PGA Tour Player of the Year is a no-brainer
It is rare indeed that a player, in any sport, could miss the final three and a half months of the season and still be crowned Player of the Year.
Unless, of course, his name is Tiger Woods.
It says here that once the PGA Tour dishes out its hardware before the calendar flips to 2009, if any player other than Woods is named Player of the Year, fellow PGA Tour players, those who will crown their champion, screwed up.
Why? Because Tiger was the best player in the world in 2008. Simple.
All right, a case, no matter how feeble, could be made for a few others to be given consideration, but to crown the POY over the guy that has been propped up on his couch for the past few months?
Let’s see.
Padraig Harrington? Well, if the award given for major wins, perhaps. Someone remind me where Harrington was during the FedEx Cup or, for that matter, the Ryder Cup. Vijay Singh, FedEx Cup champion? Not quite. Sure, Singh passed Woods for the money crown and ended up pocketing $800,000 and change more than the world’s number one – playing in 17 extra events. If not for the FedEx Cup playoffs, it would have been a season to forget for Singh.
Anthony Kim? Two wins and Ryder Cup hero, but not the POY. In due time, perhaps, but not this year. Kenny Perry, Camilo Villegas, Phil Mickelson or Sergio Garcia? Uh-uh. Great stories, all of them, but nowhere close enough to knocking out the champ.
Simply put, no one touched the type of campaign that Woods enjoyed in his abbreviated 2008 run. Four wins, a second and a fifth in six starts? Unheard of, even by Tiger’s standards. His performance at the U.S. Open, where he essentially played on one peg, will be one of history’s great moments in this game, where it belongs. Anyone who thought Tiger was playing the injury up for the cameras was feeling a little moronic a couple days later when his season came to an end thanks to a surgeon’s knife.
Woods did in six events what the rest of the world could not in a full season. That alone makes the debate moot. Tiger should, and will, win his fourth straight POY and ninth in ten years. Any other choice is the wrong one.
As always, there will be plenty of names thrown around, particularly those mentioned above, once the talk gets serious for the PGA Tour Player of the Year. Call it courtesy.
But only one will make any sense at all.
Looking ahead to the 2009 golf season, I hope…
So the season that just won’t end has actually, and mercifully, ended – well, sort of.
Tiger’s year was shut down before it really began, English teachers all over America are cursing Carolyn Bivens for putting a halt to her ridiculous crusade and Vijay was essentially the playoff champion before the playoffs actually wrapped up. Figure that one out.
Now with the 2009 campaign only seven or eight hours away, let’s take a look at what I hope we see before we get going again:
For the next idiot that screams “Get in the hole!” as a tee shot is hit on a 600-yard, par-5 hole, a lifetime banishment from golf events. Anywhere.
Anyone that screams “You da man!” at any time, see above. Unless you are one of those rap wannabes, those three words should never be uttered.
For any guy that scans an LPGA pairing sheet and concludes what player he will follow based on how cute her smile is. How shallow. OK…you got me. But it’s still wrong.
The FedEx Cup needs an overhaul. Getting rid of it altogether would be a great start, but we know all about title sponsors and such. Fix it. Fast. It is nothing short of a joke.
For anyone who is slurring his speech from having one too many before the leaders hit their first shot, get a life, man. Or find a bar with a TV.
For those who crowd around the 16th hole at the FBR, one more round. The best crowd in golf, alcohol-induced or not. And yes, even if they are slurring their speech before the leaders tee off.
We know Tiger is coming back. Got it. But is there really any need to show his every shot, his every move, while missing approach shots from a leader who is nine shots ahead?
It’s time to see Calgary’s Wes Heffernan out on the PGA Tour. The best-kept secret in Canadian golf.
For the next Ryder Cup, please keep the homers out of the broadcast booth. All that were missing were the pom-poms.
Before the New Year, Carolyn Bivens should get her pink slip. Too many screw-ups to mention. In the best interests of the premier women’s tour in the world, time for a new skipper at the helm.
Order Camilo Villegas to get a haircut. Nothing against a long mane, but he looks like a slob. A slob with a great physique and two straight wins, perhaps, but a slob nonetheless.
I’m really looking forward to Aussie Anna Rawson getting a win on the LPGA Tour. Or, even better, my phone number.
Get both Johnny Miller and Jimmy Roberts a mute button. Forever. Hey Johnny, there are only so many chip shots that can be deemed “makeable.” Not all are. Really. When one goes in and you pat yourself on the back, remember one thing. It’s what we call the law of averages.
Oops. Gotta run. The 2009 season is set to begin…
Dudley Hart gets what is important in life - and golf isn’t it
With one dreaded phone call 16 months ago, Dudley Hart underwent an abrupt career change.
From professional golfer to full-time, stay at home dad.
You see, it was at the 2007 Wachovia Championship that Hart received the call that gave him the scare of his life. His wife, Suzanne, had been diagnosed with a non-smoking tumor on her lung. Time to hit life’s pause button, Hart put his career on hold. Reading the break on a ten-foot birdie putt never seemed so insignificant. Never mind practice rounds, pro ams and getting to the first tee on time. Looking after his five-year-triplets became the everyday routine for Hart.
Golf was what it is supposed to be. The way Hart made a living, perhaps, but a game nonetheless.
Even though he has won twice on the PGA Tour, in 1996 and 2000, Hart has never really been recognized in the upper echelon of Tour players, so to speak. A blue-collar type player who just goes about his business, one would not be overly surprised if he brought a lunch pail and wore workboots to the first tee.
All Hart does is keep retaining his card. In the six seasons from 2002 through 2007, had 13 top tens – total – and cracked the top 90 in earnings just twice (54th in 2002 and 71st in 2005).
That’s Dudley Hart, just going what needs to be done. In golf, yes, but more importantly, in things that matter so much more.
Fate, for the most part, has been kind to the Harts, as Suzanne’s surgery has been deemed a success. A career that once didn’t matter, has resumed. Minus a win in 2008 but enjoying his best season of his career, at least in terms of money, Hart is one of the elite 30 in this week’s season-ending Tour championship. If he needed inspiration, his wife provided it.
Hart opened with a 3-over 73 Thursday, signed his card and smiled. Nine shots behind the leader on the opening day.
Not that it really matters. It’s perspective.
Hart knows what is important.
Anthony Kim was Ryder Cup MVP – and for more than just his game
Now that the Ryder Cup hangover has worn off – well, at least for those of us who didn’t actually play for the U.S. team – it’s time to perform the post-mortem and judge who, exactly, was the catalyst for driving the stake through the heart of Europe.
In other words, who was the Ryder Cup MVP?
Paul Azinger, Boo Weekley and Hunter Mahan will be the popular choices – along with Nick Faldo and Sergio Garcia, for different reasons - but if there was an MVP of this tournament, it would be freshman Ryder Cupper Anthony Kim.
AK was more than OK and delivered the KO.
Not only for his precision-like dismantling of Garcia Sunday morning, but for getting inside the collective head of Faldo’s boys.
Displaying a youthful exuberance and garish belt buckle that looked like it was either swiped from one of those tacky Vegas tourist booths or his grandmother’s underwear drawer, Kim certainly lit a fire under Phil Mickelson and backed it up with some highlight-reel shots of his own early on.
But that alone doesn’t tell the story.
Kim’s fist-pumping, flag-waving theatrics to get the crowd into all-out party mode were Weekley-esque from the opening match on. Had Azinger teamed Kim with Weekley, we’d still be waiting on the match to end.
But it wasn’t until the weekend – or, at least, Saturday - rolled around that Kim began to take the Ryder Cup chase a little more personally. According to Ian Poulter –whose frenzied, wild-eyed fist pumps all week were about as much emotion as Team Europe showed at Valhalla– Kim “body checked” him or, in other words, walked through Poulter instead of around him, at a tee box Saturday afternoon.
“I don’t take too kindly to someone you would respect as a golfer trying to barge their way through you as if you weren’t there,” Poulter whined. “That’s pathetic.”
Boo hoo. Pass the tissue. And as far as Azinger was concerned, mission accomplished.
It wasn’t until Sunday that Kim took it to another level. Asked by Azinger to slay U.S. Ryder Cup killer Sergio Garcia out of the gate Sunday morning, Kim threw down the gauntlet on the opening hole after both hit their shots to within two feet. Garcia asked if they were both conceded birdies but Kim decided to send a subtle message.
“Let’s putt them,” he told Garcia.
On the sixth, Kim got up close and personal with a ruling when he questioned Garcia’s stance that would have given the Spaniard relief from an errant hit off the tee.
“”Is it a normal stance when your foot goes behind you?”
“Do what you have to do,” said Kim before sauntering off to his ball in much greener pastures. No one knows for sure if he was directing the shot at Garcia or rules official John Paramor.
Garcia eventually took an unplayable, lost the hole and, seconds later, launched not one but two approach shots into the drink on number 7, to the delight of a jeering, pro-US crowd. On the eighth, Garcia had a three-foot putt that Kim again would not concede. Garcia missed.
The match, although not officially in the books at the point, was over.
Taking down Garcia in the manner he did was the jump-start the Americans needed on the final day. His enthusiasm, his ability to rattle the Europeans and some damn fine golf shots leads to one conclusion.
He may not have led the U.S. team in points, but there is little doubt that Anthony Kim spearheaded the first U.S. triumph at the Ryder Cup in nine years.
In more ways than one.
If there were any doubts, Anthony Kim sent a message at the 37th Ryder Cup. He’s arrived.
Ryder Cup proved this event is still something special
This one, at last, lived up to the hype.
This one, at last, was what the Ryder Cup should be.
Forget, for a moment, that the Americans finally snapped their nine-year winless skid in Kentucky – and you can be rest assured they won’t be forgetting south of the border for the next year or so.
Forget, for a moment, the homerism from the pom-pom boys in the broadcast booth that was almost nauseating.
Looking for a little drama to spice up your weekend? You found it at Valhalla.
Now, I am sure I wasn’t the only one who figured the Americans would buck the odds and win the 37th Ryder Cup. But the way the did it, with the best players in the world matching each other shot-for-shot for three days, will certainly make this version one that will be talked about for years.
On paper, the depth the Europeans had on their roster made this a mismatch, or so it seemed. But this U.S. team had something different.
In fact, this entire Ryder Cup was something different.
Start with the crowd who, thanks in part to the urging of Boo Weekley and Anthony Kim, turned Valhalla into Sunday afternoon at Augusta National – only louder. The U.S. contingent needed a decent start Friday to get the joint rocking, and needless to say they did that and more.
The Americans, once again, were supposed to go down with a whimper. The European side had won the last three Ryder Cups by a combined 52 ½ to 31 ½ margin.
Someone forgot to drop that memo off to Paul Azinger and his six Ryder Cup rookies.
Quite simply, this Ryder Cup everything.
As could be expected, the eccentric Faldo opened himself up for criticism when he sat Ryder Cup heavyweights Sergio Garcia and Lee Westwood Saturday morning. If you listened closely, you could almost hear the griping overseas, at least until guys like Oliver Wilson and Graeme McDowell delivered in the morning matches. Oh, and did we mention that the selection of Ian Poulter instead of Darren Clarke, which wasn’t exactly embraced on the far reaches of the Atlantic, makes Faldo look like a genius even if the Cup didn’t get on the plane with Team Europe?
Over on the U.S. side, Paul Azinger raised a few eyebrows by sitting Anthony Kim Saturday afternoon, but it all made sense when he sent out Kim to take on Garcia right out of the gate Sunday morning.
And Kim, like his five fellow first-time Ryder Cup participants, came through by completely shellacking Garcia and throwing the Valhalla crowd into a further frenzy. So lopsided was the match that Kim didn’t even know he had won once closing out Garcia 5 and 4. Instead, Kim was headed for the next tee, fully intent on continuing the beating.
Yes, this Ryder Cup lived up to the hype. They haven’t been that lucky since ‘99.
Were the antics of the Americans – particularly Kim and Weekley – a little over the top? Perhaps. But that was part of what made this edition one for the memory banks.
With the best player in the world not here, the Ryder Cup needed a little drama this week.
The players certainly delivered it.
Ryder Cup prediction? It will be closer than you think
Trying to handicap who will be getting all cuddly with the Ryder Cup Sunday night is not exactly keeping you awake at night, is it?
In fact, common sense tells you it is pretty much a no-brainer. It’s not as much about what team will prevail, but rather by how much.
Think about it, if you must. The Europeans have won the last three versions of the event, and five of the past six. The U.S. team hasn’t sipped the bubbly since Clinton was still kicking his feet up at the White House.
The Americans have six players on this squad who have never played in the Ryder Cup. No U.S. player has won anything since Kenny Perry in July. Over on the other side, every member of the European contingent is ranked in the top 50 players on the planet. Europe has spanked the Yanks 37-19 in the past two Ryder Cups.
Oh, and for good measure, the best player on the face of the earth will not be at Valhalla.
Easy pickings, right? Duh.
Not so fast there, Sparky.
Not only will there be reason for millions of U.S. televisions to be tuned into the Ryder Cup for singles matches Sunday instead of surfing for the NFL Game of the Week, but the Americans are about to take the fast track from the outhouse to the penthouse.
You heard in hear first. The Americans will win the Ryder Cup.
The key for a raucous celebration in Kentucky will hinge on Azinger doing what he must to slow down the Garcia Express. Not only is Sergio Garcia 14-4-2 in the Ryder Cup, but he boasts a near-flawless 7-1 mark playing guys with the last name Mickelson or Woods. And while Azinger may roll the dice by throwing one of his heavyweights up against the U.S.-killer, he may take the more cautious approach and try to get one of his young guns like Anthony Kim to go head-to-head with Sergio Sunday. Sure, Kim doesn’t have any Ryder Cup experience but as Mickelson points out, he’s never lost one, either.
No matter what, when push comes to shove this weekend, the Americans are going to have to find a way, any way, to not let Garcia take them down.
As much as the Ryder Cup cannot be won Friday, it can be lost should the Americans get off to off to another of their notoriously slow starts. Not only do they want to avoid giving away any points to a stacked European team, but they must find a way to keep what is sure to be an overly-enthusiastic Kentucky crowd on their side. They can do that with a quick start out of the blocks.
They don’t need to be winning after the opening day. Just within striking distance.
It says here, with Kentucky boys Perry and J.B. Holmes lighting the fuse, it could be a wild weekend at Valhalla. In fact, as rumour has it, Azinger may lead off by teaming Holmes and Perry together Friday, which is about the smartest thing he could do on the opening day.
And while the Americans will need leaders Phil Mickelson and Jim Furyk to carry their share of the load, it’s the rookies who will need to answer the bell. Make no mistake, the Americans are overwhelming underdogs, and the kids might just do all right. They haven’t witnessed the carnage of recent Ryder Cups, at least not in person. They don’t know any better.
The knees will be knocking, especially being on home soil, but they really have nothing to lose. If they can keep Valhalla rocking all weekend, the Americans can have a chance. Perhaps their only chance.
They’ve got the hometown advantage, and they are going to use that to their advantage this time.
Which is why they’ll be unfurling the Stars and Stripes on the 18th green sometime late Sunday afternoon.
Ryder Cup animosity between Azinger, Faldo welcome news for event that needs a kick
Paul Azinger would like nothing more than to knock off that chip that has sat on his shoulder for two decades. Azinger thinks Faldo is, and I quote, “a prick.”
Faldo, on the other hand, could care less, choosing instead to ruffle Azinger’s feathers by questioning his assistant captain’s picks for this week’s showdown at Valhalla.
Animosity and bad blood leading up to the Ryder Cup. Giddyup.
No matter how much they’ll try to smile for the cameras and offer those “hope-you-had-a-pleasant-flight” handshakes, the truth is the opposing Ryder Cup captains really don’t see eye to eye. And that is nothing but good news for an international event that really needs a good, swift kick in the rear end now more than ever.
If you think Azinger has forgotten the ’87 British Open, think again. Two bogeys to end his tournament gift-wrapped the Open crown for Faldo and, as they shook hands when it was over, Faldo said “tough luck, old boy.” Again, I quote.
Time heals all wounds? Um, not quite.
When Azinger and Faldo squared off in singles matches at the ’93 Ryder Cup, Azinger says his counterpart coerced him into conceding a putt on the final hole, telling him the Americans had already clinched the Cup. It wasn’t until Davis Love sprinted over to tell Azinger that the tournament was tied did he realize that maybe, just maybe, Faldo tried to, uh, give him the shaft.
So, this week as the raucous pro-U.S. crowd tries to rah-rah their boys to victory, the animosity is simmering below the surface. And that may be all the Americans need. They don’t like to lose, and they’ve lost this often, at least in recent years. The U.S. likes to think itself as best at everything. Just ask them.
Both team captains are hell-bent on making sure the Ryder Cup gets on board with him when the team plane takes off from Kentucky. Only one will get the extra piece of carry-on baggage.
The Europeans are getting rather used to smacking the Americans around at the Ryder Cup. The U.S. boys, on the other hand, have had about enough.
Both men will say all the right things, insisting their friendship is as strong as ever when the microphone is shoved in their face. Truth is, deep down, each wants to ram it down the other’s throat come Sunday.
Beginning Friday, both sides have three days to shut the other up.
A little hate-on.
Probably the best thing that could have happened to the Ryder Cup.
Next Canadian on the PGA Tour? You may not even know his name…
Psst. I’m going to let you in on a little secret because, well, I’m just that kind of guy.
Want to know the name of the next Canadian you are going to see out on the PGA Tour?
Wes Heffernan. If you aren’t overly familiar with the name, get used to it. You’ll know him soon enough.
Granted, I may be putting the ol’ cart before the horse considering guys like David Hearn, Bryan DeCorso and Brad Fritsch, currently taking their cuts on the Nationwide Tour, are a win – or less than that in the case of DeCorso and Hearn - away from playing with the big boys.
So I’ll use an asterisk and say Heffernan is The Next One – among those not already plying their trade on the premier feeder loop for the PGA Tour. Split hairs if we must.
Brash prediction again, huh, considering Heffernan has to grind it out through three – oops, make that two – stages of the PGA Tour’s gruelling annual qualifying marathon. Why only two? Because Heffernan, thanks to another stellar season out on the Canadian Tour, earned a free pass through the opening phase by placing second on the Canadian Tour’s Rolex Order of Merit.
In the past three seasons, Heffernan has won four times on the Canadian Tour and placed second (2008), fifth (2007) and third (2006) on the money list. Last season, he teamed with Mike Weir to represent Canada at the World Cup.
And yet not many outside Canadian Tour cicles would know it if they walked over his putting line.
Believe me when I say the kid can play although, at 31, the kid is not really a kid anymore. Lest we forget that Weir was getting awfully close to his 30th birthday when he made the jump from the Canadian to PGA Tour, and things have worked out pretty well for him, don’t you think?
Wes Heffernan is as talented a Canadian as there is coming up through the ranks. He’s the real deal.
To date, Heffernan just hasn’t been able to clear that final hurdle at Q-School.
I’m betting that changes in the next few months.
Anna Rawson the LPGA dream - if her game can catch up to her looks
Sorry, Natalie Gulbis, it’s over before it began. Someone else has stolen my heart.
OK, just kidding. My phone line is always open should you decide to use it.
But let’s just say that there is a whole lot more attention being paid to the LPGA Tour by the golf world on this rather mundane Friday morning–particularly from the red-blooded male demographic – after Anna Rawson posted a 67 Thursday to grab an early share of the pole position at the Bell Micro LPGA Classic.
Who, you say? Exactly. But after a rather vanilla season out on the LPGA Tour, Rawson – an Aussie knockout who looks like she just stepped off the cover of Cosmo – garnered attention for her golf game as opposed to her looks Thursday.
She, along with the likes of Gulbis and Cristie Kerr, should be the marketing department’s dream at the LPGA Tour. Instead, Carolyn Bivens would rather concern herself with foreign players speaking English and angering national media outlets with player photo rights.
And the LPGA’s tag line of These Girls Rock? Makes sense – if you’re at a curling bonspiel.
It’s Marketing 101, whether is sounds sexist or not. Sell your most marketable players.
Think about it. Do you really believe the likes of Sergio Garcia and Camilo Villegas have a swarm of young ladies following them around a 7,000 course because of their play? Most wouldn’t know if Garcia was hitting driver or a 5-iron, but who cares? It’s Sergio. Tee-hee-hee.
Why are there so many 20-something females sporting Tom Brady jerseys these days? Brady will not play another down this season and, even if he was healthy, most could care less what his quarterback rating is. But, man, have you seen his smile?
No one will ever remember Anna Kournikova for her tennis game. Maria Sharapova, another story, but she didn’t exactly fall out of the ugly tree and clip every branch on the way down. And Danica Patrick has caught the attention of the open-wheel racing world for her looks as much as her driving prowess.
Gulbis and Kerr have reached superstar status on the LPGA Tour. The way they swing a golf club has made both of them rich. How good they look doing it has made them richer.
Rawson has one of those down pat. The LPGA can only hope her play catches up to her looks.
She’s a marketing dream. A no brainer.
Even for the LPGA Tour.
Erik Compton shows he is all heart - in more ways than one
One thing is certain. Erik Compton doesn’t have a lack of heart.
Compton, the former NCAA college standout and 2004 Canadian Tour Order of Merit champion, now has the third heart of his life beating inside his chest. After undergoing his first life-saving procedure at the age of 12, the 28-year-old had a second heart transplant surgery down in Florida a few months ago.
“Dying’s easy, living’s hard,” Compton told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. “The fighting is hard. Everyone’s a fighter, until they give up. I like fighting. I like the challenge of living.”
During my seven-year stint as the Media Relations Director with the Canadian Tour, there was a time l worked closely with Compton every day, or so it seemed. After all, he was perhaps the most prominent player on the circuit four years back, so there were many times we walked into the media centre together for a scrum, a feature, a chat.
The kid had some pretty serious talent – and somehow, it feels wrong using that term in the past tense – and a zest for life that most of us would envy. I remember during a Tour stop in Ixtapa, Mexico, I ran into EC, as he is known, on the beach, where he was getting set to hit the waves for some body surfing.
Not sure if his agent would have agreed, but that is the way Compton lives life. To its fullest. When he looks adversity in the eye, he seldom blinks.
And why not? He has bucked odds all his life.
Last fall, when his first transplanted heart almost shut down following a heart attack that almost ended his life, Compton knew he had to go through the entire process again, the same agonizing ordeal he endured when he hadn’t even reached his teenage years. He dropped 25 pounds from his frame waiting for the transplant. He’s got that weight back, and he is meeting this latest challenge head-on, just as he has his entire life.
These days, Compton has to pop more than two dozen anti-rejection pills a day. So be it.
He is too busy chasing his PGA Tour dream, which he will resume this fall at qualifying school.
The kid just doesn’t know how to give up.
Are his odds slim of hitting the big time? Perhaps. But if you know Compton, you wouldn’t be betting against him.
Shortly before he was hauled off to the operating room for his most recent heart transplant, Compton has some inspiring words for close friend and golf mentor Charlie DeLucca.
“I’m going to be the comeback kid,” he said.
Whether he ever swings another golf club or not, that is a title Erik Compton has already earned.
Fairways Web Editor Marty Henwood spent more than six years as the Media Relations Director with the Canadian Tour and has been involved in sports journalism for more than a decade, including stints in newspaper, radio, new media and media relations. He will offer his unique take on the world of golf, with nothing and no one off limits.