Coverin' The Spread

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Posts Tagged Golf

McDowell’s Day!

Jun 20

Posted by CTS in Golf, Reports | No Comments

Graeme McDowell Wins on Golf’s Biggest Stage

This years U.S. Open Championship describes exactly why golf-lovers like myself tune in on a yearly basis. We love to watch the best golfers in the world struggle.  The fact that the man that was 3 shots behind coming into Sunday shot a final round 74 (+3) and still managed victory describes just how tough Pebble Beach was playing. Graeme McDowell became the first European to win the U.S. Open since 1970, and he did it with the best players in the world, (Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, and Ernie Els), on his heels from the get-go. Tiger and Ernie have a combined 5 U.S. Open titles between them, and Phil Mickelson has 5 runner-up finishes, so you have got to give McDowell some serious credit for keeping his composure. Tiger bogied 5 of his first 10 holes, and was essentially out of the tournament before he made the turn. Phil and Ernie hung in a little longer, with Ernie even reaching 3 under par, but neither could hit the type of shots that are needed to win an Open down the stretch.

Dustin Johnson had perhaps the most memorable day of any golfer, and I certainly don’t mean that in a good way. He came into the final round with a 3 shot lead at 6 under-par, but that lead was gone by the time he walked onto the 3rd tee. He tripled the 2nd hole and doubled the 3rd to quickly take a backseat for the rest of the day. By shooting an 82 Sunday, Johnson closed with the worst  final round by a 54-hole leader since 1911!

He looked frustrated all day and could not handle the tests that Pebble was throwing at him. After I saw the immaturity he showed on the 2nd hole, I pretty much wrote him off for the tournament. It is tough for a young guy like Johnson (turned pro just 3 years ago) to be able to sustain the caliber of play that is required to win this golf tournament. That is why we often see the more experienced players on the leaderboard. I imagine Dustin Johnson will be in this situation again, and having experienced it once already, he will likely perform better. I feel bad for the kid, because he could’ve forced a playoff had he just shot a 6 over par 77.

Tiger Update: Questions were being circulated after Tiger fired an impressive 66 (-5) on Saturday, vaulting himself into contention. Is Tiger back to his normal self? Are we finally going to hear the Sunday roars that could only be orchestrated by the man in red? I will answer both of those questions with a firm no! Tiger must have shot that great 3rd round with a lot of luck, and a lot of willpower, because his swing is still not there. When have you ever seen him drive the ball as consistently as he did, and still struggle? I don’t think I ever have. He is continuing to lay the club off in his backswing, and it is causing his iron shots to be extremely inconsistent. When he would hit the greens it seemed he was always above the hole, which is certainly not where he was aiming. It also shows a little frustration on his part when he seems to be the only person in the field complaining about the greens, by saying “These greens are bumpy enough where putts above the holes are just pot luck.” Nothing bothers me more than when a golfer complains about the course conditions, when every other golfer out there is playing on the same stage.

Overall, I was extremely pleased with this year’s U.S. Open Championship. Sometimes its nice to see the underdog outplay the best players in the world. While I always like to see an American win the U.S. Open, my hat is off to the Irishman Graeme McDowell, as he faced the ultimate test in golf and came out on top.

-mfb

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While You Were Away

Mar 26

Posted by CTS in Golf, Reports | 6 Comments

Tour Goes On Even Without it’s Biggest Star

It seems all that is talked about these days when it comes to professional golf is Tiger Woods. Ok, I know that this has been the case for the last 13 years, but the attention he is getting has nothing to do with golf. How many supermodels did he bang? Did he really send that text message? I feel like no one is even paying attention to what is actually happening on the golf course this year. I know that the only player anyone cares about is Tiger, but don’t you want to know who is playing well this year, and therefore may be a threat to Tiger come the Masters?    

 

2010 Top-10 Money List 

Rank Golfer Events Money
1 Steve Stricker 6 $1,974,300
2 Ernie Els 6 $1,951,106
3 Camilo Villegas 4 $1,861,500
4 Dustin Johnson 8 $1,772,950
5 Ian Poulter 4 $1,505,025
6 Paul Casey 4 $1,470,700
7 Matt Kuchar 8 $1,406,013
8 Geoff Ogilvy 5 $1,314,606
9 Hunter Mahan 6 $1,244,793
10 Jim Furyk 5 $1,222,987

 

Who is playing well? 

If there is one person that sticks out on the Top-10 Money List, it has to be the “Big Easy.”  It is great to see Ernie Els finally playing some consistent golf.  He just hasn’t been able to get it together since his knee surgery in 2005.  He won the WGC- CA Championship by four shots over fellow South African Charl Schwartzel, with the third place finisher Matt Kuchar a whole seven shots back.  He was out of the winner’s circle for a full 2 years before the tournament, ending the longest drought of his career.  He was able to play the final 23 holes bogey-free, helping him to shoot a final round 66.  He is only the fifth golfer to win multiple WGC Championships, joining Tiger Woods, Darren Clarke, Geoff Ogilvy, and Phil Mickelson.  In the 6 tournaments Ernie has played in, he has 3 top-10s and 5 top-25s.  If he can maintain this consistency, he could be very tough at Augusta where he has played well in the past, just ask Phil Mickelson.   

Steve Stricker is another name that sticks out as a result of his recent success on tour.  He has actually performed a tad better than Ernie with a win and a third place finish among his 4 top 10s this year.  He will be another guy to watch at Augusta due to his consistent play the last few years.   

Perhaps no golfer has had the success of Camilo Villegas to this point in the PGA tour year.  He finds himself at number 3 on the top-10 money list after only playing in 4 events to this point.  He has placed in the top-10 in 3 of the 4 events, with a win at the Honda Classic, and a third place finish at the WGC Accenture Match-Play.  Match play events are labeled as one of the more difficult tournaments to win because of the level of consistency it requires, so his 3rd place finish in the Accenture is almost equally impressive to me as his win at the Honda Classic.  Camilo is certainly one of the young risers on tour, so don’t expect him to fall down the money list too far. 

These are just three names that stick out to me from the early money list leaders.  Players like Jim Furyk, Ian Poulter, Geoff Ogilvy, and Hunter Mahan are expected to be in this position, so it does not surprise me to see them playing well again.  You can bet that at least two of the four of them will be in contention in every tournament they play in. 

 

Who is playing poorly? 

I know that the first name that people are going to look for on the money list (Because Tiger isn’t playing of course) is Phil Mickelson.  It will take a minute to find his name because he is all the way down at #49.  Phil has played in 5 events to this point, with his best finish (and only top 10 finish) being a T8 in the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.  He does have 4 top-25 finishes, but that is hardly the number that Phil is shooting for.  His one finish outside the top-25 occurred at the Northern Trust Open, where he finished a full 10 shots behind the eventual winner in Steve Stricker.  If he would’ve made one more bogey he would have been tied for last among the players that made the cut.  Phil needs to find his game because we all know how much the majors mean to him. 

Sergio Garcia is another name that is usually near the top on the PGA Tour Money List, and he sits at #34 through 5 tournaments.  I know that he plays in a lot of European events, but after playing in 5 PGA Tour events he should be much higher than he is.  He has made all 5 cuts, but only 1 top-25 that came at the Accenture Match-Play where he placed 4th.  Like I said earlier in the Camilo discussion, a good finish in a match play event is even more impressive than a stroke play event.  But the trouble with Sergio is his inconsistency.  For example, his results from the other 4 tournaments are as follows: T37 in the WGC CA Championship, T41 in the Transitions Championship, T50 in the Honda Classic, and T52 in the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. 

Other notable names are Stewart Cink, Sean O’Hair, and Vijay Singh.  Cink finds himself at #37 on the money list through 6 events.  He has made 5 cuts and has 2 top-10s.  O’Hair is another one of those up-and-coming golfers who has shined the last few years.  He has made 6 cuts through 7 events with one top-10 and finds himself all the way back at #38 on the money list.  I am starting to believe that Vijay is definitely on his way down.  He had that great year a few years back when he won 9 or so events, but hasn’t been able to put it together since.  This year, Vijay finds himself at #46 on the money list with only one top-10 through 6 events. 
 
  -mfb

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Tiger, Kobe, LeBron, Manny, Dale, and … Danica?

Mar 4

Posted by CTS in Columns, NASCAR, Other, Tennis | 1 Comment

There is a time in an athlete’s career where they reach a particular pinnacle of popularity.  As fans we honor them by dropping their last name.  Lets take a look and see who could be the next to receive that awe$ome honor.

It would strike me as odd that every time I looked at the PGA page on any major sports website I found a featured article about Nationwide Tour golfer Luke List.  I know, who is that?  Sounds like a fratty name though.

It would also strike me as odd if every time I went to the Major League Baseball page, there was an article about the same guy struggling to make it in the minor leagues.

Therefore, I also find it peculiar that every time I see anything about NASCAR I inevitably hear the name, or see an article about the 34th ranked racer in the second tier Nationwide Series.  What name is that? You guessed it Danica Patrick.

Now everyone has their own opinion of Danica, and why she is as famous as she is.  How popular is she? Her merchandise sales are greater than the four-peat and reigning Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson.  Her sales rank up there with the biggest names in Nascar like Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Stewart.  If you think that merchandise sales are not a good measure of popularity, then you have obviously never been to Talladega (or any other NASCAR race for that matter).  NASCAR fans would gladly play chicken with the 200 mile per hour race cars if it meant they could get their coveted Dale Jr. thong or wife beater signed.  NASCAR fans are like the Beatles groupies of old, except less hot, less mannered, less showered, but way more fun.

The question remains, why is such a second rate driver receiving all this attention.  The obvious and most common answer is because she is a woman.  Is it fair? Maybe, maybe not, but let’s take a closer look at Danica.

Why does that matter that she is a woman?  For Danica, it is the only thing that matters.  She is well aware of the exceptionality of what she is doing in an entirely male dominated sport.  Importantly, one paradigm that is rarely discussed when talking about NASCAR is the tremendous number and percentage of female fans. I bet you did not know that 42% of NASCAR fans are women. Unlike other male dominated sports, NASCAR attracts female fans.  These millions of women are craving for a star of their gender to come along.  Can you imagine the merchandise sales she will achieve if she actually breaks the top 30 in the Nationwide.  Furthermore, what if she makes it into the Sprint Cup? CTS will be in business of selling Danica wife beaters, hats, coffee mugs, bumper stickers, car magnets, antenna whips, head bands, coolers, grill kits, tailgate toilets, shoe laces, shoes, socks, pajamas, wallets, chap stick, sunglasses, cereal, and anything else I can put a Danica picture on.

Does it help that Danica is easy on the eyes?  Of course it does.  Now, I say easy on the eyes because I am not 100% sold that she is the knockout GoDaddy wishes she was.  She surely markets herself in a way that plays up her looks, and there are undoubtedly men who really have a thing for Danica.  However, I think there are many people out there who think the jury is still out.  It is difficult for some to think that a woman in a racing outfit can be attractive.  Much like a woman in a catcher’s equipment or a football pads is a bit off-putting.  Ponder this.  Take Danica and Maria Sharapova and put Maria in the racing outfit, Danica in the tennis outfit, then ask 100 men who is hotter, and I bet 80% or more would choose Danica.  As things are now, Maria as a tennis player and Danica as a driver, how many men do you think prefer Danica over Maria?  I bet it is not 80%.

In closing, I would like to take a look into the future.  Not just the future of Danica, but the future of women in the sport of NASCAR.  The profit margins obviously love having Danica in the sport, and, in our great capitalist nation, profit always leads the way.  But we have seen women like this before right?  There were women who played football, and basketball right?  Not really.  Unlike previous women who have competed in male dominated sports, I feel that NASCAR is the first place where we will truly see men and women competing against each other (Poker, intramurals, bowling, and kickball don’t count).

Whether I am right or wrong about my thoughts, there are undoubtedly voluminous and varied opinions on Danica.  She is still up and coming and just about received the honor of just going by one name.  Danica. Get used to it.  Email coverinthespread@gmail.com or comment above with yours.

-REB

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