News: TOUR Notes
May 16 2012
4:07 pm
Fantasy gamers: It’s time to plan
By Rob Bolton, PGATOUR.COM Fantasy columnist
FANTASY PREVIEW: HP Byron Nelson | Sign up for fantasy
Like the decline of U.S. mail following the holidays, emails into FantasyInsider@charter.net were scant after last week’s PLAYERS, at least for relevant submissions in this space. That’s quite all right, however, as it offers great timing for gamers in full-season formats to plan ahead.
Unless you play a one-and-done that requires you to plug in an entire year’s worth of what are basically guesses in early January, you’re always on the hunt for value. The PGA TOUR season is long and it requires patience. Sometimes you just need to let your guys play golf.
Yet there are bubbles throughout the year when pouncing on certain guys makes more sense than during your draft. The first occurs at the end of the West Coast Swing when the Nationwide Tour and q-school graduates reshuffle for the first time. The second bubble falls in line with the second reshuffle following the Shell Houston Open. We are now entering the third bubble.
The top 60 in the Official World Golf Ranking following this weekend’s slate of tournaments worldwide will qualify for the field at the U.S. Open. The top 50 will earn exemptions into the British Open. And those are just the cracks in the dam for what will be a deluge of exemptions distributed by both majors in the coming weeks.
Numerous valuable fantasy investments will emerge at the qualifiers. U.S. Open sectional qualifying is contested on May 21 in Japan, May 28 in England and June 4 in the United States. Of the 72 that survived the cut at Congressional in last year’s U.S. Open, 33 gained entry into the tournament through sectional qualifying. (Four started in local qualifying, including 2012 rookie Bud Cauley.)
The remaining International Final Qualifying sites for the British Open are held on May 21 in the U.S. and June 25 in Europe. Twelve berths at Local Final Qualifying on July 3 will also earn exemptions. Last year, 10 of the 71 in the field at Royal St. George’s gained entry via an IFQ. Opening-round co-leader, Tom Lewis, was the lone representative of the dozen LFQers.
If you haven’t already bookmarked my list of all golfers exempt into the four majors, the three World Golf Championships and THE PLAYERS, you can find it by clicking here. Scroll to the bottom to review all remaining qualifying criteria for the events that on tap in the coming months.
3:08 pm
Vaughn Taylor lands the big one
IRVING, Texas – Vaughn Taylor is back on the PGA TOUR this week, playing in the HP Byron Nelson Championship.
He wasn’t in the field at last week’s THE PLAYERS Championship, but nevertheless, it was a productive week, as Taylor caught a 56-pound, 2-ounce striped bass on the Savannah River in Georgia, a record for that species at that river.
“My biggest previous one was 11 pounds, so this was huge for me,” Taylor told the Augusta Chronicle. “I had heard of 20 pounders out there and hoped maybe I’d catch one some day.”
Ed Bettross, the Senior Fisheries Biologist with the Wildlife Resources Division at the Georgia Dept. of Natural Resources, did the official weigh-in of the fish and took the above photo.
For more on Taylor’s big catch, click for Augusta Chronicle story
2:55 pm
Mickelson, Els discuss Byron Nelson
IRVING, Texas – Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els are past champions of the HP Byron Nelson Championship, and each one was congratulated by Byron Nelson after their respective wins – Els in 1995, Mickelson in 1996.
Both players were asked Wednesday on the eve of this year’s HP Byron Nelson Championship about their thoughts on Nelson, who died in 2006. Here’s what they said:
PHIL MICKELSON: “It was a cool relationship that I had to be able to spend time with him, have dinner with him and talk with him, go out to the golf course and spend time with him.
“I think he was one of the highest individuals‑‑ the most moralistic, most ethical man I have ever met, and he treated people well. He was a credit to the game because he treated people like they should be treated and showed you how to act. His wife Peggy is such a neat lady and has carried on his great tradition.
“I think it’s just the time spent, you know, the time spent asking questions, learning about what it was like back in the 40s, 50s, learning what it was like for him growing up. It was the time to talk to him I think that was my biggest memory.
“He was so sharp and mentally with it even to his last days that it impressed me that he would be able to recollect tournaments from 60 years prior, and that always fascinated me. “
ERNIE ELS: “First of all, the start of my career I started in Dallas, back in ’90 and ’91. I met a lot of great people and went through school from Dallas, and there is a nice connection there.
“I started playing in the early 90s, met Mr.Nelson, and we used to do a clinic on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and I remember in ’95 I had a clinic, and he was sitting behind us and watching us hit balls, and after the clinic was done he came to me and said, ‘You know, I think you swing the club as good as I’ve seen anybody swing the club.’
“And that gave me confidence to know early on, at an early age in my career that I was doing things right. I went on to win the tournament. He was always helping me. “
2:00 pm
Marino to return at Memorial
Steve Marino, who has been sidelined with a knee injury since the end of January, will return to action at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide Insurance, May 31-June 3 at Muirfield Village.
Marino, who underwent surgery on his right knee last October to repair a torn meniscus, has not played since the Farmers Insurance Open, where he tied for 66th.
“This is one of those injuries that takes time to heal and rehab,” Marino said in a statement Wednesday. “I tried to play in January but I experienced a lot of swelling and pain. If you try to come back too early you can do more damage. So, I had to learn how to be patient. I have done that and I have gone through the necessary rehab and now I am eager to get back out on TOUR.”
Marino made three starts this season before shutting it down. His best finish was a tie for 19th in the Humana Challenge in partnership with the Clinton Foundation.
The 32-year-old has made 144 starts without a victory on the PGA TOUR, but has come close a handful of times with four career runner-up finishes.
1:25 pm
Crenshaw on Nelson, Hogan, Snead
EDITOR’S NOTE: Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan and Sam Snead were each born 100 years ago, and their lives eventually intersected as three of golf’s legendary players. PGATOUR.COM asked another golfing great, Ben Crenshaw, to provide his thoughts on each of the three as part of our Century Celebration. Besides writing about Byron Nelson this week for the HP Byron Nelson Championship, Crenshaw also shares his thoughts below about the three players collectively.
Let us know your memories and thoughts about Nelson, Hogan and Snead
By Ben Crenshaw, Special to PGATOUR.COM
Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan and Sam Snead.
What you have are three fascinating and very different players who came along at the same time who possessed higher skills than anyone else at the time. I suppose you classify them collectively picking up the mantle after the Jones era. And that they happened to all three be born in 1912 — at a time when so much was changing — that is fascinating in itself.
When you stand back and see all three of them, they shaped our game until Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer and Gary Player came along.
I suppose there is one argument that’s for the ages — which one of these players impressed you most — and there are always different camps.
Ben Hogan hit the ball better than anybody. Byron Nelson had his camp too. It’s hard to believe that anybody would hit the ball better than what he did. How consistent he was. Consistency, no question, marked his performances. But ability-wise and shot- making they say Sam Snead.
They were just astounding, astounding players. I don’t think there’s any question in my mind that it wouldn’t matter what era they were playing in, they would have made it work despite the equipment. They were that good.
I’ve seen a lot of golfers in my time, but there have never been three players who have impressed me more. Not only in the way they played and their records, but what they meant to the game. They sort of burst onto the scene in the mid 30s and took over for so long — through the late ‘50s when their names were on everybody’s lips.
What they accomplished– individually and collectively — was unbelievable.
1:08 pm
Direct Connect: Erik Compton
Direct Connect: Erik Compton
John Swantek interviews PGA TOUR rookie Erik Compton, from the media center at the HP Byron Nelson Championship, and asks him a variety of questions supplied by PGA TOUR fans.
12:30 pm
Watch: HP Byron Nelson preview
Can Bradley defend?
This week the PGA TOUR stops in Irving, Texas for the HP Byron Nelson Championship, where Keegan Bradley looks to defend his title.
News: HP Byron Nelson Championship
May 15 2012
4:09 pm
Kuchar’s challenge: Win two straight
Watch: Kuchar on his consistency
Newly crowned PLAYERS champion Matt Kuchar discusses his consistent play going into this week's HP Byron Nelson Championship.
By Mike McAllister, PGATOUR.COM
IRVING, Texas — Now that he’s won the biggest tournament of his PGA TOUR career, Matt Kuchar faces the challenge of quickly getting refocused again this week at the HP Byron Nelson Championship.
It won’t be easy. No player since Tiger Woods late in the 2009 season has won a TOUR event on consecutive calendar weeks. Rickie Fowler came close last week, finishing tied for second two strokes behind Kuchar, just one week after winning the Wells Fargo Championship.
Kuchar, fresh off Sunday’s win at THE PLAYERS Championship, is trying to get back to a normal routine while still having to pinch himself about his success at TPC Sawgrass.
"Didn’t do much sleeping on Sunday (night)," Kuchar said, "got up early Monday and had to read the paper and and watch the highlight reels just to make sure it really did happen. Had to go through a couple of different checklists to make sure it all did happen."
Of his three previous wins on TOUR prior to THE PLAYERS, Kuchar twice played the following week. After his 2002 win at The Honda Classic, he finished T28 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard. And after his 2010 win at The Barclays to start the FedExCup Playoffs, he finished T11 the next week at the Deutsche Bank Championship.
He said the biggest challenge is trying to get his work in while going through the added responsibilities of media and other obligations, along with meeting with friends and fellow TOUR pros looking to congratulate him. He said a normally three- or four-hour practice routine on Tuesday might turn into seven or eight hours.
"The challenges are the extra distractions," he said. "They’re great distractions … They’re fun stuff. I wouldn’t want it a different way. Having your peers and players come up and congratulate you is a great feeling."
Kuchar said winning such a big event as THE PLAYERS might be reason enough to take the next week off. But his swing coach Chris O’Connell is from the area, giving Kuchar a chance to put in extended work on the range. Plus, Kuchar finished tied for sixth here last year, so he’s encouraged about his chances this week.
Plus, his children like making the trip.
"My kids always want to put on their cowboy boots," Kuchar said. "They know that cowboys live in Texas, so when they come here, they want to be cowboys. So they have a good time coming to Texas as well."
2:21 pm
Make your picks: HP Byron Nelson
Keegan Bradley downed Ryan Palmer in a playoff last year at TPC Four Seasons, and both made our list this week. Check our this week’s Expert Picks to see who did make the cut and scope out our Sleeper Picks for some players who could surprise this week.
Did our experts get it right? Let us know who you think will win this week in the comments section below.
2:12 pm
Notable groups: HP Byron Nelson
Tee times for the first two rounds of the HP Byron Nelson Championship have been released. Check out some of the notable groups and let us know who you are interested in watching in the Comments section below.
Phil Mickelson/Adam Scott/Ernie Els – This group features three former champions. Ernie Els won the tournament in his 1995 debut while Mickelson, who won the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am earlier this year, took the title in 1996 and was runner-up four years later. Scott won in 2008 after tying for third two years earlier.
Jason Dufner/Jhonnatan Vegas/Louis Oosthuizen — Jason Dufner picked up his first PGA TOUR victory in New Orleans, got married the following week and got back into action at THE PLAYERS. Oosthuizen nearly won his second major earlier this year, losing the Masters playoff to Bubba Watson, while Vegas is coming off his best performance of the season, a tie for seventh at THE PLAYERS.
Matt Kuchar/Vijay Singh/Padraig Harrington – Kuchar comes to Dallas with plenty of momentum after winning THE PLAYERS on Sunday, his fifth top-10 in his last seven starts. Singh has missed his last two cuts but he won in Dallas in 2003 while Harrington, a three-time major champion who has two top-10s this season, is making his debut at the HP Byron Nelson Championship.
Keegan Bradley/Rory Sabbatini/Jason Day – This group features the last three champions. Bradley beat Ryan Palmer in a playoff last year before winning the PGA Championship in August on the way to PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year honors. Day made the 2010 tournament his breakthrough PGA TOUR victory. Sabbatini’s 2009 victory gave the Fort Worth resident the Metroplex Slam after winning the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial two years earlier.
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