A pretty thorough perspective about the 2012 Ryder Cup at Medinah from John Feinstein.
Matteo Manessero’s Win Reveals Looming Trouble for Captain Love
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Tag Archives: Davis Love III
It’s Official: DL3 Named 2012 US Ryder Cup Captain
His name had surfaced basically for the past year as the guy most likely to succeed Corey Pavin, and on Thursday it was officially announced. Davis Love III will be leading the US in 2012 at Medinah.
For those interested in reading the transcript Q&A, you can check that out HERE.
Mark Wilson Wins 36-Hole Sunday Marathon at Sony Open
Courtesy of PGA Tour/Stan Badz
Where do we begin… maybe we’ll start with his opening round of 5-under 65 back on Friday, consisting of 7 birdies and 2 bogeys. Solid start. The second round on Saturday would be a mixed bag, 6 birdies/3 bogeys for 3-under 67. They say that Saturday is moving day, but that wasn’t the case this week with the weather. Sunday morning was moving day, and Mark Wilson got the U-haul rolling…. a round of 5-under 65 in the morning put him in great position heading into the afternoon, giving him the opportunity to play with house-money for the remainder of the 2011 season. And Sunday afternoon he managed his missed shots flawlessly, carding nary a bogey and closing out the 3rd win of his career with a 3-under par round of 67. The win netted him $990,000, and a stress-free 2011. Congrats to Mark Wilson, who will be enjoying Hawaii for an additional week in 2012.
Notables
Tim Clark is another guy who hopped on the revolving equipment merry-go-round for 2011, leaving Srixon and signing a deal with Titleist. And it seems that he’s adjusting to the new ball and sticks just fine – posting his best finish on tour since his win at the Players Championship back in May of last season. Clark shot 4-under 66 in the morning round on Sunday, following it up with an impressive 6-under 64 in the afternoon. He finished T2.
Steve Marino made things interesting near the end on Sunday, with a little help from an unbelievable second shot on the par5 closing hole that gave him an outside shot at a playoff with Wilson. Marino’s eagle putt just narrowly missed the left side of the hole, leaving him a tap-in birdie and a share of 2nd place with Tim Clark. This was his best finish since his T2 back at the Crowne Plaza Invtl in 2009.
We’ve gotten so accustomed to seeing Matt Kuchar’s name near the top of the Sunday leaderboards that it’s almost impossible to not notice when he isn’t. But he was there again this week, 4 consecutive rounds in the 60’s and another top-10 finish. Matt finished 11-under for the tournament, T5.
Steve Stricker is starting 2011 off with a bang… he finished T4 at last week’s Hyundai Tournament of Champions, and made another strong showing again this week by finishing T9. Two tournaments – two top-10’s. Could be yet another great season on his storied comeback from 4 seasons ago.
Finally… Davis Love III, the latest Titleist turncoat who’s now gaming Bridgestone equipment doesn’t seem to be having any issues making the adjustment. Davis was well in the mix heading into the final round before running out of steam, finishing with a 1-under round of 69 and sharing 9th place with Stricker. Nice to see DL3 getting off to a good start this season.
Notable MIA’s
The following notables failing to make the first cut of 2011: Bo Van Pelt, Carl Pettersson, Justin Leonard, John Daly, Jim Furyk, Robert Allenby, Adam Scott, K.J. Choi, Camilo Villegas, David Duval, Robert Garrigus
Rating a Few Notable Rookies
Because so many players finished within 10 strokes of the leader after 36 holes, a secondary cut was implemented after 54 holes.
Chris Kirk, Nationwide Tour Grad from 2010 – T30 @ 6-under par
Daniel Summerhays, Nationwide Tour Grad – T34 @ 5-under par
Nate Smith, Q-School Grad – T42 @ 4-under par
Kevin Chappell, Nationwide Tour Grad – T42 @ 4-under par
Matt McQuillan, T54 @ 2-over par
Ben Martin, Q-School Grad – Missed Cut after 54 holes
Alex Rocha, Q-School Grad – Missed Cut after 54 holes
Fabian Gomez, Nationwide Tour Grad – Missed Cut after 54 holes
Joseph Bramlett, Q-School Grad – Missed Cut after 54 holes
Jamie Lovemark, Nationwide Tour Grad – Cut after 36 holes
For an official full recap of the Sony Open, click HERE.
This Week’s PGA Tour News Items
It’s been a slow golf news week, folks. Doing my best here to make something out of nothing…
So how exactly does one “Tweet” his way back on tour?
Some people have absolutely no shame…. as if a $100 million lawsuit that included a children’s charity wasn’t a clue? Apparently a John Daly fan has opened an account on Twitter in an attempt to start a “Grass Roots” movement to impress upon the the tournament sponsors next season of the need to have Daly in the field. STORY
I’ve got two responses to that: (1) Grass Roots of the Cannabis type, maybe. (2) When a player has come to rely on the social media to maintain his career, he is no longer a player. He’s an opportunist.
Live rodeo coverage would be better…
So much for The Golf Channel being serious about sprucing up their coverage. TGC just announced that beginning January 3rd, they will be airing a new morning segment called “Morning Drive” that will not only focus on golf, but weather reports and other non-golf news items happening across the nation as well. Erik Kuselias and Gary Williams will be hosting the show for the 20 or so viewers who can’t find the remote to change the channel. ARTICLE
When they ask you to captain it, that usually means you’re no longer good enough to play in it…
Rumors earlier in the year about Davis Love III being the US Ryder Cup Captain in 2012 might soon be a rumor no longer. The Golf Channel is reporting that a source close to the situation has confirmed that DL3 will be the guy leading the American charge to reclaim the Cup in the next event. The media in the UK also reported on Thursday that Jose Maria Olazabal will likely be the Captain on the European side. ARTICLE
From the “I’ve got another one in the oven” files…
Apparently Annika Sorenstam isn’t spending EVERY ounce of her time in her golf course design business. News broke earlier this week that Sorenstam and her husband are expecting their second child early next summer. Congrats to them both! STORY
Weir’s caddie resigns, will loop for Sean O’Hair in 2011
“I know that (Little) has to look after his family, and my situation, while I remain confident, is certainly not all that stable at the moment. He’ll be great with Sean and I predict big things for them next year.” – Mike Weir commenting on his caddy’s decision to work with Sean O’Hair next season.
Mike Weir has always been on my “likable player” radar, and here’s just one more example of why. I’m guessing that he wasn’t expecting his caddie of 12 seasons to end their partnership and move on, but he understands the situation and holds no grudges. I hope Mike fully recovers from his injury and regains the form to be one of the top players on tour again. Best wishes in 2011, Mike. STORY
Els, Goosen not impressed with course conditions at SA Open
Ernie, Retief…. here, let me throw you both some cheese.
I don’t doubt that the course conditions there vary greatly this week from the typical perfectly-manicured surfaces you guys play most weeks elsewhere. But if you have a complaint, do the respectful thing and keep it in-house. It’s not like you guys had to shell out $100 to play on aerated greens. I don’t blame you for being disappointed, I just don’t see the comments being made openly serving much of a purpose. ARTICLE
Camilo Villegas’ caddie heading to Nationwide Tour
You might recall earlier last month when I posted a blog about Camilo’s caddie (Brett Waldman) giving Q-school a shot. He ended up doing better than just giving it a shot…. he made it all the way to the final stage. Waldman didn’t play quite well enough to earn his PGA Tour card, but he did earn a spot on the Nationwide Tour. And that’s where he will be next season, as Camilo finds himself looking for another looper. ARTICLE
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