the trophy.  In the chasing pack was the World Number 1 McIlroy as well as fellow Ryder Cup stars Donaldson and Dubuisson.  As I predicted in last weeks post, the leader-board wasn't all big names though.  The unheralded Belgian, Thomas Pieters. was Kaymer's closest challenger and Rookie Frenchman Gary Stal was also near the top. 

After 6 holes of day 4 I turned the TV off, Kaymer's lead had become 10 and I did  not expect a two time Major Champion to capitulate.  I turned it back on the off chance that McIlroy had gone mad with perhaps a 58, which is realistically what he would have needed to put the pressure on Kaymer.  I tuned in to the 16th to see Kaymer 1 shot back!  A double bogey and a triple bogey on the card had turned 23 under into 17 under and after a long curving putt from Stal, his lead was 2. 

Visibly nervous and with an unorthodox swing Stal performed admirably to close out the win with a par at 17 and 18.  McIlroy had had a great week tee to green but had brought his B game on the putting green but still managed an attempted hole out from the bunker which would have given him a play off; it wasn't to be and despite being noticeably below his best he settled for second.   

The HSBC provided all the drama and there were some good signs from lots of the top players.  So based on what I've seen on the European Tour this week, here are a few predictions for the future.  McIlroy will win another 2 majors this year and dominate as world number 1.  Whether he will win the Masters to complete the grand slam is hard to say but don't put it past him.  His performance on the greens was lacklustre this week and he still earned a second place.  The Ryder Cup in 2018, in France, will have at least 2 Frenchmen in it.  Dubuisson has already earned his first cap and there seems to be a growing number of French people on the tour doing well.  Stal's victory speaks for itself but Wattel, Bourdy, Jacquelin, Havret will all compete for a place.  It was good to see Schwartzel put his own capitulation behind him, when he threw away his home Open last week, with a top ten.  I expect him to win 2 more Majors minimum in his career.

So with that I turn my attention towards the Sony Open in Hawaii, which by comparison was a humble affair. Defending Champion Jimmy Walker was searching for his 4th title in a little over a season a half and, perhaps more importantly, put his playoff loss last week behind him.  He did so in style.  Going in to day 4 he held a relatively modest 2 shot lead over Mr Top Ten Matt Kuchar.  Like Kaymer in Abu Dhabi, Walker started well.  Unlike Kaymer, Walker continued to outplay the field and eventually shot 63 for a nine shot victory.  That's how you do it Kaymer!  Walker looks good for a Major soon; steady, sneaky long, and growing in confidence all the time.  As one of the in-form players of the last 2 seasons I expect he could challenge for a Major this season. 


This week the European Tour continues it's Middle East swing with the Qatar Open, boasting another star studded field.  On the PGA Tour, we head to the Humana Challenge which is equally filled to the brim with stars and Major Champions including the first appearance of 2015 for Phil Mickelson and defending champion Patrick Reed.

FF

South African Open and Tournament of Champions

Officially, the PGA Tour started a while back, but for me this is the first event of the season.  So too in Europe there was an event worth watching; the South African Open but one could be forgiven for thinking this was a minor event that only the journeymen would bother with.

In South Africa there were a few big names, mostly South Africans (obviously), but it was good television.  I barely watched the final day but really couldn't see past a Schwartzel victory when he went into Sunday with a 5 shot lead.  However,   The 2011 Masters Champion stumbled to a last round 74 that allowed first-timer Andy Sullivan to claim a maiden victory in a play-off.  This was a co-sanctioned event with the Sunshine Tour and there was very little in the way of big names except for Schwartzel and Els but in my opinion this was a great chance to see the up and comers and perhaps scope out some well-known names to see what sort of form they might bring to the 2015 season.  Matthew Fitzpatrick, perhaps the "next big thing" had a solid week although never really contested the title, but its important for him and others in his position to get some early momentum and confidence.  At the other end of the scale Ernie showed some good form, mixing two good rounds with two poor ones and exhibiting some promising stuff with the flat stick having returned to a short putter.  As I've already mentioned Schwartzel was favourite heading in to the final day but mysteriously crumbled.  It is true that South Africans treat this as their 5th Major but even that added pressure doesn't really give ample excuse for such a poor final day performance from a Major winner.  The jury is still out as to whether he can add to his Major cabinet this season. 


Across the Pond, was a much more exciting golfing spectacle.  The Hyundai Tournament of Champions, although a limited field, does show off some of the PGA Tour's biggest stars.  How could it not when all the field won an event in the 2013/2014 Season?
Patrick Reed eventually took his 4th title in just about 18 months with a playoff victory over Jimmy Walker.  Historically this event is prone to bad weather, being played in Hawaii, which is susceptible to strong winds and storms.  This was not to be the case this year where the average score on the first day was well into the 60's and the playoff being contested at -21.  While the likes of Kuchar and Watson were there, the competition seemed dominated by yet more up and comers and, like the SA Open, was completed by playoff.  In my eyes, the regularity of Play-Offs shows the strength in depth on both Tours and if you, like me, didn't really recognise all the competitors in Hawaii than it's fairly obvious to see that there is a new guard coming through. 

McIlroy was of course eligible for Hawaii but chose to focus on the up-coming Abu Dhabi Tournament this week.  But no Phil, no Tiger, no Furyk, and the inclusion of rookies like Matsuyama, Sang Bae Moon and Brendon Todd show a definite shift in the Tour.

So, with that in mind, I look forward to this week in Abu Dhabi.  Packed to the brim with big names I expect it to be a hotly contested Tournament.  I think McIlroy will contest and perhaps reassert his dominance with an early win but don't expect all the leaders to be household names.

FF      

Drama vs Worthiness; is it that important to have final day drama?

The Season’s End

All Major Tours in the golfing world have now ended with the conclusion of the European Tour in Dubai last weekend and the LPGA Tour finals in Florida.  Worthy winners in Rory McIlroy and Lydia Ko joined Billy Horschel of the PGA Tour as the eventual victors in the season long races despite the fact that it was in fact Stenson who came out on top in Dubai.  With TV Ratings and money becoming, more and more, the driving factors behind tournament organisation, I ask, have any of the Tours found the balance between finding the right winner, whilst maintaining the excitement of the last event?

                A Tiger-less Masters this year saw the worst TV ratings in a decade for the opening major of the year and this was also deemed to be the result of a drama-less back nine.  Personally I felt that there was some drama in Dubai this past weekend; Cabrera-Bello seemed set for victory before two late double-bogeys intervened and a birdie-birdie finish from an “exhausted” Stenson saw him clinch it by two.  Perhaps the most exciting prospect of the whole week was the very real possibility of a play off between McIlroy, Rose, Stenson and Dubuisson, three of the world’s top ten as well as four Ryder Cup team mates.  Sadly Stenson’s imperious finish put an end to that possibility but there was at least a big back nine finish with some drama. 

Stenson’s victory did nothing to stop McIlroy from claiming the race to Dubai however and the argument is that because Rory’s victory was assured so early it detracted from the entertainment of the final event.  McGinley, in the commentary box, stated, that McIlroy had claimed two majors, a WGC event and the European Flagship event at  Wentworth and so a more worthy European Champion you could not hope to find and I'm inclined to agree with our Ryder Cup Captain.  Drama or no drama, a worthy winner was found.

                Arguably then, McIlroy should have laid claim to the FedEx Cup too but it was not to be thanks to two late and impressive victories by Billy Horschel.  However he would have stood no hope had there not been double points available in the last 4 events.  Indeed this format provides drama for the last month of the Tour but I’m not convinced it always serves the fans with the most worthy champion.  Each event provides drama in that you may be watching your favourite player birdie the last just to make it to the following week or that you enjoy watching an ever changing top five, all of whom have a chance at the FedEx should they win the Tour Championship but, as was the case this year, we saw McIlroy have an unexpected poor run of form and lose out to the relatively unheard of Billy Horschel.  Drama maintained and achieved, worthy champion; perhaps not.

                Lastly the LPGA Tour does it slightly differently again and it did provide a bit of drama, or at least it had the potential to.  For the season ending Tour Finals of the LPGA they reset the points and make it so that only the top nine stand a chance of winning with the top three being guaranteed victory with a win in the event.  Lydia Ko came into the event lying third behind Stacey Lewis and Inbee Park.  Ko’s impressive final day performance tee-to-green with 21/21 fairways and 20/21 greens         (including 4 playoff holes) was enough to secure victory in both the event and the points race.  It was not without drama.  Julieta Granada of Paraguay had led most of the week but fell behind coming into the back nine before 3 birdies on the bounce pushed into a three way tie with Ko and Carlota Ciganda of Spain.  Ciganda should perhaps have won it in normal time but for a three putt par at the par 5 17^th.  It was in the playoff that Ko seemed to adopt a fairly dull but none –the –less impressive war of attrition.  Fairway-green- 2 putt times 4 was enough to put away the challengers although her season long campaign had been assured by the relatively poor performances of Lewis and Park.  Drama; some.  A worthy champion; definitely.   

Creating a tense final event is difficult for organisers and I appreciate why they try to adopt ways of maintaining drama throughout the season but I personally would rather see the deserved winner rather than a great final event and so perhaps the formats of doubling points or resetting them needs a little fine tuning?

 

        

 

What we learned from the Masters 2013

Adam Scott claimed his first major title at Augusta last week in what was perhaps the most gripping final day of the Masters for some time.  In a week where many records were broken, mostly by Guan Tianlang who became the youngest player ever to make the cut at 14, Adam Scott broke another in becoming the first Australian to claim a Green Jacket.  It has been long speculated that Adam Scott was the best player never to have claimed a Major; this view was reinforced when he threw the Open away in spectacular fashion last year and I suspect I was not the only one who thought that that might damage him mentally but he bounced back well to win last week.  A lot happened last week, as it always does at Majors, and here are a few things the golfing world can take away from Augusta.

Adam Scott has always been an amazing talent; his iron striking is first class and he is widely regarded as having the best swing on Tour.  Scott has now broken his Major duck and more are surely to follow, I expect Scott to claim at least another 2 before he retires, however that might hinge on something else.

Adam Scott was yet another winner of a Major with an Anchored Putter and has thus brought the debate back into the fold.  If the proposed ban on Anchoring goes through, all methods of belly putter would become illegal except that of Matt Kuchar who holds it against his left arm.  This could have disastrous effects on recent Major Champions such as Keegan Bradley, Webb Simpson and of course, our latest Masters Champion, Adam Scott.

This one pains me a little, but even I have to admit that Tiger seems back to his best.  Though we will never really know, one can speculate that, without the 2 shot penalty on Friday that seriously halted his momentum, he could have claimed his 5^th Green Jacket. 

However, while Tiger is back to somewhere near his best, that doesn’t allow him to have his own set of rules.  The 2 shot penalty was farcical even if the rules about TV evidence have changed and anybody else would have been DQ’d.  It wasn’t what he did that seems so wrong it’s the fact that he said without fear that he  had done it deliberately to give himself an easier shot, if that’s not cheating then what is nowadays?

Guan Tianlang will be a future star and his performance in the Masters was fantastic however it does reopen the debate about whether 14 years old is too young to play with the Pro’s.  His performance no doubt proves that he is capable enough as a player but the pressure and the spotlight can damage someone so young and maybe regulations could be imposed to prevent it going any lower, although having said that, there is a 12 year old due to play in the China Masters and that is definitely too young!

While it would be nice to believe it, an Over 50’s player will probably never win a Major.  At the Open in 2009 Tom Watson came agonisingly close to a Major win at the age of 59 and this week the likes of Couples (who always plays well at Augusta) and Langer shone for a while but the reality is, the youth of today is too good and as we all saw, Couples and Langer fell away at the weekend.  When you see the likes of a 14 year old making the cut at Majors, the average age of a winner is only going in one direction. 

 

FF

 

 

 

        

Masters 2013 Predictions

Masters 2013 predictions

It’s that time of year again when any golfing fan has their eyes glued to the TV screen watching the lush green fairways and undulating greens of Augusta National.  Yes! It’s time for the Masters once again.  Personally this is my favourite Major, I can’t tell you why because to be honest I don’t really know; as a Brit it should probably be the Open but there is something about the Masters that makes it extra special for me.  Here are my six predictions, in no particular order, of who I think has shown promise in the weeks leading up to this and who might have an addition to their wardrobe come Sunday.

Woods.  Much as I hate to say it, based on current form it would be perfectly understandable if all I wrote about was Tiger but golf isn’t like that.  While his form and history at Augusta should all point to him, golf has a way of throwing a curve ball sometimes, especially at the year’s first Major.  He is outright bookies favourite at 15/2 but we have yet to see him in his recent form at a Major and I’m still a little dubious that his nerves will hold out.

Schwartzel.  A previous winner of the elusive green jacket, and expected to add more majors to his tally.  Very calm attitude and solid all round game.  He found some form at the end of last year, and when he gets going on the greens he is virtually unstoppable as we saw in 2011 with his 4 birdie finish.

Oosthuizen.  Came so close last year and already with Major winning experience.  Got a golf swing to die for as well as a rock solid putting stroke, he’s my favourite to go one better than he did last year.

Rose.  Some people might argue that he doesn’t putt well enough but he’s the only Brit in with a chance in my opinion.  Been in very good form in the last 18 months and deserves a Major I think.

Snedeker.  Looked to be the best golfer on the planet earlier this year before injury hampered his progress.  He has had good finishes there in the past and will undoubtedly putt well on Augusta’s quick greens.

Adam Scott. Another player whose putting can let him down but he can be a little bit streaky too.  If his golf swing his firing on all cylinders then watch out, he’ll be just tapping in for birdies anyway.  Will be interesting to see whether last year’s Open haunts him though.

Obviously with the Tour seemingly so open these days there are a few obvious names that i have neglected, the big one being McIlroy of course.  As good a player as McIlroy is I don’t think even he can suddenly switch it on for a Major and his form has been shocking of late.  Other British hopefuls like Poulter, Donald and Westwood all have chances but they will need a good week.   As I’ve been saying all along, if Poulter could harness his Ryder Cup form then he would be virtually unbeatable anywhere.  Donald has the short game and the accuracy but something about him doesn’t suit my eye to win at Augusta, I think he will win a Major but my guess would be US Open for him when accuracy plays a bigger part than length.  As for Westwood I think he missed his chance in 2010, not really found any decent form so far this year and his short game is still a little ropey.  Despite his age I would never discount Mickelson round Augusta but the odds are against him at 42 years old.   

As a real outside punt, I’m going to pick Zach Johnson purely because two people have said they will buy me a pint if he wins so that can’t be bad really.

FF

  

 

      

 

Woods and McIlroy are back!!

Tiger, McIlroy and the run up to the Masters

McIlroy posted his best finish of the season so far with an 8^th place at the WGC event at Doral.  McIlroy’s 7 under final round score in the Cadillac Championship was only bettered by Adam Scott who closed with an 8 under 64.  McIlroy proved his critics wrong once again after massive speculation surrounding his new Nike equipment and the supposed toothache that forced him to pull out at the Honda last week.

But the week belonged to Tiger Woods who lead a wire to wire finish to claim his 17^th WGC event in which he broke his own personal best for number of birdies in 36 holes.  Tiger has now claimed 2 tournaments already this year and seems favourite for the Masters next month.  However, not all is as it appears as he once again finished poorly, dropping 2 strokes in his last three holes and why no one can doubt he his almost back to his imperious best, one has to wonder how he will handle the pressure in a Major.  Tiger closed with a one under 71 to edge out Steve Stricker by 2 shots.  Tiger’s nearest overnight challenger, McDowell failed to make an impression and his final round level par left him tied for 3^rd.    

While McIlroy’s apparent turnaround and Woods emphatic victory are no doubt the main talking points of this event 2 other people caught my eye.  Adam Scott’s final round 64 catapulted him up 16 places into a share of 3^rd and this is good news for Scott who has a good record at the Masters, finishing 2^nd in 2011.  Some had expected Scott to crumble following his disastrous finish at the Open last year where he dropped 4 shots in as many holes to lose to Els by 1 but he appears to have put that behind him and should be a strong favourite at Augusta next month and for the rest of the year. 

My other pick of the week was Steve Stricker, who has only played 3 events this season and is only expected to play about 7 or 8 more.  Despite this lack of Tournament practice Stricker has racked up an impressive string of results, finishing 2^nd in Hawaii at the season opener, making it to the Quarter Finals of the Accenture Match Play as well as finishing 2nd here this week.  Stricker has always been a steady performer, very rarely missing cuts and for four years in a row, he won at least twice.  When news was circulated about cutting down his schedule massively it had been expected that he would fade through lack of Tournament play but there seems no sign of that just yet and he could be an outside chance for a Major this year.

With McIlroy and Woods back this opening Major at Augusta could be a great one, but as mentioned before, the Tour seems very open at the moment and few would be surprised to see someone further down the rankings claim it.  My early outside bet is for a South African to win it, watch for Oosthuizen or Schwartzel to add to their Major tally.