Oh No, Not Another Wacky FedExCup Scenario!

Larry Dorman features some interesting comments from players about the current system and the meaning of the word playoff, and tantalizes us with the (somewhat slim) possibility that Matt Kuchar would win the whole thing without winning a tournament (playoff or otherwise):

Matt Kuchar, who has two second-place finishes among his nine top 10s this year and is third in the FedEx Cup points standings, could conceivably walk away with most of the money and the Tiffany-designed silver FedEx Cup by finishing second this week and next week at the Tour Championship.

Finishing second two weeks in a row is almost as difficult as winning two weeks in a row. But Kuchar’s mind-numbing consistency over the past two seasons, during which he has 20 top-10 finishes in 47 starts, makes it a possibility. And he did finish second in the FedEx Cup last year.

Cog Hill "Bashing" Is Actually Thoughtful Criticism

When I heard Phil Mickelson and a few other players continuing to criticize the Cog Hill redo today on the eve of the BMW Championship, the "bashing" word came up a few times. But when you read the actual comments, they are well-reasoned criticisms, or in the case of Steve Stricker, sympathetic.

"They need to get their money back, I guess," said Stricker.

Furthermore, when you consider they are coming from PGA Tour professionals who will likely pay a small fine for sharing their honest assessment, then you have to suspect that these are coming from a place of having been exposed to more good design of late, of wanting to see good things happen architecturally and not out of self-interest.

From Doug Ferguson's report:

Phil Mickelson, not a fan of anything Jones designs, said the shape of the course wasn't the issue.

He attributed the criticism of Cog Hill to the man in charge of revamping it.

"I know we all wish it had turned out differently," Mickelson said. "But there was a lot of other guys to choose from that probably could do the job, and maybe if they just start over, it could turn into something special.

"But tee to green and the property, it's got really great potential," he added. "I'd love to see Gil Hanse or a Crenshaw-Coore or Kyle Phillips or David Kidd — or guys that really know what they're doing — come in and create something special here because I think that's what the family and this facility deserves."

And this from Steve Elling's story, which also features comments from Jim Furyk and Luke Donald.

"When I ask a player like yourself or anybody, 'What's your favorite golf course and on that course what's your favorite hole,' most of the time it's a par 3 under 150 yards, a lot of times it's a drivable par 4 and occasionally it'll be a reachable par 5," Mickelson said. "And this really doesn't have any of those.

"There's really no shotmaking here that's required. It doesn't really test our ability to maneuver the ball because the fronts of the greens are blocked, and the only shot is to hit a high flop shot that stops. But being able to maneuver it doesn't really matter. That's basic stuff. Chipping areas, shot value around the greens, penalties for certain misses, all that stuff wasn't really well thought-out."

I know how Phil feels having pointed this out about the Jones redos in the past. This isn't even addressing the finish work and overall disregard for naturalness that I believe ultimately bothers players more than anything.

Elling also had this from Luke Donald, a cheerleader for Chicago golf by virtue of his days at Northwestern:

"From an architectural standpoint, I'm not a huge fan of Rees Jones, either," Donald said. "I'm not a big fan of the deep bunkers and the ridges in the greens. There's a few holes where there isn't a great deal of strategy.

"I guess the Jemseks have done a great deal to try to improve the course in an effort to try to get a U.S. Open here, and I feel bad that it's come under quite a lot of criticism."

The future of the BMW/Western Open came up in these discussions and most stories have written off Cog Hill's chances. Teddy Greenstein noted the likely replacements in the Chicago area, which aren't exactly architectural masterpieces either.

The 2014 event will go to historic Cherry Hills in Denver, but the 2013 tournament remains up for grabs.

If it remains in Chicago — a giant if — courses under consideration include Conway Farms, the Glen Club, the Merit Club, Kemper Lakes and Olympia Fields. Conway is considered the favorite.

But Jeff Rude says not so fast to Phil's suggestion that this is it at Cog Hill.

“That’s his total speculation,” said John Kaczkowski, president and chief executive officer of the Western Golf Association. “Nothing has been decided for 2013. Cog Hill will be considered along with other courses in Chicago. There’s been widespread speculation (about leaving Cog), but the facts are we will sit down after this tournament and see how it did in terms of golf course, ticket and hospitality sales and attendance.”

The BMW will move to Crooked Stick next year because the Ryder Cup is at Medinah, currently in bad condition, in another Chicago suburb next September. It will return to an undetermined venue in Chicago in 2013, then move to Cherry Hills in Denver in 2014. After that, the WGA, which oversees the Evans Scholars Foundation that is funded in part from BMW proceeds and benefits deserving caddies, hopes to hold the event in the Chicago area on a “semi-permanent or permanent basis,” Kaczkowski said.

One scenario that likely can be ruled out: the tour visiting Harding Park in 2013 with the BMW as they are contractually obligated to do. Ron Kroichick reports on the possible options in San Francisco.

Update on Thursday, September 15, 2011 at 07:31 AM by Geoff

**Ed Sherman feels that the continued criticism from players will be kill Cog Hill's chances of future BMW Championships.

"There's a few long par 4s where I hit a lot of 6-, 7- and 8-irons, 9-irons."

In Doug Ferguson's story on player disdain for the new Cog Hill, there is a quote from Dustin Johnson that deserves its own billing.

Johnson won a year ago at 9-under 275, a testament to Cog Hill being hard.

"It's in great shape this year," Johnson said. "It's long, it's hard. You're not going to go very low here, so make a lot of pars and if you can sneak in a birdie every once in a while, then you're doing well."
He figured the key to the week was long irons.

"There's a few long par 4s where I hit a lot of 6-, 7- and 8-irons, 9-irons," he said. "Those are long irons to me."

...

Rees In Response To Player Apathy: "No Comment"

Rex Hoggard tracked down Rees Jones to ask about the latest round of player apathy, this time directed at his Cog Hill renovation.

On Tuesday, GTC gave Jones – whose restoration handiwork includes this year’s PGA Championship venue (Atlanta Athletic Club) and East Lake, site of next week’s Tour Championship – a chance to fire back at the growing criticism of some of his projects but the “Open Doctor” declined to enter the fray.

“I’m not going to address that,” Jones told GTC. “No comment.”

Jemsek Defends Rees, Cog Hill Redo

Ed Sherman says this may be the last BMW/Western Open at Cog Hill due to a variety of issues, including the players' dislike for the Rees-tored Dubsdread course. Frank Jemsek, the eminently likeable fellow who runs the place, says conditioning may have played a role in player negativity (likely) and that Rees simply is a step ahead of the modern game with his changes (not likely).

"What Rees is trying to do is keep up with the best players in the world," Mr. Jemsek said. "He's trying to figure out a way to get a step ahead. When somebody gets a step ahead of me, I know I don't like it.

"Rees tried to build three small greens within a large green (creating a variety of pin locations). If you don't hit it close to the pin, you're going to have to putt over a ridge. That's a putt they don't like. Rees put those ridges in there to make it difficult for them."

Despite the criticism, Mr. Jemsek said he has no regrets about Mr. Jones' redesign. "He did what we wanted him to do: make the course more challenging (for the pros)."

"The redo is not conducive to our tournament there."

Len Ziehm, quoting Steve Stricker on the eve of what may be the final BMW/Western Open at Rees-tored Cog Hill.

“I’m excited to go back there,” said Stricker, a Western Open champion on Dubsdread in 1996.

“But I’m disappointed about what transpired there. The redo is not conducive to our tournament there. It was a little severe. It’s playable, but a little tricked up and goofy in spots. I feel real bad for the Jemsek family (owners of the course). They stuck a lot of money into (the renovation), and they’re great people. I liked it before, but the players just don’t like it (now). The redo isn’t good. It’s sad for the Jemsek family.”

Watney's Expensive 11

Sean Martin on a costly 11 (is there any other kind?) for Nick Watney during Sunday's final round of the Deutsche Bank Championship:

Watney started the week ranked third in the FedEx Cup, and began Monday’s final round just three shots back of Watson’s lead. He quickly dropped from contention, though, with an 11 at the par-5 second hole.

Watney went over the green with his second shot on the par-5 second hole at TPC Boston. He chipped over the green and into the hazard, then tried to play his fourth shot. But it struck a rock and stayed in the hazard. Watney was so frustrated he slammed his club to the ground.

He took a penalty drop in the fairway, hit onto the green and three-putted. Watney later was assessed an additional two-shot penalty because he slammed his club inside the hazard line — and his ball was still in the hazard.

It added up to an 80 for the 30-year-old, who fell from 12th to 61st. He now ranks seventh in the FedEx Cup.

2011 Deutsche Bank Championship Final Round Open Thread

Should be a dandy today in Boston...

23 Within Four Of Deutsche Bank Lead

Usually it's a knock on a setup or course when the field isn't better separated, but as Mike McAllister points out, the TPC Boston and Deutsche Bank Championship have another great leaderboard heading into Monday's finish. And it's not just all bombers.

Twenty-three others are within four or fewer shots of the lead. Their credentials are impressive. Among them are the current FedExCup leader; the regular-season FedExCup leader; the reigning FedExCup champ; the world's top-ranked player; the field's most celebrated star; the reigning Masters champ; a couple of other past major winners; and a player who was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame earlier this year.

There are bombers (like Gary Woodland), ball-strikers (like Zach Johnson) and putters (like Nick Watney). There are "old fellows" like Jerry Kelly and flashy youngsters like Rickie Fowler. There are plenty of Americans but also four Australians, two South Africans, an Englishman and a Swede.

At this point, resumes may be more important than numbers.

"I don't think the scores are relevant," said one of the Aussies, Geoff Ogilvy. "I think the people up there are the relevant thing. Every single year, it's exactly the same thing -- the best players on TOUR play well here."

Third round highlights here:

When Does A Driveable Par 4 Become Just A Long Par 3?

I love TPC Boston's short par-4 fourth because a Deutsche Bank spectator can still hang out there, see a variety of shots, and every few groups witness some special shotmaking. But with modern distances surging in the five years since Gil Hanse and Brad Faxon unveiled this replacement hole on the site of the old fourth hole, the character has changed due to forces out of the architect's control.

Because the hole plays so short (it's that core work the flatbellies have all been doing!), there really is only one option and therefore little tension is created by players facing a risk-reward dilemma. The only real issue now is a choice between driver or 3-wood, or, in the case of the insanely long Gary Woodland's of the world, a decision between 3-wood and 2-iron.

Check out the ShotLink scatter shot most of the way through round 2:

(Click image to enlarge)

(Click to enlarge this close-up of TPC Boston's 4th)

Currently the hole is playing to a 3.671 scoring average, playing as the second easiest hole. But that's not the issue. Easy is fine, but easy because equipment renders the options meaningless, that's lousy!

So I Watched Phil With The Long Putter Today...

And I can say he looked really good over the putts inside ten feet and positively dreadful over the long ones.

Of course, as Steve Elling notes, only a few hours into using the long thing, such inconsistency does not come as a surprise.

"I honestly don't know, I haven't spent enough time with it," he said. "The guys who have used it for a long time, Brendan Steele, Keegan Bradley has putted very well with it, Martin Laird, Webb Simpson, whose guys know a lot more about it, the intricacies of it, but it felt good. I enjoyed it. I had fun today."

Mickelson said there was some awkwardness, since he has putted with his hands ahead slightly ahead of the ball at address and impact for most of his career.

"You can't forward press," he said. "It just passes my hands, so it's a different stroke, so that's probably why it's a little bit more awkward at first for me because I am used to keeping the hands ahead and this time the club is passing my hands."

I'm going to go bold here and say I will not be surprised if we see a two-putter setup in Phil's bag. Long one for the short ones, short one for the long ones. Just saying...

Jim McCabe looks at the mystery that is putting and puts Phil's tinkering in perspective.

A quick look at Vijay Singh was proof of that, because for all the stories about players wielding long putters, isn’t he the poster boy of those who continually treat putting with a fickleness? Sure he is. He’s employed dozens of putters – long and short – and so many techniques that it’s impossible to document. In Round 1 of the Deutsche Bank, Singh had the long putter but he split his hands, had the left one low and the right one turned in such a position that it appeared as if he were throwing a punch.

So Not All Golf Fans Are Great Files, Vol. 3

From WABC in New York comes word that a "New Jeresy" (SP.) man was arrested and charged "after he allegedly assaulted a Scotch Plains teenager following the Barclays Golf Tournament last week."

Police say 38-year-old Demesvar Jean-Baptiste, of Watchung in Somerset County, had attended the golf tournament in Edison on August 23 and paid to park his car at a residence near the tournament grounds.

Around 7 p.m., authorities said Jean-Baptiste knocked on the door of a Raritan Road house in Scotch Plains that he mistakenly believed was where he parked his car earlier in the day. A 14-year-old boy who answered the door at the residence informed Jean-Baptiste that he had the wrong house.

At that point, according to the investigation, Jean-Baptiste forced his way inside the home, assaulted the boy and threatened to kill him, everyone in the residence and burn the house down.

The boy was able to escape Jean-Baptiste's grasp and made it to a neighbor's house where the police were called.

According to police reports, officers found Jean-Baptiste several doors away and detected the strong odor of alcohol on his breath.

There's a shocker!

He was taken into custody and later charged with burglary, terroristic threats and aggravated assault. Jean-Baptiste, a highly-regarded surgeon who specializes in gastric bypass, was released on $130,000 bail.