Meltdown or Miracle at Medinah ?
By John Reynolds – John Reynolds Golf
Huge comeback win for Europe to recapture the Ryder Cup.
It was like the dream team that was almost unbeatable forgot to finish off the job in the Ryder cup. The big names like Woods and Mickelson were unable to bring their A game to knock off the Europeans. The Americans gave up a lead Sunday that proved to be an epic battle as it unfolded throughout the day. Each shot allowed the Europeans inch closer towards the victory as the Americans slowly lost their grip on the Ryder Cup.
The event had so many remarkable twists and turns. It started with the US dominating and led to Ian Poulter reigniting the Euros at the end of his run on Saturday. McIlroy nearly missing his tee time and the poor performance of the Americans on the crucial 17th and 18th holes. Even more impressive than the 4 point comeback was the fact it was done on what should have been home field advantage for the US.
All along, the Europeans kept believing and invoking the competitive spirit of Seve Ballesteros throughout the competition. Like the fierce Spaniard he was, this team captained by another Spaniard, Jose Maria- Olazabel never stopped believing and fighting.
When the German Martin Kaymer sank the winning put on 18 for par to win the match against Steve Stricker, it put an exclamation point on what was a riveting stretch of golf rarely seen.
Rory tames Tiger and the rest of the field.
By John Reynolds – John Reynolds Golf
In 3 of the last four event Rory McIlroy played in, he as walked away with the trophy. WHat has changed over the last year is that he expects to win every event and is making it happen.
The world’s ranked # 1 golfer walked away with the BMW Championship and a cool $1.4 million. His game is peaking at the right time and he is headed into the final event of the FedEx Cup playoffs with a ton of momentum. It appears the Tour Championship in East Lake in Georgia in two weeks is his to lose. This Fedex Cup finale promises to showcase his talents even more. He seems unstoppable as he is also likely to walk away with the money title and be voted player of the year by his peers. This based on his four wins this year and a stellar rise to the top.
The 23 year old has already won two majors and is still being referred to as a kid, but that nickname should wear off quick as he is beating living legends, icons, and hall of famers. He seems to have a more focused attitude on Sunday where it seemed more business than pleasure.
McIlroy finished two strokes ahead of Phil Mickelson and Lee Westwood. Tiger woods was three shots back from the title and seems to have been playing at a consistent level but not good enough to catch McIlroy these last 3 weeks. That alone is a testament to how good McIlroy is playing.
McIlroy shot a final round 67 to hold off late charges as the rest of the field could not keep pace. Already the talk of Nicklaus’ majors title record of 18 and comparison to Tiger have emerged. In two weeks, Rory’s case will get stronger for sure.
Come From Behind Victory for Rory.
By John Reynolds – John Reynolds Golf
Rory McIlroy was able to come from behind on Sunday and take the Deutsche Bank Championship on Monday. The win makes it McIlroy’s 3rd win of the year following up his dominant win at the PGA Championship last month.
McIlroy beat Louis Oosthuizen by one stroke as the day provided great theater as McIlroy tamed the course with his prodigious drives, crisp irons, and key putting. It appears McIlroy is peaking at the right time as they head to the next round of the FedEx cup.
Oosthuizen struggled for part of the day as he was hampered by an injury but fought through to come close to forcing a playoff as his putt on the 72nd hole just missed. He was also trying to follow up his blistering third round of 63 where he was making almost every putt and could do no wrong. Monday was a more humbling round for him as he struggled off the tee.
Tiger Woods had a great round today and a strong showing at the event as he finished in third place, just two strokes off the winning score. Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson continued to play well all week and finished 4th and 5th place respectively.
With each week, the pressure mounts to advance to the next round as this week had players looking to jockey for position as a captains pick for the Ryder Cup. Surely Davis Love III was paying attention to who would be his selections for the event at the end of this month against the Europeans.
Next week, the top 70 players will travel to Carmel, Indiana where they will compete in the BMW Championship for the $8 million purse as well as a chance to move on to the final FedEx Cup event and a chance to win $10 million. The event will be at Crooked Stick Golf Club which is the site of John Daly’s PGA Championship win as an unknown alternate in 1991.
Final TCP Leaderboard
TCP Boston
Labor Day weekend and TPC Boston is the place to be for the worlds top 100 golfers. Competing for the Deutsche Bank Championship and a position at the top of the standings for the PGA tour FedEx cup. With 10 million dollars on the line being crowned as best golfer of the year the FedEx cup is what the pros strive for and the Deutsche Bank Championship is where its at.
Golf Digest named TCP in the top 10 of United States new private golf clubs back in 2002 and has continued to improve as a top rated course in the world. Small greens and narrow fairways make it a demanding place to manage your ball and leaves you with very little room for error.
The TCP was originally designed by by Arnold Palmer and later improved/re-modeled by Gil Hanse with the suggestions on Brad Faxon in 2007. Golf digest called the re-modeled course the “top number one remodeled course in the country” and awarded it with honors in 2007. Jack said it was a tough place to play back in 2002 and the improvements have made it more difficult. These guys hit the ball so much further then 10 of 15 years ago so course needed to be adjusted. If the TCP needs to be redesigned every 10 years the PGA will work with them and get it done. We love the course and the Boston area.
This year the worlds best golfers will tee off at 7:40am on what looks to be a beautiful sunny day in New England with Bob Estes, Austin, TX, Harris English, Sea Island, GA and Josh Teater, Lexington, KY on the first tee and Charles Schwartzel, Blair Atholl, South Africa, D.A. Points, Pekin, IL and J.J. Henry, Ft. Worth, TX on the tenth. However ours sights are set for the 8:40 time when Nick Watney, Dixon, CA, Brandt Snedeker, Nashville, TN and Tiger Woods, Jupiter, FL are set to go on ten. Rory is later in the day at 1:10 and Kutcher, Mahan and Bradley before him we will see if the rising temps and the New england humidity play a factor with what should be a great weekend of Golf.
A Look Back At The Barclays – An Insiders View
By John Reynolds – John Reynolds Golf
With the start of the Deutsche Bank Championship starting this week the New York area hosted the Barclays with much of the hype of the big names. Part of the story would be the course, the crowd, and how the pros would hold up to the pressure of the first round of the playoffs for the FedEx cup.
I was fortunate enough to volunteer for a few days and had the opportunity to attend most of the rounds during the weekend. Being a volunteer allows access to the course and the players that not the regular guests receive. Being inside the ropes and closer to the players during the practice rounds is one of the benefits of volunteering. At the Barclays, there were over 1400 volunteers and each had their own story of the week. The walking scorers, caddies, practice range workers, and marshals are some that were able to see the best players in the world a lot different than most do on TV.
As the New York crowd bellowed for Tiger at every chance they seemed upset when they were not acknowledged by the pros. Players like Phil Mickelson and Billy Mayfair were friendly and acknowledged the crowd at most times. Other pros remained focused and distant with remaining alive for the next round as their priority.
Seeing both sides of the equation, the players have the right to be uninteractive with the crowd and some patrons feel that they owe it to them to acknowledge them. When a player walked by and didn’t provide an autograph or a wave, the fans saw them as pampered millionaires with one of the best jobs on earth. It is a tough balance to maintain, please the fans and still stay in the game.
The players had their moments of connecting with the fans at Bethpage. Justin rose playfully grabbed a bunch a fries from a young boy leaving the green. There was Dustin Johnson handing off his ball to a sweet 6 year old girl as he finished parring 17. Bob Estes and his caddy, Chuck were nice enough to converse with fans gathered by the practice range. Much of this stuff is not always caught on the telecast and only a handful at the tournament get to see it. Even the caddies were getting in on it. Stevie Williams was applauded by a group for his divot replacing and rewarded them by tossing a ball into the crowd.
It doesn’t help when the NY crowd makes comments that are in poor taste and disingenuous. “Nice Pants, Ian Poulter”….really, you can do much better than that Tony from Deer Park who has been drinking since the 8:12 am pair teed off.
During my conversation with a NY state trooper who was providing security during the final round indicated he was partially embarrassed by some of the comments. Not because of what was said, but the fact some fans were so clueless and then become upset when their favorite pro snubs them on the way to the clubhouse.
What all spectators can appreciate is that the level that these players perform at is unreal. They swing effortlessly and either crush it off the tee and are throwing darts at flagsticks. In case we do somehow forget how good these guys are, the PGA has those commercials to remind us. Bethpage and the Barclays allowed us to see just how good. The FedEx Cup playoffs should become more interesting with each event.