BlogWyndham Preview and Picks

The PGA Championship:

Have to say in a very boring season of golf we finally have our best tournament of the year and probably the best event since last years British Open when Phil Mickelson made a final round comeback to win.  The big question on everyone’s mind is if Rory McIlroy could do what Tiger Woods did.  In order to do that, you have to be able to contend week in and week out.  Between the summer of 1999 and the Australian Masters in 2009, Tiger was close to flawless.  You could count on one hand the number of times Woods disappointed us which was a rarity.

So with the summer that Rory McIlroy has had it’s very easy to give him the title of the next, great Tiger Woods.  Frankly at my age, with the total collapse of Tiger I thought I would never see the mastery that we saw for ten years with Tiger.  Yes, Martin Kaymer was brilliant for a month, and we can even say that in 2007-08 Padraig Harrington was knocking on golf immortality.  But at the end of the day, Kaymer has missed cuts in two of his last five starts, and Harrington hasn’t won anything of substance since the 2008 PGA Championship.

So can this happen to McIlroy?  Absolutely.  He proved that with his win in the 2012 PGA Championship, then wins in the Deutsche Bank, BMW Championship and DP World Championship.  For some odd reason, golf was downgraded, and he spent more time chasing Caroline Wozniacki all over the world and his golf suffered.  2013 was very embarrassing for him, we can’t blame it all of Wozniacki.  McIlroy also had managerial problems, but more importunately winning was not the priority for Rory.  I feel it’s been the same for Tiger, despite all of the BS that he feeds us I really don’t think winning is that important for him.  It’s like that priority jumped out of his body the moment his hit that fire hydrant back in November of 2009.

I said it after the British Open, how McIlroy seemed totally different and how important it seem to be for him.  He showed that same spunk at the Bridgestone and the PGA Championship.  In my lifetime in golf which covers almost five decades I have only seen it one other time, with Tiger.  Will Rory have the same fire in the belly for a decade, guess we will have to see.  Hopefully, it will because golf can use the boost.

TV Ratings:

Of course, the ratings would be bigger than last year because the final two hours dipped into primetime.  It was up 36% over last year but it still doesn’t come close to what the ratings were during Tiger’s prime.  Now Rory brings in better ratings than a Jimmy Walker or a Patrick Reed.  Rory is probably pretty close to the ratings that Phil or Ernie Els gets, but they are nothing compared to what Tiger brought in.  Still the numbers were good, with the Sunday show getting about a 6.0 rating.  The big question, since both the British Open and Bridgestone ratings weren’t good does that mean that Rory won’t get the numbers in the future.  With Mickelson in the running on Sunday maybe that had more to do than Rory winning, guess we will have to see in future weeks.

At the end of the day the PGA Tour has to get higher ratings, sponsors like Crowne Plaza have warned the Tour that ratings are important, and we will have to wait and see if some sponsors will leave with lower ratings.

Tiger:

It’s very easy to say “stick a fork in him, he’s done”  Yes he didn’t have a very good year, but who knows if Tiger works hard he may play great next year.  But I think he is done, and hopefully Tom Watson will realize that.  I think that Tiger will be a disaster in the Ryder Cup, in talking with some players they say that European team members are hoping that Woods is on the team, they feel he will hurt them more than help them.  Tiger has been a professional for 17 years now and been a part in seven Ryder Cups.  But he has only been on one winning Ryder Cup team, so you have to think that he isn’t that much of a “team leader.”  The big question for Tom Watson is which three guys does he pick, he needs to find three guys really hot in the next month.  If he doesn’t find three, it’s very easy to go back to Woods.  It will be very interesting but right now I have to say that the European team has a big advantage.  Guess we will have to see how things pan out, there are still seven weeks left before the matches.

The Buzz:

This week is the end of the road for several players:

So here it is, for a good share of those in the field of the Wyndham this could be the end of the line.  In the past, this was the last week for those to make it into the FedEx Cup playoffs.  Those in the top-125 move on, while the others waited for the playoffs to finish.  Then they had five to seven event to get into the top-125 of the money list and save their Tour cards for the following year.

The system is drastically different.  The Wyndham is now the last regular tour event for 2014, so for many its a two edge sword.  Not only are they looking to finish in the top-125 and move onto the FedEx Cup playoffs, but for those that don’t finish in the top-125 they have lost their PGA Tour cards.

So what happens to those that don’t finish in the top-125?  A more expanded hell that is now called the Web.Com Tour finals.  Before it was the PGA Tour Qualifying tournament which if you made it to the final leg (there was three for the unfortunate that had gone through all three stages) it was six days of golf in which 25 cards were on the line for the 144 player field.  So if you had a bad first day or first couple of days, that was it you wouldn’t be able to recover and had to endure the Buy.Com Tour for a year.

Now the pain of qualifying is based on four events over the next four weeks.  So in a way the torture is greatly expanded but in a way you have more chances to qualifying.  Here is how it runs.  For those that are not in the top-125 of the FedEx Cup point totals, those between 126 and 200 get into the four tournament Web.Com Tour finals.  The events are the Hotel Fitness Championship in Fort Wayne, Ind., (Aug. 28 — 31), the Chiquita Classic in Davidson, N.C. (Sept. 4-7), the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship in Columbus, Ohio (Sept. 11-14) and then the Web.Com Tour Championship played at the Dye Valley course at the TPC Sawgrass (Sept. 18-21).

Those between 126 and 200 will be joined by the top-75 money winners off the Web.Com Tour.  The premise is that 50 cards will be given out.  The top-25 of the Web.Com money list will receive a card.  So for those that have played the tour all year they will have a big advantage over the PGA Tour players because the PGA Tour players will have zero dollars while those on the Web.Com Tour will have their money.  But with each event having a bigger purse with the first place of $180,000 those PGA Tour regulars will be able to make up the difference quickly.

The other 25 cards will go to players who earn the most-cumulative money in the four Web.Com Tour events.  So you can see, in a way there are more chances for players. If you play bad in the first couple of events and then catch fire, you can gain a card.  The only problem is that now your pain is over five weeks, not just six days.

A lot of us will miss the old PGA Tour qualifying tournament, but in a way this will be easier for players to regain their cards.  Only problem, new players won’t find a way into the final qualifying tournament and be able to have that shining moment, something that about a half dozen players a year get to do.  So to break into the PGA Tour will now be a two-year process of qualifying for the Web.Com Tour and then having to endure the Web.Com Tour finals.

So in a way this week’s event will be important for those not only getting into the top-125 but also to have some chance and get into the top-200.  For those that want to look and see what players have to do, the PGA Tour has a very good sheet with the scenarios for those in the Wyndham.

Tournament information:

Created in 1938, the 2014 edition of the Wyndham Championship will be the 75th tournament. Initially known as the Greater Greensboro Open, the tournament has blossomed from its paltry roots. The event was the vision of the Greensboro Jaycee’s Chapter, which was but a year old when the idea was conceived. Many were in favor of the creation of a golf tournament; however, no one took steps to creating an event until, at a meeting in the summer of 1937, Joseph Bryan put up capital to back the event. The PGA Tour placed the tournament on the 1938 schedule.

If Joseph Bryan is credited with being the backer, then Sam Snead is the owner of the event. His eight victories at Greensboro, including the inaugural event, was a record for most victories by a player at one tournament until Tiger tied him in several events. The Greensboro-based tournament had been played every year except for 1943 and 1944, when the event paused because of World War II.

The tournament name held until 1988, when Kmart became the title sponsor, and the event became known as the Kmart Greater Greensboro Open.  After an eight year run, Chrysler took over in 1996 and in 2003 the Greater was dropped in favor of Chrysler Classic of Greensboro. That name held until 2006, when Daimler Chrysler pulled out as title sponsor and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts took over. The 2014 Wyndham Championship has ramifications for the FedEx Cup Championship. The Wyndham Championship is the last event in which golfers, vying for position in the playoff system, can earn points.

For 31 years between 1977 and 2007, Forest Oaks Country Club hosted the event, but it wasn’t considered “fan friendly” and the course wasn’t very memorable.  One of the reasons that Forest Oaks got the event in 1977 from Sedgefield was because the course was too short and didn’t have the room and parking to handle big crowds.  It was a big disappointment for the members when they lost the event and many had been lobbying to get it back.  With Wyndham taking over the sponsorship and having it’s offices nearby, and the membership invested $3 million dollars to renovate the course it opened the doors for the return.  When the course was reopened in 2007 to rave reviews, it was decided to change venues for 2008 and has held the event ever since.

Course information:

Between 1938 and 1976 Sedgefield held the Wyndham Championship 26 times and was considered a great old Donald Ross course.  Unfortunately the course was short and small for galleries so the event moved on.  Still the course was considered a gem and for years membership tried to lure it back.

Sedgefield founded in 1925, is located in the rolling hills of Greensboro’s Sedgefield neighborhood. The club has hosted many amateur golf tournaments as well as 32 years of the Wyndham Championship. In addition to its Donald Ross-designed golf course, Sedgefield is perhaps best known for its signature clubhouse, a Tudor-style building housed in the framework of the original Sedgefield Inn built in 1925, the Atlantic Coast Conference was founded in this building in 1953.

Couple of years ago the club entrusted North Carolina course architect Kris Spence with the job of restoring the course back to its original Donald Ross design while making adjustments to bring the course in line with the modern game.  Spence’s renovation added another 400 yards to Sedgefield, bringing its length to 7,130 yards. Par will be 70 as the 18th hole will be converted into a par 4.

Emphasis must be put on ball placement in the fairway in order to get the appropriate angle to the green. The greens at Sedgefield are very undulating and slope from back to front, with many falling off the edges into collection areas.  In 2013 Sedgefield played to a 69.383 scoring average, more than a shot under par for the field.  It ranked as the 23rd hardest of 43 courses for 2013.

It will be an interesting scenario for the players that a Donald Ross course will be used to get players ready for next month’s Tour Championship that will be played on another Ross course at Eastlake.

Here are some of the secrets of what it takes to play well at the Wyndham Championship:

Key stat for the winner:

Sedgefield is a very versatile course. Length is not critical because the course plays at about 7,130 yards, just a notch below average for a PGA Tour event. With length not being a factor, players are afforded the opportunity to use either driver or long iron off the tee. The most-critical thing for the field is to manage the slope of the course. To do that, ball control and accuracy are key.

Now this tournament was made famous by Sam Snead, who won it eight times, the PGA Tour record for the most victories by a player in a single event. Snead captured the inaugural event in 1938, and when he won it for the eighth time in 1965, he became the oldest winner in PGA Tour history at 52 years, 10 months and eight days.

Between 1949 and 1965 Snead was never higher than 8th and won $37,827 or about the same amount that the player in 28th place will win this week.  For the record, if Snead would have played all 17 events at the present purse of $5.3 million his Greensboro earnings would have been $7,786,000.  Oh Snead is the only winner in Greensboro history to defend his championship so Patrick will be looking to break that 56-year record.

Here are some more key stats to look to for this week:

Length is obviously not an issue so that opens things up quite a bit. Look for the winner to be someone who doesn’t like to muscle up with the driver, and just settle for using a long iron for control. Past winners of the event are some of the best iron players on tour. The likes of Sergio Garcia, Webb Simpson, Mark O’Meara, Davis Love III, and Steve Elkington have hoisted the trophy. Look for the winner to be able to manage the surroundings, as the undulations are the most difficult part of the golf course.

North Carolina in the summer time is rife with heat and humidity. This will be important because the bent grass greens will bake making the undulated greens even more challenging.

Hitting greens will be at a premium at this Donald Ross gem, just like it was last week at Atlanta Athletic Club.   Hitting lots of greens goes a long way at the Wyndham Championship.  Look for the winner to hit greens in bunches.

With wet weather of late, rough should be tough and hard to get out of.  The fairways will be soft so it will be harder to run into the rought.

Last week at the PGA, lots of low scoring on a wet course.  I can see this week someone shooting a 59 at Sedgefield. The course is really short by tour standards and you have to think that if conditions play just right that could happen.  Since the tournament moved to Sedgefield in 2008, 61 has been shot five times including once in 2012 but I just see the course very vulnerable this year.

Talking about the weather, the good news is that this week is going to be great with very little chance of rain for the four days of the event.