TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola
Dates: Sept. 24-27
Venue: East Lake Golf Club, Atlanta, Ga.
Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern):
Thursday 1-6 p.m. (Live) / 8:30 p.m.-1:30 a.m. (Replay)
Friday 1-6 p.m. (Live) / 11 p.m.-4 a.m. (Replay)
Saturday 10 a.m.-Noon (Live) / 10 p.m.-3:30 a.m. (Replay)
Sunday Noon-1:30 p.m. (Live) / 10 p.m.-3 a.m. (Replay)
Tournament Airtimes on NBC (Eastern):
Saturday Noon-3:30 p.m. (Live)
Sunday 1:30-6 p.m. (Live)
Broadcast Notes:
$10 million prize up for grabs: The 2014-15 PGA TOUR season culminates this week with the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola. The 30-man field will compete for a chance to win the 2015 FedExCup, and the accompanying $10 million prize. Players sitting in the top-5 in the current standings are in position to automatically claim the FedExCup with a win this week, while those outside of the top-5 will have to rely on how others finish to have any chance at winning the title. The 30 players having qualified for the TOUR Championship have earned invitations/exemptions into the 2016 Masters, U.S. Open and Open Championship. Players in the field also are guaranteed at least $300,000 (30th place) and could earn as much as $11,485,000 (winning both the tournament and overall FedExCup).
Payne Stewart Award Ceremony, Airing Tonight on Golf Channel at 7 p.m. ET: Four-time major champion Ernie Els will receive the 2015 Payne Stewart Award – presented annually to a professional golfer who best exemplifies Payne Stewart’s steadfast values of character, charity and sportsmanship – during a special ceremony airing live on Golf Channel as a Golf Central special, tonight at 7 p.m. ET. Hosted by Dan Hicks and Todd Lewis, coverage of the award ceremony will begin at 6 p.m. ET within Golf Central, featuring interviews with Stewart’s wife and daughter, Tracey and Chelsea Stewart; Els’ wife and co-founder of the Els for Autism Foundation, Liezl Els; PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem; PGA TOUR professionals Jordan Spieth and Jimmy Walker; and Southern Company Chairman and CEO Thomas A. Fanning. During the award ceremony (beginning at 7 p.m. ET), Els will sit down with Lewis to discuss the award and his accomplishments off the course. Rich Lerner will conclude the special in delivering a tribute essay to Els and his family. Following the ceremony at 8 p.m. ET, Golf Channel will air a special encore presentation of Payne, the critically-acclaimed one-hour documentary chronicling Stewart’s life and career and remembering the dedicated family man, entertainer, jokester and golf fashion-icon.
Golf Central Special on Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. ET featuring news conferences with Commissioner Finchem, Spieth: Tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. ET Golf Channel will air a Golf Central Special from East Lake Golf Club, featuring news conferences with PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem (11:30 a.m.) and Jordan Spieth (Noon).
Headlining the field (current FedExCup rankings): Jason Day (1); Jordan Spieth (2); Rickie Fowler (3); Henrik Stenson (4); Bubba Watson (5); Zach Johnson (6); Dustin Johnson (7); Charley Hoffman (8); Daniel Berger (9); Patrick Reed (10); Rory McIlroy (11); Justin Rose (12); Jimmy Walker (13); Robert Streb (14); Hideki Matsuyama (15); Jim Furyk (16); J.B. Holmes (17); Kevin Kisner (18); Danny Lee (19); Scott Piercy (20); Matt Kuchar (21); Paul Casey (22); Brandt Snedeker (23); Steven Bowditch (24); Brooks Koepka (25); Bill Haas (26); Kevin Na (27); Sangmoon Bae (28); Louis Oosthuizen (29); Harris English (30).
CHAMPIONS TOUR
Nature Valley First Tee Open at Pebble Beach
Dates: Sept. 25-27
Venues: Pebble Beach Golf Links; Poppy Hills Golf Course, Pebble Beach, Calif.
Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern):
Friday 6-8:30 p.m. (Live) / 4-6 a.m. (Saturday replay)
Saturday 6-9 p.m. (Live) / 3:30-6 a.m. (Sunday replay)
Sunday 6:30-9 p.m. (Live) / 3-5 a.m. (Monday replay)
Broadcast Notes:
Format: 81 professionals will compete alongside one junior golfer and two other amateurs on Friday and Saturday, playing once at each of the course venues, Pebble Beach and Poppy Hills. 23 pro-junior teams, as well as 10 two-player amateur teams will make the cut to compete in the final round at Pebble Beach. The 81 juniors in the field were selected from 55 First Tee chapters throughout the United States. At the conclusion of this week, only three events remain on the Champions Tour schedule prior to the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship in Scottsdale, Ariz., Nov. 5-8.
Cook defends: John Cook defeated Tom Byrum by one stroke for his 10th career Champions Tour win.
Headlining the field: Fred Couples, Tom Watson, Davis Love III, Colin Montgomerie, Jay Haas, Vijay Singh, Jeff Maggert, Marco Dawson, Billy Andrade and Kevin Sutherland.
WEB.COM TOUR
Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship
Dates: Sept. 24-27
Venue: The Ohio State University Golf Club (Scarlet Course), Columbus, Ohio
Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern):
Thursday 6-8 p.m. (Tape delay) / 4-6 p.m. (Streaming on Golf Live Extra)
Friday 8:30-10:30 p.m. (Tape delay) / 4-6 p.m. (Streaming on Golf Live Extra)
Saturday 4-6 p.m. (Live)
Sunday 1:30-4:30 p.m. (Live)
Broadcast Notes:
Web.com Tour Finals continue: This week the Web.com Tour stages the penultimate tournament of the four-event Web.com Tour Finals, as eligible players finishing 126-200 in the PGA TOUR FedExCup standings and players finishing 26-100 on the Web.com Tour season money list will compete for a chance at securing one of 25 additional 2015-16 PGA TOUR cards up for grabs at the conclusion of the Web.com Tour Championship. Players having finished in the top-25 on the Web.com Tour money list already having secured their 2015-16 PGA TOUR card also are eligible to complete in the Web.com Tour Finals to try and improve their playing status for next season.
Headlining the field: Jason Allred, Tommy Gainey, Oliver Goss, Cody Gribble, Trey Mullinax, Rob Oppenheim, Kevin Tway, Lucas Glover, Sam Saunders, Billy Hurley and Scott Langley.
EUROPEAN TOUR
Porsche European Open
Dates: Sept. 24-27
Venue: Hartl Resort at Bad Griesbach (Beckenbauer Course), Bad Griesbach, Germany
Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern):
Thursday 5-7 a.m. / 9 a.m.-Noon (Live)
Friday 5-7 a.m. / 9 a.m.-Noon (Live)
Saturday Noon-3:30 p.m. (Tape delay) / 7-11 a.m. (Streaming on Golf Live Extra)
Sunday 9-11 a.m. (Live)
Broadcast Notes:
Cevaer defends: Christian Cevaer finished one stroke ahead of the field for his second European Tour victory.
Headlining the field: Hunter Mahan, Graeme McDowell, Bernhard Langer, Charl Schwartzel, Ben An, Jamie Donaldson, Morgan Hoffmann, Thongchai Jaidee and Miguel Angel Jimenez.
PGA TOUR
The Barclays
Dates: Aug. 27-30
Venue: Plainfield Country Club, Edison, N.J.
Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern):
Thursday 2-6 p.m. (Live) / 9 p.m.-1 a.m. (Replay)
Friday 2-6 p.m. (Live) / 10:30 p.m.-2:30 a.m. (Replay)
Saturday 1-2:30 p.m. (Live) / 10:30 p.m.-3 a.m. (Replay)
Sunday Noon-1:30 p.m. (Live) / 10:30 p.m.-3 a.m. (Replay)
Broadcast Notes:
Kicking off the FedExCup Playoffs: The PGA TOUR 2014-15 regular season concluded last week after 43 events and the top-125 in the FedExCup standings earned their 2015-16 PGA TOUR cards and became eligible to compete in the Playoffs. 121 players are currently in the field this week, and the top-100 in the standings following Sunday’s final round will be eligible to compete in next week’s Deutsche Bank Championship near Boston.
Mahan defends: Hunter Mahan won by two shots for his sixth career PGA TOUR win.
Headlining the field: Jordan Spieth, Jason Day, Bubba Watson, Rickie Fowler, Jimmy Walker, Justin Rose, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Zach Johnson, Patrick Reed and Robert Streb.
WEB.COM TOUR
WinCo Foods Portland Open
Dates: Aug. 27-30
Venue: Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club (Witch Hollow Course), North Plains, Oregon
Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern):
Thursday 6-8:30 p.m. (Live)
Friday 8-10 p.m. (Tape delay)
Saturday 7-9:30 p.m. (Live)
Sunday 7-9:30 p.m. (Live) / 5-6 a.m. (Monday replay)
Broadcast Notes:
Finalizing “The 25”: The top-25 on the Web.com Tour money list following Sunday’s final round will earn their 2015-16 PGA TOUR card. Players finishing 26-100 on the money list will be eligible to compete for 25 additional PGA TOUR cards in the four-event Web.com Tour Finals, along with players having finished 126-200 in the PGA TOUR’s FedExCup standings.
Headlining the field: Patton Kizzire, Martin Piller, Dawie van der Walt, Peter Malnati, Smylie Kaufman, Wes Roach, Si Woo Kim, Kelly Kraft, Shane Bertsch and Abraham Ancer.
LPGA TOUR
Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic
Dates: Aug. 27-30
Venue: RTJ Golf Trail at Capitol Hill (Senator Course), Prattville, Ala.
Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern):
Thursday 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. (Live)
Friday 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. (Live) / 4:30-6 a.m. (Saturday replay)
Saturday 5-7 p.m. (Live) / 5-6 a.m. (Sunday replay)
Sunday 5-7 p.m. (Live)
Broadcast Notes:
Henderson to be featured in “Rookie Spotlight” during Friday’s coverage: 17-year-old Brooke Henderson – who was granted LPGA Tour membership last week after winning the Cambia Portland Classic – will be featured in “Rookie Spotlight” during Friday’s second round coverage.
Hur defends: Mi Jung Hur finished four shots ahead of Stacy Lewis for his second career LPGA Tour victory.
Headlining the field: Stacy Lewis, Brooke Henderson, Lexi Thompson, Brittany Lincicome, Anna Nordqvist, Brittany Lang, Angela Stanford, Charley Hull and Cheyenne Woods.
CHAMPIONS TOUR
Dick’s Sporting Goods Open
Dates: Aug. 28-30
Venue: En-Joie Golf Course, Endicott, N.Y.
Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern):
Friday 6-8 p.m. / 4-6 p.m. (Streaming on Golf Live Extra)
Saturday 3-5 p.m. (Live) / 3-5 a.m. (Sunday replay)
Sunday 2-5 p.m. (Live) / 3-5 a.m. (Monday replay)
Broadcast Notes:
Langer defends: Bernhard Langer finished one stroke ahead of Woody Austin and Mark O’Meara for his 23rd career Champions Tour win.
Headlining the field: Bernhard Langer, Jeff Maggert, Kenny Perry, Mark O’Meara, Jay Haas, Marco Dawson, Kevin Sutherland, Joe Durant, Woody Austin and Lee Janzen.
EUROPEAN TOUR
D+D Real Czech Masters
Dates: Aug. 27-30
Venue: Albatross Golf Resort, Prague, Czech Republic
Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern):
Thursday 5-7 a.m. / 9-11:30 a.m. (Live)
Friday 5-7 a.m. / 9-11:30 a.m. (Live)
Saturday 7-11 a.m. (Live)
Sunday 6:30-11 a.m. (Live)
Broadcast Notes:
Headlining the field: Victor Dubuisson, Eddie Pepperell, Thorbjorn Olesen, Peter Uihlein, David Horsey, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Bradley Dredge, Gregory Bourdy and James Morrison.
The results are in… Love it or hate it, Tiger Woods has won his 11th PGA Tour Player of the Year award, as voted on by his peers. While I may have preferred to see Adam Scott or Phil Mickelson win POY, based on the pure numbers I can’t say I disagree with the outcome.
The Numbers
Tiger won five times on tour in 2013: Farmers Insurance Open, WGC Cadillac, Arnold Palmer Invitational, THE PLAYERS (always write “The Players” in ALL CAPS, it’s what they do) Championship, WGC Bridgestone. Two of the five events were World Golf Championships events. These events have stronger fields in terms of world rankings.
Five wins makes a great career for most tour players. For perspective, these PGA Tour players have recorded five wins in their entire careers: Nick Watney, Justin Rose, Scott Verplank, Billy Mayfair, Hunter Mahan, Tom Lehman, Padraig Harrington, Bill Haas, Luke Donald, John Daly.
Tiger led the season long FedEx Cup points standings until the final round of the playoffs where he “ran out of gas.”
Woods led the world golf rankings by a large margin over #2 Adam Scott.
Woods also led the money race, finishing at $8,553,439. The closest competitor was Henrik Stenson at $6,388,230.
Tiger also won the Vardon Trophy for adjusted scoring average at 68.985.
Looking at these numbers it is an easy pick, as Scott and Mickelson both only had two wins.
No Majors
The funny thing about this season is that most Tiger Woods fans would call his season disappointing. I can’t say I disagree there, based on the standard which has been set.
I believe that major championships, just like in FedEx Cup points and world rankings, should have considerably more weight in calculating awards like Player of the Year. A major in my mind is worth several regular tour victories. How many? I’d say at least three. That’s why I would have had no problem voting for Adam Scott or Phil Mickelson, if I had a vote to begin with.
Rules Infractions
2013 was quite a year for Tiger with regards to rules infractions. First was the bizarre situation at The Masters where Tiger’s approach on the par-5 15th doinked off the pin and into the water. He then made an improper drop and later signed an incorrect score card as he did not assess himself the penalty. Nobody would have known about the improper drop had Woods not commented that he dropped his ball farther away from the original position. But the Masters rules committed ruled in his favor before his round concluded and Woods was not disqualified. Tiger haters were throwing fits online, calling for him to be disqualified, while fans argued the opposing view.
Then there was the drop on the 14th hole at THE PLAYERS (always write “The Players” in ALL CAPS, it’s what they do) Championship. Woods pulled his tee shot left into a water hazard. The position which he dropped was harshly questioned on the air by Johnny Miller.
Finally there was the infamous ball moving problem on Friday of the final FedEx Cup event at East Lake. Tiger was in some trees and moving loose impediments from near his ball. His ball moved at which time he immediately stopped as if to say “uh, oh. I just caused the ball to move.” But he didn’t call a penalty on himself, nor did he call a rules official over. After video review, PGA Tour rules official Slugger White tacked on two more shots to the already double-bogey Woods scored on the hole. Despite seeing the video several times, Woods still refused to admit moving the ball.
Final Comments
Tiger is a very polarizing figure no doubt. Reading social networking threads and blog comments regarding Tiger can be quite entertaining as the fans and haters tend to go at each other’s throats digitally.
I was quite surprised to hear Tiger cite “running out of gas” as a reason for his poor performance down the stretch of the FedEx Cup playoffs. When I first heard that statement I thought, “what the #$&? He’s a world class athlete!”
But Woods is not getting any younger. Perhaps all the wear and tear on those knees and back are catching up to him? Maybe. I suspect the bulk of the fatigue Woods was referring to was mental. Anyone who plays golf would understand that.
How many majors Tiger wins from this point on, if any at all, remains to be seen. Any conjecture is just that, conjecture. Personally I’m very tired of the constant “will Tiger break Jack’s record?” dribble from the mainstream golf media. Its so old, and its getting older. Maybe that dribble will “run out of gas” too.
I hope so.
Rank | Player Name | Winnings |
---|---|---|
1 | Henrik Stenson | 10,000,000 |
2 | Tiger Woods | 3,000,000 |
3 | Steve Stricker | 2,000,000 |
4 | Adam Scott | 1,500,000 |
5 | Zach Johnson | 1,000,000 |
6 | Matt Kuchar | 800,000 |
7 | Jordan Spieth | 700,000 |
8 | Graham DeLaet | 600,000 |
9 | Phil Mickelson | 550,000 |
10 | Justin Rose | 500,000 |
11 | Webb Simpson | 300,000 |
12 | Brandt Snedeker | 290,000 |
13 | Dustin Johnson | 280,000 |
14 | Jim Furyk | 270,000 |
15 | Nick Watney | 250,000 |
16 | Billy Horschel | 245,000 |
17 | Jason Day | 240,000 |
18 | Keegan Bradley | 235,000 |
19 | Jason Dufner | 230,000 |
20 | Hunter Mahan | 225,000 |
21 | Roberto Castro | 220,000 |
22 | Sergio Garcia | 215,000 |
23 | Gary Woodland | 210,000 |
24 | Bill Haas | 205,000 |
25 | Kevin Streelman | 200,000 |
26 | Brendon de Jonge | 195,000 |
27 | Charl Schwartzel | 190,000 |
28 | Luke Donald | 185,000 |
29 | Boo Weekley | 180,000 |
30 | D.A. Points | 175,000 |
31 | Harris English | 165,000 |
32 | Matt Jones | 155,000 |
33 | Kevin Stadler | 150,000 |
34 | Chris Kirk | 145,000 |
35 | Charles Howell III | 142,000 |
36 | Jimmy Walker | 140,000 |
37 | Bubba Watson | 138,000 |
38 | Rickie Fowler | 137,000 |
39 | John Merrick | 136,000 |
40 | Daniel Summerhays | 135,000 |
41 | Lee Westwood | 134,000 |
42 | John Huh | 133,000 |
43 | Chris Stroud | 132,000 |
44 | Russell Henley | 131,000 |
45 | Kevin Chappell | 130,000 |
46 | Rory Sabbatini | 129,000 |
47 | Brian Davis | 128,000 |
48 | David Lynn | 127,000 |
49 | Scott Piercy | 126,000 |
50 | Rory McIlroy | 125,000 |
51 | Ryan Moore | 120,000 |
52 | Jonas Blixt | 115,000 |
53 | Ian Poulter | 114,000 |
54 | Patrick Reed | 113,000 |
55 | Graeme McDowell | 110,000 |
56 | David Hearn | 110,000 |
57 | Brian Gay | 110,000 |
58 | Matt Every | 110,000 |
59 | Marc Leishman | 110,000 |
60 | Nicholas Thompson | 110,000 |
61 | Charley Hoffman | 110,000 |
62 | Jason Kokrak | 110,000 |
63 | Scott Stallings | 110,000 |
64 | Bryce Molder | 110,000 |
65 | Angel Cabrera | 110,000 |
66 | Michael Thompson | 110,000 |
67 | Ken Duke | 110,000 |
68 | Ernie Els | 110,000 |
69 | Sang-Moon Bae | 110,000 |
70 | Brendan Steele | 110,000 |
71 | Ryan Palmer | 80,000 |
72 | Freddie Jacobson | 80,000 |
73 | K.J. Choi | 80,000 |
74 | Martin Laird | 80,000 |
75 | David Lingmerth | 80,000 |
76 | Stewart Cink | 80,000 |
77 | Kyle Stanley | 80,000 |
78 | Josh Teater | 80,000 |
79 | Cameron Tringale | 80,000 |
80 | Tim Clark | 80,000 |
81 | John Rollins | 75,000 |
82 | Camilo Villegas | 75,000 |
83 | Bob Estes | 75,000 |
84 | Martin Kaymer | 75,000 |
85 | Jerry Kelly | 75,000 |
86 | Justin Leonard | 75,000 |
87 | Martin Flores | 75,000 |
88 | Scott Brown | 75,000 |
89 | Bo Van Pelt | 75,000 |
90 | Luke Guthrie | 75,000 |
91 | Robert Garrigus | 75,000 |
92 | Brian Stuard | 75,000 |
93 | Derek Ernst | 75,000 |
94 | Brian Harman | 75,000 |
95 | Stuart Appleby | 75,000 |
96 | Richard Lee | 75,000 |
97 | Greg Chalmers | 75,000 |
98 | Pat Perez | 75,000 |
99 | Erik Compton | 75,000 |
100 | William McGirt | 75,000 |
101 | Aaron Baddeley | 70,000 |
102 | George McNeill | 70,000 |
103 | James Driscoll | 70,000 |
104 | Geoff Ogilvy | 70,000 |
105 | Ted Potter, Jr. | 70,000 |
106 | J.J. Henry | 70,000 |
107 | Carl Pettersson | 70,000 |
108 | Jeff Overton | 70,000 |
109 | John Senden | 70,000 |
110 | James Hahn | 70,000 |
111 | Mark Wilson | 70,000 |
112 | Charlie Beljan | 70,000 |
113 | Jason Bohn | 70,000 |
114 | Lucas Glover | 70,000 |
115 | Jeff Maggert | 70,000 |
116 | Justin Hicks | 70,000 |
117 | Morgan Hoffmann | 70,000 |
118 | Chez Reavie | 70,000 |
119 | D.H. Lee | 70,000 |
120 | Andres Romero | 70,000 |
121 | Johnson Wagner | 70,000 |
122 | Scott Langley | 70,000 |
123 | Charlie Wi | 70,000 |
124 | Steven Bowditch | 70,000 |
125 | Ben Crane | 70,000 |
126 | Robert Streb | 32,000 |
127 | Peter Hanson | 32,000 |
128 | Nicolas Colsaerts | 32,000 |
129 | Brad Fritsch | 32,000 |
130 | Padraig Harrington | 32,000 |
131 | Bud Cauley | 32,000 |
132 | Ricky Barnes | 32,000 |
133 | Fabian Gomez | 32,000 |
134 | Greg Owen | 32,000 |
135 | Shawn Stefani | 32,000 |
136 | Chad Campbell | 32,000 |
137 | Woody Austin | 32,000 |
138 | David Toms | 32,000 |
139 | Jim Herman | 32,000 |
140 | Tommy Gainey | 32,000 |
141 | Ryo Ishikawa | 32,000 |
142 | Tag Ridings | 32,000 |
143 | Trevor Immelman | 32,000 |
144 | Dicky Pride | 32,000 |
145 | Brendon Todd | 32,000 |
146 | Vijay Singh | 32,000 |
147 | Doug LaBelle II | 32,000 |
148 | Ben Kohles | 32,000 |
149 | Brandt Jobe | 32,000 |
150 | Justin Bolli | 32,000 |
POS | PLAYER | EARNINGS | TO PAR | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | TOTAL |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|