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

Scouting the Deutsche Bank Championship

The second round of the PGA Tour Playoffs gets underway on Friday, as the top 100 players in the FedEx Cup points standings prepare to do battle at TPC Boston in the Deutsche Bank Championship. In what should promise to be a great holiday weekend of golf, with a Monday finish no less, lots of interesting story lines abound heading into the action this week.

Notable Contenders

It’s difficult to not include Tiger Woods in the conversation this week. Coming off of a solid ball striking performance last week at the Barclays Tournament, where Woods led the field in driving accuracy for the event, he could finally be a factor heading into Monday. But for Tiger to breakthrough this week and get his first win of the season, he has to once again become the “boss of the moss” and at least get on speaking terms again with his putter. I’ll go out on a limb and say that if Woods can get off to a solid start on Friday, he gets that first post-Elin win this week at TPC Boston.

A Rose is not a Rose by any other name, especially if his name is Justin and was snubbed by Colin Montgomerie for the Ryder Cup team despite having two wins this season. I think Justin Rose has an opportunity this week to prove just how badly Montgomerie goofed in leaving him off the team, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Englishman hold the grudge well enough to factor into the picture on Monday. He’s got a great pairing for the first two rounds – playing with Ernie Els and Dustin Johnson. The winner this week could very well come from this pairing. If Rose were to win, he would be the first player this year on the PGA Tour to win three events, and Colin Montgomerie becomes the most hated man in all of Europe.

Phil Mickelson doesn’t seem into it this fall. Maybe his arthritic condition is worse than he’s let on, or maybe he’s still distracted with the health of both his wife and mother. But Lefty’s game is nowhere to be found, and he’s not emitting a lot of positive vibes in his interviews recently. I think Phil manages the cut this week, but his dream of becoming number one in the world officially ends.

Steve Stricker has a history in September…. a good one. He’s the only player on tour who has played in each round of every event in the fall playoff series since its’ inception three years ago. If there’s a player in the field who could win this week and then win again next week at the BMW, Strick’s the guy. I like his chances this week at TPC Boston.

Jim Furyk was not upset about the change in the pro-am policy that led to his DQ last week. “I think people are wondering whether I’m going to be upset that they changed it. That couldn’t be farther than the case. I think there were enough players who were not in favor of the rule. I think the commissioner himself said he didn’t like the rule in hindsight. Therefore, I think the best option, the best scenario, was to go ahead and change it as quick as possible.” (courtesy of THIS article at PGATOUR.COM) Looking ahead to this week, Furyk comes into TPC Boston on a mission. And it helps that it’s a course that suits his eye, as Jim has finished inside the top-10 the last two times he’s played here. This very well could be “Sleeping Beauty’s” tournament to lose this week.

Rory McIlroy might be last on my list of notables, but he’s my overall pick this week to win. He’ll have to play better than he played last week at the Barclays, but I don’t see two consecutive letdowns coming. Of all the players in the field, I think this kid is the one player who could go on an absolute tear in golf, and I think he gets it done this week at TPC Boston.

Underdog Picks

With a field this strong, it’s really hard to list a lot of players as potential underdogs. But I’m gonna throw a couple of names out there who might make some noise this week. Jeff Overton – the guy is a streaky player. He’s got 6 top-10’s this season and has finished runner-up on three different occasions. If he can manage his emotions, he’s certainly got the game to contend this week. Sean O’Hair is the other underdog pick. Sean’s struggled with his consistency this season, but his game is finally starting to come around. He finished 5th at the WGC Bridgestone three weeks ago, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him become a factor as Monday approaches.

Tournament News

The biggest news item this week will be Hurricane Earl as it is predicted to move closely to the Boston area sometime Friday afternoon. The tour has moved the tee times up in the morning to get as many holes in as they can, but very few are confident that the weather will hold out for completion of play for the first round. And depending on what weather comes with the storm, it could make the course play totally different than what they players have experienced in their practice rounds earlier this week. By the looks of things, it could be another lift, clean, and place situation again this week.

Kenny Perry withdrew from this week’s event, officially ending his FedEx Cup run this season. Perry was 93rd in the FedEx Cup point standings heading into the week and needed a solid showing to advance to next week’s tournament at Cog Hill, but the 50-yr-old has decided that he needs some time to rest and recharge his batteries.

Click HERE for the Friday pairings and starting times for this week’s Deutsche Bank Championship.